We believe that SmartPool is a killer application for Ethereum smart contract. More specifically, SmartPool demonstrates how an Ethereum contract can replace a trusted third party (i.e. pool operator) and save users' (i.e. miners') fees. It is one of the first smart contracts (if not the only one) that can strengthen the security of the Ethereum blockchain itself by improving the decentralization of the network. Moreover, SmartPool can also be used to launch mining pools for existing cryptocurrencies in the Ethereum network, thereby greatly benefiting Ethereum by introducing more users/ full nodes to the system.

Getting SmartPool deployed and improving the decentralization of the network is our first and most important priority. For this purpose, we must make SmartPool as attractive as possible to miners, for example making the protocol efficient and charging low (hopefully 0) fees. Thus, we decided to build SmartPool as a non-profit project and reach out to the community asking for help, i.e. donations. Once the decentralization goal is reached, we would strive towards providing compensations for the donors. However, initially, this is not our top priority.

What are the tokens for?After donating to SmartPool, you will be credited some SmartPool tokens (SPT). These tokens now are only meant to recognize your contributions to SmartPool and have no financial implications. In the future, we may have mechanisms to compensate token holders. The token rate is set as follows

1 ETH = 100 SPT from now to 27 January

1 ETH = 50 SPT from 27 January onwards

We pre-mine 600,000 SPT for our early donor and our team. The reason why we reserve some tokens for the team, although these tokens currently have no financial value, is for the future plan. If SmartPool takes off successfully and SPT has some value, the reserved tokens will help us fund the future operation of the team to support SmartPool longer and better.

Who will manage the donation?The donation in ETH will be moved to our wallet contract at address 0xa34EDD0E0223C2151b8408E3043b2F6EDC564fcE which is controlled by 3 people in our team including Loi Luu, Yaron Velner and Victor Tran.

The methodology for reporting.We will post to Reddit monthly to update to the community on the project's progress. People can always see the progress on our github repository. Otherwise, if you have any inquiry regarding our update, please contact Loi Luu:

Email: loiluu@comp.nus.edu.sg

Skype: luutheloi

Other funding sources?We were lucky to be sponsored by DinarDirham with an undisclosed amount for our initial development. We also apply to the Ethereum Dev Grants, but we haven't heard back from the grant manager. We will keep updating our funding status.

Timelines.We plan to work on the SmartPool from January 2017, although the underlying research has been started for 4 months. Our tentative timeline is as following (this may be changed depending on our funding status).

Public announcement: 10 Jan 2017

Public crowdfund: 15 Jan 2017 (we ask for donations from public)

First beta pool for Ethereum (on testnet): April 2017

First working pool for Ethereum: May 2017

Other pools (for Bitcoin/ ZCash): Jun 2017

Targeted Deliverables.Depending on how much we get, our promised deliverables vary as follows.

Less than 5,000 ETH: Implement SmartPool for Ethereum and release all software as open source (i.e. under MIT license).

5,000 to 10,000 ETH: In addition to what we have promised, we will launch a decentralized pool for Ethereum and maintain it until Ethereum moves to proof of stake.

More than 10,000 ETH: In addition to what we have promised, we implement SmartPool protocol for other cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, ZCash and/or Monero) and possibly launch and maintain real pools for these cryptocurrencies.

The team currently consists of 4 members: 2 full-time, 2 part-time (please read about the team in the home page). Team size and working hours may be increased to speed up the development if the funding allows.