Prize Network PR/FAQ
The Press Release and Frequently Asked Questions is a technique that Amazon uses to pitch new products to senior leadership.
The press release portion of the document highlights the customer experience in just a few paragraphs. Writing the pitch as a press release forces a customer perspective: if a product doesn’t improve the customer experience, then it isn’t worth building. It is short, so that the writer distills the product down to the most compelling value propositions. The audience is would-be customers.
The frequently asked questions portion of the document is intended to speak to the practical delivery of the product, such as the details of the customer experience and how expensive and challenging the product will be to deliver. This portion of the document can be much larger (up to five pages), so that the feasibility of the project can be evaluated. The audience is the stakeholders and leadership.
This document is being presented as a draft. I encourage everyone to comment with their questions and feedback, so that this draft can continue to be revised. The idea is to achieve clarity and insights with this process.
Press Release
PoolTogether Launches the Prize Network
PR Newswire, July 8, 2022
Today PoolTogether, a protocol in which users deposit to win prizes, announced the launch of the Prize Network. This upgrade allows users to deposit far more than just USDC; users will have a chance to win prizes by holding their favourite token! At launch the prize network will support dozens of the most popular tokens, including Ether and wBTC.
The average cryptocurrency portfolio includes a wide variety of tokens; many users want exposure to projects that they believe in, and may have a preference for different stablecoins based on their risk profiles. The top ten PoolTogether depositors on Polygon hold 40% as much Ether and wBTC as they do stablecoins. Most are unwrapped assets as well, meaning they haven’t been deposited into any protocol. These users will now be able to hold their tokens while also having a chance to win prizes with PoolTogether.
Due to gas costs on the Ethereum network, users have been rapidly adopting alternatives such as Polygon and Optimism. The new Prize Network will be launched simultaneously across these chains, so no matter which one the user is on they will be able to use PoolTogether.
Frequently Asked Questions
What prizes will everyone win?
All prizes will be denominated in PoolTogether USDC tickets. This is because:
- By maintaining the existing prize experience we can transition smoothly to the new model
- Claiming PT-wrapped USDC will increase the users chance of winning
- USDC has extremely deep liquidity on every chain, so users can easily exchange their prize for whatever token they want.
Originally we proposed using POOL as the prize token, as it aligns the needs of both depositors and governance. A higher POOL trading volume would help the protocol immensely.
However, POOL liquidity has proven challenging to increase. We do not have anyone focused full-time on our liquidity strategy, and by deploying to many chains we will thin out any protocol-owned liquidity. Governance has not yet been bridged to multiple chains, so deploying liquidity securely is not feasible.
PtUSDC is the prudent choice for the time being.
How are chances distributed across deposits?
POOL is staked on each type of deposit. The amount of POOL staked will determine the asset’s odds.
How are prizes funded?
Interest on deposits is sold for the prize tokens. A portion of proceeds go to POOL stakers in order to incentivize staking.
What assets will we launch with?
The prize network is highly scalable: each asset adds very little operational overhead, so we can launch with every asset on Aave.
How long will this take to build?
We will be launching the testnet in a matter of weeks. Polish and auditing will take approximately another month, barring delays. Realistically, we can be in production in about two months.
What will happen to the existing prize pools?
The existing prize pools can be upgraded to become part of the new network. We will be able to bring along all of our existing users.
References
The Prize Pool Network
POOL Prize Tokenomics: Motivations (note that originally pitched POOL as the prize token)
Time for a POOL Party!