Recap Cardano Summit SPO Breakout Room
During the Cardano Summit 2022, the Cardano Foundation held five special workshops - with each workshop hosting one or more sessions on different topics.
For the workshop “Mastering the SPO Challenges”, we had several Stake Pool Operators and industry experts provide presentations on topics such as:
- How to Effectively Market a Stake Pool - by This is Red Flag
- CIP procedure and how SPOs can help optimize the network - by Matthias Benkort
- The effect of consensus design on health of permissionless blockchains - by University of Zurich
- Crypto Regulations - by Martin Hess (renowned Financial Markets Lawyer, specialised in DLT within Switzerland)
- Germany Tax Tool Experience and Legal and Security Best Practice for Pledge - by Chris Kulas
- Network Monitoring & Performance - Markus Guflar
For the topic of how to effectively market a stake pool, the team from This is Red Flag undertook a comprehensive study and evaluated the varied marketing approaches of major influential, and smaller stake pool owners. The Team then provided an extensive analysis of best practices on how smaller and less influential stake pool operators can also grow their businesses effectively.
Next up, we had Matthias Benkort provide a presentation about the CIP procedure (Cardano Improvement Proposals), and explain how SPOs can participate and help optimize Cardano’s network. During the presentation, Matthias also went into detail about the CPS procedure (Cardano Problem Statement).
CPSs are documents that capture a problem statement based on hypotheses. Matthias explained further that over time, they may also exist as RFP, (Requests For Proposals), from ecosystem actors who’ve identified a problem but are yet to find any suitable solution. The attending audience seemed to find this an interesting topic and engaged very well during the Q&A session.
For the workshop regarding the effect of consensus design on the health of permissionless blockchains, we were joined by Professor. Dr Claudio J. Tessonethe and PhD student, Sheng-Nan Li - both from the University of Zurich.
The team provided a very interesting analysis based on research they have been doing In partnership with the Cardano Foundation. They not only looked at Cardano, but also analyse data from several other L1 protocols. The objective of the presentation was to provide some early insights into the following:
-
the long-term effects of network and parameter changes.
-
understanding how validator’s behaviour deviate from long-term protocol goals
-
behavioural aspects of validators and stakers depending on the mining strategy.
The team also did some extensive modeling based on (D/N) PoSs systems in order to clarify the components that characterise the incentive of PoS protocols. They also Develop an evaluation framework for Cardano’s Ouroboros Protocol Parameters - something that Is still ongoing, and of which they hope to provide us more insights in the future.
It did not go unnoticed that these subjects presented really captured the audience’s attention - especially the comparison analysis of other L1 protocols. Many questions from the audience and lawful feedback for the work done thus far.
The recent collapse of several major crypto and distributed ledger technology (DLT) companies has highlighted the need for well-defined crypto regulations. In order to provide insight and clarity on this timely topic, we were fortunate to host a workshop featuring Martin Hess, Switzerland’s leading financial markets lawyer specializing in DLT. Martin is well-known for his rational and intellectual approach to discussions about crypto regulations, and he is frequently sought out by small and large financial organizations for his expert opinion on the subject.
During his presentation, Martin took the time to explain the concept of ada and how regulators view it. He argued that, among other L1-blockchains, Cardano is one of the best positioned to avoid being classified as a utility token from a regulatory standpoint. Martin also shared his thoughts on Cardano’s governance structure, the differences between payment tokens, utility tokens, and asset tokens, and how the protocol’s approach to rewards distribution compares to that of other L1-blockchains.
Additionally, he discussed the challenges and opportunities presented by the current regulatory landscape for the crypto industry, and offered his perspective on how these regulations may evolve in the future.
Overall, Martin’s presentation was a resounding success, providing valuable insights and sparking thought-provoking discussions among attendees. For the Q&A round, Martin was joined by Frederick Gregaard in answering all questions from the audience. The level of engagement and number of questions were both higher than anticipated, which caused the session to run longer than planned.
Despite this, the extended time was well worth it, as the engaging dialogue provided valuable insights and furthered the conversation on crypto regulations.
For our workshop on Germany tax tool experience and legal and security best practices for the pledge, we were fortunate to have Chris Kulas join us. His well-researched and highly informative presentation provided valuable insights on various topics relevant to stake pool operators.
Chris began by discussing the use of accounting.com for constructing a comprehensive crypto earnings history. He also addressed the issue of the lack of native Cardano support on accounting.com, and discussed the use of scripts as a potential solution to this problem. Chris then moved on to explore the question of whether running a Cardano stake pool is considered “private asset management” from a legal standpoint, and discussed the best legal forms for operating a stake pool business in Germany.
In addition to these topics, Chris also shared his insights on the importance of securing your pledge seed, and offered advice on best practices for doing so. His presentation was well received by the audience, and the level of engagement during the Q&A round was higher than anyone expected. Many attendees found the information provided to be highly relevant and applicable to their own stake pool operations.
Furthermore, Chris’s presentation complemented Martin Hess’s earlier presentation on regulatory issues, providing further insights on the question of whether stake pool operators are considered asset managers from a regulatory standpoint. Overall, the workshop was a great success and provided valuable insights for all attendees. We are grateful to Chris for his expertise and insights, and for contributing to the continued growth and success of the Cardano community.
In the following workshop on network monitoring and performance, Markus Guflar delivered a short but powerful presentation that gave attendees a better understanding of block production and propagation on the Cardano network.
One of the standout features of Markus’s presentation was the use of a self-developed tool that allowed him to view how blocks are propagated through the network and to analyze why some pools consistently propagate their blocks much later than others. This tool also helps to monitor the overall health of the network, in addition to other community-built tools.
Despite its relatively short length, Markus’s presentation generated a high level of engagement from the audience during the Q&A round, proving that the information provided helped to spark their thought processes about block propagation on the network. Overall, the workshop was a great success and we are grateful to Markus for sharing his expertise and insights with the community.
The final highlight of the SPO Breakout room was a panel discussion on how to disrupt the Cardano network. On the panel, we had Chris Kulas, Markus Gufler, and Andrew Westberg. Moderating the panel was Bullish Bumping.
During the panel discussion on disrupting the Cardano network, several key topics were discussed, including the involvement of SPOs in IOG’s test suite, the potential impact of changes to network parameters, and the role of Input Endorsers in benefiting smaller stake pools. Additionally, the panelists explored the potential effects of changes to the deposit amount required to register a stake pool, and discussed other relevant topics. The discussion was engaging and provided valuable insights to attendees.
The real value of this panel discussion came from the moderator, who allowed the audience to participate in the discussion.
The panelists shared their viewpoints and where applicable, was complemented or corrected by the audience. This all was done and moderated respectfully. Eventually, everyone left the session with a sense of satisfaction - having received answers to their questions - something we had strived for from the very beginning.
