The District Quarterly — Q3 2023
News and updates from the district0x Network
The district0x team is excited to announce a major change in our blog updates. We’re transitioning from monthly to quarterly releases, allowing us to deliver more insightful and relevant content.
These quarterly updates will offer in-depth features and actionable insights for our d0x community, enriching your professional and personal pursuits.
We’re always here to address your questions through our official Discord server, and we deeply appreciate your support as you shape our path forward in our decentralized community. 🙏
TL;DR of what we will cover this quarter:
- Quarterly Crypto News Roundup
- Spotlight: How Yield-Bearing Stablecoins are Reviving DeFi: do RWAs and Real Yield have the potential to fuel the next cycle?
- Community Updates: Stream Tide’s Initial Journey & Aqua Prime 2.0
- New Stream Tide Episodes
- Quarterly Marketing Report — Q3
- Quarterly Dev Updates — Q3
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 2023 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
While the bear keeps a tight grip on the current crypto landscape, a lot is still happening behind the scenes, and there’s no shortage of exciting news.
The headlines of the past three months have been dominated by ongoing crypto regulations and geopolitical unrest, but yet another sector has seen constant activity: crypto art.
Here are some of the most relevant stories of the last quarter, according to our district0x team:
SBF Trial Updates:
The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of FTX and former crypto billionaire, has begun. SBF faces seven criminal charges related to the dramatic collapse of his crypto empire.
Federal prosecutors accused him of masterminding one of U.S. history's most significant financial frauds. Bankman-Fried, once celebrated as a crypto billionaire, is alleged to have committed wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering while CEO of FTX.
The case has been described by Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.” Bankman-Fried’s trial could potentially last up to six weeks.
Further reads about the SBF Trial:
- FTX Creditors Could See $9 Billion Dispersement by Next June
- Sam Bankman-Fried Lawyers May Already Be Angling for an Appeal, Says Former Prosecutor
- FTX, Thai Prostitutes and Chinese Bribes: Caroline Ellison Drops Explosive Allegations
- FTX Insider Gary Wang: Sam Bankman-Fried Allowed Alameda to Withdraw Unlimited Funds
Gaza Conflict:
As death tolls continue to climb and violence spreads in the rapidly escalating clash between Israel and Gaza that broke out on Saturday, cryptocurrency has emerged as a go-to fundraising tool across the region.
Meanwhile Israeli authorities, in coordination with the crypto exchange Binance, froze accounts suspected with suspected links to Hamas:
- ‘Crypto Aid Israel’ Launches to Raise Funds Amid Gaza Conflict
- Israel Authorities Freeze Hamas-Linked Crypto Accounts on Binance
Crypto Art & NFTs:
Despite enduringly dismal conditions in the NFT market, some art-focused projects leveraging blockchain technology have managed to stay steady — or even, in a few cases, grow — over the last year and a half:
- Inside Art Blocks’ Marfa Weekend, Digital Art’s Latest Hotspot
- Art of the Times’: Art Blocks Founder Erick Calderon on the State of Generative Art
- Despite AI Pushback, MoMA Acquires First Generative AI Artwork
For more crypto news tune in to our weekly Stream Tide @ twitch.tv/stream_tide
Spotlight: How Yield-Bearing Stablecoins are Reviving DeFi: do RWAs and Real Yield have the potential to fuel the next cycle?— by Henri.M
In our latest spotlight article, we take a closer look at Yield-Bearing Stablecoins and their impact on liquidity, to see how they may fuel the growth of DeFi and potentially even be the root of the next bull run’s ignition.
What are Yield-Bearing Stablecoins? YBS pay interest to holders. In essence, this is what the fuzz is all about. They are typically backed by either a basket of assets, including other stablecoins, fiat currencies, and government bonds or simply emit off-chain yield to on-chain token holders.
There are a few different ways that yield-bearing stablecoins can work. One common approach is to use a decentralized or even centralized lending protocol. In this case, stablecoin holders deposit their coins into a smart contract or custodial account, which then lends out the coins to borrowers. Borrowers pay interest on the loans, which is then distributed to the stablecoin holders.
Yield-bearing stablecoins offer a number of benefits over traditional stablecoins. First, they allow holders to earn interest on their holdings. This can be a valuable source of passive income, especially in a low-interest environment.
Yield-bearing stablecoins also come with some risks. One risk is that the underlying backing of the stablecoin may not be sufficient. If the backing assets lose value, the stablecoin may lose its peg to the US dollar.
YBS are typically more complex than traditional stablecoins. This can make them more challenging to understand and use — so they are usually not a good fit for noobs or for users who want to hold large sums of money in a stable asset.
So what’s next? Where are the next big innovations in this space going to come from? If you listen to the X DeFi degens: ‘RWAs!’ seems to be the answer everyone agrees with.
In the ever-evolving world of stablecoins, innovation continues to drive the industry forward. DeFi has been a transformative force and its evolution has led to the emergence of real-world assets (RWA) packaged as yield-bearing stablecoins.
The stability of YBSs and the including of real-world assets in DeFi expands its utility. This stability is essential for attracting institutional investors who seek a broader range of investment options.
Want to learn more about Yield-Bearing Stablecoins? Read the full article: How Yield-Bearing Stablecoins are Reviving DeFi: do RWAs and Real Yield have the potential to fuel the next cycle?
Community Update: Stream Tide’s Initial Journey
Dear Community,
We are excited to share the first glimpse of Stream Tide, a platform conceived to bridge the gap between creators and supporters in a decentralized setting. Our initiative is rooted in fostering a patronage culture akin to platforms like Patreon, but with a unique spin that leverages the transparency and trust inherent in blockchain technology.
Currently, we are in the phase of a soft launch with a closed, password-protected testnet version of Stream Tide. This phase is crucial for us to receive feedback, identify potential issues, and ensure a smooth user experience before we open up to a broader audience. Your insights during this phase are invaluable and will play a significant role in shaping the platform.
One of the core features of Stream Tide is its grant matching system. During specific grant rounds, additional funds will be allocated among creators based on the level of support they receive from the community. This mechanism is designed to incentivize community engagement and ensure a fair distribution of resources to support a diverse range of creative projects.
At the heart of Stream Tide is the concept of patronage. We envision a platform where supporters can directly contribute to creators, fostering a close-knit community bound by shared interests and mutual support. Unlike traditional platforms, Stream Tide provides a transparent avenue for patrons to support creators, ensuring that the essence of patronage remains untainted by opaque algorithms or third-party interferences.
As we navigate through this initial phase, we remain committed to refining and expanding Stream Tide to meet the needs and expectations of our community. Our journey has just begun, and we are thrilled to have you alongside us as we explore the promising landscape of decentralized patronage through Stream Tide and Grant Matching.
Stay tuned for more updates as we progress through this exciting phase!
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.
Aqua Prime 2.0
As we gear up for the launch of Aqua Prime 2.0, we’re excited to share some major updates that will enrich your gaming experience. Our Discord bot has been re-engineered from JavaScript to Python, laying the groundwork for more advanced features and improved stability.
Most notably, we’ve incorporated Weaviate for long-term memory capabilities. This not only adds a new layer of depth to player interactions but also enhances the in-game events, enriching the narrative and strategy elements. With Weaviate, the Discord bot can now remember past interactions, allowing for a more cohesive and engaging storyline.
The transition to MongoDB for data storage offers us greater scalability, crucial as our community expands. This overhaul benefits both the economy bot and the real crypto tip bots, enhancing the seamless integration between the in-game economy and real-world cryptocurrency transactions.
Our community-run Discord is set to launch soon, featuring a revamped onboarding experience just in time for the next play session. Get ready for a more interactive and immersive Aqua Prime!
New Stream Tide Episodes
We’re excited to announce that in light of the recent launch of Stream Tide on testnet, the DappStream has officially been rebranded to Stream Tide episodes! But fear not, the stream will remain unaffected — even better, your favorite host Brady McKenna will now present not one, but two streams per week!
Join us every Tuesday at 8 AM PST/11 AM EST, and 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!
Here’s a recap of the latest episodes, covering the final touches on Stream Tide and the launch of the platform on testnet:
You can also dive back into previous episodes on our YouTube Channel. 📺
A quick reminder that our Stream Tide schedule is now twice a week:
- Tuesdays at 8 AM PT
- Wednesdays at 6 PM PT
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
This quarter stands out as a period of significant achievements in our marketing initiatives, community engagement, and product development. Our commitment to educating and welcoming individuals through Aqua Prime and Stream Tide remains steadfast. In this report, we amalgamate the highlights of our Q3 accomplishments to offer a comprehensive view of our recent progress.
Over the last three months, we have been enhancing the community experience and expanding our product offerings. Guided by Brady McKenna, we embarked on the transformation of our d0x Discord server, introducing AI-powered moderation and gameplay features to enhance its user-friendliness for both newcomers and dedicated fans.
In this realm of community engagement, Q3 witnessed the fruits of our marketing endeavors as we deepened our bonds with the community and attracted a surge of new users. Despite the enduring bear market, we persevered in our mission to educate and onboard individuals, with a primary focus on enhancing the Aqua Prime gameplay experience and pushing Stream Tide live.
Key Highlights (Q3)
- Stream Tide’s launch has become the focal point of our marketing efforts, captivating the attention of both crypto enthusiasts and the crypto-curious.
- The rejuvenation of our d0x Discord server, now equipped with AI-powered moderation and gameplay features, has led to a notable enhancement in community engagement and retention over the past three months.
- The introduction of TIDE token rewards and unique NFTs has fostered a passionate and committed player community, acknowledging and rewarding their engagement and creativity.
- Aqua Prime’s inclusive development approach has garnered enthusiastic participation, creating a collaborative environment where contributions from all corners of the community are welcomed.
- We consistently delivered content through our social platforms, including educational videos, spotlight articles, monthly updates, and DappStream episodes.
Looking Ahead
As we advance, our dedication to fostering a vibrant community that values engagement, creativity, and inclusivity remains unwavering. Our commitment to enhancing Aqua Prime continues, and we remain dedicated to rewarding our most engaged community members with Stream Tide & Meme Factory NFTs, memberships, and other valuable perks.
We encourage all members to maintain active engagement on our Discord channel and to stay updated on our social media platforms to witness the pivotal role the community plays in the minting process. We eagerly anticipate the exciting developments that lie ahead in the coming quarter for the district0x community!
Quarterly Dev Updates
Ethlance
We’re excited to announce that we have made a test deployment of Ethlance! Our developers are now testing and working on the final tweaks before the public launch.
Over the past weeks we have been working on the following features:
- Implemented job contract balance tracking with emitted events.
- Fixing various pages for users not logged in.
- Finished support for Job funding and payments in ERC20/721/1155.
- Added funds to existing jobs for various token types.
- Made Ethlance contract upgradable behind a Proxy contract.
- Refactored Job contract to keep its size below the maximum limit.
- Prepared deployment scripts and environment-specific configurations for Ethlance.
- Made all contracts work with proxies by extracting storage field definitions.
Furthermore, we are currently still working on the following points:
- Working on job creation and payments with various token types.
- Improving the UI and adding more information for custom tokens.
- Implementing adding funds to existing jobs for all supported token types.
- Started implementing migration scripts for the upgradability of the Ethlance contract.
- Debugging issues with the server syncer not receiving events from the Proxy.
- Working on resolving IPFS configuration for QA and production.
- Testing different UI flows and preparing Dockerfiles.
- Creating a list of scenarios for testing and fixing.
- Considering alternative methods for maintaining proxy contracts.
- Deploying on a private ganache chain and preparing for public testnet, cloud deployment, and UI improvements.
Stream Tide
Stream Tide has made significant strides in its development journey, focusing on core functionalities, user experience enhancements, and community engagement. As the platform launched on testnet, these efforts reflect our commitment to providing an innovative and user-friendly experience.
In the third quarter of 2023, our developers worked hard to push Stream Tide live. Our focus in the project was on enhancing the user experience. We worked on making the UI more user-friendly and engaging. This involved implementing various improvements, from introducing notification bubbles to convey important messages like transaction updates, to ensuring the software worked seamlessly on mobile devices, making basic navigation a breeze, and rectifying any obvious issues.
We also embarked on a significant revamp of the UI layout, opting for a “masonry” design to showcase user-generated content more attractively, especially when dealing with content of varying heights and widths. We expanded external content embedding capabilities to include audio and other content types, accommodating content like Spotify music. While addressing mobile usability, we implemented features to maintain a respectful online environment, such as hiding blacklisted users from certain pages. Furthermore, we refined the UI across the board with several minor improvements, making the overall user experience smoother and more pleasant.
To ensure the project’s readiness for deployment, we configured Docker setups for both the UI and server components, adjusted configurations, and introduced various enhancements, such as making error messages more informative and offering advanced verification error messages.
Additionally, we added features like making perks visible only to supporters who donated, displaying a message for patrons with hidden private content, and introducing star icons for supported patrons. Finally, we were preparing the project for going live, polishing UI aspects, fixing bugs, and introducing small features thanks to the feedback received from the team.
Regarding Aqua Prime and our Discord revamp, we changed focus from using JavaScript to building our Discord bots and switched over to Pinecone. This made it possible for the team to use Weviate, mongoDB, and Pinecone to create some very impressive chatbots.
Grumpy Cat is the first complete iteration of our discord bots but with the completed code we will be able to create a multitude of bots for the AquaPrime game world.
For example:
One of the discord bots we were working on listens for quests and guild messages in chat. This bot utilizes Pinecone to store and retrieve message data based on their embeddings.
When certain keywords such as “quest”, and “guild” are detected in a message, the message data is pushed to Pinecone. Later, when the prompts “#quest”, or “#guild” are given, the bot fetches relevant messages from Pinecone and provides a summary using OpenAI.
The prompt has been updated recently to reflect more of a record keeper and sound less robotic.
At the moment this bot does not have its own “Account” on Discord and is currently shared with GrumpyCat. The next steps are to create a “Record Keeper” bot in Discord that will summarize quest lines, guild messages, etc. that will allow users a summary of what events they took part in inside the AquaPrime world.
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
