The Meaning and Significance of the Term "Community-Owned"

What Does Community-Owned Mean?

"Community-owned" refers to a situation in which a particular asset, organization, resource, or property is owned and operated collectively by the members of a community. 

In such a context, the community as a whole has ownership and control over the asset or entity, rather than it being privately owned by an individual or a specific organization.

This concept is often associated with various forms of communal or cooperative ownership models, where decisions and responsibilities are shared among community members. 

The goal of community-owned initiatives is typically to promote shared benefits, democratic decision-making, and the well-being of the community as a whole, rather than prioritizing individual profit or control. 

Examples of community-owned assets might include community gardens, co-op housing, or collectively-run businesses.

Examples of Community-Owned Assets

Community-Owned Businesses

Community-owned businesses are enterprises that are owned and operated by the community or a group of individuals who share a common interest or goal. 

Here are some examples of community-owned businesses:

• Food Cooperatives (Food Co-ops): These are grocery stores owned and operated by members of the community. Members often have a say in the products stocked, and profits are typically reinvested in the co-op or distributed among members.
• Worker Cooperatives: In a worker cooperative, the employees collectively own and manage the business. Decision-making is often democratic, and profits are shared among the workers.
• Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farms: CSA farms are often community-owned or operated in a cooperative fashion. Members of the community purchase shares of the farm's produce in advance and receive regular deliveries of fresh, locally grown food.

Community-Owned Energy

Community-owned energy projects are initiatives where a community collectively owns and benefits from the generation and distribution of energy. 

These projects are often focused on renewable and sustainable energy sources. 

Here are some examples:

• Community Solar Farms: Communities invest in or collectively own solar panel installations, and the energy generated is used to power homes, businesses, or public facilities in the community. Excess energy can sometimes be sold back to the grid.
• Wind Energy Cooperatives: Groups of individuals or communities form cooperatives to finance and own wind turbines. The electricity generated is typically used locally, reducing the community's reliance on fossil fuels.
• Hydropower Cooperatives: In areas with access to flowing water, communities may own and operate small-scale hydroelectric power stations to generate electricity for local consumption.

Community-Owned DeFi Protocol:

In a community-owned DeFi protocol, the ownership and decision-making power are distributed among a community of token holders. Here's how it might work:

• Ownership: The protocol could issue governance tokens to participants or community members. These tokens represent ownership and voting rights within the protocol.
• Decision-Making: Token holders can participate in governance proposals where they vote on changes or upgrades to the protocol. These proposals could include adjustments to interest rates, collateral types, or other protocol parameters.
• Revenue Sharing: The protocol generates revenue through fees, lending, or other DeFi activities. A portion of these profits could be distributed among token holders or reinvested in the protocol to fund community initiatives.
• Transparency: Transparency is crucial in community-owned DeFi protocols. Community members should have access to protocol data, smart contract code, and financial information to ensure trust and accountability.

How Liquid Loans is Community-Owned

Liquid Loans is a completely community-owned, DeFi protocol on PulseChain.

Ownership. Liquid Loans does not have a central team that “owns” the protocol that collects fees, manages funds, or makes any administrative decisions. Rather, it is simply a piece of code that exists on PulseChain that users can interact with.

Revenue-Sharing. One hundred percent of the revenue of the protocol, generated by redemption and borrowing fees, is distributed to the LOAN Staking Pool rather than a central team. LOAN Stakers can be anybody who holds the LOAN token.

Governance. Liquid Loans is community-owned, but not community-governed. Rather, the protocol is governance-free. There is no DAO or other form of voting which allows an entity with 51% of the tokens to make all of the decisions of the protocol.

Community-Collateralized. The USDL stablecoin is collateralized by a decentralized network of vaults containing PLS. Therefore, it is a community-owned and community-backed decentralized stablecoin which does not rely on a central issuer for collateralization.