Bunker Pools
Bunker Pools are an idea that stemmed from thinking about how Cardano would survive in the event of major global problems, wars, natural disasters, government interference etc.
This idea needs discussion, refinement, or just kicking out if it is unnecessary.
I am not stake pool owner, or an expert in the field, so please allow me to share this idea with the community.
What are Bunker Pools?
Bunker Pools are independently run stake pools that ensure the survival of the Cardano blockchain in the event of major global issues and at the same time help to maintain a minimum level of real decentralization.
Who can run a Bunker Pool?
Any stake pool that fits the criteria can apply to be a Bunker Pool.
Criteria for Bunker Pools:
Ability to run off the grid for a certain period of time. (needs determining)
Completely independent and not hosted on any cloud service. (protect against cloud service takeover/shutdown/interference)
Owner has a certain level of expertise and/or history with the community. (needs determining)
Meet a specified security level. (needs determining)
Different geographic location to other Bunker Pools. (possible priority given to community agreed ‘safe’ locations?)
Voted for by the community. A Bunker Pool would need to continually meet agreed upon standards set by the community. Bunker Pool voting could be every 1, 2 or 5 years (to be determined by the community)
Benefits to Bunker Pool owners:
Receive special status to encourage delegation. (also a possible option in wallets to delegate a small percentage to Bunker Pools?)
Delegation by a Bunker Fund to help maintain existence.
Volunteer Funders/Delegators can agree to lock ADA into a Bunker Pool for certain periods of time, but any rewards received will be not be locked. This ensures the pool will be able to function without delegators suddenly jumping to other pools. (options for lock in? 1month, 3months, 6months etc)
Bunker Fund
A Bunker Fund will be setup to help maintain the existence of Bunker Pools. A community agreed amount of ADA will be locked up and used for delegating to Bunker Pools. Profits from delegating to Bunker Pools will return back to the Bunker Fund.
The Bunker Fund profits could possibly be returned, or used for Stake Pool operator education, or events such as Bunker Pool voting etc. (needs determining)
Creating a Bunker Fund will require locking up an agreed amount of ADA to maintain the existence of Bunker Pools. The amount of ADA may need to be adjusted over time depending on the costs associated with maintaining Bunker Pools in the future.
(where does the Bunker Fund come from?)
The number of Bunker Pools needed would need to be determined and adjusted accordingly with each round of Bunker Pool voting. This could be done dynamically based on the current amount of Stake Pools or any other criteria.
Bunker Pool voting events will help keep all parties interested and focused on maintaining the security and the decentralization of Cardano. They could also be used as a time for Stake Pool operator security discussion and education.