About Decred
Decred is one of those solid projects flying below the radar. Among other things, it is capable of doing cross-chain atomic swaps with Segwit coins such as BTC and LTC.
DCR Staking
For those who are not aware, Decred is a hybrid proof-of-work / proof-of-stake cryptocurrency. 60% of block rewards go to miners, 30% go to stakers, and 10% goes to the treasury. Being a staker allows you to vote on proposals that dictate how treasury funds are spent. You accomplish this by locking up DCR tokens for a random period of time buy purchasing tickets. Decred is touted as having one of the best governance mechanisms within the ecosystem.
DCR Ticket Prices
The price for staking Decred (DCR) has recently spiked to about 212 DCR, which is well beyond my Decred holdings.
I'll need about 40 more DCR in order to stake. This means unless the ticket price drops, I will be unable to stake DCR again until I buy more DCR. This also means I will not receive any block rewards in the meantime. I wasn't anticipating this happening. I expected as the price of Decred went up, the ticket price in DCR would actually go down as people cash out. The opposite has actually happened, which seems very bullish to me. As the price of DCR rises, the ticket price continues to rise as stakeholders continue to lock up more and more DCR. At the current DCR price in USD of $55, it would take about $11,600 worth of DCR to get a ticket. The last ticket I purchased at about 151 DCR, was significantly less.
My Plan
Since the last ticket I purchased hasn't voted yet, I just have to wait and hope that the ticket price drops within my price range prior to it doing so. Beyond that I can either buy more DCR, or I can consider splitting a ticket with others. In any case, this is a positive development for Decred, even though it creates a short term headache for smaller holders trying to buy a single ticket at a time.