Discover P2P Validator's Non-custodial Staking Secrets

Recently, intropia hosted a special AMA with Mitya Argunov, CPO, and Alexey Bondar, research analyst from P2P Validator. We touched on various subjects, from P2P's collaboration with crypto whales and renowned crypto companies, the FTX issue, and why crypto is disappearing from exchanges, to emerging trends shaping the crypto landscape.

For your ease, we've prepared a transcript of this insightful discussion!

Q&A Session

Q: Who are P2P Validator, what are you doing and what’s your mission?

A: P2P has been in the industry for quite some time. We've been validators since 2018, and we're passionate about promoting decentralization and welcoming new people into crypto. As validators, our primary focus is on institutional investors. P2P also invests in various data services like RPC nodes and data infrastructure for foundation teams, developers, and ecosystem users.

Q: Could you explain P2P's non-custodial staking and what it entails?

A: Non-custodial staking is carried out at the protocol level. To put it simply, it's similar to a bank deposit because it's relatively low-risk from the investor's perspective. However, there are a couple of key differences: we don't take tokens from our investors since we're entirely non-custodial. There's a network-level connection between their tokens and our validator. The better we perform as a validator, the higher the rewards they'll receive.

Q: What's the connection between intropia and P2P?

A: P2P was among the first companies to experiment with intropia's Introduce & Earn model, and P2P's founder was an early supporter of the project.

At intropia, we've been assisting P2P with crucial technical roles like SRE engineer, helping them find top talent.

Q: Who are P2P's most prominent clients?

A: P2P's historic customer base includes crypto OGs and early investors in ETH or Polkadot. Additionally, P2P collaborates with well-established crypto institutions, companies outside the industry exploring crypto, company-based whales, and individual whales. Lido (a liquid staking solution) and CoinList (facilitating the purchase and sale of tokens for various blockchain protocols) are likely P2P's most significant clients currently. P2P also offers infrastructure for multiple clients beyond staking.

Q: Is staking with P2P exclusive to crypto whale individuals and companies, or can anyone stake with you if they desire?

A: Anyone can stake with P2P, as we have public nodes on all 40 networks we operate. Our most extensive networks include Polkadot, Solana, and Cosmos, where you can choose us as a validator. We maintain public support channels, like Telegram, where users can ask questions, and our operation is nearly 24/7. Occasionally, network-imposed restrictions exist, such as needing around 300 DOT to start earning rewards in Polkadot. Otherwise, there's no exclusivity.

Q: How does P2P handle client anonymity, considering that most crypto whales prefer to remain entirely anonymous?

A: Clients can discuss anonymity with us if they wish, but staking is non-custodial, meaning they don't need to provide KYC, and funds always stay in the client's wallet. We have 40,000 different addresses staking with P2P, and we probably know a few hundred of them by their Telegram handle and a few by their actual names.

This is fascinating from a product perspective because, as a product owner or manager, you'd typically want to know as much as possible about your customer. In our case, attempting to do so goes against the ethos of the crypto space.

Q: Why is there no "crypto" in crypto exchanges anymore, and how is FTX related to this?

A: When I say there's no "crypto" in crypto exchanges anymore, I'm referring to centralized crypto exchanges.

The key point is to observe the CEX UI and understand that the token represented there exists in the CEX's database, not on the blockchain.

Exchanges differ in how they manage tokens on a blockchain, which can lead to discrepancies between what you see in the UI and what's actually happening on the blockchain. People can't directly manage their tokens on the chain, causing issues when attempting to withdraw staked tokens.

FTX serves as an excellent example of this. It doesn't necessarily imply that all centralized exchanges are untrustworthy, but it's crucial to consider how these platforms handle your funds.

Q: Is web3 dying or evolving? What are the latest web3 trends shaping the industry?

A: Web3 is not dying; it's undergoing a transformation.

In the past, numerous applications emerged within different ecosystems, focusing on distributing their native tokens to attract users. However, we'll soon see a shift from this model to one that emphasizes capturing value within the application's economics. This change is much needed. We also need optional privacy and Zk, which seems promising and exciting. While Ethereum will continue to grow slowly, it won't be the only one. I don't think alternative chains will disappear, so we'll see more differentiation among them.

P2P provides secure non-custodial staking services for professional investors, enabling token holders to participate in staking without the burden of running a node. Visit P2P's website and follow them on Twitter and Telegram!

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