On 30th June at 11am UTC. Rupert, our Project Lead, took part in an AMA with the CryptoDiffer community. This is a transcript from that event.
Denis (CryptoDiffer), [30 Jun 2022 at 13:00:08]:
Hello, everyone!๐
We are glad to meet here:
Rupert Barksfield|Project Lead at Amulet|@MET4BE4R
Denis (CryptoDiffer), [30 Jun 2022 at 13:00:29]:
Welcome, thank you for taking your time today!
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:00:52]:
Np @deniscryptodiffer thank you for having me and great to be part of the community!
Denis (CryptoDiffer), [30 Jun 2022 at 13:01:01]:
Our team has prepared some questions for you to start with:
Let`s start with the introduction !
Q1: Can you introduce yourself to our community?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:02:20]:
Sure I’m Rupert, Project Lead on Amulet.
I’m a serial entrepreneur and have been in and around start-ups for 15+ years.
I’ve built all sorts of businesses in the past in AdTech and MedTech ending up in FinTech and crypto in 2017
I bought my first BTC in 2016 and have been riding the wave ever since.
The team and I have been building Amulet since 2021 ๐
Denis (CryptoDiffer), [30 Jun 2022 at 13:02:57]:
Q2: Can you introduce Amulet to us?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:04:07]:
Amulet is a DeFi cover protocol built for Rust-based ecosystem.
We are starting on Solana and then will expand out onto other chains from there in the future.
We are here to help people protect themselves in web3 and beyond by providing cover that is relevant to them.
Our initial two products that we are going to release are โsmart contractโ and โstable coin de-pegโ risk cover.
As a protocol we are the base layer to be able to build tons of different products in the future so watch this space!
Denis (CryptoDiffer), [30 Jun 2022 at 13:04:36]:
Q3: Let`s now talk about the milestones you have achieved so far and about your upcoming plans?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:07:21]:
Great question! The official start date for the project was Solana Breakpoint in November of 2021. Before the end of Q1 2022 we had deployed our test net and have been building on this ever since.
We came out of stealth about 3 months ago and announced the end of our first raise at a similar time.
Right now we are going through the process of smart contract audit and hope to open up our dapp to the Amulet community in August ahead of our official planned launch in September. Quick plug, to gain access early on join the amulet community here https://discord.gg/amuletprotocol
Denis (CryptoDiffer), [30 Jun 2022 at 13:08:23]:
Thank you for such detailed and interesting answers!
It is time to move to the community questions part.
Denis (CryptoDiffer), [30 Jun 2022 at 13:10:06]:
Chat is muted! Thank you for your questions, everyone!
Rupert Barksfield|Project Lead at Amulet|@MET4BE4R, please choose the questions you like and answer them! If you wish to have additional rounds, just let me know
Shiva [30 Jun 2022 at 13:10:55]:
On Your Litepaper, I Read the Term ” Protocol Controlled Underwriting Capacity” ( PCUC),
Can You Tell us more about this?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:11:55]:
thanks awesome question its what makes Amulet Special (amongst other things)
Enabled by Solana we have designed Protocol-Controlled Underwriting (PCU). The PCU utilses a proof of stake validator and other methods to generate yields. These Yeilds are tokenised into our future yield pool creating layers of protection between a claim and your staked assets. Meaning: we can always payout claims for policy holders whilst generating significant yields for stakers.
Spott๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:31]:
*The hype around NFT is getting redundant lately.
*The market situation is currently unstable and highly volatile
With the listed conditions above how does CRYPTO AMULET plan to survive this intense condition and successfully build a project that stands out ?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:12:55]:
Totally agree, this isnt our first rodeo and i lived through the last crypto winter so i have a idea what we are in for.
We anticipated this happening and thats why we raised the amount we did in order to carry on building throughout.
the best bit about cover in defi is its the most undervalued sector and has the highest growth potential many huge companies today were built in recessions and down markets so we are just getting back to basices and building ๐
Temitope Awoyinka, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:31]:
Hello @MET4BE4
I’ll like to learn more about Amulet, what competitive advantages do you have, what makes you unique and why should i choose Amulet
Can you kindly share your whitepaper here please and why do you choose to start out on Solana?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:16:55]:
great we’d like to share!
Checkout amulet.org on there front and centre you’ll find the link to our lite paper https://files.amulet.org/public/AmuletLitepaper.pdf
Why Solana?
Two reasons:
1) Solana has been growing at 5x the rate of the Ethereum system at the same stage in its lifecycle, and as there were no native cover protocols built on Solana for Solana it seemed like an awesome opportunity to be the first, along with that we loved the products and the ecosystem that had already been developed.ย
2) Solana operates a Proof of Stake and we run one of the validators for this chain that is core to our unique structure
I’m keen to point out tho we are multichain and will be announcing our second chain in the future
The Curious ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:30]:
โ What kind of vulnerabilities or risks is Amulet designed for? Is it designed for the most common events in the cryptographic space?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:18:55]:
We have 2 products initially which are fairly standard in the space
Smart Contract Risk
When you stake /invest on protocols in the Defi space then your tokens are no longer in your wallet. These are prime targets for hackers who will try and exploit the smart contracts that these protocols have built in order to steal those assets. Our offering covers this risk, repaying stolen funds.
Stable Coin de-peg risk
Not all stable coins are built the same, some are backed 1:1 with the underlying currency, some are leveraged, and some are algorithmic.
When these mechanisms break or falter the token will ‘de peg’ from the underlying asset.
We cover for this event by repaying lost funds.
In the future:
We are working on some cool stuff for the future, including NFT fraud and GameFi asset risk and beyond
Anastasia Vector, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:30]:
How do You decide that which types of Risk will be covered and offer that services to Users/Platforms?
Who Decided that?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:24:34]:
We looked at what was being offered initially and how cover in the defi space was being done to make our first assesment. Since we came out of stealth we have had HUGE demand from the various rust ecosystems to help them provide cover services and so demand will drive our future products.
Luis Arias, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:30]:
I could see that they focused on offering DeFi products on the Solana network, but why specifically this network? Could it be that it is more vulnerable than the other networks? or is it because this network would be the pioneers in this field?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:25:55]:
see my other answer above on why Solana.
but to alleviate fears no. We dont see any more or fewer vulnerabilities on solana than any other. Right now we are the first defi cover protocol on solana so this is another big point as being first chain movers!
Elly โ๏ธ, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:31]:
In your Lightpaper, You have compared the growth of Solana and Ethereum,
Why do you think that Solana growth has been impressive after the presence of Defi?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:28:19]:
in general the main reason driving the growth of solana is its speed and cheap gas prices. Along with this the foundation behind solana has an impressive marketing operation driving its growth.
Satish ๐ฒ, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
Why Amulet Protocol is using tokens that are Developed by Marinate finance and Lido Finance?
What is the main reason behind this?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:30:29]:
We dont ‘use them’ so to speak but if you have stSOL and mSOL you can stake into our protocol. One of the benefits of solana is its liquid staking community, meaning you can stake with marinade and lido if you want and then use these liquid tokens to earn more inside amulet.
you can also just come straight to Amulet ๐
Dino Vasishtha, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
Currently in how many countries Amulet protocol is providing cover and how are you dealing with government regulations for providing cover?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:33:18]:
Technically as a protocol we are not providing cover but the connection between policy holders and underwriting funds.ย
this is an important distinction as it means we operate in the un-regulated space.
Now whilst this is case right now we are fully expecting to be regulated in the future and have built this into our plans for the future
from September our current product works anywhere for anyone
Casadraaa, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
Amulet Protocol is a cover Platform, what offering does Amulet Protocol cover? Are health cover, life cover, education cover also included in the Amulet Protocol? and in the case of cover claims, what needs to be prepared? because usually cover claims have complicated procedures
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:37:37]:
i’ve mentioned above our two products we are releasing initially smart contract, and stable coin de-peg cover.
Regulated larger more traditional cover in the real world is something we are looking at but given the opportunity in Web3 are a few years away.
re claims, it depends on the product.
Stable coin de-pegs are automatically paid out with no claims process required
Smart contract risk you have to submit evidence to our platform and we assess the claim. After we have passed it our community asses our report and we both vote.
Both in agreement = payout
Both in disagreement = no payout
If there is an imbalance in agreement we bring in a 3rd party DAO to make the judgement
Munish โฟ ๐ฎ๐ณ, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
On many Cover Platform,
We have seen the Problem that arises at the time of Claiming the cost after Any Incidents,
How will you Provide a Transparent gateway to users for this?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:39:15]:
Totally agree, see our claims process above about the different ways this happens.
In terms of transparency, everything form the evidence to the voting results are held on chain and we have built dashboards around them for easy viewing.
Jacky, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
What issues do you see with Existing Risk Protection Protocols?
Which are the main Protocols that You are Competing with?
Can You Tell about them?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:44:02]:
there are about 20 or so existing protocols out there.
great round-up of them here: https://defillama.com/protocols/Insurance
the main issue with all cover defi or otherwise comes down to the underwriting capital and how it is paid out during claims:
All traditional and defi coverย protocols attack staked / invested funds in order to pay out claims, this diminishes returns and impacts relationships creating an unsustainable model.ย
Amulets unique structure enables us to pay out claims without impacting staked capital creating a sustainable model.
Nuลirevan, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
Does Amulet’s fuse protection apply to NFTs? My NFT assets are very valuable and I would like to secure them for the future. How do I do this in Amulet?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:46:02]:
not yet…. but watch this space, as somone who had a bunch of NFT’s stolen yesterday ๐กthis is a subject that is close to my heart! โค๏ธ
buy high sell low, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:31]:
1. Can you tell us more about the Cover Acceleration Program (CAP)? What is the program all about? Why was it introduced or established in the first place?
2. Regarding the Capital and Risk Management, can you further expantiate on each of these models and how they work?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:52:02]:
the CAP program was designed so that we or a protocol can increase the amount of cover they have available.
Lets say we start working with Raydium, and we provide smart contract cover for them but we quickly hit the maximum policy capicity we can sell.ย
Raydium can encourage their community to stake specifically into the Raydium policy on Amulet increasing the capicty for that protocol and not others on the platform
We introduced this as it was a key feature other had asked for on competing platforms.
re Capital and Risk Management its a big subject so would encourage you to join the amulet community and ask Jimmy in there ๐ https://discord.gg/amuletprotocol
Jerome, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:31]:
I understand that different assets have different level of risk and risk types. Now can you tell us if you have a model to determine the level of risk associated with each asset and how much a user have to pay as cover price for these assets.?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:54:22]:
its less about the asset and more about the protocol.
Using the Raydium example above the complexity of their smart contracts and how many there are derives the cost of the premium.
on average premiums are about 2-3%
Jade, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:31]:
โ Amulet is the first Rust based cover protocol of the world, that’s impressive, but are you only able to provide your services to rust- based projects or solidity project are welcome too?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:54:56]:
thanks! we are built on rust but yes very much able to cover solidity based products too. more on this in the future ๐
Emeka, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:31]:
Like you mention on your site, AMULET offer cover to crypto assets. Can you tell us some the RISK TYPES you offer cover to.
Also, do you currently have terms and conditions for each cover package you offer
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:55:56]:
i think i’ve answerd above on the types of coverย
re terms yes, on every single policy there is terms and conditions and they are very important to read!
Abisola, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:31]:
In 2021 alone, the crypto space has lost about 1 billion dollars worth of assets to hacks and smart contract failures, which is why I’m strongly optimistic that Crypto risk coverages will grow exponentially. So can you tell us about your coverage packages? How cheap and affordable are your covers? Will it be affordable for everyone or not everybody will be able to afford it?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:58:19]:
your totally right, the real figure is neare to 12bn ๐
the products we are covering are above
it is designed to be for everyone everywhere and will only cost a few % per year of cover
Tommy, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:31]:
As you are Covering various risk types, There will be many new Projects that are coming without the compliance and that are prone to be hacked,
Will you offer your services to them as well or you will be selective in this?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:59:55]:
We need each new project to have a minimum of 10mTVL and been audited by at least one smart contract audit firm *thats reputable.
However we are working on a product for the future that will enable to inssure any new project in the space
Ana Manzano, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
I read that this Amulet controlled subscription model has the potential to be scalable and sustainable, but really what features will it offer that other cover protocols in all of DeFi don’t?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 14:01:33]:
key thing: we payout cover claims from yield rather than intial staked principleย
Stakers = protected
Policy holders = always paid
Metaverse, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:08:33]:
In Traditional world also,
These Cover Companies works,
How does Blockchain based cover companies differs from Traditional company?
Can You tell the main Difference?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 14:03:19]:
we are the first protocol to actually build in a proof of stake validator generating a consistent yield. its this yield that pays out claims and so for the first time in 300+ years we’ve built somthing different to a traditional cover model.
Kene, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:31]:
In what way does Amulet’s Yield Backed Claim Pool (YBCP) affect the Protocol-Controlled Underwriting Capacity (PCUP)? In otherwords, is there a direct relationship between Amulet’s YBCP and the PCUC? How so? Finally, how will the income in the Treasury Pool be allocated?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 14:09:19]:
the YBCP is one part of the system that is PCUV so yes they are intrisically linked, think of the YBCP as a cog in the engine.
Treasury pool will be filled to provide more capicity on policies intiially. Once filled rewards a shares with stakers and AMT token holders
Hakeem, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
Capital Management, Capital and User Acquisition, Network Building and Claims Processing are some of the notable challenges with existing decentralized cover protocols that hinders the growth and sustainability of the protocol. Tell us how well prepared is Amulet to face and solve these existing challenges.
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 14:13:19]:
holy smokes big question!!
Capital Management – detailed in our lite paper, any more questions on this on join the community and hit up Jimmy!
Capital and User Acquisition, Network Building – this is my area of speciality. Capital is generated through building relationships with funds both crypto/dao and tradfi funds. User aquisition is through creating B2B relationships and then doing cross channel marketing (much like this AMA) to generate interst.
Claims Processing – we have spoken about above.
Overwhlmingly tho the way we tackle all of these is TEAM. Along with me i’m backed by the most impressive team i’ve ever had the good fortune to work with.
Jimmy – Product – 6+ years as an actuary at Willis Towers Watson, Deutsche Bank, Manulife and Canada Life
Shin – Tech – Dev lead at Citi Bank, Dev lead at IBM Security Labs Singapore 10+ years in tech and financial industry
Rob – Marketing – 4+ years crypto and fintech marketing and community managment.
beyond the core team we have an army of engineers and support too and we are growing hiring the best talent from around the world.
Mr Rampal, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
SIR , COULD YOU GIVE US THE SPECIFIC DATE OR TIME OF THE APP LAUNCH THAT WHEN THE APP IS LAUNCHING AND IN FIRST TIME HOW MANY COUNTRIES DID THE APP IS LAUNCHING ?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 14:17:07]:
SIR, THE APP WILL BE LAUNCHING IN SEPTEMBER EXACT DATE TBC ๐คช
Krish๐๏ธ, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
There could be many Reasons of Capital Loss of an Individual,
Why do You think that Amulet Protocol will be able to solve this issue?
Do you think there is a Market for this?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 14:18:39 (30 Jun 2022 at 14:19:08)]:
We currenlty only solve it in 2 ways with our 2 launch products
for sure there is a market as we get asked every day to cover protocols
Alice, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
๐ฅ Raising in this competitive environment can be quite difficult, and good allies can for sure make a difference and save some time. Which partnerships are on the roadmap of Amulet?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 14:20:24]:
100% check out amulet.org for our list of partners and investors already.
we are lucky to have huge support and friends already in the industry and now looking to expand upon this.
Bryant Javier, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
You point out that Amulet intends to create numerous metaverse-oriented cover products, such as those focused on GameFi, cyber security, NFT, and virtual property, but really how will it offer this security or capital support to investors in NFT games and Metaverses?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 14:21:57]:
GameFi we are working with a few games yet to be released where we cover the potential loss or damage of in game assets
When it comes to NFT Cover we have a few products we are working on, all will be revealed in the community ๐
tavasya, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
In most DEFI Cover Protocols Users has to do Lot of PAPER WORK and KYC due to Which New Crypto Users Could Not Join,ย So Is AMULET Platforms also Provides Services to Experienced Crypto Users also ?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 14:22:32]:
Amulet is for everyone. there is no KYC on our platform right now.
Hana, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
Is Amulet confident that it can reimburse any incident that might happen? How do you put a reserve behind it? What are your plans for live age factors that might apply to your capital?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 14:27:25]:
1st question: yes
2nd: the yield of the staked capital, dao reserves, and premium pool collectively all pay out ahead of staked assets. the protocol wont allow us to sell more than what we have capicty for
Dalmasca BlockACE, [30 Jun 2022 at 13:09:32]:
๐น๐น๐นWill you turn to other alternative chains after Solana? Which chains do you have plans to support? Will you choose according to the orientation of the Defi protocols or are your targets for other chains clear?
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 14:28:20]:
the focus will be where we can drive the most benefit, if they have alot of defi TVL that will be the big driver
Denis (CryptoDiffer), [30 Jun 2022 at 14:29:37]:
Thanks for your time
Thank you to everyone who took part!
Mr๐ฆ Rupert | Amulet ๐, [30 Jun 2022 at 14:29:55]:
thanks @deniscryptodiffer and thankyou to the whole community