WOW! I mean seriously, just wow! While I’m good with words, I do not think I can accurately capture the full extent of emotions and thoughts that are currently coursing through the blood of every single team member and probably all of you. This has simply been a fantastic month for us on so many fronts that it is hard to put it into words. I want to start by thanking every single one of you who have believed in what we are trying to do from the beginning. You are the true heroes because we would not have been able to do this without your support. You have hung in with us through some rough times and I’ll be honest with you, I only see it getting better.
This piece has been written and rewritten several times. Ultimately, I decided that I was attempting to compress too much information into one piece, and it was losing its strengths and becoming longwinded. So, I have decided to separate what I am trying to share into two separate articles, this EoM, and a manifesto I released yesterday. I am going to endeavor to keep the EoM’s on target and focus only on what has transpired and what is on the horizon moving forward.
The team has been super busy this past month. I believe you can see the fruit of our efforts around all around us. We are gaining experience and are consistently improving. Behind the scenes there is a lot going on, I will try and summarize. Obviously, some things are confidential, and I will talk in generalities, but I will share what I can.
The first thing everyone will notice is that our value has risen and seems to have stabilized. The last few months have been tough times, but I firmly believe we have turned the corner. Our marketing has also finally started to find its own groove. Jointly, we are all coming up with ideas and implementing them, working hard, hand in hand. As you can see in the image below, we’ve had explosive growth in visitors to our website, more than a 130% increase in one month! Much of this activity is thanks to our explosion into China. Citex exchange was instrumental in helping spread awareness of Swap to the Chinese, so we thank them for their efforts. Check out the GIF below that helps illustrate our growth!
The recent uptick in users created some load on our node infrastructure. We have been busy reworking how the wallets find nodes to sync as we’ve implemented an auto node feature. We have also been busy deploying additional servers so that we can duplicate the core services required for Swap to exist. There are now multiple Top Level Domains for Swap under control of different individuals. Every single TLD is going to be a duplicate of the other running a primary node along with copies of the block explorer, website, and web wallet. We preach decentralization, we better practice it!
I’ve already released two specific request letters this month. The first is a call for donations so that we can pay attorneys to resolve the legal requirements so that we can get listed on bigger exchanges. Obviously, our main goal is to get to Bittrex, but this requires work, something we are all prepared to put in. However, I want to reinforce that we CANNOT accomplish this task without your support. My second request is for two very special individuals who can translate Swap’s message to their native tongue. If you have not yet read these articles, please do so here and here.
In the last EoM, I made a plea regarding Seb and his privacy. I want to thank you all for seemingly respecting that plea and giving him the space he needs. I am happy to report that while there are still some lingering issues, things are much better. While Seb hasn’t been around on Discord very much, I’m sure if anyone has been watching our Github they have seen his activity. The truth of the matter is that his time away gave the rest of the team an opportunity to test our mettle and find out what we are made of. I’m happy to say those tests helped bind the team in ways no other thing could have. Overall the Swap team is stronger and more focused than ever, ready to tackle whatever comes before us.
Looking forward, the next month will see the team continuing to improve our network. We are hoping to have some new features and releases here soon. Continuing our diligent work to search for the appropriate attorney for our legal needs is my top priority right now. We have some ideas of other real-world use case scenarios that might be deployable on top of the Swap network other than Swap Kitties. This is actively being investigated but we have nothing tangible to report as of this time.
The team has also changed its structure just a bit so that we can define everyone’s roles better. Having a bunch of developers and marketers worked at first, but now that things are moving, we must adapt to reality. I would like to introduce you to our new structure:
- Seb Green — Head of Developers
- Long Huynh — Head of Networking
- Nick Cadden — Head of Communications
- Tiago Santos — Head of Marketing
- Giancarlo Rinna — Head of Web Development
- Greg Almeida — Head of Operations
The last thirty days have been a whirlwind for those of us on the team. A change has come over us that we did not expect. I delve into this more in our manifesto. This project has taken on a new life. The principles that guided our beginning have solidified and we all feel that we are on a mission to do something good. The fact that all our needs seem to be constantly met when we need them only propels us farther as we act with the confidence obtained from past events.
Thank you for all your support. I keep reiterating that we are nothing without you because it’s true. It is our hope that we can fulfill your expectations and continue to push the ideas of privacy, freedom, fairness, and equality.
