Welcome to another monthly update here at Stratis! Today we’ll discuss several new updates that range from eagerly-awaited gaming news to the expansion of Stratis overseas with an exciting new partnership with the Tooro Kingdom in Uganda.
It is excellent to see the variety of use cases that Stratis blockchain technologies can apply, and we look forward to seeing these updates develop further in the coming months.
Stratis Africa
This week, Stratis announced its partnership with the Foundation of King Oyo, a charity led by the monarch of the Tooro Kingdom in the South West of Uganda. With this long-term partnership, the global expansion of Stratis has begun with the launch of Stratis Africa.
King Oyo (Rukirabasaija Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV) is the world’s youngest reigning monarch. The king was crowned at 3 and a half, and his reign thus far has been marked by a keen interest in technology and a dedication to developing the digital offerings of this kingdom of approximately one million.
As such, this partnership will see Stratis fund the creation of a blockchain innovation centre based in the Tooro Kingdom that will develop the local community’s blockchain-based skills and learning.
In addition to this, Stratis and the Tooro Kingdom will develop blockchain use cases that will positively benefit the kingdom’s population, such as the introduction of blockchain technologies that can be used to manage the Tooro Kingdom’s abundant agricultural resources.
We look forward to watching this collaboration grow and thrive as Stratis continues to expand its ecosystem across Africa.
Opdex Liquidity Mining & Token Swap
New tutorials have launched on YouTube for how to take full advantage of features available on the Opdex platform, such as liquidity providing and mining, staking, and token swaps.
Opdex itself is a series of DeFi and governance smart contracts that enable users to trade, swap, earn, and govern assets through the use of Stratis and Cirrus blockchains.
With low gas fees and rigorous testing processes to ensure platform security, Opdex allows users to enjoy its abundance of features in a non-custodial, gas-efficient, and trustless manner.
Trivia Legends – a competitive knowledge-based game that allows players to win different avatars in the form of blockchain NFTs – was officially launched on the Stratis Blockchain TestNet this month and is currently undergoing review from a team of dedicated alpha testers.
Trivia Legends has also announced their plans to create a collection of high-tier characters from the game, which will be made available to anyone exclusively via Stratisphere NFT marketplace. More news on this will be coming soon!
Be sure to follow @TriviaLegends on Twitter for the latest updates, news, and giveaways!
Dawn of Ships
Speaking of exciting gaming updates in April, this past month also saw two new features be added to the game of pirates and sea adventures that is Dawn of Ships.
We took a deep dive into these new features over in our most recent SDA Update but, to summarise, these new mechanics – ‘Plunder’ and ‘Ambush’ – add a fun competitive edge to the game.
Each Plundering mission takes 4 hours to complete, and players can Plunder other ships three times, with Club Pass holders able to increase the number of Plunderings they choose to do. Plundering wins players GOLD and OVIA tokens for each mission, but it requires a delicate balance of wins and losses, as each plundering will cost a player one reduced durability point. Players can also win Yield Bonuses and Speed Bonuses, the latter of which reduces the time of a Plundering mission by 30 minutes.
The ‘Ambush’ feature enables players to steal resources from other players on Plundering missions. An Ambush takes between 1 to 2.5 hours, depending on whether the opposing player sends back-up. Players can win additional $OVIA and GOLD for a successful Ambush, although, similarly to Plundering, an Ambush also costs a durability point.
Plundering players can reduce the time that opposing players can spend on an Ambush mission if they have a Speed Bonus. To aid them in their strategies, both players can send up to 2 additional $SHIP and $CREW as reinforcements.
The past few months have seen several SDA projects continue to evolve and harness Stratis blockchain technologies to push the boundaries of gaming, smart contracts, and more. With so many developments to share and many more to come over the course of 2022, this blog will shine a light on some of the most recent project updates that are taking place with the support of the SDA and the wider Stratis community.
CoinVault
In a recent update from the CoinVault team, it was revealed that their explorer has undergone some exciting extensions: not only does it now support both the Stratis and Cirrus Testnets; it can also display an in-depth and detailed summary of smart contract data.
In terms of NFT, DAO, and StandardToken smart contracts, users will be able to access detailed information regarding relevant smart contracts on the explorer, while developers will gain access to API endpoints. The list of smart contracts that this information is available for is only set to expand as time goes on, and we’re excited to see these developments put in place to ensure the utmost transparency across smart contracts usage.
Our recent SDA update also touched on CoinVault, a non-custodial and browser-based wallet that passed its proposal back in October 2021. CoinVault supports multiple Stratis wallets and several accounts simultaneously, enabling users to manage their assets with autonomy. When integrated with Opdex, the first decentralised exchange on the Stratis Platform, CoinVault will allow users to transfer and swap STRAX and CIRRUS tokens. CoinVault also now supports users in sending and receiving assets on both the Stratis and Cirrus Mainnets and Testnets. The wallet is currently in private alpha testing, and you can be part of the test group by requesting to join on the Stratis Discord channel.
You can also follow Stratis and CoinVault on Twitter, @stratisplatform and @coinvault_io respectively, to stay up to date with all relevant news around the launch.
The Astroverse community announced two exciting new mechanics – Plunder and Ambush – to the pirate-inspired Dawn of Ships game earlier this month.
In the game, players can ‘Plunder’ other players as they set sail across the sea. As an essential activity within the game, Plundering requires players to build three units known as SHIPS, which they can then assign a CREW to if they so wish. Players can Plunder three times, with each turn taking 4 hours to complete, although Club Pass holders will be able to increase the number of plundering missions they undertake. Plundering allows players to gain GOLD and OVIA tokens for each mission, although these gains are not without their challenge, as each plundering will cost a player one reduced durability point, impacting the overall SHIP durability.
The players that choose to assign a CREW to their SHIPS may find themselves at an advantage when it comes to winning a Yield Bonus, which are awarded as a result of assigning CREW members or through being a Club Pass Holder. If a player wins Plundering Points (PP) over the course of gameplay, they can also win a Speed Bonus, which reduces the time of a Plundering mission by 30 minutes.
The ‘Ambush’ mechanic, on the other hand, allows players to steal resources from other players whilst they are carrying out Plundering missions. Ambush also requires the player to have three SHIPS with the option to assign 1 CREW to each. An Ambush is shorter than a Plundering mission, however, and takes between 1 to 2.5 hours, depending on whether the opposing player sends back-up. Ambushing offers players the opportunity to gain additional $OVIA and GOLD for successful attacks. As with Plundering, each Ambush reduces the $SHIP durability by 1.
The Ambush Window has a default time of 1.5 hours, although Plundering players can reduce this time if they hold the previously mentioned Speed Bonus. To add to their attack and defence forces, both the Plundering and Ambushing players can send up to 2 additional $SHIP and $CREW as reinforcements.
If Dawn of Ships and its game of swashbuckling strategy sounds interesting, do join The Astroverse Club Discord Channel for all the latest updates.
FileProtected
As explored in our very first SDA update, FileProtected harnesses blockchain technologies, digital fingerprints, and timestamps to make copyright ownership completely indisputable. And since becoming part of our SDA programme, the FileProtected team has been investigating how to implement these capabilities across other companies in the community.
Most recently, FileProtected has been updating its UX/UI branding to ensure the most efficient and easy-to-use customer experience possible. The team has enhanced storage services by introducing One Drive to the mix and allowing several One Drive accounts to connect to FileProtected and instantly register all uploaded files. Another exciting addition is AI-assisted image, and video tagging, which allows our system to recognize and auto-tag registered content, enabling users to search and discover quicker than ever.
Amongst many other new features, upcoming additions to the FileProtected system include:
The ability to instantly register any file or IP
Automatic Instagram registration
Integrated Google search capabilities
QR code watermark protects and links offline work to sales
Do check out FileProtected for further details and keep watch for new content across their Discord.
Hashbattle
Hashbattle is making its way towards a public beta launch, with a targeted release in the first week of May. With final testing ongoing, the first beta version will feature 10 games with an entry fee of 0 Cirrus, 0.3 Cirrus, 0.5 Cirrus and 1 Cirrus. The titles include Cops Clash, Zig Zag Zoom, Duck Dunk, Hurdle Hop, Stack Tower, Zombie Rage, Basketball Mania, Tunnel Trouble, Hammer Hero, and Counting Snakes.
The first phase of the Hashbattle NFT drop, which includes 10K Dead Warriors NFTs, will debut in late May. NFT owners will gain access to a unique feature called Photobooth, which enables them to pose their NFT characters in different environments with different camera angles to create print shots for use across various platforms. All the 10K NFTs will be accessible in Hashbattle games, which will have character usage and provide access to upcoming exclusive Hashbattle Metaverse available only for NFT owners. The first phase of Hashbattle Metaverse is planned to for launch in late June.
Kiqqi Games
Trivia Legends by Kiqqi Games is set to be released in alpha version to the general public in the near future, with testers and fans able to test their knowledge and unlock NFT characters as they progress through the game designed on Cirrus Testnet Blockchain.
To celebrate the release of Trivia Legends, we will also launch a Discord group for the gaming community as well as an Origin NFT collection, so watch this space for updates.
Opdex
Opdex launched on Cirrus more than a month ago, bringing DeFi and ODX governance tokens capabilities to Stratis. ODX tokens have commenced distribution through liquidity mining in USDT, WBTC, WETH, and SHIB pools with a high participation rate amongst liquidity providers. Roughly 12.5 million ODX tokens have been distributed, with about four million being staked, a million being provided, and the remainder either held or available for collection. The protocol has about $600,000 in locked liquidity, with 95% of it locked within liquidity pools that have activated ODX mining. Nearly 100% of that eligible liquidity is actively participating, showing strong support for the project. Overall, users have traded just over $300,000 in organic volume in a 100% decentralized and non-custodial fashion, and that number will only continue to go up with time.
Polycarbon Game
Polycarbon Game is incredibly close to releasing the demo of its XR Gallery featuring a Stratisphere gallery, to reflect the talent and artistry of the Stratis community with a sense of physicality. The website for XR Gallery is currently in development, although users will soon be able to access existing metaverse galleries, design their own custom galleries, invite friends and followers to view their artwork, and converse with them directly using Photon Technology.
Polycarbon Game is also working with Andy Rosen and the FileProtected team to develop a use case example of how a store front will operate in the XR Gallery metaverse. Andy Rosen is generously contributing minted NFTs featuring his award-winning punk rock photography for users to enjoy.
The UI/UX updates will continue to unfold as Polycarbon Game receives community feedback, and we look forward to seeing users enjoy their own accessible and adaptable galleries.
Spring has sprung at Stratis, and with the new season comes a host of eagerly anticipated developments. From the announcement of the Opdex launch signalling a new era in GameFi for Stratis to an exciting collaboration with UCL on the balance between NFTs and sustainability, this month has seen some long-term projects come to fruition. We look forward to seeing the Stratis community reap the benefits.
Opdex and GameFi on Stratis
March saw the launch of the Opdex platform, a decentralised exchange within the Stratis ecosystem designed to support the integration of DeFi into its GameFi ecosystem. Opdex is built using the native C# language of the Stratis blockchain, making it ideally suited to game development.
Opdex will allow users to swap Stratis native tokens on the Cirrus sidechain, provide liquidity and mine for rewards in ODX (the native token on Opdex). Opdex is compatible with tokens based on Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric, allowing for a high level of interoperability. As part of the Stratis ecosystem, it also uses the .NET framework to enable smart contracts. These features make Opdex a useful exchange for game developers as the platform is both affordable and highly customisable.
Speaking of GameFi, three eagerly awaited mini-games – NFT Knives, NFT Rise, and NFT Road Runner – launched on Windows and Android utilising the Stratis Unity3d SDK. With each mini-game designed to showcase NFTs built on Stratis, these launches mark the start of an era in which creators can build blockchain-based games and integrate DeFi using Opdex to create a truly immersive experience. Links to download the games can be found below:
Stratis & UCL Collaborate on NFT Sustainability Manifesto
This month, Stratis teamed up with Paolo Taticchi, Professor of Strategy and Sustainability at UCL School of Management, where he is also the School Deputy Director, to develop the ‘NFT Sustainability Manifesto’. The manifesto aims to raise awareness about how companies can approach the use of NFTs from an environmentally conscious perspective.
Traditionally, consensus mechanisms such as Proof of Work (PoW) contribute to carbon emissions due to their energy consumption. This is one reason why Stratisphere and the and underlying blockchain that powers it is based on Proof-of-Authority (PoA), which is considerably more energy-efficient, thanks to an alternate approach to block production.
The manifesto is available here, and its release has been marked by the launch of a Queen Elizabeth II NFT in which the monarch dons a top with the tagline: ‘NFT – use and consume responsibly’. We would like to extend our thanks to NFT designer Michele Fabbro and artist Massimiliano Donnari for their work on this NFT, and we wish UCL and Professor Taticchi (who recently appeared on Italian television to discuss the manifesto) the best of luck as they continue to facilitate meaningful discussions surrounding technology and environmental responsibility.
New tokens available through InterFlux Bridge
InterFlux has recently undergone further developments to enable bi-directional transfers of ERC20 Tokens to SRC20 Tokens. These changes are supported by updates to Cirrus Core, which can now mobilise bi-directional transfers to swap tokens back to ERC20 in a matter of clicks. This development further enhances the capabilities of InterFlux as a bridge between Stratis Blockchain technologies and platforms such as Ethereum.
From 9th March, six ERC20 Tokens will be available through the InterFlux Bridge – wETH, WBTC, USDC, USDT, LINK and SHIB – and if you are interested in seeing more tokens added to this list, please join our Discord and add your voice to the community discussion.
Stratis Community Infographic Contest
To celebrate the aforementioned Opdex launch, the Stratis Community has launched an Infographic Contest, giving participants the chance to win between both STRAX and NFTs.
To enter, you simply have to create an infographic about Opdex and share it in the comments of this post, from which Gold Members will choose a winner on the 10th April.
March has seen many interesting new developments for the Stratis community. From the launch of the Astroverse NFT Club Pass to the conclusion of Stratis’ third hackathon, it’s been a month full of exciting NFT and blockchain news, and we look forward to sharing a snapshot of this month’s highlights as well as an insight into what is yet to come.
This month, Stratis announced the prize winners for the Stratis Build Hackathon, the third hackathon in Stratis’ history. Over 500 participants took part in creating some truly innovative solutions using blockchain technology, and we expect to see some of the winning entries develop further into exciting new projects in the future.
The Grand Prize Winner is Silver, described by its creator Allister Beharry as a static analyzer and formal verifier for Stratis smart contracts. Silver works at the source code level and the bytecode level to offer security-focused insights into smart contracts, and the Stratis team were deeply impressed by Silver’s proposed contribution to the smart contract ecosystem. Congratulations once again to Allister and this hackathon’s prize winners.
The Astroverse NFT Club Pass has launched
For just 300 CRS, you can now purchase one of 1,500 available Astroverse Club passes over on the Stratisphere Marketplace. The pass will unlock exciting possibilities within the Astroverse ecosystem, including 5 NFTs (1 NFT per Astroverse season), early access to upcoming games, exclusive access to a Club Pass Member discord channel, and more.
You can get access to an Astroverse NFT Club Pass here.
New NFT collections announced
It wouldn’t be a month at Stratis without new NFT collections, launches, and giveaways to reveal. The Opdex NFT collection will launch on Stratisphere next week as a limited-edition collection formed by 250 NFTs. While counting down the days to the Opdex NFT launch, why not check out some of the other excellent NFTs available on Stratisphere, from the traditional History Collection and the Ober collection to the colourful Tortillaz and Dogs Army NFTs. With such range available, now is the perfect time to hone your NFT gallery.
You can follow us over at @StratisphereNFT to stay up-to-date with the latest NFT drops and giveaways.
Stratisphere NFT desktop version 1.1 Wallet Release
The Stratisphere NFT Wallet version 1.1 is now available on desktop, meaning that you can mint, store, send, and receive NFTs more effectively than ever. This updated version of the wallet features additions and improvements as requested by the Stratisphere community. From category support when minting to increased performance through reduced GFX Load, this version of the Stratisphere NFT wallet has some unmissable additions for any NFT collector.
We are delighted to announce that STRAX is now officially available on Simplex, which will allow users to purchase STRAX by debit card, credit card. Simplex enables its users to access the widest range of payment measures possible, making it simpler than ever to purchase STRAX through whichever medium suits you best.
My XR Gallery
One interesting and creative proposal approved by Stratis Masternode operators last year was ‘My XR Gallery’, an offering from Polycarbon Games that allows users to create their own galleries through which they can interact, view, and trade NFTs in the marketplace. This month, Polycarbon Games announced some exciting developments to My XR Gallery, with the platform now able to display 2D and 3D NFTs from IPFS, making it more accessible and easy-to-use.
With a new website set to launch soon, My XR Gallery is on its way to being a hub of creative NFT activity, and we look forward to watching it develop.
TikTok
Finally, Stratisphere has hopped onto a new platform this month: TikTok. With the Stratisphere community constantly growing and evolving, TikTok is a fun and fast-paced way to keep in contact in the social media sphere.
Follow us @stratispherenft on TikTok for the latest NFT-related content!
The latest InterFlux instalment is now live, offering the ability to swap ERC20 Tokens for SRC20 Tokens within the Stratis ecosystem. Like Stratis’ recently released Stratisphere NFT Platform, the InterFlux bridge does not introduce any service fees and operates in a commission-less manner. With full Metamask support, the swap process is handled effortlessly by the InterFlux bridge, accessible via the following URL:
In addition to the updated InterFlux bridge, Cirrus Core has also been updated to support bi-directional transfers of ERC20 Tokens. Now, within the Token Management pane, you can utilize InterFlux to swap back to ERC20 with only a few clicks.
Cirrus Core 1.9.0 can now be downloaded and installed from the Wallets page:
As Stratis’ previous blog mentioned, InterFlux brings many benefits to the Stratis ecosystem, particularly for projects introducing DeFi protocols, such as Opdex. It’s an exciting time for those within Stratis’ community and even more so for the projects building out their solutions utilizing Stratis’ Blockchain Technologies.
InterFlux is an important development for Stratis, bridging the gap between Stratis Blockchain Technologies and other popular Blockchain platforms, such as Ethereum. This functionality was first introduced last year when the wSTRAX (Wrapped STRAX) contract was created on Ethereum, enabling the seamless exchange of STRAX to a ‘wrapped’ ERC20 equivalent; this development enabled STRAX holders to utilize Ethereum-based DeFi protocols, such as UniSwap.
Further development of InterFlux has enabled bi-directional transfers of ERC20 Tokens to SRC20 Tokens. This is crucial in providing a genuine scaling solution for Ethereum and creating a more diverse ecosystem within Stratis through the ability to leverage well-established and liquid tokens, such as USDT and wBTC (Wrapped Bitcoin).
The availability of additional tokens that offer rich liquidity is also a benefit to Opdex, the first platform that delivers decentralized exchange protocols in the Stratis ecosystem. Users of the Opdex protocols will leverage these tokens in liquidity pools, enabling efficient, trustless and decentralized swaps of the Cirrus Token to popular tokens on Ethereum. This provides additional utility for the Cirrus Token and an attractive alternative to popular DeFi protocols such as Uniswap, thanks to the significant reduction in gas costs when transacting on Opdex and within the Stratis ecosystem. Additionally, the Stratis ecosystem is well-known for its high levels of decentralization, paired with a genuinely reduced carbon footprint, thanks to the employment of the energy-efficient Proof-of-Authority consensus algorithm.
A total of six ERC20 Tokens will be supported and available through the InterFlux Bridge; the list of supported tokens will continue to grow through community demand and market sentiment.
Supported Tokens at Launch
wETH
wBTC
USDC
USDT
LINK
SHIB
If you’re interested in Stratis supporting additional tokens, please head over to our Discord and discuss with the active community which tokens you want to see supported by InterFlux in the future.
The InterFlux Bridge will be updated on Wednesday, 9th March, to support the above tokens. In addition, an updated version of Cirrus Core will be unveiled, offering support for exchanging back to ERC20 for those that wish to do so. It truly is an exciting time at Stratis; with the recent success of the first commissionless NFT Platform and the further development of our interoperability solution, it’s great to see Stratis making significant advancements in the first quarter of 2022.
With over 500 participants and many exciting submissions, the Stratis Build Hackathon has come to a close, and we’re ready to announce our prize winners. This hackathon, the third launched by Stratis, was full of dynamic new talent and creative uses of blockchain technology. Stratis is committed above all to uncovering new ways in which blockchain can streamline and simplify business processes as well as adding value to the broader community.
Just like previous Stratis hackathons, we expect some of our winning entries to progress into fully fledged products and projects in the future. Learn more about the winning innovations below.
Allister Beharry has been awarded first prize for his excellent security-focused Smart Contract tooling. As described by Allister
Silver is a static analyzer and formal verifier for Stratis smart contracts. Silver works both at the source code level and the bytecode level to provide knowledge about smart contract code and potential vulnerabilities and provide logical guarantees about smart contract code behavior before it runs.
Rowan de Haas, Stratis’ lead Smart Contract architect, was particularly impressed with this submission and commented
Silver is a truly impressive hackathon submission. It is a powerful tool that substantially contributes to the Stratis smart contract ecosystem by improving contract safety and developer workflow.
The Group Knowledge Builder demonstrated a great use of Smart Contracts and IPFS to manage the decentralized storage of data; additionally, our judges liked the tokenomics introduced through participation.
DeFi has been a great use case of Blockchain technology. It has driven a growth in cryptocurrency adoption and utilization in recent years, evidenced by hugely popular platforms such as Maker, Curve and Aave, to name a few. RingLetBox, as described by its creator, Mark Erwin Villariña
RingLetBox is aToken Creation, Vesting, and Locking Platform. RingLetBox aims to protects every Cryptocurrency community from rug pulls and traitorous advisors.
It’s great to see submissions relating to DeFi and protecting new users in the space.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have become increasingly popular in recent years, with new platforms and marketplaces available on a near-weekly basis. One area of particular interest, both internally at Stratis and within Stratis SDA-backed project, Polycarbon Games, is the use of AR and VR to provide immersive and breathtaking experiences.
Yosun Chang shared this vision and developed a virtual gallery using Stratis’ Unity SDK, enabling users to navigate within a VR World and view NFTs.
Jeffrey Lewis submitted a brilliant NFT Exchange/Swapping solution, enabling NFT holders to safely and securely swap their NFTs for other popular items. The solution enables users to make offers and allows sellers to highlight what items they would want in exchange to optimize the user experience.
The ability to use the blockchain and Smart Contracts for escrow services has driven adoption by providing a sense of security, particularly when trading or exchanging large sums of value. The employment of Smart Contracts on a genuinely decentralized blockchain enables users to trust that funds held within escrow are managed in a safe, secure, and most importantly, decentralized manner.
The Stratis Build Hackathon was launched to give developers the opportunity to create new and inspired solutions on the Stratis Platform. With more and more creators building smart contracts on the Cirrus Sidechain, we look forward to seeing the grand prize winner, Silver, contribute to the well considered development of Stratis smart contracts.
With last month marking the launch of Stratis’ commisionless NFT marketplace, Stratisphere, it was also great to see two of the winning entries focused on delivering new NFT capabilities for the Stratis community, including both a gallery and an NFT swapping solution.
We thank all the participants for taking the time to develop some truly innovative solutions for the Stratis Build Hackathon and, of course, we extend our congratulations to the prize winners!
It’s been a busy start to the year here at Stratis, and we’ve hit the ground running this past month with several project updates and releases for our community to enjoy. This past month brought with it the official launch of our feeless NFT platform, Stratisphere, and we truly look forward to watching users release and trade NFTs across the platform.
Taking off into the Stratisphere was not the only thing on our agenda at Stratis this month, however, and below we will delve into a series of exciting developments that took place over January as well as some hints about what is to come for the Stratis community.
Launching into the Stratisphere
The first month of 2022 marked the launch of Stratisphere, the world’s first feeless NFT platform that promises to revolutionize the process of launching and trading NFTs.
NFTs are a thriving aspect of the blockchain community, harnessed by artists to promote and sell their artwork, crypto users investing in NFTs, and play-to-earn game developers that use NFTs for assets and avatars across various digital landscapes. Stratis is excited to support this community with the release of Stratisphere, which is integrated with the non-custodial Stratisphere Wallet to help users carry out smoother transactions and manage their NFT collections effectively.
You can find follow Stratisphere on Twitter @stratispherenft on Twitter or join our Stratis Community Discord for more news and announcements about the platform’s functions and exciting NFT giveaways available to users.
Stratis Wallet Release on iOS and Android
The Stratis Wallet, a non-custodial wallet through which users can store STRAX and CIRRUS tokens, released in iOS and Android stores this month. With the Stratis wallet, users can send and receive funds as well as update smart contracts on the Cirrus sidechain. We’re thrilled that iOS and Android users around the world can now manage personal and business wallets safely and securely with Stratis.
Stratis InterFlux Update
As outlined in a previous blog post, this past month saw the latest development within Stratis’ InterFlux protocol go live. You can now carry out Token Swaps between Ethereum and the Cirrus blockchain, an update that means that ERC20 tokens can now be integrated into the Stratis Ecosystem. The benefits of this update will have a butterfly effect of sorts across Stratis, optimizing projects such as Opdex by providing access to popular tokens.
Internal testing has begun and will extend to Testnet in the immediate future, so watch this space over in our Discord Server for future updates.
Launch of The Astroverse Club website
The Astroverse Club launched its website earlier this month, on which users can gain a glimpse into the Astroverse Club Pass, Season 1 NFTs, and the 2022 roadmap plotting the way to The Astroverse Club’s goal of building an interactive ecosystem for NFT users.
Capped at just 1500 passes costing just 300CRS, the Club Pass and the NFTs it provides are not only visual assets; they can also be used functionally within upcoming games such as The Astroverse – Space War and Dawn of Ships. You can catch a look at some of the wonderful screenshots from both games as well as further details on upcoming developments within The Astroverse on its Discord Channel.
You can read more on The Astroverse Club Pass here.
Blockcore Releases Closed Alpha
Blockcore has featured in several monthly updates as it develops CoinVault, an easy and accessible non-custodial wallet for STRAX and CRS, and the latest news is that a closed Alpha has been released, much to the excitement of the Stratis community. Functioning similarly to Ethereum’s Metamask, CoinVault enables users to manage their multiple Stratis wallets freely and safely.
Over @Polycarbongame Twitter, users can see My Meta Gallery continue to develop into a platform that is both visual and interactive, with new functionalities enabling users to connect and view each other’s galleries.
You can find out more about developing your own NFT collections and galleries with Polycarbon Games here.
The further development of Stratis’ InterFlux protocol has been quietly simmering, focusing on incorporating Token Swaps between Ethereum and the Cirrus Blockchain, enabling popular ERC20 Tokens to find their way to the Stratis Ecosystem. The added functionality within InterFlux is a critical development for Stratis, further bridging the gap between Stratis Blockchain Technologies and Ethereum.
Active projects, such as Opdex, the first wholly decentralized exchange on Stratis, benefit significantly from this further development. Providing the availability and access to popular and established tokens on Ethereum, such as USDT (Tether), Binance USD, SHIBA INU, Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), and many more. Testing has already begun internally, with deployment to Testnet expected to occur in the coming days. A two week testing period will be undertaken on Testnet, with the view to promote to Mainnet after successful test criteria is met.
The further development also lays the foundation for supporting the ERC721 standard. Enabling the transfer of NFTs on Ethereum to Stratis for listing on Stratisphere.com resulting in NFT sales incurring 0% Platform Fees and significantly reduced transactional costs. You should expect to see some high-profile transfers occur once the ERC721 becomes activated in the near future! Stratisphere.com is the worlds first zero-fee decentralized NFT Marketplace, offering ultra-low transactional costs and a great user experience. Hundreds of NFTs have already been sold by various content creators using the platform, some of which are established community members with hidden talents, and some are brand new to our ever-growing community!
As always, development progress and community participation requests can be seen within our Discord Server. Be sure to join to keep track of the progress and get involved with testing the new functionality on our Testnet.
The final month of the year was a busy one for Stratis and the community as we worked to advance several exciting projects, including the launch of a second Stratis R&D center at a leading institution in technology education in India. Stratis’ first Decentralized exchange, Opdex, also released its $ODX governance token.
2021 was very significant for Stratis. We saw new applications being built in areas like DeFi, NFTs and blockchain gaming in particular. The team and community is delivering important infrastructure like the Stratisphere NFT platform and Opdex DEX that are beginning to drive an explosion in new uses cases for Stratis.
In combination with new applications coming online with funding from the Stratis Decentralized Accelerator, we’re confident 2022 will be an even bigger milestone. We wish everyone in our community a Happy New Year!
$ODX token announced
In December, Opdex announced its DeFi token $ODX will be released on Stratis in January. The Opdex governance token is deployed on Stratis’ Cirrus sidechain and can be used for purposes such as liquidity mining and DeFi staking. The $ODX token aims to resolve the issues that arise as a result of low liquidity by ensuring constant liquidity mining of $ODX which is built on an autonomous governance smart contract and voting system.
1 billion tokens will be minted and distributed over approximately the next four years. After this, 25 million new tokens will be minted every year and distributed through liquidity mining.
Watch this space for the release of $ODX in January!
Dawn of Ships update
Just before Christmas, blockchain game ‘Dawn of Ships’ shared a glimpse of the several types of ships that users will be able to command in the game’s final release. Each part of the ship will be customizable, with users able to alter the appearance of their vessel either with the parts earned through playing or with parts traded on the Stratisphere NFT marketplace.
Also in this update came the announcement of the core gameplay loop of Dawn of Ships, which means that users can now see exactly how they’ll be immersed in the pirate’s life through the game. Dawn of Ships begins with a decision between a raid or a fight, and each subsequent decision will result in expended energy and an increase in the ship’s durability.
Looted rum won through raids can be used to re-energize the crew, advance them to new levels of speed and efficiency, or recruit more members to the cause. Gold gained through winning battles can be used for ship repairs, levelling up to stronger vessels, and adding new upgrades and features. Once the rum or gold has been spent, the player can move onto their next target in a quest to dominate the seas.
The countdown to take-off to the Stratisphere is almost over. This month, Stratis announced the official launch date of its NFT platform, Stratisphere. The platform includes a new wallet that makes it simple to mint, store, send and receive NFTs. Users pay absolutely no marketplace fees to trade NFTs on Stratisphere, which we believe to be an industry-first, offering more value to creators and users compared to the 2.5% fees common to today’s dominant NFT platforms.
Daily giveaways, including NFTs like Pudgy Penguins, Lazy Lions, and MekaVerse already have been announced via @StratisphereNFT in the run-up to the launch, so be sure to follow the account to be in with a chance of winning some incredible NFTs.
Stratis Unreal Engine Plugin
The Stratis SDK for Unreal Engine was unveiled in December, continuing Stratis’ push into the red hot blockchain gaming sector. Unreal Engine can be used by creators to develop games for most major platforms, including desktop (Windows, Mac, and Linux), mobile (Android and iOS) and consoles (Xbox and Playstation).
The Stratis Plugin for Unreal Engine integrates the STRAX token into game development and expands the scope of game creation through Stratis Smart Contracts in C#. It has now been released for community testing, and we look forward to user feedback.
In early December, Stratis and C# Corner launched their second R&D centre at ABESIT College of Engineering in Ghaziabad, India. ABESIT is a leading technological institution, and it’s an honour to be contributing to the education of major players in blockchain’s future through the establishment of this centre.
Stratis Build Hackathon
In December, we announced the Stratis Build Hackathon details with $100,000 in combined prizes for developers building gaming, NFT, DeFi or tooling submissions using Stratis. Review details for a chance to win big and maybe even launch a fully-fledged project in the future https://stratis.devpost.com/
Stratis continued its thought-leadership research into Game-Fi and ‘Play-to-earn’ systems
After the success of the first survey Stratis commissioned into NFTs and blockchain, which revealed that 58% of 197 game developers are beginning to use blockchain technology, the second series of findings were released in December. The analysis focused specifically on GameFi, the use of decentralized finance in gaming, and ‘Play-to-earn’, an economic system that applies real-world financial value to games.
This research also reaffirmed that both of these systems are an indubitable part of the future of gaming technology, with 51% of game developers calling the play-to-earn model revolutionary, 47% recognizing potential but saying that it needs development, and just 2% dismissing it as a fad.
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