How Stafi Integrates into the Polkadot Ecosystem

Guest Speaker: Eric, Head of the Polkadot Ecosystem Developer Program

Personal Introduction

Eric Wang is a Chinese-American who entered the cryptocurrency technology industry in 2017. Prior to that, he was pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry at Stanford University, but later left his studies to engage in blockchain investment and co-founded a startup called Archon, which develops decentralized storage solutions. Last year, he joined Parity's headquarters in Berlin, Germany, as the head of ecosystem development.

At Parity, Eric is mainly responsible for ecosystem development work, including formulating strategies, conducting outreach activities, and promoting business development. He is currently focused on the "Substrate Builders Program" project, which aims to gather resources such as technology, marketing, and business development within Parity to help ecological projects grow better.

About the Substrate Builders Program

The Substrate Builders Program is neither an accelerator nor an incubator, but a platform that provides technical support and resources for projects. It complements the Web3 Foundation Grants program, which primarily provides funding support.

The selection criteria for the program are based on a comprehensive evaluation of the project, including project stage, business model, funding status, GitHub progress, team, etc. Priority is given to upcoming projects. The program lasts for 6 months, after which applicants can reapply.

Selected projects can receive the following support:

1. Technical Support: Communicate with other members, regular office hours, exclusive guidance, etc.
2. Community support: media promotion, event collaboration, social media development, etc.
3. Financing Support: Connecting with ecosystem funds, investor networks, etc.
4. Business Development: Introduction of relevant ecosystem participants, regular communication, etc.

Currently, 19 teams have joined the program and are selected on a rolling basis.

Views on Stafi

Eric believes that Stafi can provide liquidity for the collateral assets in the POS chain, addressing the liquidity cost issues users face when staking tokens. By generating rToken, users can maintain liquidity while earning staking rewards.

Reasons for choosing Stafi to join the program include:

1. The team has a strong technical background and reputation.
2. Have an in-depth understanding of the Staking industry
3. The project's release time is closely related to Polkadot.
4. Has a first-mover advantage in liquidity solutions.

Eric believes that projects like Stafi will help lower the barriers to Staking, increase the security of the original chain, and may lead to the development of more financial instruments.

The Relationship between Stafi and Polkadot

As a project developed based on Substrate, Stafi can receive multi-faceted support from Polkadot:

1. Obtain launch support and best practice advice
2. Addressing Technical Barriers
3. Increase the chances of obtaining parallel chain slots through community support.
4. Utilizing the interoperability advantages of Polkadot

Eric believes that Stafi, as a staking derivatives tool platform, is expected to become a significant factor in attracting users within the Polkadot ecosystem.

Future Development

Eric suggested that Stafi could collaborate with DeFi projects, such as using rToken as collateral or developing financial derivatives. He indicated that he would promote cooperation between Stafi and other projects within the ecosystem in various ways.

For teams looking to join the Substrate Builders Program, Eric recommends preparing technical evidence and a clear business model presentation. The program accepts applications at any time, and the current acceptance rate is about 30%.