Our First Block

It has been quite the journey to minting our first block, forever contributing back to the Cardano network. This whole process began back in 2015 when I was first gifted a percentage of a Bitcoin from a family member. The concept of owning a fraction of something was new, owning digital currency was even stranger. This eventually led to an exploration into blockchain and other altcoins. My first crypto purchase was Litecoin.

Fast forward to 2019 and I made my first real investment into crypto with Cardano. I purchased ADA and forget about it. I continued my research into Cardano and really became excited once the launch of Shelly was finally on the horizon. I changed jobs, relocated across the country and I met another friend who I was finally able to convince that Cardano was the next big thing. He took the leap. He not only trusted my recommendation but also did his own research into the project which led to his first crypto investments.

Shelly launches, proof of stake goes live and we see the mainnet up and running. An amazing time to see this project grow into its own. Having watched this growth from the sidelines as investors led us to thinking, maybe we should start our own stake pool? Shortly thereafter, I was able to get together in person with my original blockchain mentor. I mentioned the idea my buddy and I had to start our stake pool and help push Cardano forward through decentralization.

Dad Stakes LLC was started in March 2021 and on April 20th 2021 we minted our first block. A day I will never forget waiting for our assigned time slot to see DAD as the selected slot leader, and it came through! Seeing our award medal show up on pooltool.io later that day and the block posting on pool.pm all finalized a momentous occasion for our small stake pool.