Many thanks Alex, will update all in the forum very shortly! 
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Hi All,
As a pre-cursor to progressing this project, Launchnodes undertook to seek professional advice from an international tax advisor and certified CPA in the US, to understand and clarify the tax benefits or otherwise of donating ETH staking rewards. One concern was that if it is more beneficial for donors to donate in fiat currency, donors may be discouraged from donating rewards from Impact Staking, and prefer to donate fiat currency directly. Another consideration was whether donating crypto earning from staking ETH would trigger a taxable event of any kind, or had negative implications for donors.
Launchnodes selected international tax specialists Troy Accounting LLC, who are also experienced with crypto and the tax implications of cryptocurrencies. We asked them for their professional opinion on a) what the tax benefits of making donations of ‘Impact Staking’ rewards would be, b) whether it would be more beneficial for a prospective donor to donate crypto directly to a good cause, or to donate in fiat currency.
In summary:
a) The tax benefits of donating crypto staking rewards are identical to donating crypto
b) There are benefits to donating crypto (staking rewards), rather than converting to fiat currency and donating the fiat currency
They have explained:
- Regardless of whether you buy or earn cryptocurrency through the staking/mining process, the tax benefits for donating cryptocurrency are the same
- Donors receive a tax deduction for the fair market value of the donated crypto
- There is no need for donors to pay capital gains tax on any appreciation of the donated crypto
The article from Troy Accounting also describes the record keeping and filings required for a typical US tax resident.
A requirement for these (US) tax benefits is that the donations are made to a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit in the US. Launchnodes will make it clear to Impact Stakers which projects are run by 501(c)(3) organizations, for those seeking to claim tax deductions. Other projects and causes (eg. non-US) will also be available to Impact Stakers, and Launchnodes has identified a mechanism that can be used in the future, for donations to be made to many of these entities globally, with exactly the same tax benefits as described above.
The full article from Troy Accounting LLC is available here: https://www.launchnodes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/11thJuly2023-Impact-Staking-US-Treatment-of-Impact-Staking-Reward-Donations.pdf
All Impact Staking donations will be fully auditable and transparent on the Ethereum blockchain.
Tax treatment of charitable donations is generally favorable to donors in most jurisdictions, however Impact Stakers are advised to check with an accountant for their specific circumstances and tax residency.
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Sharing Launchnodes’ wallet address for this project:
0x20d846b51B999cE4A567E2191fD912B6c7cDEA89
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Hey @Rajesh we started EasyTrack motion to get LEGO MS top up to disburse the grant afterwards.
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@Rajesh the initial grant for completing the first milestone is sent - Ethereum Transaction Hash (Txhash) Details | Etherscan, after the tax opinion reviewed vy LEGO council.
Looking forward to enabling Impact Staking opportunity for Lido stakers!
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@Alex_L Thank you! We’re really excited to be progressing Impact Staking on Lido! Thanks to you, the LEGO council, the broader Lido team and community for all your support and feedback so far!
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Hi
I wanted to update you on progress of this proposal, since the grant funding in August.
We planned to have the smart contracts fully designed and developed by now, but due to the absence of a key Launchnodes team member, this work hasn’t progressed as quickly as we intended, and we are ~12 weeks behind schedule. We plan to accelerate development, in order to recover this time and deliver the project ahead of the schedule provided in the proposal that was approved.
Design work is underway, and designs for the User Interface and Workflows are also now progressing well. We have agreed to progress 4 workstreams in parallel over the next 3 months: Smart contract development, User Interface [staking], Lido Impact Staking Dashboard, Project/Metrics Dashboards.
We intend to provide a full update and demonstration of the workflows, User Interface and smart contract - in a test environment - week commencing 22nd January 2024. We have also been progressing partnerships with leading global charities, including GiveDirectly.
During November and December, we will share more in this forum and provide early views of the User Interface and workflows - your feedback and suggestions are very welcome as we develop this and plan for testing, security reviews/audits and launch in Q1 next year.
Please reach out if you have any feedback or suggestions on how we can make Lido Impact Staking the best it can be, we’re looking forward to sharing more soon and building your feedback into our launch plans.
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Hi All
A quick update after quite a few months in stealth mode …
Lido Impact Staking is built, and we have been testing Lido Impact Staking on Holesky for a while. We have now opened up the site for broader ‘friends and family’ testing and feedback: http://www.impactstake.com
There is a lot of activity behind the scenes with us in late stage discussions with prospective Impact Stakers, good causes and many other supporters and beneficiaries. Expect more regular updates in the coming weeks and please reach out if you have feedback or ideas on how to get the world Impact Staking on Lido! We really appreciate your support in making this initiative a huge global success and an incredibly positive news story for the Lido, ETH and crypto communities, and are keen to hear from organisations that want to join this initiative, and receive stETH and ETH staking returns to fund their social impact.
There are several more steps before we officially launch on mainnet, but we’re keen to shape Lido Impact Staking with you before then - we’ll keep you updated.
Thank you!
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The team behind Lido Impact Staking is pleased to announce that following comprehensive testing and analysis, the Security Audit Report from Oxorio has been completed, with no Critical or Major issues.
The app has been functional for several months on the Holesky network, at http://www.impactstake.com
At ImpactStake.com, stakers can pledge 1-100% of their staking rewards from staking ETH, stETH or wstETH to a range of proven impact causes - all powered by Lido.
We are now gearing up for launch this month on mainnet, and hugely appreciate the support and interest across the Lido community and beyond.
When awarded this grant, 15% of the grant payment was contingent upon a successful external security review, we are now requesting this amount ($45,00 USD or DAI equivalent) to be used for growing awareness of the platform and TVL.
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Thank you @Rajesh, the second part is sent, looking into further project development!
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Hi all, Happy New Year!
We’re really excited to announce that Lido Impact Staking (LIS) is now live on Ethereum Mainnet, and has started funding direct cash transfers with GiveDirectly, and sequestering carbon by paying for tree planting with Treedom.
Feedback very welcome, you can stake your ETH, stEtH and wstETH with Lido and donate some or all of your rewards to help society and the planet. Feel free to try it out, and please share with your network! Even donating 1% of your Lido rewards would be amazing (and it’s tax advantageous).
A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us from the start - all of the Lido ecosystem and community, our investors, our global team, NGOs, charities, governments and all of our incredible partners and network across the ETH and crypto community!
Let’s make 2025 an incredible year - do well while doing good!
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Hi
Grassroots Economics is now live on Lido Impact Staking, at https://impactstake.com
Grassroots Economics is a nonprofit organization that develops community-driven financial systems to promote economic resilience in underserved areas. They create Community Inclusion Currencies (CICs), which are blockchain-based alternative currencies that help local businesses and individuals exchange goods and services even when cash is scarce. By fostering local trade networks, providing financial education, and supporting small businesses, Grassroots Economics empowers communities to build sustainable economies, reduce dependency on external aid, and enhance financial stability. Their work is particularly impactful in regions with high poverty and limited access to traditional banking.
Find out more about Grassroots Economics here: https://www.grassrootseconomics.org/
Impact Stake your ETH (stETH or wstETH) with Lido here: https://www.impactstake.com
With Impact Staking, you can donate a portion of your staking rewards to good causes, while retaining full custody of your digital assets. You can unstake at any time.
More exciting and impactful global causes to come shortly!
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UNICEF Giga are now live https://stake.giga.global/ using Lido Impact Staking to fund school connectivity.
LIS is now supporting connecting every school to the internet through the power of Ethereum staking rewards.
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Lovely to see more and more organizations using Impact Staking!
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