Welcome to another episode of our AMA series. Today we are glad to tell you about the AMA session with our friends from Mimo. The AMA took place on February 1 and our guest was @Nick_C_C.
The total reward pool was 500$ and was divided into three parts. In this AMA Recap we will try to summarize some of the most interesting points for you.
PART 1, INTRODUCTION AND COMMUNITY QUESTIONS
Mary | Satoshi Club: Hello Satoshi Club! We are happy to announce our AMA session with Mimo! Welcome to Satoshi Club😀
Nick_C: Hi, I’m Nick, a growth manager for Mimo. I have been in community management, growth, and even politics in the past, and I’m thrilled to be helping the Mimo team with our mission. We’re building a bridge between the old financial world and what we believe to be sound money. The money you all use here, but that most people still don’t: Crypto! We’re starting with PAR and the Mimo DeFi platform. Which I’m excited to tell you more about today.
Q1 from Telegram User @dustyllanos
May I Ask, why does MIMO chose your STABLECOIN to be pegged into the EURO and not the very traditional USD?
Nick_C: Well, Thank you for this question, Dustyllanos! Our initial research showed us that having the USD as a single “safe” currency for your blockchain life was not meeting the needs of many crypto users, especially (as you can imagine) European users. The reasons vary a lot from user to user. Some complain that their trust in USD is waning, and that even a seemingly wonderful 10% gain on a fiat currency which can drop 10% in a year is not great, some feel that while crypto is great, living between volatile assets and USD feels like a lack of options, and even more reasons.
In addition, we see a solid opportunity with building a token in 2021, partly because of what the DeFi world can offer (AMM pools, oracles, and the larger DeFi space).
Gold Rocket | Satoshi Club: You have big plans and goals! What has already been achieved?
Nick_C: The lending platform is live, so the PAR token and the borrowing/repaying/liquidating mechanisms are live. There is about 2M USD locked in the contract already, and we have about 1M of liquidity in our balancer pool.
Mary | Satoshi Club: When did it go live?
Nick_C: Exactly a week ago. I know it’s a bit young, but that’s why it’s also so exciting. We’ve been working on this for months. We have more in the pipeline of course, as we are focused on the mission I told you about: bringing people to sound money.
Mary | Satoshi Club: Btw, where did you find your users? 😉 Which marketing tricks did you use?
Nick_C: I have to thank our amazing team here. The advantage of crypto, and DeFi in particular, is that the community, while large to a certain extent, is rather small compared to the larger finance or tech world. This allows for noise to spread faster! Telegram has been extremely helpful.
We have a team in the small dozens of people. Most are in product and engineering. I know that sounds rather vanilla in the tech space, but that’s how we’re built. We also have a rather substantial piece in operations and legal, which is necessary for what we’ve been working on that we intend to release in 2021. In terms of product and engineering, we have a healthy mix of Solidity devs and React devs. Classic again!
Q2 from Telegram user @JesusFre1tes
MIMO offers a stable token based on Ethereum, something very uncommon when talking about the ERC20 network. What are the tools you have used to make your ERC20 token stable? How easy will it be to mint this token? How do you plan to solve the problems of high fees and transaction delays that working with ETH currently entails?
Nick_C: There are quite a few stable tokens based on Ethereum. What will make PAR stable are the mechanisms of issuance and liquidation of the loans, alongside with the interest rates offered by the platform for borrowing and offering liquidity. These are not related to Ethereum per se, but what Ethereum can bring here is more users which can ensure more liquidity. We do believe that Ethereum will work on fees as a platform, and are confident that their efforts will help, but we also intend to leverage layer 2 solutions to solve this problem. Our layer 2 developments are too early at this point to have much to share though.
We also believe that Ethereum is still where most of the action is happening, and it’s important to know when not to reinvent the wheel when you want to bring change.
Mary | Satoshi Club: So, it’s almost impossible for small players to enter now?😃 Gas fees insane now.
Nick_C: It is easier and more reasonable to borrow with larger tickets today, this is true, but we are working on it and are confident that it is temporary. At the end of the day, every project needs an MVP and we consider Ethereum a solid platform to start, even with its high fees. We’re working towards transitioning a lot of people to sound money, which means we have to take this very seriously, but we need to tackle one problem at a time!
Mary | Satoshi Club: Did you already contact some l2 services?
Nick_C: Yes, and we have very competent staff when it comes to l2. We didn’t take the approach to learn as it goes, but hired people familiar with building l2 solutions. 🙂
Q3 from Telegram user @meml97
I couldn’t find your roadmap anywhere, why? what does the future holds for the project, could you please tell us? I would like to know more about what is coming for the project before investing on it, but certainly without a roadmap I can’t tell if its safe or not.
Nick_C: Thanks for this question Meml! Using Mimo is safe.
We are purposely not sharing much of a roadmap at this point as our focus is to bring attention to our platform so we can enter an iterative process of receiving feedback and improving it. In the meantime, we have a mobile app in the works as we believe that some users would prefer a mobile interface to our DeFi products. We see a large gap between the freedom and privacy that crypto offers and what users need for their daily lives, and everything in our internal roadmap works around addressing this gap. However, if safety is your concern before using Mimo, I would like to point to you that the platform in its current state is safe, and that an audit realized by Quantstamp backs it up (linked in the footer of our website).
I can also link the audit here! https://mimo.capital/assets/pdf/Mimo%20DeFi%20-%20Parallel%20Protocol%20-%20Report.pdf
Gold Rocket | Satoshi Club: It seems to me. You are very right about the mobile app. At the moment, a mobile phone is a full-fledged working tool for a modern person.
Nick_C: We will go through an audit again as we come out of Alpha stage and bring a decentralized governance model.
Thanks! This is what we believe is limiting a lot of people to join the large DeFi ecosystem the right way.
Mary | Satoshi Club: Don’t you think it’s 50/50, as you bring stable coin, but without roadmap and strict development plans it doesn’t seem stable?😉
Nick_C: Fair point! We believe that we should establish a solid platform first. Come to think of it, Bitcoin didn’t need a roadmap. It established a solid product that became better with time. We are not saying we’re re-doing Bitcoin, but it’s important not to rush things out. We’re talking about people’s assets here. Safety first!
Q4 from Telegram user @Korryl
So I read from Mimo whitepaper that you have an insurance to give safety and its covered all your ‘vault’ in Mimo platform. Could you explain what insurance did Mimo offer for your vault? What is the benefit that your investor / user will get from this insurance?
Nick_C: The benefit is a more stable PAR. PAR tokens are not backed by fiat currency in bank accounts, but are issues by the creation of over-collateralized loans in volatile assets. Mimo also does not loan out collaterals, which makes the platform safe from a bank-run. However, the volatility of some assets might be so strong that even the over-collateralization could not make the liquidation of some loans profitable. Mimo’s Safety Reserve is here for that. When someone wants to liquidate a loan and its collateralization is unhealthy, the Safety Reserve kicks in! The code of “VaultsCore” explains how it works. Essentially, the safety reserve will pay what the collateral (minus the discount) can’t pay for.
Mary | Satoshi Club: Do you have any articles, which explain how it works? Or maybe you can explain in simple words this mechanism?
Nick_C: Let me try to make it simple! I’ll try to explain how it would work without a safety reserve first. If Mimo had no reserve. Let’s say Alice loves ETH but wants to buy a PS5, she doesn’t want to sell her ETH, so she comes to Mimo and issues a loan in PAR using her ETH as a collateral.
She goes on with her life but suddenly… * insert thunder noise here * … ETH drops furiously, and Alice was not very careful so she borrowed right above the minimum collateralization ratio (or MCR).
It’s now time to liquidate Alice! Bob comes in and finds that Alice’s vault is open to liquidation, but ETH is so low that what Bob can pay for the ETH will not cover the outstanding PAR amount that Alice borrowed. The platform ends up with a certain amount of PAR that are unhealthy. Mimo doesn’t want to work like that 🙁
WIth a safety reserve, the platform covers the difference between what Bob would pay for the ETH, and what is needed to pay the outstanding amount that Alice has borrowed.
Q5 from Telegram user @Mora110
You mentioned whenever PAR tokens are borrowed and repaid, fees are collected at the protocol level. Fees include the origination fee and the borrowing fee, both of which are collected from borrowers. Income payable is calculated using the same formulas as borrowing fees. Fees collected are distributed to a safety reserve and incentivized liquidity pools. So, what are the fees that you charge from your users when entering into your project?
Nick_C: The answer is way simpler than for the other ones: All the fees that are charged are transparently listed as parameters on the platform. We, as a company, do not currently charge a fee. As described earlier, we’re in the process of building additional services to transition people to sound money.
Mary | Satoshi Club: May be they appear in process after wallet is connected?
Nick_C: Oh sorry, by “on the platform” I meant, “on the platform, on Ethereum”. The smart contract has been deployed with a certain set of variables, these are the parameters. They are not visually displayed in the web app! Sorry for the confusion.
Mary | Satoshi Club: Thank you! But users will be aware about them in the process of transaction creating?
Nick_C: Sorry for the shortcut, I guess we all over-use the word platform to mean different things in the DeFi space! That’s a good point. We believe that it’s important to display the most relevant information to users, such as the interest rates. However, displaying how the fees are distributed could also add a great layer of transparency for those who don’t want to dive into etherscan. I’ll take note!
Q6 from Telegram user @Gutike95
You mention that Mimo generates “Effortless High Yield Rates”, but is this totally safe and reliable? or is it just another high-risk project?
Nick_C: Thank you for this question, Gutike! It is safe, and this question comes at the right moment, given the previous answer.
Today, generating high-yield rates from a Euro point of view is not simple for most (even, and especially for finance-savvy people). As shared above, Mimo incentivizes providing liquidity via the fees collected on the borrowers, and this happens on a smart contract that has been audited by Quantstamp. (I’ll paste it again, the audit is available here: https://mimo.capital/assets/pdf/Mimo%20DeFi%20-%20Parallel%20Protocol%20-%20Report.pdf)
PART 2, TELEGRAM COMMUNITY LIVE QUESTIONS
The chat was open for 120 seconds; a lot of questions were posted by Satoshi Club community. Our guests chose some of them.
Q1 from Telegram User @moe_808
Can you tell us how # PAR token holders benefit in the ecosystem and what power within the governance model individuals have? Why is it so attractive and what are the basic requirements to participate?
Nick_C: Thank you for the question, moe!
Given the smart contract architecture of the smart contract, the governance model is very powerful. The first layer I can communicate here is that all the parameters we’ve discussed today (such as the interest rates for borrowing, the distribution of fees, the supported collateral and their minimum collateralization ratios, etc…), will all be controlled by the decentralized governance.
Q2 from Telegram User @apocan99
$PAR will be the first decentralized EURO price-stable token. Being first is usually great but also have some disadvantages. You prefered EURO instead of USD but EURO is not used as common as USD. So will you focus on EURO-using locations or do you target worldwide? What plans do you have to make PAR used widely in many locations?
Nick_C: Thanks for the question, Apocan!
Our PAR token which follows Euro is the first we’re coming with, but our ambition is international. You’re right to say that coming first is essentially a double-edged sword, but in crypto, it’s important to know how and when to take risks, and we believe this one is the right bet!
Q3 from Telegram User @cryptoflower13
What is the idea behind the name Mimo and why did you choose it?
Nick_C: Thanks for the question, dear crypto FLOWER!
Multiple input, multiple output was how the name appeared, but it’s not what it stands for. For example, we realized that it could mean Money in, Money out, and even more things! Therefore, we’ve decided that Mimo as our name must stand for itself, that brings us more flexibility.
Q4 from Telegram User @Maksyrn
Will users from some countries of the world have legal problems when using Euro from Mimo?
Nick_C: Thanks for the question Maksym!
We chose the safe route. While I can’t comment on every legal system, I can point that we’ve designed Mimo for PAR to be as “on chain” as possible, making it simpler for regulators to understand what’s going on. On-chain means transparent, and transparent is safer for regulators. This is one of the reasons why we believe it will be safe to use in many jurisdictions!
Q5 from Telegram User @Gutike95
Are decentralized stable tokens really necessary? why not just have conventional stable tokens like usdt erc20 or usdc? aren’t these decentralized?
Nick_C: Thanks for the question, Gutierrez!
Not all currencies are made equal, and the centralized stable coins have to manage the risks of their underlying currencies. With the USD, it’s OK for now, but with Euro, it is very challenging, and we believe that a decentralized token is the safest and most reliable route to provide stability in the long term.
Q6 from Telegram User @atakansan
Why didn’t you choose a name like TEUR or EURT but chose PAR for a EURO token?
Nick_C: Thanks for this question, Ahulya!
We see it as essential to differentiate PAR from the centralized stablecoins. We’re not alone here, and users seem to be OK, DAI isn’t DUSD. We also believe that the concept of PAR (for Parallel) token communicates the way Mimo works.
Q7 from Telegram User @highpee
Who are the Liquidity manager/profit-seeking actors (contracts algorithm or human?) in the network that can reposes a poor health vault’s collateral and what will happen if the owners of these vaults decided to reclaim their collateral by paying off accumulated debt and fees?
Nick_C: Thank you Johnny!
There is a direct incentive to liquidate an unhealthy vault, and everyone is able to do it! Our experience in the space has showed us that there is no shortage of users willing to get cheaper ETH when available, and that’s exactly what liquidating a vault gives you.
Q8 from Telegram User @lionsaver
On your website it says Alpha use at your own risk. Why do you say that? Is this not safe?
Nick_C: Thank you for this question, Lion!
It is safe, and we have the Quantstamp audit linked in the footer (https://mimo-capital-staging.netlify.app/assets/pdf/Mimo%20-%20White%20Paper.pdf) helping us share this view. The Alpha label is more here to communicate our view of the development state of Mimo as a platform. It is also important to remember than whenever you’re using anything on-chain, you’re generally at your own risk. We preferred to remind people of this for good measure. Safety first!
Q9 from Telegram User @leixagarcia
I don’t know much about DeFi. If I don’t plan on borrowing or anything like that, would it still be advantageous to save money in $PAR?
Nick_C: Thank you for this question, Super Girl!
Today, PAR provides you the ability to stay in crypto, without taking the risk of USD, which can be a positive product to bring in 2021. There is no need to embrace the entirety of the DeFi space to benefit from PAR!
Q10 from Telegram User @esrarengizbtc
We know how important partnerships are for the strengthening of crypto projects, but I could not see information about your partnerships on your website. Do you plan to make new partnerships that will support the #Mimo ecosystem in the coming period?
Nick_C: Thank you for the question, with your long username (I’m not going to take the risk to botch it!).
Our goal is to transition a lot of users into sound money, and we know that doing this alone is not always realistic. We will partner with other companies as we go, but for any of this to start, we need a solid foundation, and this is what we’re sharing today. We believe the best way to establish partnerships is trust, and we know that trust will come from exhibiting a solid and audited foundation first.
PART 3, QUIZ AND INFO
As usual, for the third part, Satoshi Club Team asked the chat 4 questions about Mimo. A link to a Quiz form was sent into the chat. Participants had 10 minutes to answer. 300$ were distributed between the winners.
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