A New Dawn for Status and SNT: Embracing Decentralisation

Us -

We’re still finishing up Status Desktop and Status Mobile ahead of their pending public releases, but we couldn’t wait to share some exciting initiatives we’re preparing for. Read on to learn more about our plans for SNT, some hints on our new XP programme, and how you can help choose which of three community-invigorating proposals we should work on first!

The Journey So Far

Since its inception in 2017, Status has been committed to creating a decentralised, privacy-focused, and censorship-resistant communication platform. Our journey began with a successful ICO that raised over $100 million, propelling us towards our vision of a more decentralised communication network. The fuel of our ecosystem, the Status Network Token (SNT), has always played a crucial role in this mission, but its full utility potential has not yet been leveraged.

SNT is a MiniMe token, a unique ERC-20 variant that allows it to be cloned with the exact balances at a specific block number. Due to its transparency and flexibility, it's the perfect voting token for governance purposes.

A Decentralised Discord and Cutting-Edge Multichain Wallet

If you’ve been following our progress lately, you’ll have noticed that we recently launched Status Desktop in beta.

The new Status Desktop and upcoming Status Mobile apps are set to rival Discord, offering a fully decentralised, onchain communication platform supercharged with a powerful built-in multichain wallet. Our integration of the EIP-3770 address format pioneered by Safe supports multiple chain shortnames, enabling users to effortlessly transact across supported Ethereum L2s – even if they don’t know what an Ethereum L2 is!

Today, we’re excited to announce a new era for Status and SNT, with a renewed focus on community-driven decision making. We're moving faster than ever towards our initial vision, and we want you to be part of this journey.

Accelerating Towards Decentralisation

Our commitment to decentralisation is stronger than ever. We’re accelerating our efforts, inviting our community to take a more active role in shaping the future of Status. We want you to tell us what you think we should develop first, and to do so, we aim to empower SNT hodlers with more advanced governance power.

Upcoming Community Vote

Starting on 20 June, we will hold our first community vote on Snapshot. The vote will close on 27 June. SNT hodlers will help us decide on the priority for three major projects.

Here’s a brief overview of each proposal:

  • SNT staking contract: a staking mechanism to align community incentives and increase governance engagement.
  • Decentralised friend finder: an opt-in feature to help users discover contacts while maintaining pseudonymity.
  • Status Network: a scalable layer-2 rollup solution to support the Status apps and the broader IFT ecosystem with a focus on social apps, GameFi, and governance experiments.

This vote is a pivotal moment for Status, marking the beginning of deeper community involvement in directing our development efforts.

Introducing the XP Programme

To build a deeply engaged and empowered community, we are launching the XP programme. These XP will act as multiplier points for SNT voting power. They are non-transferable and can only be earned through active participation in the Status ecosystem.

To incentivise participation, we will award XP to all voters in our upcoming community vote, and we'll invite everyone who has used Status Desktop in beta to receive XP for being an early adopter.

XP will serve as a measure of a user’s engagement and commitment to the Status ecosystem. The more XP you accumulate, the greater your influence over governance decisions will be.

Stay tuned: We will reveal more details about this programme in the coming weeks!

Our First Community Vote: NIPs 1, 2, and 3

From 20 June, SNT hodlers can exercise their vote for the first time to help us decide on the priority of three major New Initiative Proposals (NIP):

NIP-1: SNT Staking Mechanism

This proposal introduces a non-custodial staking system involving multiplier points (XP). The goal is to better align community incentives, increase governance engagement, and attract users to the Status app. SNT stakers will be able to vote on development priorities and public funding allocation.

NIP-2: Pseudonymous Contact Discovery

This proposal offers an opt-in feature for users to discover contacts on Status while maintaining privacy. It introduces a Contact Discovery Address (CDA) that prevents the exposure of a user’s primary chat key until mutual consent is established. This feature aims to enhance user retention by making Status chat more useful for new users.

NIP-3: Status Layer-2 Rollup

This proposal seeks to launch Status Network, a rollup chain optimised for social apps, GameFi, and governance experiments. Integrated within the Status apps, it will provide a low-cost onchain transactions environment. We’re considering making this rollup the thinnest layer possible so that the maximum value is shared among community participants.

Voters will earn XP, marking their involvement in this pivotal decision. Initially, XP will be calculated and stored offchain, with a dedicated website available for users to check their XP.

In-App XP Integration

We are also exploring ways to integrate XP within the Status apps. Certain in-app actions could be rewarded with XP, and users' XP levels could be displayed alongside associated benefits and utilities. This should further incentivise engagement and gamify the user experience.

Building Sustainable Public Funding Mechanisms

We’re committed to empowering our community to take ownership of Status' future. SNT hodlers will have a say in the prioritisation of feature development, with incentives for active participation and onchain engagement. This approach aims to create self-sustaining mechanisms that serve the Status and Ethereum ecosystems and attract those interested in building a truly decentralised community playground.

Now is the time to use the SNT in your wallet, as it will soon become the key to growing our communities together. Join us in this exciting new chapter and help shape the future of Status!

Follow Status on X and stay tuned for more details about our upcoming XP programme and community vote. Your Status. Your Choice. Vote!!