FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated
Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated
tea is a decentralized protocol secured by reputation and incentives. tea enhances the sustainability and integrity of the software supply chain by allowing open-source developers to capture the value they create in a trustless manner.
Proof of Contribution is the novel consensus mechanism of the tea Protocol designed to quantify the impact of all OSS projects in the software ecosystem. Proof of Contribution assigns a dynamic score—referred to as a project’s teaRank—based on each open-source project’s orientation within, and utilization by, the OSS ecosystem over time.
TEA is an ERC-20 token that serves as the access key to certain aspects and designated features of the tea Protocol. Holders of TEA tokens can support software projects by staking TEA tokens to specific OSS projects in the software ecosystem. TEA holders may also contribute to the security of the software supply chain by preparing and submitting vulnerability reports.
Staking is using TEA cryptographic tokens to support open-source software projects registered with the tea Protocol. Staking is not riskless but can generate token rewards that are claimable daily and allows you to participate in the governance of the tea Protocol.
Anyone holding TEA can stake TEA tokens to OSS projects that are registered with the tea Protocol. The tea web app facilitates the staking process for all protocol participants.
Staking rewards are calculated based on several factors—how much TEA is staked, the average yield generated by the project, and the duration of the staking period. Staking rewards can be partially forfeited ("slashed") if the OSS project is not well maintained.
New staking rewards are distributed daily and can be claimed at any time. Claiming rewards is subject to gas fees.
The tea protocol is built on top of the Base layer 2 blockchain. This means that staking TEA is not native to the chain and requires extra logic in the protocol design to allow for activities like staking or unstaking. For that reason, you may sometimes need to take extra steps to complete an action - unstaking is one of those cases.
After initiating the unstaking of TEA tokens, you will need to wait for a fixed "unstaking period" during which your tokens will be locked.
The unstaking period is defined by governance and lasts
5 days on the incentized testnet, and
28 days on Mainnet.
Once the unstaking period has fully elapsed, your unstaked TEA tokens will be available for you to redeem at any time into your account, or project treasury, if you unstaked from your project's staking portfolio.
The tea Protocol empowers OSS developers to earn rewards and take advantage of an ecosystem built for them; while letting the users and supporters of those developers earn staking rewards.
True to this principle, the teaDAO relies on delegated votes using stTEA tokens (i.e., staked TEA). Here's how it works:
When you stake a project, from your personal account or project's treasury, you are automatically delegating your votes to the project you staked on.
Vote delegation is proportionate to the amount of tokens you staked.
The project(s) you delegated to can vote on your behalf and with the best interest of the project's ecosystem in mind.
The value of the tea Protocol is that it creates a fully composable open-source ecosystem. The protocol accomplishes this in two distinct ways:
First, by allowing seamless interaction between projects and their communities. This encourages network participants to submit bug or vulnerability reports to project maintainers and OSS projects to address these reports in a timely manner. This also promotes more transparent linkages between project dependencies and dependents, which may encourage cross collaboration amongst core contributors due to their mutually aligned goals.
Second by assigning a universal score to each project to quantify its impact and orientation within the broader open-source ecosystem. This promotes healthy competition amongst projects to continually improve their codebase and its usage by other packages within the ecosystem in order to increase their rank.
Full composability is achieved regardless of each OSS project’s package manager, dependencies, and dependents.
The protocol will generate fees from a variety of activities conducted by OSS projects as they onboard and interact with community members. A portion of the fees generated will accrue back to TEA token holders that remain engaged with the decentralized network.
Holding TEA tokens also allows users to participate in decentralized governance and influence key protocol decisions such as the distribution of rewards, distribution of protocol fees, and the determination of which OSS package managers should be supported by the protocol’s Proof-of-Contribution consensus mechanism.
A global collective founded by the maker of Homebrew.
tea is a community that’s bringing together OSS and web3. Developers, maintainers, product experts, business strategists, marketers, web designers, vulnerability researchers, and OSS technology users from locations everywhere are collaborating to build the tea Protocol. Led by the creator of Homebrew Max Howell, tea is Homebrew’s spiritual successor.
Backed by web3 innovators with a vision for open-source software tea is a community that’s bringing together OSS and web3.
tea is proud to be supported by a growing number of visionaries who recognize the importance of open-source software. tea's early supporters and strategic partners align strongly with its mission to increase the sustainability of the software supply chain.
At tea, we believe that excellence is not just in the code, it's in the 'tea'-tails. Our commitment to precision is unwavering as we meticulously scrutinize our protocol to ensure robustness and elegance. Every line of code and user interface is steeped in thoughtfulness, embodying our dedication to an exceptional brew of technology. This meticulous approach enables us to craft an intuitive and seamless experience, infusing reliability and quality into every aspect of our work.
Innovation is the lifeblood of tea. We are dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what's possible in web3, forging paths that have yet to be explored. Our team thrives on challenges and views them as opportunities to innovate and evolve. By fostering a culture that encourages creative thinking and problem-solving, we ensure that every solution is not just functional but revolutionary. We are committed to being at the forefront of web3 technology, providing tools that inspire and facilitate further innovation within the open-source community.
At tea, we pour our energy into empowering open-source software, understanding that the strength of our protocol comes from the community's collective contributions. By contributing to and leveraging open-source software, we cultivate a collaborative environment that accelerates progress and knowledge-sharing. Our protocol serves as a testament to the collective ingenuity of the open-source community, and we are proud to contribute to its growth and sustainability.
Transparency is a key pillary at tea, ingrained in every aspect of our operations and relationships. We believe that openness fosters trust and collaboration, essential elements in the web3 world. Our protocols and processes are open for scrutiny, inviting users and contributors to understand and engage with our work fully. This openness is our commitment to building a trust-infused relationship with our community, ensuring that our actions are as pure as a freshly brewed cup of transparency.
Whenever you stake TEA to an OSS project, the tea protocol mints an Accounting_Token to your tea account. This token is used to track staking activity across participants and projects. tea_accounting_token is an ERC-4626 Vault Standard token and it is non-transferable.