Share the love...
Share on facebook
Share on whatsapp
Share on twitter
Share on pinterest
Share on linkedin
Share on telegram

$STRONG nodes – earn passive income with crypto – StrongBlock

Photo by Kate Trysh on Unsplash

$STRONG nodes – earn passive income with crypto – StrongBlock

The article below was written mostly in July 2021 when I was very much inspired by the StrongBlock ‘NaaS’ concept, vision and potential.

How much of it still stands as true is TBD 😔 – many of the changes made around March/April 2022 do not align with a NaaS/BaaS/IaaS business model.

Disappointment, confusion and misinformation was first truly noted early April 2022, when the transition to $STRNGR comms were extremely misleading to say the least. During April, and May there were a lot of unknowns, and I updated this post simply by adding warnings ⚠️ .

May's announcements and actions further destroyed many investors and their trust in StrongBlock. It goes much deeper than any price-action or node-capping. Many node operators, very rightfully, feel lied to and manipulated both by CEO David Moss and his team for many, many months. ☹️

Last year, I documented the AMAs, especially when they were disorganised Telegram chats. I stopped when things became more organised on Discord…below are some takeaways and verbatim (Twitter thread):

https://twitter.com/VanLifeIncome/status/1529574052272254977

It’s easy to see why we $STRONG $STRNGR noders feel betrayed and the community has been somewhat destroyed.

Is it recoverable? For those who invested, I hope so, however StrongBlock as an entity does not deserve to be successful. Only time will tell.


April 2022 update: ⚠️ Proceed with caution. Stronger tokens (ticker: $STRNGR) are now used to create nodes and are distributed as rewards (previously, it was $STRONG token). ⚠️Price has dropped significantly, lots of stuff (apparently) happening in coming weeks/months, however comms past few months has been poor⚠️…please proceed with extreme caution until more information is known!!! ⚠️

⚠️ Not going to update this article any further….will leave it here as reference (there have been very few updates from the team anyway). Just note that most of what we were told over the year, and thus much of the content below, appears to have been 🐂💩.

July/Aug 2022 update: ⚠️ StrongBlock is dead to me 😔. Final claims made. Remaining nodes will be left to die. All Strong/Stronger tokens have been sold; feelings of relief (and sadness) at being StrongBlock-free after these past 6 months. I don't want any part in a company that I know has knowingly wronged many people through blatant lies, months of deceit and, over recent months; virtual silence. 💀⚰️ 💀




Take everything below with a pinch of salt ⚠️

Actually; a truck-load. The vast majority of this was written Q3 2021, when StrongBlock appeared to be an innovative and enterprising blockchain company. Whilst updates were made early 2022 re $STRNGR and StrongChain, I stopped in April/May, so there are likely to be many inaccuracies.

However, the article itself does tell a story and what many of us were led to believe for a year or longer regarding the usecase and vision (much longer for the real ogs who started back in 2020!).

Leaving it live for reference…



Strongblock operate Node as a Service or ‘NaaS', which means the hardware is in the cloud, so there's no hardware to contend with or maintain and no local power supply is required…yey! Perfect for van life 🙂

It's a step-up from Yieldnodes in terms of the capital, effort and knowledge required alongside higher risk involved (in my opinion) however it also has the potential to be more lucrative

Note that STRONG is more suited to those who already have reasonable experience in crypto as buying tokens, creating your node and managing it is a more technical process and needs decent understanding of transferring coins, wallet security, MetaMask etc.

However, I'll try to keep this post layman and ‘low tech' for those who are curious.

Already thinking it sounds too much effort? Wait!

What if I were to tell you that that wee node could be earning you around 25% per month in rewards? 🤔

Interested? Let's get started.

Table of Contents hide
 

.

⚠️ REMEMBER: AS OF MAY 2022, MUCH OF THE INFORMATION BELOW IS INACCURATE (IT WILL BE UPDATED AFTER WE GET CLARIFICATION COMMS FROM THE TEAM).

What is StrongBlock?

Strongblock develops blockchain platforms and protocols and aims to transform the way blockchain networks reward the nodes that secure and support them. They provide an easy-to-use Node as a Service (NaaS) tool that enables any non-technical person to launch a blockchain-compliant node in seconds and be rewarded for running them.

The first blockchain blockchain StrongBlock support is Ethereum.

What is a node? (simple overview)

blockchain nodes

Blockchains (cryptocurrencies are blockchains) require nodes to operate. A node is a piece of software that connects to other nodes in the blockchain to create a network. Nodes are where data is stored, received and transmitted. They are crucial to network security and integrity.

Nodes enforce the rules of the protocol. All blockchain transactions must pass though nodes as they validate the transactions via a ‘consensus mechanism', aka algorithm (mathematical calculations). Multiple nodes must agree that the transaction is legitimate by ‘confirmation' before it is agreed to be final. Some nodes contain a full transaction history.

Each blockchain has a different protocol or way of validating transactions eg the Bitcoin protocol is different to that of Ethereum and has a different means of ‘consensus'. Thus what a node actually does in any given blockchain protocol will vary, however one thing remains; a node requires a piece of hardware to run on (just like any other piece of software or program).

What is a Strong node?

Currently, a Strong node supports the Ethereum network and they reward node operators with a ‘Node Universal Basic Income' (NUBI) on a ‘per Ethereum block' basis for contributing to maintaining the network.

Strong nodes Strongblock logo

Strong nodes are operated ‘Node as a Service' and thus require no hardware (ie. StrongBlock take care of the resources and technical stuff for a small monthly fee). Whilst currently only Ethereum is supported, StrongBlock's goal is to be blockchain-agnostic and more protocols are coming soon.

👉 StrongChain is coming late 2022, a purpose-built Layer 1, EVM-compatible blockchain that feeds back into the community economy/ecosystem.

It should be noted that a Strong node is a ‘private node' for which demand has been growing. A solid network of nodes is required in order to provide Blockchain as a Service (BaaS), the newest of the ‘as a Service' services that is likely to explode over the coming years (Markets and Markets expect BaaS to grow at an insane CAGR of 90.1%!), similar to the explosive growth of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) over the past decade. And ‘BaaS' is exactly where StrongBlock are headed.

Interested in nodes and passive income but less capital? Check out Project X nodes.😜

What are the StrongBlock / Strong tokenomics?

Strong is an ERC-20 token. The max supply of $STRONG is 528,886. Based on information from AMAs, the $STRONG token is expected to have utility on StrongChain and potentially governance.

Stronger is also an ERC-20 token and is now the rewards token for Strong nodes. The max supply of $STRNGR is 10,000,000. [⚠️ needs updated]

Source: StrongChain litepaper, https://github.com/StrongBlock/StrongChain

How much can I earn from Strong nodes?

The current reward for operating a Strong node is 0.1 STRNGR per 7,000 blocks. This works out at 0.092 STRNGR per day. Assuming the Stronger token holds it's value and rewards remain the same, that works out at about 27% per month. [⚠️ needs updated]

BUT WAIT “hold yer horses” as my ma would say.

The math ain't that simple…and the variables change.

Firstly, you have monthly NaaS fees of $15 (+ETH transaction fees) per node.

Then, you have ETH transaction fees every time you ‘claim' your STRNGR or create a Strong Node or stake an NFT…all of which vary based on the ETH gas fees at the time of the transaction 🤯. That, plus the volatile nature of cryptocurrency makes it pretty difficult to calculate your return, especially in fiat currency.

👉NOTE: In April/May 2022 nodes created on Service 2 eg Polygon will be able to save on gas fees as the ‘entangled' feature is released.

I'll do some example math here later, but let's just say that if STRNGR value remains static, the rewards are currently excellent and you should return your investment in around 15 weeks or less than 3.5 months.

However, the value of $STRNGR can go up….and down. Massively. And, the rewards may change

If the rewards were to be cut in half (and price remained stable), then it would take twice as long to recoup your investment — monthly it would look more like 13% return (minus those fees we mentioned). Be sure to factor that into your risk calculations.

Read on for information on ‘halving' of rewards (something that has not really been discussed again and seems to be off the table since July/Aug 2021).

How much does a Strong node cost?

A Strong node costs 10 STRNGR tokens + a monthly service / maintenance fee of $14.95 USD (paid in ETH and +ETH transaction fees) to operate and maintain the node.

No hardware or maintenance is required – that's what you're paying the $14.95 for.

stronger

Stronger (STRNGR)

$ 1.40

Whatever that price is above, X10, + $14.95 and +{???} for ETH fees.

It's better to have more ETH than less eg $100 is usually good for one, but totally depends on gas. You shouldn't need $100 unless gas is crazy.

Here are 3 tools you can use to check gas that are similar to GasNow (which closed on 15 Oct 2021) EthGasWatch, EtherChain or ethereumprice.org/gas – all give the latest Gwei and charts/tables. Note that MetaMask can be a bit buggy and likes you to have a decent amount – ie you need more than you think, even if it doesnt get used.

It cost me about $20 to create a node (inc the 1 month maintain fee and gas) when Gwei was around 10. Not sure what Gwei is? Check out this post!

What alternatives to StrongBlock are there?

Strong / Stronger has shot up (and down!) in price over recent months, putting a node out of the reach of some people. If that's you, here are a few similar-ish options you could consider;

  • Yieldnodes: a profit-share based on buying in to a ‘basket' of masternodes. I have been using Yieldnodes since December 2020. The barrier to entry is lower both monetary and technical. Minimum is 500 Euro of Bitcoin and there is no need for MetaMask. Super-simple, with auto-compounding built in. I'm very happy with them and their comms. My review/experience here.
  • Project X nodes [NEW!]: inspired by StrongBlock, this node-based passive income crypto launched in December 2021 and I am fortunate enough to be one of the 100 founding members. 10 PXT2 tokens are required to create a node that returns 0.17 per day. Obv as token price moves, so does node cost (& reward value), very high risk. Find out more here.
  • Other “nodes”: many “node” projects launched in November/December 2021 and sadly many of them rugged :(They were all inspired by StrongBlock's model, but most didn't actually have any nodes. Some are still operational and looking healthy; THOR, POWER, LVT, PXT2. The cost for a node and return depends on token price. Again, very high risk.
  • Staking and rebasing tokens: If you're reasonably experienced (ie you're OK with using MetaMask), you could look at OHM or one of the forks such as TIME. These are novel and experimental tokens, that performed very well since the original, Olympus DAO started gaining mass attention in June/July 2021…and then many crashed heavily at the end of 2021. No real minimum cost. Very, very high risk.
  • Reflection tokens: The one most people talk about is $MCC, but there are many others too eg; SCC, CFF, CCC. They make profit in various ways including buy, sell or transfer taxes and distribute profits to holders. Again, these are fairly new and should be seen as very high risk. However, there is no minimum cost.
  • Other (real) masternodes: There are many masternodes available that cost much less than $10,000. I've recently covered the Flits app which makes it super-easy to run nodes via your phone in just a few clicks. You can buy a node for as little as $400 (maybe less eg $FLS) to as high as $225,000 ($DASH) and with a return in single digits, to those with APR/APY that exceeds that of $STRONG. eg. I have Beacon nodes.
  • Web3 nodes such as POKT Network and POKTpool currently have great returns that vary based on network usage and node count.
  • Or something more stable and bank-like, excellent return of up to 50% APY with much much less risk than many of the degen style stuff – Freeway Superchargers. 🤔
  • DCA into $STRONG/$STRNGR: One other option may be to DCA (dollar-cost-average) into StrongBlock by purchasing a little at a time. You may eventually own enough for a node or you may be able to avail of other lower-cost opportunities in coming months eg fractionalised nodes.

Note that there are very few affordable real masternode opportunities that offer the return, ease of setup and passive-ness that StrongBlock currently offer, nevermind the team/credibility and future use-case potential.

Where do I buy Strong & Stronger tokens?

Since Stronger ($STRNGR) has only launched, you can currently only purchase it on Uniswap. Hopefully it will be available in CEXs soon as we have been expecting more exchanges for $STRONG for quite a few months.

You can still buy Strong tokens on Uniswap DEX (plus various other aggregators) and KuCoin, Gate and Hoo exchanges. Uniswap has by far the most liquidity and of the CEXs, Kucoin has most. Check withdrawal fees — last time I checked with Kucoin it was 0.1 STRONG….so you'd need to buy at least 10.1 STRONG to withdraw. [⚠️ needs updated]

How much do Strong tokens cost?

Like other cryptocurrencies, the price of Strong / Stronger is volatile and can change rapidly.

The latest Stronger price is: $ 1.40.

The latest Strong price is: $ 4.95.

If the price is not displaying, try checking directly on CoinGeko.

You'll need 10 Stronger tokens plus some Ethereum for monthly fees and gas to create a Strong node.

Is Strong a passive income crypto?

Strong has the potential to provide an excellent passive income stream. You essentially ‘pay' 10 STRNGR for your node and earn 0.09 STRNGR per node, per day* (*see next question!). You can claim as often as you wish however you will need to take into consideration the ETH gas fees associated ie. it is not economical to withdraw daily, and mostly it is not economical to claim weekly. All depends on gas fees.

[⚠️ needs updated]

Note that there is a monthly NaaS maintenance/rental fee of $15 and Ethereum gas fees to take into consideration.

What are Strong Node rewards?

The current Strong Node rewards are 0.1 STRNGR per 7,000 blocks…which is about 0.09 per 24hrs (as there are approx 6,500 blocks per 24hr). They start immediately after your node is created. [⚠️ needs updated]

The rewards for Strong Nodes are NOT guaranteed and may reduce at some point. The reason they are so good is to incentivise early node creators.

See the AMA section for updates!

What is a ‘halving' with regards Strong nodes?

When people talk about a ‘halving', they are referring to a reduction in the STRNGR node rewards – the Universal Basic Income' (NUBI) provided. It does not necessarily have to be a 50% reduction.

The last ‘halving' of rewards was in April 2021 and it was a 50% reduction. Several weeks notice was provided ahead of the halving.

In July 2021, there was almost a halving without warning; it was announced suddenly (and badly!), however, the community protested and StrongBlock executive team listened – the halving has not happened and communication has since improved 100% — the StrongBlock CEO, David Moss has held regular AMA (ask me anything) sessions with the community on Telegram. Phew! I had literally just bought one week earlier!

Update: It seems likely that a ‘decay' or ‘taper' model will be used for rewards reduction. ie there will be no cliff-like ‘halving'. [⚠️ needs updated]

We are waiting for news regarding what the rewards reduction / sustainability model will be. We all know the current rewards are not sustainable long term and not guaranteed. See the AMA section for updates!

How passive is Stronger as an income source?

Strong is very passive, but not 100%. The main reason is that the monthly server rental/maintenance needs to be paid. If you do not pay the fee past its due date block, you cannot claim rewards. And, if you have not paid after a set period of time – currently 30 days (another 210,000 blocks), your node will be removed by the smart contract.

#byebye little node 😢

You can pay up to 3 months in advance by clicking on the ‘pay fees' button 3 times (each time you need to pay individually and confirm via MetaMask). They also have a ‘Pay All Node Fees' button, which enables you to do the same. [⚠️ needs updated]

How do I create / setup a Strong node?

You'll need to have your 10 STRNGR tokens in a wallet with MetaMask plus enough ETH to cover $15 first month maintenance plus enough ETH to cover all gas fees.

It's difficult to say exactly how much that is – check gas at any of the gas tool estimator sites eg. EthGasStation, EthGasWatch, EtherChain or ethereumprice.org/gas.

As a rough example, it cost me around $20 to create a node when gas was around 10 Gwei and around $50 when at 60 Gwei. However, you will need significantly more ETH in your MetaMask otherwise the transaction will probably fail (I always have minimum $100).

Then go to https://app.strongblock.com/ and it's literally a 1, 2 ,3 process:

  1. Connect to Metamask
  2. Click ‘Create Node'
  3. Approve Metamask

Be sure the wallet you create it in is secure as currently nodes cannot currently be transferred to other wallet(s) – see: Are there any other risks?. If in doubt, create a new wallet for your nodes (and ideally use a hardware such as Ledger to manage it).

Invest some time learning about wallet security first..and double/triple check the URL to ensure you are connecting the real StrongBlock website!

What about ETH and gas fees?

As already mentioned, make sure you have enough ETH in your wallet to cover gas fees. It's a real kicker if you are ‘tight' with funds, only to realise your transaction has failed and the gas fees taken 🤬. Best to be safe and have that little bit extra!

Always check the gas fees first so there are no nasty surprises! Try EthGasStation EthGasWatch EtherChain &/or ethereumprice.org/gas to check the latest Ethereum network fees and how they compare.

If the ETH gas fees displayed in MetaMask look extortionate, double check you have a decent amount of ETH in your wallet (this is a known ‘bug' with MetaMask/gas fees – if you don't have enough ETH, an extremely high fee can be displayed. Adding more ETH to the wallet usually sorts it).

Okay, #confused so how much does it actually cost to claim/operate?

Currently, it all depends on ETH gas fees….

  • Monthly fee $14.95 in ETH + gas fees
  • Setup a node costs ETH gas fees
  • Claim a node costs ETH gas fees + approx 0.0005 ETH contract fee per token claimed. The ‘per token' part of the fee is barely noticeable unless gas is super-low…or you're claiming hundreds of tokens on small number of nodes (unlikely!) The vast majority of the fee is ‘per node'.

To ‘compound' (ie. create new nodes using your Strong rewards), currently you need to claim your rewards to your wallet first, and then create a new node. So yes; lots of gas fees 🙁 The good news is that the StrongBlock team are working on a solution to this (see the AMA section with updates).

[⚠️ needs updated]

How long does it take to create a Strong node?

Clicking the buttons and confirming the transaction on MetaMask only takes a moment, however it can take 30 minutes before your Strong node appears in your dashboard.

Can I use my mobile to create a Strong node?

UPDATE: Yes! as of August 2021, yes – you can create nodes via your mobile and WalletConnect 🙂

Can I sell my Strong node?

Nope. At this time there is no way to transfer a Strong node from one wallet to another. This is potentially coming in 2022.

See the AMA section for updates!

Can I get a refund for my Strong node?

Nope. Once you contribute those 10 Stronger tokens, they are gone.

And why would you want a refund anyway? Are you crazy?!

How do I earn money from a Strong node?

You claim the $STRNGR tokens (node rewards) that your node generates and sell them.

Note that clicking the ‘Claim' button will claim for ALL nodes. You will need ETH gas each time you claim AND for EVERY node — gas fees per individual node mean it is not economical to claim regularly eg daily.

Example; If you have 4 nodes and click ‘claim', there will be 4 X gas fees to pay. Make sure you have enough ETH to cover gas!

You can claim for an individual node and there does not appear to be a difference in cost-per-node doing this than claiming all together.

This is useful if you only have a small amount of ETH and need to claim one node so you can sell the STRNGR and then claim remaining nodes so you can ‘compound' (ie. buy another node using the rewards earned from your existing nodes).

Claim single Strong node rewards

To ‘earn money' you would claim rewards to your wallet, after which, you can do as you please with the Stronger tokens — swap on Uniswap or send to a supported exchange…

Claim to wallet

If swapping on Uniswap pay attention to gas cost and ensure your slippage is tight!

Consider trying Cowswap instead where the gas fee is baked into the transaction 😉

How do I ‘compound' Strong nodes?

When people say ‘compounding' or ‘compound' the context fo Strong, they mean using the rewards generated from your node(s) to buy more nodes.

Essentially, as soon as you have 10+ STRNGR, you claim them to ‘My Wallet' (see screenshot above) and use them to create another node. As always, check the gas price and do this when it is low (yes; you will also need some ETH to cover gas!).

Starting out with 1 Strong node, this would take approximately 111 days at current rate/rewards.

If you can afford 2 nodes initially, it is much better because it would only take around 56 days to get 10 STRNGR…and if you started with 3 nodes, you could ‘compound' (create a new node with your rewards) in just over a month at around 37 days.

Remember; there are ETH gas fees for each claim. So claim wisely!

[⚠️ this article needs updated!]

What do the numbers mean at the top-right of the Strong app screen?

What are those numbers in the Strong dashboard?

The one on the left is the amount of ETH in the currently connected wallet, the one on the right with the ‘S' beside it is the number of STRNGR in the currently connected wallet.

What are the Strong node tax implications?

I have not yet consulted with a tax advisor (and the implications will vary form country to country) however it seems like it will probably be 100% income tax. When you buy a Strong Node, you currently cannot sell it, therefore it is not an ‘asset' and thus a node purchase would be seen as a business expense. Then, I'm guessing the rewards would be seen as ‘earnings/income'….

So I'm guessing it will be ‘income – business expenses' ie. ‘rewards – node cost – maintenance fees – gas fees – other business expenses'. It would be nice if some were capital gains.

However, Strong is very new — their NaaS have only existed since December 2020 — and so there is a chance things may change. From Telegram, it is clear that many members would like the ability to sell their node as an asset, in which case that could change things and possibly be subject to capital gains tax.

Also, nodes and all these new opportunities are very new. It's not clear yet in all tax jurisdictions how they should be treated.

For crypto tax tracking I've used Cointracking since 2018. It's not as pretty as some of the new tools, however it works really well. If you use this link, you'll get 10% off (there's also a healthy free use allowance).

I've only been with StrongBlock since beginning of June 2021 so there is no tax implication for me in the near future (I'm in the UK and tax year runs April-April). I'll update this when I speak to an advisor, hopefully around September 2021.

Update: although not 100% confirmed or agreed upon by everyone, at the moment it looks like Strong(er) rewards will be tracked/reported as income (rather than capital gains).

Strong tax calculator (Google Sheets)

If you're up to your eyeballs in $STRNGR nodes and want to crush some numbers then try https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1d0ChKQk9YwCIErkGER5ltVu71mAD4o6Zwx5PrjZdk00/edit and reach out to StephenStrong on Telegram with a DM for the full version at just $85 (price might change!). It hooks up to your metamask transactions too!

Strong tax calculator spreadsheet

Isn't that a beautiful thing. Even if you don't have Strong nodes you might just want a copy anyway!

What are Strong NFTs?

Think of a Strong NFT as a ‘boost' or ‘powerup' within a game.

The Strong bronze NFT provides a 0.0125 ‘boost' to the rewards of one node. This might not sound like much, however it is fixed (ie that ‘0.0125' reward will never change, even if the general ‘0.1' rewards are reduced) alongside other benefits that are not yet specified but include early access to create new nodes on new protocols.

A NFT will be required in order to have the opportunity to be one of the first to create nodes on new protocols. The use of an NTF has been evolving over recent months. Please see AMA updates for the latest news.

At the moment, the value of an NFT is fairly speculative. You can view information on NFTs here: https://nfts.strongblock.com

Sidenote: Strong NFTs are assets and so would be subject to capital gains tax (CGT) if disposed of (sold!).

Where can I buy a Strong Bronze NFT?

All the Bronze Strong NFTs are currently in circulation and therefore you can only buy them in the secondary market; OpenSea.

Bronze NFTs are the cheapest and have seen high demand. You can buy one here: https://opensea.io/collection/strongblock-nfts – just make sure the item you purchase has a blue tick of authenticity and purchase it with the same wallet that you use to create your nodes.

How do I add an NFT to my Strong node?

The NFT needs to be in your node-connected wallet. Then simply click on one of your nodes, a popup will appear and in it an option to stake NFT. Stake your NFT and do the various confirmations in MetaMask.

Be sure you have ETH in your wallet and check the gas fees first via EthGasStation, EthGasWatch, EtherChain or ethereumprice.org/gas.

Help! My node(s) are not loading!

Hard-refresh the page a few times. If that doesn't work, switch MetaMask networks and then back to Ethereum and hard refresh again.

If that fails, logout of MetaMask, hard refresh the https://app.strongblock.com page and re-connect Metamask.

If that doesn't work, go make a coffee and then try again (it's never got that far for me – usually a few hard refreshes &/or switching MetaMask network back & forth does the trick!).

What is the StrongBlock business model? How do they make money?

Like many blockchain companies, StrongBlock is a startup, still in its infancy. It has been operating since 2018 and their NaaS launched December 2020.

StrongBlock is currently building both it's technology AND community of node operators in order to be able offer a decentralized BaaS (hey, that's a pretty cool thing to say when asked what you do for a living at a dinner party; “I'm a Strong node operator…”). Anyway…

During this proof of concept and community building/early adoption phase, StrongBlock rewards mostly come from STRNGR itself — when you click create a node, you will see the breakdown of where that 10 $STRNGR go, and currently 60% goes to the node rewards pool.

However, StrongBlock's ultimate business model is BaaS — to offer blockchain-agnostic infrastructure services, including ‘nodes-as-a-service' node rental. In addition, they are democratizing the ability to participate and earn to non-technical people, like myself, by simplifying the node creation and management process through their Node as a Service (NaaS) offering.

BaaS - blockchain as a service

Image Source: A Review of Blockchain in Internet of Things and AI, Atlam et al 2020

A similar BaaS business model is Infura, who are centralized operate only on Ethereum (StrongBlock aim to be protocol-agnostic and decentralized).

The first public commercial partnership is with Sentinel, a decentralised VPN (Virtual Private Network) that operate on the Cosmos blockchain and expected mid-late 2021. You can read the Sentinel announcement here.

Update: In August, StrongBlock announced Polygon $MATIC as a parter! It is also anticipated 1-2 protocols to be announced monthly, accelerating into 2022. More details coming soon.

Is Strong ponzi scheme?

I've added this simply because it seems to be a question being floated about a lot.

Strong are very transparent about their rewards and how they currently work. And yes, currently the rewards are generated in a ‘ponzi-like' manner; each node purchased costs 10 Stronger and most of those Stronger tokens go into the rewards pool for rewarding nodes.

However, they are a tech startup with a business model is that of a ‘platform' or ‘multi-sided marketplace' — whereby two or more parties are required for the business to be sustainable and profitable, similar to eBay, Fiverr, AirBnB.

Thus they have a “chicken and egg” problem (alongside all the other typical crypto-innovation / tech problems!).

A tech startup such as this would often fund itself with angel investor and VC money (Venture Capital); raising funds first from angel investors, then Seeds rounds. Spending it, then raising more and often burning through that, then crawling back to funders and asking for more…then Series A rounds, Series B and so on.

Fundraising a tech startup in this way is a time-consuming, stressful process.

StrongBlock's solution to the ‘chicken and egg' problem was to incentivise node operators and build a ‘node army' that will not only provide a massive inventory of ‘stock' to sell, but also test their technology and produce an enthusiastic, loyal community.

The incentivization method they use involves most of the Strong node purchase fee (10 STRONG) going into a rewards pool; we, the node-operators are essentially funding a startup (and being handsomely rewarded for it…which accelerates growth).

This of course is only a short-term or interim solution (similar to any form of funding); like any other startup, StrongBlock must become sustainable through commercialisation and product market fit if it is to succeed.

StrongBlock are transparent with how your 10 Strong are used

Based on their startup growth and funding methods, some people claim Strong to be a Ponzi scheme.

However a Ponzi is deceitful and has no path to legitimate earnings. StrongBlock is transparent and honest in its current rewards structure and its journey to commercialisation.

[⚠️ needs updated???]

How risky is Strong?

Until StrongBlock prove their concept, ability and business model, any investment in Strong should be deemed ‘high risk' with the potential of ‘high reward'.

This is the same for any startup, however it comes with the added ooomph of crypto and its notorious volatility. This only serves to multiply the ‘high-risk, high-reward' nature of investing in Strong nodes.

The good news is that StrongBlock is not an anonymous team. The senior executives are experienced blockchain veterans. You can view the Linkedin profile of David Moss, StrongBlock CEO here, CTO Brian Abramson here and CPO (Chief Product Officer) Corey Lederer here. Their big crypto background is in Block.one aka $EOS. Check out their profiles.

If you're already investing in cryptocurrency, I'd say that Strong is a lower risk relative to most other small-cap cryptos (there are +8,000 listed on CoinGeko!).

Strong has an experienced team, working product, highly active community and operating in BaaS, an industry undergoing extreme growth. In addition, you have the potential do de-risk quickly – assuming you create a node and withdraw, then sell everything and there is no change in $STRNGR price and no change in rewards, you could return around 30% of your investment within a month (ie de-risk).

[⚠️ needs updated]

What about the risk of Strong ‘halving' rewards?

This is one aspect that is a risk (the last halving happened in April 2021 and several week's notice was given).

I think the main concern people have is that there is no published roadmap or tokenomics regarding reduction in Strong node rewards. ie. we don't know how this is determined, all we know is that it involves many factors and is required for sustainability. A increase in price (which is likely before any halving) should offset a significant proportion of any ‘loss'.

It seems halvings are not going to happen and instead, nodes will be subject to a decay or taper model. As of 12th April 2022 the taper model has still not been published.

It should also be remembered that the current return is phenomenally generous and designed to incentivise and grow the community of node operators, hence over time reductions are required.

However, there is good news – as Strong moves into the commercialization phase, these new protocols and nodes will provide rewards in a mix of Strong and the native token of the partner which will reduce the need for halving.

And, one final thing to remember is that STRNGR is required to create nodes…and StrongBlock need nodes. It's in their best interest to keep decent rewards so operators keep creating new nodes. All things considered (even if Strong rewards halved right now!), these nodes still offer a cracking return which would be hard to beat!

[⚠️ needs updated]

  • 24th July 2021 update: there was a ‘zero-warning' halving announced last week (rewards reduced) 😱. However, after community feedback, StrongBlock revoked the halving and are looking at other options. We do not yet have any further information. This was bad communication by StrongBlock (due to the zero notice) however to their credit, they reacted to the community feedback, communications have improved 1000%, and we look forward to hearing how they plan to manage NUBI reductions going forward.
  • See the AMA section for latest updates from the weekly AMAs!

Are there any other risks?

Yes – you MUST ensure your MetaMask is secure ie. your seedphrase is NOT stored on your device(s).

Obviously you should do this anyway, however it is more important with Strong Nodes because your node is ‘in' your wallet and currently there is no way to transfer a node to another wallet. Essentially this means if your wallet gets hacked, your node rewards (alongside anything else in the wallet) is gone.

So make sure that MetaMask and wallet is secure. Consider additional hardware security to access it such as a Ledger or Trezor (always buy direct from manufacturer – NEVER buy second hand or from a third-party seller).

How long have I been using Strong nodes?

I created my first node in the first week of June 2021 and have a number of growing nodes as a means of diversifying my existing passive income streams. Having initially only had 2, I now have 3 solid sources that I'm extremely happy with – you can see all 3 compared here.

Overall, I'm extremely enthusiastic about StrongBlock and excited to see what happens over the coming months and years. Markets and Markets report that BaaS is expected to grow at a CAGR of 90.1% until 2023. (That's massive!), however do bear in mind this is essentially an innovation tech startup – ie it's high risk + the added risk of crypto markets.

Whilst I de-risked, I also compounded right through to March 2022. In April, I stopped compounding any rewards due to misinformation in the $STRNGR transition. More info below.

Strong updates (weekly AMA notes etc)

Things move fast in crypto projects and Strong is no different, so I thought I'd start a small ‘updates' section here to follow on from this article which was written June/July 2021. I'll update it as news is made available and with the weekly AMA's from StrongBlock CEO, David Moss, however if you're really interested it's best to follow their Twitter and join Telegram to get news quickly.


2022 – March/April

Transition from Strong $STRONG tokens to Stronger $STRNGR token for rewards & node creation took place on 7th April and I have stopped any compounding. Frustration within the community due to what the StrongChain litepaper implied regarding how Stronger would be ‘transitioned' as at the time, those holding STRONG were not made STRONGER.

Watch this space though! 😉


2022 – February

A lot of emphasis on StrongBlock being the innovators this month due to AMA questions being bombarded with mentions of other imitator style “node” projects, one in particular! StrongChain governance discussed and all the possibilities alongside the sustainability it brings and infrastructure for other projects – testnet expected end Q1 and working chain end of Q2. A lot of things have already been developed behind the scenes but are not yet ready for release.

StrongChain litepaper will be released 28th February.

Here's the link: https://github.com/StrongBlock/StrongChain and a few notes.

StrongChain is a Layer 1, EVM-compatible “infrastructure DeFi” chain that supports blockchains to ensure they are secure and resilient; BaaS/IaaS (Blockchain as a Service / Infastructure as a Service) with community governance.

According to Etherscan, the StrongBlock NaaS DApp consistently ranks in the Top 10 – and is often in the Top 3 “Gas Guzzlers”. Imagine how much $$$ is spent by Strong node operators on Ethereum gas fees?! Imagine if those fees could be reduced AND the validator proceeds go back into the community ie. into the ecosystem and form part of StrongBlock's sustainability and business model?

Imagine when other DApps start using it too and those fees are distributed. Well that's one part of what StrongChain will accomplish.

StrongChain is community-owned. The token is named $STRONGER (although there is some debate in the community regarding the suitability of this name, so it may change!) with 10M supply. Existing $STRONG nodes, holders and stakers will all receive $STRONGER.

$STRONG and STRONGER will co-exist, however obviously $STRONG will become much harder to earn and thus much more valuable.

As a major vote of confidence in STRONGER and StrongChain, StrongBlock Team and Shareholders have agreed to directly transfer 100,000 STRONG from Strong Block: Team and Strong Block: Shareholders wallets (addresses referenced above, (50,000 STRONG each) to the Strong Block: Community wallet. This transfer will occur prior to the start of the STRONG to STRONGER transition period.

Once launched, StrongChain – with the native STRONGER token – will enable community participation in all economic layers, reduce the dependencies on new node runners entering the project, and provide multi-year sustainability for the community.

Watch this space!


2022 – January

Polygon nodes available to everyone. Lots of AMA talk about StrongChain and what it might/could be. Not much clear information on anything (nor timeline), possibly due to so many “node” clones appearing in the past month — ie StrongBlock want to keep things under wraps until ready. They are testing ideas regarding transfer of nodes (eg compromised wallets). Fantom nodes are in testing, however bit of a delay due to a Polygon hard fork which tech had to deal with. No further info on Service 2 tapering model other than that it will not go to zero. Several new partnerships due to be announced. “Fractional nodes” (as they have been referred to) will not be “fractional”; there will nodes with smaller barriers to entry, eg as low as 1 STRONG. Hints at a new exchange listing in coming months (although there's been hints at that for several months!).


2021 – December

Merch store is up and running. Polygon nodes go live for NFT holders however no news on the tapering model. ETH 2.0 pool goes live however rewards will not be claimable until ETH 2.0 goes live.


Strong AMA 27 Nov 2021 (Thanksgiving week)

From David

“No releases this week. Certik and Hacken are reviewing our remediation's. They won’t have those reverted to us until Wednesday. So ETH 2.0 will now likely go out next week, with Polygon the week after.” Various NFT lottery draws. Website updated.


Strong AMA 20 Nov 2021

When you migrate an existing node to service 2, the decay will start from the migration date (not the date you originally made the node), however we have no information yet on what this decay model looks like.

Service 2 also makes it possible to configure proportaion nodes eg a ‘1 STRONG' contribution, instead of 10. However, they have not yet decided what the configurations will be.

Service 2 will be live in December and will run in parallel with Service 1. It is unclear what the incentive/benefit will be to move to Service 2.

See the full AMA verbatim (before Discord); https://vanlifeincome.net/strong-ama-logs and you can now join the Discord here: https://discord.gg/JUZezhaQ – it is much more organised, so no need for me to share anymore, however I'll continue to provide some updates here.


Strong AMA 13 Nov 2021

Although there were no major announcements this week, the AMA was bullish in general. A little more information on sustainability, pools, validator nodes and a Strong chain. Some chat about NFTs and that StrongBlock will be “running a minimum of 32 ETH nodes”, however nothing specific / timebound as regards releases or rewards decay model.

See https://vanlifeincome.net/strong-ama-logs for full 13th November AMA verbatim.


Strong AMA 06 Nov 2021

A few excerpts & notes below. See https://vanlifeincome.net/strong-ama-logs for full AMA verbatim.

  • Claiming to new node (‘compounding') coming with Service 2.
  • The Service 2 audit will start next week, and will perhaps take 3-5 business days longer than the ETH 2.0 contract. So, week of 11/15 for ETH 2.0 launch, likely two weeks after for Service 2 and polygon launch (US Thanksgiving holiday in between).
  • Polygon grant is $15K. (read full AMA question/answer)
  • Consolidating fees (to save on gas) is not possible on Service 1 however it is a possibility on Service 2 (not yet developed).
  • Rewards reduction is likely to be a gradual decay over time “which still gives a great return”. It is incorporated into Service 2 for testing. Parameters are still being tweaked.
    • “The decay rate would have a delay for older nodes before it goes into effect. For newer nodes, they would even likely start off slightly higher than the current reward model, then decay gradually over the typical payback time, with the same basic effect. It’s after that the rewards will start to decay. Will have more details about it when we launch in a few weeks.”
  • It is highly likely that there will be a StrongChain in 2022. 🤔
  • Protocol support: “Ideally, they would provide some sort of support for nodes, but we are finding that it won’t be necessary, especially if we can launch validators – full or fractional on our side – and use the rewards to supplement other rewards.”
  • BIG discussions with a top exchange and other partners going on about that starting next week. 🤔
  • Monetization of existing ETH nodes: “We are talking with different enterprise and consulting groups about this.”
  • Authentication system and lock account functionality are being looked at (re secruity for compromised accounts)
  • Binance: We are in discussions, but cannot make announcements.
  • Kucoin: They are very happy with us, and we have other things planned within their ecosystem.
  • Merch store: All profits from the merch store will go to charity, not rewards.

Mini-roadmap Through the end of 2021:

  1. ETH 2.0 Smart Contract audit with Hacken starts Monday. Expected to go live during the week of November 15th.
  2. Service2 Smart Contract audit starts next week, and will take longer (it’s much bigger and more complex) and will go live after ETH 2.0 It will include Polygon
  3. Fantom will go live after that
  4. More pools and node partnerships will be announced

Oh, and the StrongBlock merch store will go live next week while we’re waiting for the results of the ETH 2.0 and Service 2 Smart Contract audits.

We have 3 auditors we’re working with. We can only announce Hacken at this time. We’ll announce the others after we’ve signed contracts next week.


Strong AMA 30 Oct 2021

A few excerpts & notes below. See https://vanlifeincome.net/strong-ama-logs for full verbatim.

  • Cross-chain NFT bridge smart contract going to audit.
  • Looking at more DEX integrations 2022.
  • Networks are unique and nodes will not be transferable across networks/chains.
  • For sustainability, we’ll be adding new protocols, creating fractional Validators, deploying treasury funds whose yields will support rewards, creating new pools based on rewards from Validators where locking STRONG yields higher rewards (ETH 2.0 for example
  • Polygon and Fantom have only committed to one-time grants. We’re working on ways to make their rewards sustainable.
  • Our vision for sustainability is to have a “basket” of different kinds of rewards, using the treasury to supplement them alongside STRONG. Path toward sustainability is through a combination of revenue, staking, treasury staking, and more.
  • We are not ruling out creating our own chain and a second token as well; that would allow $STRONG to move toward its stated purpose as a governance token. We’re actively exploring that right now, actually.🤔
  • ETH 2.0 pool smart contract will go out for auditing next week.
  • Polygon nodes are now being tested. All NFT holders will be eligible for the pilot. Smart contract needs to be audited (it’s in Service 2).🤔
  • The merch store is being prepared with socks, hoodies, pullovers, bags, backpacks, mugs, sticker pages and more.
  • Routing (sending rewards to another place eg create new node, pools) is built into Service 2.
  • Moving nodes (inc marketplace) MAY be a part of Service 2 however there are issues things to consider.

Strong AMA: 23 Oct 2021

It now makes more sense to log these Q&As in verbatim format. And so here they are…https://vanlifeincome.net/strong-ama-logs

If anything majorly noteworthy is announced such as partnerships, feature launches etc I will post it here also. 😀

Binance rumours can neither be confirmed nor denied…


Strong AMA: 16th Oct 2021

  • Future AMAs: these will be more structured. Uncertain exactly how they will work, but questions will be submitted in advanced. This is great, as the growth means we are also getting more and more trolls and twats in the AMAs (Twat: British slang for an obnoxious, annoying, disrespectful dickhead. Can also be used to mean ‘stupid' in a more casual or playful manner. You can decide which one I mean!). Keep an eye on Telegram for info
  • Claim Routing (feature): The claim routing feature will first be available with the Polygon pilot. Polygon nodes are in development – we’re syncing with the Polygon mainnnet and testing the nodes now. Hoping for early November release.
  • ETH 2.0: ETH 2.0 will not be launched for a long time. When it does, the ETH 1.0 nodes – Geth full nodes – will still be RPC access points to the ETH 2.0 chain. If there are changes beyond that, we will upgrade and adapt the nodes to support the ETH 2.0 chain.
  • NFT lottery: win the opportunity to buy a NFT at reduced price. Those who buy nodes in given timeframes qualify for a lottery ticket for each node they create. See Telegram for dates.
  • Polygon nodes: Polygon will most likely launch in early November. The platform has to be ready. And the Polygon pilot is based on the new primary service contract (Service 2). So, lots of testing. It goes as fast as it goes. That information [rewards structure] will be available when we launch the Polygon pilot.
  • Fantom nodes: Also Q4 for Fantom. They will be following closely behind Polygon.
  • DVPN nodes: DVPN does not yet provide native rewards. We’re waiting for that to happen before we go beyond the 1000 node pilot.
  • Other protocols: should be an announcement before Polygon launch.….AND…..We are in discussions with several gaming projects, none on Ethereum 1.0 (gas cost is prohibitive).
  • Selling marketplace/collateralization etc of nodes: We’re looking at it from several perspectives: technical, legal, business. If it does clear those hurdles, it would be a Q1/Q2 2022 feature.
  • Merch: We will have a merchandise store launching in November. Shirts, hoodies, etc.
  • Gas fees: Arbitrum, Polygon, Fantom, Avalanche – all have great low-cost gas solutions. However, it’s a forklift to move everything over, and then liquidity has to be moved as well. It’s complicated, so we are looking at working with one or more chains to lower fees.
  • Income/sustainability: We will be a validator and/or run nodes on many other chains, including ETH 2.0. Some have rewards, some have grants. Some are small, some are more substantial. That is all income to the protocol, and will be shared with the community in different ways: through pools, through fractional participation, etc.
  • Sustainability (pilots): The new service contract (Service 2) allows for contributions in STRONG and other tokens, as well as rewards in STRONG and other tokens. We’re going to try some different approaches with each pilot (starting with Polygon) to see what the best mix is. One of the issues is that people want stability and sustainability in their rewards. Diversity in rewards can help if they are all in a bull market; it can be problematic in a bear market.
  • Business: Instead of partnering with Infura, we would be offering similar services …..AND…. We are talking with non-blockchain companies more than other blockchain companies about creating and providing nodes to make their networks more resilient. 😀
  • Overall strategy:

Okay I’ve been wanting to talk about our overall strategy.

Up until now, we’ve been in Phase 1: Building. That includes integrating different features that didn’t initially work with each other as well as the community would like. We’ve already re-architected the platform, and it’s in testing right now. The Polygon pilot will be based on it.

Phase 2: Community. We’re taking a lot of what has been contributed and putting it back into the community. That includes the ETH 2.0 pool, as well as other short and medium-term pools. And keep in mind that, during Phase 1, 26,175 STRONG contributed by the community for NFT’s (100% of the STRONG contribution) has gone back to the community. Current value: $17.8m.

Phase 3: Expansion.

These phases overlap each other somewhat, but the #1 goal for everything we do is SUSTAINABILITY.

  • Other: Strong's own blockchain seems likely in the future due to a few comments by David over the course of these AMAs.

AMA: 9th Oct 2021

  • Wallets: Single wallets now limited to max 100 nodes instead of 200 (note: you can have more than 1 wallet). It’s OK if you already have more than 100.
  • Exchanges: Hoping to have at least one more Tier 1 exchange by end of the year 🙂
  • NFTs: 20 Silver NFT's and 10 Gold NFT's have now been reserved for a limited series of lotteries. Lottery winners will be able to purchase one NFT at a discount. Lotteries will commence for Silver and Gold shortly after each is sold out [(Silver next week?)]
  • Rewards/sustainability: We’re working on a new “service” contract. We’re considering testing it out with the creation of Polygon nodes. We have a potential rewards model that may work overall. We’ll have more details as we get closer to launching Polygon nodes. Right now we’re about 2 weeks out from being synced with the Polygon blockchain…..AND….It looks like sustainability updates will be rolled out as pilots;
    • “We’re looking at trying out new models when we do pilots with new protocols. For example, we have a possible new model – that looks very similar to the current model, but has some variables – to try out with the Polygon pilot. We’ll of course give you a heads up before we introduce it.”
  • Staking: News coming soon on ETH 2.0 staking pool. StrongBlock will be running ETH2.0 nodes. You will stake/lock Strong and your rewards will be in ETH. #cool
  • Environmental: We seek out data centers that have low carbon footprints. We’re considering a carbon offset.
  • Charity/social good: We have a proposal. We’ll be adding a merch store soon, as well as offering Milestone Announcements as NFT’s for charity (like the 100k announcement; that was killer), as well as giving you a choice when you’re claiming to send some to the charity pool.
  • Protocols: Sounds like AVAX and Algorand are on the list……and there will hopefully be announcement in 2 weeks renews on next protocol and Polygon going live.
  • Gas and node creation: Create node from existing rewards feature is currently under development
    • …sounds like this will be called “claim routing” ie you can end rewards to staking, node creation and ??? [insert fun new things!] without touching your wallet. #yey
  • Interview: David Moss interview with https://twitter.com/kriptoemre coming out next week 🙂
  • Fractional nodes: No update. We’re looking at the best way to do that. What we’ll be doing is trying different approaches with new node introductions. We’d like to provide the ability to contribute and reward proportionally, without you having to take on the cost of creating a full node or validator node yourself. That’s a big change in the smart contract; actually, it requires a new one. But we have that under development as well. Lots of stuff under development!

AMA: 2nd Oct 2021
Overall, based on a number of responses, it sounds like there could be a lot of interesting announcements/information and releases coming in October.

  • Node transfers: we are working on it. Initially, it will only be available to those whose wallets have been provably compromised.
  • Ecosystem/eth fees: As I’ve mentioned in several previous AMA’s, we’re working on a new “routing” system that will give you several different choices during claiming. Once it’s live, we can keep adding new options to it: pools, nodes, validators, merch, charity, etc.
  • Social Good: Merch is in the works. Profits to charity.
  • NFTs & access to new nodes: Once the pilot fills up (likely 1000 nodes), we’ll evaluate to see how many we can sustain.
  • Opportunities or smaller investments: Pools. Short, Medium and Long term pools where you can participate in validator and node ownership of different chains without having to create a node…..ALSO….We’re looking at fractionalization. Think of it as a theme park ride, where there is a roller coaster train with 8 cars, 6 people to a car. Once it fills with 48 people, it takes off. We’re using that approach to conceptualize fractionalization of nodes and validators.
  • Future/Decentralization: Eventually there will be a DAO controlled by STRONG holders. We are building towards that, and discuss it frequently in our strategy meetings. Everything we’re doing is about sustainability of the protocol.
  • Earning NFTS: “Earning” has proved quite complicated to build. So we’re looking at a weekly lottery where the winner can purchase at a discount – whenever they’re ready.

AMA: 25th Sept 2021
Another session with the charismatic David Moss on Telegram…

  • Gas Fees: we are working with other protocols – including Polygon and Fantom – with the possibility of migrating nodes, pools and other components there for lower gas fees. This is not an easy undertaking, as it involves moving assets, wrapping STRONG, creating or picking ERC-20 bridges, and determining there is adequate liquidity and a thriving ecosystem. So we need to be quite careful about how we proceed. 
  • Protocols:
    • No communication with Presearch yet. Don’t have a contact there.
    • $MRPH / Morpheus Network are on the list
    • [Fantom and Polygon node launch] Early Q4. In development now. Testing to start soon.
  • UI Issues for large wallets: We’re going to limit nodes to 100 or less per wallet. 200 is a stretch….there will also be a node migration option to let you balance your nodes across multiple wallets.
  • Node migration is in testing! 😃 We are already testing node migration. It will be for individual nodes. There will not be a “migrate all”; that’s the part that didn’t every work properly. Individually, it’s working great.
  • Reward Reductions: Working on other initiatives to lessen the probability. 
  • Team: We onboarded 3 new people in August, and have added 5 people in September so far.🙌
  • Charity and social good: One of our team members has proposed a charitable approach. It’s very well thought out. That will be integrated into claiming. Other ways to contribute will include purchasing milestone NFT’s, and purchasing merchandise, with all profits going to charity. We’ll be asking about what you’d like to see in the merch store soon. We already have some items in process.
  • Interesting Questions:
    • Bob Smith: Has the team considered running nodes that already pay rewards? Is there a future where I could provide the requisite capital for a GALA node, or SRX, or DAG, and have the Strong protocol run/maintain that node?
    • David Moss: Our research – and we’ve done a lot of research on this – is that most nodes that pay rewards have high barriers to entry. The way around that is to create them and put them in a pool for the community. Same for validators. That provides access and lowers entry cost.
    • Coffee Block: How long could the company survive with 0 income?
    • David Moss: Quite a while. Years. We are VERY frugal, learned from our early days and multiple pivots – and from working at lots of startups.

AMA: 18th Sept 2021
As usual, most of the content below is verbatim from David Moss himself, just grouped roughly into sections. Please search Telegram for the actual conversations.

Rewards/Sustainability/Ownership

  • What we’re looking to do is create pools with rewards from different protocols. The idea is to use incoming contributions to create these pools for overall protocol sustainability. Sounds vague, huh? What if we had an ETH 2.0 pool that anyone could contribute to and get ETH 2.0 rewards when it came online next year? That’s a bit longer term. But we’re working on short, medium and long term plans. Some really cool stuff. Hope to announce it soon.
  • As I’ve been discussing for the last month+, we are working on systems that would reduce or eliminate the need for reducing rewards. If we do need to do so, it would be gradual – say after 100 days of node creation – and you would be given 30 days notice before we implemented it.
  • What we’re looking at doing is fractionalizing ownership OR creating pools of nodes that you can stake in to get rewards. We have a big announcement about that coming soon.

Protocols/Partners

  • We had a great meeting this week with what we believe will be the next protocol announcement. One of their team even confessed that he is a big fan of STRONG and had been holding since January…..he went on to say later that announcement should be within next few weeks.
  • Yes, we’re familiar with Elrond. They’re on the list.
  • We would love to work with them [Polkadot]. Have not yet had a discussion, but they’re high on the list.
  • They [Presearch] are on our list.
  • We are not in discussions with them [$DAG]. I don’t have a contact there yet. But they’re on the list.

Node Mgmt etc

  • Internal transactions (eg create node from claim rewards) is a high priority. #yey 😀
  • I brought up node transfer at the team planning meeting yesterday. We believe we may have a way to do this. Keep in mind that thieves are getting more sophisticated; our concern is that they will get your seed phrase, then use a transfer process to claim your rewards and transfer your nodes as well. We’re concerned that people will say that is the protocols fault. So, still complicated.
  • They hope to announce the model for being able to earn a NFT soon. Sounds like could be some sort of lottery + payment plan.
  • Governance timeline: Yes, as we move to more circulating STRONG – which will begin happening very soon – at some point there will be a majority of STRONG outside of our control. That’s the time to turn governance on.
  • Some awesome chat about potential Strong Foundation to ‘make a difference’. This is something that is in the works. One of the StrongBlock customer support team has experience in non-profits and will be leading the effort.
  • Node marketplace is in early development but not a priority.
  • There will be some announcements in the next few weeks that will give you a better idea of what will happen through the end of the year and into next year.

Interesting question:

Phonz: @DavidMoss did strongblock ever think about making its own blockchain and have the transaction fees in strong? Or was it always going to be eth blockchain?
David Moss: 😎
Phonz: 👀 Is it still a possibility?
David Moss: Oh yeah.

That's a wrap. Happy Saturday everyone!


AMA 11 Sept 2021 with StrongBlock CEO, David Moss

Quite a lot of discussion about node migration, compromised metamask accounts and of course; rewards, gas costs and new protocols. Below are the bits that jumped out. Again, mostly verbatim from Mr Moss himself.

I also added a few thoughts/tips at the end – these AMAs are getting busier and it’s only fair to a busy CEO that we respect his time and maximise what we all gain from this 1-2 hour session e.g. there were a lot of repeated questions and questions regarding stuff that is already known….which means that quality questions are more likely to be missed.

Savings & Earnings 

  • Q: “IF there will be a reward reduction, how long in advance will you be announcing it?”
    David Moss: “IF – and that’s a big “IF” – we have said many times that we will discuss it with the community first, then give a minimum of 30 days before it goes into effect.”
  • One of their big priorities is making it inexpensive to create new nodes and ‘move’ $STRONG within the ecosystem: “…that is a priority for us. We want to make it easy and inexpensive to apply rewards to other nodes and pools.”AND...”You are interacting with two separate smart contracts there. They will need to be consolidated in order for it to be one step.” [when claiming rewards and creating nodes]
  • Q: Are they thinking of increasing the number of $STRONG required to create a node?
    David Moss: “Not at this time. With current prices, it’s prohibitive for many people to create a node. We want to make it more accessible, not less.”
  • NFT earning system is being worked on. Sounds like something fairly basic in the near-is future, with a more elaborate system in Q1 2022 (poss inc airdrops).
  • Q: Great question from Crypto Penguin (what a cool name?!): “Any possibility for a DAO-controlled STRONG ‘vault’ of yield-bearing assets (collected from partners/clients and/or new nodes) where the yield is used to help replenish the rewards pool?”
    David Moss: That is EXACTLY what we are working on 😉

Protocols & Partners

  • Q: Will we see polygon or fantom nodes going live by the end of the month?
    David Moss: “We’re working on both of them now. It depends on how testing goes.”
  • We are very interested in working with Solana. We have not had formal meetings with Solana, but have mutual contacts. They are on the short list.
  • Luna: “Yes, we are interested in Luna. Very impressed.”
  • “We are big fans of Avalanche.”
  • There was further confirmation they are talking to Zilliqa.
  • David Moss: …We’re working on ETH 2.0 pools. I’m rather curious why no one has picked up on how significant that’s going to be…
    Various people: Pls explain to us pleebs!
    David Moss:  ETH 2.0 nodes require 32 ETH plus all of the tech associated with it. And then you have to lock it up for a year. That’s unobtainable for most. We’re going to fractionalize that, and tie it in with sustainability.

Node management

  • Node migration is something we take very seriously. We are trying to make it work without compromising the integrity of the protocol. It is non-trivial.
  • Questions re swapping nodes for different type of node: “It’s something we’ve discussed, but keep in mind that nodes are not interchangeable, even if they use the same underlying engine. So, it would be more like a marketplace and/or collateralization of your nodes.”
  • There was mixed opinion around KYC, security etc. General consensus seems no KYC is best (tech and legal overhead + is off putting for many people)

Other

  • Re the unofficial Strong Punks – “We saw the punks as well as the merch stuff as well. We are working on both ourselves. Anything else is unauthorized.”AND...”Also, we are looking at ways to have sales from merch and non-protocol NFT’s (think milestone announcements) go to charity. The charity approach may be that we gift nodes to a charitable organization, or simply contribute.” 🙂
  • Please don’t flood support with feature requests. 

AMA thoughts/tips

Everyone’s excited and the AMA is getting busier and busier and more chaotic. Here’s a few thoughs on how we can all contribute in making it more efficient.

  • Ensure you have read the pinned message first and understand the Strong basics so you don’t ask unnecessary questions.
  • Don’t just jump straight in with a question. Join the AMA early and follow along – or at least read through all the AMA Q&As; there’s a good chance your question has already been answered.
  • There are 168 hours in a week. Try to keep non-relevant chat (or basic questions that can be answered by community members) to the 166 hours that David isn’t doing an AMA.

Overall, I get more and more bullish with StrongBlock with every AMA. 

Not only for the rewards and the cool tech but the vision and attitude from David Moss — it’s great to see charity being considered and every week there is mention of making Strong accessible to as many people as possible (e.g. possibly offering fractional nodes as node cost rises). 🚀💪


AMA: 4th Sept 2021
Another great and very bullish session with Mr David Moss. Most of the content below is verbatim from the man himself, just grouped into sections. Search Telegram for the actual conversations.

Rewards

  • Right now, rewards will stay as-is. We’re working on a hybrid model that might include rewards changes over time and new sources of rewards from pools.
  • We were ready to discuss some new models two weeks ago. Then, in an advisor session, we had a breakthrough on longer-term sustainability of deploying capital to create validator and other pools. So we’re now working on those models as well. The goal is always towards long-term stability.
  • If we do rewards reductions, they would likely affect all protocols. We’re trying to avoid them.
  • The idea is for them [VARIOUS PROTOCOL REWARDS] to be different but equal – the same amount of rewards from a basket of tokens, not just STRONG.

Partners and income

  • Polygon will be providing a grant. We’re still discussing its regularity.
  • It will be Polygon first, then Fantom. They’re not likely to be available for a few weeks. Automation is being built right now.
  • Partners currently provide value back to StrongBlock in the form of grants, validator rewards, and revenue. DVPN – at some point – will provide revenue directly to each node.
  • We’ve announced two protocols in the past 3 weeks. We’re trying not to get too far ahead of ourselves. We’re in discussions with 3 protocols right now and, depending on how fast each discussion moves will determine the next one we’ll announce.
  • We’re big fans of many protocols. SOL is one we’re considering. They are non-EVM, and the blockchain itself certainly seems to need more validators and nodes, as evidenced by the issues there on Thursday.
  • Has Zilliqa reached out to you yet? – “Yes”

Gas fees

  • The ability to create a node (or place in mining pool) without claiming is an engineering ticket. No ETA was provided. They are also looking for other ways to allow you to use your STRONG once it’s earned:
  • What we’re working on is providing different rewards methods that are stable and reliable, combined with other places to stake your STRONG once you’ve earned it. A bigger ecosystem is required than simply putting STRONG into new nodes or the STRONG pool.
  • Also see the ‘interesting question' and answer below!

Other

  • The marketplace is still in the planning phase (not development); rewards model is the priority.
  • Transferring node to different wallet: “Right now it’s on hold.”
  • Good news for smaller investors: “Think fractional nodes AND fractional validators.”
  • They are exploring the opportunity of collaterization whereby someone could take out a “loan” for a node using reduced rewards to pay it back.

Interesting question:
Hi david, any plans to build a customised strongblock chain (eg an eth sidechain) to allow txs to be performed faster and cheaper? Can also run strong native nodes in the future😎 by jeremynz

David: “We’ve actually been talking seriously about this for the past few weeks. We’ll let you know how the discussions turn out.”


AMA: 2nd Sept 2021

  • $FTM Fantom, a CMC top-100 is announced as the next StrongBlock partner! 🙌 More information in this Medium post.

AMA: 28th Aug – lots of great stuff in the AMA this week!

As he has done every week since mid-July, CEO David Moss hit up Telegram and spent 2 hours answering questions today. What CEO does that? Very generous! Here’s a summary;

  • New protocol coming soon; press release currently being prepared.
  • No further info on Polygon partnership, but whatever coming sounds exciting (nodes and validators?).
  • A NFT and MATIC tokens will likely be a requirement for early access to Polygon nodes.
  • Confirmation that CIRUS is NOT on current partnership list.
  • New rewards structure is still being worked on. Models are currently in review with advisors. However, David: “Our Swiss economics advisor yesterday said that he thinks – if we’re able to implement the ideas we have right now – we could go to infinity. Actual quote.” 😱🚀🤩
  • Looks like all the initial DVPN nodes (1,000) will be available by next week.
  • No short-mid term plans for grouping monthly fees; just transact when gas is low for now.
  • However, there ARE plans to enable creation of node without needing to first claim. David: “Yes, that’s an actual ticket in our system. It will come up in priority soon, but needs to work across all protocols.” 😀 💪 No ETA.
  • AND they are looking at other protocols (Polygon MATIC is one of them); plan is that existing nodes would also move (not just new ones). No ETA.
  • Some chat that was slightly more hypothetical/possibilities eg NFT staking, staking in general, collateralization of nodes, peer-to-peer Node marketplace.
  • Team token unlock. David: “We are locked in for two years starting July 1, 2021, with quarterly releases. Why would we sell now, after not selling for the past year? Enough with the FUD“. Go, David! 🥊 He also went on to say; “Oh, to be clear, the unlocking rules are quite complex: no one – investors, advisors, team – actually ever gets their STRONG. It’s only theoretical unlocking until it can be safely sold into the market by a third party market maker on behalf of everyone without affecting price. We’re being ridiculously cautious here.”
  • Best question: “What is the one thing you would say you and your team at Strong are most excited about working on right now that you can talk about?” (From Showtime2kX)
    • David answer: “Pools tied to validators and nodes. I can say no more.😉”
  • Finally, lots and lots and lots of reminders to keep your wallet safe from scammers; don't click on unknown links and NEVER give your secret phrase etc to anyone. You and you alone are responsible!!! Need some tips on how scammers work? Here’s a helpful post!

2021 August

  • You can create nodes using your mobile via WalletConnect 🙂
  • Currently considering 80 other protocols.
  • Anticipating 1-2 new protocol announcements per month forthcoming, accelerating into the new year.
  • Looking into several options for sustainability (re the rewards system and ‘non-halving' in July). No further details yet however we are expecting news end August / early Sept.
  • DVPN whitelisting for first 1,000 nodes (drawn from wallets with NFTs). Currently rewards are same as ETH nodes + $5 per month worth of DVPN.
  • DVPN nodes have been paused at 200 whitelisted addresses whilst the team review the DVPN environment further.
  • Polygon MATIC has been announced as a partner! #omg #feckinawesome! There are no further details yet on when these will be available or the reward structure.

Where can I learn more about Strong?

UPDATE: Strong Nodes are in My Top 3 Passive Income Opportunities – read more here!

Share this Post :)

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn

Disclaimer: As with everything on this site, this article is for informational purposes only and is not advice of any kind. I simply share my experiences and my opinions for information. I am not a financial adviser and I am not providing investment advice or financial or legal advice of any kind. Cryptocurrencies (and most business opportunities) are very high risk. Many of the opportunities I discuss exist in new, high risk and unregulated markets. Some methods require significant investment of time and/or relevant skills. Please do your own research (DYOR) and due diligence; do not blindly follow anyone!

My #1 performer since 2020 – monthly updates always added!

Top Posts

Search Posts

Recent Passive Income Posts

Xeta Genesis – stablecoin passive income by Xeta Capital

This is a holding page for Xeta Genesis which is being released October 2023. It is the official version of the Xeta Black (beta) product which you can read about here: https://vanlifeincome.net/xeta-black-capital

Read More →

Xeta Black by Xeta Capital -simplified earnings using only stablecoin (USD)

Could Xeta Black, a new non-tokenized passive income opportunity from Xeta Capital be “the one”? And can you really earn (up to) 30% per month? We took the beta for a test drive in July. Lets see how it went…

Read More →

GS Partners – another passive income opportunity #DENIED

GSPartners has been shared with me several times over the past year. Here’s why I said no to this “Swiss” financial opportunity that I see as being heavily backed by referral (MLM) marketing and not having much substance.

Read More →
Scroll to Top

Get Monthly Updates

Private content delivered once per month
Unsubscribe anytime (view privacy policy)