Thank you to everyone who joined AMA Blockelite x Kira Network on 21st October at 1 PM UTC I 8 PM UTC+7. Here is the recap for those who missed this AMA.
Our special guest today is Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network and Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network
Segment 1: Introduction about Kira Network and Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network & Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network
Q1: Can you briefly introduce yourself as well as the Kira Network project?
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: My name is Mateusz, Kira CTO. I am an electronics engineer, in crypto since late 2011, highly involved in the interchain/web3 space for the past 3 years, worked as R&D developer for Barclays Bank, then as lead infra engineer for US based Settle Finance then as product manager for the crypto exchange in Switzerland called Bity, shortly after that we started Kira with @miLanavaLmont
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: Of course. I am Milana Valmont, I have a corporate finance background from NY. I got in the crypto space first as an investor in early 2017 and later the same year I joined Binance exchange as a community volunteer
Afterwords I have worked as project manager for Adcoin com and was an adviser to Sentinel dVPN. In 2018 I joined Knoks platform as head of strategy, and by mid 2019 I dedicated my full attention to Kira as CEO 🙂
Kira is a decentralized network that allows you to utilize 100% of your working capital and provides access to the market for any digital token. We are making it possible to stake any digital asset, crypto, stablecoin or even NFT, claim the rewards and trade it at the same time or use other DeFi. In short we power DeFi with liquid staking
Blockelite Host: I don’t know Bity 🙂
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: They were first ever to introduce ATM’s in Switzerland which allow you to buy BTC, ETH Monero and other cypto
Q2: What strategies does Kira Network use in working and building to reach target “Powering Defi with Liquid Staking”?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: different strategies – educational content within EU, China, Korea and Vietman. Doing AMAs, PR. And we just had our whitelist competition and it was very oversubscribed and super active
we will have more of those
Blockelite Host: But only 100 winners 🙂
yes for now, we wil have other competitions, and other ways how people can participate in the public. New challenge is coming tomorrow, we will make an announcement today
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: And in terms of development we are utilizing SCRUM framework which works quite well for us.
Q3: What are Kira Network token (KEX) used for? How much % of the token is used for private, seed, and public sales?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: KEX is used as a reserve currency in terms of which staking and fee payments and other assets are valued. KEX is the most efficient way to earn block and fee rewards, its also necessary if you want to participate in the governance and be part of the validator set.
Private and Seed was around 25%
Public and community around 7%
full info can be found here
https://medium.com/kira-core/kira-network-token-metrics-dc3484047c7c
Blockelite Host: When will $Kex list on? Will Kira focus on listings on Dex or Cex exchanges?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: we will have the erc20 first then we will swap for kex, regarding listing stay tuned for our updates 🙂
Blockelite Host: $ 4,000,000 includes private, seed and public sales, right?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: yes in total
Q4: Which is the consensus mechanism used for Kira Network? How can the security of the operations of other tokens and projects be guaranteed thanks to the KIRA consensus?
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: We created our own consensus – Multi Bonded Proof of Stake (MBPoS)
There are two main factors that contribute to the security of any PoS:
– value of assets at stake (TVL)
– number of individual non sybil validators
MBPoS is sybil resistance by using governance which must approve new validators to join the set and by giving all validators equal voting power and chance to propose blocks. Meaning that you can’t influence the consensus by stealing or otherwise hording tokens.
MBPoS doe snot have a limit in terms of how many validators you can have, it also has no limitations in terms how much value can be locked at stake – because we allow for staking of any asset.
Effectively KIRA consensus is capable of not only scaling the throughput but also scaling the security
its analogical to Bitcoin being bale to scale security and prevent forks by increasing the hashrate
this is not possible currently with any PoS except our consensus because there is always a limit how much a single PoS token can be worth
Blockelite Host: MBPoS is sybil resistance by using governance which must approve new validators to join the set and by giving all validators equal voting power and chance to propose blocks
Must participants give MBPOS permissions?
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: the governance set must whitelist you as validator or gov member to be able to influence consensus to prevent sybil actors joining
otherwise you could split your coins into many accounts and run dozens of validator nodes
e.g. on polkadot you have a single person running over 30
*which does not add you any security just steals rewards from others
Blockelite Host: Does that mean I could lose money?
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: You have higher chances of loosing money if your validator has sybil accounts and someone compromises his infra
Blockelite Host: I don’t want that to happen, and will MBPOS prevent the same thing?
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: MBPoS has threshold slashing meaning than many validators need to try to misbehave at the same time for you to loose money.
Meaning chances to get slashed are close to 0 unless we would be experiencing a real attack
also this process is gov assistance – meaning that gov determines if attack was real of validators double signed because of some unforeseen software or hardware fault
To summarize – You are not going to loose your money like with other PoS just because validator tripped over the cable or single node went down.
Q5: Who are the current notable partners for Kira Network and what can we expect from the partnerships that you have?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: here are some of our partners
Blockelite Host: Thanks for sharing 🙂
What role do they play in the Kira ecosystem?
What benefits do both sides get from cooperation?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: some of them will be validators, some will utilize part of our infrastructure, and some will assist ur to demonstrate on how you can stake tokens on multiple chains at the same time
Segment 2: 5 best questions from twitter
Q1: In how many ways can I make passive income? If I can easily bet other tokens to generate income then what would be main incentive for users to acquire the KEX token?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: There are no limitations in terms how many different tokens can allow you to make passive income by staking them or even leverage-staking.
The governance of the network decides which tokens can be staked and what are the interest rates for staking those assets – meaning they will do so to in a way to attract the maximum possible number of tokens that will increase security and network activity of KIRA.
While different tokens come and go – KEX will always be able to claim block and fee rewards form the network operations in the most efficient manner vs other tokens
Q2: In this new update of KIRA Network, I have been surprised by the true magnitude of the project, they really want to create an ecosystem that is totally complete and independent, right? but is that all? or is KIRA Network bigger than that yet?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: We do have bigger ambitions than what we are vocal about but our main role and focus for now is to deliver the self sustainable network that can be fully evolved and manage by the community rather then any single centralized entity.
Blockelite Host: hope one day Kira will replace BTC or ETH 🙂
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: I think its all about capturing the TVL rather then replacing others : )
Q3: Protection of users and privacy has become an issue that many projects face in their development. Can you explain about the security of Kira Network and how Kira Network protects its users?
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: Users directly communicate with the decentralized network without any middleman service or gateway hosted in centralized manner. We do not ask for any user data and can’t collect any private information about them.
Regarding security and other tokens of such type we plan to utilize decentralized identity systems that will enable validators and full node operators to verify identity to comply with laws in their local jurisdictions. That is of course long term scope as of right now validators are not required to have money transmitter licenses etc. Long term once regulations start this will make us one of the first ot be prepared.
That being said you will always be able to process tx just processing time will depend on whether you have dID or not.
Q4: Really with the Kira Protocol you can stake with any type of tokens without any inconvenience or additional fees?
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: Yes you can stake any token type whether those are NFT of fungible assets, all you have to do is transfer your token to the KIRA Network.
You are the one staking and in full control of all your assets. There are no smart contracts or any other mechanisms staking on your behalf and charging you any additional fees for that.
Blockelite Host: I think I will use usdt/usdc to stake, that avoids the risk of a token/coin dump or pump
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: You definitely can. This is one of the advantages of the system. When you are holding staking token which price is extremely volatile going up or down – you do not have to unstake – all you have to do is trade one type of staked coin for another and continue earning rewards.
Q5: What are your major goals to achieve in the next 2-5 years? Where can we Kira Network in this period? What are your plans to expand and gain more adoption?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: Our approach is security first, building up the fundamental trust layer that you simply can’t achieve in case of other networks (because there is simply not enough value at stake to trust them). Offering security (which is something that can’t simply be copied or replicated) to other projects at the price of % block & fee rewards is our long term goal 2-5y+ after completing the initial roadmap delivery.
Segment 3: Live question.
1. What kind of assets can I stake on Kira’s platform? Can I stake the non-fungible token? Also, what is the percentage of profits that can be obtained through stake?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: yes you can stake non-fungible tokens as well. Governance defines the interest rates of how much rewards you will be getting rom that asset
2. When i go through your site, your project seems interesting with similar to that of Stafi. Stafi we all know as a popular, are you not seeing yourself rival with Stafi in this market? Or is there any differences between two of you? Also what could make Kira better.?
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: We made a comparison here (https://github.com/KiraCore/docs/blob/master/vs/stafi-protocol.md), because for some reason people keep comparing them to us when they hear “liquid staking” : )
KIRA Liquid Staking is completely different from Stafi and utilized as part of KIRA for completely different reasons. We are NOT supporting liquid staking for the sake of supporting it because other networks do not do that. We also do NOT charge anyone for staking on KIRA any additional commissions. With KIRA – staking happens directly on KIRA (and NOT on other chains), to increase liquidity and security of our own network. It is absolutely essential that all PoS support natively staking derivatives (which does not require any third parties – and definitely not a dedicated blockchain). When your network supports natively staking derivatives (which can be very easily implemented) then you can utilize KIRA for leveraged staking. To summarize KIRA does not stake for you and does not charge you money for that : ) your coins always remain in your hands and you are the one deciding which validators you trust which greatly decreases slashing risk. What is also important is that KIRA supports staking of any assets (even if they are non-stakeable on their original networks like BTC or NFT’s), Stafi only works with stakeable assets.
Liquid Staking in KIRA is used to invoke a positive feedback loop of people staking their coins (on KIRA) -> which causes liquidity and network activity to increase -> which causes revenues from the network fees to increase -> which implies even more incentives to stake more and repeat the cycle. It’s just like a combustion engine that you use to drive your car, but instead of fuel you are pumping in tokens : ) and the governance system acts like a computer to make sure that every single drop of that fuel is utilized optimally to keep the engine running in the most efficient manner. Stafi is more like a cog or part of the engine that some PoS are missing to move forward, KIRA is a whole machine that aims to take you places efficiently with all essential components already in it and does not charge you any additional subscription fees for using it – you are the one getting paid for driving it.
3. Do you have any plans to attract non-crypto investors to KIRA?? Because it is the success of a project to get more investors who are still not in the crypto world specially as a new project entering to crypto. What are the plans to increase awareness about KIRA around in non-crypto space? And which region is in your mind???
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: of course we have plans for that, thanks to our Multi Bonded proof of stake consensus even traditional companies can stake their assets and earn revenues, for example staking the shares of the company, or real estate and luxury goods NFTs
4. If the “Multiple Bonds Proof of Stake” generates so many benefits for users, why then most blockchain projects only use PoS? or just this proof of effective participation with KIRA Network?
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: Not a single project in crypto beside KIRA allows staking of multiple tokens, the reason is that all those legacy PoS assume to one day become an ultimate “masterchain” with no other networks existing beside them. KIRA on the other side is designed specifically to work and maintain security within Interchain/Web3 environment.
For example if you would deposit $100B worth of BTC to the ETH 2.0 where there is only $10B worth of ETH at stake then there would be $90B in incentives to steal that deposited money and there is no good way around it unless ETH would appreciate 10x to balance profitability of the attack. In case of KIRA there are no limitations in terms of how much value can be at stake securing the network.
5. How do I become a part of the Kira Network movement, is Kira Network open to everyone or do we need an application?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: there are many ways to become more involved. We will have an Ambassador program announced soon so you can stay tuned for updates and participate then, And of course eventually community members can get elected to become part of the governance or validator set but you need to have KEX in order to do that
6. There are a couple DeFi startups that have proposed concepts similar to your ‘Staking Derivatives’. I’m curious to know more about those derivative tokens. What happens if your assets at stake are slashed? Is there any way that a bad actor could convert their derivative token back into another asset ‘xyz’ and not feel the burden of losing their stake?
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: When tokens represented by staking derivatives are slashed – they simply loose that % of value on the market (because they can’t claim back the original tokens 1:1). In practice when you will have lets say an orderbook of staked asset vs unstaked asset – then the staked asset will be always trading below the price of unstaked coin. This means that whoever is buying the token accepts the risk of possibly being slashed and having to unbound the token.
As the result there is a risk but also an opportunity for traders who can buy staked assets cheaper and unstake them to claim the difference. Furthermore this implementation allows you to unstake instantly by selling your staked coins as well as sell one type of staked tokens for another to not be exposed to market volatility or downturns.
7. Each project has interesting stories before it is created. So can you tell people about the story that gave you the motivation to build and develop a great project like your?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: @asmodat and I were both part of the interchain ecosystem for a few years at the time when we started KIRA. We shared a vision that there is not going to be a single masterchan network that scales infinitely and provides all the features you might imagine. I think it’s more than rational to think that in the long term we will have 1000s of projects inter connecting together just like in the real world we see 1000s of smaller companies on the internet offering their services rather than a single website like Amazon that offers everything and where nothing else exists.
8. Can you list 1 or 2 deadly features that make #your project stand out from its competitors? What competitive advantage does your platform have that make you feel the most confident in yourself?
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network:
– Stake ANY token
– Tarde and access DeFi while at the same time earning block and fee rewards for staking
Main competitive advantage of KIRA is ability to scale security with growing value of tokens deposited and locked which outside of BTC/PoW and increasing the mining difficulty is impossible with any PoS currently on the market.
9. What is your strategy for building a strong community? Do you agree that the power of the community will lead your project to develop globally? What services do you provide to the community?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: education content, pr and marketing across the west and asia, contests and ambassador program
10. Do you have any plans to attract non-crypto investors to KIRA?? Because it is the success of a project to get more investors who are still not in the crypto world specially as a new project entering to crypto. What are the plans to increase awareness about KIRA around in non-crypto space? And which region is in your mind???
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: By enabling you to stake ANY asset KIRA is capable to attract non-crypto investor who might want to stake their digital fiat and not have exposure to crypto volatility or liquidation risks like in other DeFi.
11. What kind of assets can I stake on Kira’s platform? Can I stake the non-fungible token? Also, what is the percentage of profits that can be obtained through stake?
Mateusz Grzelak – CTO of Kira Network: Yes you can stake the NFT the same way as you can stake fungible tokens. Governance of the network defines interest rates (how much you earn) based on two factors:
– how much security will that add to the network,
– how much more network activity it will bring to the network
12. Can I stake $KEX token? What are the Staking criterias ?
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: You will be able to stake KEX. Staking other assets will be defined by the governance, when you list an asset and the gov has to whitelist it and establish the interest rates from which you will receive your rewards
I think we answered all the questions that were relevant 🙂
great AMA guys
Thank you for joining today AMA! It was awesome! Would you like to address the community before we open the chat? 😉
Milana Valmont – CEO of Kira Network: thank you everyone for amazing questins and stay updated on our announcements if you want to learn more about kira 🙂
Our AMA session is now over !!!
More information about Kira Network:
Website: https://kira.network/
Telegram: https://t.me/kirainterex
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kira_core
Medium: https://medium.com/kira-core
