Hello Miners! Hope you are as stoked as us for another issue of our weekly newsletter, the Concave Echo!

The Concave Echo is a weekly newsletter where we recap the most recent developments in Concave, while highlighting some of the amazing contributions from the community. Now without further ado, let us get started!

On January 3rd, the team announced that a new event that would happen on the 8th. This event was called the Concave Genesis event. Miners immediately became hyped up, anticipating that more information of the project would be released. That said, there was no official information given on what the event was about. Miners imagined what sort of wonders would be released at the event. On the 5th, a mysterious channel called the Concave Genesis was opened up to miners and in it were various riddles. There would be secret words that were missing most of its letters, and it was up to miners to work together to guess the secret word. At first, the community guessed with speed and precision, but the words became harder to guess. In the channel, hints would trickle down to help the community. Once a certain amount of time passed, the cave would close, and miners would have to wait for a certain amount of time until it opened up again.

These teasers led up to the Concave Genesis Event, where alpha was dropped form the skies. The Core members talked about protocol features, future trajectory, tokenomics, whitelist and more. The event broke previous viewer records by a landslide, with over 1200 people listening live. Alpha was dropped, Poaps were given out, and the sheer hype actually caused a server outage for a few hours. We are truly thankful for the passionate miners who showed up to create this magical experience with us. Thank you!

Our Policy Lead Miaoshi has been on fire recently with the alpha that he has been sharing on recent blog posts. One significant blog post that Miaoshi has posted recently is his community proposal 2, which offers his proposed rebase model for Concave and his rationale for this model. There is a lot of necessary information that is difficult to go through in detail here, but Miaoshi argues that the focus with this proposal should be to bootstrap treasury growth in the early phases of the protocol and gradually shift to paying back investors in later phases. If you haven’t read through this proposal yet, you can read the blog post here.

If you have spent some time with the community, I’m sure you would know that we have a lot of miners who are interested in gaming. To foster friendships and connections, the community has regular gaming events; For this week, Shaz would like to host a 1v1 Halo Tournament where you can test your meddle with other miners in a fun tournament that would be streamed on the Concave Twitch channel. If you are interested in participating, please contact Marco Polo or Shaz in the Concave Discord to learn more.

A strong community needs a strong core, and the mining core has been busy at work getting Concave to be a powerhouse in the DeFi space. We wanted to drop by and have a short interview with Baron Idaho, one of the core miners for Concave.

What is your background?

I am the elder statesman here. I have 30 years of experience in IT career, worked in various corporations and startups. I preferred working in startups, and this led me to look at DAOs. Working at Concave feels like going back to my startup roots. I have been a scrum master for more than 5 years but worked in an agile way for most of my career.

How did you learn about Concave?

That would be Wookie’s fault. He introduced me to Concave and asked if I wanted to join them on a grand mission.

What are your personal hobbies?

Modding and playing video games, especially games from Bethesda like Fallout and Skyrim. Also I have fostered dogs for over 10 years and helped find homes for over 60 dogs at this point. I enjoy travelling, can’t wait for Covid hysteria to end so I can start doing that again.

How do you envision Concave in the future?

I will admit to being a crypto noob. I was brought on for my organizational skills and agile mindset. I see Concave as a means to disintermediate many existing financial systems that have a monopolistic control over people’s access to earning wealth.

What is a goal that you would like to achieve?

End the Fed

We know that there are a lot of miners that are eager to host events with Concave, and the community team wants to give you the opportunity to do that by giving you the resources and framework to host successful events. We are finalizing this framework right now, and we will have any necessary information you might need to start an event with the community team. With this framework, you will have a dedicated team member check in with you regularly to see if there are any potential issues that come up, resources such as streamers and casters who can help cast your event, and more. If you want to organize an event, feel free to let the community team know!

This week’s Miner of the Week goes to Nate the Noble, a member of the community team and event organizer for the community. Nate was a key contributor to organizing the Concave Genesis event, and we wanted to stop by and learn more about Nate and what he does with the Concave community.

For those of you who did not see his country tag, Nate reigns from Singapore, He graduated from a Business course in an InfoTech school.

Nate has run businesses in real life and has been doing so for the past 9 years. He is a hands-on person that loves to see ideas turn into real world results through the processes and finally achieving the desired outcome.

Nate has managed over 40+ employees, handling 6–7 digit contracts and projects, He is comfortable working with people who share a similar sense of initiative and empowers them to do great things.

Nate has stated that he is happily married with kids, so please don’t send him ass pics.

Last but not least, Nate’s go to phrase that he has always followed religiously is this.

If not us, who?

If not now, when?

The Community Contribution section is a place where we celebrate some of the amazing work of our mining community. Here are some of the brilliant projects that our community has created this past week.

Memes

We have some amazing meme creators in our community, and they have been putting in their passion and creativity to create memes that miners can enjoy. One meme that made us chuckle was this timely meme made by uni11 which shows how community members react when there is a Concave event like the Concave Genesis.

The Arts

For this week’s section on The Arts, we wanted to highlight this amazing short comic by Cooc about a frog that is searching for the Golden spoon in Concave. The art is a joy to look at, and I personally can’t get enough on the expression that the frogs have. We have some true talent in our community, and it’s always great to see the creativity that comes out of our miners.

That’s all for this week miners — we hope you enjoyed this week’s issue of the Concave Lens and look forward to bringing you the next one.

WAGMI

Make sure to follow us on our socials!

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Through this poll Edouard Bessire reached out and gave me a pretty detailed response to help me better understand the space. He is one of the founders of Cryptograph, a player in the NFT space. He was also kind enough to partake in a Q&A with you, which you can find below. First, let me tell you a little more about Cryptograph to get a better understanding of his background and company.

Cryptographs are one-of-a-kind digital collectibles created by artists that support good causes forever. Thanks to blockchain technology, each Cryptograph is 100% owned by the purchaser and cannot be forged or destroyed. A Cryptograph is a digital legacy. Cryptographs are sold at auction and then traded by collectors on the platform, raising money for their creators and good causes every time they are transacted. Thus, every time a transaction occurs in the future a portion of that goes back to the artist/cause it was created for. For example, the seller will get 90% of the proceeds and 10% will get sent to the artist/cause that it was created by/for. Below is Paris Hilton’s artwork of her cat that was auctioned off on Cryptograph:

A: You don’t need to rely on any third party. NFTs is peer-to-peer electronic digital ownership, the same way Bitcoin is peer-to-peer electronic money. The only person you need to trust is whoever created the NFT you are buying.

A: Or will they merge before bursting together?

A: NFTs are a means of self expression. What you wear, what you drive, what you put on your wall, pictures you post on IG, these are all ways we express ourselves (or brag). Soon, I will go on your online profile and also see what you own. We are increasingly living more in the digital realm (social media already brought the social construct online), NFTs bring ownership and value to the internet.

A:For an art NFT: Emotional value + beauty + social capital + scarcity + demand

For collectible or a ticket NFT: all the above + utility value

Then soon, you’ll be able to add IP rights attached to the NFT, and then (depending on regulations), adding income/royalties attached to the NFT.

A: Not tax advice, but in the UK as long as it can’t be considered a security (if you get income from it for example that would be a security) I believe then it is treated as an intangible asset like other cryptocurrencies. Value to be re-assessed yearly and capital gains may apply when sold.

A: Don’t buy an NFT if you don’t trust the artist or/and there is no legal framework that protects you from the creator printing like Powell in 2020. On @crytographco, every creator must agree to the terms of use and cannot do more NFT with that content (they give a perpetual, exclusive copyright license to the NFT owner)

A: Depends on the platform. On the Cryptograph platform, the creator extends us a license to create and display the NFT, make it available for trading to collectors, and to extend a perpetual and exclusive sublicense that travels with the NFT as it changes owner forever. We are exploring a lot of new models, like attaching commercial rights to the NFT so the owner can commercialize the art. In short, pretty much anything is possible, the question is what sticks.

A: 1. Get a blockchain wallet address

2. Mint a non-fungible-token, with the key information about your art (title, creator, number of “prints”, hash of the media..)

3. Attach whatever intellectual property/copyright to it legally (e.g. terms of use)

4. A: Depends on the terms of use of the NFT. If you create the NFT and sell it saying you won’t license the content, then no. Otherwise, yes.

5. A: First, every normal person should invest in crypto. Second, NFTs are the beginning of a new internet based on value and ownership, rather than on likes, views and ads. Soon when I will go to your online profile, I won’t see just pictures with captions or 140 characters though pieces. I will see digital content you own. Your own digital collection that cannot be counterfeited and that you can curate, share and trade/make money from. As we increasingly live, meet and interact digitally, culture markets will become the new social media.

6. A: You’re screwed unless the content is stored somewhere else. That’s why NFTs should have decentralized storage so that any owner can store the content of their NFTs and share it. This can be as simple as a P2P torrent link.

7. A: Sure, if you wire me enough $$$ I’ll send you one. More seriously, this is one of the main features platforms like ours are working on. The ones that do already are “centralized” (you send them money and they control the token minting, not very “blockchain”). On a decentralized platform like Cryptograph you need to first buy crypto from your dollars, and then buy the NFT with the crypto. But that will change soon, in a way that stays decentralized ;)

8. A: I think it will be huge. Imagine any in-game asset being an NFT you can trade, and move between games even. It can also be a way to finance the development of your game: Show your vision for the game, release assets on the blockchain that people can buy and trade, use that money to build the game. And we’re just scratching the surface of what can be done here.

9. The Tech Moguls and Celebrities Riding the NFT Hype and Cashing In (The Observer)

10. Entertainment Veterans Team Up with Digital Auctioning Platform Cryptograph (Flaunt)

11. Paris Hilton sells Ethereum-based artwork for $17,000 (Decrypt)

12. Ashton Kutcher Sets His Art On Fire for Charity (TMZ)

13. As always, sign up for our newsletter to be first in the know about our latest blog posts and product drops. We appreciate your continued support and hope you enjoy the content. — The FA Team

14. 
    

The more we tried to dig in to this project, the more we realized how ambitious this idea was & how it changes things totally, and many times we had to struggle to find the right path as we are breaking entirely new ground, we had no references, we had to debate, take feedback, solve issues we never knew that would come. It’s been a struggling quarter especially when the market was bullish with overhyped NFTs with no utility out there. We had not much of a reach to speak of, but we still pulled through & we are heading into a whole new phase this quarter (Q1, 2022).

Here’s what happened so far…

The first stamp (cut-out-001) ever was designed and posted on website. The concept of Cryptostamping officially took its roots, and we were planning and working on how to make this system authentic and open source.

The discord server and the social accounts on twitter, medium, YouTube & reddit are launched on Oct 31, 2021. The idea was shared and made public with articles and social posts everywhere.

Discord — Twitter — Reddit — Medium — YouTube

With wallet connection, free giveaway badges, the official website for the first NFT stamp collection, Cut Outs was launched.

The official trailer for Cryptostamping was launched to simplify the process of understanding Cryptostamping and the impact it can create. Also begins phase 1 of marketing and community build up.

The official website for Cryptostamping, the open source project which oversees the build & maintenance of tools like plugin, embed, ECS contract and other stuff related to crypto stamping.

We have deployed a public grant on Gitcoin to collect funds from community. This is an absolute open source project that benefits all and is looking into the future of digital valuation.

The official standard for Cryptostamping — ECS1 — Ethereum Crypto Stamping Standard was developed and implement on a test contact deployed on Ropsten test net.

The official embed that lets you embed the stamp button, or in simpler words that can convert your website into web3 with a single button is deployed and was in beta testing for production launch with applied beta testers.

In summary, we believe that the past three months were the true foundation for the on coming revolution in the internet. One day digital stamps will become a commonality & the official standard to add value to any & all digital content. We’ve been working hard to pursue this dream & we will continue to do so with the same spirit this year too. Thanks for the support!

Join the Beta List and help us with any errors/plugins. Every Beta tester will be able to add stamps in ROPSTEN network through plugin or embed, throughout the internet anywhere. And help us perfect the software during the trial period prior to official launch.

Mountain Soundsystems is a music project focused on releasing innovative music and developing new live electronic performance experiences. This artist is part of Slope Productions and has released numerous singles and an EP with press in international magazines, music blogs, newspapers and other publications. Mountain Soundsystems is currently performing shows and hosting events in the northwest United States as a live electronica performance along with other artists, DJs, and producers. Mountain Soundsystems founder has now turned his attention towards project funding to expand Mountain Soundsystem’s vision to the highest of summits.

Though Mountain Soundsystems is still in its infancy it has reached a juncture of development which is now being officially shared as Mountain Soundsystems Token ( $MST ). With the launch of the Mountain Soundsystems Token, a new way of funding artists, projects, and collectives has been created. Holders will become a part of the journey in artistic development, offering a unique experience to fund art and promote creative direction. Since Mountain Soundsystems is only just starting, those early fans will be able to get in on the ground floor of all that is to come.

Token holders are able to fund an artistic vision while being actively involved in its success for the first time. Over the lifetime custody of the token, as the popularity of Mountain Soundsystems grows so does public exposure to Mountain Soundsystems Token. Interaction with the token harnesses its management design and economics to increase return, yields, and funding for the artist and funders alike. Funds will be reinvested in the production, furthering the lifespan and career of Mountain Soundsystems. The aim is to create a transparent ecosystem that not only funds the project and rewards those who support it, but also aims for longevity even past the retirement of Mountain Soundsystems itself.

Token Address: 0x341688e9617AABad7C9FE33c39E9274353e247a8

Etherscan: https://etherscan.io/token/0x341688e9617AABad7C9FE33c39E9274353e247a8

Dex Tools: https://www.dextools.io/app/uniswap/pair-explorer/0x359fa4151b7660879ea3552dcea8f382a9569fe9

100% created at launch / non-inflationary

1,000,000 MST

Fair Launch — No ICO

Custody of token is active, as opposed to passive or locked in a smart contract, and all activity with the token will be designed in the best interest of Mountain Soundsystems longevity and supporter satisfaction. Over the lifetime of the token many actions can be taken and these could include but would not be limited to: token burns, governance, donations or airdrops at critical junctures either in Mountain Soundsystems popularity or Mountain Soundsystems Token’s price action. Active management will achieve many goals with adoption and provide incentive for investors to hold and be able to manage market liquidity to minimize downside volatility. Additionally, due to the fact that the management is active it can also help ensure against price manipulation.

It is important to note, though active management is occurring, this is not to be construed as an expectation of profit, though profit may occur, and those choosing to participate in this ecosystem are doing so as support of Mountain Soundsystem’s creative projects.

Security in the ecosystem is directly tied to the public association of Mountain Soundsystem, which at the time of the token release is several years of work. The address holding all the Mountain Soundsystems Token at launch is: 0x5dBDd9bB62Ff4c0F68427158a6a47994A9954BFe and so all token movement will be easily documented. There are no other wallets receiving any of the initial supply. Any wallets being used in the Mountain Soundsystems Ecosystem will be officially declared, such as the wallet that interacts with Balancer which is: 0x553dE858Fcf990e744617Cb3c61F3F56A1Dd2498.

Its founder and label are both public information, and so the association to Mountain Soundsystems Token is acknowledged publicly as well, thus tied to a real world asset. Notifications of any token movement will be given either publicly through media or posted on the blockchain.

Any attempts, to scam, dump, or rugpull would severely damage the associated music career and further insurance against that is that by using very low liquidity from the founder with a high number of held tokens, any excessive selling would immediately crash the price rendering the remainder of the wallet useless if investors abandon it. As the more decentralized liqudity increases, so too does the insurance against any rapid removal. Holders have the assurance that the liabilities associated with both crashing the token and the associated career prevents even the temptation of doing so. Lastly, but most importantly, any misuse of funds would be the most egregious to those who have chosen to support Mountain Soundsystems the most, damaging the valuable connections and relationships that help Mountain Soundsystems exist in the first place. The combination forms an extremely strong incentive to preserve and maintain the token’s value in order to further the Mountain Soundsystems project.

To Recap this Design:

MST will only be released in very small portions, irregularly, with low starting market liquidity.

Dumping tokens would crash the price and dissuade investors rendering the vast majority of tokens useless

Developer wallet is public with 100% of tokens, no token movement can occur that isn’t public

Misuse of funds ends capital for Mountain Soundsystems and the project as it stands

The active management is designed not only as a funding source, but as an attractive investment for holders. There are several mechanisms in play here, all of which work together with the larger ecosystem to build a resilient model of trust, as opposed to trustless systems commonly found with cryptocurrency today.

The low liquidity will cause any purchases to increase the price significantly, and it would be expected that as Mountain Soundsystems attracts more fans, more people will be interested in supporting the project through the Mountain Soundsystems Token. This would consistently drive the price upwards, with no individual being able to effectively control the supply or price apart from the Mountain Soundsystems Token developer. The low initial liquidity will be attractive to those interested in being a liquidity provider on any of the platforms hosting Mountain Soundsystems Token, allowing for furthering development. Because most of $MST is being held by the developer, the liquidity it attracts will be external and bring value to the project as a whole, which again is positive pressure on the price.

Since Mountain Soundsystems token utilizes crowd sourced liquidity there are multiple ways to earn passive income by being a part of the Mountain Soundsystems Ecosystem. Initial liquidity will be provided to Uniswap by the developer, any crowd funded liquidity providers will be able to earn through Uniswap’s native system, which is at this time 0.3% per transaction. Liquidity providers choosing to do this have the ability to gain large portions of these rewards by contributing due to the low initial amount deployed from the developer. This will also be the case with other exchanges, if Mountain Soundsystems token becomes listed elsewhere.

MST will also be available through a high fee Balancer Pool, alongside Wrapped Statera (wSTA), HEX (HEX), and Balancer Token (BAL). The majority of the pool will be dedicated to MST allowing for holders and the token price to receive the maximum benefit. The swap fee is 5%, disincentivizing those who are selling and benefiting those that prefer to hold longterm, support Mountain Soundsystems, and receive rewards through the Balancer Protocol. The tokens chosen for this pool will also have positive price pressure on MST as well as fees collected through Balancer. wSTA is a wrapped version of Statera which is a deflationary index fund that utilizes Balancer as well. It’s deflationary nature, constantly arbitraging price fluctuations, and balancing cause it to inflect positive price pressure on MST. HEX is a cryptocurrency based certificate of deposition, which due to its nature has strong positive price action. It imparts pressure on the pool as a whole for re-balancing, and thus does the same for MST. Balancer is added to compliment the protocol and support its utilization. While wSTA and HEX are highly volatile, Balancer is less so historically, acting as a relative stable asset in the pool. As none of the assets have been correlated to each other over their lifespan, and due to high volatility overall it allows for maximization of the re-balancing feature, fees, and arbitrage opportunities.

More TBA

Short terms, these funds will help in the production and promotion of Mountain Soundsystems’s music releases. As of the time of this paper, 12 new tracks are set to be released in 2021 along with livestreams and a promotional plan. Long term, it is Mountain Soundsystem’s goal to develop live events, share full length releases, host and participate in festivals, collectives, and collaborations to expand a worldwide vision and bring more creativity into a boundless ecosystem.

There is no limit to how high we can climb with Mountain Soundsystems.