NEO

January 7th, NEO Global Development (NGD) released version 2.9.4 of the neo-cli node software. The update features quality of life improvements and bug fixes, with larger changes currently in testing for later release.

Developer Groups

On January 11th, the NEO St. Petersburg Competency Center (NEO SPCC) released a report documenting Q4 2018 progress on its decentralized file storage platform for the NEO blockchain. The report also noted other activities, including community project contributions, NEO document translations and its attendance of MICSECS 2018.

Ecosystem

On January 7th, QLC Chain released a bi-weekly report, in which the decentralized Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) provider announced the it had made the code of its multidimensional block lattice chain available on its GitHub. The report also highlighted VPN router development, and community activities.

January 7th, Safeguard announced it has canceled its token sale indefinitely, as the company has opted to “pursue a new path in [their] mission of making workplaces safer.” The Safeguard Protocol sought to be a “blockchain-based framework for artificial intelligence software that aims to predict and prevent workplace accidents.”

Safeguard will refund NEO to the participants who contributed to the SGT pre-sale. Investors will need to apply for a refund before Thursday, January 31st, 2019.

January 7th, Alchemint published its monthly report for December of 2018 and announced a partnership with Phantasma. Alchemint stated it will continue working along its development roadmap and improve its stable coin, SDUSD, that was launched on the NEO MainNet at the start of December last year. Through its new partnership, Alchemint aims to provide the Phantasma users with “a stable way for them to secure their funds.”

January 8th, Alphacat released its bi-weekly report which included details on two new features: the Cryptocurrency Risk Analysis Bot (CRAB) and the ACE Top Index. CRAB analyses the relative risk profile of different cryptocurrencies, which Alphacat claims will allow traders to “cultivate a scientific and mature approach to investing.” The ACE Top Index, is a weighted cryptocurrency index that represents the performance of the ten largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

January 8th, Narrative announced its approach to the development of its “Reputation” system. The plan involves a year of private, closed source refinement of the scoring system, followed by the eventual publication of the entire set of algorithms and formulas. Narrative says that its Reputation Score is “the key to ensuring a quality experience on Narrative,” and that it is “the primary tool for determining the impact” of its community members.

January 9th, Switcheo will be hosting a two-week trading competition using Alchemint’s SDUSD stable coin. Prior to the competition, the decentralized exchange (DEX) will undergo scheduled maintenance, which will include the addition of six new stable coin pairings. Switcheo will be adding two NEP-5 (SWTH/SDUSD, SDS/SDUSD) and four ERC-20 (ETH/PAX, DAI/PAX, USDC/PAX, MKR/PAX) stable coin pairings to its exchange.

In preparation of the new listings, Switcheo will be down for scheduled maintenance on Monday, January 14th, from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm (UTC +8).

January 10th, Effect.AI announced a partnership with the Decentralized Artificial Intelligence Alliance (DAIA), “an alliance of serious participants in the AI & blockchain related ecosystems” that aim to “collectively solve common challenges and create an amazing future.” The alliance attempts to connect AI blockchain projects “in a democratic and decentralized way.”

January 11th, Trinity Protocol announced a delay to its employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) unlock schedule that was due to commence in February this year. Due to “market conditions,” Trinity has instead postponed the distribution until after February of 2020.

January 11th, Switcheo has revealed its development plans for the first quarter of 2019 and beyond. Product releases in the first quarter of 2019 are said to include fiat gateways, a rebate program for market makers in Ethereum markets, an “email login” option for users new to cryptocurrencies, further development of a cross-chain trading protocol using atomic swaps, and version 3.0 of Switcheo’s NEO exchange contract.

January 13th, nOS updated its Client to v0.5, which includes features such as auto-updates, a new transactions panel, and data encryption and decryption, as well as design updates, and various bug fixes. Looking forward, nOS plans to add full native support for the Ethereum blockchain, a cross-platform identity solution, and the nOS Gateway to its platform. Additionally, the research and development team is exploring a reputation-based rewards system, native blockchain, and filesystem.

Events

January 15th: NEO-ONE workshop in Seattle

January 18th: Neon Exchange (NEX) “Quarterly Report” event in Amsterdam

February 16th and 17th: NEO DevCon (Seattle, US)