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Counterparty Community Update

July 8, 2021

Ecosystem Updates

New Projects

  • Passing of Core Developer John Villar
    It is our unfortunate duty to inform the community of the passing of one of our developers on March 8th of this year. John Villar was a friendly, insightful and kind hearted integral member of the Counterparty development team and the wider crypto community. In his wake the community came together to raise funds for his family for their unforeseen expenses. A commemorative token was created and set up in a dispenser (xchain.io/tx/1551579) with all sales being forwarded periodically to the family. John was known for not only most of the recent Counterparty protocol improvements (CIPs) but also for developing the RarePepeParty game with his company in Venezuela. A burn address has been created as a shrine to John and if users would like to send him tokens of appreciation, they can do so at : 1JohnViLLARchiguireitorxxxxwhsz7P
  • Goodman.auctions
    The first, and longest running nft/token auction in the crypto space resumes activity. With 40 to 50 rapid fire lots participants remain engaged throughout the auction which takes place on telegram or occasionally in person, such as the 2021 Miami Bitcoin conference. Although they have expanded to selling assets on other blockchain projects they have witnessed a definite spillover of new participants coming to collecting Counterparty cryptoart because of the established historical significance and provenance. An interesting trend that they recognized is that throughout the latest crypto correction, most early Counterparty works have retained or even gained value in usd terms. Buyers, Sellers and spectators are invited to learn more at https://goodman.auction
  • Uocp.org – University of Counterparty
    With the intention of building a repository for all information related to Counterparty, this education website was launched by a very active community member known as Xcer. With a Frequently Asked Questions section and some basic curriculum, users are invited to submit questions, answers or apply to be a volunteer. Learn more at https://ucop.org
  • Xcer.co
    This new trading card company includes a Counterparty NFT with each and every card. Simply scratch the back of the card to get the private key to access the card’s Bitcoin wallet that holds the card’s displayed NFT. XCER is currently working on adding seamless trading to its platform that will let users offer and make trades with each other directly. XCER’s goal is to make acquiring Counterparty Bitcoin NFTs easy and fun for anyone and to attract a broader audience to Counterparty based projects. Learn more about this project at https://xcer.co

Existing Projects

  • XCP Foundation
    Efforts continue into 2021 as they face previous unresolved hurtles as well as new challenges. They are meeting this month in person in order to push things forward. Currently the organization is an LLC but has not successfully been approved for non-profit or not-for-profit status. Among other things, they have been informed by legal counsel that there needs to be a more organized and evident educational curation. They have also had another resignation and will be soon seeking new members who are serious about being active and attentive. A lengthier presentation and discussion will be facilitated later this month. Currently scheduled for July 31st noon EST. A formal statement is expected before then.
  • MafiaWars.io
    Continuing on their 37th month, MafiaWars.io has distributed MAFIACASH to all family members. To encourage new submission, not only has the entry fee been waived but there is also a monthly design contest. Top three submissions chosen will be awarded MAFIACASH and enhanced in-game stats. More info http://mafiawars.io/news/montly-design-contest
  • WTHAuctionHouse
    Another established auction house restarted operations on Easter weekend at Follow the White Rabbit episode of Future Art. This return was live streamed as it took place in person at the conference. Also expanding to other blockchain projects, and rebranding as Roaring, efforts continue to facilitate buying and selling in a live setting. Auctions continue on a regular basis. More info https://roaringauctions.com
  • RarePepe.Party
    This much anticipated game has also suffered recent setbacks with the loss of John Villar and also his father, another company manager. Contimita, the company developing the game, is faced with project reprioritization and recovery. While this game may have been put on the back burner, it is not going to fade away. Mr. Javier Varona Zavatti is still working to recover the website domain and other integral accounts. He assures everyone interested that he will not give up on this project. It is his personal goal to honor his brother’s legacy by seeing the project to completion.
  • Kaleidoscope XCP
    Kaleidoscope XCP is still online and accepting submissions. It is a place to gather CounterParty assets that might not get represented anywhere else. It currently has a pretty eclectic mix of off-kilter art and ideas. Kaleidoscope accepts most formats including standalone code blocks. Feel free to visit their website at kaleidoscopexcp.com, or get in the telegram chat if you have a specific idea you wish to discuss. https://t.me/joinchat/WPZMtLWA9QToGdJC
  • Artolin.org
    Artolin has been recently acknowledged as one of the first NFT platforms ever created. Both Dada and Martin Ostachowsky have made public their support. This platform continues to be open for submissions at https://artolin.org

CounterParty in the Wild

  • The Rare Pepe Story – Tuesday July 13th 9PM EST
    Tune into TwitterSpaces or head over to MetaverseDAO HQ in Cryptovoxels to catch the first in a series about early NFTs. Shannon Code from COVAL, Joe Looney of RarePepeWallet fame, Artnome and more share with Claire Silver as moderator. Topics include the birth of RarePepe, meme culture, current state and future of NFTs. https://twitter.com/metaverseDAO/status/1412970030237724675
  • Scarce.city
    Built on Lightning Network and specializing in auctions for fine bitcoin goods, Scarce.city hosted several RarePepe lots since launch. The debut lot, in mid April, was from Mike and Joe Looney. It featured Physical RAREPEPE and GOXPEPE and fetched 46,000,000 satoshis valued at $15,698.47. Since then, others have also utilized this service. https://scarce.city/collections/rare-pepe-1
  • Bitcoin Miami 2021
    Some community members had the opportunity to attended this conference and a few even had a chance to display RarePepe artwork. This was a great opportunity to get exposure to the greater Bitcoin community. Several new users joined the telegram room and mentioned that they had made personal contact with one of our community members.

Development News

Completed CIPs

In the last year several upgrades have been integrated into the CounterParty protocol.

  • CIP #21 – Dispensers (Vending Machines)
    Dispensers are a major functional upgrade which allow any user to set up a vending machine to sell any counterparty token at a set BTC price. Once the minimum amount of BTC is sent to the dispenser, then the sending address is credited back with the token(s) from the dispenser all in a single transaction. This feature makes using Bitcoin (BTC) on the Counterparty platform much easier and makes the entire process a single transaction. This feature was primarily written to simplify buying things on Counterparty using BTC. In addition this feature allows for setting up of multiple dispensers on the same address to enable selling “packs” of cards or tokens with a single BTC payment.
    https://github.com/CounterpartyXCP/cips/blob/master/cip-0021.md
  • CIP #22 – Update Fednode Stack to Use Addrindexrs
    This CIP was created and implemented to make running a federated node easier and faster, as switching from index to addrindexrs for tracking BTC address balances resolves a number of issues including unacceptable address balance query times and the occasional hang on queries which took a long time to respond.
    https://github.com/CounterpartyXCP/cips/blob/master/cip-0022.md
  • CIP #23 – Bug Fixes on Non-divisible Dividends and 0 Quantity Credits
    This CIP resolved an issue where users were unable to do dividend payments when the dividend asset was non-divisible. In addition this CIP resolved an issue where 0-quantity records were being created incorrectly in the Counterparty database, adding to the database bloat.
    https://github.com/CounterpartyXCP/cips/blob/master/cip-0023.md

Upcoming CIPs

  • CIP#24 – Oracled Dispensers
    Oracled Dispensers are a proposal which will allow users to price and sell their vending machine tokens using a fiat currency (USD, CAD, EUR, etc). By using trusted oracles which broadcast the price of fiat currencies on a regular basis, users will be able to sell their tokens for BTC, but priced in fiat. Currently a user is only able to sell tokens from vending machines for a fixed BTC price, which given the BTC price fluctuations is a bit undesirable as the user is never sure exactly how much the BTC they are getting is worth at the time of payment. Using oracled dispensers, users will be able to sell their tokens for a set fiat price (say $5 USD) and the dispenser will only vend out a token when it determines that it has received a BTC payment which is at least $5 USD or more. This feature greatly expands the functionality of dispensers and is currently accepting funding at https://xchain.io/tx/1547115
    https://github.com/CounterpartyXCP/cips/blob/cip24/cip-0024.md

Upcoming Events

  • Developer Meeting – July 18th at 17:00 EST
    This open meeting will be hosted on telegram and recorded for those who cannot make it to the live event. If you are interested in presenting, please email press@counterparty.io with a proposal and contact information. We will be allocating 10-15 minutes for each presenter as well as an open discussion afterwards.
  • XCP Foundation Town Hall Meeting – July 31st Noon EST
    Remaining members will give an update on the efforts over the last year as well as facilitate an open discussion in order for the community to determine the most suitable ways to take on the ever changing challenges that come with collective decision making.

Disclaimer: This newsletter is sent as an informational piece, and no part of it should be taken as financial advice.