The District Quarterly — Q1 2024
News and updates from the district0x Network
Welcome to our Q1 2024 update!
We’re excited to continue our quarterly publication schedule, which is brimming with comprehensive and engaging content. Each edition is carefully crafted to offer you in-depth articles and essential insights, all designed to enhance your navigation through the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency landscape.
We encourage you to connect with us on our official Discord server for any questions you might have. Your ongoing support is crucial in shaping the bright future of our decentralized community. 🙏
TL;DR of what we will cover this quarter:
- Quarterly Crypto News Roundup
- Spotlight: Eigen Layer Restaking: The Next Yield Opportunity on Ethereum
- Quarterly Community Updates
- New Stream Tide Episodes
- Quarterly Marketing Report — Q1
- Quarterly Dev Updates — Q1
If you missed the last update, check it out here.
Don’t forget, we’re still hiring! We continue growing our bullpen of developers in 2024 to build out the tools of the future! If you have any experience developing smart contracts or web3 dApps, please email talent@district0x.io with a resume and an overview of your experience. We’d love to have you on board!
Now, let’s dive right in!
Quarterly Crypto News Roundup
As we navigate through a dynamic period in the cryptocurrency sector, the start of 2024 has brought about exciting developments. After the fluctuations of last year, the crypto market is witnessing a new wave of growth and innovation. The NFT market is showing signs of stabilization, while the broader crypto market capitalization continues to expand, buoyed by positive regulatory movements and technological advancements, as well as the recent Bitcoin halving event.
In this quarter’s roundup, we’ll delve into pivotal crypto news and trends that are shaping the cryptocurrency landscape in 2024:
- Ethereum’s Performance: Ethereum’s earnings tripled, reaching $370 million, with transaction costs surging due to the currency’s nearing all-time high prices. This reflects significant growth in network usage and the DeFi ecosystem.
- Spot Bitcoin ETFs: The introduction and anticipation surrounding spot Bitcoin ETFs marked a significant maturity point for the broader crypto market, enhancing investor confidence and contributing to increased cryptocurrency valuations.
- Venture Capital Trends: The venture capital environment in crypto was vibrant, with startups securing substantial valuations and rapid funding rounds, highlighting strong investor interest and confidence in the sector’s growth.
- Bitcoin Halving Event: The much-anticipated Bitcoin halving occurred, reducing the mining reward from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC per block. This event is expected to decrease the supply of new Bitcoins, potentially driving up the price over time. Historically, halvings have been associated with bullish market trends following the adjustments.
These developments collectively indicate a dynamic and rapidly evolving crypto market, characterized by significant technological advancements, regulatory progress, and a strong influx of institutional and venture capital interest as we move further into 2024.
For more crypto news tune in to our weekly Stream Tide @ twitch.tv/stream_tide
Spotlight: Eigen Layer Restaking: The Next Yield Opportunity on Ethereum
In this spotlight article, we took a closer look at how Eigen Layer Restaking and AVS are about to reshape multichain Yield Optimization.
In the dynamic landscape of decentralized finance where innovation unfolds at lightning speed, a new source of yield has appeared bringing with it a plethora of new protocols and strategies. Eigen Layer Restaking emerged as a compelling strategy for optimizing yields and maximizing returns on your staked ETH. Its technique leverages the power of the network effect and the principles of decentralization to enhance the efficiency of liquid derivative staking protocols.
“EigenLayer is a transformative protocol on Ethereum that introduces “restaking,” allowing ETH or Liquid Staking Tokens (LST) holders to extend their crypto-economic security to more applications via smart contracts, thereby earning additional rewards. This mechanism not only lowers capital costs for end-user participants but also enhances trust in services by pooling Ethereum’s staked security. It addresses the fragmentation of security in decentralized services by enabling any service to leverage Ethereum’s collective security, promoting permissionless innovation.”
In addition to maximizing yields, Eigen Layer Restaking plays a crucial role in enhancing the security and stability of decentralized networks through the implementation of an Advanced Validation System (AVS).
“Ultimately, this collaborative approach to network validation reinforces trust and confidence among participants, laying the foundation for a more inclusive and decentralized system.”
Want to learn more about Eigen Layer Restaking? Read the full article: Eigen Layer Restaking: The Next Yield Opportunity on Ethereum
Quarterly Community Update
Last quarter marked significant milestones for the district0x community, with the enhancement of our Aqua Prime game, the Meme Factory trading card game, and the successful launch of StreamTide. This launch included the initiation of weekly developer calls to foster closer community engagement.
The introduction of gamification across operations evolved Meme Factory into a dynamic voting game that features physical cards and swag for events, effectively blending alternate reality gaming with behavioral economics. This approach offered newcomers to web3 and crypto a narrative-driven, risk-free introduction through our Discord AI bots. Meme Factory’s transition to Polygon revitalized the platform, marking a cultural shift and reintroducing the Game Of Memes trading card game built by the community.
StreamTide also improved its user interface and user experience last quarter by incorporating a global feed page and an updated wallet login, responding proactively to community feedback. It became a hub for a diverse range of digital creators and successfully hosted its first grant rounds to test innovative funding contracts.
Q1 2024 Updates and Developments
Stream Tide has been exploring new functionalities such as streaming quadratic funding, which allows for periodic transactions instead of one-time donations, potentially transforming the user interface and introducing new transaction management methods.
Discussions have also been held around the concept of creating a reputation or awards-based token rather than a financially-based one, with the idea of users awarding tokens to artists to recognize their contributions.
Our community dynamics have continued to evolve, with sophisticated chatbots on Discord that enhance community interaction and integrate functionalities from Ethlance and Meme Factory. Aqua Prime expanded beyond its original scope to offer a comprehensive RPG experience, with enhanced Discord bots supporting more engaging and coherent storylines.
Future Plans and Strategic Initiatives
The integration of social login features for easier onboarding was considered, along with the idea of a separate onboarding domain where new users could easily start and later migrate to full self-custody wallets.
A preview of a feeds page in production and QA environments was shared by our team of developers, which would display content for users, with plans discussed to potentially embed this view into the homepage.
The achievements of this quarter highlight the continuous growth and adaptation of the district0x community and its projects, with a strong emphasis on user engagement, technological advancements, and strategic innovations.
Our community’s strength and dedication remain the foundation of our resilience and innovation, driving us forward amidst challenges and market fluctuations. Building on the achievements of the last quarter, we continue this journey with renewed enthusiasm and optimism, reflecting a proactive approach to enhancing user experience and accessibility!
Interested in partnering with Stream Tide? Reach out to us and let’s work together to achieve our goals! Stay tuned for the latest updates on our official Discord.
New Stream Tide Episodes
district0x updates brought to you by your favorite host Brady McKenna, and our dedicated team of developers:
Join us every Wednesday at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST for new updates from our district0x community and Stream Tide, as well as the latest news from the broader crypto ecosystem!
You can also dive back into previous episodes on our YouTube Channel. 📺
The DappStream is a community-curated stream hosted by the district0x community manager Brady McKenna. Want to vote on the next stream’s content? Use this form: http://bit.ly/DDPoll
Quarterly Marketing Updates
We are proud to present our Q1 2024 Marketing Report for district0x. This quarter marked significant achievements in our innovative engagement strategies and product developments, building on the momentum from the last quarter. Our targeted initiatives in gamification, cultural integration, and platform enhancements have continued to strengthen our market position and user involvement.
Key Achievements (Q1):
- Strategic Evolution of StreamTide: We’ve expanded our market footprint and enhanced community interaction significantly since its launch.
- Advanced Cultural Integration: Our continued focus on integrating music, art, and culture into our marketing has deepened, enriching user experience across platforms.
- Expanded Gamification Techniques: Building on our use of gamification with Meme Factory and Aqua Prime, we have crafted more immersive user experiences.
- StreamTide User-Centric Updates: We’ve made substantial UI/UX improvements, which have greatly increased user satisfaction and retention.
- Meme Factory’s Enhanced Market Presence: Following its move to Polygon, the reintroduction of the Game Of Memes has elevated user engagement and visibility.
- Community Engagement via Advanced Bot Technology: Our use of sophisticated chatbots on Discord has revolutionized our marketing interactions, enhancing customer experiences.
- Aqua Prime 2.0: The transformation into an all-encompassing RPG experience has been fully realized, improving brand engagement and loyalty.
- Artistic Collaborations and NFT Innovations: Our collaboration with artists like Rekt has continued to innovate our brand’s creative offerings.
- Sustained Community Growth: We have maintained strong community ties and growth, reinforcing our brand’s reputation for reliability and commitment.
StreamTide: Continual User Engagement Enhancements
The initiatives to enhance StreamTide begun last quarter have borne fruit, with user engagement reaching new heights due to the latest features. Our refined social strategy has significantly increased our appeal to artists and managers, reinforcing our competitive edge.
Gamification: Fortifying a Unique Market Identity
Our strategic expansion of gamification in Meme Factory and Aqua Prime has bolstered our market identity, making our offerings more engaging and distinctive. This has not only helped in user retention but also attracted a broader audience base.
Enhanced Chatbot Interactions:
Our narrative-driven, interactive chatbot experiences on Discord have become a hallmark of our innovative approach, offering users a unique and engaging way to connect with our brand.
Deepening Artistic and Cultural Connections:
Our ongoing efforts to weave music, art, and culture into our brand narrative have made our marketing more vibrant and relatable. This is exemplified by our continued partnerships with notable artists, enhancing our creative image and market appeal.
Community Resilience and Growth:
Our community’s resilience, despite market challenges, continues to be a cornerstone of our marketing strategy. This commitment has solidified our reputation as a dependable and dedicated brand.
Looking Ahead:
Moving forward into Q2 2024, we are excited to further our commitment to marketing strategies that resonate with both current trends and our community’s needs. We encourage everyone to join our discussions on Discord, follow our updates on social media, and visit our website for detailed information on our evolving product offerings. We are eager to sustain and amplify our growth and success in the coming months!
Quarterly Dev Updates
Ethlance
The development of Ethlance has progressed effectively over the past quarter. We have achieved the identification and resolution of several bugs and conducted a major overhaul on the entire Ethlance code, refactoring, and removing unused code.
Here’s a comprehensive rundown of completed updates and future tasks:
Completed:
- Updated the district-server-web3-events library to store the last processed block checkpoint in the DB, improving the Ethlance server’s ability to pick up where it left off between deploys & restarts.
- Made UI & server configuration loadable during runtime and served via /config to avoid redeployment when configuration changes. Documented the configuration (ENV variables, contracts, compilation process) in the README for Ethlance.
- Fixed superfluous UI flows, e.g., preventing an arbiter from inviting himself to arbitrate, and removing Employers search and related code.
- Fixed the invalid sign-up form.
- Integrated with OpenTelemetry for distributed systems tracing, enabling debugging info emission and visualization in the Chrome developers tools network tab.
- Addressed the issue of smart contract events not being picked up by the QA server.
In Progress:
- Enhancing dropdown autocomplete with fuzzy-matching (e.g., “en” showing English at the top).
- Debugging why contract events in the Ethlance QA server don’t get synced.
- Continuing testing and improving the OpenTelemetry integration for better server tracing.
Future Tasks:
- Continue testing and fixing issues.
- Prepare the production setup.
- Remaining steps before production deployment.
StreamTide
In the 1st quarter of 2024, we’ve made significant progress on several fronts, mainly preparing for StreamTide’s first grant round.
With the latest upgrade to the ERC6551 contract, owners now have the ability to burn their NFTs, which triggers the transfer of all tokens held by the smart wallet back to the initial owner. The contract is fully developed and ready to launch, pending StreamTide’s first grant round.
Additionally, we have completed the development of 1v1 and tournament smart contracts, as well as a Discord bot that handles in-server matchmaking for the meme card game available at Dulst. These will serve as methods to onboard users to StreamTide through the district we are creating, “Insert Coin.” We are enthusiastic about the upcoming opportunities and the comprehensive plans for a successful launch.
Furthermore, on the technical side we have achieved several updates across our platform to enhance user experience and functionality:
- We have created a feeds page that displays users’ recent activity in a clear and organized manner. This improvement makes it easier for users to stay updated on what’s happening within the platform. We plan to promote this to the home page once we receive positive feedback from the team.
- We have completed testing to ensure that profile modifications are saved securely. This allows users to restore their profiles if they accidentally lose changes due to browser crashes or other issues.
- We have made some minor improvements to the admin pages, such as enabling admins to see rejected grants. This change allows them to reconsider and potentially approve these grants if necessary.
- We have moved our QA environment from the Goerli to the Sepolia network due to the deprecation of the former.
- Additionally, we have addressed various minor fixes and optimizations throughout the system to improve overall functionality and user experience.
- Finally, we are currently working on adding the ability to use ERC20 tokens for filling and distributing matching pools. This development will enable us to engage funders who prefer to pay using their own tokens.
Our team is also focused on StreamTide’s NFT launch, which marks the first step in our rollout. We are diligently working to ensure everything is in place to deliver a rewarding experience for the community to participate in. We’re excited to continue working on StreamTide and to further develop “Insert Coin” as an additional contribution to this platform!
Transparency is a core value of district0x. You can find up-to-date disclosures on our overall progress in our GitHub Repository: https://github.com/district0x
District Proposals
Take these opportunities to earn more DNT and vote to either keep or get rid of the challenged districts. If you are on the winning side of the challenge, you will earn DNT from the Token-Curated Registry’s built-in incentives.
For more information on how proposals are now being migrated, please check out the District Proposal Rewards topic in this article.
Joining the district0x DAO
For more information about the district0x network:
• Head to our Onboarding Terminal for all links at a glance
• Check out our Education Portal for all things #web3
• Join the official Discord server or Telegram channel
• Watch the DappStream live or on our YouTube Channel
• Subscribe to email updates or to our Subreddit forum
