treehouse

Participation in the @BENQI $QI ecosystem is more than just lending your assets and earning returns or providing liquidity. From having a say in the future of the protocol to directly supporting the security of the #Avalanche $AVAX network, there are opportunities to put you at the center of the ecosystem.
As a member of the @DAO Labs #SocialMining community, I explored ways to become an active part of the BENQI ecosystem and prepared a short article for you.
I- QI Staking and Voting
Getting involved in BENQI's governance processes allows you to shape the protocol's future. The first step to having a say in governance is staking QI tokens. In exchange for staking QI, you earn BENQI Miles, which represent your voting power in the protocol. However, I would like to make an important reminder here: If you unstake any of the QI tokens you have staked, you will cause all accumulated BENQI Miles balance to be reset.
So, what are the earned BENQI Miles used for? You can use your existing BENQI Miles to participate in votes that determine which Avalanche validators the AVAX delegations in BENQI's liquid staking pool will be directed to. Your votes directly impact the chances of validators competing for a share of the BENQI Miles Pool, which controls 35% of the delegations in BENQI's liquid staking pool.
In addition, BENQI plans to move to a full community-driven DAO structure by 2026. This will allow BENQI Miles holders to vote not only in the selection of validators but also in protocol parameters such as interest rate and collateral multiplier.

II- BENQI Ignite: The easiest way to become a validator
BENQI Ignite is a platform that makes it easy for you to become an Avalanche validator without high capital requirements. There are two flexible options you can consider:
Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG): In this capital-free model, users can rent the 2,000 AVAX needed to run a verifier for a fee.
Stake: You can enable BENQI to run a validator on your behalf by staking 200 AVAX worth of QI, earning QI rewards in the process.
The entire process works much more smoothly thanks to BENQI’s integrations with its partner networks. Notably, #Treehouse ’s tAVAX product, which has recently garnered attention, increases both liquidity and yield by utilizing sAVAX as a core component.
This transforms sAVAX into not only a liquid staking tool, but also a broader yield infrastructure within #defi . With the Core Wallet integration, you can do loads of transactions, like staking on the Avalanche network, without paying gas fees, which makes BENQI way more accessible within the Avalanche ecosystem.
All of this allows you to transform from a passive user into an active stakeholder. However, before taking any of these steps, understanding the protocol structure and shaping your strategy accordingly is always the best approach. Review these options to shape BENQI's future and strengthen the Avalanche network.