AMA Recap: CRYPTO MINERS X STADER BNB

Stader is a non-custodial smart contract-based staking platform that helps you conveniently discover and access staking solutions. They are building key staking middleware infra for multiple PoS networks for retail crypto users, exchanges and custodians. Stader is a secure liquid staking solution. They do continuous review and testing of all code and perform regular audits of smart contracts by external auditors (10+ successful audits across multiple chains). Stader use Multi-sig admin accounts for changing smart contract parameters.

We hosted an AMA session with Stader BNB on 10th February.

Mr. Ramsy was the host from Crypto Miners and Mr. Aditya was the guest. He shared delightful knowledge and unique features of Stader BNB.
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Segment 1️⃣ Introduction

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
Hello everyone 👋 Welcome to Our Another AMA session With Stader BNB

Today, we are very honored to invite Mr. Aditya the Product Manager of Stader BNB, To be our guest in our today’s session to introduce Stader BNB

Hey Aditya👋

Aditya Krishnakumar:
Hey Ramsy, thank you for inviting and I’m glad to be part of this session!

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
Welcome here mate

Thanks for joining with us today ❤️

So first of all can you introduce yourself to us?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
Sure. I joined Staderlabs about 10 months back and have been leading product of liquid staking specifically on the BNB chain and the journey has been great until now. I see a lot of potential in liquid staking for BNB Chain in the future and happy to share some of the insights here with the community as well.

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
That’s nice 👍

Now Let’s begin our first part of the session — Project Introduction

I’m pretty sure that our Community is very much excited for that✌️

So let’s begin if you’re ready!!

Aditya Krishnakumar:
Absolutely

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
So Let’s Go….

1. Can you Make a concise and brief introduction about Stader?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
Staderlabs is a multi-chain liquid staking protocol, we are live on six chains currently. And we will be going live on our 7th (Ethereum) very soon. We launched on BNB Chain in August and currently have ~$10 million in BNB staked with us.

We have a very robust algorithm that allocates the BNB from users to different validators and gets the staking rewards.

BNBx is our liquid staking token and is well integrated across various defi protocols.

We are supported by top Institutional and Blockchain investors like Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, True Ventures, Jump Capital, Ledgerprime, Accomplice, DACM, GoldenTree Asset Management, Accel, Amber, 4RC and Figment

Some of our prominent angels include Jaynti Kanani (CEO, Polygon), Sandeep Nailwal (COO, Polygon), Nemil Dalal (Head of Crypto, Coinbase).

Stader has had multiple rounds of funding as well and has a long runway.

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
Thanks Aditya for the great start

Now Moving to our second question

2. How does BNBx work?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
To understand BNBx let’s take a step back and start with simple staking. You stake your BNB with a particular validator, you have the complication of, of course, choosing that validator and managing your stake by looking at some of the operational parameters, etc.

But even if you do that, then what you have is a capital inefficient system where your BNB is locked with that validator and you’re accruing staking rewards, but you cannot use your capital elsewhere.

So liquid staking in general solves that problem and BNBx is no different.

What we do is take BNB from the users, run our algorithm and stake it with different validators, and give you back a token which is called BNBx.

When rewards come from validators, the value of BNBx grows with respect to BNB. All of those rewards are stored in a smart contract and then with validators at any point in time. You can then redeem your BNBx for the new value.
Currently, 1 BNBx = 1.053 BNB and the value continues to increase every day.

Hope that gives some clarity around BNBx

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
That’s well defined 👌

3. What are the advantages of BNBx over other competitors?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
Well there are many but let me try and list down the major ones here

- It takes away all the operational hassles of monitoring and allocating to a particular validator. We in fact have a dashboard that’s open to the public which clearly shows which validators we stake with.
- The biggest advantage is the capital efficiency, when you give Stader your BNB and Stader gives back the BNBx, the BNBx is accruing value in staking. You can take that BNBx and participate in DeFi. You can provide liquidity on DEXs like Wombat that will give you extra yields, or you can lend it in lending protocols or you can use it to trade options or anything else that you like.
So with these DeFi integrations you get the staking rewards from your stake and also use BNBx in a very capital efficient way to go out and find your right risk reward.

- Our security protocol is also the key differentiator. We have a very robust security system in place.
- Our validator selection criteria is another thing to note, our validator selection has consistently outperformed an average validator on the BNB chain by 15–35% every week.

There are of course many operational advantages as well.
- Stake any amount (permissionless)
- Instant liquidity
- Auto compounding
- Defi Opportunities
- Auto rebalancing of validators

To summarize the overall sort of security of the platform, the operational efficiency, the capital efficiency as well as the operational ease.

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
So staking with Stader is much more flexible and profitable than others 😃

Aditya Krishnakumar:
yes ofcourse

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
Now Let’s talk about security….

4. How is Stader ensuring security on its platform?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
Glad you asked this question

Security of our BNB liquid staking solution is paramount to us and we make continuous efforts in strengthening our safety. We are currently achieving top-notch security by following efforts:

- Continuous review and testing of all code.
- Regular audits of smart contract — Audited by top firms Halborn and Peckshield
- Use of Time-lock and Multi-sig accounts for contract upgrades
- Real-time on-chain security tracking by Forta to alert on any threats
An open bug bounty program with Immunefi to highlight bugs in the contract or Dapp with a max bounty of $1,000,000.

For DeFi protocols that Stader partners with, we ensure that they follow multiple security checks including multiple independent audits and ongoing monitoring practices.

and we are continuously building to keep our security top notch

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
Sounds good 👍

5. How do you think your journey has been so far and what were the key milestones?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
Our product is definitely battle tested and has proved itself through the test of the time. We’ve continued to grow even through the bear market, currently we have

- Over 30k BNB staked with us
- $12Mn+ TVL across DEXs
- 15+ DeFi partners integrated
- 13 Wallets integrated

and are still growing at a steady pace!

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
6. What are some of the unique tech & security developments you’ve made since the launch of your product?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
One key security development that I’d like to share is the implementation of Time Lock and Multi-sig. In light of the exploit on Ankr’s BNB liquid token aBNBc, by employing multi-sig all through for contract upgrades, we have eliminated the possibility of a similar incident happening with Stader contracts. However, we did not stop there, to further enhance the security we have also added a Time Lock for changes to the contract, so in the unlikely event that there is a breach, we have time to alert our partners and take remedial action. You can read more about it here.

We also launched a Validator Dashboard for users to monitor performance of validators on the BNB Chain. We at Stader, monitor all of these metrics at a daily level and re-adjust the fund allocation to the validators to get maximum returns at the same time reducing the risk of slashing. You can observe the same on the dashboard which shows Stader’s APR to be 20% higher than the average APR provided by all Validators on the blockchain.

We will be publishing more such dashboards in the future which would help users make an informed decision.

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
7. How can our users reach you and stake BNB?

Here is our last question from this segment

Aditya Krishnakumar:
Our dApp link: https://bit.ly/3HQPJ49
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stader_bnb
Telegram Community: https://t.me/staderlabs_bnb_official
Community Sign up: https://forms.gle/NMDEa3zDqU62U8qb7

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
Thanks Aditya for this well detailed introduction about Stader BNB

That’s the wrap up of our the first part of the AMA session ✅

Let’s now proceed to our Twitter Questions section

I hope you’re ready for that!!

Aditya Krishnakumar:
Yes let’s go

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
Alright…

Segment 2️⃣: Twitter Questions

1.The development of a reliable monitoring system for validators is one of the goals of the Stader platform. How does this improve protocol-dependent asset management while enhancing carrier performance? How would the validators be affected by this monitoring system?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
As rightly highlighted, monitoring system for Validators is one of our goals and our Validator Dashboard is a classic example. Monitoring alone would not help as one has to be act based on the observations, restructure the funds and allocate correctly to the chosen validators. Stader manages user assets and auto-rebalances the funds based on the validator performances. For Validators, this will be rewarding for the ones performing good and will be a wake up call for those lagging. Thus the Chain as a whole will be driven by better performing serious nodes.

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
2. Stader mentioned in a document that it is very difficult to choose a mining pool just like in staking products. Why choosing a mining pool is so complicated and how can this difficulty be reflected in staking products? Do you offer any easier way to choose a staking pool?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
This can be posted as a continuation to the earlier question. Since we are a liquid staking protocol we will do the choosing and allocation for you based on a set of criteria for the staking pool. Similar to mining pools, every node has a set of characteristics which would define their performances (tip — APR is not the only factor). Stader’s research team has identified these factors and monitor them for best returns. So you don’t have to worry about choosing a staking pool, we will do it for you :). Proceed to bnbchain.staderlabs.com

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
That’s the wind up of our twitter segment

Now Moving on to our last segment — Live Q&A

Shall we Aditya?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
yes please

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
Let me remind the rules for participants

Segment 3️⃣: Live QnA
(In this segment group was opened for 60 seconds and Miners sent hundreds of questions. Guest choose some best to answer)

1) Chukky ✨:
You have said that one of the key security developments is the implementation of Time Lock and multi-sig.
can you explain more in detail what you mean by Time Lock?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
Time lock essentially introduces a time delay for a specific proposal to get executed. For example if someone breaches the multi-sig and tries to upgrade the Stader contracts, it would take 24 hrs to execute the proposal. Between which all of the relevant stake holders would be informed and would have time to take appropriate measures. Thus any situation similar to Ankr hack is far from happening with Stader.
You can read more about it here

2) RiYA ISLAM:
💎💎Knowing that liquid staking carries some of the risks of liquidation by its nature and despite having beneficial advantages such as obtaining loans backed by cryptocurrencies and additional rewards, how does Stader deal with any market move and how will he protect the please

Aditya Krishnakumar:
BNBx by nature is pegged to BNB. So for every BNB that is staked with Stader, BNBx gets minted. Liquidation or depegging can happen only in case the smart contracts are breached. For which we have introduced multiple measures as described earlier. As for DEXes, Stader chooses it partners based on certain security criteria, which includes multiple audits, active monitoring etc. In case of bank runs, users can still gather their BNBx and unstake from the Stader platform on the existing exchange rate and get their full value.

3) Crypto girl…¥¥:
What are the benefits get user form this project ? And is there any partnership that will be established in near future of This Project?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
Benefits are the staking returns on your BNB + Defi opportunities using BNBx. We will soon be going live with Venus (lending protocol). And there are many other partnerships in pipeline. Feel free to checkout our defi page for latest offerings/utilities of BNBx and follow us on twitter for latest updates

*This segment ends here*

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
Thankyou So Much Aditya For your valuable answers and information about Stader ❤️

It was a informative session with you

Is there anything else you would like to share or you want us to know?

Aditya Krishnakumar:
Thanks for the great session and hope the community would have found this interesting. Please checkout our dapp and feel free to reach out to us on Stader BNB tg group in case of any queries. Adios!

Ramsy | Crypto Miners:
On Behalf of Miners Community Wish all the very best for Stader And The Entire team behind the project❤️🤝

Time To Conclude Our AMA Section

Community, If you would like to learn more about Stader BNB, here are some useful links for you:

Website: https://bnbchain.staderlabs.com/liquid-staking/bnbx
Twitter: https://t.me/staderlabs_bnb_officiel
Telegram: https://twitter.com/stader_bnb