2023 Roadmap Community Hub Recap.

AMA • Published on: Jan 20, 2023 • Last updated: Jan 24, 2023

We announced a huge 2023 Roadmap and to help give some more insights, we held an AMA with our development team in our Telegram Community.

The AMA was filled with exciting glimpses into the future of LTO Network. Here's a summary of what was discussed.

🎙️Speakers:

Arnold Daniels - (Chief Architect - LTO Network)

Benas – (Developer – LTO Network)

Andre – (Developer – LTO Network)

Let’s dive in!

QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES.

Q: Ownables data can be stored wherever a user chooses. So, it is not being stored on the blockchain? If it's not stored on the blockchain, how can it be guaranteed that the data doesn't get lost or altered and then sold again? And where does it get downloaded from?

An Ownable consists of a package and an event chain. The package contains the smart contract and other files like images and scripts, all the calls to the smart contract are serialized and stored in the event chain. A hash of each event is written to the public blockchain. This can be used to detect any modification.

In order to trade the Ownable it must be locked and uploaded to a bridge. The bridge will provide a key that allows unlocking an NFT on the Ethereum (or similar) network. A new holder of the NFT can use it to obtain the Ownable from the bridge.

Both the package and event chain should be backed up, to prevent the Ownable from being lost. It can be backup up to the bridge or to a range of (centralized or decentralized) storage solutions.” - Arnold

Q: Is the project that will be developed in partnership with Bit Hotel included in the roadmap for 2023?

Yes, but we did not include it in our roadmap, since this will be mostly a development effort by Bit Hotel.” - Arnold

Q: Is the GoLand Registry, in partnership with the UN, a service only for land registration, or are there other alternatives or open paths for other services within the same platform?

As it’s a collaboration with the UN, there’s a specific real-world focus for this project. If there are people interested in using it for alternative purposes, we’re open to discussing that.” - Arnold

Q: With Cosmos integration on the horizon, is there interest in Polkadot substrates or avalanche subnets?

LTO is an atypical blockchain, as it’s not centered around smart contracts, but instead functions as a decentralized graph. Cosmos provides a modular system, allowing us to customize it to our needs, without having to fork the project.

Avalanche subnets are more or less a copy of Avalanche, which doesn’t meet our requirements. Polkadot Substrates is also a valid option. However, we believe that Cosmos technology is more mature. Additionally, we’ve chosen CosmWasm-based contracts on the private layer, so it makes sense to also switch to Cosmos for our public chain.” - Arnold

Q: Is there a plan to switch to cosmos?

As announced in the Roadmap, yes. We are currently experimenting with the chain.” - Benas

Q: So, you will actually abandon the current Waves-based chain and move fully to Cosmos?Not a bad idea per se - Syntropy are going the same way (though from Ethereum, not Waves).

Yes, full move to cosmos-sdk based mainnet is the plan. When that goes live, the Waves-based chain will stop producing blocks.

As far as I know Syntropy moved their development efforts from substrate (polkadot) because it proved to be insufficient for what they tried to achieve. We share a similar sentiment, and I’m sure there will be lots of other chains moving on to Cosmos (e.g., dYdX already announced it) because of the ecosystem it provides.” - Benas

Q: How will this COSMOS way forward affect nodes on LTO Mainnet? Will Mainnet keep active? Do nodes need to change systems? What are the details node runners need?

We’ll still provide docker containers, making the switch seamless for most node operators. The aim is to keep the system as backward-compatible as possible. Ideally, you should only be required to update the node and client libraries.” - Arnold

Q: Hi, do you need a dedicated team from Cosmos to do this integration or is this LTO alone project?

Maybe you would also know why is the LTO team doing this integration alone without cosmos team, especially as comsos is offering: Why alone??? if there is Builders Program funded by Interchain Foundation.

You can submit the application form and team will get back you if you have plan to migrate your project from other ecosystems or build your own application specific chain.

We are aware of the Interchain Foundation and its Builders program and are in touch with key people from the Cosmos ecosystem. Currently, we’re experimenting with the SDK. When we have a more detailed plan and technical description, we’ll officially contact the foundation.” – Benas

Q: I have a question to add! Each dev, what is your favorite item from the new 2023 Roadmap?

Definitely cosmos move for me, interchain is the future” – Benas

Proofi Adoption!!” – Andre

OpenCypher support. This will make LTO network much more attractive to non-blockchain developers and will make LTO really stand out compared to other blockchains as a decentralized graph.” – Arnold

Q: To be easily accessible, Does LTO have any idea to launch the platform with mobile #Application in 2023?

Yes, our mobile wallet is in alpha testing at the moment.” - Arnold

Q: You ever tried to upgrade a cosmos chain? total shit with many chainhalts. How will this be backward compatible?

There are more than 50 chains running on cosmos sdk afaik. Just because some team didn't manage their upgrades and had some downtime does not make the tech bad. Not aware of any downtime of cosmos hub itself?” - Benas

We'll develop our own Cosmos plugins to match the current functionality. This includes and compatible API. We'll also keep supporting our current address generation method. Chain halts can be prevented by properly applying feature votes.” - Arnold

Q: Can you shine a bit more light on what we can expect in 2023 from Proofi? In terms of adoption.

We are almost finished with our defi test project for proofi, you guys will get to see it soon! after that we’re ready for real world scenarios, some projects have already shown interests but we are still finishing our testing” – Andre

Q: Hello all, some questions I raised here couple of weeks back but was told to wait for AMA. Thx again for clarification:

1) What is the primary goal for Cosmos integration? To use Cosmos hub as security layer? Or just for interoperability purposes? What will happen to LTO’s current nodes?

2) Can you give some examples of MyOwnables embedded mini-apps? Like the idea, just struggling to come-up with some use cases

3) One thing that worries me about LTO is lack of projects building upon it. On the old web page there was many more projects mentioned running (or building) upon LTO (e.g., I remember the one digitizing the diamond certificates and putting them on LTO blockchain). Is there any source to explore the whole ecosystem?

1) Interoperability is a big one. Being able to offer LTO services to multiple blockchains will open up possibilities. The development experience is also a point, as well as us currently using CosmWasm in ownables.

2) The ownable demo had a potion that could be consumed, transferred. However, we are sure that a lot of use cases will come out from developers that we haven’t even thought of.

3) It was hard to have projects building on LTO when we are a waves fork. It is a closed off chain, and we hope that will change with our move to cosmos”. – Benas

Q: The chain always stops after an upgrade has been approved. It's even in the cosmos docs

Nodes that are running an old version will halt. Cosmos allows for feature voting by nodes that are not upgraded yet, which can cause this issue. Also, there isn't a grace period like we currently have, these features that we would like to add.” – Arnold

Q: Will there be more platforms? where to buy LTO?

LTO is widely available right now so focus is not on additional fiat gateways. But never say never. Who knows what the future might bring". - Mad Eagle

Q: Thanks Benas, what about the current LTO nodes? (We are running one)

We’ll still provide docker containers, making the switch seamless for most node operators. The aim is to keep the system as backward-compatible as possible. Ideally, you should only be required to update the node and client libraries.” – Benas

Q: What role does Sphereon currently play, are they involved in the developments that are happening at LTO in 2023?

We're in close contact with Sphereon and are always discussing new developments around decentralized identities. We'll definitely collaborate on more projects in the future." – Arnold

Q: What are the key changes that the luscious tokenomics will bring?

“The improvements focus on leasing. You can unlease a specific amount instead of having to cancel the whole lease and then lease a part again. Second, the Payout transaction type, with automatically lease the transferred LTO to the sender, effectively enabling compound rewards.” – Arnold

Q: Will the public chain have the ability to mint coins, like ERC20 standard?

On the public chain LTO will be minted as block rewards, just like on the current public chain." – Arnold

Q: Any idea about server requirements? Generally, I mean?

I'd think not much different from the current ones” – Benas

‘The system requirement for blockchains are typically high because of smart contracts. We've yet to decide if we'll support cosmwasm on the public chain. That's something to discuss and decide.” - Arnold

Q: This might be a bit philosophical, but will there be some sort of vote to migrate the chain?

There needs to be a feature vote to halt the current chain, making the migration possible. But if there's a strong voice against the migration we would want to discuss it earlier rather than later.” – Arnold

Q: With the new update for 2023 will it be allowed to build other cryptocurrencies or crypto tokens on the LTO Blockchain? Or will this not be the focus of the LTO network?

It is not on the roadmap for 2023.” – Benas

This is never the focus of LTO Network. If we support CosmWasm on the public chain, it would be possible. But it's not certain we'll do that, as it raises system requirements significantly.

The initial version will have the same features we have now. Adding functionality will happen through a feature vote." - Arnold

Q: Maybe I've not been paying attention but I still don't understand any real benefits from the move. I think the only one I've seen as a reason is that it makes it easier for other cosmos daaps to integrate with LTO.

I mean that's huge, the whole idea I proposed last year was to shift us away from being an island. This makes us part of the fabric of blockchain and makes LTO useful to a large number of developers and other networks.” – Shawn

We're currently not part of an ecosystem, making it much more difficult to attract developers. It's also difficult to get 3th party application to do integrations or get native support on exchanges. Concrete example is Chainlink, we've discussed native integration with them many times, as they're in the process of adding partner chains. But LTO tech is really niche, making us a point of internal discussion. With cosmos migration this will be different.” – Arnold

Q: Royalties are a big topic in Web3. A lot of people are advocating for them. Also, royalties are important in web2 as well. In music, for example. Services like Spotify and record labels themselves are making it so the artists receive the short end of the stick. Web3 is supposed to change that and give the power back to the creators.

Royalties are an important part of that. The argument against royalties on Ownables seems to be that this would make them centralized. Yet, I believe that many creators will steer clear of Ownables if there is no prospect of continuous income from their creations.Do you think Ownables can succeed without royalties? If so, why?

Ownables can have many applications ranging from media files to metaverse items. Royalties, as you describe, would require a centralized point that would attempt to enforce those royalty payments. Users are more than welcome to create something like that, but it is not in the plans of our roadmap itself.” - Benas

“To elaborate on this point, really comprehensive royalties’ options are technically possible, the current roadmap doesn't have any specific implementation planned but I personally feel that it won't be hard for a project to add this if they choose to” – Shawn

Q: Being part of cosmos won't automatically attract devs.

So, the team is obviously going to have to incentivize them by paying with LTO.

How much are we setting aside to pay? add what happens once we stop paying.

Exchange listings are easy with an Erc20 version of the coin and a bridge...

It's literally cut and paste for exchanges. As we already have this moving to cosmos doesn't make it any easier for exchanges.

CosmWasm developers (like those who've build on the Luna chain) can start working on LTO, creating Ownables, without the need of learning a new tech stack. We're finding that it's difficult to convince developers to invest time and energy learning a new stack. In terms of rewarding new developers. That's much easier to do as a big ecosystem (like Cosmos has) than as a lonely blockchain.

ERC20 bridging is not ideal. We see a lot of bridged LTO, which isn't contributing in securing the network. We prefer native integration by exchanges.” - Arnold

Conclusion

That concludes our 2023 Roadmap Community Hub AMA Recap!

We extend our sincerest gratitude to the LTO Network community members for their continued support and engagement.

Also, to our fantastic Dev Team representatives: Arnold Daniels - (Chief Architect - LTO Network), Andre - (Developer - LTO Network) & Benas - (Developer - LTO Network), who gave their valuable insights, thank you!

We look forward to bringing our vision to reality; we will keep you updated on our progress and new developments.

Stay tuned for more updates from LTO Network!

About LTO Network

LTO Network is Europe's most advanced blockchain project. It is fully decentralized and highly efficient. Currently it is used worldwide by businesses, governments and institutions like the UN, Dutch government and more.

The network has several technologies that can be used to provide solutions for decentralized data security, digital identities, privacy and the ownership of digital assets and digital collectibles.