Keep is a privacy layer for Ethereum, providing a bridge between the world of public blockchains and private data.
Our platform is purpose-built to run multiple nodes securely and reliably: perfect for a work token network like Keep that needs node diversity and high availability.
Contact us for pricingThe public nature of a blockchain is by design; as a verifiable public ledger all transactions are published to the blockchain. By default every transaction can be seen by everyone, including “competing interests.” The Keep protocol was developed to bridge the worlds of secure private data and public blockchains.
With Keep, small amounts of sensitive data, such as private keys, can be stored off-chain but used in smart contracts on-chain in a trustless manner. The trustless component is possible due to the development of Keep’s Random Beacon, a source of true randomness that makes collusion virtually impossible.
Keep’s other major innovation is its ability to allow private data, held off-chain but stored online in nodes, to be used extensively on a public blockchain. The containers holding this data (keeps) can be created for a variety of functions such as proxy re-encryption. Keep is well-positioned to address the privacy needs that would enable broader adoption of public blockchains with private data.
Keep is bridging the gap across blockchains by allowing tokens to be moved between protocols. For example, because the Bitcoin blockchain wants to remain simple and secure, it has been difficult for people to use Bitcoin for financial transactions such as collateral for a loan or to interact with DeFi like Ethereum. To address this, Keep has developed a way to securely use Bitcoin on other blockchains (starting with Ethereum) without losing the features of Bitcoin which make it desirable as cryptocurrency.
These are the fundamental concepts to understand about the Keep network:
TBTC is a 1:1 Bitcoin-backed ERC-20, the first token to be minted via a decentralized protocol; one TBTC can be redeemed for 1 BTC. Because it is Bitcoin on Ethereum, not the price of Bitcoin on Ethereum, this token allows Bitcoin to be used in Decentralized Finance (DeFi). TBTC is only possible because of the innovations within Keep that allow for private keys to remain secret while also participating on a public blockchain.
TBTC functions in a two-sided marketplace. As with most financial products, TBTC needs usage and liquidity to be useful. First and foremost, there have to be BTC deposits and ETH stakers.
To facilitate reaching critical mass, the Keep team plans to heavily incentivize participation in the first 24 months. Stake Drop is a mechanism by which users with ETH, but no KEEP, can stake and participate in the Keep network, and be rewarded with KEEP and signer fees.
For more on how TBTC works, read our guide.
Because KEEP is a work token, and the entire token supply exists at launch, the network does not have an inflation rate. Keep plans to incentivize mass participation from the start, rather than over the first few years, by using Stake Drop to distribute KEEP.
Through Stake Drop, 20% of KEEP tokens (200m) will be distributed as a subsidy to participants running the TBTC keep as well as the Random Beacon keep. This will ensure enough ETH is staked on the network and will reward users for nodes running the TBTC keep more than those only running the Random Beacon keep. The full subsidy details are here, courtesy of the Keep team.
For the first 6 months after ETH-only staking is enabled, participants only need to stake ETH and are not obligated to have KEEP. However, as the Keep team has modified its rewards structure so that rewards are based on the amount of ETH locked and KEEP staked over time, staking KEEP during this period substantially increases the potential to earn rewards. After 6 months, they will also need to stake KEEP to continue participating but will likely have earned enough from rewards to do so.
Read more about actively participating on Keep in our guide.
Node operators that run a TBTC keep must stake ETH along with KEEP to participate and receive rewards. During the Stake Drop, you only need to stake ETH. Rewards will come in the form of KEEP from Stake Drop and signing fees paid in TBTC.
The rewards are calculated based on an operator’s reward weight, a function of the amount of ETH locked along with the amount of KEEP staked over time. Calculated against the rewards weight of the entire pool, stakers can calculate the share of rewards they are able to earn. As more ETH is locked and KEEP is staked, the earning potential grows logarithmically.
18% of the total KEEP supply (180m) will be rewarded to TBTC signers through Stake Drop. The amount any individual node will receive depends upon the amount of ETH staked to the node. Because the percentage of rewards any node may receive is equivalent to the percent of total ETH and KEEP the node has staked, rewards will depend greatly on both an individual’s stake and the total stake.
At launch, fee rates are 5bps (0.05%) per BTC in a deposit; this rate will increase as the TBTC network scales and is expected to total 2-4% per year of the TBTC market cap in the medium- to long-term. The only fee charged by the TBTC system is the signer fee which is escrowed when a singer mints the TBTC and is paid out to the signers when the deposit is redeemed.
There are two primary risks in Keep: Signer Failure and Signer Fraud.
“The Bison Trails team is phenomenal. They've been deeply committed to Keep, and have been a huge help moving our protocol design and development forward. The Keep network requires an abundance of reliable, distributed, and secure nodes, making Bison Trails a strong partner and a great choice for Keep token holders and anyone joining our stakedrop June 8th.” —MATT LUONGO, CEO AT THESIS / KEEP NETWORK’S PROJECT LEAD
Bison Trails was one of the first outside providers spinning up nodes on Keep; we started in June 2019. Since then we have provided feedback that resulted in protocol parameter changes for infrastructure uptime requirements and made the first feature addition not by the Keep team to improve how their infrastructure is configured. Our pull request was merged here.
Our platform is purpose-built to run multiple nodes securely and reliably —perfect for a work token network like Keep that needs node diversity and high availability. In addition, there are three roles, with a related address, used for the set up and management of a Keep node:
This delineation allows using non-custodial infrastructure providers, such as Bison Trails, to run nodes with a simple and straightforward process.
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We explore DeFi, how tBTC fits in, and how you can leverage your ETH to get involved and earn rewards
If you choose to bond ETH on Keep, it is critical to understand how collateralization and liquidation work, and what to do if a deposit you are securing becomes undercollateralized
Support for the Keep protocol on the Bison Trails platform will allow ETH holders to participate in Keep’s “Stake Drop,” bringing BTC closer to on-chain usage in DeFi applications. Reward distribution begins May 13th.