TL;DR
- Pending problems in audit, it will launch on mainnet in August
- It should be a controlled launch with a slowly rising cap on # of tBTC that can be minted
- It will launch without redemptions at first
- During August and September we will be gradually releasing and testing functionalities. Any updates will be updates regarding client software -- not the protocol itself.
- Once we're confident in the client software, we can add in redemptions then remove the cap completely
- At this point, we'll start working on version 2.1 of tBTC v2 -- which will include "quick minting" and coverage pools. Slated for the end of Q1 2023.
Coverage Pools and tBTC v2.1:
For initial launch, tBTC is minted only when the deposit is swept. Every wallet is sweeping with a fixed frequency to minimize costs (read: split SPV proof cost into multiple deposits revealed between sweeps). If the sweeping schedule is "every 8 hours", it means that in the worst case (deposit revealed just after the last sweep), one needs to wait 8 hours for their tBTC v2 to be minted after depositing.
This is not ideal for the user experience. There is an idea that we could have a mechanism in a future upgrade to the protocol, tBTC v2.1, where the wallet declares "yes, I am sure I can sweep this" and we do not wait for the sweep to happen. Instead, the protocol mints the tBTC right away after the wallet declaration. In case the wallet is fraudulent, the coverage pool takes a hit to restore the peg. This is slated for a v2.1 release and will be ready in Q1 2023 (estimated).
Both for initial launch and v2.1, T-only Coverage Pool is involved to cover the fraud. Note that the pool needs to be liquidated manually by the DAO to cover an instance of fraud. There is no way to do it automatically and not crush the token price. E.g. imagine a case where we are automatically selling T from the pool for 100 BTC in case of a proven fraud. Not smart.
We want to deploy T-only Coverage Pool once we eliminate the cap and announce the system is tested, fully deployed, and working -- so it wouldn't be in August but more like late-September for the full launch. So, we should launch T-only Coverage Pool at the same time as tBTC v2 once it's ready.
At 50k per week in KEEP rewards the DAO currently has plenty of KEEP to maintain the KEEP-only Coverage Pool rewards until then.
N.B.: Coverage Pools are actively used to backstop the v1 bridge.
