What is Meta Pool?

Meta Pool is a NEAR-based liquid staking protocol that allows users to stake their NEAR tokens while remaining liquid.

NEAR Protocol is one of the rising blockchains that aims to fill the limitations that Ethereum is struggling to solve by delivering fast, cheap, and secure transactions. But while NEAR is already an impressive blockchain, what will make it even more robust and decentralized are the future NEAR-based platforms that will unlock its untapped powers. 

Background

Meta Pool is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that aims to position itself as one of the biggest contributors to the NEAR protocol’s further security and decentralization. 

The platform’s main pillars are Lucio Tato (tech and architecture), Claudio Cossio (product/growth), Alan Estrada (developer), and Fritz Wagner (designer). 

What is Meta Pool? 

Meta Pool is a NEAR-based liquid staking platform that allows users to stake their NEAR tokens to acquire the NEP-141 standard of NEAR NFTs, which can be utilized for on-chain activities and make them liquid despite earning rewards. 

The platform aims to eliminate the consequences of Proof-of-Stake networks, which are restricted liquidity, accessibility, and movability. 

It also wants to increase the level of liquidity of staked NEAR tokens and enhance the censorship resistance of the NEAR network by distributing the tokens to multiple validators.

Meta Pool makes it easy for users to stake and unstake NEAR tokens by distributing stakes in low-fee yet high-performance validators. 

Since its establishment, Meta Pool has partnered with various Web3 companies, allowing users to utilize their “stNEAR” (liquid NEAR tokens) on partner platforms.

As a result, the stNEAR tokens continue to increase in demand as more platforms are accepting them, further increasing their value. 

Other benefits of staking on Meta Pool include pushing tokens to be more capital efficient, helping users support new validators, and incentivizing retail token holders. 

How To Start Using Meta Pool 

To start using the service, users need to choose the number of NEAR tokens they want to stake on the platform’s liquid staking. 

By staking on Meta Pool, users can receive “stNEAR,” which is designed to increase in value through staking rewards. 

Also, platform stakers and liquidity providers will be provided with META governance tokens that would enable them to join and vote in the Meta Pool DAO. 

stNEAR holders are also allowed to swap their tokens back to NEAR tokens or use stNEAR on DeFi 

platforms. 

META Token 

META Token is Meta Pool’s governance token which provides authority for holders to vote on critical decisions on the platform. 

The team hasn’t yet established an official governance structure for the platform and admitted that it has to go through the trial-and-error phase to narrow down on the best option. 

But whatever structure they might choose in the future, the team wants something that can be beneficial and sustainable for the long term. 

In Meta Pool’s early phase, it has implemented aggressive META multipliers for early users to establish a reward structure that can be proportional to the size of early supporters’ commitment and support. 

But even with this generous implementation, standards have been set in place since the META token would have a significant influence on the platform. 

stNEAR 

stNEAR is the platform’s liquid NEAR token and is designed to accrue in value every 13 hours, and since it’s fungible, holders can trade or use them on gaming dApps or DeFi platforms.

DAO 

Meta Pool’s decentralized organization (DAO) is powered by Sputnik V2, a NEAR-native DAO, and provides participants with META tokens. 

Sputnik V2’s fast expansion and its transparent management of digital funds are all in line with Meta Pool’s desire to search for a respected and innovative partner in the DeFi space. 

Also, by leveraging NEAR’s advanced functionalities, Meta Pool is capable of genuinely providing NEAR and META holders with full control of the DAO.

The DAO participants can vote on their preferred proposals by signing transactions using their digital wallets. 

Meta Pool DAO will also have its own treasury where META holders can organize and decide on the future developments and proposals inside the platform. 

BlockSec: Auditor of Meta Pool’s Smart Contract 

BlockSec, one of the most respected auditing firms in the blockchain industry, has successfully audited Meta Pool’s smart contract, giving users an assurance that the platform is well-built and secure inside out. 

But even before BlockSec’s audit, Meta Pool has already taken steps to make its platform secure by making its code open source, allowing everyone to inspect and contribute to its security. 

And by bringing BlockSec in, the platform has added another layer of security that would significantly reduce the risks of security attacks and unethical actions inside the platform. 

BlockSec Audit Results 

Risk Level	Risk Found	Status
Low-Risk	Conflict between the roles of admin accounts	Fixed
Low-Risk	Treasury account couldn’t be read or modified	Fixed
Middle-Security Issue	Matters regarding the setting of staking pools’ total weight.	Fixed

NEAR Stakes 1.5 Million NEAR Tokens on Meta Pool 

NEAR Protocol has staked 1.5 million NEAR tokens to Meta Pool which would help decentralize the allocation of the tokens in new and current validator nodes and increase the network’s security. 

Instead of applying for a grant to further improve Meta Pool, it submitted a proposal that encouraged the NEAR Foundation to stake liquidity tokens on the platform. 

The 1.5 million NEAR tokens that the Foundation has staked is a clear sign of its confidence in the platform’s capability and potential as a DeFi service provider. 

Conclusion 

NEAR Foundation’s confidence over Meta Pool says a lot about the DeFi platform’s current capabilities and performance. 

Also, with the successful BlockSec auditing, it is clear that Meta Pool intends to earn the NEAR community’s confidence, not with flashy promises, but with real steps in strengthening the platform.