The Current State of Vega Protocol
This article originally appeared on the Figment.io blog on March 14, 2022 here.
STATE OF THE VEGA
The Vega community has been steadily plugging away at roadmap milestones, and recently updated their Restricted Mainnet with their Fairground update. If you’re still new to Vega generally, feel free to refer to this writeup we made back in August.
Currently, Restricted Mainnet is an extended test phase intended to identify issues before trading is possible. It is the first step of a three-stage launch process and will be followed by Alpha Mainnet (trading with limits) and v1 Mainnet (unrestricted trading). Current functionality of this version of the Vega network involves the following:
- Trading is disabled, meaning that it will not be possible to create markets and trade on the Vega Mainnet yet.
- VEGA token holders can delegate their tokens to validators, and begin earning staking rewards for securing the network.
- Governance voting is enabled, meaning the Vega community will be able to define the optimal network configuration in preparation for the Alpha release.
However, the decentralized hyper-functionality of this network cannot be understated, with built-in automated margin trading, AMM functionality, derivatives, and integrated bridging with many different blockchains (including Bitcoin, Ethereum, ERC-20 tokens, stable coins, and more) expected at v1 Mainnet. We are still in the early stages of Vega, but getting involved with this protocol and securing its development early will yield dividends through solid incentives and competitive staking APY.
FIRST STEP: SET UP A WALLET
There are two necessary steps to set up access to the Vega Restricted Mainnet: (1) Connecting your Ethereum wallet, and (2) setting up a Vega-native wallet using the open-source repo on Github or following the quickstart guide here.
REGISTRATION: YOUR TICKET TO THE FAIRGROUND
In order to qualify for future participation incentives, you will need to register for the Fairground by tweeting a message from a public Twitter account with a signature from a Vega wallet. This process is relatively simple compared to the initial setup of your Vega wallet. For more detailed info, follow this link with instructions.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE (OR BUILD)
Some of the ways the community can use the VEGA token are delegating to a validator, proposing and voting on new market proposals, and proposing and voting on governance changes that will help steer the overall trajectory of the network. While activities on the network are limited to actions related to these actions, participating even at this level will increase your likelihood of receiving incentive rewards. A list of actions that will result in incentives is updated regularly by the Vega network, such as the recent governance incentives program, and can be found here in the various reward tranches. Once you’ve fulfilled the requirements to get incentive rewards, you can claim your tokens here.
If you have a higher-level skillset, you can also participate in Vega’s active bounties found on Github. There is(was?) even an active bounty set to coincide with ETHDenver, with payouts totaling $50,000 in USDT. For more information on building out the Vega network, visit this playlist on YouTube.
STAKING DEVELOPMENTS
There are generally two types of ways to earn the most yield on VEGA tokens right now, which are: (1) Providing liquidity to a pool on SushiSwap or Uniswap v3, or (2) Staking directly to the network on the Restricted Mainnet. In the interest of supporting the network’s development and stability in the most effective way possible, we recommend the second option (and delegating to a Figment validator) for the following reasons:
- Staking directly on the network will likely result in additional incentives paid out directly from the Vega network;
- Staking helps secure the network at this crucial stage in its development;
- Staking allows you to vote on network governance proposals (which increases your likelihood of receiving participation incentives);
- Staking rewards have the potential to have more favorable tax treatment than liquidity pool returns; and
- Figment’s validators are some of the best performing independent validators for Proof of Stake networks in the world, and our Vega validator is no exception.
For more information on staking VEGA, check out the handy guide we wrote about it.
CONCLUSION
It is still a great time to get in early on Vega, and there are plenty of tools and incentives for getting involved, even if your plan is simply to help secure the network as a delegator. Many hotly anticipated next-generation traits are built-into Vega, such as bridging and derivatives trading, all without compromising the principles of decentralization. Once these functions go live on Mainnet, you will be happy you got in early.
