Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis. (“Times are changed; we also are changed with them”)
But not our vision, our vision hasn’t changed since the very beginning. MetisDAO Foundation (the Foundation) is determined to empower the mass adoption of blockchain technology, not only for blockchain projects and new Web3 initiatives, but also for traditional Web2 businesses and individuals to realize its value. Empowering people and building a truly decentralized and prosperous Web3 economy is our end goal.
In 2022, we built the foundation for future developments. The team grew from several people to over 60, which feels like a diverse family (spanning nearly every continent). The global Ambassadors network, African and Latin America communities were also rolled out and began working in tandem..
In 2022, the Community Ecosystem Governance (CEG) program was introduced as the first step of decentralization, empowering the community to have a say regarding which ecosystem projects they would like to see supported by Metis.
The community has witnessed the onboarding of several high quality projects and protocols, including, but not limited to, Hummus, Hermes, Synapse, Beefy, Poly Network, Chainlink, SushiSwap, QiDAO, LayerZero, and Stargate.
Two Eco Nodes, Matrix and DAC Portal, are now in the incubation phase and preparing for the kickoff launch.
From the Smart Layer2 tech stack perspective, by having built the Peer network, Verifier Nodes, and other components, we laid the ground for the development of the Sequencer Pool, ZK Proof, and Rangers System, which are all currently under development and set to roll out in 2023.
2023 Strategy
For this upcoming year, two key concepts are the focus of the Foundation’s strategy:
The First concept is the Multi-layer Solution Stack for A Web3 Economy.
As we look to empower people and the whole Web3 economy, a secure, highly efficient, economically-feasible, easy-for-everyone solution will be needed to achieve that goal.
Ethereum mainnet is the cornerstone for security, decentralization and finality. Metis Smart L2 is the execution layer with EVM equivalence, fast transaction speed and low cost. However, there are still gaps between the infrastructure layer and the application layer. Currently, the Smart L2 does not yet scale to its full potential (same with all current L2 solutions), in regards to supporting all the Apps and the whole Web3 economy. More functionality and scale-ups will be needed to amplify and strengthen the necessary infrastructure for the entire Web3 economy.
As Vitalik mentioned in his article, “What kind of layer 3s make sense?”, you can’t simply anchor another L2 onto the current L2 and just scale infinitely. In such a scenario, every layer’s scale-up will need to sacrifice some performance and efficiency in both: computation and data availability (easier for computation but much harder for DA). For layer 3 and upward, different layers will need to cater to different purposes and have new solutions to suit those purposes.
Web3 applications not only have smart contract data, but also a substantial amount of application-specific (non-smart-contract) data. If all the data is put on the blockchain, it will be unattainable or at least very inefficient and costly. That’s why Metis introduced an off-chain storage solution (which is part of the Metis Application Infrastructure) to offload transaction data off-chain with the ability to fully and securely recover that data on-chain. Our off-chain data storage solution will also satisfy business use requirements for data compartmentation and privacy.
Metis Application Infrastructure can also utilize different computation scaling solutions. For now, Metis is building on Zero-knowledge Proof technology to achieve faster validation and confirmation time.
From the application perspective, as we aim for a truly decentralized Web3 economy, the logic will start from how to support every individual to achieve data ownership and control privacy. Data privacy will become part of the application infrastructure construction building on top of Metis’ Smart L2 to satisfy different use cases. With this layer, people will be able to gain control over their own data and identity, build their on-chain track record, credentials, and reputation.
To support collaboration and generate value in a decentralized way in the Web3 space, the DAC(Decentralized Autonomous Company) framework will be built on top of the Metis Application Infrastructure. This will enable trustless collaborations, where use cases can be built to support Web3 builders, DAOs, traditional Web2 businesses, and, most importantly, every individual to thrive in Web3 space.
The layers might scale up even more and with greater functionality as needed, so we call it the Multi-layer Solution Stack for A Web3 Economy. For the coming 2023, MetisDAO Foundation will focus on providing the education, development support, marketing and promotion of this Multi-layer Solution Stack
Second keyword is Eco Nodes.
As you can see, the Multi-layer Solution Stack forms the organic foundation for Metis’ future expansion. However, different layers need different expertise to build and operate, and having them in one business entity might not be wise. We have also stated in our previous roadmap releases and statements that Metis will eventually go fully decentralized. The Foundation has planned a dual-layered, DAC-centric, governance structure with token and Reputation Power based governance. There will be DACs, Commons and Eco Nodes involved in the entire governance process.
Eco Nodes are contributors to the whole Metis ecosystem, and will be the infrastructure for the Foundation to grow and expand. During the past year, the Foundation has actively incubated and collaborated with some of the ecosystem contributors and supported them to test run the Eco Nodes.
The first batch of these Eco Nodes that are going to kick off are:
- Smart L2
- Matrix Reputation Power
- DAC Framework
- P1X
The introduction of these Eco Nodes, and how the governance will work, will be published in separate articles.
The Role of MetisDAO Foundation
Based on the above arrangements, different Eco Nodes will take on the business operation in their designated area, and the Foundation will turn its role from Development and Operation to Coordination. The Foundation will be coordinating the resource allocation, governance, marketing, events, and community development among all the Eco Nodes. Starting now, all of the Co-Founders will become Decentralization Coordinators (DCs).
These Eco Nodes can apply for grants, investments, or other resource allocation from the Foundation, but Eco Nodes will be independent entities and will need to sustain themselves independently going forward. The Foundation will coordinate the formation of governance rules and practices together with the Eco Nodes.
From the marketing perspective, the Foundation will provide the overall branding strategy and coordination. For events, the Foundation will coordinate the global events, meetups, workshops, and also will continue to bring our flagship MetisFest to the community. For global community development, new and emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and South America will be the focus.
Even though the sentiments surrounding the global market are still in turmoil, we see the future more clearly than ever. With a humble but determinant attitude, and with the help from the community and Eco Nodes, we will keep building and delivering for a greater public good. Expect a fabulous 2023.
Ibi victoria,ubi concordia.(Where Is Unity, There Is Victory. )
