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ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) regulations for crypto assets aim to address their environmental impact (e.g., energy-intensive mining), promote transparency, and ensure ethical governance practices to align the crypto industry with broader sustainability and societal goals. These regulations encourage compliance with standards that mitigate risks and foster trust in digital assets.
Name | Bitpanda Asset Management GmbH, Bitpanda GmbH |
Relevant legal entity identifier | 9845005X9B7N610K0093, 5493007WZ7IFULIL8G21 |
Name of the crypto-asset | Blocksquare |
Consensus Mechanism | Blocksquare is present on the following networks: Ethereum, Near Protocol. The crypto-asset's Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, introduced with The Merge in 2022, replaces mining with validator staking. Validators must stake at least 32 ETH every block a validator is randomly chosen to propose the next block. Once proposed the other validators verify the blocks integrity. The network operates on a slot and epoch system, where a new block is proposed every 12 seconds, and finalization occurs after two epochs (~12.8 minutes) using Casper-FFG. The Beacon Chain coordinates validators, while the fork-choice rule (LMD-GHOST) ensures the chain follows the heaviest accumulated validator votes. Validators earn rewards for proposing and verifying blocks, but face slashing for malicious behavior or inactivity. PoS aims to improve energy efficiency, security, and scalability, with future upgrades like Proto-Danksharding enhancing transaction efficiency. The NEAR Protocol uses a unique consensus mechanism combining Proof of Stake (PoS) and a novel approach called Doomslug, which enables high efficiency, fast transaction processing, and secure finality in its operations. Here's an overview of how it works: Core Concepts 1. Doomslug and Proof of Stake: - NEAR's consensus mechanism primarily revolves around PoS, where validators stake NEAR tokens to participate in securing the network. However, NEAR's implementation is enhanced with the Doomslug protocol. - Doomslug allows the network to achieve fast block finality by requiring blocks to be confirmed in two stages. Validators propose blocks in the first step, and finalization occurs when two-thirds of validators approve the block, ensuring rapid transaction confirmation. 2. Sharding with Nightshade: - NEAR uses a dynamic sharding technique called Nightshade. This method splits the network into multiple shards, enabling parallel processing of transactions across the network, thus significantly increasing throughput. Each shard processes a portion of transactions, and the outcomes are merged into a single "snapshot" block. - This sharding approach ensures scalability, allowing the network to grow and handle increasing demand efficiently. Consensus Process 1. Validator Selection: - Validators are selected to propose and validate blocks based on the amount of NEAR tokens staked. This selection process is designed to ensure that only validators with significant stakes and community trust participate in securing the network. 2. Transaction Finality: - NEAR achieves transaction finality through its PoS-based system, where validators vote on blocks. Once two-thirds of validators approve a block, it reaches finality under Doomslug, meaning that no forks can alter the confirmed state. 3. Epochs and Rotation: - Validators are rotated in epochs to ensure fairness and decentralization. Epochs are intervals in which validators are reshuffled, and new block proposers are selected, ensuring a balance between performance and decentralization. |
Incentive Mechanisms and Applicable Fees | Blocksquare is present on the following networks: Ethereum, Near Protocol. The crypto-asset's PoS system secures transactions through validator incentives and economic penalties. Validators stake at least 32 ETH and earn rewards for proposing blocks, attesting to valid ones, and participating in sync committees. Rewards are paid in newly issued ETH and transaction fees. Under EIP-1559, transaction fees consist of a base fee, which is burned to reduce supply, and an optional priority fee (tip) paid to validators. Validators face slashing if they act maliciously and incur penalties for inactivity. This system aims to increase security by aligning incentives while making the crypto-asset's fee structure more predictable and deflationary during high network activity. NEAR Protocol employs several economic mechanisms to secure the network and incentivize participation: Incentive Mechanisms to Secure Transactions: 1. Staking Rewards: Validators and delegators secure the network by staking NEAR tokens. Validators earn around 5% annual inflation, with 90% of newly minted tokens distributed as staking rewards. Validators propose blocks, validate transactions, and receive a share of these rewards based on their staked tokens. Delegators earn rewards proportional to their delegation, encouraging broad participation. 2. Delegation: Token holders can delegate their NEAR tokens to validators to increase the validator's stake and improve the chances of being selected to validate transactions. Delegators share in the validator's rewards based on their delegated tokens, incentivizing users to support reliable validators. 3. Slashing and Economic Penalties: Validators face penalties for malicious behavior, such as failing to validate correctly or acting dishonestly. The slashing mechanism enforces security by deducting a portion of their staked tokens, ensuring validators follow the network's best interests. 4. Epoch Rotation and Validator Selection: Validators are rotated regularly during epochs to ensure fairness and prevent centralization. Each epoch reshuffles validators, allowing the protocol to balance decentralization with performance. Fees on the NEAR Blockchain: 1. Transaction Fees: Users pay fees in NEAR tokens for transaction processing, which are burned to reduce the total circulating supply, introducing a potential deflationary effect over time. Validators also receive a portion of transaction fees as additional rewards, providing an ongoing incentive for network maintenance. 2. Storage Fees: NEAR Protocol charges storage fees based on the amount of blockchain storage consumed by accounts, contracts, and data. This requires users to hold NEAR tokens as a deposit proportional to their storage usage, ensuring the efficient use of network resources. 3. Redistribution and Burning: A portion of the transaction fees (burned NEAR tokens) reduces the overall supply, while the rest is distributed to validators as compensation for their work. The burning mechanism helps maintain long-term economic sustainability and potential value appreciation for NEAR holders. 4. Reserve Requirement: Users must maintain a minimum account balance and reserves for data storage, encouraging efficient use of resources and preventing spam attacks. |
Beginning of the period | 2024-09-09 |
End of the period | 2025-09-09 |
Energy consumption | 25.99227 (kWh/a) |