End of year update — 2020. A year of big challenges and even…
By: Dorian Johannink
Tags: Communication, Defi, Messaging, Dapps, Blockchain

End of year update — 2020

Hey everyone,

Looking back at 2020, it’s fair to say that it’s a year that none of us will be forgetting anytime soon!

With so much of the world still experiencing hardship due to Covid, we’ve been extremely lucky to have out-stepped the virus ‘relatively’ unscathed.

This year has been the biggest year we’ve ever had at Sylo in terms of development, and it feels amazing to know that not even a global pandemic could stand in our way.

Our global team have been fantastic at working remotely this year, staying focused to send out into the wild some of the biggest developments we’ve ever made. We have been doubly fortunate in the tail end of this year that due to our headquarters’ location in Auckland, New Zealand, our team has been able to collaborate and socialise in person.

Without further ado, I’d like to reflect on our highlights from 2020.

DEPLOYED BITCOIN INTEGRATION

A feature that was in high demand for some time, early on in March, we officially welcomed Bitcoin to the Sylo Smart Wallet.

The first big tick of 2020 in terms of making the app more useful for our users, given the consistent rise of BTC this year, we’re only too happy to have been able to provide that nice and early on!

RELEASED THE FIRST SYLO EXPERIENCE

One of the [many] special parts of the Sylo Smart Wallet is its ability to, like WeChat, be a home for mini apps, also known as Sylo Experiences.

We were pleased to unveil the first such experience in April with the launch of the Centrality Swag Store.

The Swag Store functioned as a unique shopping experience within Sylo, where users could purchase Centrality merchandise with crypto.

This was a great learning experience for our development team as well, which if you’d like to hear more about, make sure to check out the case study from our Head of Design James Carolan.

BROUGHT CRYPTO TO THE REAL WORLD

In June, along with our partner Centrapay and Coca-Cola Amatil, we gave users in Australia and New Zealand the ability to make purchases with Bitcoin at vending machines by using their Sylo Smart Wallet.

A huge and tangible step towards the everyday use of crypto, we were really excited to see this innovative campaign come to life.

If you loved buying a Coke with BTC this year, you’re going to love what we have in store for our users in 2021…

LISTED THE SYLO TOKEN ON THREE TOP EXCHANGES

Next up, a series of events this year of which we were proud to see come to pass was the listing of the Sylo Token on top global exchanges KuCoin, BitBns and most recently, Gate.io.

We’ve just confirmed some exciting relationships that will supercharge the tokens utility in 2021, which we’re looking forward to rolling out. Watch this space.

LAUNCHED A WEB3 BROWSER

You know what they say, all work and no play makes one dull. So it was great to launch the in-app Web3 Browser to not only give our users access to more places to spend crypto, but to be entertained as well.

Utilising the Web3 browser, Sylo Smart Wallet users became able to access any Ethereum-based dApp, such as decentralised games, marketplaces, exchanges, or social networks.

ANNOUNCED SYLO SOCIAL DEFI

Next up, in Q4, we announced a set of features coming soon that are sure to delight users around the world — Sylo Social DeFi.

With stake and yield mechanisms built around the concept of groups, this development will allow people to engage in earn mechanics around activities they already know and love, such as chatting, hosting VIP content and knowledge sharing.

Read more about Sylo Social DeFi here.

FAT PROTOCOLS & FAT DAPPS

Also in August, we decided to get academic and myself and Sylo Advisor Tyler Ward of BarnBridge, took a magnifying glass to how to best assess the value of decentralised projects.

This is one you might want to sit down for. So if you’re curious about how we contemplate the decentralised realm and have a moment to yourself over the holidays, jump in and give it a read. As ever, we’re keen to hear what you think.

THE OYA LAUNCH

Following this consistent string of developments, our team was head-down, hustling to the line to bring you the biggest release of our product ever — the Oya launch.

A total realignment of our backend architecture centering around the release of user-run Sylo Nodes and a world-first, this release has been one giant leap forward for decentralisation.

Since December 4, if you’ve updated your Sylo Smart Wallet, then congratulations — you’re using Oya!

If you’d like to know more about Oya, check out our sector of Oya related content here.

DEPLOYED TEZOS INTEGRATION

Last to arrive this year but certainly not least, we deployed support for Tezos to the Sylo Smart Wallet.

Built atop the robust foundation of Oya, our decision to integrate Tezos opens the door to a wealth of new opportunities across DeFi, dApps, fiat and more, all underpinned by the power of the Tezos blockchain.

“Baking”, which serves to validate “blocks” in the Tezos blockchain and ensure the stability and security of the network, is already in the pipeline, with additional Tezos-specific functionality to be delivered during early 2021.

Happy holidays, keep safe, and best wishes for the festive season!

Until next time…

Dorian Johannink

Co-Founder, Sylo.

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