A Comprehensive Guide to Invites and Waitlists

A Brief Guide to Invites and Waitlists

Nobody really reads FAQs. For most of us, it seems to come down to trial and error for most things. As an engineer who always wants to to understand the inner-workings of new technology, I certainly understand this predisposition.

Almost every day, we on the Merit Core Team are getting dozens of questions in Twitter, Discord, Telegram about the invite-only dynamic in the Merit protocol. Given that Merit is the world’s first invite-only blockchain, it stands to reason that people will be curious about how it works and why we built it the way that we did.

Perhaps the most common questions are:

• how I can get an invite?
• how can I send an invite my friends?
• when will I get my first growth mining reward on the Merit network?

As the community grows, we are having a hard time keeping up with the demand in answering questions. So we thought to prepare a comprehensive guide to invites and waitlists. We recommend that you read this brief FAQ. And don’t forget to check our first explanatory post about growth mining.

How can I get an invite?

You need an invite token to activate your Merit wallet on the network. This invite-only mechanism enables stable growth, improved safety, and lays the foundation for innovative features such as burn-proof sending and a platform for building new communities.

There are 4 different ways of getting an invite:

1. Ask people you know. One of the most effective ways of obtaining an invite is to check with people you know first.
2. Try your extended network. You might try to reach out to your broader network – use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to find a person you know that’s already on the network.
3. Engage in the Merit community. You can engage with the Merit community through Discord, and you may find a member of the community there who is willing to sponsor you.
4. Apply for a Merit invite on our website. All you need to do is to tell us why you will be a great addition to the community, and your application will be evaluated by community members in real-time.

Why does my wallet show me zero invites?

The first invite that you receive into your Merit wallet is your activation token. This token is not designed to be sent to other wallets, which is why your wallet will show a zero balance of invites after you receive it. Before receiving your first invite token, you will see a yellow bar across the top of your wallet indicating that it is in a pending state.

How do I get invite tokens that I can send to people?

Invites are randomly distributed to the network over time. We use the term “mined” when referring to the receipt of invites so that users do not confuse the receipt of random invite tokens with receiving invite tokens from other members of the network.

It is often a good practice to request invites from the person who invited you to the Merit community. They are incentivized to help you grow your Merit community.

Merit is built on the idea of stewardship. Because invitations are limited, users are best served by ensuring that they invite productive and helpful members of the community.

You might also have some luck asking for invites from another member of the community that might have some extras. We recommend trying the invite channel in our discord community.

How do I invite my first friend?

Inviting users to the Merit community is a two-step process.

• First, you simply give friends your alias (or address), which doubles as your invite code.
• Next, you must send your friend an invite token to activate their account. Please note that: confirming an invitation requires the use of an invite token.

You can also confirm someone using a one-step process if you send them a MeritInvite link. Your friend will simply be able to click a link and obtain the invite token contained in it. It is also a one-step process if you send a MeritMoney link to a friend that does not have Merit. Your invite code will automatically be entered when they start the app, and they will claim your invite from the blockchain when they click the link.


What happens after I invite them?

They will receive an email notification. They should then download the Merit wallet. They just need to type your alias (invite code) after downloading wallet and you will then be able to confirm their account by sending them an invite token. Once their wallet has been activated, they will be able to “mine” additional invites randomly from the network.

Can I invite friends before I have invite tokens to send them?

Yes, you can! Anyone who enters your invite code will be placed onto your wait list. Each user has their own individualized waitlist and can approve users as they receive invite tokens from the network. Here’s an example: if you tweet your invite code and 10 people sign up, all of their wallets will remain pending until you send them an invite token. If they receive an invite token from another user, but user your invite code, you will still get the credit for their joining the Merit network.

How long will I have to wait to get invite tokens?

Invitation tokens are mined randomly over time and distributed in a decentralized way. The algorithm for creating and distributing Merit is similar to the Ambassador Lottery except more straightforward.

About 90% of invites are randomly sent out to people and 10% go to users that are doing solo mining. If you need an invite token, it’s often best to ask the person who invited you to the Merit if they can send you one. The Merit core team cannot generate invites and do not have any special privileges related to their distribution.

When will I get my first reward?

Merit can reward those who are most impactful to the growth of the network while maintaining an inclusive reward ecosystem. Merit has a lottery system for rewarding people who grow the network through a new category of proof called Proof-of-Growth..

Proof-of-Growth is based on the notion of a Community Growth Score (CGS). When you receive MRT, you are entered into the lottery pool if your CGS is high enough to be in the pool of considered candidates. The lottery pool has a maximum of ten thousand spots. Five winners are selected each block from the lottery pool at random where the chance of winning depends on your score. The winners get a share proportional to their score.

The miners dedicate a percentage of the mining reward to users called Ambassadors of Merit.