Mission
The mission is maintaining a secure, environmentally friendly, decentralized, high available and rewarding Cardano Stake Pool on behalf of the (Cardano) Ecosystem and its stake holders. With that Smit Blockchain Operations is contributing to a sustainable improved state of well-being for all.
Security
Being and feeling secure is essential for one's well-being. This includes securing financial assets. One of the reasons Smit Blockchain Operations has chosen to maintain a Cardano Stake Pool is its security. Holders of ADA can safely delegate (stake) their ADA to BKIND using non-custodial wallets. Your ADA will remain unlocked in your wallet. BKIND is running in a security hardened linux environment behind multiple relays and hardware firewalls. The premises is secured with a wired camera surveillance system. This to guarantee the 24/7 availability of BKIND for its stake holders.
Environmentally friendly
Contributing to an improved well-being for all, also means that the environment has to be taken into account on behalf of sustainability. Using energy produces waste. A simple fact: The more energy used, the more waste is produced. Cardano has a Proof-of-Stake blockchain technology. Proof-of-Stake blockchain technology is extremely energy-efficient. To make BKIND as environmentally friendly as possible, solar panels have been installed which produce way more energy on a yearly basis than the fraction of what BKIND and its supporting hardware consume.
Decentralization
The "father" of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, started a process by which power in a system (the activities, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making) is distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and given to smaller factions within that system. Many cryptocurrencies that exist today are contributing to the increase of decentralization. So is Cardano and so is Smit Blockchain Operations. To break free from centralized systems, to safeguard the continuity of BKIND, and with that the continuity of the Cardano Ecosystem, the environment of BKIND is running off cloud, in other words, locally. To fully commit to the principle of decentralization Smit Blockchain operations has decided to own just one Stake Pool. This to leave room for other (to be) Stake Pool owners to participate in the Ecosystem with an equal share. The latter contributes to securing the Ecosystem as a whole.
High availability (24/7 online)
BKIND is running in a virtualized High Availability linux cluster, which is running on professional HPE Proliant servers. For the virtual machines CEPH storage is implemented. Each component within the cluster has been made redundant. This means that in case a component fails (a ssd, a server , a switch, an internet connection, etc.) its backup component(s) automatically take(s) over. Due to this configuration, and the properties mentioned earlier, it is safeguarded that the delegators of BKIND will not miss out on rewards.
Rewarding
The pool parameters of BKIND are set to maximize passive income for its delegators. Therefore the pool cost is set to 170 ADA and the pool margin to 1%. The more delegation comes to the pool the more rewarding it becomes for the delegators. Whether Smit Blockchain Operations can cover the cost of operating the Stake Pool and have an income is heavily dependent on the ADA price and the amount of ADA delegated to BKIND. Fact is that the parameters of the pool are set to make BKIND rewarding for its delegators financially. Next to that, the principles of Smit Blockchain Operations, which can be read between the lines, will energize our delegators. By delegating to BKIND one contributes to decentralizing (securing) the Ecosystem globally.
