In a series of tweets and a recent blog post PoolTogether, a self-described “no-loss, audited savings game powered by blockchain technology” – revealed that it successfully raised $1.05 million in its most recent investment round.
“PoolTogether is an Ethereum application that makes saving money as fun as a game.
You join a pool by buying a “savings ticket”, each savings ticket gives you a chance to win a prize, but even if you don’t win, you keep all your money! PoolTogether lets you have the best of both worlds — saving money and the chance to win a prize!
Once you are in the pool you will continue to be eligible for all future prizes. You do not need to take any action. You will be eligible until you withdraw the money you deposited.”
PoolTogether (Official Website, FAQ)
PoolTogether states that funds raised will contribute towards the development and expansion of its proprietary Ethereum-based Prize Linked Savings Protocol (PLS). It claims to be one of the first projects to date which seeks to blockchain technology with traditional PLS products.
‘Prize Linked Savings’ is a concept through which customers can stake funds (or more specifically, interest earned on their holdings) towards opportunities of winning prize-based incentives.
These funds will also be re-invested include: the hiring of “some of the best security auditors in the world”, greater prize values, growing the project’s bug bounty program, and the introduction of a ‘zero-fees’ policy.
Funding has enabled PoolTogether to work on a fee-free model, as opposed to the operational surcharge of 10% on interest it had originally planned on incorporating.
PoolTogether (via Twitter)
Funding was led by IDEO CoLab Ventures, with additional support coming from ConsenSys Labs and DTC Capital.
- IDEO CoLab Ventures invests in “early-stage distributed web startups” and works closely with its partners to help them deliver ” new products and protocols”. In January, IDEO launched a new twitter account under the handle @IDEOVC).
- ConsenSys Labs is the venture-capital arm of Consensys, investing in “open protocols, infrastructure, and applications that provide contributors greater agency and shared value”. ConsenSys Labs published it’s 2019 annual report last December.
- DTC Capital describes itself as a fundamentals-focused cryptocurrency investment fund.
PoolTogether is open-source, and the code is available on GitHub. It is sponsored (or “supported”) by Maker, and claims its mission to be the empowerment of “financial health”. It is built on Ethereum, utilises Dai Stablecoin, and also uses what it calls a ‘compound crypto lending system’.
According to its website, PoolTogether advertises that users who join the pool currently have the opportunity to “win $1,527 every week just by saving your money”.
For every 1 DAI token deposited, investors receive one ticket for the lottery system, with prizes funded by the interest earned on all tokens invested into the pool. Prizes are awarded on a weekly basis, with one participant winning “all of the interest” accrued.
“Currently PoolTogether does not make money. In the future we plan to make money by taking a small percentage of the winnings of each pool.”
