Braintrust token

What is Braintrust (BTRST)?

Braintrust is a decentralized talent network that connects skilled, vetted knowledge workers with some of the world’s most recognizable brands. While this isn’t a unique model, Braintrust’s innovation is how it manages the concept in a decentralized manner, where the community that uses Braintrust also owns the platform and develops it.

Most traditional alternatives are centrally controlled and take 20% to 40% of workers’ earnings. However, Braintrust allows “talent” to retain 100% of their earnings and allows clients to get the most bang for their buck by cutting out unnecessary intermediaries and costs.

Braintrust has already developed a community of over 50,000 members across over 100 countries and claims to have partnerships with brands like Nestle, Porsche, Atlassian, Goldman Sachs, and Nike.

Who are the Founders of Braintrust?

Braintrust was founded by Adam Jackson and Gabriel Luna-Ostaseski in May 2018, and it launched in 2021.

Jackson is a serial entrepreneur with several successful start-ups, including a blockchain asset management firm. Luna-Ostaseski has served as an advisor to several tech firms, such as YPO, Quartzy, and Lending Home.

How Does Braintrust Work?

Braintrust uses the Ethereum blockchain to transparently distribute control of its network to the community members who contribute to building it. By distributing control globally based on user contributions, this model can align the incentives of the network itself with the people building it.

Users can contribute in various ways, such as by referring talent, vetting talent, and referring clients. Thanks to these valuable contributions, Braintrust as a platform does not need to charge disproportionate fees. It can also grow rapidly, thanks to being so community-driven.

Talent, the freelance workers on Braintrust, can earn BTRST tokens by participating in the community and completing courses in the Braintrust Academy. They also earn additional tokens when they receive 5-star reviews for their work.

Corporate clients can post jobs and “bid stake” BTRST tokens to stand out a little more. Notably, talent receives 100% of an issued invoice, but clients have to pay a 10% fee to Braintrust nodes.

What makes Braintrust Unique?

Braintrust is a gig platform for enterprise-grade talent with a Web3 spin. Rather than positioning itself as yet another tech company taking a large chunk of its users’ earnings, Braintrust is made up of its users, giving them the entirety of their earnings and rewarding them for their contributions toward the platform’s success.

How is the Braintrust Network Secured?

Braintrust uses the Ethereum blockchain, and the BTRST token is secured by Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus.

Node operators on Ethereum must bond a minimum of 32 ETH, a significant amount, to the protocol to run a validator and start producing blocks. This gives them a chance to earn ETH as part of the block reward when they are chosen for the job, and as per the protocol, more ETH staked means a higher probability of earning that block reward.

This also means that many validators stand to lose a significant amount of capital in terms of staked ETH if they are “slashed” or have their bonds confiscated. This is the platform’s punishment for significant levels of downtime or misbehavior.

What is the Use of BTRST?

The BTRST token is an ERC-20 standard token on the Ethereum blockchain and was launched on September 1, 2021. It powers the entire decentralized Braintrust network’s governance, incentivizing the community to build the network through referring clients and talent.

BTRST token holders can discuss ideas for improvements, propose changes, and vote on governance proposals, with each token counting for a single vote.

Talent and clients can “stake” tokens on the platform to stand out. Called “bid staking,” this mechanism helps reduce friction in the network and keeps it more transparent. Users can also earn BTRST by taking courses on the Braintrust Academy.

The token can be redeemed for special perks created exclusively for the Braintrust community. This includes free and discounted software, products, career resources, and community perks. It’s also possible that the Braintrust team will add more use cases for the BTRST token as the platform continues to develop.

How Much BTRST is In Circulation?

BTRST has a fixed supply of 250 million tokens, with over 132 million already in circulation. 54% of the total supply has been set aside for community incentives and rewards, while the remainder was used in fund-raising activities and contributor rewards.

5% of the 250 million BTRST supply was sold in the platform’s CoinList sale, while 22% was sold to early purchasers, venture capital funds, and institutional investors, including Tiger Global, Coinbase Ventures, Pantera, and Multicoin Capital.

Lastly, 19% of the token supply was given to early contributors. This tranche is subject to a 4-year release schedule with a 1-year cliff. Early purchasers can exit far earlier, with just a 2-year lock with a 1-year cliff.

How Do You Buy BTRST?

The BTRST token is available on several leading cryptocurrency exchanges and the top decentralized exchanges on the Ethereum blockchain.

You can also earn BTRST on the Braintrust platform by inviting talent to the network, inviting employers who hire talent on the network, and completing peer-to-peer vetting.

How Do You Store BTRST?

As an ERC-20 token, BTRST is extremely easy to store. Plenty of multi-asset wallets are compatible with Ethereum and its ubiquitous ERC-20 standard, including Ledger, Trezor, SafePal, Trust Wallet, and many more. You can also use popular Ethereum-specific wallets like Metamask and the GameStop wallet to store BTRST.

Is BTRST a Good Investment?

Braintrust has been acknowledged by the mainstream media as a disruptor of various similar services, and it does so simply by utilizing blockchain-based transparency and a Web3 ownership model.

It can connect highly skilled talent located anywhere with top firms that wish to accelerate innovation, and it has already seen adoption from organizations as famous as NASA.

In this light, the BTRST token offers anyone the chance to play a part in platform governance. As it continues to develop and gain both traction and network effect, the token may become an ever more attractive proposition.