The District Quarterly — Q4 2023
News and updates from the district0x Network
Welcome to our first District Quarterly of 2024! 🎉
As mentioned in our previous edition, we’ve shifted to a vibrant quarterly publication rhythm, packed with enriching and extensive content. These quarterlies are carefully curated to bring you in-depth features and valuable insights, designed to elevate your journey in the ever-changing crypto landscape!
We invite you to engage with us on our official Discord server for any queries. Your continued support is instrumental in sculpting our decentralized community’s vibrant future. 🙏
TL;DR of what we will cover this quarter:
- Quarterly Crypto News Roundup
- Spotlights: Token Bonds & Protocol Owned Liquidity, and POINTS² : web3’s attempt to lure LPs
- Community Updates: Stream Tide’s launch & Aqua Prime
- New Stream Tide Episodes
- Quarterly Marketing Report — Q4
- Quarterly Dev Updates — Q4
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
In the final quarter of 2023, the cryptocurrency sector was marked by several notable developments. The NFT market underwent a dramatic shift with trading volumes plummeting to $1.39 billion, a stark contrast to the $12 billion high of early 2022. Concurrently, the overall crypto market cap experienced a remarkable boost, adding $607 billion, largely driven by expectations surrounding the US spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Here are some of the most impactful crypto news of 2023, highlighting key trends, legal battles, and influential decisions that shaped the crypto landscape:
- Blackrock’s Move in the Crypto Space: Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, made significant moves in the crypto space, including depositing an ETF on spot bitcoin. This decision by Blackrock, known for its high ETF approval rate, was a major talking point in the crypto community, bringing optimism and skepticism. The approval of the first spot Bitcoin ETF in January 2024 was a significant milestone in the crypto space, offering a regulated investment vehicle for traditional investors. This ETF, traded on securities exchanges like NYSE and Nasdaq, allows investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin’s price movements without owning the cryptocurrency directly. Market makers play a crucial role in ensuring the ETF’s price accurately reflects Bitcoin’s market price. The launch of this ETF was seen as a major step towards mainstream adoption and regulatory acceptance of Bitcoin and could lead to more institutional investment and market stability.
- Legal Developments with the SEC: The crypto industry faced various legal challenges and developments involving the SEC. These include the U.S. Court of Appeals overturning the SEC’s rejection of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Exchange Traded Product and the legal status of XRP being a focal point in the industry. Ripple secured several victories in its case with the SEC.
- Notable Legal Cases and Industry Developments: The year 2023 also saw major legal cases and developments such as Do Kwon’s arrest, Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction, and Changpeng Zhao stepping down from Binance. These events significantly impacted the crypto industry, highlighting the volatile and evolving nature of this sector.
The following articles provide a broad perspective on the key developments in the crypto world during 2023, encompassing shifts in regulations, growing institutional engagement, and challenges in security. They also delve into market trends and provide forward-looking insights into potential developments in digital assets and Web3 for 2024:
- “What Happened to Bitcoin and Crypto in 2023” — BeInCrypto: This article provided a comprehensive overview of the major events in the crypto market during 2023. It covered significant regulatory actions, such as those against Kraken and Silicon Valley Bank, and lawsuits filed by the SEC against Binance and Coinbase. The article also discussed the institutional interest in Bitcoin, reflected in actions by companies like BlackRock and Fidelity, and concluded with the rise of Bitcoin’s price towards the end of the year.
- “The CoinGecko 2023 Annual Crypto Report” — CoinGEcko: This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the year’s key trends and events in the cryptocurrency market. It covers various aspects, including market capitalization, significant price movements, regulatory developments, and technological advancements. The report offers insights into the performance of major cryptocurrencies, the evolution of the DeFi sector, NFT trends, and the role of institutional players in the market. It serves as a valuable resource for understanding the dynamic changes and progress in the crypto industry over the past year.
- “Crypto 2024: The Year Ahead” — CoinDesk: This article presented predictions for digital assets and Web3 in 2024, offering insights from various experts on the future of blockchain technology, Bitcoin, and NFTs. Key topics included the expected evolution of Ethereum, the potential impact of ETFs on Bitcoin, and the resurgence of NFTs in new forms. The article also touched on the global stablecoin market and the future of regulatory environments for cryptocurrencies.
For more crypto news tune in to our weekly Stream Tide @ twitch.tv/stream_tide
Spotlight: Token Bonds & Protocol Owned Liquidity — a sustainable growth model for productive treasuries
In this spotlight article, we took a closer look at how token bonding mechanisms and Protocol Owned Liquidity (POL) can help any project bootstrap a diversified and healthy Treasury, and grow it sustainably and predictably.
Bonds, the cornerstone of traditional finance, have been pivotal in shaping tradfi investment landscapes. The bond market dances to the tune of interest rates and inflation, offering insights into economic sentiment and being a general temperature check for ‘the strength of the system’. Government bonds, a pillar of stability, wield influence globally, while Corporate bonds known for higher yields come with a critical caveat: credit risk. But behold, there is a new bond in town, the recent developments in crypto bring an entirely new model to the table: permission-less, fully collateralized, programmable token bonding curves (executed through yield-bearing NFTs).
“Sure, corporate bonds entice investors with enhanced returns, but the prospect of credit risk looms large. Crypto bonds seek to counter this risk in innovative ways: token locks and emission schedules guarantee the bond buyer that the tokens will in fact be sent his way and end up in his wallet — often only a few weeks or months long by the way.”
However, the volatility of crypto tokens opens up new risks akin to those experienced by corporate tradfi.
This is where Protocol Owned Liquidity (‘POL’ for short) comes in. Specifically: Protocol Owned Reserve Liquidity. Factors like performance and project alignment shape the trajectory of this burgeoning segment. Let’s face it, the intricacies of traditional bond markets extend beyond interest rates. And they do so also in token economies.
“The nascent stage of crypto bonds indeed mirrors the early days of green bonds, with a potential for broad socio-economic projects financed by their proceeds, and thus massive participation.”
Want to learn more about Token Bonds & Protocol Owned Liquidity? Read the full article: Token Bonds & Protocol Owned Liquidity — a sustainable growth model for productive Treasuries.
Spotlight: POINTS² : web3’s attempt to lure LPs by gamifying protocol airdrops with referrals and ‘play to earn’ logic
In our latest spotlight article, we investigate how DeFi becomes a playground for point hunters who seek to amplify their protocol airdrops by signing up their friends and family to earn ‘points squared’.
“DeFi represents a transformative shift moving away from Banks as we know them toward a less centralized model: peer-to-peer finance — where everyone can participate at any time.”
At the heart of this evolution are innovative incentive mechanisms to attract users and liquidity to new protocols — much-memed ‘point systems’, which have become a cornerstone in attracting and maintaining traction within web3. ‘Point systems’ are designed to reward users for their participation in the ecosystem: these rewards, in the form of future airdrops, not only incentivize users to provide liquidity but also to engage in various other activities like staking, borrowing and lending, and even large scale referral networking. So as it stands everyone refers everyone else, including their grandmothers!
“At this stage, Point Systems are crucial for new protocols, as liquidity is the lifeblood that ensures smooth trading and efficient market functioning.”
Point systems are ingeniously designed to create a win-win scenario for both the platform/protocol and the liquidity providers. By participating in these systems, LPs can earn additional rewards, or multiply their rewards, often in the platform’s native token, which can either be traded or reinvested into the system for further gains, while the protocol gains deeper liquidity/TVL, a loyal community, and an all-around better product.
Want to learn more about POINTS²? Read the full article: POINTS² : web3’s attempt to lure LPs by gamifying protocol airdrops with referrals and ‘play to earn’ logic.
Quarterly Community Update
This quarter has been a crucial period for the district0x community, marked by notable advancements in our community projects: the tabletop-inspired game Aqua Prime, the Meme Factory trading card game, and the much-anticipated launch of StreamTide on Arbitrum. The debut of StreamTide marks a significant milestone, as it initiates weekly developer calls, offering our community an invaluable opportunity to directly engage with the creators behind each district.
Embracing Gamification in Our Culture
Gamification is more than a mere strategy for us at district0x; it’s a key part of our community operations. We’ve woven it into almost everything we do. Meme Factory, for example, is not just a platform but a voting game complete with physical cards & swag boxes for community events. Similar elements are found in our other projects, like the playable Spells of Genesis card, the trading card game inspired by Meme Factory, the interactive point system on Twitch, the stream loyalty store, and the Aqua Prime RPG in Discord.
This gamification approach resonates with the overarching theme of cryptocurrency, where community engagement often blends with alternate reality gaming (ARG) and behavioral economics, forming a ‘Meta game’ of sorts.
Gamification also offers a sandbox and guardrails, especially useful for those new to web3 and crypto. Our Discord AI bots facilitate some of this, providing a narrative-driven, risk-free introduction to web3, akin to a ‘try before you buy’ experience often lacking in this space. The bots are open source so feel free to fork our bots and run your own!
StreamTide Platform Progress
StreamTide has made significant advancements, especially in its user interface and overall user experience. We’ve incorporated new features based on community feedback, such as a global feed page and an improved wallet login experience. StreamTide is quickly becoming a platform for all types of creators, broadening the patronage ethos of Meme Factory to encompass a wider range of digital art and content. Additionally, we will soon be hosting the first grant rounds to test the latest quadratic funding smart contracts so stay tuned!
Check out the platform now and review our initial artists cohort here: https://streamtide.io/artists
Meme Factory Developments
Reflecting on Meme Factory, it stands out not just as a collection on the Ethereum mainnet but as a cornerstone of our community’s culture. Its transition to Polygon marked a significant cultural shift, breathing new life into the platform. In celebration, we brought back the old proof-of-concept trading card game the community built using a no-code solution called Game Of Memes.
Community Engagement and Bots
Our Discord server’s dynamic is increasingly powered by sophisticated chatbots. These bots not only facilitate interactive community-building games but also integrate functionalities related to Ethlance and Meme Factory.
Aqua Prime 2.0 Update
Aqua Prime has significantly evolved, going beyond its beginnings as a set of community tools and Discord bots, to become a comprehensive RPG experience. This past quarter introduced a revamped Discord bot with advanced memory capabilities, fostering more engaging and coherent storylines. We are now finalizing the game for a new playtesting season on our newly created, community-run Discord AquaPrime server.
This transition allows for the simplifying and securing of the District0x Discord server, enhancing automation and AI bot interaction. It includes sentiment tracking for community safeguarding. We must give a special mention to RektmeRev, a community member whose artistic contributions have been crucial in shaping our visual narrative. Rekt has taken to Twitter to prepare for a full launch of the NFT collection, which the community helped conceive live on stream! Each trait is hand-drawn, and we eagerly anticipate the unveiling of the platypus-inspired collection this quarter. We’re excited to see what ERC6551 can do in a TTRPG setting!
Our Legacy and Resilience
District0x has always been at the forefront, from launching early dapps on Ethereum to pioneering the longest-standing token curated registry, Meme Factory. Despite facing challenges like scaling issues and market fluctuations, our community’s strength and dedication have been unwavering. We couldn’t have done it without our awesome moderators and contributors. As we move into 2024, we are excited and optimistic. We owe our journey to our community’s relentless support. The best, we believe, is yet to come!
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
As StreamTide launched on mainnet, the platform remained at the center of our streams, with weekly updates brought to you by your favorite host Brady McKenna, and our dedicated team of developers.
Although the stream has been rebranded to StreamTide, we remain committed to continuing these developer discussions. They serve as a vital platform for delving into various aspects of district0x and the wider crypto community. Moving forward, we plan to place an enhanced emphasis on music, art, and culture, recognizing their growing importance and influence within our community and the broader crypto landscape. Especially as it pertains to StreamTide.
Final touches before the StreamTide launch!
Discussing the launch of StreamTide on mainnet
youtube.com
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!
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 thrilled to present our Q4 2023 Marketing Report for district0x. This quarter has been exceptionally productive, showcasing our innovative approaches to community engagement and product development. Our initiatives in gamification, cultural integration, and platform enhancement have significantly boosted our market presence and user engagement.
Key Highlights (Q4):
- Strategic Launch of StreamTide on Arbitrum: A landmark event amplifying our market presence and community interaction.
- Cultural Integration Initiatives: Heightened focus on integrating music, art, and culture in our marketing strategies, particularly through StreamTide.
- Innovative Gamification Approaches: Utilizing gamification as a core marketing tool in projects like Meme Factory and Aqua Prime, creating unique user experiences.
- User-Centric Enhancements in StreamTide: Significant UI/UX improvements, driven by community feedback, enhancing user satisfaction and retention.
- Meme Factory’s Market Impact: Its transition to Polygon and the reintroduction of the Game Of Memes, boosting user engagement and market visibility.
- Community Engagement and Bot Technology: Leveraging advanced chatbots for dynamic marketing interactions and improved customer experiences on Discord.
- Evolving Aqua Prime 2.0: Marketing the transformation into a comprehensive RPG experience, enhancing brand engagement and loyalty.
- Artistic Collaborations and NFT Launch: Showcasing artistic collaborations, notably with RektmeRev, enhancing our brand’s creative image.
- Resilient Community Growth: Maintaining strong community ties and consistent growth, despite market challenges, enhancing our brand’s reputation for stability and dedication.
StreamTide: Enhanced User Engagement
The launch of StreamTide on Arbitrum has been a pivotal marketing milestone, significantly enhancing our community’s engagement. New features, informed by community feedback, have been key in improving the user experience, which is critical for maintaining a competitive edge in the market. This focus on user engagement is a core part of our marketing strategy, aimed at increasing user loyalty and brand advocacy.
Significant strides have been made in enhancing StreamTide visibility as well, with a Twitter strategy at its core designed to appeal to artists and managers alike. We also started looking into other successful launch pads we can use, most notably Product Hunt.
Gamification: A Unique Marketing Edge
Our approach to gamification in Meme Factory and Aqua Prime is not just about user engagement. The evolution of Meme Factory, particularly its transition to Polygon, has been a strategic move in our marketing narrative. The revival of the Game Of Memes serves as an innovative tool to engage and expand our user base. By blending elements of gaming and behavioral economics, we have created a unique market identity that resonates strongly with our audience.
Leveraging Chatbots:
Our Discord AI bots have been instrumental in providing a narrative-driven, interactive experience. The use of sophisticated chatbots in Discord is a testament to our innovative marketing techniques. These bots enhance user interaction and provide a unique way to engage customers, reflecting our commitment to using cutting-edge technology.
Commitment to Artistic Collaboration and Cultural Integration:
We continue to focus on integrating music, art, and culture into our marketing narrative, recognizing their vital role in building a relatable and vibrant brand image. Our collaboration with artists, especially highlighted by the work with RektmeRev for our NFT collection, showcases our brand’s commitment to creativity and innovation.
Fostering a Resilient Community:
Despite market fluctuations, our focus on community engagement has been unwavering. This resilience is a key aspect of our marketing strategy, emphasizing our commitment to our community and enhancing our brand reputation.
Looking ahead:
As we step into 2024, we remain committed to innovative marketing strategies that align with our community’s interests and market trends. We invite everyone to engage with us on our Discord channel and follow our social media platforms for the latest updates. For more information about our products and services, please visit our website or contact us directly. We eagerly anticipate continued growth and marketing success in the upcoming quarter.
Quarterly Dev Updates
Ethlance
The development of Ethlance continues to run smoothly. Over this past quarter, we have identified and fixed several bugs, successfully deploying Ethlance on the Arbitrum Spolia network, and are now working on implementing the remaining UI elements, as well as deploying the platform in the QA environment.
Here’s a rundown of completed updates and future tasks:
Completed Updates:
- Successfully deployed contracts on Arbitrum Sepolia and minted ERC20 tokens.
- Resolved the event replay issue and the job creation transaction failure on Arbitrum Sepolia.
- Updated cljs-web3-next library for consistent connectedness detection on server and UI.
- Debugged Ethlance deployment errors and explored better configuration passing methods.
- Implemented a new page on Ethlance for minting different tokens.
- Updated d0x IPFS library to support authentication.
- Identified UI elements needing design improvements.
- Implemented updating average rating based on new feedback.
- Fixed token decimals use in various places like new job, job details, and job contracts in ERC20 and ETH jobs.
- Implemented user role detection for content relevancy.
In Progress:
- Going through main flows of Ethlance for QA and bug fixing, resolving remaining deployment issues.
- Fixing styling of new UI elements according to current designs and documenting gaps for designer input, adjusting contract calls accordingly.
- Implementing UI and finalizing functionality for ERC20 contract decimal places.
- Updating truffle config to deploy to public testnet.
- Mining Arbitrum Sepolia ETH and exploring deployment there.
- Iterating over deploying and fixing Ethlance and related components (CI, tests, related libraries).
Looking Ahead:
- Ethlance deployment in the QA environment.
- Calculation and storage of average rating for users.
- Implementation of validation checks for tokens used in job funding.
- Various component styling based on the latest designs.
- Make the server store & load the last processed block (for contract events) from the DB, as to not lose track between deploys
- Serve UI configuration from /config endpoint to give more flexibility
StreamTide
In the 4th quarter of 2023, Streamtide was successfully deployed to the Arbitrum mainnet, marking a significant milestone in the project’s development! 🎉
We also continued working on improvements for both the UI and backend of StreamTide. We made error messages clearer, added stars to show which users are supported, and improved how administrators manage users. We made lots of small changes and fixed little issues. One big improvement was adding a way for users to get notified about important events through email, push notifications, or Discord, depending on their settings. Additionally, other features still in the testing phase were introduced, such as the ability to restore unsaved profile modifications.
We also worked on enhancing the platform’s accessibility by integrating StreamTide with thirdweb, introducing a generic “Connect Wallet” button aimed to function with a variety of wallets, not limited to Metamask (still in QA).
Significant progress was also made with Aqua Prime. We deployed ERC6551 token-bound wallets on the Base chain for the AquaPrime Collection. This will allow our users’ NFTs from the upcoming collection to double as their wallets in Aqua Prime. This feature will greatly enhance user experience, granting a new type of ownership in this space.
We’re also upgrading AquaPrime by shifting from a Discord bot to a customGPT. The release of customGPTs gives us the ability to create a more engaging game-master bot. The customGPT is currently connected to our Pinecone database and can access previous data, allowing us to move away from utilizing multiple bots, all in preparation for StreamTide’s first grant round. We are moving towards a successful release, with a focus on enriching user experience for the smoothest onboarding process!
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
