Phala and the Zero Sum Staking Game
Plans don’t always come to fruition, I suppose it goes without saying, but it’s good to remind oneself of this from time-to-time because I find it helps stay cool, calm and relaxed when things don’t turn out as you would like.
One of my own plans ran aground today. A little reminder for me how readily real-life can blow a raspberry in your face. I backed the Khala project in its successful bid for a slot on Kusama (Polkadot’s more adventurous sibling) earlier this year and was rewarded with some of their PHA coins (more follow over the life of the parachain lease period).
Because I first engaged in the Kusama auctions via the Kraken exchange it meant my PHA were paid out into my account there, so, some weeks having since elapsed, I finally got my finger out and shifted them to my Polkadot JS wallet. It was, I had decided, time to put them to work and to earn me a modest income via some staking, or so I thought.
The transfer went fine and off I then toddled to the Khala app (Phala and Khala being essentially the same thing, with the latter being the test-bed for the project on Kusama). And that’s where my plans came a cropper. Yes, I could stake my PHA, that much was true, but the sole APR on offer was, er, zero. Rats! So, now those coins are, as actors like to say, resting. It’s just they are resting in my wallet doing not a lot and certainly not earning their keep.
I know, it’s a minor inconvenience in the great scheme of things, but I do like plenty of order in my life and I much prefer to see one carefully thought out plan come to fruition so that I can move on to the next. Now I’m going to have to add an item to my to-do list to keep an eye on the payout rate for staking PHA, until such time as it moves above zero and I can tuck it safely in a delegated bed, where it can dream happily as it earns me a little income.
In the meantime, I will continue to watch the project with interest, since it was always a part of my plan to hold the coins for the long-term and at least that part of my plan should be fine, for now.
Moonbeam
I see Moonbeam have today announced they have closed their Polkadot crowdloan to new supporters in order to ‘preserve the rewards of those who have already contributed’. In other words, they are full-up! Looks like they will win the second parachain slot, seeing how they remain way out ahead of the chasing pack. But there’s another six slots up for grabs, so plenty for the remaining projects to aim at yet.
Until tomorrow…
Renaissance Man
Why this Diary?
I thought it might be an interesting exercise, as much for myself as anyone else, to keep a diary of my interests and activities in the land of the blockchain and all things crypto, so I’m going to give it a go at writing a short diary entry each day for the current month, November 2021. It will give me something to look back on and assess and it might offer up some entertainment and topics of interest to anyone who happens to read it.
The Usual Disclaimer
Please don’t take any of the above as financial or investment advice. It is intended to be nothing other than a little entertainment and information sharing. Always, but always, do your own research before committing your money to anything.