It seems that one lucky crypto user was able to turn $73 into $43,760 by playing the lottery on the Ethereum-powered PoolTogether ($POOL) platform.
PoolTogether is “an open source and decentralized protocol for no-loss prize games.” This protocol is “controlled by POOL token holders.” The protocol “automatically distributes the POOL token to anyone who deposits into the protocol.”
Here is an introduction from the PoolTogether team:
“PoolTogether is a protocol for no-loss prize games on Ethereum. Modeled on the well established concept of ‘no loss lotteries‘ and ‘prize savings accounts‘ the protocol offers a chance to win prizes in exchange for depositing funds. Even if you don’t win, you keep all your deposited funds. Prizes are made up of the interest that accrues on all users deposits…“
“When you join a prize pool, your money is deposited into a yield source. The yield source generates the return that makes up the prizes. Currently, the protocol supports two different yield sources, Compound.Finance and yEarn Vaults...”
“Once you have entered into the pool you will continue to be eligible for future prizes. You do not need to take any further action. You will be eligible until you withdraw the money you deposited…“
“You do not need to claim your winnings. If you win, your winnings will automatically be converted to tickets which will increase your chances of winning again!…”
“Your odds of winning depend on how much money is in the pool. For example, if 1,000 Dai is in the pool and you deposit 1 Dai you will get 1 ticket. Your chance of winning would be 1 in 1,000.“
According to Leighton Cusack, a co-founder of PoolTogether, on 14 March 2020, someone deposited $73, and on 9 April 2021, they won $43,760.
The PoolTogether website points out that “using the protocol includes substantial risks of losing some or all of your funds,” with the main two risks being “protocol dependency risk” and “smart contract exploit risk”.
It’s worth pointing out that traditional lotteries, including the Powerball and the European Euromillions, have extremely slim chances. The odds of winning the Powerball, for example, were 1 in 292.2 million as of November 2021. Some lotteries have included side drawings with variable chances like the Million to get investors to move in, although they raise prices to draw them in.
At the time of writing, PoolTogether has already attracted over $75.6 million in total value locked across several blockchains, according to DeFiLlama.
Featured Image Credit: Photo via Pixabay.com
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a high risk of financial loss.
