TCD Chronicle: October 2023

What’s New on Telos

A Word From the TCD’s Head of ZK Technologies — Alberto Garoffolo

In October, we successfully enhanced the design of our cutting-edge protocol, paving the way for highly scalable Zero Knowledge transactions. In particular, during this month we delved deeper into the remaining open aspects of the protocol, testing the proposed solutions against a variety of attack scenarios and continuously refining the design to ensure high robustness. The upcoming phase will primarily revolve around crafting the white paper and benchmarking cryptographic primitives and prototypes to gather essential data for the forthcoming implementation.

Furthermore, our efforts extended to shaping a fresh roadmap, which encompasses significant innovations, notably the introduction of large-scale Zero Knowledge-enabled transactions, as well as a host of other exciting features that will be unveiled shortly.

A Word From the TCD’s Head of Engineering — Jesse Schulman

In October we focused a lot on features and improvements to the Telos Wallet as well as Teloscan. The new LayerZero bridge was a primary focus, with the backend team ensuring the new 1.5 beta endpoints were supporting the needs of the bridge as well as the frontend team putting Telos branding on the frontend which is now available at https://bridge.telos.net.

Progress continues on the final 1.5 release of the EVM, final fixes are being integrated into a single release which will be tested thoroughly before release. Also being worked on is the Teloscan API which will be key in supporting all the features that the Teloscan 2.0 upgrade will provide.

Very excited to close the year out with much of our hard work being finally released, and even more excited about the LayerZero bridge being live and connecting TelosEVM to over 30 other chains! Lots of new opportunities are already showing up because of this enhanced interoperability.

Telos Integrations —

DeFi

LayerZero

Website: https://layerzero.network/

LayerZero is an omnichain interoperability protocol designed for messaging and cross-chain composability.

Algebra

Website: https://algebra.finance/

Algebra is a protocol providing concentrated liquidity solutions for DEXs, enhancing capital efficiency and user convenience. It has been integrated into various DEXs across different chains including Swapsicle on Telos.

Covalent

Website: https://www.covalenthq.com/about/

Founded by serial entrepreneurs and data engineers, Covalent offers comprehensive data infrastructure for the blockchain ecosystem. It indexes 199 chains and is used by over 5,000 projects.

HYDN

Website: https://hydnsec.com/

HYDN, since its inception in 2021, has been at the forefront of securing the blockchain through comprehensive Smart Contract Audits, Web3 Penetration Testing, and real-time fraud prevention solutions.

Chainspect

Website: https://chainspect.app/

Chainspect provides up-to-date metrics for multiple chains including Telos Network.

Macaw

Website: https://www.macaw.club/

Macaw is a decentralized betting platform reinventing casino experiences. Powered by smart contracts, Macaw promises transparency & fairness. Players relish in automated, accurate payouts & game integrity, all blockchain-backed.

NFT

Omnisea

Website: https://omnisea.org

Omnisea is the first permissionless and no-code omnichian NFT Launchpad & Bridge powered by LayerZero.

Gaming

LandBox

Website: https://landboxgame.com/

LandBox is a free-to-play open-world game that offers a diverse and engaging gaming experience. The game allows players to explore, build, and connect with others in a rich virtual world.

Kiraverse

Website: https://kiraverse.game/

KIRAVΞRSΞ is an online multiplayer game created in Unreal Engine 5 for gamers across the globe to play, compete, and earn achievements to unlock or rent characters, skins, weapons, and more!

Network Performance

As part of an ongoing effort to provide more visibility into network statistics, the TCD has begun tracking key metrics. This will enable us to identify potential trends on-chain. More metrics will be added over time.

TCD October Development Updates

Executive Summary

October’s development by the Telos Core Developer (TCD) team saw considerable advancements across multiple projects. Key areas of focus included the Telos Wallet, Telos EVM RPC, Open Block Explorer, and the Token List. The team’s priority remained on enhancing user experience and performance, alongside ensuring compatibility and stability across their platforms.

Key Development Updates

Telos Wallet Updates

• Adjusted analytics for bounce rate, improved Single Page Application (SPA) mode for better user interaction tracking.
• Fixed currency input issues and enhanced performance on Apple devices.
• Updated PostCSS version to boost performance and compatibility.

Telos EVM RPC and Contract Updates

• Transformed SessionKit transact functionality into core signing features.
• Introduced nonce retry logic and defined a root directory for a flat distribution structure.
• Added configuration for reordering transactions by nonce.
• Replaced precompiles with new intrinsics for enhanced compatibility.
• Integrated compatibility with CDT 4.0.

Open Block Explorer Enhancements

• Updated software dependencies, corrected textual content, improved the landing page, and released a new version.
• Focused on UI improvements, like increasing row height for memos and adding local storage as fallback.

Token List and Teloscan Improvements

• Updated the tokens.telos.json file with LayerZero tokens.
• Teloscan received updates to the PostCSS library, along with added WalletConnect and Telos Cloud Wallet support.

Current Telos Core Developer Team Priorities

• EVM 1.5 (RPC, Translator and EVM Contract)
• Telos-Bridge Improvements including Testnet Support, OFT Support, and OFTNative Testnet for TLOS
• TELOS ZERO
• EVM Web Wallet
• UI/UX improvements
• EVM 2.0
• Governance Change backlog

Conclusion

This month showcased the TCD team’s commitment to refining and expanding the Telos ecosystem, with a strong focus on user experience and system robustness. The continuous updates across different repositories reflect our dedication to maintaining and improving the functionality and security of Telos Network.

To explore repos being actively worked on, maintained or being explored by the TCD visit: https://github.com/telosnetwork

TCD Developer Spotlight

Getting to Know Nathan — TCD’s Technical Onboarding Specialist

Intro:

Nathan Hennigh’s journey in the tech world began with a youthful curiosity for computers and a knack for programming, leading to some memorable pranks and a deep dive into computer science during his high school and college years. Passionate about harnessing the power of blockchain to address social injustices, particularly in East Africa, Nathan is currently involved in supporting Kenyan developers through education and hackathons. Outside of his professional pursuits, Nathan is an avid coffee enthusiast, outdoor adventurer, and a social butterfly, always keen on spending quality time with friends.

Work History and Experience:

Can you share a brief overview of your journey as a developer? How did you get started in this field?

I’ve always been interested in computers, from a young age I was my family’s tech support. In junior high, I started to learn more about programming and began to prank my friends with batch files that would freeze their computers. Because of those pranks, I accidentally froze two of the school’s servers and got in a lot of trouble. From there I studied computer science in high school and built games and websites. After high school I did a six month intensive bootcamp in C before going to college and minoring in Computer Science.

How do you stay up-to-date with the latest development trends in Web3?

Mostly through X, following prominent leaders in the space and joining X spaces. I also use youtube occasionally.

Life and Inspirations:

What motivated you to start working in blockchain?

Growing up in East Africa, I saw a lot of injustices and people being taken advantage of. Extortion, loan sharking, and bribing to name a few. I saw the huge potential impact that blockchain could have there. To cut through misuse and corruption and truly help people. This got me very interested in digital identities and the application of banking the unbanked. Having better, clearer ways to transact with transparency and giving people access to a global financial system would truly be revolutionary.

What are your hobbies?

I’m a big coffee nerd. I love spending time making coffee for my friends and trying to impress them with my latte art. I love being outside, hiking, camping, and being active. I have been trying to get back into pottery since I sold my wheel last year, (which was a bummer), but most of the time I just like being social and spending time with my friends.

Current Projects:

Currently, what project or task are you most excited about working on, and why?

I’m super excited to have the opportunity to support builders back in Kenya, which is still a home to me. Being able to spur on blockchain education through hackathons and 1:1 support has been a dream for me. Like I said earlier, blockchain has such transformative power there, and I’m just happy to be a small part of it!

Could you provide insight into the technologies and tools you’re using for your current projects ?

Most of my work is in developer relations, so not currently building any projects, though I hope to in the future. On the tech side I’ve been mainly helping people debug, get Telos configured correctly, and troubleshoot issues they may be having.

Additional Info & Socials:

Where can the community connect with you online?

Telegram: https://t.me/nathanhennigh

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-hennigh/