Stakenet AMA - Part I
By: Jo Park
Tags: Lightning Network, Blockchain, Xsn Articles, Xsn, Xsn Community

Q: How many people are actually involved in the overall project? Including websites, cloud-service, etc.? and How many people work for X9? and How many people make up the team and how many are developers?

A: In total there are circa 40 people who are involved with the project, which includes team members, 10 developers, website maintenance etc.

Q: Has a new big exchange been approached? Can we expect this in Q1 2021? When will we be listed and what stage are we currently at with them?

A: Due to NDA’s we cannot state an exact date about the exchange listing, but we are working hard to get it done asap.

Q: When will the DEX be launched?

A: You are able to test the current version of the DEX as we type this. The DEX is in open Beta which is a vital stage as this allows us to gather feedback from the community and find as many bugs as possible. We will release the DEX from the open Beta stage once we have integrated and tested ETH & ERC-20 tokens. Once this has been done and everyone is happy with how the DEX performs, then we will be able to give an exact date however; it is fully functional in its current Beta state.

Q: Even though we realize it is complicated to pin down exact dates, is it planned to at least give estimates on achieving the milestones of the roadmap? Since the percentage of approximate completion can be confusing and frustrating (because there is no indication on how long the current progress persists), maybe quarters would be more convenient. and Why not list things on the roadmap that are achievable in a year?

A: Thanks for the feedback and the critic!

We have learned from the past mistakes when using estimates within our roadmap. Innovation is at the forefront of what we do so the majority of the work we do is built from scratch so this requires time and can be very hard to estimate as we have nothing to compare against.

There are times where we rely on third parties, such as Ledger, which can cause unexpected delays and roadmap targets to be missed. Previously we use to have quarters on the roadmap which did not work as we moved targets around.

We understand our roadmap is ambitious roadmap as it includes not only innovation from our developers but also what is being researched. We will keep the roadmap as it stands and we relish the opportunity to complete it!

Q: Could you disclose any plans to audit the DEX and XSN Blockchain or other verifiable assurances or security?

A: At this point the code of MCLW and DEX is closed source, so we won’t have an audit there soon.

We are currently in contact with a code reviewer who might audit the core wallet and also get an audit of the security aspects of our MCLW and lightning DEX later.

Q: Is it possible to be listed on an exchange in Turkey?

A: Previously we listed on a Turkish Exchange, Sistemkoin. This exchange caused a lot of issues (delayed wallet/node upgrades, delaying withdrawals for users, strange price peaks and so forth). We as a team, and in agreement with our Turkish community, requested that we get delisted from their exchange.

Q: Can you elaborate on the utilization of the TOR Network and how exactly it comes into play regarding the Wallet/User anonymity?

A: With TOR Network your IP gets hidden by a decentralized server system, so your crypto wallet addresses can’t be traced back to your home IP. In the future, the wallets’ TOR system will be run by XSN Masternodes.

Q: Is there an ETA on the Cloud-UI polish/update? (staking/ scaling/ filtering/ graphs/ statistics…)

A: The Stakenet Cloud will receive not only a UI update but an overall update in the coming weeks and a much bigger update in the coming months. It will remain mostly MNaaS-focused from there on.

Q: Will the DEX be easy to use when released? Because the current system is very complex.

A: Yes, that’s what we have been working on the last months — it is called simple swap UI (SSUI). All you need to do is load your wallet with funds and only click “exchange” — and your work is done. Take a look here:

Live swap from closed-beta group

Q: Will the dex support XRP/ XLM/ Stablecoins in the future? and Any chance we will see Monero (XMR) on the DEX?

A: We have to be specific here: XLM (Stellar) has lightning enabled and should be possible to add eg after we have finished ETH and ERC-20 tokens integration. XRP (Ripple) isn’t lightning swap compatible, but still by using our hubs we will be able to add any coin, as long as we have a way to interact via a wallet or a node. Specially the ones that have high tx/s rate, low block time and cheap tx fees (e.g. XRP). In those cases, an on-chain instant low fee trade would be feasible (e.g. Lightning BTC <> on-chain XRP).

Stablecoins, eg USDT, USDC and DAI are ERC-20 tokens, so they will be added by using the Connext Network, especially USDT will be one of the very first tokens we are going to add.

XMR (Monero) is working at the moment on becoming atomic swap compatible, which is the base for becoming lightning compatible (read more here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/gx2ow6/ccs_funding_required_monero_atomic_swaps_research/ ). If XMR won’t become lightning compatible, we will add it to our Atomic-Swap tab.

Q: How long does it take to get the aggregator connected to a new exchange?

A: It mostly depends on the exchange to be integrated as there are different aspects to check:

How similar their API design is to other already integrated exchanges

How many open source clients are available for their API and in what programming languages they are written

How active / responsive their tech support is

How the requests limits and trading rules defined

What are the reporting tools they offer

Considering a fair amount of testing, it might need up to 2 weeks — months for any exchange to be fully integrated for an aggregator.

Once the exchange is connected and flexible configurations are implemented, it technically only takes seconds to add new pairs. However the hub aggregators will make sure everything runs stable, so they will test, add funds to the exchanges etc. before releasing it to the public.

Q: How important does the X9 Team consider Privacy Coins? Can we count on coins that have a Privacy by Default blockchain, like ZK-Snark technology or RingCT or Mimblewimble? (Not lightning capable, partially Atomic-Swap capable)

A: Privacy is very important to us, this is why we are using TOR and Lightning Network swaps (offchain => not visible to anyone outside). When we have our Atomic Swap tab ready we will also implement atomic swap compatible privacy coins. Also the privacy coin Beam coin might become lightning compatible. Furthermore we are actively watching privacy technology like Mimblewimble we could integrate into our own blockchain too.

Q: (How) will the Stakenet blockchain be connected to the DEX? What services can masternodes contribute to the DEX and the XSN ecosystem?

A: The XSN blockchain will be integrated at stage 3, called hydra, and will play an important role in the monitoring and policing of hubs. The blockchain will be used to set rules and regulations for the DEX operators that ensure good behavior and reliable service. In return for the blockchains service to act as “referee” for the operator, payment must be made in the native currency XSN (the extra work for the additional conversion does not lie with the users, but with the operators / DEX hub nodes).

To explain this, we have to go back a little: there is currently a problem in the Lightning network, because you don’t really know whether a hub or a blockchain service made many mistakes in the past or failed to perform swaps.

This problem could be solved along the lines of “karma” points. So if a hub causes a lot of errors and fails to meet user swaps, it has “bad karma”, if it behaves well it has “good karma”.

This is the perfect and ideal job for a blockchain, as this is some kind of auditing work (watching the hubs & services) you get rewarded for (like miners get rewarded for auditing work).

So the result would be that hubs running on the XSN network are reliable and have a reputation (= good karma) for good service. Users then prefer to connect and trade through these hubs (with “good karma”) when they do. Hubs (= liquidity providers) in turn earn fees, which gives operators an incentive to provide liquidity (the more liquidity they provide, the higher volume they can support). Higher exchange volume through their node would equate to higher $ returns.

Without a XSN masternode and without “karma points” you cannot offer and be paid for the following:

CPU and DB services from third parties TOR services Securities for the liquidity of Lightning Network Securities with more stablecoins, e.g. a XSN backed stablecoin Watchtower Services Escrow Services … and more critical services to be added in a later future.

Let’s wrap it up:

The XSN blockchain itself would act as an auditor, auditing the hubs to track their performance and behaviors. This is needed to mass scale, otherwise the service & experience would be poor for the users of the DEX (lots of failed orders, easily DDOS’d, low liquidity etc).

The service of auditing requires rewards/ payment to the blockchain (in this case for example the blockchain can apply rules to “force” hubs to send XSN to a burn for example). This is how the XSN blockchain and token have utility for the DEX. Keep in mind the DEX is just ONE of the many dApps and services that the XSN blockchain will provide