There’s been a lot of conversation—and some confusion—around the Apple Farm Season 1 incentive program. Since Season 1 is still ongoing, it seems like a good time to open a thread for data accumulation/analysis, reflection, constructive consultation, and iterative suggestions.
Apple Farm is the first major incentive initiative for Tezos DeFi, and Season 1 is its first iteration. Future seasons don’t have to follow the same design or even the same environment. They could involve different platforms, structures, pools, targets, or models depending on what we learn and discuss.
Why This Thread: This is an open space to gather feedback and ideas from everyone. Let’s work together to figure out how we can best leverage these initiatives to benefit the entire ecosystem.
Please be nuanced: It’s very easy (and frankly, lazy) to simply drop blanket statements like “the whole thing is wrong; never again” or “everything is a success” — when in fact, neither polarity is true. Success and failure must first be defined (with specific quantitative and qualitative goals) and then its data read for iteration. I’ll add a framework for dissection in a reply post below.
Please ask questions: If something seems wrong, incomplete, or confusing, ask about it first before jumping to conclusions. Good questions surface important details, expose real assumptions, and create better discussions. Asking sharp questions is part of how we actually learn.
Framework for discussion with sample questions (I tried to add questions based on discussions in Tezos social media over the last couple of weeks):
Goals — What we are trying to achieve, both high-concept and specific (qualitative and quantitative) Methods — How we structure incentives to move toward those goals Measurements — How we check if it’s working
1. Goals (What we are trying to achieve.)
Without clear definitions first, there is no way to identify objective outcomes in a manner that is demonstrably agreeable.
High-Concept Goal:
What broader outcome is Apple Farm ultimately trying to achieve for the Tezos ecosystem?
How does this incentive program contribute to advancing real, durable growth (in primary, secondary, and tertiary ways)?
What data are we trying to gather to support future iterations?
Specific Qualitative Goals:
Who is being reached? (what kind of participant we want to bring in)
How do we define conversion of a participant to the process?
How should the at-large Tezos economy be affected by these outcomes (how the finance economy affects the real economy, and how the real economy affects the financial economy)?
Specific Quantitative Goals:
What distribution metrics among participants indicate real, diverse reach?
What median liquidity contribution per participant? (not just whale-dominated volume)
What retention rates after incentives end would show that participants stayed for reasons beyond rewards?
2. Methods (How we structure incentives to meet goals.)
What behaviors should we reward to filter for real, lasting participants rather than short-term opportunists?
How can we structure incentives to gradually encourage deeper engagement over time (rather than one-off actions)?
How should rewards be tied to contributions that strengthen both the financial economy (liquidity, volume, LPs, arbitrageurs, traders) and the real economy (commerce, network —e.g. Art economy and bakers, stakers, delegators)?
How should we stage the incentive program to adjust it over time to encourage a more and diverse array of users that will expand the overall market reach of Tezos DeFi.
3. Measurements (How we check if it’s working)
What should the total number of unique participants be?
What should the median liquidity per participant be?
What should the median trading volume per participant be?
How should participant sizes (small, medium, large) be distributed?
What percentage of participants should be new to Tezos?
What percentage of participants should come from the Tezos real economy (i.e. artists and collectors)?
What retention rate after 30, 60, and 90 days should we aim for?
How much liquidity should be retained after incentives end?
How much growth in targeted pool liquidity and volume should we expect?
The “x days left” in the opportunities is confusing. There’s nothing in the FAQ about that or the seasons.
Also it’s not immediately obvious when using the bridge that both a Tezos wallet and an EVM wallet plus XTZ in the Tezos wallet are required to pay gas fees.
im new here, currently learning Tezos and im very pleased cus i can see threads like these which prove that work is going and going well!!
thanks a lot guys!
I try to stay and observer and the edges of things but I’ll add my disparate thoughts.
Nobody is going to be comfortable with this but the only way this works is with substantial outside growth. This is when you want the bus and subway ads for U3O8 and finding partnerships that make sense.
The percentage of new to existing users should likely be 90%+. The joke there are only 100 tezos defi users has enough truth to it and artists/collectors are probably another 100 core and 1000 at the edges.
Of that approximately 0% of the art community are degens. Try running a poll to see who knows what liquidity mining is. No one. You’re starting from zero explaining the benefits and equally importantly the risks. Most are not regular defi users never mind liquidity providers.
If organic growth participation is any indicator, and I believe it is, you can expect around 10-100 tez as what most might be willing to try with a handful of outliers upto 5k.
So the total might optimistically be ~50k tez from the “real economy” which is a drop in the bucket when there’s $3m looking to make an outsized impact. It’s not really worth targeting these users and I believe is the core of a lot of friction.
There is the (correct) feeling that the vast majority of the rewards will (necessarily) be going to outside participants. Don’t fight it.
The conundrum to solve then is figuring out how to minimize mercenary capital and explain how this will be beneficial to a community that cannot meaningfully participate while also making sure an influx of new (real) users wont steamroll the existing culture. Etherlink’s marketing and community building style is completely foreign and everyone will continue to fight it as long as this question goes unanswered.
Attempts to reeducate the wrong thinkers I predict will only reinforce everyone preconceptions. There are still just too many basic communication breakdowns happening.
I am Grimoire Weiss, wielder of arcane might and infinite wisdom! And I must proclaim - Apple Farm is undeniable success!
For first time in 7 years, I have bridged assets from Ethereum to Tezos because I finally witnessed an $-talk instead mouthtalk asking me to be “an early adopter”. What’s that, if not a sign of change of the era?
Why This Thread: This is an open space to gather feedback and ideas from everyone. Let’s work together to figure out how we can best leverage these initiatives to benefit the entire ecosystem.
Please be nuanced: It’s very easy (and frankly, lazy) to simply drop blanket statements like “the whole thing is wrong; never again” or “everything is a success” — when in fact, neither polarity is true. Success and failure must first be defined (with specific quantitative and qualitative goals) and then its data read for iteration. I’ll add a framework for dissection in a reply post below.
Please ask questions: If something seems wrong, incomplete, or confusing, ask about it first before jumping to conclusions. Good questions surface important details, expose real assumptions, and create better discussions. Asking sharp questions is part of how we actually learn.
Goals — What we are trying to achieve, both high-concept and specific (qualitative and quantitative)
Methods — How we structure incentives to move toward those goals
Measurements — How we check if it’s working
