Dear Aave Community,
My name is Erick Pinos, I am the President of the Blockchain Education Network (BEN). First and foremost, I’d like to express our gratitude for awarding the grant to the Blockchain Education Network (BEN). It’s an honor to be recognized and supported by such a vibrant community.
We are excited to present our latest initiative in the form of a course series, the
“Intro to Governance” course. This course series is designed to enhance Aave’s ecosystem by:
- Boosting User Adoption: By providing clear and comprehensive educational resources, we aim to attract a broader audience to Aave, especially individuals from diverse backgrounds.
- Increasing Voter Participation: Through our course, we hope to empower users with the knowledge and confidence to actively participate in Aave’s governance.
- Decentralizing Voting Power: By educating a younger demographic, we aim to further distribute voting power, ensuring a more balanced and representative governance system.
Here’s a sneak peek into the topics we’ll be covering:
- Understanding DAOs and their significance.
- Introduction to Governance Tokens and their role.
- A step-by-step guide on voting in a DAO, using platforms like Snapshot and DAOhaus.
- Deep dive into Governance Proposals: their structure, and distinguishing good proposals from bad ones.
- Exploring the concept of Delegates and the process of delegation.
- Answering frequently asked questions about DAO governance.
- And much more…
Milestones:
Our primary focus is on creating top-notch course content, ensuring that each lesson is of the highest quality. We believe that learning should be engaging and concise, motivating students to fully immerse themselves in each lesson and actively participate in Aave governance.
Student Outreach & Support: With BEN’s extensive network, we aim to reach out to students globally. This will not only help in promoting the course but also in addressing any queries or support requests from students. Post-course completion, our marketing efforts will span across various social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. We’ll also engage in online discussions, Twitter Spaces, and podcasts to spread the word about our course.
Here is the list of content we have created:
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Video 1 - What is Aave? | Intro to Aave: This whiteboard video introduces Aave as a decentralized liquidity protocol that allows users to participate as either suppliers or borrowers. It explains how suppliers provide funds to the market to earn passive income, while borrowers can borrow those funds using their own assets as collateral. Aave is open source, accessible through various interfaces, and operates on the Ethereum blockchain.
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Video 2 - Decentralized Lending: This video explains how Aave enables decentralized lending through the use of smart contracts. It clarifies that lenders and borrowers can interact directly on the platform without the need for intermediaries like banks or brokers. Lenders can supply funds and earn interest on their assets, while borrowers can take out loans using their cryptocurrency or other digital assets as collateral. The video also cautions users about the need for over-collateralization to protect lenders from potential risks of liquidation. It emphasizes that the lending and borrowing transactions are recorded on the blockchain, making them secure and transparent.
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Video 3 - Flash Loans: The third video introduces the concept of flash loans, which are uncollateralized loans that borrowers must repay within the same transaction. It discusses the various use cases for flash loans, including self-liquidation. The video explains how borrowers can use flash loans to repay their debts and avoid liquidation during market downturns. It outlines the steps involved in the self-liquidation process, which allows borrowers to pay back their loans without incurring liquidation fees.
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Video 4 - Liquidations: This video delves deeper into the liquidation process on Aave and other DeFi lending platforms. It explains that a liquidation occurs when the value of the borrower’s collateral falls below a specified threshold (liquidation threshold). At this point, anyone can act as a liquidator to repay the borrower’s loan and claim the collateral. The video emphasizes the importance of proper risk management for borrowers to avoid the risk of liquidation and potential loss of their collateral.
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Video 5 - How to Supply on Aave: This video provides a step-by-step guide on how users can supply their assets to Aave and earn interest on their deposits. It covers the process of supplying assets, earning interest from loan payments and flash loan fees, as well as withdrawal options. The video clarifies that there is no minimum or maximum limit to supply, but users should consider transaction costs when supplying very low amounts. It also explains how users can opt-out their assets from being used as collateral.
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Video 6 - How to Borrow: This video guides users on how to borrow assets from Aave using their supplied assets as collateral. It explains the difference between stable and variable interest rates and how users can switch between these rates. The video also informs viewers that the maximum borrowing amount depends on the value of their supplied assets and available liquidity. Users are encouraged to refer to the risk parameters section to find specific information about borrowing different assets.
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Video 7 - Self-Liquidations: This video reiterates the concept of self-liquidations and how they can be used to avoid liquidation in bearish market conditions. It explains the steps involved in executing a self-liquidation using flash loans, allowing borrowers to pay back their debts without being subject to liquidation fees.
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Video 8 - Aave Safety Module I: This video introduces the Aave Safety Module, which acts as a safety fund for users who stake their AAVE or ABPT tokens. The module is designed to protect against potential Shortfall Events, such as market crashes or contract hacks. In such events, up to 30% of the safety module funds will be used to cover the deficits for the suppliers. Users receive stkAAVE tokens as a receipt when they stake in the safety module, which they can redeem for their AAVE after a 10-day cooldown period.
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Video 9 - How to Stake and Earn APR: This screenshare video explains how users can stake their AAVE or ABPT tokens in the Aave Safety Module to earn rewards while providing liquidity to the safety fund. It reiterates the purpose of the safety module, which is to cover potential deficits in case of a “Shortfall Event.” The video also emphasizes that stakers should be aware of the risk of losing up to 30% of their staked funds in the event of a shortfall. It mentions the 10-day lock period before stakers can withdraw their staked tokens back to their wallets.
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Video 10 - Aave V3 Upgrades: This video highlights the upgrades introduced in Aave’s third version (Aave V3). It explains the new features, such as isolation mode and high-efficiency mode (E-mode). In isolation mode, assets are selected with lower risk exposure, while E-mode allows users to borrow more against assets of the same category. The video also mentions the permit function, which enables easy asset movement between Aave V3 markets on different networks. The upgrades also include optimizations that reduce gas costs by around 20-25%.
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Video 11 - What is a DAO: This video uses the analogy of Polya’s bees to explain the concept of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). It clarifies that decisions in a DAO are made through smart contracts on a blockchain and are not controlled by any centralized entity. DAOs are designed to be an alternative to traditional organizations, where decisions are made by a centralized group of people. The video emphasizes that DAOs can serve various purposes, such as creating new products or supporting causes, and anyone can propose ideas or initiatives that the community can vote on.
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Video 12 - What are Governance Tokens: This video describes governance tokens as digital assets that give holders the ability to participate in the decision-making process of a DAO. Token holders can vote on proposals related to the direction of the DAO, rule changes, or fund allocation. The voting power is usually proportional to the number of tokens owned. The video also highlights the democratic and transparent nature of governance tokens, as all stakeholders have a fair say in decision-making.
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Video 13 - What are DAO Delegates: This video explains the concept of DAO delegates, who are elected by the community to represent their interests and participate in governance. By delegating voting power, users can trust delegates to make informed decisions on their behalf. The video mentions that users can withdraw their voting power at any time, which keeps delegates active and accountable. DAO delegates play a crucial role in the governance of DAOs, making decision-making faster and allowing the DAO to scale.
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Video 14 - What are Governance Proposals: This video discusses governance proposals in DAOs, which suggest changes or actions for the community to consider. Proposals are submitted by DAO members and then go through a voting process where token holders decide whether to support them. The video highlights the steps involved in the proposal process, including submission, review, voting, and implementation if the proposal is accepted.
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Video 15 - Screenshare on How to Delegate Your Vote: This screenshare video shows users how they can delegate their voting power associated with AAVE or stkAAVE tokens. Delegating allows users to entrust their voting decisions to someone else, while still being able to withdraw their voting power and give it to another delegate if they choose to do so.
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Video 16 - Mastering Aave Governance: Your Ultimate GAQ Guide!: This comprehensive video is an in-depth guide to mastering Aave’s Governance system. It offers an overview of the Aave governance model, providing detailed explanations on how the system works, the roles and responsibilities of token holders, and how voting and decision-making processes are conducted. The video emphasizes the importance of the governance model for the protocol’s sustainability, including the importance of Aave or stkAAave tokens for participating in governance. It walks the viewers through the procedures of making proposals, voting on them, and delegating votes to a representative. Additionally, it explores various ways the community can engage in governance, discussing governance forums, governance calls, and how to leverage these resources for a deeper understanding of Aave’s governance.
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Video 17 - Good Proposals vs Bad Proposals: Essential Tips for Governance: This video addresses the quality of governance proposals within Aave’s ecosystem. It highlights the distinguishing features between well-structured and poorly structured proposals, offering a range of essential tips for community members who aim to contribute to Aave’s governance. The video emphasizes the importance of clarity, feasibility, and the alignment with the protocol’s ethos in making proposals. It also introduces different tools and resources available to the community to aid in the crafting of effective and robust proposals. Lastly, the video touches on how to receive feedback and engage with other community members for better proposal development and increased chances of successful voting.
Here is a video with our latest update and overall reflections on content creation:
I am looking forward to interacting with the community on this forum. Please feel free to ask any questions or give feedback. Thank you!
Warm regards,
Erick Pinos
President, Blockchain Education Network (BEN)
