PoolTogether has evolved considerably over the past year; so it's time to bring everyone up-to-speed on the state of the protocol!
The Protocol
PoolTogether V5 launched in mid-2024 and is now on six chains, with several more on the way.
The protocol is fully autonomous
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there are no admin controls
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the protocol cannot be upgraded
However, the protocol is permissionless: anyone can add new assets by adding new vaults to the existing deployments. In this way, the protocol can continue to evolve.
Create vaults with the Cabana toolsuite:
POOL Utility
The POOL token can now be staked for a chance to win! The chance is funded by capturing a portion of the prize yield. Staking can be done on any chain that PoolTogether is deployed to.
See the POOL Prize Vault on Ethereum here:
Permissionless Incentives
We are about to launch permissionless incentives, which will allow us to distribute POOL to all current and future vaults on a chain. No longer will we need governance proposals to incentivize new vaults; vaults will be eligible simply by contributing to the prize pool.
Permissionless is the way! Set it and forget it.
Bridging POOL with Across
Across has made it easy to bridge POOL across networks; this has made the multi-chain expansion extremely smooth.
Continued Expansion
We will continue to expand to new chains, thanks to having minimal dependencies. One of our key dependencies is the random number generation, for which we depend on our partner Witnet. They support our expansion by quickly launching on new chains, so we will never be at a loss for RNG.
Our other dependency is yield, from which there are a number of great options. Aave and Morpho in particular are great blue-chip options, and they are available (or soon to be) on many chains.
Interfaces
There are now multiple interfaces to PoolTogether, including:
Governance
Governance no longer controls the protocol, so its responsibilities have been reduced to treasury management. POOL holders vote on PoolTogether Budget Requests from contributing teams.
View the PTBRs here:
Treasury
The treasury currently holds:
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$365k USD in WETH
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$173k USDC (including $100k being delegated)
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2.9m POOL
View the Treasury on Zapper
Burn Rate & Runway
PoolTogether Budget Requests occur on a quarterly / bi-quarterly basis. The last set of PTBRs at the beginning of 2025 totaled ~$200k USD for six months of work.
The protocol has another 16 months of runway at the current burn rate.
Contributors
There are three major contributing teams to the protocol:
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PoolTime: communications, community management, development, marketing, partnerships
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Watchman Labs: business development, partnerships
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G9 Software Inc: development, partnerships, grants
These teams operate in a mix of full-time and part-time capacity.
What's Next
We're going to:
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Continue to launch PoolTogether on new chains (up next is World Chain!)
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Kick off a long-term, permissionless POOL liquidity mining campaign that spans all chains and lasts for years
Get Involved
There are many ways to get involved!