SORA Ecosystem Updates #75, February 29, 2024
SORA development status updates with development updates from across the community are released every two weeks.
SORA Integrated Plan
You Are Here
Although it is the shortest month, February has been very busy for the SORA community and its contributors. Plenty of exciting developments have been ongoing, so let’s jump right in.
First things first, the raison d’etre of this section, the SORA Integrated Plan, has seen the release of the first comprehensive iteration. Big words, but in practice, this means that the version you see today will be getting some changes and improvements; there are a few secrets that have been revealed and some that have changed as the needs of the network, like life itself, change and evolve. Nonetheless, this first version of the comprehensive ecosystem updates with plenty of work spread across the Business, Blockchain, Web, and Mobile tracks is very exciting.
As you may know first-hand, this plan has been worked on since late 2023. Getting to this first blueprint, which was teased at a high level in last month’s updates, was a joint effort among all SORA builders, but working together, here’s the initial version of what you can expect in terms of development for 2024.
Let’s break it down. On the business side of things, we see the inclusion of Real World Assets, which is a pretty hot topic nowadays. If you recall, there was an AMA on the 16th of February where RWA was covered, but more on this later. The blockchain track brings many exciting developments. These include interoperability with other networks through bridges and the addition of Ink! support to SORA. This will enable builders to introduce their dApps to the powerful, efficient, affordable, and scalable network that is SORA.
Other noteworthy additions include the introduction of order books and their iterations, the Kensetsu platform, and improvements to liquidity sources such as cross-chain swaps, XORless transactions, and dynamic fees. Traders will certainly be eager to take advantage of these features.
The introduction of liquid staking will benefit nominators, who play a crucial role in securing the SORA network.
On the web side, taking advantage of order books and more marketplaces on SORA will be possible; think NFT, RWA, etc.; your imagination is the limit while work is done to make Polkaswap a quick and convenient way to trade with style and freedom whenever your decide. Keep an eye out for the Polkaswap Ecosystem Updates published simultaneously for insights on what you can expect and the progress made there.
Finally, since this is a mobile world, many community-requested features are coming to the SORA mobile apps, the first being the HASHI bridge. You will be able to seamlessly transfer your assets across networks on the go, allowing you to access DeFi wherever you are. Also, validator staking or nominating, as known in the Polkadot space, is coming to the SORA mobile wallet. As if that weren’t enough, XORless transfers and XORless transactions will arrive for those keen on SORA but do not want exposure to XOR for their assets (like central banks; don’t worry, XOR is still bought and burned behind the scenes). At the same time, SORA governance features on mobile apps will make it easier than ever to participate in shaping the future of the network. With all these improvements coming on the horizon, let’s get back to work!
Oh wait, there is also plenty to cover in the present, Satoshi Shibarimoto, the contributor of the Kensetsu RFP dropped a scorching article that covered the kenonomics of the upcoming token, KEN. It comes as no surprise for those active in SORA chats that there is a constant call to burn XOR. Although the principles of SORA call for credit creation for productive purposes, many partake in decentralised finance through the guise of supply and demand. SORA is a system that is democratic and open to all spectrums and, therefore, not one that forces users to commit to one or another way of doing things. It embraces Kenonomics.
Fire puns aside, much like Heron, Kenonomics defines burning as creating new value, stating that to be entitled to a $KEN token during the initial allocation, one must burn one million XOR. Initially, $KEN will be a liquidity provision reward token for XOR-KUSD LPers, and 1% of all minted KENSETSU stablecoins will be used to buy back and burn $KEN. Of course, following the original RFP, you can also get Kensetsu stablecoins through an over-collateralised allocation, much like MakerDAO does to mint DAI if you’re not a crypto pyromaniac. Look at the article outlining Kenonomics here and track the amount of XOR burnt here.
The big news this time is that the order book was released on Polkaswap on the 23rd of February! This milestone marks the beginning of advanced trading features and infrastructure allowing builders to implement their own marketplaces on SORA! There are a couple of goals in the Integrated Plan that will power up this feature, both within Polkaswap and the SORA blockchain; stay tuned for more updates, and if you are a builder, keep an eye out on the SORA wiki, as documentation supporting the order book implementation for your dApp will be released soon.
The Ceres team also made waves this month, announcing the release of the Apollo airdrop allocation claim. Connect your wallet here to find out how many Apollo you are entitled to in the initial distribution happening in April. Remember that this is not the actual airdrop but rather a claim to your allocation or a whitelist if you will. The snapshot has already been taken for those living in the clouds, so better luck next time.
Democracy and governance were mentioned earlier, and SORA governance has been quite busy this time. The community referenda to implement the order book feature and liquidity sources were up for votes this month, specifically in the second week of February. Participating in the on-chain governance is very important, as it is the core of SORA. As a decentralized community, this is the best way for your voice to be heard (not complaining/fudding your bags in telegram chats). Comments can be lost in the crowd of messages, memes, and mayhem within chats, but RFP and votes on proposals are a sure way to get your point across and make a big difference to the network and community.
Finally, take a look at the recap of the AMA with the Curio DAO, where the Good Dr. Makoto Takemiya, Beno, and Fernando Verboonen talked about the importance of RWA, the progress of SORA Card and the order books, and a collaboration with the Curio DAO. You can also read the AMA on the SORA Telegram. This time, for real, let’s get back to work!
You are now up to date with the recent happenings in the SORA ecosystem and the current status of the SORA Integrated Plan. Stay tuned for upcoming news from all the SORA contributors, and we’ll meet again soon. Now, let’s get back to work!
*This is not financial advice. Always make sure to do your own research!
You can find the summary of the integrated plan points in the SORA Wiki.
Business Track Progress
- Polkaswap-as-a-Service — 80%
- SORA Card — 98.5%
Here’s a message from the SORA Card team;
While the developers are finalizing the fiat wallet integration and testing, the SORA mobile wallets have been upgraded and submitted to the Google Play and Apple app store for review. The KYC process will be upgraded with a reCAPTCHA, improving the user experience and security.
Thank you for being so patient.
Read the transcript of the recent SORA Card launch AMA in the SORA Telegram chat! For more information about SORA Card, take a look at these articles: Introduction of SORA Card, key features of SORA Card, a comparison between SORA Card and other crypto-powered banking services, an interview with the people behind the SORA Card tech and management, and a recent article on SORA Card Phase One, as well as the SORA Card AMA Recap.
SORA Card | Value Freedom
⚙️ SORA Blockchain Update
- Updating the polkadotSDK (substrate) version to 1.1.0. This will enable an architecture upgrade for the Substrate bridge.
Orderbooks (Github milestone)
- Finalising the feature operationalisation on production;
- Specifying the parameters for each order book trading pair supported by the market maker;
- Supporting Polkaswap with the UI implementation.
Kensetsu (Github milestone)
- Analysing the impact of the latest requirements in the tokenomics;
- Supporting Polkaswap with the UI implementation;
- Preparing the release for public testing.
Aggregate Liquidity Technology (Github milestone)
- Working on the architecture upgrade to better accommodate integrating new liquidity sources into the algorithm; first, the orderbook liquidity source!
Substrate bridge (Github milestone)
- Working and collaborating on adapting the bridge to connect to a non-parachain Substrate-based chain. The chain is developed by a sovereign country.
- Working on reducing the commitment period to speed up the transactions going through the bridge, taking advantage of the Polkadot GRANDPA finality gadget.
📱 SORA Wallet Updates
Working on the release 3.8.2:
- Improvements in the KYC flow for SORA Card
- Improvements and fixes for the release 3.8.1
- Add transactions from ADAR and bridge in the transaction history.
SORA Wallet
- Collaborating with Fearless Wallet to integrate SORA DeFi features.
SORA Card
- Following up with external partners on the development and integration of the API to enable crypto to fiat conversion within the SORA Wallet.
👷🏽♀️ SORA Builders Programme News
ADAR Updates
The ADAR app is continuously receiving updates and improvements; highlights this month include:
The V1.0.13 was released on the 1st of February.
The scope included in this release:
- A new Polkaswap version
- UI improvements
- Performance improvements.
Other noteworthy updates:
- At the end of December, the Routing History page was added, allowing users to download routing history data from any transactions done in the past, not just at the end of the routing flow.
Noteworthy Upcoming work: The routing flow is being reworked to improve how the swapless transfer feature is incorporated into the main transfer flow.
- Read the entire progress made by ADAR in 2023 in the SORA Summary.
Find out how the ADAR app works here.
Do you like the ADAR app? Do you have any suggestions for improvements or new features? Please complete this survey and let us know what you think about ADAR!
For frequent updates from the ADAR team, join their Telegram group!
Here is the proposal submitted by ADAR; for more information on the Abed Group, take a look at this deck, and to try the version available from the completion of the first milestone, you can visit the ADAR website.
Ceres Updates
The Ceres team has been very busy this month! Updates include;
- The Ceres burning event saw 68,000 $DEO tokens and 140 $CERES offered to the crypto gods.
- On the Demeter Farming platform, the XOR/DOT pool is now available!
- Single-sided DOT staking is awarded with DEO.
- Single-sided XOR staking and XOR-ETH, XOR-DAI, and XOR-XST pools with XST rewards have been removed from Demeter Farm (effective February 6th).
- Demeter Farm is now available on the SORA Wallet mobile app! Lock, unlock, and claim your liquidity rewards at the palm of your hand, wherever you are! Update your app now!
- The Ceres Tools app has been updated to include;
• Tokens — View a token’s holders, token converter, and market cap. DOT has now been listed.
• Pairs — View the liquidity change history for each pair against both tokens in the pair.
• The Burning Tracker has been accelerated and refactored.
• Charts & Swaps — Track swaps for all tokens at once and filter swaps
• View Hashi Bridge transfers in your Portfolio and the exact amount of each token for which you have provided liquidity.
• TBC Reserves have been added.
• XOR Burning Tracker for KEN is available.
- Claim your Apollo now; the window closes on the 15th of March.
For constant updates from Ceres, subscribe to the Ceres Announcements channel on Telegram.
The Demeter Farming platform is available on the SORA network for users to farm with liquidity pool LP or single-sided staking with interesting APR*. New pools are constantly added, too. Demeter farming is directly integrated into Polkaswap for convenience. For more information, read this Medium article on the Demeter platform.
*Not financial advice, always do your own research.
🐈⬛ SORA Request for Proposal Updates:
Submit your development proposal or to improve the SORA network here.
- #84 Opened by Grug requesting reimbursement for marketing videos produced out of his pocket.
- #82 Requesting funding for influencer activities was rejected by the community, however since the voting was sniped, it was in track for a redo, but the proposer requested to put it on hold.
SORA governance will pick up the proposals with community input and consensus to propose referendums for their implementation. You have the power to decide which features progress! The future of SORA is in your hands!
Join the Decentralized Development channel on the SORA World Discord.
Thank you for making it all the way here. Your interest is much appreciated. If you are a passionate community member who evangelizes SORA and its supranational cryptoeconomic values to anyone willing to lend an ear, we are looking for you!
If you missed the previous ones: January 29 / SORA 2023 Summary / December 15 / November 19 / October 26 / October 4 / September 18 / August 31 / August 18 / July 28 / June 16 / May 31 / May 15 / April 21 / April 10 / March 23 / February 27 /February 9 / January 23 / older Ecosystem Updates are archived here and Dev Updates are archived here
About SORA
SORA is a new economic order for the world, aimed at high growth and empowering human progress. The SORA network includes interoperability with the Polkadot and Kusama networks, as well as the capability to bridge external blockchains (like Ethereum) to the Polkadot ecosystem.
