Stakenet: Monthly Recap — September
Welcome back to the latest edition of our monthly recaps! Let’s jump right in and see what has happened in September at Stakenet!
DAO Proposals (beta)
The main purposes of these proposals are to:
- create more transparency
- break down the current dev tasks
- give public deadlines to effectively manage public expectations
Stakenet DEX
Arguably, the most exciting DAO proposal involves Stakenet DEX performing ETH <> BTC swaps between Lightning Network and Connext-based channels. The goal is to have a swap success rate in closed beta above 90%. ETH <> BTC swaps are essential to achieve a release-ready build. Connext channel creations and rentals must be working and stable to make these swaps possible. The public deadline here is the 31st of October 2021. This initial deployment will be in the closed beta and coincide with a Livestream on our Youtube channel.
We received this detailed summary from a community member which we found quite fitting. The following must be achieved before the DEX can be released:
1. Pay ETH channel creation and rental (currently still done by the hub) -> migration/workaround from native HUB Fee Payment to User Payment <- In progress, started working on this
// Fee management when creating or renting an ETH channel. This is currently still done by the hub. Migration from hub to client.
2. Extend the duration of eth channel <- shouldn’t be too complex, will be added after #1 is done
// Extending the duration that ETH channels rentals stay open
3. Stabilize / debug swaps <- In Progress
4. A few more UI things that we think are very important for the user experience (but that should be done quickly because you can’t run into big unexpected problems here). <- In progress, the backlog is getting reduced with every new build
// A few more UI tweaks that we think are very important for enhancing the user experience. The backlog of UI-based concerns gets reduced with each new build so we’re expecting these to be ironed out rather quickly.
First Community Marketing Proposal
Two very motivated community members, Muppet and Victo, submitted their first proposal which is aiming for a crypto specialist Youtuber with 30k subscribers. He has already agreed to review the Stakenet project and help boost awareness of it.
Special thanks to Muppet and Victo, they have done a great job building a bridge between YouTubers and the team!
Hydra Smart Chain
For our upcoming EVM compatible Hydra Smart Chain, Draper has published one proposal, asking for a Proof of Concept (PoC) of EVM smart contract governance. It should be equipped with basic features that any leading governance project in the space would offer.
This PoC, built with existing tools, will provide a strong foundation/ base (using tested code) to either deploy for EVM governance or build custom features on top in further versions. The delivery date here is OCT 11 2021.
WEB DEX
Regarding the WEB DEX, we have published a proposal to define the current tasks. Most importantly, a PoC of the web DEX UI Showcasing EVM state channel swaps. In addition to instant and low-cost finality, a L2 state channel web DEX can provide easy browser access (web3) and enhanced privacy while improving network security (limit MEV vs on-chain / rollup DEX’s) to adopted networks.
Please note that the deadline regarding this proposal will be announced in the next weeks until the next MN voting.
Connext x Arbitrum
We have talked with Connext recently and they confirmed they will be adding Arbitrum support. This means fees should soon be ~10x less for our DEX (opening, closing channels) and make the UX a lot smoother on our side. We’re going to focus on getting a working model with opening & closing connext channels via L1 for now, but channel creation/ close fees should go down dramatically when connext is on Arbitrum. We support Arbitrum as it inherits the full security of ETH L1, with approx ~10X fewer fees using rollups https://link.medium.com/319uyd1Otjb
Here’s a great post from s54 on more detail why we chose rollups:
“Rollups are great for the EVM ecosystem overall, as I feel the benefits of sharding/side chains are not worth the security trade-offs, especially with current bridging solution complications. Rollups allow for more direct leveraging of L1 security benefits while also offering many of the same cost benefits of side chains — and the best part is that with increased adoption comes increased efficiency. So as Arbitrum scales the cost savings only get more attractive. I’ll also say that Arbitrum is a much preferable solution to optimism as it should incur fewer settlement disputes”
Additional info here: From what we’ve seen, it’s quite easy for projects to start using Arbitrum. Many projects have already migrated and worked without problems. We intend to launch with off-chain channel management direct from L1 and then move to Arbitrum whenever it’s ready so we won’t have to delay anything (Connext devs will work on this). Depending on how congested the Ethereum network is when we launch, on-chain fees for moving funds off-chain may be high. We hope it will only be temporary as we eagerly await the implementation of rollups that should reduce ETH-centric fees by 10x on average.
Off The Chain (Podcast)
Our team member JoPark has started a podcast format, in which he will talk in a bi-weekly recap about Bitcoin, off-chain networks like Lightning & Connext Network, and also discuss Stakenet DEX news.
We have released the first two episodes here:
Episode 1: https://spoti.fi/38MsIyf
Episode 2: https://spoti.fi/2XR52qL
RSS (for e.g. Apple Podcasts): https://anchor.fm/s/6a81d458/podcast/rss
