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Chainlink Early Access Eligibility for Chainlink Staking v0.1

Chainlink Staking is a key cryptoeconomic security mechanism in which stakers commit LINK tokens in smart contracts to back certain performance guarantees around oracle services. The addition of staking enables Chainlink decentralized oracle networks (DONs) to scale to service a broader range of applications and higher value use cases across Web3 and traditional Web2 industries.

Staking is one mechanism in a broader initiative around Chainlink Economics 2.0—an array of programs that focus on improving data security and utility while also reducing the operating costs of oracle services, increasing user fees that are paid to Chainlink service providers, and enabling a broader scope of service providers such as stakers to participate in the Chainlink ecosystem.

The Early Access Eligibility App walks community members and ecosystem participants through a step-by-step process that informs them if they qualify for early access into the v0.1 staking pool. Community members can check their eligibility by connecting their address via a Web3 wallet, which will be cross-referenced against a series of allowlist criteria (listed below). Meeting any of the criteria earns the address owner a chance to participate in the v0.1 staking pool. 

Note that checking your eligibility does not require an on-chain transaction. It only requires signing an off-chain message via your Web3 wallet as a means of verifying ownership of the address.

Chainlink Staking v0.1 Early Access App
Chainlink community members can use the Early Access Eligibility App to check their eligibility for potential priority access staking in Staking v0.1.

Those eligible for early access will get priority entrance into the v0.1 staking pool—granting them the opportunity to directly stake up to 7,000 LINK in a first-come, first-serve manner until the pool cap is reached. For community members who are not eligible for early access, the v0.1 staking pool will open up to the general public shortly after the Early Access phase ends, with a similar 7,000 LINK limit per address set for at least the start. By helping secure the network via alerting and other features, stakers can earn rewards for their contribution.

In addition to the community member allotment, each Chainlink node operator currently servicing Chainlink Data Feeds will have the opportunity to individually stake up to 50,000 LINK, with a 1,000 LINK minimum if choosing to stake during v0.1. Initially, 3M LINK of pool space is planned to be reserved for NOPs, meaning 22M LINK will initially be available for community members to stake at the v0.1 launch. Due to the security parameters of the staking system, all stakers in v0.1 will have their staked LINK locked until the subsequent release of Staking v1.

Chainlink Staking v0.1 will initially be capped at 25M LINK, with plans to scale up to 75M LINK over time. Given that Chainlink’s Transaction Value Enabled (TVE) was $6.18 trillion so far in 2022—a metric that measures the aggregate monetary value of transactions facilitated within a given time period—a security-conscious approach to the rollout of staking is necessary. Chainlink Staking will ultimately scale up over time to bolster the security guarantees that Chainlink provides to Web3, particularly as Chainlink grows to secure more value across more services.

The Rationale and Methodology Behind the Early Access Criteria

Staking v0.1 serves as the first in-production release of an explicit cryptoeconomic security system where Chainlink DONs are backed by staked LINK. The initial v0.1 release sets the foundation for future staking implementations by introducing a decentralized alerting system, which is planned to be supplemented in the future with additional functionalities such as user fee rewards, a more advanced reputation system, comprehensive stake slashing mechanics, and other mechanisms for increased security assurances. 

In order to build a secure foundation, a safe and pragmatic approach is taken in the initial Staking v0.1 implementation. This provides time and lends a more robust set of eyes for identifying any unforeseen risks and opportunities before the staking system scales in functionality and begins to secure more feeds and services. In line with this approach, the initial pool size was capped at 25M LINK tokens as a security-conscious measure for participants. 

Because the pool is capped, a fair-entry mechanism (i.e. the Early Access Eligibility List) has been created to identify who gets a prioritized opportunity to fill the pool’s limited space. Extra care has been taken to help ensure that the allowlist includes various participants from the Chainlink community. This increases the likelihood that space in the staking pool is distributed across a large number of entities, including smaller participants, which in turn will strengthen the security assurance provided by the decentralized alerting system and future functionalities introduced to Chainlink Staking over time

An equally important goal was ensuring that data was gathered in a credibly neutral, objective manner. In defining the criteria, it was critical that active ecosystem participants, who are knowledgeable about the protocol and contribute to Chainlink’s success, were included, as they are most likely to raise alerts. 

With these goals set forth, a team of data scientists and subject matter experts spent a significant amount of time studying allowlist structures used in other projects to learn from historical successes, including other staking systems and entry mechanisms.

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