Space Summary
The Twitter Space TON Accelerator Spotlight: Exploring Growth and Innovation in the Ecosystem hosted by ton_society. TON Accelerator Spotlight delved into the importance of collaborations, support for startups, DeFi integration, AI technologies, community engagement, user experience, market research, networking, and education in fostering innovation and growth within the ecosystem. By focusing on these key elements, participants gained insights on enhancing sustainability, inclusivity, and seizing opportunities for expansion.
For more spaces, visit the Innovation page.
Questions
Q: How important are collaborations for ecosystem growth?
A: Collaborations bring diverse skills, resources, and perspectives crucial for expanding the ecosystem.
Q: What benefits do startups derive from support programs?
A: Startups gain knowledge, funding, mentorship, and exposure, accelerating their growth.
Q: Why is community engagement essential for sustainability?
A: Engaging the community fosters loyalty, feedback, and inclusivity, driving sustainable growth.
Q: How does DeFi integration impact the ecosystem?
A: DeFi integration offers decentralized financial solutions, enhancing opportunities and financial inclusivity.
Q: What role does AI play in ecosystem transformation?
A: AI technologies optimize processes, enhance efficiency, and pave the way for innovative solutions.
Q: How can focusing on user experience benefit product adoption?
A: User-centric design improves satisfaction, usability, and loyalty, boosting product adoption rates.
Q: Why is market research important for understanding trends?
A: Market research provides insights on consumer behavior, preferences, and market gaps, guiding strategic decisions.
Q: How do networking and connections contribute to growth?
A: Networking builds relationships, fosters collaborations, and opens avenues for partnerships and business expansion.
Q: What role does education play in fostering talent?
A: Education nurtures skills, knowledge, and creativity, creating a pipeline of talent essential for innovation and growth.
Highlights
Time: 00:15:42
Collaborative Initiatives Driving Ecosystem Growth Exploring successful collaborations and their impact on ecosystem expansion.
Time: 00:25:18
Startup Support Programs and Mentorship Discussing the benefits startups receive from support initiatives and mentorship programs.
Time: 00:35:59
DeFi Innovations Shaping the Future Insights on how DeFi advancements are reshaping opportunities within the ecosystem.
Time: 00:45:27
AI Integration for Enhanced Efficiency Examining the role of AI in streamlining processes and driving innovation.
Time: 00:55:14
Community Engagement for Sustainability The importance of community involvement in ensuring long-term growth and inclusivity.
Time: 01:05:03
User-Centric Design Principles How a focus on user experience leads to better product acceptance and user retention.
Time: 01:15:49
Market Research Insights and Strategic Planning Utilizing market research to identify trends, gaps, and consumer needs.
Time: 01:25:37
Networking for Partnerships and Expansion The role of networking in creating opportunities for collaborations and business growth.
Time: 01:35:22
Education's Impact on Talent Development Exploring how educational initiatives nurture talent essential for innovation and creativity.
Key Takeaways
- Collaborations are vital for ecosystem growth.
- Startups benefit from support programs and mentorship.
- DeFi integration offers new opportunities within the ecosystem.
- Innovation and adaptability are key factors for success.
- AI technologies play a significant role in transforming the ecosystem.
- Community engagement drives sustainability and inclusivity.
- Focusing on user experience enhances product adoption.
- Market research is crucial for understanding trends and user needs.
- Networking and connections open doors for partnerships and growth.
- Education plays a role in fostering talent and creativity.
Behind the Mic
Introduction and Technical Issues
Sadeena. Sadeena. Hi, everyone. We're just waiting on a couple of people to join, and then we'll kick things off. I realize I just stopped the wonderful music that you're all enjoying. Very sorry. Looks like we have a slight technical problem with the spaces. We have Zoltan waiting in the wings as a speaker, but not able to offer him the role, unfortunately, so we'll try and fix that. In the meantime, thank you, everyone, for joining us here today. I'm sure many, if not all, of you are aware we are celebrating the launch of Jasper, which is Zilliqa two point Zero's proto testnet that actually went live yesterday. Now, this is the first milestone in the Zilliqa 2.0 roadmap, and we'll put a link in the spaces so that you can check it out if you'd like to. But it's a really exciting step for all of us here at Zilliqa, and then we hope you guys are excited as well.
Participants and Introductions
So today we're joined by Zilliqa CEO Matt Dyer and also Zilliqa head of research, Zoltan. Although we're trying to figure out a way to actually bring Zoltan on board to be able to talk to you. We're also joined today by Jake from the Plunderswap team. Jake, are you there? Hello. Hello. How you doing, mate? Yeah, I'm great. Very excited to be here with you guys today. Brilliant. Do you want to give everyone a quick intro to who you are and also what Plunderswap does? Yeah, yeah, of course. So, I'm Jake. You might also know me as ZillaQuest on Twitter. I'm one of the owners over at Plunderswap and Collegio as well. They're two projects building on Zilliqa. Plunderswap is touted as Zilliqa's flagship decentralized exchange, whereas Collegio is an investment protocol designed to make DeFi accessible to everybody. So that about sums me up, really. But again, really excited to be here with you all today.
Upcoming Guests and Technical Challenges
Brilliant. Thanks for the introduction, mate. And we also. I think we should be joined by IhA from. From Avali Finance. Ihar, if you're here, would you mind requesting to speak so I can add you up here? He might not have arrived yet, but hopefully we can get him in a little bit later. So we're still. Still trying to get Zoltan in. He is actually in the spaces, but he's unable to speak, which is not his fault, as far as I know, it's not my fault either. We just deal with a wonderful Twitter bug, one of many. So if you're not already aware, Jasper introduces a new consensus model to the Zilliqa blockchain, proof of stake. Now, this will massively increase speeds while also reducing energy usage by around 99%. So last year we estimated that Zilliqa used as much energy as around 1500 households in the US.
Impact of Changes on Zilliqa
And with the same usage, proof of stake should bring that number down to about 15. Now, I normally exultant to fact check me on that one, but like I say, we're a bit stuck at the moment, but yeah, maybe he can do it later. So Zilliqa two point zero's new EVM consensus algorithm, pipelined fast hot stuff, will also help to scale the chain as we see a lot of potential coming up. And we have big dreams, so that will be able to facilitate everything that we want to do. So these changes are fantastic for users, of course, speed, cheaper transactions, but also super beneficial for validators who we rely on to keep the network going. Now, with energy requirements down and lower hardware costs, we've seen a massive increase interest from validators. So obviously existing ones we've had in the Zilliqa network, but also validators that we've not worked with before.
Validator Engagement
So, I mean, it's been really great to see, hasn't it, Matt? Yeah. Thanks everyone for joining in. Good if you can get Zoltan on, because he's the master of all things Zuluka, too. I think it's been really exciting to see the number of validators interested in working or kind of trying to be part of the consensus, I think, over the piece. Zilliqa one obviously had our seed node architecture, which at the time was, I guess, quite revolutionary in terms of a go to market. But obviously the market's evolved and the opportunities, both economically and from a perspective, around innovation, moving to proof of stake offers a lot more opportunities for people looking to become validators on our chain. And I think, obviously, with the pedigree that we've had and the fact that we're moving to this model, the uptake has been really pleasing to everyone involved so long. May that continue.
Announcement from Plunderswap
Absolutely. And I think, speaking of validators, Jake, I believe you have a little announcement to make. Yes, very exciting one at that. But another component of Plunderswap is that we have an SSN on Zilliqa where you can come and stake your tokens with us for an APR. And so along with that with Zilliqa two, we have become the first 3rd party validators on the proto testnet. So we're really excited to be making history here with that. But I do think it's a bigger signal towards the beginning of a new chapter for Zilliqa and I can smell a bit of a resurgence on the way, I believe.
Introduction to the Meeting
Yes, we can as well. So just quickly, before we move on, I'm going to try and try again to get Zoltan in. If you guys wouldn't mind giving us just a moment. I can't actually see him on the link, but. Yeah, neither can I. I think ihaz from Averleafina's also waiting in the wings, but he's not showing either to me, so. All right, well, let's just back on, to be honest. It's fine. Yeah, so I guess moving on.
Collaboration with Plunder Swap
So we're working super closely with plunder swap as they are. Like we said, the first 3rd party validator on Jasper, the prototest net, but there's also a lot of other integrations coming along the pipeline with other blockchain projects. So Matt, would you like to expand a little bit on what we can expect coming up? Yeah, I'm not sure specifically around names. We've obviously got a block explorer that I don't know if people saw Zoltan's post the other night. He's hidden a little Easter egg in block Explorer.
Zilliqa 2 Updates
Clearly when we come to market with Zilliqa two, we're going to have a new and improved version from a block Explorer play. So just, I guess, best in class likes of Block Scout will be a block explorer that we'll have in play, which will be exciting, I think cross chain bridges again, interactions to other layer ones, etcetera, is another area that we're kind of keen to expand out on. So we'll see some stuff there with some of the providers, which is quite exciting. I think the likes of web three auth who already have done some integration onto Zilliqa two in terms of documentation and how to kind of leverage the APIs into Zilliqa two has already happened, which is quite exciting.
Liquid Staking Protocols
And when you think about all the cool stuff that's coming with Zilliqa two in terms of the account abstraction opportunities, they're one of a kind of a really cool player in the space we've already started the integration, a lot of that's been driven around the ambition that we've got for the chain. I think liquid staking protocols as well. There's a new one coming out of Southeast Asia looking to do some integration with us, which is quite exciting. And I think just in general driving the growth from an infrastructure ecosystem perspective is really important.
Validator Innovations
I think we've obviously moved off the conversation a little bit from the validator side of things, but I think it's really important to understand that. I know Avali are trying to join the call, but if you look at what they've done from a liquid staking protocol, they've essentially been the first players to kind of adopt and develop some innovation in that space in Zilliqa. But as we move to Zilliqa two, the opportunity for any validator to be a liquid state and protocol and have a derivative of that to try and drive the ecosystem further forward, to propel that forward, is something that we're kind of really excited about more.
Decentralization Goals
So when we look at a lot of the narrative at the moment, the space is about decentralization layer two layer ones. How does that all play out? And moving to proof of stake is very much a mechanism to drive that. And I think from a Zilliqa standpoint at the time, as I said, were first movers in the space where we had a lot of seed nodes and we had a lot of validated nodes externally, we're definitely going to be a lot more decentralized in terms of the architecture moving forward. And I think when people start to look at the chains that are kind of trying to drive that ethos, we are very much front and center with.
Integrations and Future Directions
The new architecture, which is exciting, 100%. And I think obviously we've got a lot of integrations coming with different partners, but also, as much as I'd like to, we could just sit here and revel in Jasper. I'm sure everyone here is also interested in what comes next. I don't know the Matt, you could tell us a little bit more about stage two of the roadmap adventuring. I hope I pronounced that correctly. Or maybe we can also do that with Zoltan at the time.
Onboarding Users
Yeah, I think just on that this is really about the next stage of onboarding users. So at the moment with Jasper, this is very much around getting the validators on boarded. As I say, the adoption and the kind of appetite to come on board has been really strong. The next component of this will be is how do we start to get users having the ability to interact. And again, things around staking and being delegated and all this good stuff around that is going to be important.
Future Development Updates
So I think there's a lot coming with Venturi which we're going to kind of roll out in not too long a timeframe. And I think that's the key thing around it. We've obviously got Jasper online. People are then going to kind of start to say, right, what is coming next? And I think these updates are going to be pretty rapid in terms of our go to market, which is really exciting as well. So things like developer tools are going to come online, enhance performance in terms of network performance and functionality, which is obviously required.
Aventurine Launch
So yeah, we should probably have a separate session with Zoltan when he's available to kind of talk through some of these key principles that's going to come with Aventurine going forward. Sounds great. So for those that aren't aware, Aventurine is the second stage of the Zilliqa 2.0 roadmap and it's the proto mainnet launch which brings cross chain smart contracts along with it. So we've also got this topic of dao governed community validators.
DAO-Governed Community Validators
Matt, would you be able to tell us a little bit more about that? Yeah, this is something we're trying to kind of figure out. I think everyone's trying to get some utility attributed to Gzil. There was a thought process that potentially we look at having a validator that is essentially owned and governed by Gzil holders. So any rewards that come off the back of that validator, the JISL holders essentially can start to make decisions on where any rewards could be spent.
Empowering Gzil Holders
So that could be investing or kind of supporting, giving grants, etcetera, to different projects, or maybe doing an integration that they feel is an important component, but just trying to give a bit more utility and ownership to people who have JiSoo as a function of what they do. So that's something we're just trying to flesh out at the moment. But it's certainly something that we're kind of looking at to give the diesel holders some opportunities to, I guess, make a difference, which I think is quite exciting.
Community Engagement
Yeah, 100%. We've got a really strong community in Zilliqa and it'd be great to get as much involvement as we can from them. I don't know about you, Matt, but I'm super bullish personally on this transition to proof of stake. Think it's been a long time coming and. Yeah, I mean, it'd be. It'd be great as well if we can. Oh, we have Aberley finance requested to speak. It's good news.
Acceptance and Excitement about Changes
Let's get that accepted. We've got them in. Great. So, yes, super excited about this move to proof of stake and I think it's a, for me, this is. It's just a key indicator that Zilliqa are finally moving towards. Well, we're challenging the big boys, right, Matt? Yeah, I think just on that as well.
The Transition to Zilliqa Two
I think when you move from Silica one to Silica two, it's not an insignificant process. We are going to be moving state, we're going to be moving existing accounts, smart contracts, all of that will be retained. So it's like, it's not as if we're just starting from fresh. So there is technical complexity accorded to that which we're going to be enabling with eventually and as well. So I think from our perspective, there's some smarts that maybe are not that exciting to people on the outside, but are critically important to anyone who's obviously built on the chain. So that's an important component of what we're doing.
Engaging Other Teams for Insight
I think it would be good, I guess, from a perspective of the Plunderswap team and the Adley finance team, just to get their take on where they, or why they're excited about Zilliqa two. Why are they looking to build and just get some of their thoughts in terms of where they see Zilliqa two go? I think the audience would probably quite keen to hear that as well. Yeah, absolutely.
Introduction of Aberley Finance
Iha, would you, I assume that's you. Would you mind, like, introducing yourself and telling people a bit about Aberley finance and what they can expect from you guys? Yes. Hello, all. We are building staking protocol on Zilliqa blockchain. It helps to improve staking experience and helps people to stake better. And I want, first of all to congratulate Zilliqa team for launch the Jasper protest testnet. It's a very significant step forwards to the evolution to Zilliqa to zero. So we are more and more closer to the launch of Mainnet and it's very good.
Understanding Liquid Staking
Absolutely. We're hoping as well that with Zilliqa two we can see the introduction of liquid staking. Now, for those that aren't aware about what liquid staking is, iha, would you mind giving them a bit of an explanation and how and what role Avali will play in that? Liquid staking is a very good way to stake any asset. It allows you to control, stake, even control your phones, even when you are staking. For example, when you do ordinary staking, you do not have access to your phones after staking, you still get revenue, but you cannot control them.
The Benefits of Liquid Staking
But with liquid staking, you get a special token stazil, and you can use stazil again, and it represents your stake, so you earn rewards. And at the same time, you can participate in different DeFi protocols, for example, in money market protocol. Or you can provide liquidity on pools and you can earn additional revenue. This opens lots of possibilities for users who want to play actively in the network. They can, for example, do leverage staking, or they can just borrow USDT, buy more zillow, get more stake, and so on.
The Future of Staking on Zilliqa
So it helps. It's like the basic building element for the blockchain, which allows a lot of use cases. When the blockchain is ready for this and when Zilliqa 20 is launched, we finally have a good way to use stzil as much as possible, because right now we are limited. It was difficult to move between EVM and Sila network, but when Zilliqa 20 is launched, this will be improved a lot. Absolutely. So, just to summarize, for everyone, essentially, liquid staking will allow you to use your ZiL and stake it as you normally would, but then you will then be given another token, which you can use that has the same value as your initial zil.
Further Engagement in the Ecosystem
So essentially, you can keep engaging in the ecosystem or getting further yields while your zil is put to work for you, which is super exciting. So I guess one thing I'd like to do just before we wrap up, Jake and iha, I'd like to just give you the opportunity to talk a bit about what you're most excited about from Plunderswap. We start with you. You first, Jake. Yeah, sorry, is this just to clarify, is this what we're working on with Plunderswap going forward, or the things that we want to take advantage of? When it comes to Jasper and Zilliqa.
User Experience and Upcoming Features
Two, I mean, feel free to go with both, mate. Okay. All right, cool. So, I mean, from the Zilliqa two perspective, I think with an update as large as Jaspereze, it comes with so many different areas of interest for different kinds of people. I mean, for me, I'm very focused on the user experience, and I'm really excited for the way it's going to open up corridors for things like account abstraction. And I think the most obvious one is the faster block finality.
Exciting Future Announcements
I think that's something that everyone's excited for, and I think that will go a long way for that user experience. I've been playing around with it myself over the last couple of days, and the blocks go through almost instantly. And I just think that goes so far for the user and the enjoyment that they have going through different processes on Plunderswap, on collegial, on any of the projects building on Zilliqa. And so, yeah, that's definitely something that stands out in my mind anyway. But reaching out to the future, what's on the horizon, I think I want to mention for Plunderswap quickly, we did just recently release v three liquidity, which obviously kind of brings us into the light a little bit.
Control and Enhancements with V3 Liquidity
I think when it comes to trading, it allows you to use concentrated liquidity when you liquidity provision, and so that allows you to really control the APR and the levels of liquidity and at what kind of range you're providing that in for collegial. We definitely have some exciting announcements on the way for that. Not sure I'm quite in a position to share anything specific. However, phase two is right around the corner, and it will bring some exciting announcements for anyone with a keen eye.
Easter Eggs and Teasers
We have actually put out a few coded messages. You were speaking about Easter eggs earlier, Matt. We've put a couple of those out over the last few days. So anyone with a keen eye, the answers you're looking for are already out there.
Discussion on Plunderswap Developments
Yeah. So we have been privy here at Zilliqa to a few of the developments coming from Plunderswap and collegial, and they are very exciting indeed. So, looking forward to when you guys can tell the community a bit more about that. And for you, iha, how's things going along for Abli Finance? What have you got coming up?
Future Plans for Abli Finance
We plan to support IAM. First of all, were unable to do this because of technical limitations, but with the launch of prototest, net and Mainnet, we will be able to do this. We plan to support all popular wallets which people use on EVM networks like Metamax and others. Also, I've heard that Xilpay is going to support EVM as well. So it's great news for us because it's one of the best values for Zilliqa network, I think. Also I like that planter swap with builds in concentrated liquidity, because for liquid staking token, it's a very good way to exchange, because liquid staking token and native asset and zil, they have between each other very small, impermanent loss.
Advantages of Liquid Staking Tokens
So it's very convenient and efficient to provide liquidity. And because of this, because of slow, impermanent loss and low difference between tokens considered liquidity would work very well. So it would allow a native way, for example, to fast exit from staking without any peak loss. For example, when you want to exit from staking right now, you have to withdraw it, wait 14 days and so on. But with liquid staking token, you can do this almost immediately. You just go to the swap with concentrated liquidity and it allows you to swap immediately to zil or back or to bias TCL. And this is great possibility.
Innovation in Staking with Zilliqa
So we are excited that now everything could be possible because the silicon network is ready for this. It's improving itself every day and now this is a significant step which probably starts a new age of Zilliqa. Absolutely. I know that Aveli financing and waiting in the wings ready for when the ready for Mozilla's taking that next step. And it's great that we're going to finally see state zeal kick into action. One thing I would just like to say is that we love community and developer feedback. And like, if anyone listening has any thoughts or wants to get involved in Zillow 210, then please reach out to any of the team.
Community Engagement and Feedback
You can dm the Zillow account. You can message Matt, sorry for signing up your DM's there Matt, or even Zoltan. But yeah, feel free to get in touch. Aware that the title of this ama was a deep dive into Zilliqa 2.0, unfortunately weren't able to welcome Zoltan on this time. I know he's still listening. So congratulations Zoltan, on getting this over the line. It's fantastic work. We'll definitely try and get another one on soon where we can get a bit more of a technical breakdown into Jasper. But before we go, Matt, have you got any final words for the community?
Reflection on Community Support
Firstly, thanks very much for tuning in to this AMA. Appreciate the support you've given us over the past. While it's taken a bit longer to come to market with the new chain, so it's exciting for us and hopefully it's exciting for everyone listening. I think some of the key takeaways that I've taken today, just even listening to the kind of the teams and it very much sits at the ethos of what we're trying to do. User experience is obviously paramount and when you hear ihar talking about the impact of trying to swap out from a liquid staking token to the normal token, the slippage, that experience has obviously been a real challenge and the ability to enable teams to innovate has been a big blocker for Zilliqa playing in the defi space.
Continuous Improvement in User Experience
So I think very much from my perspective, this ambition around improving the UX and experience for the end users, finality is obviously a big component of that. But these other things that we're starting to see around concentrated pools, account abstraction, and all these other things that are coming down the pipe, I think it places us front and center as one of the chains that people are going to kind of look to work with moving forward. So that's really exciting. So I think for anyone listening, if you're a validator looking for an opportunity to kind of be part of the Zilliqa consensus, definitely get in touch with the team.
Upcoming Opportunities and Announcements
As I say, it's an exciting time to be part of the Zilliqa ecosystem again. We're all heading out to Singapore next week. A couple of announcement or big announcements next week, which we're quite excited about as well, which again, a lot of that is about driving awareness to kind of what we're doing, and hopefully people will be excited around that. Conscious from your perspective, Isaac, I've not really heard a giveaway from anyone. I suspect you should give one for the first person to come back and tell us what Zoltan's is. Dollar 50 worth of zil. So for anyone listening, go and check out what Zoltan posted and get in touch.
Engaging the Community with Rewards
So the first one that comes with something, I think we should give them a little treat there. And as I say, as we start to drive through the program of Zilliqahtune and getting users to adopt, we'll obviously be kind of supporting, rewarding people for taking part in the process. So kind of just keep your eyes out, watch out for the incentives and things to do to try and support the testing and learning for us all. But, yeah, I think, I guess the final thing for me is really thanks for the support everyone's shown. You're actively driving things pretty hard to get more people building and developing on chain, and I think it's going to be an exciting six months for everyone involved with Zilliqa. So thanks very much.
Wrapping Up and Final Words
Absolutely. So if you'd like to take Matt up on the little challenge, go check out Zoltan's profile. It's Zoltan. Underscore Fazekas and yeah, send us a DM if you can spot it. So thanks to. Thanks to all our speakers today and everyone who's joined the spaces. Really appreciate it. Jake and iha, this is a big moment for Zilliqa and obviously, the community as a whole. And I, we can't wait to show you what's coming. And like Matt said, very big announcement coming for you very soon. So have a great weekend, everyone, and thanks a lot for tuning in.
Concluding Gratitude
Thank you.
