_**TL;DR:** DeFi is often criticized by traditional finance folks for being capital inefficient due to the full 
collateralization requirement. This article explores how traditional finance achieves capital efficiency through the 
practice of fractional reserve and presents a comparable mechanism to enhance capital efficiency in DeFi. The 
described mechanism offers improved transparency and enhanced protection for end-users and taxpayers compared to traditional setups. 
While this article uses insurance built on top of [DIVA Protocol](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/) as an example use case, the model can be extended to prediction markets 
and any other DeFi application requiring full collateralization._

## ✨ Introduction

Traditional insurance companies operate on a fractional reserve basis, maintaining only a portion of the maximum potential 
liabilities in reserve. This practice capitalizes on the uncorrelated nature of risks, making it highly unlikely that an 
excessive number of insurance claims will be triggered simultaneously, leading to a default.

In contrast, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols, such as DIVA Protocol, require users to fully collateralize their 
future obligations upfront. While this ensures that all potential claims are covered, thus reinforcing the trustless 
nature of DeFi, it also greatly limits capital efficiency, reducing the number of policies that can be underwritten 
relative to traditional settings. This fundamental difference poses a significant challenge for traditional financial 
institutions considering DeFi integration.

In this article, we will examine the concept of fractional reserve and then derive a comparable mechanism to achieve 
capital efficiency in DeFi, using insurance as an example use case. Additionally, we will provide a high-level technical 
implementation guide.

## 🎬 Setting the stage

Vlad plans to build an agricultural insurance business using DIVA Protocol, an open decentralized finance infrastructure 
to create and manage conditional payment agreements without using banking rails. He issues two harvest loss insurance 
policies, each fully collateralized with $1,000, and sells them to Bob, a farmer in India, and Alice, a farmer living 
in Kenya, for $150 each. Vlad collects a total of $300 in premiums and locks up $2,000 in collateral.

In comparison, a traditional insurance company that operates on a 50% fractional reserve basis, would only keep $1,000 
in reserve, allowing it to underwrite twice as many policies as Vlad, earning $600 using the same amount of collateral. 
This highlights the perceived capital inefficiency of DeFi.

## 🧪 Understanding fractional reserve

By running a fractional reserve, traditional insurance companies effectively bet that the total claims submitted will 
not exceed a certain threshold. For instance, if they sell coverage totaling $2,000 but maintain only $1,000 in reserve, 
they essentially bet that claims will not surpass $1,000. If an excessive number of claims is filed at once though, the 
insurance company would not be able to cover its liabilities, resulting in a default.

**Who absorbs the insurer’s shortfall risk? Who will step in to cover the deficit if a shortfall occurs?**

In an ideal scenario, the insurance company buys insurance against such an event from a reinsurance company specialized 
in assessing and consciously accepting those types of risks. However, often it is either the policyholders themselves who 
will not receive their promised payout or the government, and by extension the taxpayers, who will step in to compensate 
the policyholders.

One of the most significant examples is the bailout of American International Group (AIG), a global insurance corporation, 
during the 2008 financial crisis. AIG faced severe liquidity issues due to its exposure to credit default swaps and other 
risky financial products. The U.S. government intervened to prevent a collapse affecting the global financial system. This 
intervention included an [initial bailout of $85 billion](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/business/17insure.html) from 
the Federal Reserve, with the total support eventually amounting to approximately 
[$182 billion](https://www.livemint.com/Politics/B132DlCABbziw3ahadw33M/US-to-sell-off-all-its-AIG-stock-ending-182-bn-rescue.html?facet=amp).

**The key takeaway from this section is that in a fractional reserve system, the burden of covering a shortfall from excess 
claims is shifted to another party, knowingly or unknowingly.**

In the next section, we will explore how we can enable a similar risk transfer mechanism in DeFi while maintaining full collateralization.

## 🎨 Applying fractional reserve principles to enhance capital efficiency in DeFi

Vlad‘s goal is to unlock a portion of the $2,000 collateral tied up in the two policies in order to be able to underwrite additional policies. 
By releasing $1,000, he would still have $1,000 in reserve, sufficient to cover obligations in three out of the four possible scenarios. 

However, Vlad is programmatically prohibited from withdrawing any funds from DIVA Protocol prior to the policies‘ expiration. This prevents 
him from silently transferring shortfall risk to policyholders or taxpayers, a common practice in traditional settings. Consequently, his only 
option is to transfer the risk to a party that is willing to cover the shortfall.

Setting up a reinsurance policy using DIVA Protocol, similar to the original insurance policies, which would cover the shortfall by paying out 
$1,000 if both policies trigger is not an option as the funds would be locked inside DIVA Protocol until the policy‘s expiry, leaving Vlad 
without the immediate liquidity he needs to underwrite additional policies.

**To address both needs, transferring shortfall risk and receiving immediate capital, Vlad can bundle and securitize the collateral recoverable 
from the policies into a synthetic asset and use it as collateral to secure a loan.**

### Illustrating the payout structure of the synthetic asset

The payout of the synthetic asset mirrors the amount of collateral recovered from the two policies combined. Below table illustrates the 
payouts under the four possible scenarios:


 <img src="/images/posts/outcome_table.png" width="100%" />


The synthetic asset returns $2,000 if no claims are triggered, $1,000 if one policy triggers, and $0 if both trigger. This is depicted in the following chart.


 <img src="/images/posts/Fractional Reserve_recoverable_collateral_with_bg.drawio.png" width="100%" />


This intrinsic value of the synthetic asset enables it to be used as collateral to secure a loan from a lender willing to accept the risk of a 
total loss arising from the synthetic asset becoming worthless when both policies trigger.

In three of the four scenarios - (0,0), (1,0), and (0,1) - the synthetic asset would generate enough payout to repay the lender. However, in the (1,1) scenario, 
the asset becomes worthless, resulting in a total loss for the lender. 

To compensate for the risk of loss, the lender could offer Vlad $950 and expect a repayment of $1,000 when the policies expire, earning a yield 
of 5.26%. This could be an attractive arrangement if the probability of both policies triggering simultaneously is estimated to be low (e.g., 1%). 
The pricing of these risks is a complex topic and beyond the scope of this article.

This strategy could be scaled to any number of policies that Vlad has underwritten. For example, with 1000 policies, each pre-funded with $1,000, 
Vlad could opt to transfer the risk of claims exceeding $600,000, effectively freeing up nearly $400,000 in capital (a bit less due to the risk 
premium demanded by the lender). 

**In this section we have seen how securitizing the recoverable collateral from a portfolio of fully collateralized positions and then borrowing against 
the resulting synthetic asset provides an effective way to recover a portion of the pre-funded amount, while preserving the assurance that all future 
policyholder claims will be honored.** This concept extends beyond insurance and can be applied in prediction markets or other DeFi 
applications that demand full collateralization.

This concludes the theoretical discussion. Next, we will examine the practical implementation of this mechanism by combining various DeFi building blocks. 


## 🧰 Technical implementation

In this section, we will walk through the technical steps required to implement the presented mechanism using [DIVA Protocol](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/) 
in conjunction with a lending protocol like [Myso v2](https://github.com/mysofinance/v2), [Morpho](https://morpho.org/) or [Euler v2](https://www.euler.finance/blog/euler-v2-the-new-modular-age-of-defi).

The implementation involves the following key steps:

<div style={{ paddingLeft: '20px' }}>
 1. **Create** insurance policies and pre-fund them with the insurance cover amount. 
 2. **Bundle and securitize** the positions representing the recoverable collateral into a single synthetic asset. 
 3. **Borrow** funds using the synthetic asset as collateral. 
 4. **Recover** any remaining collateral from the policies. 
 5. **Repay** the lender. 
 6. **Transfer** any excess funds to the borrower.
</div>

### Create
Using DIVA Protocol, an insurance policy can be created by specifying the policy parameters including the trigger conditions 
(e.g. harvest loss) and expiration, and then pre-funding it with the insurance cover amount, denominated in a USD-pegged 
stablecoin such as USDT or USDC.

This process results in the issuance of two conditional claims on the funds, both represented as ERC20 tokens: 

<div style={{ paddingLeft: '20px' }}>
 1. **Token A**, representing the insurance policy, which is sold to the insurance taker (e.g., Alice or Bob) and redeemable if a harvest loss occurs. 
 2. **Token B**, representing the insurer's position, which is inversely related to Token A and redeemable if no harvest loss occurs. 
 This token effectively grants the right to recover any remaining collateral.
</div>


 <img src="/images/posts/Fractional Reserve_Create_with_bg.drawio.png" width="100%" />


By repeating this step for every new policy, a diverse portfolio of B tokens is built up, with each token distinctly connected to an individual policy.

### Bundle and securitize

The second step involves bundling the B tokens in a vault and securitizing its payout into a single synthetic asset, represented as an ERC20 token. 
One approach is to transfer each B token after policy creation individually to a vault, such as [thirdweb‘s multiwrap contract](https://portal.thirdweb.com/contracts/explore/pre-built-contracts/multiwrap). 
Once consolidated, a synthetic asset can be issued against that vault, representing a claim on the collateral amount recoverable from the bundled positions.


 <img src="/images/posts/Fractional Reserve_Bundle_with_bg.drawio.png" width="100%" />


A more cost-effective approach is to designate the vault directly as the recipient of the B tokens at the moment of policy creation. This 
method eliminates the need for separate transfer transactions, thereby reducing transaction costs.

For optimal efficiency, it is recommended that all policies are pre-funded with the same stablecoin, streamlining the financial operations 
associated with borrowing and repayment.

### Borrow 

The next step is to find a lender willing to issue a loan against the synthetic asset. Existing lending protocols like Myso v2, Morpho or Euler v2 
can facilitate this process.


 <img src="/images/posts/Fractional Reserve_Borrow_with_bg.drawio.png" width="100%" />


Two essential features are required for the chosen lending protocol:
* The ability to accept any ERC20 token as collateral, allowing the synthetic asset to be used for this purpose.
* The absence of a liquidation mechanism, allowing the lender to incur a loss if the collateral value falls below the loan amount.

The specifics of the borrowing process will vary depending on the chosen protocol. Typically, it involves either receiving a 
signed loan offer from potential lenders or placing a borrow offer at desired terms. Once an offer is accepted, the synthetic 
asset is deposited and locked in an on-chain escrow, where it remains until the loan reaches maturity, and the loan funds are transferred to the borrower.

### Claim, repay and transfer

Upon the expiration of the policies, the B tokens must first be redeemed/liquidated for the underlying stablecoin from DIVA Protocol. 
These funds are then used to repay the loan, with any surplus returned to the borrower (the insurer).


 <img src="/images/posts/Fractional Reserve_Claim_with_bg.drawio.png" width="100%" />


The implementation of the repayment mechanism necessitates the development of an adapter contract that interacts with both DIVA Protocol and the lending protocol. 
If you are interested in contributing to its creation, please reach out on our [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3).


## 🌔 Conclusion

This article has presented a framework for enhancing capital efficiency in a fully collateralized DeFi system by applying the principles of fractional 
reserve systems in a decentralized context. By pre-funding insurance policies and refinancing them through lenders, an insurer can return a portion of 
the collateral initially locked to back the policies, thus enabling the underwriting of additional policies. Crucially, this approach maintains the 
trustless nature of the system, ensuring that all positions remain fully collateralized.

This framework has broader applications beyond the insurance sector. It can be adapted to prediction markets, which can also be facilitated by DIVA Protocol, 
and other DeFi applications that require full collateralization.

Adopting such models could significantly enhance transparency, improve protection for end-users, and potentially ease the regulatory burden for insurers. 
However, the success of this mechanism largely depends on the presence of sophisticated lenders who can effectively assess and manage the associated 
risks. As this sector continues to evolve, there is a significant opportunity for community involvement and development, especially in refining and 
scaling these solutions. For those interested in discussing, contributing to, or implementing this model, please reach out on our [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3).


## 📈 About DIVA Protocol

DIVA Protocol is a universal smart contract-based system for creating and managing derivative financial contracts peer-to-peer. It provides the foundation 
for enabling a wide range of financial applications including insurance, prediction markets, conditional donations, structured products, swaps, bets, and more, all operated fully 
automatically and without central intermediaries. As an open-source protocol, DIVA is freely accessible, empowering everyone to innovate and build applications that 
contribute to a more robust financial ecosystem.


## 🔗 Links

- 🌐 Website: [divaprotocol.io/](https://www.divaprotocol.io/)
- 🍏 Github: [github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1)
- 📚 Docs: [docs.divaprotocol.io/](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/)
- 🦜 Twitter: [twitter.com/divaprotocol_io](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io)
- 🤖 Discord: [discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3)

## 📘 Other articles that you may like
- [Flash loans in DIVA Protocol](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-flash-loans)
- [Empowering pastoralists in Kenya - The third DIVA Donate campaign](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-conditional-donations-pastoralists-3)
- [Introducing the ETH Gas Price Market - Hedging Against Rising Gas Costs](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-eth-gas-market-launch)

Enhancing capital efficiency in DeFi

**TL;DR:** The [third campaign](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-conditional-donations-pastoralists-3)
concluded on 10 June 2024. No donation payment was triggered due to favorable vegetation
conditions. **All participants can claim back their contributions, totaling $8'632.60.**

## 🌍 Outcome

The [NDVI](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalized_Difference_Vegetation_Index) value as of 31 May 2024, used to assess vegetation and drought conditions at the
onset of the dry season, was recorded at 0.72 on 10 June 2024, the time when the outcome reporting commenced. 
This value significantly exceeded the threshold value of 0.57, marking it as the second highest in recorded history.
According to the predefined criteria for donation release payouts, no payout was triggered 
(the shift by 1 in the NDVI value is for technical reasons and does not affect the outcome).


 <img src="/images/posts/donation-chart-outcome-kajiado-3.png" />


Below is a graphic that puts the outcome into historical context by comparing it to previous
years that would have triggered a payout due to drought conditions (2014, 2015, 2017, 2022,
2023) according to the established payoff profile, alongside the maximum value recorded in
2018 (0.74).


 <img src="/images/posts/FEWS Outcome.png" />


 Please note that due to the smoothing algorithm used by FEWS, past values may be revised
 retroactively. For instance, the NDVI value for May 31, 2024, was initially reported at 0.72
 on June 10. It was later adjusted to 0.71 on June 12, and reduced further to 0.69 by June 23.


The outcome aligns with the assessments from Kenya's National Drought Management Authority
(NDMA) detailed in their monthly reports for [March](http://knowledgeweb.ndma.go.ke/Public/Resources/ResourceDetails.aspx?doc=ae30158c-9ef7-436c-b441-a0f5b2e35c15), 
[April](http://knowledgeweb.ndma.go.ke/Content/LibraryDocuments/Kajiado_DEW_Bulletin-_April_2024.20240521152125.pdf), and [May](http://knowledgeweb.ndma.go.ke/Public/Resources/ResourceDetails.aspx?doc=9681f74b-546b-4552-b11b-92605e8f10db). 
An excerpt from the April report, the peak month of the "Long Rains" season, describes the conditions on the ground:

> Due to continued enhanced rainfall during the month, water is adequately available. Open water sources are 
90%-100% recharged, silted too due to floods; rivers overflowing to vicinity. They are expected to last for 
about four to five months. Vegetation condition above normal. Pasture and browse conditions are very good, 
but heavily flooded. Livestock body condition is very good. Milk production slightly above normal due to 
increased calving. No migration, but moved to higher grounds due to floods in some areas. No Livestock mortalities due to drought.

## ✨ Contributions

A total of $8'632.60 was contributed to the campaign, with the majority consisting of Mercy Corps Ventures (MCV)
funds rolled over from the previous campaign by the DIVA Donate team. Additionally, $70 was
contributed by two external users from the DIVA Protocol community.

## 🔮 Outcome reporting via Tellor

The third campaign tested the use of the [Tellor Oracle](https://tellor.io/) for outcome reporting. Tellor is a
decentralized oracle system employing a network of reporters to relay off-chain data to the blockchain.
Reporters are required to post a financial bond of approximately $10,000 prior to reporting,
which may be forfeited in the event of inaccurate reporting, ensuring data accuracy and
integrity. Crucially, using a decentralized oracle system eliminates the risk of a single point of failure, 
enhancing the system's resilience and reliability.

A comprehensive [guide](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/technical-blog/ndvi-outcome-reporting-guide-for-tellor-reporters) on how to source and report the NDVI value was published for Tellor
reporters before campaign expiry.

The timeline of the outcome reporting related events is summarized below:
- The campaign expired on 10 June 2024, at 06:00:00 PM UTC, opening a 7-day window for outcome
reporting.
- Just 16 minutes later, the NDVI value was reported by a Tellor reporter ([tx link](https://polygonscan.com/tx/0xac50ec16204a6fe3fb7e75a89453a1a5f74ea106440e6919401e9cade676af42)).
- After remaining undisputed for 12 hours, a key requirement to ensure data accuracy, the value
was confirmed and pushed to DIVA Protocol for settlement ([tx link](https://polygonscan.com/tx/0x70496cff069b1448b375f58e1385e071bea72bdcd20b2b6e7e6e594e968b36a7)).

The reporting via Tellor Protocol went smoothly, eliminating the 14-hour delay experienced in
the previous campaign due to suboptimal timing configuration in the oracle. Combined with
Tellor's shorter 12-hour dispute period versus DIVA Protocol's conservative three-day period,
this improvement significantly reduced the time for final value confirmation to 12 hours, down
from 86 hours previously.

## 🏆 POAPs

As a token of appreciation, participants received a digital certificate (so-called POAP) to
commemorate their contribution which can be viewed [here](https://collectors.poap.xyz/en-us/scan). Donations of $75 or more received the golden-ring POAP.
Smaller contributions were rewarded with the silver POAP.


 <img src="/images/posts/Front - Gold (1).png" style={{ width: '45%', height: 'auto', display: 'inline-block', padding: '20px' }}/>
 <img src="/images/posts/Front - Silver (1).png" style={{ width: '45%', height: 'auto', display: 'inline-block', padding: '20px' }}/>


## 💰 Claim your funds
To reclaim your funds, navigate to [divadonate.xyz](https://www.divadonate.xyz) and select
**"My Donations"** from the top navigation menu. Click on **"Claim Unfunded Amount"** and confirm the
transaction in your wallet.

The reclaimed MCV funds are earmarked for redeposit into the fourth campaign planned for October-November-December
2024. This third iteration of fund utilization underscores the magnified impact of every dollar contributed.

## 💡 Key Learnings

This section summarizes the key takeaways from the third campaign.

### Smooth reporting process via Tellor Oracle:
The integration of the Tellor Oracle improved final value confirmation times by over 80%,
reducing disbursement delays in the event of a payout.

### Carefully study new datasets before using them as trigger metrics:

The campaign utilized the publicly available, smoothed NDVI dataset from the [USGS Famine
Early Warning System Network (FEWS)](https://earlywarning.usgs.gov/fews/product/902#documentation), 
which corrects for cloud coverage and atmospheric contamination. Post-launch, it was discovered that 
the dataset’s smoothing algorithm retroactively adjusts historical observations. For example, the NDVI 
value for May 31, 2024, initially reported at 0.72 on June 10, subsequently dropped to 0.71 by June 12 
and further to 0.69 by June 23.

To mitigate confusion and prevent costly disputes, we highlighted this fact in the [Tellor reporting guide](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/technical-blog/ndvi-outcome-reporting-guide-for-tellor-reporters) 
and provided additional instructions on which value to report, including a recommendation to document 
submissions through video recording. The recording from the Tellor reporter who submitted the NDVI value 
of 0.72 for the third campaign can be found [here](https://www.loom.com/share/f5849a5edc9c44e88c5ad4352b8f4d3b). For future campaigns utilizing the FEWS dataset, these 
details should be clarified in the [reference asset specifications](https://bafybeibdjwmxn3r7cxx4bqqolqp3qib6l2co6mdrqh46ry2ab7cgbsamtu.ipfs.w3s.link/tellor_reference_asset_kajiado.json) already.

This situation emphasizes the importance of fully understanding the dataset and clearly communicating 
the reporting requirements to avoid costly disputes.

### Challenges in user onboarding:

Participation was limited to only two external users with a total amount of $70, primarily 
due to low marketing activities and the barrier of requiring web3 knowledge for participation. 
Moving forward, we will focus on forming partnerships with NGOs and securing grant funding 
to engage fewer, but more impactful, participants who can contribute more substantially in 
terms of dollar amounts to the campaigns. However, we want to emphasize that external users 
will still be able to participate in the campaigns.

### Clarifying expectations for beneficiaries

Despite prior explanations about the conditional nature of the program, pastoralists onboarded for the 
campaign anticipated guaranteed payouts, mistaking the onboarding process for a pledge of funds at season’s end. 
To prevent such misunderstandings, we plan to transition to group onboarding strategies. This method distributes 
funds to established groups representing the pastoralists, who then allocate the funds internally, simplifying the 
process for future campaigns by reducing the frequency of individual onboarding.

### Add protection against flooding:

While rainfall is generally beneficial for vegetation, excessive rainfall, like that observed in April, 
can lead to flooding. To provide protection against excessive rainfall, the campaign payout could be 
structured to cover both scenarios – too little and too much rain. This dual-trigger strategy will be 
explored in future campaigns to better protect against the two extremes.

## 🔍 Transparency

While this article focuses on the outcomes and insights from our third campaign, it also presents an opportunity 
to underscore the transparent nature of the processes at DIVA Donate. Given the 
inherent transparency of blockchain technology, all details and transactions related to the campaign 
can be independently verified. Please note that some information may be encoded in a format that is 
not directly interpretable without specific knowledge or decoding tools (e.g., 1720000000000000000 
corresponds to 1.72).

### Campaign setup

The campaign parameters, including the [reference asset](https://bafybeibdjwmxn3r7cxx4bqqolqp3qib6l2co6mdrqh46ry2ab7cgbsamtu.ipfs.w3s.link/tellor_reference_asset_kajiado.json), payout profile, data provider, and expiry time, 
are specified upfront and cannot be altered after campaign launch. These details are accessible 
on the blockchain explorer [louper.dev](https://louper.dev/diamond/0x2C9c47E7d254e493f02acfB410864b9a86c28e1D?network=polygon#read) by following these steps:
1. Navigate to **Read**,
2. Select **GetterFacet** in the Choose Facet dropdown on the right,
3. Expand **getPoolParameters** function,
4. Enter the campaign identifier **0x8c85108a28a163d17222c2140eea57f9d1cb7f83f69dfc04eb0d9e51298dea2b6** into the _poolId field,
5. Click the **Query** button.
The parameters floor, inflection, cap, and gradient define the shape of the payoff curve. For interpretation 
of these parameters, consult the [DIVA Protocol documentation](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/introduction/what-is-diva-protocol/how-it-works/payoff-curves).


 <img src="/images/posts/Campaign details-3_1.jpg" />


### Outcome reporting steps

The two transactions involved in the outcome reporting via the Tellor Oracle can be accessed here:
* [NDVI value submission to Tellor Protocol](https://polygonscan.com/tx/0xac50ec16204a6fe3fb7e75a89453a1a5f74ea106440e6919401e9cade676af42): 
This is the initial step where the NDVI value is submitted to the Tellor Protocol by Tellor reporters.
* [NDVI value submission from Tellor Protocol to DIVA Protocol](https://polygonscan.com/tx/0x70496cff069b1448b375f58e1385e071bea72bdcd20b2b6e7e6e594e968b36a7): 
If a reported NDVI value remains undisputed for at least 12 hours, anyone can trigger the push of the value from Tellor Protocol to DIVA Protocol for final processing.

### Reported outcome

The final value (finalReferenceValue) and the respective payouts for beneficiaries (payoutShort) and participants 
(payoutLong) can be verified in the [same location](https://louper.dev/diamond/0x2C9c47E7d254e493f02acfB410864b9a86c28e1D?network=polygon#read) as the campaign setup.


 <img src="/images/posts/Campaign outcome-3_2.jpg" />


### Contributions
Details on all contributions, including contributing accounts, amounts, are available [here](https://polygonscan.com/token/0xF253278A45fD1EB0F2B16260C9314b8740Fa94cf) 
(transactions labelled **createContingentPool** and **addLiquidity**).

### Claim back
All claim back transactions following the campaign's expiry can be viewed in the [same section as contributions](https://polygonscan.com/token/0xF253278A45fD1EB0F2B16260C9314b8740Fa94cf) 
(transactions labelled **batchRedeemPositionToken**).

## 🌔 Conclusion

The successful completion of the third DIVA Donate campaign highlights our ongoing commitment to increasing the climate resilience of vulnerable communities through technology. By integrating the Tellor Oracle, we've significantly improved outcome 
reporting times and reliability. We look forward to leveraging these insights to refine future initiatives and 
effectively address extreme weather conditions. Thank you to all participants for your support and contribution 
towards making a meaningful difference in our target communities.

## 🍀 About DIVA Donate

DIVA Donate is an innovative platform that leverages blockchain technology to enable parametric conditional donations. It is a 
joint initiative between two entities united around the mission of empowering vulnerable communities affected by climate change:
1. [**Fortune Credit**](https://fortunecredit.co.ke/): a microfinance institution in Kenya which provides credit, insurance & other financial services to 50k+ customers including small-holder farmers & pastoralists, and 
2. [**DIVA Technologies AG**](https://www.divaprotocol.io/): developer of DIVA Protocol, a smart contract-based system for creating and managing custom derivative contracts peer-to-peer.

## 🔗 Links

* DIVA Donate: [Website](https://www.divadonate.xyz/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DIVADonate_xyz)
* DIVA Protocol: [Website](https://www.divaprotocol.io/) | [Github](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1) | [Docs](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io) | [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3)
* Fortune Credit: [Website](https://fortunecredit.co.ke/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/fortuneconnectk)

DIVA Donate - 3rd campaign completes

**TL;DR: This article explores the use of flash loans in prediction markets built on top of DIVA Protocol, aiming to enhance user 
experience and optimize market making activities. This idea is inspired by a prediction market app currently under development.**

In prediction market applications, ease of use for participants is key. Users should be able to easily place bets on outcomes and close 
their positions with a simple click.

This simplicity is achieved by limiting users to market buys and sells of the corresponding outcome shares, reserving the complexity 
of limit orders for advanced market participants like market makers.

In DIVA Protocol, market makers are essential for liquidity, as they mint position tokens to sell them on the market for a profit. 
This process involves (i) depositing funds into DIVA Protocol to mint equal quantities of LONG and SHORT position tokens (which 
combined represent a claim on the deposited funds) and (ii) placing sell limit orders via decentralized protocols such as 0x Protocol, 
facilitating market buys for users. The goal is to sell these tokens to two independent users for an amount exceeding the initial deposit.

> **Example:** Bob deposits $100 into DIVA Protocol to mint 100 LONG and 100 SHORT Tokens. He then lists the 100 LONG tokens 
for sale at a total price of $60 and the 100 SHORT tokens at $45. With Charlie buying the LONG tokens and Emily the SHORT tokens, 
Bob earns a profit of $5.

Furthermore, in order to enable users to close their positions via market sell, market makers must provide buy limit orders 
for both tokens. Consequently, a market maker would have to maintain a four-sided market to achieve the desired simplicity 
for users. This is adding complexity and operational burden. 

The following sections will detail how integrating flash loans can significantly reduce this complexity, offering a more 
streamlined approach for market makers.

## 💎 Closing positions with opposite outcome token

The first step towards reducing the complexity for market makers is to realize that instead of selling their position, users can 
buy an equivalent amount of the opposite outcome token and redeem them for collateral via DIVA Protocol.

> **Example:** Let's say Alice has 100 LONG tokens, each priced at 20c. Directly selling these tokens would yield her $20. Alternatively, 
Alice could achieve the same outcome by buying 100 SHORT tokens, trading at an implied price of 80c each, for a total of $80, and 
redeeming both for $100 from DIVA Protocol, netting her $20.

Yet, an issue arises since Alice needs funds ($80 in our example) to purchase the opposite token, which may not be always available.

What if Alice could briefly borrow the necessary funds to buy the opposite token and immediately repay the loan upon redeeming the 
collateral from DIVA Protocol? That’s where flash loans come in.

## ⚡ Flash loans

Flash loans introduce an innovative form of lending unique to the blockchain world. These loans do not require collateral but must be 
repaid within the span of a single smart contract transaction. Failure to do so results in the reversal of the entire transaction, 
thus eliminating any repayment risk.

To grasp the concept of flash loans, particularly for individuals that come from traditional finance, it's essential to understand the 
atomic nature of smart contract transactions. Essentially, a smart contract transaction comprises a sequence of instructions executed as 
one unit. Should any part of this sequence fail, the entire transaction is undone, leaving the blockchain unchanged.

A flash loan is integrated as a specific instruction within a smart contract transaction. It involves borrowing funds at the transaction's 
start and repaying them by its conclusion. Overcollateralized lending protocols like Aave, Compound or MakerDAO have flash lending 
capabilities integrated into their protocols for public use.

To illustrate, consider Alice’s situation again: She owns 100 LONG tokens valued at 20c each and aims to liquidate her position. 
With an implied SHORT token price of 80c, the following steps are executed as part of a single smart contract transaction:
* Borrow $80 from Aave
* Purchase 100 SHORT tokens with the $80
* Redeem 100 LONG and 100 SHORT tokens from DIVA Protocol for $100
* Repay the $80 loan, retaining $20 as the net proceeds, mirroring the direct sale of LONG tokens

The example shows how the flash loan instructions (steps 1 & 4) encapsulate the transaction's other operations (steps 2 & 3), 
allowing for their replacement with any other operations, such as exploiting arbitrage opportunities or refinancing outstanding loans.

## 🫰 Presence of fees

In our previous example, we omitted flash loan fees, trading fees and redemption fees for the sake of simplicity. However, in 
reality, those fees are not zero. Aave charges a 0.09% interest on the flash loan, DIVA Protocol applies a 0.25% upon redemption, 
the trading fee is also typically non-zero.

Intuitively, in the presence of fees the net dollar amount received at the end of a transaction will be lower, introducing the 
possibility that the flash loan cannot be repaid.

To illustrate the impact of fees, let’s revisit our previous example, assuming the standard Aave and DIVA fees and a 1% trading fee:

**Scenario 1:** Alice intends to liquidate her LONG tokens, which are traded at 20c and the implied SHORT token price being 80c.
* Borrow $80.80 from Aave to cover the $80 purchase price for 100 SHORT tokens and the trading fee of $0.80, leading to a repayment amount of $80.80*1.0009 = $80.8727
* Purchase 100 SHORT tokens for $80.80 including trading fee
* Redeem 100 LONG and 100 SHORT tokens from DIVA Protocol for $100*(1-0.0025) = $99.75 after the redemption fee
* Repay the $80.8727 loan, yielding $18.8773 net proceeds after all fees (vs. $20 in the absence of fees)

Here, the funds available after fees ($99.75) suffice for loan repayment ($80.8727), ensuring the transaction concludes successfully. In mathematical terms we have: $99.75 - $80.8727 >= 0.

**Scenario 2:** Now let’s consider a scenario where Alice’s LONG token is valued at 1c, with the SHORT token priced at 99c.
* Borrow $99.99 from Aave to cover the $99 purchase price for 100 SHORT tokens and the trading fee of $0.99, leading to a repayment amount of $99.99*1.0009 = $100.08
* Purchase 100 SHORT tokens for $99.99 including trading fee
* Redeem 100 LONG and 100 SHORT tokens from DIVA Protocol for $100*(1-0.0025) = $99.75 after the redemption fee

In this case, loan repayment is not possible since the available funds after step 3 ($99.75) are less than the required repayment amount ($100.08), 
leading to a transaction failure. In mathematical terms we have: $99.75 - $100.08 < 0.

From these reflections, we can derive a general formula to calculate the threshold price of the opposite token that ensures loan repayment:


 <img src="/images/posts/formula_threshold_price_1.jpg" />


where _p_ represents the price of the opposite token, and _m_ the quantity of the owned token being liquidated (100 in our previous example).

Simplifying this formula yields:


 <img src="/images/posts/formula_threshold_price_2.jpg" />


Under the assumed fee structure, the threshold price _p_ would be $0.986736, meaning that the flash loan will succeed if the price of the SHORT token 
is less than or equal to $0.986736.

## 💡 Additional considerations

In a scenario where a user has sufficient funds to buy the opposite side, no flash loan is needed. To address instances where a user has partial funds, 
the smart contract function that triggers the flash loan based liquidation operations could be designed to accept the loan amount as an input parameter.

## 🌔 Conclusion

This article explored a flash loan-based approach for liquidating derivative positions created on DIVA Protocol, aimed at enhancing the user experience 
and streamlining market-making processes.

If this concept piques your interest, we invite you to join us in the development of this (small) smart contract adapter to expand the DIVA infrastructure 
ecosystem.

Flash loans in DIVA Protocol

Following the successful conditional donation campaign for the October-November-December 2023 rainy season in collaboration with Mercy Corps Ventures, 
we are excited to announce the launch of the third pilot campaign under the DIVA Donate initiative. Building upon our experiences and 
the insights gained from the previous campaigns, this new campaign introduces a more robust NDVI metric that corrects for cloud coverage 
and atmospheric contamination and tests the outcome reporting via the decentralized Tellor oracle system. 

Let’s dive in.

## ✨ About the campaign

In our third campaign, we remain dedicated to providing anticipatory cash transfers to pastoralist communities in Kenya, which are disproportionately affected by 
climate-change-induced drought.

The campaign’s objective is to assess vegetation health using the [Normalized Difference Vegetation Index](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalized_Difference_Vegetation_Index) (NDVI) 
following the March-April-May 2024 rainy season and disburse funds to participating pastoralists if the NDVI at the end of this period suggests insufficient vegetation to support 
livestock during the upcoming dry season.

Given a more focused fundraising target of $10’000, compared to $25’000 in the previous campaign, the campaign concentrates on Kajiado county solely. This region was a 
beneficiary in the last campaign and received 16.4% of the contributed funds.

## 📊 Enhanced NDVI metric

The NDVI, sourced from satellite imagery, remains our key metric to evaluate the vegetation health on the ground. This time, however, we are utilizing a smoothed dataset from the 
[USGS Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS)](https://earlywarning.usgs.gov/fews/product/902#documentation) that corrects for cloud coverage and atmospheric contamination.

By leveraging this enhanced dataset, we can directly use the NDVI values recorded at the end of the observation period, eliminating the need for average calculations to 
address the problem of contamination. The switch to this new dataset is a response to our last campaign's experience, where relying on average NDVI values led to skewed 
outcomes due to the influence of outliers. A comprehensive analysis and the key learnings from the previous pilot campaign are still being finalized and will be published 
in a separate article.


 <img src="/images/posts/kajiado_county_location.jpg" />


## 🔮 Outcome reporting

The reliability of the data reporting system is of utmost importance. In this campaign, we are adopting Tellor Oracle, 
a decentralized system that allows smart contracts to securely and reliably access data from off-chain sources. Tellor uses a decentralized network of 
staked reporters to provide this data, ensuring network integrity and discouraging false reporting. In addition, by decentralizing the data provision, 
we effectively eliminate the risk of a single point of failure, ensuring the system's resilience and reliability.

We will release a comprehensive guide specifically for Tellor reporters over the coming weeks, detailing the process for data retrieval and reporting.

## 🧑‍🎓 Payoff calibration

The payoff calibration process involves identifying the NDVI thresholds indicative of drought conditions to trigger disbursements to pastoralists. 
The first step is to look at the NDVI data. Below chart shows the FEWS NDVI data for Kajiado county, updated every 5 days and covering the last 12 years.


 <img src="/images/posts/pastoralists_3_historical_data.jpg" />

_Source: [FEWS](https://earlywarning.usgs.gov/fews/ewx/index.html)_

The chart illustrates a recurring pattern: an increase in NDVI during the March-April-May rainy season, indicating improved vegetation, 
followed by a decline until the end of September as the dry season progresses. Low NDVI values at the end of May imply reduced fodder 
for pastoralists' livestock, forecasting tougher survival conditions through the dry months.

The chart highlights the NDVI values on 31 May for the last 12 years. The values vary between 0.45 in 2014, and 0.74 in 2018, with an 
average NDVI value of 0.59. Without additional information, it is not possible to tell whether 0.45 represents a low or high level.

To make this assessment, we have leveraged the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) maps published by the 
[National Drought Management Authority (NDMA)](http://knowledgeweb.ndma.go.ke/Public/Resources/ResourceDetails.aspx?doc=3e0a4f40-b6a7-4393-9296-be1b2a972e73) in their monthly county reports.


 <img src="/images/posts/vci_kajiado.jpg" />

_Source: [Kajiado DEW Bulletin-December 2023](http://knowledgeweb.ndma.go.ke/Public/Resources/ResourceDetails.aspx?doc=3e0a4f40-b6a7-4393-9296-be1b2a972e73)_

The VCI measures the average NDVI over a 3-month period, mapping the current vegetation health to its historical range, expressed as a percentage from 
0% to 100%. Lower VCI values indicate that vegetation health is near the historical minimum, whereas higher values indicate levels closer to the 
historical maximum. More specifically, VCI values below 20% mark severe drought conditions (highlighted by a red box), values between 20% and 35% 
indicate moderate drought (highlighted by a yellow box), and values above 35% reflect normal to optimal vegetation conditions (highlighted by a green box).

The presence of yellow or red boxes during the dry season months June, July, August, and September, suggests insufficient vegetation build-up during the 
preceding rainy season.

With this approach, we identify 2009, 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2022 as the years that experienced drought conditions. Specifically, we can see moderate 
drought conditions in 2014, 2017 and 2022 associated with NDVI levels of 0.45, 0.50, and 0.49, respectively, by the end of May. For the years 2009 
and 2011 no specific data is available, however, the presence of red boxes suggests that NDVI levels must have been even lower. Based on these 
insights, we have set a full fund release for NDVI levels at or below 0.50.

To create a more equitable payout structure, we implemented a linearly increasing payout profile, starting at 0.57, slightly below the 2012-2023 
average of 0.59. Historically, this selected payout structure would have distributed 100% of the contributed funds in 3 out of 12 cases and 0% 
in 7 out of 12 cases, underscoring the need-based approach. In the remaining two cases, the payout would have fallen within a range of 0% to 100%, 
following the linear payout curve.

The chosen payout profile for the campaign is depicted below (note that the NDVI value was shifted by +1 for technical reasons):


 <img src="/images/posts/payoff_profile_pastoralists_mar_may_2024.png" />


## ♻️ Recycling contributions

Any unreleased funds contributed by the DIVA Donate team to the previous campaign ($8’430) will be recycled and redirected to support the new campaign. 
In addition, the DIVA delegate has committed himself to contribute the fees withheld by DIVA Protocol at the time of payout claim during the previous 
campaign (~$50) to the new campaign, thereby emphasizing the flexibility inherent in DIVA Protocol‘s governance model.

Participants from the prior campaign are encouraged to claim any unreleased funds and amplify their impact by supporting the new campaign. If you 
haven’t claimed the funds from the previous campaign yet, learn how to do it in [this video](https://www.loom.com/share/6a37d6ac32034af4a128308c1a56f789).

## 💡 How to participate

Participating in the campaign is simple if you have a browser wallet with [USDT](https://polygonscan.com/address/0xc2132D05D31c914a87C6611C10748AEb04B58e8F) on Polygon. 
Just visit [divadonate.xyz](https://www.divadonate.xyz/campaign/pastoralists-3), connect your wallet, enter the amount you wish to contribute, click "Deposit" and confirm the transaction in your wallet.

Note that you may be asked to "Approve" the transfer first in order to grant DIVA Protocol the permission to move USDT on your behalf. For a step-by-step guide, you can check out the 
[video tutorial](https://www.loom.com/share/76fd76726d314cacb018600b444e0723?t=9) produced for the previous campaign.


 <img src="/images/posts/donate_pastoralists_3.jpg" />


For those new to crypto, there is a one-time setup process to go through to [set up a wallet](https://wiki.polygon.technology/docs/develop/metamask/hello/)
and [convert](https://www.coinbase.com/) your local currency into crypto assets. Refer to our [FAQs](https://divadonate.xyz/faq) for more guidance. 
If you need support, head over to the diva-donate channel in our [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3) and ask your questions.

## 🏆 Rewards

Consistent with previous campaigns, participants will receive a digital certificate (POAP) to commemorate their contribution. Donations of $75 or 
more will receive the golden-ring POAP. Smaller contributions will be rewarded with the silver POAP.


 <img src="/images/posts/Front - Gold (1).png" style={{ width: '45%', height: 'auto', display: 'inline-block', padding: '20px' }}/>
 <img src="/images/posts/Front - Silver (1).png" style={{ width: '45%', height: 'auto', display: 'inline-block', padding: '20px' }}/>


## 🛠️ Technical campaign details

Below are the technical details of the campaign setup, enabling everyone to monitor the fund flows and the reporting process on the Polygon blockchain:
* Donor token: [0xF253278A45fD1EB0F2B16260C9314b8740Fa94cf](https://polygonscan.com/address/0xF253278A45fD1EB0F2B16260C9314b8740Fa94cf)
* Beneficiary token: [0xC6426753264774EAB988d91DD29CfE6a626b14a0](https://polygonscan.com/address/0xC6426753264774EAB988d91DD29CfE6a626b14a0)
* PoolId: [0x8c85108a28a163d1722c2140eea57f9d1cb7f83f69dfc04eb0d9e51298dea2b6](https://polygonscan.com/tx/0x6090358798710828fa20c63f42fcf4be3cc8f91e90e1aa31ac7ced48e0d17e60)
* [Reference asset description stored on IPFS](https://bafybeibdjwmxn3r7cxx4bqqolqp3qib6l2co6mdrqh46ry2ab7cgbsamtu.ipfs.w3s.link/tellor_reference_asset_kajiado.json)
* Tellor oracle adapter: [0x7950DB13cc37774614B0AA406e42a4C4f0BF26a6](https://polygonscan.com/address/0x7950DB13cc37774614B0AA406e42a4C4f0BF26a6)

## 🔢 DIVA Donate Statistics

Below provides the since inception statistics of the DIVA Donate initiative (excluding the new campaign):
* Number campaigns: 2
* Contributed: $25’602
* Donated: $11’744 (45.9%)

## 💎 Join the cause

The DIVA Donate team is actively seeking partners who share our vision of harnessing blockchain technology to launch parametric conditional donation campaigns. 
Given the versatile nature of DIVA Protocol, the donation payout can be linked to virtually any metric. If you represent a charity or NGO passionate about this 
concept, [reach out](http://wladimir.weinbender@divadonate.xyz) and join forces to provide more efficient and effective support to vulnerable communities worldwide.

## 🌔 Conclusion

The third campaign emphasizes our commitment to mitigate the impact of climate change on pastoralist communities in Kenya. By enhancing the NDVI metric, 
we aim to provide more precise and impactful support. The incorporation of the Tellor oracle for outcome reporting reflects our dedication to improving 
the reliability of our solution. We are grateful for the continued support of our donors and partners and look forward to making a meaningful difference 
in the lives of those we serve. Together, we can continue to empower communities and foster resilience against the challenges posed by climate change.

## 🍀 About DIVA Donate

DIVA Donate is an innovative platform that leverages blockchain technology to enable parametric conditional donations. It is a 
joint initiative between two entities united around the mission of empowering vulnerable communities affected by climate change:
1. [**Fortune Credit**](https://fortunecredit.co.ke/): a microfinance institution in Kenya which provides credit, insurance & other financial services to 50k+ customers including small-holder farmers & pastoralists, and
2. [**DIVA Technologies AG**](https://www.divaprotocol.io/): developer of DIVA Protocol, a smart contract-based system for creating and managing custom derivative contracts peer-to-peer.

## 🔗 Links

* DIVA Donate: [Website](https://www.divadonate.xyz/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DIVADonate_xyz)
* DIVA Protocol: [Website](https://www.divaprotocol.io/) | [Github](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1) | [Docs](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io) | [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3)
* Fortune Connect: [Website](https://fortunecredit.co.ke/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/fortuneconnectk)

Empowering pastoralists in Kenya - The third DIVA Donate campaign

**TL;DR: This article sheds light on the methodology used to determine the donation release profiles for the [**ongoing parametric conditional donation campaign**](https://www.divadonate.xyz/campaign/pastoralists-mcv) 
supporting pastoralists in Kenya.**

The current campaign with pastoralists in Kenya uses the following donation release profiles:


 <img src="/images/posts/payoff_profile_laikipia.jpg" />



 <img src="/images/posts/payoff_profile_kajiado.jpg" />


The reference metric is the average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) recorded during the period 1st October to 22nd December 2023, shifted by 1.

Let’s explore why this particular configuration was chosen.

## Context

Kenya’s climate naturally fluctuates between rainy and dry seasons. Rainfall during the rainy season triggers vegetation growth, which provides necessary pasture 
for livestock in the coming dry season. However, over the last few years climate change has been reducing rainfall during these periods, 
intensifying challenges in the dry season, causing livestock losses and hunger, affecting millions of people.

Specifically, the years [2016, 2017](https://fews.net/sites/default/files/documents/reports/FEWS_NET_Horn_of_Africa_June%202017_Drought_Map_Book.pdf) and [2022](https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150712/worst-drought-on-record-parches-horn-of-africa) 
were marked by severe droughts. Notably, the rainy season of [2022 (March - May)](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/drought-threatens-starvation-horn-africa-un-agencies-say-2022-05-31/) was recorded as the driest in over 40 years.

The goal of the conditional donation campaign is to time the release of funds just before the inception of the dry season when the rainfall amount during the rainy season is deemed insufficient.

## Methodology

To achieve this goal, the following three steps were required:
* Determine a measure for drought
* Identify the rainy period
* Define the shape of the donation release profiles

## Drought measure

The campaign uses the [Normalized Difference Vegetation Index](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalized_Difference_Vegetation_Index) (NDVI) as a drought measure. 
The NDVI is sourced from satellite imagery and measures the density and health of vegetation in a given region, which closely mirrors rainfall quantity. Higher NDVI values 
indicate a greater density of healthy vegetation, while lower values indicate drought stress.

The available dataset spans 11 years (2012-2022), extracted from [eVIIRs](https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eros/science/usgs-eros-archive-vegetation-monitoring-eros-visible-infrared-imaging) 
and provided by [Shamba Network](https://shamba.network/). Each NDVI data point represents a 5-day average, creating a dataset that is more resilient against cloud coverage which can prevent vegetation measurement.

## Historical data analysis

When examining the historical NDVI data, a clear seasonality pattern emerges, as illustrated below for the two Kenyan counties involved:


 <img src="/images/posts/historical_ndvi_laikpia.png" />



 <img src="/images/posts/historical_ndvi_kajiado.png" />


Local bottoms mark the end of dry periods and the start of rainy periods, while local tops indicate the end of rainy periods and the start of dry periods. 

Specifically, there are two distinct rainy seasons during a year: one starting in March and another in October. This pattern becomes apparent when 
examining the data more closely, as illustrated in the following example for the years 2015-2017.


 <img src="/images/posts/historical_ndvi_laikipia_2015_2017.png" />



 <img src="/images/posts/historical_ndvi_kajiado_2015_2017.png" />


During these periods, the NDVI hits a local bottom (typically in March & October) and subsequently increases, indicating higher rainfall levels. The NDVI peaks at the end of 
May and December, respectively, signifying reduced rainfall thereafter. This consistent pattern holds true for both regions.

## Observation Period

For the ongoing campaign, only the rainy season starting in October was considered. The historical NDVI data from August to January for both counties is plotted below:


 <img src="/images/posts/historical_ndvi_aug_jan_laikpia.png" />



 <img src="/images/posts/historical_ndvi_aug_jan_kajiado.png" />


Based on local bottoms and tops visible in the charts, the observation period for the campaign was set from 1st October to 31st December 2023. Considering that no data is typically 
published between 22 and 31 December, the actual observation end date was set to 22th December. To mitigate the risk of delayed availability of the data, the outcome will be reported with a 10-day delay, 
on 2nd January 2024.

## Reference asset

To trigger the donation release, the average NDVI value during the observation period is used. The use of the average as a summary statistic is suitable given 
the absence of outliers in the data.

The average NDVIs by year for the observation period 1st October to 31st December are plotted below. As can be seen, flatter curves observed in the previous 
images result in a lower average value.


 <img src="/images/posts/average_ndvi_laikpia.png" />



 <img src="/images/posts/average_ndvi_kajiado.png" />


For both counties, the lows in the year 2022 align with the occurrence of a severe drought [documented](https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150712/worst-drought-on-record-parches-horn-of-africa) in the Horn of Africa. 
The 2016/2017 drought had a more pronounced impact on Kajiado compared to Laikipia.

_Note: As the NDVI can go as low as -1, but the underlying smart contract cannot accommodate negative values, the average NDVI shifted by 1 
serves as the actual reference metric._

## Donation release profiles 

We can now use the historical averages to shape the donation release profiles. 

For the campaign we used the 30th, 50th and 80th percentiles as reference points. Between the 50th and 80th percentile, 
the donation amount gradually increases to 20% of the deposited funds. Beyond the 50th percentile, the acceleration is more 
pronounced, leading to a full 100% donation when the NDVI value falls at or below the 30th percentile. 


 <img src="/images/posts/payoff_profile_laikipia.jpg" />



 <img src="/images/posts/payoff_profile_kajiado.jpg" />


Taking Kajiado, for example, the values 1.45, 1.47, and 1.51 correspond to the 30th, 50th, and 80th percentiles. In other words:
* 30% of the shifted average NDVIs are at or below 1.45. Looking at the average NDVI chart in the previous section, this holds true for the years 2017, 2021 
and 2022 (2014 and 2016 are slightly above, not visible due to rounding), resulting in 100% of the deposited funds being donated.
* 50% of the shifted average NDVIs are at or below 1.47. This holds true for the years 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021, and 2022 
(2013 is slightly above, not visible due to rounding), resulting in 20% of the deposited funds being donated.
* 80% of the shifted average NDVIs are at or below 1.51. This holds true for the years 2012-2022 except for 2019 and 2020, 
resulting in a non-zero donation amount. The only instances where a donation would not be triggered are the years 2019 and 2020.

A similar logic applies to Laikipia. 

It's worth noting that commercial index-based insurance products typically employ a lower percentile (5-25%) as the trigger threshold. 
The beauty of conditional donations lies in their capacity for more generous payouts.

_Note: We acknowledge that using simple averages leans towards pragmatism. In contrast, insurance companies may employ more 
sophisticated techniques to normalize the data - a consideration for future campaigns._

## Join the cause

If you represent a charity or non-profit organization passionate about the concept of parametric conditional donations, [reach 
out](http://wladimir.weinbender@divadonate.xyz) and join forces to provide more efficient and effective support to vulnerable communities worldwide. Given the versatile 
nature of DIVA Protocol, the donation payout can be linked to virtually any metric and the donation release profile can be 
tailored to reflect the specific needs and objectives.

## About DIVA Donate

DIVA Donate is an innovative platform that leverages blockchain technology to enable parametric conditional donations. It is a 
joint initiative between three entities united around the mission of empowering vulnerable communities affected by climate change:
1. [**Fortune Credit**](https://fortunecredit.co.ke/): a microfinance institution in Kenya which provides credit, insurance & other financial services to 50k+ customers including small-holder farmers & pastoralists,
2. [**Shamba Network**](https://shamba.network/): an oracle which brings ecological/remotely-sensed data on-chain, and
3. [**DIVA Technologies AG**](https://www.divaprotocol.io/): developer of DIVA Protocol, a smart contract-based system for creating and managing custom derivative contracts peer-to-peer.

## About Mercy Corps Ventures

[Mercy Corps Ventures](https://www.mercycorps.org/what-we-do/ventures) (MCV) invests in and catalyzes venture-led solutions to increase the resilience of underserved individuals and communities. 
Founded in 2015 as the impact investing arm of Mercy Corps, MCV supported 43 early-stage ventures to scale and raised over $396.7 million 
in follow-on funding. In September 2023, MCV [announced](https://agfundernews.com/mercy-corps-ventures-pilots-the-blockchain-to-get-cash-transfers-to-communities-ahead-of-climate-shock) 
a partnership with DIVA Donate to test anticipatory cash transfers to communities ahead of climate shocks leveraging blockchain technology.

## 🔗 Links

* DIVA Donate: [Website](https://www.divadonate.xyz/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DIVADonate_xyz) | [Campaign](https://www.divadonate.xyz/campaign/pastoralists-mcv) 
* DIVA Protocol: [Website](https://www.divaprotocol.io/) | [Github](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1) | [Docs](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io) | [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3)
* Fortune Connect: [Website](https://fortunecredit.co.ke/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/fortuneconnectk)
* Shamba Network: [Website](https://shamba.network/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/shambanetwork)
* Mercy Corps Ventures: [Website](https://www.mercycorps.org/what-we-do/ventures) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/MCSocialVenture)

DIVA Donate - Insights into Trigger Selection Methodology


**TL;DR: Earnouts are conditional payment arrangements used in negotiations when buyers and sellers can't agree on a price. 
DIVA Protocol is democratizing the access to this powerful tool through smart contracts, allowing users to create custom 
conditional payment agreements peer-to-peer.**

Often, when buyers and sellers want to complete a deal but can’t agree on the price, they employ a strategy called an “earnout”. 
An earnout is a contingent payment that the seller only receives from the buyer when specific performance targets are met.

The buyer pays a portion of the cost of the business upfront, and the remainder of the cost is dependent upon if future performance targets are met.

> Example: Bob seeks to sell his business. Alice is willing to pay $800’000, but Bob is confident in the company's future growth potential 
and asks for $1’000’000. To bridge the gap, the two parties agree to implement an earnout arrangement. That is, Alice agrees to pay $800’000 
upfront and the remaining $200’000 only if the company reaches $150’000 in sales within a three year window.﻿

The earnout eliminates uncertainty and limits the downside for the buyer, as they only pay a portion of the sale price upfront and the 
remainder based on future performance. The seller receives the benefits of future growth.


## 🐘 Big Players Embrace Earnouts

Major players like eBay and Google have employed earnouts in their acquisitions. When [eBay purchased Skype](https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReportArchive/e/NASDAQ_EBAY_2005.pdf) in 2005, 40 percent ($1.1bn) 
of the purchase price was tied to specific performance targets, including net revenue, gross profit margin and active users. 
Similarly, [Google’s acquisition of dMarc Broadcasting](https://www.chiefmarketer.com/google-set-to-acquire-dmarc/) in 2006 featured a small upfront payment of $102m and a substantial $1.14bn contingent 
on achieving certain milestones. 


## 🦎 Smaller scale examples

Earnouts aren't just for corporate giants; they can also be applied on a smaller scale. Consider a scenario where Bob wants to sell 
$10’000 worth of an illiquid token over-the-counter (OTC) at $0.2 per token. Alice offers an upfront payment of $7’500 and the remaining amount 
contingent on the token's average price over a 12-month period exceeding $0.3.

This concept can be applied in any service-based context: Bob offers marketing services and promises to increase sales by 100% within 12 months due to his activities. 
To make Bob live up to his claims, Alice pays $10’000 upfront and ties the remaining $5’000 to actual sales growth within the next 
12 months.

But how would you implement such a conditional payment agreement in the traditional financial world without involving a bank or some 
other trusted entity that holds the contingent amount and releases it based on the reported outcome? Short answer: You can’t! DIVA 
Protocol solves that.


## ⛓️ Introducing DIVA Protocol

[DIVA Protocol](https://www.divaprotocol.io/) is a smart contract-based system for creating and managing custom conditional payment agreement peer-to-peer. It 
revolutionizes the concept of earnouts by making them accessible to anyone in the world in a permissionless manner. 

Users can select virtually any metric as the underlying and choose from a wide array of customizable payoff profiles to fit their 
specific needs. Further, DIVA Protocol allows to accommodate any oracle for outcome reporting, including trusted individual accounts, 
multi-signature wallets or trustless decentralized oracle solutions such as Tellor, offering flexibility in setup.

But that's not all - DIVA Protocol stands out as one of the first DeFi protocols that tries to bridge the gap between DeFi and 
traditional finance. The protocol achieves this by implementing an optional compliance feature that allows traditional financial 
institutions to restrict the transfer of derivative assets to predefined NFT token addresses, such as KYC NFT tokens, and with 
that ensure compliance with regulatory KYC and AML requirements.

Last but not least, DIVA Protocol is secure as it requires full collateralization of the derivative positions upfront, thereby 
eliminating the inherent risk of buyers failing to honor their payment commitment - an issue often associated with conventional 
earnout arrangements.


## 🌔 Conclusion

Thanks to DIVA Protocol, the powerful tool of earnouts is now within everyone’s reach. If you're curious about this approach 
and eager to delve deeper, we invite you to join our [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3) community and ask your questions.


## 🔗 Links

- 🌐 Website: [divaprotocol.io/](https://www.divaprotocol.io/)
- 🍏 Github: [github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1)
- 📚 Docs: [docs.divaprotocol.io/](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/)
- 🦜 Twitter: [twitter.com/divaprotocol_io](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io)
- 🤖 Discord: [discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3)

How derivatives can be effectively employed in price negotiations

Earnouts - How derivatives can be effectively employed in price negotiations

**TL;DR: [DIVA Donate](https://www.divadonate.xyz/), an innovative conditional donation platform developed by [DIVA Technologies AG](https://www.divaprotocol.io/) in collaboration with [Fortune Connect](https://fortunecredit.co.ke/) 
and [Shamba Network](https://shamba.network/), has partnered up with [Mercy Corps Ventures](https://www.mercycorps.org/what-we-do/ventures) (MCV) to harness the potential of blockchain technology to positively 
impact the lives of vulnerable communities in the Horn of Africa.**

In early 2023, MCV has announced the [launch of its second Crypto For Good Fund](https://medium.com/mercy-corps-social-venture-fund/real-world-use-cases-for-web3-in-emerging-markets-launching-the-crypto-for-good-fund-ii-40c9516eb1bf) with the goal to drive global financial 
inclusion and climate resilience through a series of pilots, demonstrating the scalability of blockchain-enabled solutions 
in making a positive impact in emerging markets. 

Out of a competitive pool of 200 applicants, DIVA Donate emerged as one of the winners, a testament to the team‘s commitment 
to demonstrate that blockchain is more than just speculation; it can be a force for positive change for millions worldwide.

## 🛡️ Empowering Kenyan pastoralists

The collaborative efforts between DIVA Donate and MCV will focus on leveraging blockchain technology to provide anticipatory 
cash transfers to pastoralist communities in Kenya, specifically in the counties of Kajiado and Laikipia. These communities 
heavily depend on livestock and livestock products for their livelihoods and are disproportionately affected by 
climate-change-induced drought. Read the official pilot announcement [here](https://agfundernews.com/mercy-corps-ventures-pilots-the-blockchain-to-get-cash-transfers-to-communities-ahead-of-climate-shock).

## ✨ How it works

Users participate in the campaign by depositing funds in the form of the [USDT stablecoin](https://polygonscan.com/address/0xc2132D05D31c914a87C6611C10748AEb04B58e8F) through the [DIVA Donate](https://www.divadonate.xyz/campaign/pastoralists-mcv) web application. 
These funds are held trustlessly inside the DIVA Protocol smart contract on the [Polygon](https://polygon.technology/) blockchain and released to beneficiaries based on the average [Normalized Difference Vegetation Index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalized_difference_vegetation_index) (NDVI) observed during the period Q4 2023 reported by the remote-sensed data oracle [Shamba Network](https://shamba.network/).

The NDVI is a commonly used metric to assess drought conditions in an area by measuring 
vegetation density and health. If the value falls below a critical level, a donation payment will be triggered. If vegetation 
remains healthy during the monitoring period, the user can reclaim their funds and redeploy them in the next campaign, 
thereby maximizing impact.

The donation amount varies based on county-specific profiles influenced by historical 30th, 50th, & 80th percentiles for Kajiado (1.45, 1.47, & 1.51) and Laikipia (1.54, 1.59, & 1.64). 
The chosen profiles exhibit a gradual increase from the 80th to the 50th percentile, resulting in a 20% donation, followed by an accelerated increase 
to 100% donation between the 50th and 30th percentiles, reflecting the increasing severity of drought conditions and the greater demand for financial support. 
The donation profiles for the two counties are depicted below.


 <img src="/images/posts/payoff_profile_kajiado.png" />


 <img src="/images/posts/payoff_profile_laikipia.png" />


Deposits will be automatically split 50/50 between the two programmatic escrows created for each region. Consequently, the released donation amount 
represents the average between the payouts for these two regions. 

Example: If the outcome is 1.44 for Kajiado and 1.59 for Laikipia,
then 60% of the deposited funds will be disbursed as a donation and 40% will be reclaimable by the depositing user. If the outcome is 1.45 for Kajiado and 1.54 for Laikipia, 100% of the deposited funds will be released as donation.
No donation is released if the outcome exceeds 1.51 for Kajiado and 1.64 for Laikipia.

## 🌧️ Anticipatory aid

The observation period Q4 2023 represents the rainy season, followed by a dry season. This is where the anticipatory nature 
of the pilot comes into play. If during the rainy season, rainfall falls below the critical threshold, as implied by the 
donation profile, donations are triggered, providing vital financial support for the upcoming, more challenging dry season.

## ⛓️ Benefits of using smart contracts

One of the key benefits of utilizing smart contracts is that aid is swiftly delivered in response to reported conditions 
without requiring manual intervention. Other advantages include transparent donations and an open, permissionless 
approach that allows participation from anywhere in the world with any amount at minimal cost.

## 🍀 Participate now

To participate in the campaign, head over to [DIVA Donate](https://www.divadonate.xyz/campaign/pastoralists-mcv) and deposit any amount of USDT 
to support pastoralists in Kenya in the event of drought.

Note that you will need a [Metamask wallet](https://metamask.io/), a small amount of MATIC to cover the transaction costs on Polygon (which are minimal), 
and some [USDT](https://polygonscan.com/address/0xc2132D05D31c914a87C6611C10748AEb04B58e8F). The team is working on enabling donations in fiat to abstract 
away the complexities involved in interacting with blockchain applications.

## 🏆 Rewards
As a token of appreciation, donors will receive a digital certificate known as a POAP to commemorate their contribution. 
Donations of $75 or more will receive the golden-ring POAP. Smaller contributions will be rewarded with the silver POAP.


 <img src="/images/posts/poap_pastoralists_mcv.png" />


## 💎 Join the cause
The DIVA Donate team is actively seeking partners who share their vision of harnessing blockchain technology to launch parametric 
conditional donation campaigns. Given the versatile nature of DIVA Protocol, the donation payout can be linked to virtually any metric. If you represent a charity or NGO passionate about this concept, [reach out](mailto:wladimir.weinbender@divadonate.xyz) and join forces to 
provide more efficient and effective support to vulnerable communities worldwide.

## 🌔 Conclusion

DIVA Donate's partnership with Mercy Corps Ventures is a testament to the transformative potential of blockchain technology. 
By providing anticipatory cash transfers to pastoralist communities in Kenya, this initiative not only showcases the power 
of blockchain but also demonstrates the profound impact it can have on improving the lives of those in need. Join DIVA 
Donate and MCV in this endeavor to make a positive difference in the world.

## About DIVA Technologies AG

DIVA Technologies AG is a Swiss based software consulting firm focused on applications related to the DIVA Protocol, a smart contract-based system co-founded by 
the CEO of the company, Wladimir Weinbender, to enable peer-to-peer conditional payment agreements.
In particular, DIVA Technologies AG is the developer of the DIVA Donate platform, a conditional donation platform that allows users to 
donate to ongoing campaigns in a transparent, trustless, and cost-effective manner.

## About Fortune Connect

Fortune Connect Limited is a microfinance institution in Kenya, providing credit, insurance and other non-financial 
services to 50,000+ customers in Kenya including smallholder farmers, female micro-retailers, and youth in the mobility industry.

## About Shamba Network

Shamba Network develops an oracle for the collection, analytics, and use of ecological data on-chain. Through the Shamba oracle, 
smart contracts get updated on what is happening in real time and use this data to trigger a wide variety of actions. 
Shamba’s oracle relies on satellite data to monitor vegetation levels in a given area.

## About Mercy Corps Ventures

Mercy Corps Ventures (MCV) invests in and catalyzes venture-led solutions to increase the resilience of underserved individuals and communities. 
Founded in 2015 as the impact investing arm of Mercy Corps, MCV supported 43 early-stage ventures to scale and raised over $396.7 million in follow-on funding.

## 🔗 Links

* DIVA Donate: [Website](https://www.divadonate.xyz/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DIVADonate_xyz)
* DIVA Protocol: [Website](https://www.divaprotocol.io/) | [Github](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1) | [Docs](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io) | [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3)
* Fortune Connect: [Website](https://fortunecredit.co.ke/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/fortuneconnectk)
* Shamba Network: [Website](https://shamba.network/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/shambanetwork)
* Mercy Corps Ventures: [Website](https://www.mercycorps.org/what-we-do/ventures) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/MCSocialVenture)

DIVA Donate partners up with Mercy Corps Ventures to aid Kenyan pastoralists in the event of drought

**TL;DR: DIVA Protocol enters into a strategic collaboration with [IPOR Protocol](https://www.ipor.io/) to integrate their on-chain interest rate 
index to catalyze the creation of fully trustless interest rate derivative products.** 

IPOR Protocol has pioneered interest rate swaps in DeFi. At its core is the creation of an on-chain benchmark rate, serving 
as a public utility that empowers other protocols to initiate rate dynamics through a straightforward oracle reference. 
Building upon this foundation, IPOR has introduced an AMM specifically tailored for on-chain interest rate swaps that 
allows users to lock in favorable borrowing costs or speculate on interest rate fluctuations.

The collaboration between IPOR and DIVA Protocol aims to integrate the IPOR Index to enable novel interest rate derivative 
products that complement IPOR's existing swap offerings. These include options-like products, encompassing a wide range 
of exotic payout profiles, as well as offerings focused on the DeFi and CeFi interest rate differentials.

The integration is facilitated by DIVA Protocol's approach to composability, enabling effortless incorporation with any 
oracle solution. The usage of on-chain data is particularly interesting as it eliminates the need for token-based incentives 
mechanisms to ensure integrity and accuracy.

DIVA Protocol's flexibility is exemplified by the launch of the first [ETH Gas Price market](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-eth-gas-market-launch), offering protection against 
extended periods of high gas prices. The protocol's unparalleled flexibility in enabling the permissionless creation of a 
wide range of derivative markets holds immense promise for the future.

The integration is planned to go live after [IPOR Protocol’s v2 release](https://blog.ipor.io/the-credit-hub-of-defi-ipor-v2-1b35fcf8800c) in Q3 this year.

Find more about DIVA Protocol at [www.divaprotocol.io](https://www.divaprotocol.io/).

⏰Join our [Twitter space](https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1jMKgLkQBBlGL) on Thursday, 31 August, 4pm CEST, where we will discuss the integration.

Thanks for reading!

Be sure to join our community on [Discord](discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io), so you receive the most relevant updates on DIVA Protocol. 
Meaningful product discussions are highly valued and spam is strongly discouraged.


## 🔗 Links

- 🌐 Website: [divaprotocol.io/](https://www.divaprotocol.io/)
- 🍏 Github: [github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1)
- 📚 Docs: [docs.divaprotocol.io/](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/)
- 🦜 Twitter: [twitter.com/divaprotocol_io](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io)
- 🤖 Discord: [discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3)

DIVA Protocol Collaborates with IPOR to Enable Trustless Interest Rate Derivatives

DIVA Protocol Collaborates with IPOR Protocol to Enable Trustless Interest Rate Derivatives

**TL;DR: This article introduces an innovative product that offers insurance against rising gas costs on Ethereum, powered by DIVA Protocol.**

Gas serves as the fuel that powers the Ethereum ecosystem. With each transaction conducted on the Ethereum network, users are required to pay 
for the consumption of gas. However, the price of gas is far from stable and fluctuates based on transaction demand. In times of heightened 
economic activity, gas prices soar, placing a burden on network participants. 

Recognizing the need for a solution to offset the rising gas costs, we are proud to introduce the ETH Gas Price market, an innovative solution 
powered by [DIVA Protocol](https://www.divaprotocol.io/) that offers network participants insurance coverage against rising gas prices.

## ⛽ Understanding Gas on Ethereum

Gas is a metric that quantifies the computational effort needed to execute transactions on the Ethereum network. The amount of gas required 
depends on the complexity of the transaction. Simple transfers demand less gas compared to more complex operations. Gas prices are denominated 
in Gwei, which represents a fraction (1e-9) of Ether, Ethereum’s native currency.

The Ethereum network imposes a limit on the amount of gas available for each block, currently set at 
[30 million](https://ycharts.com/indicators/ethereum_average_gas_limit#:~:text=Ethereum%20Average%20Gas%20Limit%20is,0.01%25%20from%20one%20year%20ago.). 
This capacity restriction causes the gas price to fluctuate based on the level of economic activity within the network.

The chart below illustrates the average gas price per month, starting from 2019 (Source: [Etherscan](https://etherscan.io/chart/gasprice) as of 11 July 2023):


 <img src="/images/posts/historical_eth_gas_price_monthly.png" />



In 2019, the average gas price was around 16 Gwei. The “DeFi summer”, that started in the second half of 2020, brought unprecedented activity, 
leading to a significant surge in monthly gas prices, reaching levels between 50 and 190 Gwei for the most part. The collapse of LUNA, 3AC, 
and FTX in the second half of 2022 sent shockwaves throughout the crypto space, leading to a decline in economic activity on Ethereum and a 
retreat of gas prices to the range of 20 to 30 Gwei, which has persisted until the present day.

On a daily basis, gas prices may exhibit more significant fluctuations, typically as the result of increased transaction activity surrounding 
highly anticipated events, such as long-awaited NFT mints or token sales, or liquidations. This is demonstrated in the chart below for the same 
period (Source: [Etherscan](https://etherscan.io/chart/gasprice) as of 11 July 2023):


 <img src="/images/posts/historical_eth_gas_price_daily.png" />


## 🤕 Problem

The increasing costs of gas on the Ethereum network have substantial implications for frequent users. One notable example are centralized 
exchanges that process thousands of on-chain withdrawals on a daily basis.

According to data from [Nansen](https://pro.nansen.ai/gas-tracker) as of 19th July 2023, Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges, has incurred a total of 320 ETH in fees 
in processing withdrawals over a 7-day period. This equates to approximately $600,000 per week and extrapolates to $2,400,000 per month.


 <img src="/images/posts/gas_spender_entities.png" />


These figures are significant considering the current low fee environment where gas fees range between 20 and 30 Gwei. During times of heightened network 
congestion where gas fees can spike to levels of 50-100 Gwei or even higher, these amounts can quickly escalate.

To accurately reflect actual cost, centralized exchanges regularly [update their withdrawal fees](https://www.binance.com/en/feed/post/513097) to align with the prevailing fees on the network. However, 
frequent adjustments and, notably, significant increases in fees, such as those observed in [2018](https://coingape.com/binance-raises-gas-price-on-withdrawals/) and 
[2020](https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-doubles-eth-withdraw-fees-firing-up-crypto-traders) by Binance, are generally unpopular with users and 
can result in challenges in attracting new clients. In addition, withdrawal fee increases coupled with the inherent volatility of fees poses a risk of overcharging 
clients, further contributing to their dissatisfaction.

## 💡 Solution

To address the challenge of fluctuating gas costs, an effective solution is the introduction of an insurance product that provides compensation to users 
when the gas price exceeds a predetermined threshold, thereby stabilizing overall costs and mitigating risks associated with price spikes.

The following chart illustrates an example product with a linearly increasing coverage payout in the range of 50 to 100 Gwei:


 <img src="/images/posts/payoff_eth_gas_insurance_taker.png" />


By purchasing this insurance product, network participants can effectively offset increasing gas costs within that range. For Binance, this reduces the 
need for frequent updates to withdrawal fees in response to gas price spikes, providing stability and predictability for both Binance and its users.

## 🤝 Counterparties

To enable insurance coverage, there needs to be a party, known as the "insurer", who is willing to provide insurance cover of up to $1 per contract in exchange for a premium. 

Visually, the insurer's payoff is the reverse of the insurance taker's and is illustrated in the chart below:


 <img src="/images/posts/payoff_eth_gas_insurer.png" />


The following market participants may serve as natural counterparties to insurance buyers:
* **Validators:** Ethereum validators anticipating low gas prices can sell their potential upside participation in the event of increased network activity and higher gas fees. 
If gas prices remain low, validators retain the premium received from selling the insurance cover. If the gas price surges, the increased revenue from gas fees will be offset 
by a loss in their position, thereby limiting their upside potential.
* **Yield seekers:** Individuals who believe that the bear market will continue and economic activity on Ethereum will remain low.


## 📈 Market creation

DIVA Protocol was used to launch the first ETH Gas price market with the following specification:
* **Underlying:** The arithmetic mean of the [average daily gas prices](https://etherscan.io/chart/gasprice) on Ethereum in Gwei during the specified timeframe, starting from the calendar day associated with 
the start time and ending on the day before the calendar day associated with the end time. _Note: The underlying description is stored as a json file on 
[IPFS](https://bafybeid7w5h37ofgdyxf4zplvdvh6dfzdhehijabbnwsevyaa2ayehd5vi.ipfs.w3s.link/ETH-AvgDailyGasPrice%20(in%C2%A0Gwei).json) and referenced as the reference asset in DIVA Protocol._
* **Payoff:** Linear in the range of 50-100 Gwei
* **Duration:** 1 month
* **Start time:** 19 July 2023, 9:33pm UTC
* **End time:** 18 August 2023, 10:59am UTC
* **Oracle:** [Tellor protocol](https://github.com/divaprotocol/oracles/blob/main/docs/Tellor.md)
* **Collateral asset:** USDT
* **Network:** Polygon

Each side of the market (insurance taker and insurer) is represented by an ERC20 token, allowing for seamless integration and tradability within existing decentralized infrastructures. 
The DIVA App serves as a user-friendly platform for trading these insurance contracts, powered by the 0x Protocol, a decentralized limit order book protocol.

Users who are interested in purchasing insurance coverage can either fill existing sell orders (Ask) or place their own limit orders (Bid) in the [LONG token market](https://app.diva.finance/0x6f4fd7f6326917417b7c2c91105a563ffc45821fbb96b9b89a5293e2ee1e4c4c/long).


 <img src="/images/posts/eth_gas_price_trade_page_long.png" />


Users who are interested in providing insurance coverage can either fill existing sell orders (Ask) or place their own limit orders (Bid) in the [SHORT token market](https://app.diva.finance/0x6f4fd7f6326917417b7c2c91105a563ffc45821fbb96b9b89a5293e2ee1e4c4c/short).


 <img src="/images/posts/eth_gas_price_trade_page_short.png" />



## 🌔 Conclusion

The introduction of the ETH Gas Price market on DIVA Protocol brings much-needed relief to Ethereum users affected by rising gas costs. By offering an insurance product as 
a hedge against gas price fluctuations, DIVA Protocol empowers projects and individuals to protect themselves from the financial burden associated with on-chain operations.


## 📃 Disclaimer

The use of Binance as an example in this article is purely for illustrative purposes. We have not collaborated with Binance or been in touch with them for the creation 
of this article. The mention of Binance is solely to provide a practical scenario and does not imply any endorsement or affiliation.

Further, the ETH Gas Price market is designed to offer insurance coverage and hedging options to users. As with any financial instrument, participants should conduct their own research 
and exercise caution when engaging in trading activities. DIVA Protocol does not guarantee any specific outcomes or returns and encourages users to make informed decisions 
based on their own risk tolerance and objectives.

## 🔗 Links

- 🌐 Website: [divaprotocol.io/](https://www.divaprotocol.io/)
- 🍏 Github: [github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1)
- 📚 Docs: [docs.divaprotocol.io/](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/)
- 🦜 Twitter: [twitter.com/divaprotocol_io](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io)
- 🤖 Discord: [discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3)

Introducing the ETH Gas Price Market - Hedging Against Rising Gas Costs

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the DIVA App ([app.diva.finance](https://app.diva.finance/)), a one-stop solution for creating, 
trading and settling bespoke derivative contracts in a peer-to-peer manner. With the release of the DIVA App, users can now discover and 
leverage the features and capabilities of DIVA Protocol via a user-friendly interface.

This blog post covers everything you need to know about the DIVA App.

## 🧩 The Power of Money Legos

The DIVA App is harnessing the power of decentralized finance by combining three protocols to offer users a seamless and fully trustless 
experience for managing the entire lifecycle of derivative contracts:
1. [DIVA Protocol](https://www.divaprotocol.io/) - for the creation and settlement of derivative contracts
2. [0x Protocol](https://0x.org/) - for trading the corresponding derivative positions
3. [Tellor Protocol](https://tellor.io/) - for outcome reporting

The best part is that users retain full custody of their assets at all times, unlike centralized solutions.

## 🎯 Market Creation

DIVA Protocol offers unparalleled customization options when it comes to creating derivative contracts. 
With DIVA Protocol, users have the freedom to select virtually any metric as the underlying and can choose from a diverse 
range of payoff profiles including different slopes, barriers, and ranges.

DIVA Protocol offers two ways for creating derivative contracts / markets:
* **Pre-funded** (“CREATE POOL”): With this option, the creator of the derivative contract fully funds the contract and receives both position tokens - LONG and SHORT - in return, 
rendering them fully hedged. This option is useful for market makers seeking to provide liquidity on both sides 
of the derivative market.
* **Priced offer** (“CREATE OFFER”): In this option, the creator specifies the contribution from each party 
to the derivative contract and commits to the offer terms by signing it with their private key, which is an 
off-chain process. The derivative contract is created on-chain only if a counterparty is found, thereby 
optimizing gas efficiency for users. This functionality particularly caters to use cases centered around 
bets and predictions.

Head over to the [Create](https://app.diva.finance/Create) page in the DIVA App to try it out yourself.


 <img src="/images/posts/step1_create_offer.png" />


## 🔮 Oracles
The Tellor adapter ([0x7950DB13cc37774614B0AA406e42a4C4f0BF26a6](https://polygonscan.com/address/0x7950DB13cc37774614B0AA406e42a4C4f0BF26a6)) was released as the first oracle integration 
for DIVA Protocol and is made available for users in the DIVA App for secure and decentralized outcome reporting. 
Learn more about the DIVA Protocol integration with Tellor Protocol in [this Twitter thread](https://twitter.com/WeAreTellor/status/1674804651412148226?s=20).

As the DIVA ecosystem continues to grow, additional oracle integrations will be developed, offering users a 
wider selection of reliable data sources.


 <img src="/images/posts/step2_oracle.png" />


## 📸 Visualizing derivative contract offers

After creating offers through the "CREATE OFFER" option in the DIVA App, users can use the [DIVA ViZ](https://divaviz.com/) app to generate eye-catching visualizations of their derivative contract offers, 
and share them on Twitter, accompanied by the offer link.

Here's an example visualization:


 <img src="/images/posts/diva_viz_example_illustration.jpeg" />


## 📈 Trading

The DIVA App is using 0x Protocol, a decentralized limit order protocol, to facilitate the exchange of the derivative assets. 
Leveraging an off-chain matching mechanism and an on-chain settlement process, users can create limit orders without 
incurring any gas fees (note that approving token transfers may involve a one-time gas cost, though).

Check out one example market [here](https://app.diva.finance/0xe70276f9f60b4b81f920b1b0416e7aa4c671ad829dc5b7ec8228a48d090b5635/long).


 <img src="/images/posts/diva_app_trading.png" />


## 💸 Settlement

Once the outcome of a market has been reported by the Tellor oracle, DIVA Protocol determines the payouts for participants 
and users can conveniently claim their payouts directly through the DIVA App.


 <img src="/images/posts/diva_app_dashboard.png" />


## 🔗 Chains

The DIVA App is currently available on Polygon, and Mumbai for testing. On Mumbai, users have the freedom to 
create and test any market using any oracle of their choice. On Polygon, the available underlyings are currently 
limited to BTC/USD, ETH/USD and TRB/USD, with the Tellor adapter as the only oracle to ensure a smooth initial user experience. 

The team plans to extend the range of underlyings based on community feedback over time. Users that wish to 
create custom markets on Polygon should reach out in our [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3).

## 🔒 Decentralized frontend hosting

Many Web3 frontends are hosted on centralized platforms like Vercel, which exposes them to various risks such as censorship, phishing, and DNS hacks. To eliminate those risks, the DIVA App frontend
was deployed on [IPFS](https://docs.dappling.network/key-concepts/ipfs), a decentralized storage solution, using [dappling.network](https://www.dappling.network/). By hosting the DIVA App frontend on IPFS, 
users will have indefinite and secure access to the application.

Each release of the DIVA App is associated with a unique IPFS hash, providing a verifiable and immutable reference for accessing the application. The current version of the DIVA App is associated with the IPFS hash **bafybeia4cfovjl3ufwik4nfdizwmxrkfb5xk3popevagsjchbof2owo57y** and can be accessed via any IPFS gateway with the following subdomain:
1. [https://bafybeia4cfovjl3ufwik4nfdizwmxrkfb5xk3popevagsjchbof2owo57y.ipfs.dweb.link/](https://bafybeia4cfovjl3ufwik4nfdizwmxrkfb5xk3popevagsjchbof2owo57y.ipfs.dweb.link/)
2. [https://bafybeia4cfovjl3ufwik4nfdizwmxrkfb5xk3popevagsjchbof2owo57y.ipfs.cf-ipfs.com/](https://bafybeia4cfovjl3ufwik4nfdizwmxrkfb5xk3popevagsjchbof2owo57y.ipfs.cf-ipfs.com/)

New releases of the DIVA App will be associated with different IPFS hashes, which we will regularly publish. 
To improve the user experience, the dAppling team is actively working on a solution to provide a stable naming system using IPNS, ensuring even easier access to the IPFS version of the DIVA App in the future.

## ⚓ Open-source Development

The DIVA App is [open-source](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-monorepo/tree/main/packages/diva-app), inviting developers to contribute to the existing repository or draw inspiration 
for building similar applications on top of DIVA Protocol.

If you're interested in contributing to the DIVA App, we encourage you to reach out in our [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3) and get involved 
in our development community. Collaborate, share ideas, and be a part of shaping the future of decentralized finance.

## 🛣️ What’s Next?

In the upcoming weeks, we have exciting plans to launch diverse derivative markets, engaging our community and 
gaining valuable insights and experience.

Additionally, we will be releasing comprehensive video tutorials, providing in-depth guidance on every aspect of 
the DIVA App, to ensure users have the resources they need for a seamless experience.

If you encounter any challenges while exploring the app, don't hesitate to reach out to us on [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3) for assistance.

## 🌔 Conclusion

With the launch of the DIVA App, users can now fully unlock the possibilities offered by DIVA Protocol. 
Whether you're an individual seeking to create and trade derivatives or a business seeking to expand your service offerings with bespoke derivative solutions, 
the DIVA App is your gateway to a secure and non-custodial derivatives platform.

The DIVA App marks the beginning of an exciting journey. Join us and help us unlock a world of innovative derivative financial applications fueled by DIVA Protocol. 🚀

## 📃 Disclaimer

Participation in derivative contracts involves inherent risks, including the potential loss of invested capital. It is crucial to carefully review 
and comprehend the terms, conditions, and associated risks of any derivative contract before engaging in trading activities. Please only invest 
funds that you are prepared to lose.

Further, please note that derivatives trading may be subject to legal restrictions and regulations in certain jurisdictions. It is your responsibility to 
ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations before interacting with the DIVA App.

## 🔗 Links

- 🌐 Website: [divaprotocol.io/](https://www.divaprotocol.io/)
- 🍏 Github: [github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1)
- 📚 Docs: [docs.divaprotocol.io/](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/)
- 🦜 Twitter: [twitter.com/divaprotocol_io](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io)
- 🤖 Discord: [discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3)

DIVA App Launch

We are delighted to announce the completion of the [first conditional donation campaign](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-donate-launch) 
on the [DIVA Donate platform](https://www.divadonate.xyz/campaign), which officially ended on 11 June. Due to sufficient rainfall levels, no donation was triggered this time, allowing donors 
to reclaim their contributions.

Specifically, the recorded value of the trigger metric (1 + Average NDVI) was [reported](https://polygonscan.com/tx/0x13ed39250aa086c997c41c89dadb24c51afc76739ab6f3c813810643b7a136b9) as 1.34, exceeding the trigger 
range of 0.00-1.23 established in the pre-defined payoff profile.


 <img src="/images/posts/Donationprofile.png" />


Although no donation was triggered, the pilot campaign is considered a success and has provided valuable insights to 
our team. We are already preparing for upcoming campaigns to further amplify our positive impact. Donors who have 
reclaimed their contributions will have the opportunity to redirect their funds towards new initiatives, maximizing 
the impact of every dollar contributed.

We are grateful to all those that have participated in the DIVA Donate initiative. 🙏

## Join us
Join the DIVA Donate movement to make a positive impact on the world. If you have ideas for 
campaigns or can contribute meaningfully to fundraising or development, reach out to the [team](mailto:wladimir.weinbender@divadonate.xyz).

## About DIVA Technologies AG

[DIVA Technologies AG](https://www.divaprotocol.io/) is a Swiss-based entity that provides DIVA Protocol and other Web3-related consulting services. The company was 
founded in 2022 by Wladimir Weinbender, Co-Founder of DIVA Protocol, a smart contract-based system for creating and managing custom derivative financial contracts peer-to-peer.

## About Fortune Connect

[Fortune Connect](https://fortunecredit.co.ke/) is a digital financial inclusion hub enabling farmers to access market information, technical knowledge, financial literacy, and financial 
access tools for credit and insurance in Kenya. Fortune Connect Innovation was started in 2021 and incubated by Fortune Credit before rolling out to several 
places in rural Kenya.

## About Shamba Network

[Shamba Network](https://shamba.network/) powers an oracle that enables the collection, analytics and use of ecological data on-chain. It provides the web3 ecosystem with 
infrastructure that allows insight into the physical world, enabling things like ecological impact to be monitored. Through the Shamba oracle, 
smart contracts can get updated on what is happening on the ground and use this data to trigger a wide variety of actions.

DIVA Donate - The first successful campaign completed

We are excited to announce the highly anticipated mainnet launch of DIVA Protocol. This marks a significant milestone in 
our mission to disrupt the $500+ trillion derivatives industry by providing a secure and open smart contract-based infrastructure to create and manage derivative financial contracts peer-to-peer. 
With DIVA Protocol on mainnet, users can now create and manage custom derivative financial contracts with digital assets of actual value at stake.

This article covers everything you need to know about the launch and the journey that lies ahead.

## 🚀 Mainnet chains

On 4/5th June, DIVA Protocol was successfully deployed on multiple mainnet chains, including [Ethereum](https://louper.dev/diamond/0x2C9c47E7d254e493f02acfB410864b9a86c28e1D?network=mainnet), 
[Polygon](https://louper.dev/diamond/0x2C9c47E7d254e493f02acfB410864b9a86c28e1D?network=polygon), [Arbitrum One](https://louper.dev/diamond/0x2C9c47E7d254e493f02acfB410864b9a86c28e1D?network=arbitrum), 
and [Gnosis](https://louper.dev/diamond/0x2C9c47E7d254e493f02acfB410864b9a86c28e1D?network=xdai), all at the same address: **0x2C9c47E7d254e493f02acfB410864b9a86c28e1D**. As part of our commitment to transparency, 
we have open-sourced the [code](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1/tree/main), allowing anyone to verify the functionality of the DIVA Protocol smart contract.

Additionally, we deployed the first oracle adapter using the [Tellor Protocol](https://tellor.io/) on the same networks at address [0x7950DB13cc37774614B0AA406e42a4C4f0BF26a6](https://etherscan.io/address/0x7950DB13cc37774614B0AA406e42a4C4f0BF26a6#code). 
This provides users with a highly flexible and decentralized oracle solution for outcome reporting right from the start. For detailed instructions on how to use it, please 
refer to the official [documentation](https://github.com/divaprotocol/oracles/blob/main/docs/Tellor.md).

We acknowledge that the official announcement of these achievements experienced a slight delay primarily due to the migration of existing backend infrastructure and frontend applications to the final smart contracts.
We would like to express our gratitude to our community for their patience and support during this process. 🙏

## 🔒 Smart contract audit

The security of the DIVA Protocol smart contract is our top priority. In order to ensure the safety of the protocol 
and user funds, we have engaged six independent teams to review the codebase. We are proud to report that none of the 
audit teams found any critical vulnerabilities. The few High and Medium findings have been remediated. A summary of 
the findings as well as the actual audit reports are available in the [DIVA Protocol GitHub repository](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1/blob/main/audits/Final%20April%202023/Summary.md).

A special acknowledgement goes to [Owen](https://twitter.com/0xOwenThurm) and his teams at [Solidity Labs](https://github.com/GuardianAudits/DefenderAudits/blob/main/DIVA/Summary.md) who performed the audit as part of a practice 
audit and discovered unique findings that none of the paid audit firms were able to uncover.

## 🪙 DIVA Token

The DIVA Token ([0x4B7fFCB2b92fB4890f22f62a52Fb7A180eaB818e](https://etherscan.io/address/0x4B7fFCB2b92fB4890f22f62a52Fb7A180eaB818e)) was deployed 
alongside the mainnet launch on the Ethereum network due to its crucial role in the DIVA ecosystem. DIVA Token holders have the power to influence the direction of the 
protocol by delegating the management of the treasury funds and (limited) protocol governance rights to candidates of their choosing.

Initially, DIVA Technologies AG, a Swiss-based entity led by [Wladimir Weinbender](https://www.linkedin.com/in/wladimir-weinbender-00450a59/), one of the Co-Founders of DIVA Protocol, will serve as the 
first delegate. The delegate’s role is to support DIVA Token holders in executing the adoption strategy in an efficient 
and effective manner.

It is important to highlight that DIVA Token holders retain the power to vote in favor of another candidate at any point 
in time in a fully decentralized manner. For a detailed understanding of the voting mechanism, we invite you to explore 
our previous [blog post](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-tokenomics).

### DIVA Token distribution

A total of 34 million DIVA Tokens, out of the maximum supply of 100 million, have been allocated among four main groups, spanning across 17’482 accounts:
* **Team** (25 million): 17 individuals who have directly contributed to the development of DIVA Protocol, including the smart contract, backend infrastructure, and frontend applications.
* **Other contributors** (2.2 million): Individuals who have made valuable contributions to integrations, use cases, and provided advice or participated in various activities organized by the DIVA Protocol team. It includes members of [Tellor Protocol](https://tellor.io/), [Fortune Credit](https://fortuneconnectltd.com/), 
[Shamba Network](https://shamba.network/), [GoPlugin](https://www.goplugin.co/), [Solidity Labs](https://github.com/GuardianAudits/DefenderAudits/blob/main/DIVA/Summary.md), [DIVA Donate campaign donors](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-donate-launch), 
[888Whales holders](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-token-airdrop-for-888whales), [audit sponsors](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-launch-partner-program), and select core 
contributors to the Ethereum ecosystem.
* **Pre-seed investors** (5.4 million): Our early financial supporters who have played a crucial role in the foundational 
stages of DIVA Protocol. These include [Darley Technologies AG](https://www.darleytechnologies.com/), [DWF Labs](https://www.dwf-labs.com/), and family & friends.
* **Community** (1.4 million): Users who participated in the [incentivized testnet](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-testnet-end) held in 2022 and the regular 
quiz sessions.

Note that recipients of more than 15’000 DIVA Tokens, including the team and pre-seed investors, are subject to a two-year vesting period, during which 60% of their allocation will be vested.

Additionally, 58 million tokens have been deposited into the DIVA Development Fund. These tokens will be programmatically unlocked 
at a rate of 1.93 million tokens p.a. over a period of 30 years to support the on-going development of the ecosystem. Refer to the DIVA Development Fund section to learn more about the purpose and intended use of the funds.

The remaining 8.0 million DIVA Tokens have been temporarily reserved for on-going sale discussions with potential investors and are accessible by the
initial protocol delegate, DIVA Technologies AG. If fundraising efforts do not materialize as expected, any unused tokens will be re-deposited into the DIVA Development Fund subject to the same 30-year release period.

Overall, the initial circulating supply amounts to 22.7 million tokens and will increase to approximately 45.6 million tokens by the end of year 2, after vesting and realized token unlocks. It's important to highlight that the circulating supply will decrease if unused strategic 
reserves are locked back into the DIVA Development Fund.

The chart below illustrates the token distribution over time:


 <img src="/images/posts/diva_token_distribution.png" />




### How to claim your DIVA Token reward?

Head over to the [Rewards](https://www.divaprotocol.io/rewards) tab on our website, connect your wallet to the Ethereum network and claim your reward.

The data required to prove to the token distributor contract that you are eligible to claim was backed up on [IPFS](https://bafybeidfzdmv25a3m2iz2ptcm2qso4yupywur7u5ijnagwkqi5pzqc5mtu.ipfs.w3s.link/vestingToken.json), which 
allows anyone to claim their tokens even if the website is no longer available.

Please note that you have **three years to claim your reward**. Any unclaimed rewards will be claimable by the owner of the token distribution contract afterwards.

### What can you do with your DIVA Token after claiming it?

Once you have claimed your DIVA Token from the DIVA Protocol website, you have several options available:
* **Vote** (intended use): Stake your tokens towards the first delegate, DIVA Technologies AG (0xb12daD08CC6aBd5c7Ad0ac136180c6DFaD48431a), or 
select another candidate of your choice. In the next section, we provide a step-by-step description of how to stake your tokens.
* **Trade**: Since the DIVA Token complies with the ERC20 standard, you have the option to trade it on any decentralized exchange (DEX). We will make sure to update the community if token holders 
create a market on Uniswap or other platforms. Note that our team is committed to prioritizing secure decentralized solutions, and therefore, will not actively pursue a listing on a centralized exchange.
* **HODL**: Don’t feel comfortable doing any of the above? Then simply HODL.

### How to vote with your DIVA Token?

To vote with your DIVA Tokens for a candidate of your choice, follow these steps:
* Navigate to the [DIVA Token contract](https://etherscan.io/address/0x4B7fFCB2b92fB4890f22f62a52Fb7A180eaB818e#writeContract) on Etherscan and use the **approve** function to allow the 
[Ownership contract](https://etherscan.io/address/0xE39dEC81B2186A1A2e36bFC260F3Df444b36948A#writeContract) to transfer your DIVA Tokens. 
Set the spender as 0xE39dEC81B2186A1A2e36bFC260F3Df444b36948A, and the amount equal to the number of tokens you want to stake appended 
with 18 zeros (e.g., enter 125000000000000000000 for 125 tokens).
* Proceed to the [Ownership contract](https://etherscan.io/address/0xE39dEC81B2186A1A2e36bFC260F3Df444b36948A#writeContract) on Etherscan and execute the **stake** function using the candidate address and the number of tokens you 
wish to stake, also appended with 18 zeros. Note that the amount must be equal or smaller than the one approved in the previous step.

If you want to help us develop a more user-friendly governance dashboard (Figma designs already exist), please reach out in our [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3).

## 🏦 DIVA Development Fund

The DIVA Development Fund was established to provide an opportunity for everyone to support the ongoing development of the DIVA ecosystem. 
Individuals can contribute to the fund by depositing ETH or any other ERC20 token (excluding rebasable and fee tokens) into the fund. This 
can be done either by directly sending assets to the Ethereum contract ([0xb3e25F6c7d1074f2cfE0F2Dc8586D1e74234338b](https://etherscan.io/address/0xb3e25F6c7d1074f2cfE0F2Dc8586D1e74234338b#code)), allowing for immediate 
claimability by the owner (initially DIVA Technologies AG), or by using the **deposit** function, which enables specifying a release period.

As part of our commitment to fostering community growth and development, the DIVA Protocol founding team has deposited [58 million tokens](https://etherscan.io/tx/0xe54868c06ea3c89ff1499ec395a5d1e8743bbccfa4d6c3c346045b7638253029) (58%) of 
unreleased DIVA Tokens into the DIVA Development fund. The intention is to distribute them strategically in a retroactive manner to future contributors. This initiative draws inspiration from Optimism's Retroactive Public Good Funding program. 
More comprehensive information about the Retroactive DIVA Ecosystem Funding program will be shared in a separate article.

Another [8 million tokens](https://etherscan.io/tx/0x1b69c2486f997cb5245940eb5fe0891a7e641fadcbdd5c8e297ac550d8deb3aa) are currently held as a strategic reserve and immediately claimable, but will be re-deposited into the 
Development Fund subject to the same 30-year release period if fundraising efforts do not materialize as expected. This will bring the total amount reserved for development to 66 million DIVA Tokens.

## 👷Open-sourcing the code

We are dedicated to transparency and fostering collaboration within the developer community. As such, we have open-sourced all the code 
we have written since the inception of the DIVA Protocol project. This includes:
* **[DIVA Protocol](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1/tree/main):** This repository contains the smart contract code for DIVA Protocol, enabling anyone to verify its functionality.
* **[DIVA App](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-monorepo/tree/main/packages/diva-app):** An OTC marketplace for creating, trading and settling derivative products ([https://app.diva.finance/](https://app.diva.finance/)).
* **[DIVA subgraph](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-monorepo/tree/main/packages/diva-subgraph):** Subgraph designed to store and provide easy access to DIVA Protocol-related blockchain activity.
* **[DIVA Tellor subgraph](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-monorepo/tree/main/packages/diva-tellor-subgraph):** Subgraph designed to store and provide easy access to Tellor Protocol-related blockchain activity.
* **[Tellor oracle client](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-monorepo/tree/main/packages/diva-oracle):** A client that monitors and reports the outcomes for expired DIVA pools using the Tellor oracle adapter.
* **[DIVA Website](https://github.com/divaprotocol/Website):** The DIVA Protocol website ([https://www.divaprotocol.io/](https://www.divaprotocol.io/)).
* **[DIVA-0x-API](https://github.com/divaprotocol/DIVA-0x-api):** An API service that hosts 0x and DIVA Protocol related EIP712 orders and offers.
* **[DIVA Donate](https://github.com/Walodja1987/DIVA-Donate-App/issues/1):** A conditional donation platform ([www.divadonate.xyz](www.divadonate.xyz)).
* **[DIVA ViZ](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-viz):** An app to visualize derivative product offers and share on Twitter ([https://divaviz.com/](https://divaviz.com/)).
* **[Oracles](https://github.com/divaprotocol/oracles):** A repository that includes oracle integrations for DIVA Protocol. The [Tellor integration](https://github.com/divaprotocol/oracles/blob/main/docs/Tellor.md) has been audited and is 
available for use. Additional integrations are currently in development, most notably [GoPlugin](https://github.com/divaprotocol/oracles/pull/63) (Chainlink fork) on the XDC network.

If you are passionate about contributing to any of these projects, we invite you to join our 👷Builders channel on [Discord](https://discord.gg/hZsvp5FTmN). 
Your contributions will help shape the future of DIVA Protocol and drive innovation within the decentralized finance landscape. 
The best part is that contributions will be rewarded via the Retroactive DIVA Ecosystem Funding (RetroDEF) program. 

If you are seeking more project ideas, we encourage you to check out the Project Ideas section in our [GitBook](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/for-developers/project-ideas). 
It includes ideas for apps, oracle integrations, market-making bots, smart contracts, and educational content.


## 🚆 What’s next?

Our vision is to establish DIVA Protocol as the leading infrastructure for creating custom derivative financial contracts peer-to-peer. With the 
successful mainnet launch of DIVA Protocol, our focus will now shift towards building exciting use cases and finding product-market fit 
leveraging the existing infrastructure. This mainly includes:
* **DIVA Donate:** Expanding the existing DIVA Donate platform to onboard more campaigns and users, facilitating conditional donations.
* **Predictions/Bets:** Assisting individuals within the Crypto Twitter community in setting up their prediction/betting markets using DIVA Protocol.
* **Partnerships:** Seeking collaborations with other DeFi projects, oracle communities, and traditional financial institutions to launch joint products 
and proof-of-concepts.
* **Education:** Providing educational resources and fostering a community-driven knowledge sharing environment to enable users and developers to 
fully understand and utilize DIVA Protocol's capabilities.

## 🌔 Conclusion
DIVA Protocol’s mainnet launch kicks off a new paradigm in the creation and management of derivative financial contracts. It marks the 
beginning of an exciting journey filled with innovation and groundbreaking possibilities.

We invite you to join our community, explore the opportunities DIVA Protocol has to offer, and be a part of the revolution in decentralized 
finance. Together, we will build a stronger, more inclusive financial ecosystem that empowers individuals and communities. 
Let's shape the future of finance with DIVA Protocol! 💪

## 🔗 Links

- 🌐 Website: [divaprotocol.io/](https://www.divaprotocol.io/)
- 🍏 Github: [github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1](https://github.com/divaprotocol/diva-protocol-v1)
- 📚 Docs: [docs.divaprotocol.io/](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/)
- 🦜 Twitter: [twitter.com/divaprotocol_io](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io)
- 🤖 Discord: [discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3)

DIVA Protocol Mainnet Launch

DIVA Technologies AG, in collaboration with [Fortune Connect](https://fortuneconnectltd.com/) and 
[Shamba Network](https://shamba.network/), is excited to announce the launch of [DIVA Donate](http://divadonate.xyz/), the first 
platform designed to facilitate conditional donations using blockchain technology, more precisely [DIVA Protocol](https://www.divaprotocol.io/), a versatile blockchain-based operating system for derivative products. 
Learn more about it in one of our last [posts](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-conditional-donations).

In this article, we will share all the information you need to know about our first campaign, how 
you can participate and the rewards available to those who join us in our mission to create a 
positive impact on the world.

## About the first campaign

The first campaign is focused on providing financial assistance to pastoralists in Kenya, a region that faces regular droughts caused by climate change and extreme weather events, 
resulting in reduced agricultural production, destroyed crops and extreme livestock losses.

The goal of the campaign is to raise $15’000 to provide 100 pastoralists with financial support 
of up to $150 per pastoralist, equivalent to the value of one livestock, in the event of a drought. 
The area of focus is illustrated below.


 <img src="/images/posts/pilot_campaign_map.png" />


**The DIVA Protocol founding team is leading the way by seeding the campaign with $5’000 and will 
match any donation of at least $150, up to a total of $5’000.**

The initiation of the conditional donation product can be verified on the [blockchain](https://polygonscan.com/tx/0x4364d0f2d0bac0d8dba38c5e95a0c472ffaa7c0395718faec4627f9120cb7ecb).


## What is the trigger metric?

The [Normalized Difference Vegetation Index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalized_difference_vegetation_index) (NDVI) is a commonly used metric to assess drought 
conditions in an area by measuring vegetation density and health. It is calculated from 
satellite images based on the near-infrared and red light reflectance of an area. Its 
value ranges from -1 to 1, with higher values indicating healthier vegetation and lower 
values indicating drought stress.

For this campaign, the average NDVI observed between 1st March and 31th May 2023 will be 
used as the trigger metric and reported by the Shamba oracle on 11th June to ensure full data coverage of the 
observation period. The NDVI will be shifted by 1 for technical reasons.

Donations will become available when the chosen metric falls below a value of 1.23 and the 
percentage of unlocked funds will increase linearly until it reaches 100% when the value 
drops to 1.20 or lower. This range represents the 20th to 40th percentile, respectively, 
based on historical data, and is much more generous than other comparable insurance products that use a 
binary trigger point set at the 5th percentile.

The donation profile of the first campaign is illustrated below:


 <img src="/images/posts/Donationprofile.png" />


## Who will receive the donation?

While our ultimate goal is to enable beneficiaries like pastoralists to directly receive 
their tokenized contingent claims and any unlocked donations through their mobile wallets without 
relying on intermediaries, we recognize that we are still early and many are not yet familiar
 with managing blockchain assets. 

Therefore, Fortune Connect will serve as the local intermediary and recipient of donations
on behalf of the pastoralists. Any unlocked donations will be converted from USDT stablecoin
into the local fiat currency, Kenyan Shillings, and distributed to eligible pastoralists 
through the local mPesa mobile payment system without them needing to do anything.

## How to participate?

Participating in the campaign is simple if you have a browser wallet with USDT on Polygon. 
Just visit the [pilot campaign page](https://divadonate.xyz/campaign), enter the amount you wish to donate, press the "Donate" 
button, and confirm the transaction in your browser wallet. Note that you may be asked to 
"Approve" the transfer first in order to grant DIVA Protocol the permission to move the 
donation asset on your behalf. For a step-by-step guide, you can also check out our
[video tutorial 📹](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEqURXve5CE&t=4s).

For those new to crypto, there is a one-time setup process to go through to [set up a wallet ](https://wiki.polygon.technology/docs/develop/metamask/hello/)
and [convert](https://www.coinbase.com/) your local currency into crypto assets. Refer to our [FAQs](https://divadonate.xyz/faq) for more guidance. 
If you need support, head over to the diva-donate channel in our [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3) and ask your questions.

**Donations will be accepted until 13th April or until the $15’000 goal is met.**

## What’s in for you?

As a donor, you will receive a unique digital certificate in the form of an NFT to commemorate 
your contribution and showcase your social responsibility to others. The POAP will come in two 
different designs: one with a golden ring for those who donate $150 or more and one with a 
silver ring for those who donate less.


 <img src="/images/posts/POAP_ConditionalDonation1_Gold.png" style={{ width: '45%', height: 'auto', display: 'inline-block', padding: '20px' }}/>
 <img src="/images/posts/POAP_ConditionalDonation1_Silver.png" style={{ width: '45%', height: 'auto', display: 'inline-block', padding: '20px' }}/>


Note that POAPs will be distributed **after** the campaign is closed for donations, that is as soon as the fundraising goal of $15'000 is reached or latest after 13th April.

In addition, donors that donate at least $15 will receive a claim on 3 DIVA Tokens for every $1 donated, which will 
allow them to be among the first to participate in the DIVA governance once the system goes 
live on the Ethereum mainnet in April.

Learn more about the role of the DIVA Token [here](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-tokenomics).

## Join us
Join the DIVA Donate movement to make a positive impact on the world. If you have ideas for 
campaigns or can contribute meaningfully to fundraising or development, reach out to the [team](mailto:wladimir.weinbender@divadonate.xyz).

## About DIVA Technologies AG

DIVA Technologies AG is a Swiss based software consulting firm that consults traditional businesses as 
well as DAOs in Web3 related topics. The company was founded in 2022 by Wladimir Weinbender, 
Co-Founder of DIVA Protocol, a smart contract-based operating system for derivative products.

## About Fortune Connect

Fortune Connect is a digital financial inclusion hub enabling farmers to access market information, technical knowledge, financial literacy, and financial 
access tools for credit and insurance in Kenya. Fortune Connect Innovation was started in 2021 and incubated by Fortune Credit before rolling out to several 
places in rural Kenya.

## About Shamba Network

Shamba Network powers an oracle that enables the collection, analytics and use of ecological data on-chain. It provides the web3 ecosystem with 
infrastructure that allows insight into the physical world, enabling things like ecological impact to be monitored. Through the Shamba oracle, 
smart contracts can get updated on what is happening on the ground and use this data to trigger a wide variety of actions. 

## Risk disclaimer

The use of any smart contract-based system comes with the risk of unexpected bugs that may result in the loss of funds. 
To mitigate that risk for this pilot campaign, a permissioned and upgradeable version of the DIVA smart contract is being used until
the audit of the contracts is completed.

Launching DIVA Donate - A conditional donation platform powered by blockchain technology

DIVA Protocol will soon be released on mainnet, providing opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses to build a wide
range of derivative applications on top of it. From DeFi hack insurance to exotic structured products and even derivatives 
based on football player transfer values, the possibilities are endless.

The DIVA token is a key component of the [DIVA governance system](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-tokenomics) and functions as a voting token. Holders can use it to steer 
the protocol’s direction by electing a delegate. The first delegate elected by the founding team will be DIVA Technologies AG, 
a Swiss-based company founded by one of the protocol’s co-founders, [Wladimir Weinbender](https://www.linkedin.com/in/wladimir-weinbender-00450a59/).

As a community-driven project, we want to give our supporters multiple options to participate in our journey from the very start.
Recognizing that traditional investors may not feel comfortable with holding governance tokens, we're partnering with [Arcton](https://arcton.com/) 
to offer a regulated security token that represents ownership of DIVA Technologies AG and entitlements to its profits and revenue. 
For the avoidance of doubt, the security offering would not replace the token but serves as an alternative way to gain exposure to DIVA Protocol from the start.

## What is DIVA Technologies AG’s business model?

DIVA Technologies AG will serve as a service provider for DIVA Token holders and focus on driving protocol adoption according to the 
protocol’s adoption strategy. This consists of three major components:
* **Growing the developer community:** This encompasses all efforts to reduce the barriers for developers to get started with DIVA Protocol, 
such as comprehensive documentation, advanced tools and responsive support, as well as to draw developer attention through events such as hackathons.
* **Foster integrations:** This includes integrating with existing decentralized oracle and trading solutions to provide users with all the 
necessary components to construct complete derivative product offerings.
* **Growing use cases:** This involves collaborating with traditional financial institutions and FinTech startups to develop practical use 
cases like structured products and [conditional donations](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-conditional-donations).

In exchange for their services, DIVA Technologies AG will be given access to protocol fees and annual DIVA token unlocks. The adoption 
strategy including priorities is illustrated below:


 <img src="/images/posts/adoption_strategy.png" />


DIVA Protocol is the company's first major client. In the long run, however, it aims to expand its consulting services to other Web3 protocols,
provide financing for DIVA-based ventures as well as legal support.

## How is the security token structured?

The security token offered by DIVA Technologies AG is structured as digital shares, issued on the [Arcton](https://arcton.com/) crowdinvesting platform in accordance with
the Swiss DLT Act. As a shareholder, investors are entitled to receive future dividends from the company. Investments can be made using either 
USDC or fiat currency, and the shares are immediately tradeable on decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap, alongside the DIVA token.

To issue these shares, the company uses a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) structure, commonly used by other crowdfunding platforms to pool investors 
and simplify the process while maintaining a clear capitalization table. This allows DIVA Technologies AG to offer a security token to a large number
of investors, providing them with a unique investment opportunity while ensuring an efficient and streamlined process. The issuance process is outlined in the following illustration:


 <img src="/images/posts/security_structure.png" />


## Conclusion

DIVA Protocol presents a unique opportunity for investors to gain exposure to the Decentralized Finance sector through either a governance token 
or a regulated security offering. The DIVA founding team invites the community to share their feedback on this approach and any concerns they may 
have about investing in DIVA Technologies AG’s security token. The top 10 most insightful and honest responses will be rewarded with 300 DIVA tokens
each. Feedback can be sent to [Wladimir Weinbender](mailto:wladimir.weinbender@divatech.ch). Your input is greatly appreciated.

## Links

- 🖼️ Slide deck: shorturl.at/aDNOR 
- 🌐 Website: https://www.divaprotocol.io/
- 📚 Docs: https://docs.divaprotocol.io/
- 📖 Smart contract documentation: shorturl.at/aemNU
- 🍏 DIVA Testnet App: https://app.diva.finance/
- 🦜 Twitter: https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io 
- 🤖 Discord: https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3

Seeking community feedback on security token offering for DIVA Technologies AG


The DIVA Protocol smart contract is almost ready for launch! After more than 2.5 years of development and dedication, we are excited to bring the first truly universal 
and flexible smart contract based operating system for derivative applications to market. With DIVA Protocol, developers can build a wide range of derivative applications, 
including insurance, structured products, prediction markets, conditional donations, and swaps, all in a permissionless and trustless way. One of the unique features is 
the possibility to impose transfer restrictions on derivative assets, which makes it particularly well-suited for traditional financial institutions that must comply with KYC and AML regulations.

Our vision is to transform a $500+ trillion derivatives industry with a secure, transparent, and decentralized infrastructure layer that enables anyone to create and 
settle derivatives peer-to-peer. We are offering a unique opportunity to join us on our journey as an official launch partner by sponsoring a portion of the smart contract 
audit costs (estimated at $100’000). As a launch partner, you will receive recognition on our website and social media channels, as well as a claim on 300 DIVA tokens for 
every $100 sponsored which will give you an opportunity to play an active role in shaping the future direction of DIVA Protocol. 

Read on to learn what a smart contract audit is and find out how you can become a launch partner.

## What is a smart contract?

To understand the purpose of a smart contract audit, it is important to first understand what a smart contract is. A smart contract is a software that runs on a 
decentralized network of computers, such as Ethereum. Once deployed, its code is replicated on thousands of machines across the globe and cannot be stopped, 
altered or changed, ensuring that it will remain accessible and functional for generations to come. 

As many smart contracts (including DIVA Protocol) implement sensitive logic related to holding and transferring digital assets, it is crucial that they are 
thoroughly tested and free from errors or vulnerabilities. That’s where the smart contract audit comes in.

## What is a smart contract audit?

A smart contract audit is a crucial part of the development process that ensures the security and reliability of the contract. It involves a thorough 
review of the code by a team of experienced blockchain developers and security experts, with the goal of identifying any vulnerabilities or weaknesses 
that could potentially compromise the security or functionality of the contract. This process requires specialized knowledge and expertise, and it can be complex and time-consuming. 

The estimated cost of the DIVA smart contract audit, as determined by [Sherlock](https://www.sherlock.xyz/), is $100,000. The completion of the audit marks a major milestone in the life cycle of the DIVA 
Protocol and offers a great opportunity to invite interested parties to participate in that historical moment by sponsoring a portion of the audit costs.

## What is the goal of the launch partner program?

The DIVA Protocol launch partner program serves two goals: i) it gives institutions and individuals an opportunity to publicly signal their support for decentralized 
finance technologies and ii) it helps build a diverse and decentralized community of token holders, which is essential for the success of any 
decentralized project, including DIVA Protocol.

We believe that the launch partner program is an excellent way to foster a strong and engaged community of advocates for decentralized technologies.

## What are the benefits of becoming a launch partner?

As a launch partner, you will receive public recognition on our website and our social media channels, giving you exposure to our 5.8k [Twitter](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io) 
followers and 33k [Discord](https://discord.gg/DE5b8ZeJjK) members. Plus, for every $100 you contribute, you will receive a claim on 300 DIVA tokens, allowing you to be among the 
first to participate in the DIVA governance once the system goes live on Ethereum mainnet (expected in March 2023, shortly after completion of the 
smart contract audit). Learn more about the role of the DIVA token [here](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-tokenomics).

Please note that launch partners will be subject to the same DIVA token vesting terms as the Genesis team and early backers. That is, 40% of the 
allocated DIVA tokens will be unlocked at the token generation event and 60% will vest linearly over a period of 2 years. 

## How to become a launch partner?

If you are interested in becoming an official launch partner of DIVA Protocol, please reach out to Wladimir Weinbender by Email or LinkedIn who will be happy 
to answer any questions and provide more information on how to contribute in fiat currency (CHF, EUR or USD): 
- Email: wladimir.weinbender@divatech.ch
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wladimir-weinbender-00450a59/

You can also contribute by sending ERC20 tokens or ETH to the following Ethereum address: 0x962bd69AfFC9b89E8D4A08C6f242D31441375188

Just make sure to get in touch with us so we can properly acknowledge and thank you for your support!

## Conclusion

DIVA Protocol is set to redefine the way how derivative contracts are created and settled. The launch partner program gives institutions and individuals a unique opportunity 
to publicly signal their support for the development of decentralized finance technologies in exchange for DIVA governance rights. Join us on our journey to transform the derivatives industry.

## Links

- 🖼️ Slide deck: https://shorturl.at/FHJR2 
- 🌐 Website: https://www.divaprotocol.io/
- 📚 Docs: https://docs.divaprotocol.io/
- 🍏 DIVA Testnet App: https://app.diva.finance/
- 🦜 Twitter: https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io 
- 🤖 Discord: https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3

Join the launch of the revolutionary DIVA Protocol as an official partner

Back in [July](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-how-diva-protocol-can-help-unlock-affordable-insurance-for-farmers), we shared an idea of how DIVA Protocol can be used to 
create event-driven conditional donation products that financially assist farmers in adverse moments such as crop or livestock loss caused by natural disasters such as drought and floods. 

Today, we are thrilled to announce that we partnered up with Fortune Connect, a financial inclusion hub for farmers in Kenya, 
and Shamba Network, a web3 project providing ecological data to smart contracts, to launch a conditional donation pilot campaign powered by DIVA Protocol. 

Before we dive into the campaign details, let’s briefly revisit what conditional donations are, how they compare to direct donations and how smart 
contract technology, and DIVA Protocol in particular, can help to implement them in a transparent and cost effective way.

## What are conditional donations?

Conditional donations differ from direct donations in that they come with certain conditions attached. These conditions specify under which 
circumstances funds will be released to the recipient. For example, a donation may be conditioned on the rain amount over a certain period of 
time in a given area. If it falls below a predefined level that is associated with drought, the donation will be triggered to financially 
support the people affected. If it stays above that level, no donation will be triggered.

## What are the benefits compared to direct donations?

Conditional donations can provide a number of benefits compared to direct donations:
* **Greater control:** Because the terms of the donation are specified upfront, donors can ensure that their funds are used in a way that 
aligns with their values and priorities. This can be particularly useful for donors who want to support specific causes or who have specific 
goals in mind for their donation.
* **Based on need:** Conditional donations are only released if recipient’s are in actual need. This can help to ensure that the funds are 
used in the most effective way possible and can help to maximize the positive impact of the donation.
* **Greater impact:** Unused funds can be redeployed into new conditional donation campaigns, thereby maximizing the impact and reach of the donation. 
* **Verifiable:** The underlying trigger events are publicly verifiable and the release of the donation is detached from any potential external bias.

## What are the benefits of using smart contract technology to implement conditional donations?

Blockchain-based smart contract technology can provide a number of benefits for implementing conditional donations: 
* **Transparency:** Donation flows are transparent and auditable on the blockchain.
* **Trustless:** Funds are being held in a programmatic escrow rather than by a central party eliminating the risk of misuse and fraud.
* **Efficient:** Programmatically enforced rules remove the need for manual processes which allows a quicker release of funds.
* **Frictionless:** Money can come from across the globe to assist farmers.

## Why DIVA Protocol?

DIVA Protocol is a smart contract that acts as an operating system for derivative applications. More precisely, it allows its users to create 
and settle derivative products in a permissionless and trustless way. As conditional donations derive their payout based on the outcome of an 
underlying event, they are considered derivative products and can be implemented using DIVA Protocol.

## How it works?

The process of a conditional donation is illustrated below:


 <img src="/images/posts/diva-donate-how-it-works.png" />



The DIVA smart contract manages the full conditional donation cycle in a trustless and predictable manner. In particular, it allows donors to 
deposit funds (e.g., in the form of stablecoins such as USDT or other digital assets) and issue tokenized contingent claims to beneficiaries (1), 
data providers to report event outcomes (2) and beneficiaries to claim their share in the donation after the outcome has been reported and the 
payout has been determined by the DIVA smart contract (3). Any unused funds can be claimed by the donor and redeployed into a new conditional donation campaign (4).

## About the campaign

The goal of the pilot campaign is to provide farmers that are located in the Horn of Africa region financial support in case of a drought. 

The region, which is stretching from southern Ethiopia to northern Kenya and Somalia, is experiencing regular droughts caused by climate change 
and extreme weather events which results in curtailed agricultural production, destroyed crops and extreme livestock losses. Massive livestock deaths 
disrupt the flow of income and food sources for the local farmers (so-called “pastoralists”) and their families.

The goal of the campaign is to raise $15’000 to provide 100 pastoralists ($150 each) with financial support in case of a drought. The support 
is equivalent to the value of one livestock per pastoralist.

## What is the trigger metric?

The average [NDVI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalized_difference_vegetation_index), or Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, observed in the period 
1 Feb - 30 April 2023 (dates subject to change) will serve as the trigger metric. 
The NDVI measures the density and health of vegetation in a given region and is often used as an indicator for drought. It is calculated by taking the difference 
between the near-infrared and red light reflectance of an area, and then dividing by the sum of the two. Higher NDVI values indicate a greater density of healthy 
vegetation, while lower values indicate that the plants in an area are experiencing drought stress.

The NDVI data can be collected by satellite imagery, aerial photography, and ground-based sensors. For the pilot program, Shamba Network, a web3 project focused 
on the provision of ecological data to smart contracts, will sponsor the outcome reporting. Shamba Network taps into remote sensing data from satellites operated by 
NASA, ESA and other space agencies to provide an updated picture of environmental conditions across the globe. 

## What are the donation scenarios?
The donation release profile is described by the chart below. Note that the chosen NDVI values are for presentation purposes only and may change for the actual product.


 <img src="/images/posts/diva-donate-payoff-profile.png" />


The given payoff profile results in the following donation scenarios:
- **$15’000** - if NDVI is smaller than or equal to 0.50
- **$12’000** - if NDVI is 0.55
- **$7’500** - if NDVI is 0.625
- **$0** - if NDVI is larger than or equal to 0.75

The donations can be claimed from the DIVA smart contract after the NDVI has been reported. Any unused funds can be re-claimed by the donor and re-deployed into new campaigns.

## DIVA Donate
The campaign will be released on DIVA Donate, a platform that is being developed by DIVA Technologies AG, to offer donors and donation recipients a seamless experience. 
Some sneak peeks of the website are provided below.


 <img src="/images/posts/diva-donate-1.png" />



 <img src="/images/posts/diva-donate-2.png" />


## Get in touch
If you want to donate, are interested in launching your own conditional donation campaign or discuss other derivative use cases (e.g. using CO2 emissions or air 
quality as underlying metrics), please get in touch.

## About DIVA Technologies AG

DIVA Technologies AG is a Swiss based software consulting firm that consults traditional businesses as well as DAOs in Web3 development. The company was founded 
in 2022 by Wladimir Weinbender, Co-Founder of DIVA Protocol, a smart contract that acts as an operating system for a wide range of derivative applications 
including insurance, predictions, structured products, credit default swaps, etc.

## About Fortune Connect

Fortune Connect is a digital financial inclusion hub enabling farmers to access market information, technical knowledge, financial literacy, and financial 
access tools for credit and insurance in Kenya. Fortune Connect Innovation was started in 2021 and incubated by Fortune Credit before rolling out to several 
places in rural Kenya.

## About Shamba Network

Shamba Network powers an oracle that enables the collection, analytics and use of ecological data on-chain. It provides the web3 ecosystem with 
infrastructure that allows insight into the physical world, enabling things like ecological impact to be monitored. Through the Shamba oracle, 
smart contracts can get updated on what is happening on the ground and use this data to trigger a wide variety of actions.

Event-driven conditional donations - A pilot program by DIVA Technologies AG, Fortune Connect and Shamba Network

As we approach the launch of our mainnet in early 2023, we are excited to unveil the final details of the DIVA tokenomics. We believe that the DIVA token design offers a 
novel solution for token-based governance that addresses the common problems that plague other tokens. This includes slow processes and execution, low participation in 
governance as well as a lack of flexibility in the tokenomics to accommodate the changing needs of the protocol over time.

Most of those weaknesses result from enforcing decentralization too early, before product market fit is found. Decentralization is a process that takes time. Our goal 
is to strike a balance between maintaining flexibility and control in the early stages of the protocol while still working towards full decentralization.

We have designed an innovative decentralized delegation mechanism that allows for fast execution without sacrificing decentralization, giving DIVA token holders the ability 
to efficiently and effectively participate in governance. 

## Decentralized delegation

The DIVA token’s main functionality is delegation via staking. DIVA token holders delegate the decision-making to a central party, also referred to as the protocol owner, 
by staking DIVA tokens towards their account. The protocol owner is responsible for driving adoption and value creation initiatives on behalf of DIVA token holders, 
including growing the developer community, increasing the number of applications built on top of the protocol, and expanding oracle integrations.

Most importantly, the protocol owner is expected to work towards the ultimate goal of transferring protocol ownership to DIVA token holders as the protocol matures. 
In return, the protocol owner is given exclusive access to protocol fees and DIVA token issuance to fund those initiatives.

Despite the centralized element, the power remains in the hands of the DIVA token holders. At any point in time, DIVA token holders can vote to replace the current 
protocol owner by directing their stake towards a new candidate. If a candidate receives more support than the current owner (as measured by staked amount), 
a 30-day showdown period can be triggered by the corresponding candidate. At the end of this period, a snapshot of the candidates’ stakes is taken, and the candidate 
with the most support can assume protocol ownership and with that gain access to future protocol fees and DIVA token issuance. This process is referred to as a 
decentralized protocol takeover (DPT) mechanism and its technical implementation on a smart contract level depicted below:


 <img src="/images/posts/dpt-mechanism.png" />


Initially, the Genesis team will hand over protocol ownership to DIVA Technologies AG, a company founded by one of the co-founders and incorporated in Switzerland.

## Benefits

The decentralized delegation mechanism has a number of benefits that make it an attractive solution for token-based governance. These benefits include:
* **Fast execution:** Delegation provides flexibility and fast execution, which is especially important in the early stages of a protocol’s lifetime. 
* **Minimal governance:** With the DIVA token, holders can simply stake for their favorite candidate and then let the protocol owner do the work, 
without needing to constantly monitor and participate in governance processes. Token based polls can still be conducted by the protocol owner to get the community‘s input on specific topics.
* **Decentralized:** The decentralized protocol takeover mechanism allows for a centralized element, while still keeping any delegate in check and ensuring decentralization.
* **Flexible tokenomics:** The token utility can be extended by the protocol owner over time, allowing for a level of flexibility that can accommodate the changing 
needs of the protocol. Eventually, the protocol owner can be set to a smart contract address that operates based on a set of predefined and predictable rules.

## Protocol fee

To ensure the long-term success and sustainability of the DIVA Protocol project, a small protocol fee of 0.25% will be charged at redemption. 
The fee can be updated by the protocol owner within a hard-coded range of 0-2.5%.

## Token supply

With a maximum of 100 million DIVA tokens in existence, c. 20% will be unlocked at mainnet launch in Q1 2023 and another 15-20% in the following 
two years due to vesting. The remaining tokens will be gradually unlocked at a rate of 2% per year, subject to the supply cap, to fund the continued development 
of the protocol. This source of funding will be particularly important in the early phase of the protocol where protocol fees may be insufficient.

The token unlock schedule is illustrated below. Note that the figures are still indicative due to on-going fundraising and upcoming second testnet phase. 
Final numbers will be confirmed and published closer towards mainnet launch.


 <img src="/images/posts/diva-token-release-schedule.png" />


## Conclusion
To summarize, the DIVA token design introduces a novel token-based governance mechanism that allows for a centralized element without giving up the power of DIVA token holders. 
This allows fast execution in the early phase of the protocol, efficient and effective governance participation and a clear path towards full decentralization as the protocol matures.

To give everyone a chance to take part in the DIVA protocol governance and help shape the future of the project, we are planning to conduct a DIVA token sale shortly 
after mainnet launch. Stay tuned for further updates on this.


## Links

- 🌐 Website: https://www.divaprotocol.io/
- 📚 Docs: https://docs.divaprotocol.io/
- 🍏 DIVA Testnet App: https://app.diva.finance/
- 🦜 Twitter: https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io 
- 🤖 Discord: https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3

DIVA Tokenomics


On 30th September, the first phase of DIVA's [incentivized testnet](#https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-testnet-announcement) has ended. The goal of the testnet was to invite users to explore the
functionality of the [DIVA App](#https://app.diva.finance/), collect valueable feedback to further improve the app ahead of
the mainnet launch beginning of next year and reward participants with a claim on the future DIVA token.

The participation was overwhelming and has exceeded all our expectations. We want to say a big **THANK YOU** to everyone
who participated in our testnet. The huge participation was a real stress test for our app and helped us to iron
out some bugs that we wouldn't have spotted otherwise.

Here some key testnet statistics to highlight:

- Total contingent pools created: **170'000**
- Unique addresses participated: **26'100**
- Number accounts that completed all tasks: **13'800**
- Total points collected: **79.5m**
- Discord users: **33'000** (vs. 800 before the testnet)

## DIVA token reward
The most important metric that testnet participants are eagerly waiting for is the DIVA token reward that they receive for their participation. 
It took us a bit of time to finalize the numbers as the community requested an [additional verification step](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-verification-announcement)
to filter out multi-accounts. Roughly 1'000 alt accounts and their corresponding main accounts (3.7m or 4.7% of total points) have been filtered out during that process.

The DIVA token rewards for registered users that passed the verification, hold an [888Whales NFT](https://opensea.io/collection/888whales) or are among the quiz winners are as follows:

- **4.4** DIVA tokens per completed task (200 points)
- **100** DIVA tokens for full completion (4500 points)
- **200 DIVA tokens** for full completion and ownership of an [888Whale NFT](https://opensea.io/collection/888whales) (9000 points)

Despite sufficient heads-up and a three day verification window, more than 11k registered users (c. 25m or 31.4% of total points) missed the verification process. As users have spent a 
significant amount of time to complete the testnet tasks (90% of users spent more than 30 minutes), we decided to also reward non-verified users with a reduced reward:  

- **1.8** DIVA tokens per completed task (200 points)
- **40** DIVA tokens for full completion (4500 points)

It's important to highlight that those rewards come on top of the initially planned reward pool size of 1m DIVA tokens and do not dilute verified users. Overall, a total of 1.37m DIVA tokens have been allocated to more 
than 25'100 users. That is 37% more than originally planned.

You can check your reward on our [new website](https://www.divaprotocol.io/rewards) 👀.

If you are not eligible, don't be disappointed as we will give you additional opportunities to get your hands on the DIVA token.

**Note:** Until token launch, we reserve the right to blacklist verified multi-accounts if we are presented credible evidence.

## Wen token?
The DIVA token reward can be claimed at the token generation event which is planned to coincide with the mainnet launch of the DIVA Protocol in Q1 2023. As a DIVA token holder you will 
have a say in the future direction of the protocol. In particular, you will be able to vote on protocol parameters such as fees as well as how to spend the DIVA treasury funds. 
There will be a maximum of 100m tokens with the majority being distributed over time (post mainnet) to those that help grow the ecosystem around DIVA Protocol. Read more about the DIVA tokenomics 
[here](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/introduction/what-is-diva-token).

## What's next
Our main focus right now is getting the smart contracts ready for the second and final audit in January with [Sherlock](https://www.sherlock.xyz/) and prepare everything for the second testnet round. 
The goal of the second testnet round is to test additional features and integrations that we have been developing over the last couple of months, in particular, the Create Offer flow
as well as the [Tellor oracle protocol](https://tellor.io/) integration. We will announce more details as soon as things are ready.

After a short break, we will also restart the [quiz sessions](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-incentivized-diva-quiz) to give community members an additional opportunity to earn DIVA tokens. 
Remember that answering a quiz question correctly will earn you 100 DIVA tokens, same as completing all testnet tasks. However, you need to be fast and the completion of all testnet tasks is a requirement
to be eligible for the reward. Some of the upcoming questions will help you prepare for the second testnet round. 
Playing around with the Create Offer flow in the DIVA App may give you an edge ;-) 

Further, note that the [testnet tasks](https://app.diva.finance/tasks) will remain available in the DIVA App as eligibility for future reward rounds (incl. quiz and second testnet round)
will require full completion of all testnet tasks. As we have migrated the app to the latest version of the DIVA Protocol smart contracts, you may not see your completion status. Rest assured that
your progress is saved on our side and we will display it in the app as soon as possible.

## Bootstrapping the DIVA ecosystem
Our goal is to establish DIVA Protocol as the engine that powers a wide range of derivative applications including prediction/betting markets, insurance platforms, structured products as well 
as event-driven conditional donations. [DIVA App](https://app.diva.finance/markets/0xBb0F479895915F80f6fEb5BABcb0Ad39a0D7eF4E) was just the beginning. To bootstrap the ecosystem, we 
have started to design and implement new applications on top of DIVA Protocol to give web2 developers inspiration and ideas what is possible. Stay tuned for more updates on that front. 

## Join us

DIVA Protocol enables the peer-to-peer creation of derivative products and with that unlock use cases that haven't been possible before. If you are interested in what we are building, join us on
[Discord](https://discord.com/invite/DE5b8ZeJjK) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io) and check out the following links:

- 🚀 Website: https://www.divaprotocol.io/
- 📚 Docs: https://docs.divaprotocol.io/
- 🍏 DIVA Testnet App: https://app.diva.finance/


DIVA Testnet - Mission one completed


The first phase of the testnet has ended and we understand that testnet participants are eagerly waiting for the announcement of the DIVA token rewards. 
However, before we announce the final allocations, we first want to address the community's concern that some users might have participated with multiple accounts to increase their allocation,
thereby violating the rules outlined in our original [testnet announcement](#https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-testnet-announcement) and diluting the rewards of single-account users.  

There is evidence that the concern is justified. Some users have openly stated in our discord that they have participated with multiple accounts. Some tutorial videos produced by 
independent users were encouraging viewers to participate with multiple accounts. An initial analysis of the testnet data on our side also confirms that some users 
participated with multiple accounts. 

We see it as our duty to investigate those issues and take the necessary steps to ensure a fair and equitable reward distribution. As a result, we are going to conduct 
an **additional verification round** for testnet participants. Details about the verification procedure will be disclosed at the start of the verification period.  

Details that we can already share:
* Start date: **Friday, 14 October, 9pm CET**
* The verification will be open for **3 days**. Tell all your friends that participated in the DIVA testnet to verify their discord accounts.
* Only users that participated in the testnet will be required to verify their discord account.
* Testnet participants that own an 888Whale DO NOT need to verify their accounts.
* Users that are identified using multiple accounts during the verification process will not receive any reward. If you have used multiple accounts, make sure 
you **verify only one account** to not risk losing your reward.
* The verification process will be simple and efficient and will not involve sharing any private information.

The DIVA token reward will be announced following the verification process. We thank you for your patience.

If you have any concerns about the planned verification process, please let us know in our [discord](#https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3).



Testnet user verification

We are excited to share the latest developments around DIVA Protocol, the DIVA App, the on-going testnet and all on-going initiatives with our community. We keep the intro short as there is a lot to cover.

## App
Over the last couple of weeks, we have released the following new features in the app:
* **Card view:** Users can now switch between Line view and Card view on the Markets page. The Card view was primarily designed to have a mobile-friendly way to display the products and their details on the Markets page.

 <img src="/images/posts/card_view.png" />

* **Trade chart:** In preparation for the re-design of the trading page, we have upgraded the payoff chart design, moved it more prominently into the middle of
the page and consolidated a lot of information that was previously spread across the page. For instance, the current underlying value, the break-even as 
well as parameters governing the shape of the payoff profile (floor, inflection, cap and gradient) are now baked into the chart.

 <img src="/images/posts/trade_chart.png" />

The following screenshot gives you preview of the new trade page design that we are working towards.

 <img src="/images/posts/new_trade_page.png" />

* **Filters (release imminent):** We have re-visited the functionality and updated the design of the filters on the Markets and My Dashboard page.

 <img src="/images/posts/filter.png" />

* **Mobile responsiveness:** We have made the Create flow as well as the Testnet tasks page more mobile-friendly. We are working on making the remaining parts of the app responsive. 

**In progress:**
* **Create Offer flow:** We are adding an option for users to create derivative products in a more gas efficient and flexible way. Users will no longer have to create derivative products on-chain
and take on the risk of not finding a counterparty. Instead, users will be able to create signed off-chain commitments to take either the long or short side of the derivative contract at very specific terms and share them 
with potential counterparties via various off-chain communication channels (e.g., email or chat). The derivative products are created only once a counterparty is found. 
Further, the Create Offer functionality will also remove the need for the creator to deposit the full collateral amount. Instead, a user can specify in the offer terms how much collateral each party has to contribute. With that,
the sale of the long or short side, which in the current setup has to be conducted after a contingent pool has been created, would become part of the product creation process. The testing of the Create Offer flow will be part 
of the second testnet phase. 
* **Show best bid/ask on Markets page:** An efficient way to display the best bid/ask rates on the Markets page is under development.

## Smart contracts
* The EIP712 module which enables the Create Offer flow described above has been integrated into DIVA Protocol. We are preparing everything for another audit round to 
ensure that the new functionality is bug-free and secure.
* Before we go to audit, we are planning an incentivized code review program where we will invite Solidity developers and reward them in claims on the future DIVA token for reviewing and providing feedback on the code. 
This will help to raise awareness about DIVA Protocol in developer circles and foster adoption when it is launched on mainnet. 

## Testnet
The incentivized testnet has been an overwhelming success in all respects. We received a lot of helpful feedback from our users, fixed several bugs and were able to grow our discord community
from 800 to over 15k members. The on-going testnet is running until September 30, 2022, but we can already announce that there will be another round of incentivized testnet where users will get a chance
to earn additional rewards for trying out new features that are currently under development.

### Key testnet statistics
We want to be transparent with our community and share the expected DIVA token reward from participating in our testnet. 1% (1 million tokens) of the total DIVA token supply was reserved for the on-going testnet which will be allocated to all testnet participants pro-rata to their points collected. If the testnet ended today, 
each participant that has completed all the testnet tasks would be rewarded with slightly more than 210 DIVA tokens (c. $21 assuming a $10 million project valuation). Below the details including additional testnet statistics:
* Total pools created: >60k
* Unique addresses participated: >10k
* Number users that completed all tasks: >2300
* Total points collected: 21.3m
* DIVA token reward for completing all tasks: 210 DIVA tokens 

While further participation will dilute the testnet reward per user, we want to highlight that the completion of all testnet tasks will be beneficial for future reward rounds and initiatives. 

### Migration from Ropsten to Goerli
On 19th August, Graph Protocol stopped its support for Ropsten. As the DIVA App is using Graph Protocol to capture and display blockchain data in the app, we were forced to switch
all parts of the app and testnet to Goerli, the new Ethereum test network. This move was expected and most of the preparations for the migration have been done on our side. Unfortunately, one important piece of DIVA App's infrastructure 
stack, namely the 0x api server which is maintained by the 0x protocol team and responsible for hosting signed trade orders, turned out to have limited functionality on Goerli. 
As a result, users were no longer able to trade and complete the four trade related testnet tasks. We are currently in the process of spinning up the api server ourselves to become more independent. We are confident to enable the trading
functionality soon. 

### Testnet progress on Ropsten
The testnet progress on the Ropsten network is saved. Users only have to complete those tasks on Goerli that remained open on Ropsten. We are currently in the process of integrating the Ropsten completion
progress into the app to help users remember which ones were open.

### State of the app
Overall, there don't seem to be any critical bugs anymore. All bugs reported during the early phase of the testnet were fixed and users seem to able to complete all tasks without any problems
(assuming the trading part is fully functional again). The current focus is on implementing the new app designs and make the app mobile-friendly.

## New DIVA website
We are in the process of redesigning the [DIVA Protocol website](https://www.divaprotocol.io/) to present DIVA Protocol and its features in the best possible way. In particular,
we are planning to integrate an app store where we will start listing apps that are built on top of DIVA Protocol with DIVA App being the first one. 

## Quiz
End of July, we announced an incentivized [quiz](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-incentivized-diva-quiz) where we give users a chance to earn additional claims
on the future DIVA token by proving their knowledge about DIVA Protocol and the DIVA App. The quiz has gained a lot of traction with 37 community members being able to secure a spot 
on the leaderboard. It was particularly great to see that some members have built very solid knowledge and leveraged that to earn additional DIVA tokens. 

Unfortunately, the quiz was interrupted for a few days due to the issues that we experienced during the migration. We expect to resume the quiz very soon. 

The quiz is one of many initiatives that we are planning to build an informed and knowledgeable community.
If you haven't followed all the questions but want to test your knowledge about DIVA Protocol, head over to our [documentation](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/quiz) where you will find all questions. 
It was a conscious decision to not publish the answers yet to increase the learn effect ;-)

## Tellor oracle integration
We are closely working with the Tellor team to integrate [Tellor Protocol](https://tellor.io/) as the first decentralized oracle solution into DIVA Protocol to give users the highest confidence that derivative products will settle correctly.
The connector smart contract is done and we are currently testing the reporting software. The testing of the Tellor integration will be part of the second phase of the incentivized testnet. Stay tuned for an announcement. 

## Farmer insurance
The [article on the farmer insurance](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-how-diva-protocol-can-help-unlock-affordable-insurance-for-farmers) use case sparked some excitement
with some organizations in Africa. We are currently exploring a pilot program with a set of farmers to test it out. Stay tuned!


## Join us
DIVA Protocol will enable the peer-to-peer creation of financial derivative products and with that unlock use cases that haven't been possible before. If you are interested in what we are building, join us on 
[Discord](https://discord.com/invite/DE5b8ZeJjK) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io) and check out the following links:

- 🚀 Website: https://www.divaprotocol.io/
- 📚 Docs: https://docs.divaprotocol.io/
- 🍏 DIVA Testnet App: https://app.diva.finance/

DIVA development update - August

Team DIVA had an opportunity to join India's first web3 conference event called [Web3 Conf India](https://web3confindia.xyz/) held at 
[Novotel Goa Dona Sylvia Resort](https://all.accor.com/hotel/A6P4/index.en.shtml), Goa, India. It was a three day conference event with an 
amazing cruise kick-off party before the beginning of the event. The venue was amazing and was located near the beach giving it proper Goa vibes. 
The venue was also well arranged for the events and had two different halls booked for conferences to run in parallel. There were limited seats 
for the event and it was only accessible for the people who bought NFT passes which were sold on [TickEth](https://ticketh.io/browse/01062022_AllAccessPass) platform.

## Event Venue
![novtel venue](/images/posts/Novotel-goa.png)

<Tweet id="1557446392808779776" />

## Cruise Kick-off Party
![cruise party](/images/posts/kickoff-party.png)

Our main plan was to make people learn about DIVA Protocol and reward them with the DIVA swags that we had prepared for the event. It was the first time 
people were going to have their swags from DIVA and we were also excited about it. At the event we secured a booth where all other companies and event sponsors 
booths were also present to interact with attendees at the event.

![event photos](/images/posts/event-photos.png)

We got a great response from the people that we met at the event and that we presented what we are building at DIVA Protocol and its use cases. We also encouraged people to go 
through the [DIVA docs](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/) and participate in our on-going [incentivized testnet](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-testnet-announcement) program. 
Many of them joined our discord channel, registered their wallet to claim dUSD tokens to participate in the testnet tasks and claimed their DIVA swag.

<Tweet id="1558682801355952130" />

Along with sharing information about DIVA Protocol, we also visited all the booths set up there and met with folks from different 
companies to discuss about each other's product. We met with folks from [WalletConnect](https://twitter.com/SkAyaz97/status/1558775873754386433), 
[Shardeum](https://twitter.com/SkAyaz97/status/1558764065920393221), [AssetMantle](https://assetmantle.one/), [Express Protocol](https://www.expressprotocol.io/), 
[QuillAudits](https://audits.quillhash.com/smart-contract-audit), [Polygon](https://polygon.technology/), 
[SpheronHQ](https://twitter.com/SpheronHQ), [Near Protocol](https://near.org/), [StackOS](https://www.home.stackos.io/), and 
[ZKX](https://zkx.fi/) among others. ZKX, which is a perpetual swap protocol built on StarkNet, also hosted a discussion panel about future of web3 with 
some popular faces of India in web3 space. There was also a launch party from Express Protocol on their successful mainnet launch hosted at the end of the event.

![zkx-panel](/images/posts/zkx-panel.png)

## Conclusion

To conclude, Web3 Conf India was a great event to connect with web3 enthusiasts and spread the word about DIVA Protocol and the unique use cases it will enable. We hope 
to leverage the connections that we established during the event to help grow the DIVA ecosystem. 

**WAGMI** ✊🚀

Sharing with you few lines of experience from the Web3 Conf India event representing DIVA Protocol held at Goa, India.

DIVA team at Web3 Conf India


We believe that an informed and knowledgeable community is key to the long-term success of the DIVA project. 
We want our community members to become ambassadors that can independently and convincingly present DIVA's value proposition. That’s why we invest in the community's education by distributing a claim on the future 
DIVA token to those that participate in our Learn-to-Earn program.
The incentivized testnet that rewards those that take the time to explore the functionality of the DIVA App, 
the first app built on top of DIVA Protocol, was our first step in educating the community. We are thrilled 
to announce a new opportunity for our community members to earn additional claims on the DIVA token by proving 
their knowledge.

## Weekly quiz

We will be running a weekly DIVA Protocol quiz in our [Discord](https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3). A dedicated #quiz channel has been created for 
this purpose where we ask 5 to 15 questions at random points in time during the week. Each question answered 
correctly by the first member of the community will receive a reward of 100 DIVA token claims. After answering 
the question correctly and being approved by the DIVA team, the winner is requested to submit their wallet address. 
When the DIVA protocol launches its mainnet, winners will be able to claim their rewards.

**It’s important to highlight that winners need to have completed all the testnet tasks in order to be eligible 
for the reward.** The completion of all testnet tasks will be a requirement for all future reward opportunities 
and beneficial beyond the testnet. If you are new to our community, read our 
[testnet announcement](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-testnet-announcement) to learn how to participate. 

## Quiz rules summarized

* Only the first community member with the correct answer to a question will be rewarded with 100 DIVA Tokens.  
* To be eligible for the reward, you must have completed all the testnet tasks.
* Team members and moderators are excluded from the competition.
* A community member is allowed to earn rewards as many times as possible.

## What is DIVA Protocol
DIVA Protocol is a unique piece of decentralized infrastructure that allows everyone to create and settle 
fully customizable event-driven products (also known as “derivatives”) in a permissionless way. Users can 
choose any public data feed as the underlying (e.g., the price of an asset or a basket of assets, the TVL 
locked in DeFi, Ethereum gas price, Bitcoin hash rate, etc.) and combine it with a wide range of possible 
[payoff profiles](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/getting-started/create-position-tokens/payoff-curves) 
(binary, linear, convex, or concave) to create truly [unique products in DeFi](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/use-cases/insurance).

Excited what we are building? Join us!

- Twitter: https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io 
- Discord: https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3

Here the links to get you started:

- 📚 Docs: https://docs.divaprotocol.io/
- 🍏 DIVA Testnet App: https://app.diva.finance/

Prove your knowledge about DIVA Protocol and get rewarded

Incentivized DIVA quiz

Countless farmers in developing countries cannot afford irrigation systems for farming and rely on climatic conditions to produce food. Taking Africa as an example, United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) [statistics](https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/special-edition-agriculture-2014/despite-climate-change-africa-can-feed-africa) indicate that 95 percent of African food farming is rain-fed.

Accordingly, weather-related hazards frustrate agricultural productivity payoffs, particularly in the face of climate change. When the rains fail to come, it is a financial disaster for many households, especially in the rural communities.

These factors constantly threaten food security and human well-being in the region. In 2021, [droughts](https://oneacrefund.org/blog/crop-insurance-can-improve-food-security-africa/) slashed into harvests across countries like Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia—and thousands of hard-working farmers bumbled to make ends meet.

## Agrarian insurance

Agrarian insurance would have been the logical solution to the farmers' hardships. However, traditional insurance services, if accessible at all, are generally costly, with high premiums and sluggish payouts, resulting in low agricultural insurance penetration among smallholder growers. In Africa, for example, [agrarian insurance](https://newafricanmagazine.com/26039/) is less than five percent. 

Fortunately, thanks to the evolution of the blockchain technology, those problems could soon be a thing of the past. Developers around the globe are building open, permissionless and trustless applications to provide access to crucial financial infrastructure for everyone in the world. One of such utilities is the DIVA Protocol.


## DIVA Protocol changes the narratives

[DIVA Protocol](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/introduction/what-is-diva-protocol) is a smart contract that lives on the blockchain and is programmed with logic to create and settle derivative products, insurance in particular. DIVA's flexibility to use virtually any metric as the underlying and link a wide range of payoff profiles to its outcome is unique and opens up unlimited possibilities to create insurance products that will benefit the world. 

Let’s take a look at how DIVA Protocol can be utilized to create an insurance product for farmers growing maize, one of the major crops in Nigeria. [Maize’s minimum water need](https://www.fao.org/3/s2022e/s2022e02.htm) over the total growing period is estimated at 500mm. Choosing the rain amount during the total growing period as the underlying metric and attaching a payoff profile that will benefit the farmer if the actual rain amount ends up below 500mm will neutralize any loss incurred by the farmer due to a lack of rain. 

The maximum cover is deposited upfront by the product creator at the time of creation and securely held by the DIVA smart contract until the actual rain amount is reported by an oracle following product expiration using a verifiable public data source. In particular, DIVA Protocol allows the creator to specify the rain amount at which the maximum cover will kick in, thereby defining the shape of the payoff curve. The customization of the payoff profile allows to design products that are tailored to the underlying insurance event and the specific needs of the farmers.

An example of a maize farmer's insurance product payoff is illustrated in the following chart, using a linearly increasing payoff starting at 500mm with a maximum payoff of USDC 1'000 at 200mm:
 

 <img src="/images/posts/harvest_insurance_short.png" />


Similarly, any other publicly verifiable event that can cause harvest losses or lower yield such as flooding, wildfire, or locusts invasions can be used as the underlying metric. 

DIVA Protocol delivers a highly flexible tool to create robust hedge instruments against the adverse events that farmers face. With the transparency of the blockchain, its non-custodial nature, and the absence of third parties, farmers would have a far better insurance scheme than the traditional insurance market. Farmers can be certain to get paid without any delays whenever an insurance event occurs.

To make described agrarian insurance products affordable to farmers, non-profit entities can play a key role in creating those products using DIVA Protocol and providing the cover at subsidized rates.

## Development Agencies And Charities 

Various development agencies and charities are working with farmers in need to improve their lots. DIVA Protocol offers a tool that these agencies and organizations can utilize to create sustainable farmer benefits without ever touching banking infrastructure.

Instead of offering unconditional donations, charity organizations could use the contributions to offer insurance cover - a form of conditional donation - for farmers at subsidized rates. If an insurance event occurs, farmers will receive the benefit. If no insurance event occurs, the collected premium is reinvested into more insurance cover for farmers. 

The key benefits of a conditional donation scheme compared to a traditional one-off donation include:
- Donation is provided when it’s most needed by the farmers
- In the absence of an insurance event, the same capital can be reused numerous times and even grow over time thanks to the re-investment of the premia, reaching more needy farmers

Such products act as a springboard for farmers to adjust to weather-related shocks and fight food insecurity and poverty.

With DIVA Protocol being an open-source infrastructure, the creation of these products is not limited to charity organizations. Anyone can act as the counterparty and offer subsidized insurance products to farmers to help them focus on what they do best - tendering crops.


## Join DIVA Protocol

DIVA Protocol is open to collaboration with international development agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations, and other charity institutions to work with farmers to ease their plight. Our platform offers the most innovative way to create a better situation for rural communities and those who eke out a living.

We can work together to create countless products covering various weather events that go against the farmer and livelihoods. These are strategies highly sustainable, empowering, and beneficial for society.

Let's come together to deliver technology-backed solutions with a humane approach with the chance of replication. The blockchain has a lot to offer humanity, and the DIVA Protocol is dedicated to playing our part in this evolution.

If you are interested in what DIVA is building, here are the main links to get involved at no cost:

- 📚 Docs: https://docs.divaprotocol.io/
- 🍏 DIVA Testnet App: https://app.diva.finance/

Join Our community to be abreast with our ecosystem:

- Website: https://www.divaprotocol.io/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io 
- Discord: https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3

DIVA Protocol empowers everyone to add a positive lasting impact on the world by creating conditional donation products

How DIVA Protocol can help unlock affordable insurance for farmers



[DIVA App testnet](https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-testnet-announcement) went live on June 12, 2022, with a call on the Crypto community to participate and earn a claim on the future DIVA token. The response has been massive and pretty enlightening for the team. 

Thousands of Crypto enthusiasts responded to our call and signed up to test the DIVA App which is powered by DIVA Protocol, pointing us to some weaknesses needing modification. The outcome is significant to us in our mission to provide a robust decentralized application that empowers everyone to create a wide range of derivative products, including insurance, prediction/betting, and swaps. Those testing the system offer us the opportunity to receive essential feedback to achieve our goal. 

A vibrant community is essential for the success of a Crypto venture. Refreshingly, the DIVA testnet has reemphasized this central element. 

## Testnet statistics 

Since its launch, more than 8’000 users have participated and created more than 80’000 products. Multiple [Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=diva+protocol+testnet) videos have been created by our community that guides members through the testnet tasks.

Stimulatingly, the drill has impacted our community building and expansion appreciatively. The DIVA Discord community grew from 800 to more than 12’500 members within the exact time frame. 

We are particularly proud that one of our tweets about the testnet got retweeted by the official Polygon Twitter account, which has over 1.5 million followers. 

## Initial challenges

Due to the incredibly high demand for testnet registrations, our Discord Bot was swamped and couldn't deliver just a day after the take-off. We had to halt registration temporarily to fix this anomaly. 

The goal was to resolve the issues so our new testnet users could have the best experience trying out the app. We are grateful to the community for their understanding and patience. 

Thankfully, we restored the system within a few hours and registration resumed without any blemish. The current focus is on processing the feedback to provide an app that delivers one of the best products in the DeFi space.

## Feedback utilization

The hefty load on the DIVA App has revealed some weaknesses, which have been addressed by our experienced Dev team and resulted in various improvements for our users. Here are some highlights:

**Performance**: The loading times of the Markets and My Positions pages have been significantly improved thanks to smarter data loading.

**Usability**: We have improved the UX on the Markets page by replacing the previous split into Main/Other on the Markets page (which was splitting into products created by DIVA Governance and others) with a Creator Filter. This changeover allows users to search for derivative products from specific addresses such as friends, Twitter individuals, etc., which means all products created by a particular address have a unique URL that allows creators and users to share them within their communities.

**Congrats page**: We have added a congratulations page at the end of the creation process, which allows users to add the newly created position tokens to their Metamask wallet with a button click without the need to import them manually.

**Bug fixes**: Several bugs related to creating and filling orders that have hindered some testnet participants from completing the trade-related tasks have been fixed.

Apart from improving the functionality, we are also working on new app designs. Expect additional updates in the coming weeks as we work tirelessly to sweeten the performance and usability of the DIVA Protocol app.


## Join DIVA App testnet

You can still participate in this exciting development if you haven't registered for the testnet yet. It is running until September 30, 2022. 

Kindly head to our [Discord](https://discord.com/invite/DE5b8ZeJjK) and sign up on the Register Channel to be a part of building the future of derivatives. Don't forget your participation in the testnet guarantees a share in the DIVA token when it is finally live.

If you are interested in what we are building, here are the main links to get started:

- 🚀 Testnet announcement: https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-testnet-announcement
- 📚 Docs: https://docs.divaprotocol.io/
- 🍏 DIVA Testnet App: https://app.diva.finance/

Join Our community to be abreast with our ecosystem:

- Website: https://www.divaprotocol.io/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io 
- Discord: https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3 

Stay safe in these uncertain times!


Thousands of users participated in the DIVA App testnet so far.

DIVA App Testnet Receives Overwhelming Participation

After many months of hard work and sweat, we are thrilled to announce the **launch of the DIVA App on the Goerli testnet**, the first app built on top of DIVA Protocol. 
The goal of this release is to collect early user feedback to further improve the app ahead of the mainnet launch later this year. 
The best part about all this is that you get rewarded with a claim on the future DIVA token for trying out the app without 
risking real assets 🤯. Read on to find out how to participate.

## What is DIVA Protocol?

[DIVA Protocol](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/) is a decentralized piece of infrastructure that allows its users to create and settle fully 
customizable event-driven products (also known as "derivatives") in a permissionless way. Users can choose any public data feed as the underlying 
(e.g., the price of an asset or a basket of assets, the TVL locked in DeFi, Ethereum gas price, Bitcoin hash rate, etc.) 
and combine it with a wide range of possible payoff profiles (binary, linear, convex, or concave) to create truly unique products in DeFi.

DIVA Protocol’s mission is to empower anyone to bring their betting and insurance product ideas to life in a permissionless way without the need to learn smart contract programming.
Whether you want to build a prediction markets platform like Augur, a platform selling insurance products to protect against DeFi hacks, 
or create a simple webpage to allow users to bet on the outcome of the Champions League Finals, everything can be realized using DIVA Protocol as the underlying 
infrastructure.

## What is DIVA App?

DIVA App is the first implementation of an app on top of DIVA Protocol. Using the DIVA App users can interact with 
the protocol through a user-friendly interface. They can create and redeem derivative asset. Data providers can report values via the application. 
In addition, DIVA App integrates [0x](https://www.0x.org/)'s limit order protocol, a decentralized offchain orderbook with an onchain settlement 
model, to facilitate the exchange of those assets in a decentralized and gas-efficient way without giving up custody.

Both the DIVA Protocol smart contracts as well as the app code will be open-sourced at mainnet launch later this year which developers can use for reference.

## Learn-to-earn
![drake](/images/posts/drake.png)

One of the initiatives that we will be running to coincide with the testnet launch is the **Learn-to-earn program**. 
The goal of this program is to reward users with a claim on the future DIVA token for exploring the functionality offered by the DIVA App 
and providing valuable feedback that will help us to further improve the app ahead of the mainnet launch later this year. 
We believe that this approach is more likely to convert users into long-term believers and supporters compared to a random airdrop model. 
Read about the role of the DIVA token in DIVA Protocol in our [gitbook](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/introduction/diva-token).

**The best part about the DIVA testnet is that users are not putting any real assets at risk. All interactions with the DIVA App take 
place on the Goerli testnet using fake ERC20 tokens and fake ETH.**

## How it works

There will be a total of **15 tasks** that users will be asked to complete, each covering one specific functionality of the 
DIVA App (see the list of tasks further down below). Each completed task will earn users **200 points**. User’s will 
be able to multiply their score in two ways:
- **1.5x**: Users that complete all tasks will receive an “expert multiple” of 1.5x on their total score resulting in **4500 points**.
- **3.0x**: Users that complete all tasks AND hold a whale from our founders’ 888whales.art NFT collection at the end of the testnet, 
will receive a “whale multiple” of 3.0x on their total score resulting in **9000 points**. 
**Note that holding more than one whale will not give you any additional advantage.**

Each point collected represents a claim on one future DIVA token subject to a cap of 1 million DIVA tokens (1% of total supply). 
This means that if the aggregate points collected by all testnet users exceed 1 million, each user’s claim will be cut back pro-rata. 
For example, if the aggregate points collected by testnet users is 2 million, then each point will represent a claim on 0.5 DIVA tokens. 
For the avoidance of doubt, users that have collected more points than others will always receive more claims on the DIVA token.

Due to the dependency on the aggregate points collected by testnet users, the final DIVA token rewards will be determined and 
published after the testnet phase. Testnet participants will be able to claim their share of the DIVA token at the token launch event.

## How to participate

Follow the below steps to participate in the DIVA testnet:
- Head over to the [testnet channel](https://discord.gg/ZXpDp9G5b8) in our Discord.
- Type **/register** in the message line, add a **blank space** and paste the **wallet address** that you are going to use to 
interact with the DIVA App and later to claim the DIVA token. It should look as follows:

![register](/images/posts/register.png)
- **Make sure you are using an address that you control as you won't be able to change it afterwards!** 
- Hit Enter to confirm. In addition to the address registration, you will receive test ERC20 tokens called [dUSD](https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xFA158C9B780A4213f3201Ae74Cca013712c8538d) that you will need to start 
testing the app. 
- Type **/address** to confirm that your address has been registered. You can also use this command to check which 
account you have registered in case you forget it.
- Type **/claim-test-assets** to receive more dUSD tokens for testing (works only for registered users). Note that you can claim test assets once per day. 

All available commands to interact with our Discord bot are also listed in the testnet channel:

![register](/images/posts/testnet_bot.png)

**Note that each verified Discord user can only register one single account.** Users have time to register and complete all tasks until **30th September 2022**. 

After you have registered and received dUSD, claim some Goerli ETH from one of the following faucets to be able to pay for gas when transacting on the Goerli network:
* [Paradigm faucet](https://faucet.paradigm.xyz/)
* [Goerli PoW Faucet](https://goerli-faucet.pk910.de/) 


### List of tasks

The 15 tasks that testnet users are asked to complete are listed below as well as in the DIVA App under the **Testnet Task** tab. 
The completion of tasks will be assessed based on logged on-chain events and can be tracked on the Testnet Task page. 
To make things simpler for you, we have created a DIVA App Training in our gitbook that will guide you through the tasks and linked all tasks 
to the corresponding sections.

|**Task**|**Points**|
|:---|:---|
|**Contingent pool creation**||
|[Create a pool with a binary payoff](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/create#create-position-tokens-with-a-binary-payoff)|200|
|[Create a pool with a linear payoff](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/create#create-position-tokens-with-a-linear-payoff)|200|
|[Create a pool with a convex long token payoff](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/create#create-position-tokens-with-a-convex-long-payoff-concave-short-payoff)|200|
|[Create a pool with a concave long token payoff](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/create#create-position-tokens-with-a-concave-long-payoff-convex-short-payoff)|200|
|**Adding/removing liquidity**||
|[Add liquidity to an existing pool](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/add#add-liquidity-to-an-existing-pool)|200|
|[Remove liquidity from an existing pool](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/remove#remove-liquidity-from-an-existing-pool)|200|
|**Trading**||
|[Create a BUY LIMIT Order that gets filled](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/trade#create-a-buy-limit-order)[^1]|200|
|[Create a SELL LIMIT Order that gets filled](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/trade#create-a-sell-limit-order)[^1]|200|
|[Fill a BUY LIMIT order via SELL MARKET](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/trade#fill-existing-buy-limit-orders-sell-market)|200|
|[Fill a SELL LIMIT order via BUY MARKET](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/trade#fill-existing-sell-limit-orders-buy-market)|200|
|**Manual settlement**[^2]||
|[Report final value](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/settle#report-final-value)|200|
|[Challenge a reported value](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/settle#challenge-a-reported-value)|200|
|**Redemption**||
|[Redeem position token](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/redeem)|200|
|**Fee claim**||
|[Claim fees as a data provider](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/fees#claim-fees-as-a-data-provider)|200|
|[Transfer fee claims](https://docs.divaprotocol.io/guides/diva-app-training/fees#transfer-fee-claims)|200|
|**Total**| **3000**|
|**With expert multiple (1.5x)**|**4500**|
|**With whale multiple (3.0x)**|**9000**|

[^1]: It is important to highlight that placing a BUY/SELL LIMIT order is not enough to complete this task. The order has to be filled by 
someone (it can be your own account) in order to be considered complete. The reason for that is that creating a BUY or SELL LIMIT order 
is an off-chain operation. Only the execution of the order triggers an on-chain event that allows us to confirm the completion of the task.
[^2]: Note that the manual reporting process of the final value and the possibility to challenge are only relevant for cases where human 
reporters are used as data providers. In most cases, we expect users to choose oracles that will automatically report the final value 
and do not require their involvement.

The testnet is conducted on the **Goerli network** and you have time to complete all tasks until **30 September 2022**. 
Details on the timeline for the mainnet launch will be announced after the testnet phase ends.

## Sybil protection

One of the key concerns during any anticipated airdrop or token distribution event are Sybil attacks. To maximize the token allocation during token drops, some individuals or 
organizations create multiple online accounts pretending to be independent and unique users. These so-called Sybil attackers exploit 
the fact that it’s impossible to know who is behind each Ethereum account.

In order to ensure a fair token distribution, it is critical to take precautionary measures to reduce the risk of such attacks. 
The following summarizes the measures that we have taken to prevent such attacks:
- Only verified Discord users will be able to register for the testnet. We will retain the freedom to change the definition of a 
“verified” Discord user during the testnet.
- Every verified Discord user will be able to register one single address.
- Our learn-to-earn program requires users to dig into the documentation and read how to complete the tasks.
- To receive the 3.0x whale multiple, users will have to spend real assets to purchase an 888Whale NFT which sybil attackers 
are unlikely to do. And if they do, those funds will directly flow back into the project.
- The fact that users will earn a claim on the future DIVA token rather than the DIVA token directly, gives us 
additional flexibility to exclude suspicious addresses in hindsight.

We strongly recommend users to stay active and visible in our Discord. Ask questions, participate in discussions or provide 
valuable feedback. This will help us to identify users that are here for the right reason. Saying “Hi” or “Gm” may not be enough.


## Final remarks

While most of the functionality is already in place and can be tested, the app is still under development. In particular, 
we are actively working on upgrading the web design as well as improving the performance and responsiveness of the app for a 
better user experience. If data doesn’t refresh automatically, try to reload the page or toggle between tabs.

Also, expect the app to break during the testnet phase. That’s desired behavior and will help us to identify weak points 
and fix them before we launch on mainnet. If you spot any bugs or have proposals on how to further improve the current user experience, 
let us know in our [feedback Discord channel](https://discord.gg/NJDm29eEa4). This may earn you some bonus points 😉. Finally, we want to highlight that the current 
version of the app was not optimized for mobile or tablets. We recommend using a desktop computer for the best testing experience.

We hope that you are as excited as we are about the DIVA testnet launch! [Register your wallet in our Discord](https://discord.gg/DE5b8ZeJjK) 
today and give our system a test drive.


- 📚 Docs: https://docs.divaprotocol.io/
- 🚀 Testnet announcement: https://www.divaprotocol.io/posts/diva-testnet-announcement
- 🍏 DIVA Testnet App: https://app.diva.finance/

Join Our community to be abreast with our ecosystem:

- Website: https://www.divaprotocol.io/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io 
- Discord: https://discord.gg/8fAvUspmv3

Try out the DIVA App and get rewarded with a claim on the future DIVA token.

DIVA App Testnet Launch

Team DIVA had an opportunity to join a great event hosted by the team Solana, [Solana Hacker House](https://solana.com/events/bengaluru-hacker-house) at [Grand Sheraton](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Sheraton%20Grand%20Bengaluru%20Whitefield%20Hotel%20%26%20Convention%20Center%2C%20Prestige%20Shantiniketan%20Hoodi%2C%20Thigalarapalya%2C%20Whitefield%2C%20Bengaluru%2C%20Karnataka%20560048%2C%20India&query_place_id=ChIJf2yYye4RrjsRYZhOX_0Vh24), Bengaluru, India. It was a five-day-long offline hackathon and conference event from Tue, 10 May to 14 May. The event received an overwhelming response with 2000+ responses and the venue had a capacity of 500 people for which it was a first come first serve basis event and the DIVA team was able to make it to the event every day.

<Tweet id="1523880833701928960" />

At the event, we secured our place and put on DIVA Presentation slides with a QR code to all the links with our DIVA Swags which attracted many people to come and learn about DIVA. The DIVA team presented all the required details to the people and asked them to check out [links](https://linktr.ee/divaprotocol.io) where they can find all information on the DIVA Protocol and its use cases. We also encouraged people to follow DIVA on Twitter and join Discord to stay updated about our upcoming test net launch program.

<Tweet id="1523964939257335808" />

We also reached out to different teams connecting with them on what they were building to see if there are any projects which can also use DIVA to build their project. We got connected with people at [Stock Market Fair](https://stockmarketfair.com/) which is an online gaming exchange on the stock market and they were interested to explore DIVA Protocol as they are planning to move their product web3 and DIVA Protocol seemed a good option to build the web3 betting platform that they are planning.

We also got to know about one more product called [Swoop](https://swoop.games/) which is a Fantasy cricket app currently built on Solana, and they also got interested in exploring more about the DIVA Protocol to see how they can implement it in their product.

<Tweet id="1523893189484052482" />

<Tweet id="1524247731719782401" />

We were able to build a network with many other projects being built there and exchange contacts and join a few telegram groups for future communication purposes which will help us in driving people to explore DIVA and build products on that. We also got connected with people at [Solster](https://solster.finance/) which is an IDO Launchpad and they were excited to know about the DIVA Protocol and asked us to get connected with them in the future if we have any plans for fundraising.

<Tweet id="1525413340528250881" />

<Tweet id="1525719728525717505" />

It was fun and great to connect with all the awesome people there and it was a pleasure representing DIVA and making people learn about what we have been building. On the last day, we finally took a complete round and met with most of the teams out there and attended the demo day presentation from the teams who had built products on Solana. 

Attending this event help us get connected with web3 people more closely and share knowledge with each other and also got to know how people from different other teams and DAOs were hosting different tasks and rewarding users for the same and driving in members to other communities from the event. We look forward to similar future opportunities where we can represent DIVA to the teams and people who can be associated with us more closely and help us make DIVA a success and drive in more opportunities for the whole team.

Thanking the whole DIVA team and Wlad who supported us on our whole journey in making us possible to attend the event and had a great experience meeting with web3 people. We hope to build more connections in the future and drive value which would be beneficial for the DIVA Team members.

**WAGMI**

Sharing with you few lines of experience from the Solana Hacker House event representing DIVA at Solana Hacker House, Bangalore.

DIVA team at Solana Hacker House

From the very beginning, it was clear to us that 888Whales will be more than just another NFT project. Besides launching one of the first NFT projects, that was addressing the Twitter profile banner space, we were heads-down building something exciting in the background. Over the last couple of weeks, we gave a few hints via our Twitter channel. Today is the day where we want to become more specific about our plans.

<Tweet id="1465978634641059845" />

Today, we want to announce that everyone who purchased an 888Whale until 31 January 2022 will be eligible for a 5'000 DIVA token airdrop per whale when we launch the DIVA token later this year. This is equivalent to $500 assuming a $10m market cap of DIVA protocol.

## What is DIVA?

DIVA is a highly customizable derivatives protocol that will allow the creation of a wide range of financial products including:

- 📈 Prediction markets
- 🛡 Insurance products
- 💰 Yield generating products

The DIVA token will be the protocol’s native governance token which will come with rights to vote on protocol upgrades, how to spend the DIVA treasury and much more.

Read our whitepaper and try out our MVP to learn how it works. For a guide how to use the MPV, see here.

## Why do we do that?

DIVA is a self-funded project and everyone who purchased a whale NFT helped us indirectly to finance the development of the DIVA protocol. This AirDrop is our way to say thank you to our wonderful 888Whales community 🙏.

## Who is eligible for the AirDrop?

To avoid that 888Whale NFTs are traded as proxies for the upcoming DIVA token, only first time buyers with snapshot date 31 January 2022 will be eligible for the AirDrop. Further, first time buyers have to hold on to their whale until the DIVA token launch later this year, otherwise they lose their eligibility status. So far, all whale buyers have chosen to HODL to their whale(s) which we are very proud of.

The AirDrop is per whale rather than per account basis meaning that if you purchased 5 whales, you will receive 5 x 5'000 DIVA tokens. Eligible Ethereum addresses will be whitelisted and able to claim their DIVA token allocation at the time of the token launch later this year.

## Will there be more AirDrops for 888Whale holders in the future?

This has not been decided yet. If you want to earn DIVA tokens, though, join our discord channel and watch out for the announcement of the incentivized testnet in Q2 2022.

## What will happen to the 888Whales project?

The 888Whales project is very close to our heart and we have so many exciting features in the pipeline. While our focus is on DIVA right now, we will dedicate more time once we get a bit more capacity. If you love the 888Whales project and want to help us implementing the envisaged features, get in touch with us via our whales discord channel.

## 🐋 888Whales Links

- Website: https://888whales.art/
- Discord: https://discord.gg/rfH7Dtu3by
- Opensea: https://opensea.io/collection/888whales
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/888whales_nft

## 🚀 DIVA Links

- Website: https://divaprotocol.io/
- Discord: https://discord.gg/cxqbPc8dm7
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/divaprotocol_io

Today, we want to announce that everyone who purchased an 888Whale until 31 January 2022 will be eligible for a 5'000 DIVA token airdrop per whale when we launch the DIVA token later this year. This is equivalent to $500 assuming a $10m market cap of DIVA protocol.

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