Acala kick started the crowdloan process to obtain DOT for its bid to win a Polkadot parachain slot
Acala Crowdloans finally kick started on November 5th, and I was ready to contribute DOT to support Acala team who are aiming to procure enough DOT to bid and win Polkadot’s first parachain slot in the upcoming Polkadot parachain slot auctions.
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Amount of DOT contributed by community for the Acala Crowdloans till Nov 7th
Almost everybody in the Polkadot community is confident that Acala would win Polkadot’s first parachain slot because its twin Kurara won the first parachain slot in the Kusama Network, the testnet canary network also maintained by Polkadot.
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Acala's twin in Kusuma is Karura
Contributing DOT to Acala crowdloans is a win-win situation as investors get their lent DOT back!!
This weekend Acala and Polkadot occupied some of my time as I was set to contribute to Acala’s crowdloans.
Acala Crowdloan form
This was a awesome feeling, because I become a early holder of Acala’s ACA tokens this way, as for my DOT contributions to Acala’s crowdloans, I get an equal amount of ACA tokens, without actually giving away my DOT tokens off permanently as these DOT tokens would be locked in a virtual vault in Polkadot’s Relay chain and I would get them back irrespective of weather Acala wins a parachain slot or not.
Getting free ACA tokens for DOT crowdloan contributions is a priceless feeling
DEFI folks would understand the nice feeling of getting a project’s free tokens early on for putting your crypto in a yield farming vault. In this case of Acala crowdloans I get free ACA rewards for my DOT crowdloan contributions.
However, things get even nicer here as for my DOT Acala crowdloan contribution,I get more in the form of ACA bonus rewards for self referral, and for completing the tasks laid down by Acala Quest.
I also will get a free Acala art NFT which is designed by an artist who specializes in creating art NFTs of AI and Blockchain related projects.
Checklist before venturing to participate in Acala Crowdloans
Acala Quest game that prepares and rewards supporters for their Crowdloan contributions
Acala Quest is a simple game that ensures that you are geared up with what is required to begin your DOT contribution for the Acala Crowdloans. You have some simple tasks to perform - from setting up a polkadot{.js} extension wallet, to getting your wallet filled with DOT that you aim to contribute for the Acala crowdloans and subscribing to the Acala’s newsletter so you get updates about all news related to Acala’s crowdloan launch.
After these 3 simple tasks, only 2 more tasks remain to complete Acala Quest, that is to participate in Acala Crowdloans and claim your ACA bonus rewards and Acala art NFT.
Acala Quest did gear me for the Crowdloans by making me designate one polkadot{.js) extention wallet that I would use to contribute DOT to the Acala crowdloans, making me organised for the Acala crowdloans.
Crowdloaned DOT that’s liquid as I can use it in DEFI in lcDOT form
I opted to contribute DOT to Acala crowloans by using the Acala Liquid Crowdloan vault, which is not trustless initially as by this I will get liquid crowdloaned DOT known as lcDOT, that will have my DOT crowdloan contributions liquid as I can use lcDOT in Acala Defi.
Initially, the DOT here will be controlled by an multisig wallet held by the Acala team, however when Acala launches as a parachain in Polkadot this DOT will be held in Blockchain in Acala’s parachain account in a trustless manner being controlled by Acala’s on-chain governance.
Rewards for my DOT contribution to Acala Crowdloans!!
Therefore, now by contributing DOT to Acala’s Crowdloans I get proportional amount of Acala’s ACA tokens + bonus ACA tokens and also lcDOT through which I can use the liquidity of the contributed crowdloan DOT in Acala DEFI + a Acala art NFT!!
Pretty sweet crypto goodies for me. Imagine, having to buy ACA tokens after it launches in Polkadot, it will be at a higher price than what I will get now. As an early ACA token holder I stand to benefit when ACA tokens appreciate in value in the near future!! Also, I can use the DOT that I crowdloaned as well in Acala DEFI, which puts my contributed DOT to work in giving me income through DEFI activities.
Not to mention that the Acala NFT may make a fortune and why not, I hear about early NFT investors making fortunes, though I have no intention of selling the Acala NFT in the near future for sure!!
Acala Crowdloan kickoff video that explained important things about Acala crowdloans
Before I participated in Acala crowdloans I watched the Acala crowdloan kickoff video that came live on Friday midnight 1.30 am(my India time), that had Acala co-founders Bete Chen and Bryan Chen along with Dan Ree, VP of growth Acala explain about how to participate in Acala crowloans.
This was very helpful because I learnt something very important, that I should make sure that my wallet retains a balance of more than 1 DOT, maybe 1.3 DOT after my DOT contributions as 1 DOT is required to keep the Polkadot account alive plus more to pay for gas fees, so if by chance I have less than 1 DOT as balance then I stand to lose that DOT in my wallet because it will be considered as dust.
So, next day on Saturday, November 6th I participated in Acala crowdloans accordingly.
Today I completed my Acala Quest successfully.
So, when Acala launches on Polkadot after winning a slot in the Polkadot parachain slot auctions, I will definitely get my rewards of ACA tokens, Acala art NFT and lcDOT that I can use in DEFI. This is awesome!!
Nice to be doing more with my DOT than just Hodling it for sure!!
I have been late to Polkadot investing, as when I brought my DOT tokens they were 4$, this was at the time when Polkadot all of a sudden became top 10 crypto project with the highest market capitalisations.
I could not stake DOT as 20 DOT was required to stake and earn staking rewards, later this staking requirements were further increased to 40$, so I was a just plain hodler of DOT. Now, it’s nice that through my DOT holdings I can earn other project tokens too!!
Nice to be doing more with my DOT than just Hodling it for sure!!
I have been late to Polkadot investing, as when I brought my DOT tokens they were 4$, this was at the time when Polkadot all of a sudden became top 10 crypto project with the highest market capitalisations.
I could not stake DOT as 20 DOT was required to stake and earn staking rewards, later this staking requirements were further increased to 40$, so I was a just plain hodler of DOT. Now, it’s nice that through my DOT holdings I can earn other project tokens too!!
Of course, Polkadot and Acala needs to pass the test of functioning well after they launch, but it appears they will, as their versions of Kusama and Kurara are running well for months after their launch now.