Welcome to the fresh biweekly report on æternity! Making an overview of projects’ recent progress updates and news, it becomes apparent that the team, foundation, operational entities, and grantees are working hard. After several years of rapid growth, there are currently hundreds of public blockchains worldwide. Although the industry has now entered into a period of rising competition among these blockchains, æternity remains one of the leading projects! During the last two weeks, ample effort was put on the development side.
First and foremost, a brand new website was introduced to deliver a more comfortable, more structured resource hub for both old-timers and newcomers. They are streamlining the site so that developers, miners, node operators, tech, and community builders will be able to get involved with æternity faster. Don’t forget to check it out — we loved it! Furthermore, progress was made on Elixir SDK development: a new version of the Elixir SDK 2 was released, new docker container version 0.5.3 was tagged, documentation, examples, and tests were updated. Also, Sophia compiler v4.2.0 was launched with FATE code generator improvements and bug fixes. Retrospectively, Æternity Tech and Ecosystem Newsletter for December 2019 was published. You should definitely check it out to catch up with all the past news, associated with the protocol, developer tools, æmbassador program, and a December Special — Advent of Code!
A lot of events appeared on the public life of æternity. æmbassadors Manel Ruiz & Nelson Melina attended ParisP2P to present æternity to the French crypto community. They talked about functional programming and building on æblockchain. Manel Ruiz was also speaking of æblockchain, state channels, a naming system, fintech, interoperability, and more at European Blockchain Convention in Barcelona. Indian æmbassador Ashish Chawla held one more great meetup in Hyderabad city, where he introduced the project and explained the basics of blockchain technology. Ashish also presented æventures Starfleet startups incubator. Apart from numerous community meetups and workshops, the æteam attended the most important event of January — the 50th World Economic Forum! The biggest takeaway for æternity was the blockchain discussion-highlight of amazing minds & ideas, harnessing new platforms and philosophies to change the world for the better.
Moreover, in our last update, we mentioned the first blockchain elections in Africa that were smoothly and successfully held on æternity. Watch the video and learn how the University Of Jos in Nigeria has selected a President, a Secretary-General, and a Welfare officer using æ’s voting aepp.
Besides, lots of articles and videos featuring æternity were posted. ShapeShift listed æternity among the most innovative smart contract projects that will dominate the blockchain tech space in 2020. The first Mood Video from amazing æternity Universe One finally appeared on projects’ YouTube channel. Another video was made during AIBC Summit, while Liliana Carrillo, Eduardo Javier Munoz, Kenneth Garofalo, and Lewis William shared their insights on how public services and organizations could be improved via blockchain. Watch and learn how æ’s governance æpp is used to bring more transparency to voting in Uruguay!
By the way, the æcommunity is prone to increase — there is a slight growth in the number of subscribers in social networks and forum participants. Join æworld, You won’t regret it!
Development
- CryptoDiffer shared an infographic on the top developing projects of 2019.
- Did you know you can now extend your AE .chain name using the browser extension waellet? Register your aeternity blockchain name now.
- Emin Mahrt created a special AENS-dedicated website. It will guide you through the process of claiming your .chain name and bidding in an auction.
- A Website that Fits: introducing æternity’s new website. æternity’s protocol, codes, aepps, and the supporting community around it has evolved very rapidly and it’s only appropriate that the website be updated to reflect how far the ecosystem has come. This is an enormous challenge — considering the fact that perhaps no website could ever really fully embody the monumental leaps the æternity ecosystem has made within such a short period of time. To further facilitate the expansion of the ecosystem, the website is being revamped to deliver an easier, more structured resource hub for both old-timers and newcomers. They are streamlining the website so that developers, miners, node operators, tech and community builders will be able to get involved with æternity faster.
The current launch is the first step towards making aeternity.com the home of the
æcosystem. aeternity.com will also link to the most important websites and projects across the ecosystem such as:
- www.aeventures.io — æternity venture blockchain fund
- www.aeternitystarfleet.com — early-stage blockchain incubator
- www.aeternity-foundation.org — non-profit aeternity crypto foundation
- www.aeternityconsulting.com — customized blockchain solutions
- Top Public Blockchains: Which Projects Performed Best in 2019? Public blockchains are an important part of the blockchain industry infrastructure. After several years of rapid growth, there are currently hundreds of public blockchains worldwide. The industry has now entered into a period of rising competition among these blockchains. Check the leading projects below:
Last few weeks were dedicated to following tasks:
- Offline GC implementation — for nodes who wish to perform garbage collection (compaction of mnesia db dir) on stopped node. This means running GC from any micro block, without accessibility to other nodes. While the idea is generally implemented it needs more work to stabilize.
- 2-phase GC stability testing — running GC very extensively on every 3rd key block, over longer period of time (3 days batches), inspecting logs, investigating issues. This testing is not yet finished, they need to reach stability over a longer period.
- Middleware code review for takeover — current middleware in Rust will become Core Plugin in Elixir running in the same VM as node. While middleware plugin in being developed, they want to keep aeternal.io running (and keep front end unchanged).
The HTTP front-end to the compiler is available through docker-hub. They expect the SDKs and development tools to pick up the (minor) changes in the coming weeks. The CLI compiler has a new option to extract the compiler version from bytecode. The HTTP front-end also has a new endpoint for extracting compiler version from bytecode, as well as a new endpoint for getting FATE assembler code from FATE bytecode. The compiler itself now allows pattern matching in left-hand sides, this means code can be written in an even more nice way, see the examples below and at Advent of Code — 2019.
Progress:
- Released a new version of the Elixir SDK 2
- Tagged new docker container version 0.5.3
- Updated documentation, examples and tests
- Performed all tests on the functionality of the SDK
Check the last product update here: Week #50 — Elixir SDK Product Development Update
And progress tracking is accessible here.
- Æternity Tech and Ecosystem News — December 2019
{Protocol}
- Latest Maintenance Lima Release Notes: 5.3.0
- Bi-weekly (End of The Year Edition) State Channels Protocol Development Update
- Latest (Week #50) Garbage Collection Update
{Developer Tools}
- Software Development Kits (SDKs):
- Latest (Week #50) Elixir SDK Update
- Latest JavaScript SDK Release v7.0.0 Note
- Latest Python SDK Release v6.2.0 Note
- Latest Golang SDK Release v7.0.1 Note
- Latest Java Release v2.1.0 Note
- Vanity account generator using Golang SDK
- Latest (Week #50) Dev-Suite Update
- Quick Introduction to æternity’s Middleware (æternal)
- Latest aesophia Compiler Release 4.1.0 Note
- Tokens Library Tool
{Application Layer (æpps)}
- Latest (Week #51) Waellet Update
- Latest (Week #50) Base æpp Update
- Latest (Week #51) AirGap Update
- Latest (Week #50) Governance æpp Update
{Hæckathon æpps}
{Education}
- Latest version of FireEditor — an easy-to-use Web-IDE for Sophia (Forum discussion over here)
- Latest version of dacade — a peer-to-peer blockchain learning platform
{Other Stuff for Developers}
- Latest æternity developers and researchers update calls:
- Week #48
- Week #49 (last one!)
- Quick Introduction to æternity’s Middleware (æternal)
- Minimalist Blockchain implemented in Sophia
- Easy oracle deployment in Go
{Aeternity Crypto Foundation (ACF)}
- ACF Joins Erlang Ecosystem Foundation as Founding Member
- Grant Report #6: ACF Announces a Sixth Round of Awardees
- æternity’s SDK Developers Join Forces for Two-Day Intensive ‘Hack&Play’ Session in Berlin
- Grant Video Interview #2 with Karol Skočik
- Payment Application Update — Usage Videos by Emin Mahrt (Board Member of the ACF)
{Starfleet Incubator and æternity Ventures}
- Latest (Week #50) Cryptic Legends Update
- Demo Day of Starfleet 3 + Selected Projects
- Latest (Week #50) UTU Protocol Update
- AMA Session at Starfleet India
{Standards and Governance Topics}
- AEX2 — JS SDK Interfaces for Wallets (Forum discussion over here)
- AEX3 — Secure Storage Format (Forum discussion over here)
- AEX4 — æternity Wallet Deep Linking Specification (Forum discussion over here)
- AEX5 — Inter-wallet Communication (Forum discussion over here)
- AEX8 — Message Signing (Forum discussion over here)
- AEX9 — Fungible Token (Forum discussion over here)
- AEX11 — Compliant Fungible Token Standard (Forum discussion over here)
- AEX12 — Off Chain State (Draft) (Forum discussion over here)
{æmbassador Program}
- æternity meetup at MUST University
- æternity meetup / dacade.org course in Valencia, Venezuela
- æternity workshop at CIBTC Alicante 2019
- æternity meetup / dacade.org Course at UNETI (Universidad Nacional Experimental de Telecomunicaciones e Informatica) in Venezuela
- æternity meetup at CIVE in Dodoma, Tansania
- æternity meetup (Session 1) at UPTAEB (Universidad Politécnica Territorial de Lara Andrés Eloy Blanco) in Lara, Venezuela
- æternity meetup (Session 2) at UPTAEB (Universidad Politécnica Territorial de Lara Andrés Eloy Blanco) in Lara, Venezuela
- æternity meetup in Port Alfred, South Africa
- æternity presentation at Nigeria Social Media Summit 2019
- æternity meetup at GO Madrid
- æternity meetup at Betahaus Barcelona
- Dev hangout in Bauchi State
- æternity presentation at an Organizational Meetup in Montreal, Canada
- æternity developer bootcamp in Lagos, Nigeria
- æternity meetup 21 at UNEXCA in Caracas, Venezuela
- æternity meetup 22 at UNEXCA in Caracas, Venezuela
- æternity meetup 23 at UNEXCA in Caracas, Venezuela
- æternity meetup 24 at UNEXCA in Caracas, Venezuela
- æternity meetup / dacade.org Course at Inces Los Colorados in Valencia, Venezuela
- æternity meetup in Valencia, Venezuela
- æternity meetup at MADE Makerspace in Barcelona, Spain
{December Special — Advent of Code}
Social encounters
- 2019 Year in Review | æternity crypto foundation — the wonderful community surrounding the æternity platform has been working very hard throughout the entire year — and it shows. The æternity crypto foundation is pleased about how far the æternity ecosystem has gone within just the past 12 months. Check the article and learn what happened within the ecosystem, about improved funding focus and public communications, grants and donations, team expansions and a lot more!
- The first blockchain elections in Africa were smoothly and successfully held on aeternity. Nigeria’s University Of Jos has selected a President, a Secretary-General, and a Welfare officer using AE’s voting aepp. Watch a video here.
- aembassadors Manel Ruiz & Nelson Melina attended ParisP2P to present aeternity to the French crypto community. They talked functional programming and building on AE blockchain p2pfestival — learn more via the link.
- Blox Launches Æternity Node Partnership — Alon Moruch, CEO of Blox, breaks down the launch of their integration with the æternity protocol.
- aeternity’s Lead Spanish aembassador Manel Ruiz is at European Blockchain Convention in Barcelona was speaking of AE blockchain, state channels, AENS, fintech, interoperability, and more. See post.
- aeternity’s Indian aembassador Ashish Chawla held one more great meetup in Hyderabad city. He introduced the project and explained the basics of blockchain technology. Ashish also presented aeventures Starfleet startups incubator. More via the forum.
- Pablo Coirolo tweeted “Registering at Blockchain Summit Davos2020, the event is about to begin. Herewith Thomas Nagële, one of the co-authors of the Liechtenstein blockchain law who is going to lead the panel “Comparing Regulatory Approaches on a global level.”
- Greetings from Davos2020! Here’s Pablo Coirolo together with panelist from Diginex:
- Improving Public Sector on the Blockchain? AIBC Summit — Blockchain’s open-source and distributed nature is blurring the lines between private and public sector services. How can we improve public services and organizations given this reality? Liliana Carrillo, Eduardo Javier Munoz, Kenneth Garofalo, and Lewis William, Tezos Malta share their insights. Learn how AE’s governance aepp is used to bring more transparency to voting in Uruguay.
- ShapeShift listed aeternity among the most innovative smart contract platforms. Learn what projects will dominate the blockchain tech space, why and what to expect from them in 2020. Read and learn more about it!
- The wef’s biggest event Davos was last week. The biggest take away for aeternity was the Blockchain discussion-highlight of amazing minds & ideas, harnessing new platforms and philosophies to change the world for the better.
- From the Golden Eye Tech Dinner in CryptoValleyWeek in Davos2020 where #TheBattleOfBlockchain is taking place with Yanislav Malakhov and Charles Hoskinson. A glimpse at the audience asking aeternity the right questions! “Why did you develop a new programming language?”
- æternity Universe One — Conference Mood Video #1 — watch and catch the ambiance of the biggest aeternity event of last year!
Upcoming events:
All the amazing aeternity events are scheduled in this calendar. Check it out not to miss anything!
- 29 January 2020 — Meetup in Barquisimeto, Venezuela
- 29 January 2020 — Meetup in UNETI, Caracas, Venezuela
- 29 January 2020 — Meetup in Sofia
- 30 January 2020 — Meetup in Sede INCES Carabobo, Valencia, Venezuela
- 29 January 2020 — Sofia Blockchain Brunch by æternity Ventures
- 3 February 2020 — AMA session — Starfleet India
- 4 February 2020 — Meetup in INCES Tinaquillo, Cojedes, Venezuela
Roadmap
- æternity Development Roadmap Update. UPDATE: æternity’s Lima hardfork was successfully executed on October 30th, 2019 at block height 161150. The æternity’s Mainnet is now running Lima Release 5.0.1. Significant milestones were reached and we are waiting for new target milestones:)
Partnerships and team members
- Meet the next batch of Aeternity Crypto Foundation grantees. From building aeternity blockchain’s Elixir SDK to spreading AE news all across China, the Foundation supports a variety of projects. Check Grant Report #6: æternity crypto foundation announces a sixth round of awardees.
1. Liu Shao — The æternity crypto foundation is supporting Liu Shao in the launch of the website aechina.io — the largest æternity resource in Chinese.
2. Cyber Security Challenge 2019 Bucharest — group of 10 young members between 14–25 years took part in the challenge, going head to head against other European challengers in the field of cybersecurity.
3. Erlang Ecosystem Foundation — The goal of this foundation is to ensure the long-term, independent, sustainable progression of the Erlang programming language — on which the æternity infrastructure is built.
4. Daniela Ivanova, Elixir SDK Developer
5. Arthur Kratt, Elixir SDK Developer
6. Stoyan Vasilev — æternity Wallet and æpps Browser extension grant
- The deadline to apply for aeternity’s Starfleet India has been extended to February 9th. Join the Starfleet incubation program tailored and powered by aeventures.
Finance
Social media metrics
The graph above shows the dynamics of changes in the number of Aeternity Facebook likes, Reddit subscribers and Twitter followers. The information is taken from coingecko.com.
Here you can find all kinds of resources to get acquainted with aeternity! The Getting Started page is being constantly updated to help you get quickly acquainted with aeternity: It’s a rich collection of all kinds of articles, video reviews and guides, and interviews that will introduce you to the AE universe.
Mainnet Launch
- Introducing Roma: The First Live Implementation of the æternity Blockchain
- æternity’s Roma Release is Here
Protocol Upgrades
Roadmap
Getting Started with æternity Blockchain
- Tutorials and Guides (for developers and miners)
- Documentation Hub (very useful!)
- æternity protocol at GitHub
- Oracles at GitHub
- State Channels at GitHub
- Smart Contracts at GitHub
- Sophia — Smart Contract Language at GitHub
- Naming System at GitHub
- Governance at GitHub
- Bitcoin-NG at GitHub
- Forum (the best place to get support)
- æternity Development 101 (free course at dacade.org)
- æternity page at BitcoinWiki
- General FAQ
- Technical FAQ
- Mainnet FAQ
- Website
- Bug Bounty at HackerOne
- Bounty for Fixing Outdated Tutorials
- Mining AE tokens (Video by SavageMine)
- 2018: A Year in Review
æternity Ventures
- Starfleet 2019
- Æternity Launches Starfleet Incubator for Blockchain Innovation by Bitcoin Magazine
- æternity Ventures Website
- æternity Ventures Blog
- Twitter Account
æternity Crypto Foundation
