Closing up the decentralization business

In the next few weeks, I will be closing up shop on something I’ve spent the last 2 years making a success. It’s not the easiest decision, but it feels like the right one.

First let’s keep it plain & simple for anyone reading this, & wondering why I’d possibly be closing up a “profitable” business…

Cardano is a cryptocurrency I’m heavily invested in, over 90% of the money I have to my name is comprised of this one cryptocurrency & related assets.

Almost all of this is because of my Stake pool rewards aka the “profitable business” — see below 50,000 in Cardano rewards / 60,000 total holdings

On the Cardano network, anyone can stake their Cardano native tokens known as “ADA” to earn a return. (3.5% ROA currently, was 4% when I set up shop)

These staked assets are never locked & always remain in control of whoever owns them, this is the process of true liquid staking.

How do people run businesses from this or make money?

To put it very simply: Operators of stake pools take a fixed fee &/or a cut of total rewards given out by the Cardano protocol based on how much stake they accumulate from delegates.

Why do the operators get paid? What is the profit margin?

Operators of stake pools get paid because they are hosting nodes that allow for blocks to be minted & are ultimately securing the blockchain, providing an invaluable service to many.

Some people host multiple pools that secure the Cardano blockchain but these pools often hurt the overall ethos of a decentralized system, however in the end the protocol allows it so from a strictly business perspective it seems wise.

Profit margins are heavily dependent on the USD Price of ADA as that is what all rewards are paid in. I myself have been paying $350 a month to keep this operation going since I made my pool almost 2 years ago & at first when ADA was $1.5-$3 I was making $400-$600 every five days, nowadays, the month to month nets a few hundred dollars in profitability.

If we calculate based on today’s prices though & don’t take into account the hideous tax situation, here are the numbers as of the time of writing:

The main reason im shutting down this stake pool (retiring) are:

• I myself am focused on other things outside of crypto & Cardano at the moment that split my ability to add value

• Decentralized progress requires active participation of which I don’t feel I will be able to add at this time

• I want to enable stake to be put in places more earnest and true to the Cardano protocol as I explore my other interests

• I wish to overall take up less technical operating responsibility (I learned myself how to operate this stake pool, although I’m not all that code smart so it takes a lot of my brain juice to maintain)

Closing tentative date & more details

In the next 2 weeks, I will be initiating the retirement of the JACK stake pool, & by the end 25th of May (or possibly sooner), the stake pool will be completely retired.

Im putting this out before I initiate the retirement so people have more time to move out & not miss out on any rewards.

As per HOSKY token lovers & farmers, I’ve confirmed with our doggo friend that there is something in the works to replace JACK pools spot, but you can move your stake to any of the following pools to continue to earn HOSKY.

Am I abandoning Cardano & Selling everything?

I am not selling all of my Cardano (or any at the moment really), nor am I abandoning the roots of what Cardano means to me as a cryptocurrency & alternative to current money.

I just won’t be making Cardano videos really anymore, maybe some, but mostly not. I will be writing & making videos on my curiosities while still being open to mixing in Cardano or crypto where it is related & adds value, but the days of daily videos on Cardano events have come to an end.

You may remain subscribed or not to my youtube, or even subscribe to this newsletter if you’re interested in this new part of my journey to maximize freedom in our lives & exploring an ever-evolving world.

Now, If you’re wondering about my NFT project Stik Friks, nothing will change based on my stake pool retirement other than the fact I’ve been open about that I’m not focused any longer on just making Cardano-related content.

If you own some Stik Friks: I hope you claimed your free Stik Frik Mfers & had some fun this last month on that.

Stik Friks will continue to be an ongoing outlet of my crypto curiosities & I hope tooling & adoption on Cardano will excel in my absence from making Cardano content so I can enable more token-gated things & other yet unimagined fun or valuable experiences.

To anyone who has watched any of my videos, staked with my stake pool, talked to me on Twitter or discord, or bought a sexy wacky stik frik, I thank you indefinitely for supporting my curiosities and I hope you feel as if you’ve gained something from my content or insights into the world of Cardano over the last 2 years.

Thank you for being here, thanks for reading, & cheers to those supporting alternatives to money that enable people to live a life where the freedom to transact is built into the everyday.