Ep. 98: Hype Is In The Air (Weekly News)

Nov 2

Recorded live on 𝕏 Spaces November 1st, 2023

The HBAR community exudes optimism reminiscent of 2021, with Hedera's substance established and a need for more hype-driven marketing. Flutterwave collaborates with Hedera Hashgraph to integrate USDC for enhanced cross-border transactions in Africa, while Hedera continues to innovate with features like "Data on Disk" and optimized consensus algorithms, setting industry benchmarks. Also, Brandon (The HBAR Bull) stops by to talk about Twigital!

Tune in live on 𝕏 Spaces Wednesdays at 12pm ET / 9am PT for the weekly news. Recordings available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, YouTube and other major platforms the following day.

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Top Stories of The Week

1. HBARbarians Hungry for Hype
I am getting a gut feeling when I look at the HBAR community. It's the same feeling I had back at the end of 2021: a lot of optimism and a hunger for hype. Substance is an important factor when it comes to an L1 network (what Hedera is famous for), but as we approach a potential bull market, the hype aspect is also very important. There's an equilibrium needed. It's clear that Hedera has a ""substance"" part covered, so where does that leave the community?

2. Thoughts on Hedera’s Marketing
I believe Hedera's marketing should be more about broad strokes. It's simple: provoke curiosity rather than explain everything. Over-explaining is a losing game; people aren't interested in the numbers. Hedera should claim, ""We're the fastest network with the most transactions."" This sparks questions and controversy, which is exactly what's needed. Hedera has the fundamentals to make bold claims. Networks with less capability should focus on numbers, but leaders like Hedera should make people lean in.

3. Hedera & Flutterwave Transform Payments
Flutterwave, Africa's leading payments company, has joined forces with Hedera Hashgraph to integrate the USDC stablecoin, aiming to enhance cross-border financial transactions across the continent. This collaboration promises to bring instant, affordable payments and remittances to millions. Read the full story here, Discover more insights, Explore the partnership details.

4. Governing Council Predictions
Without a new governing council member announcement, the Hedera community is left to it's own devices... and that includes me! I posted on 𝕏 this week to ask ""what are your predictions for governing council members"" and the responses were numerous. There are the ususal suspects like Apple, Microsoft, Walmart and Amazon, but also some curious new predicitions including toilets and an antartica node! Very fascinating, check out my post on 𝕏 here.

5. A Question on Permissioned Nodes
As some Governing Council members approach the end of their term, it's safe to say we may see one of these organizations leave the council in 2024. I explore what the possible mechanics are for this in regards to the nodes they currently run. Do they just shut them down? Or do they keep them online? Also soon, we will see a time when a governing council member onboards with an already running node. Both of these scenarios require permissioned nodes... it gets me thinking!

6. New Data on Disk Feature
Hedera announces a breakthrough ""Data on Disk"" feature that greatly expands the possibilities for scalability. Swirlds Labs VP of engineering says ""The ever-so-practically named ""data on disk"" is a huge deal. It is the underlying mechanism needed so we can take hedera to scale to enormous numbers of accounts, NFTs, and other entities"" and that alone blows my mind.

7. The hashgraph gets an upgrade
Hedera Hashgraph, the epitome of high performance in the crypto realm, has unveiled a game-changing optimization. By refining its core algorithms, Hedera has managed to streamline the consensus process, achieving the same results with about half the events. This leap not only underscores Hedera's commitment to innovation but also sets a new benchmark for the industry. Dive deeper into the details.

8. Citadel IOT: Creating an ecosystem
Citadel Wallet unveils its groundbreaking Citadel IoT, a comprehensive ecosystem of Hedera-powered, secure IoT devices. This evolution promises a transformative wave of Hedera-enabled IoT solutions, addressing challenges in conventional IoT architectures. Dive deeper into this revolutionary journey. Explore the full article.

9. Twigital Launches on Mainnet
Brandon (The HBAR Bul) stops by the show to talk about Twigital, a photogrammetry app that streamlines workflows so you can capture or ""twigitize"" physical objects, create a complex 3D file (USDZ) and tokenize it on the Hedera mainnet with just a smartphone. We chat about the app going live, what could be next for the project and some helpful tips to get started twigitizing! Check it out on the Apple app store now!

10. Episode 100 is coming!
I am honoured and humbled that the show approaches 100 episodes. It's truly mind-blowing. This year has been so incredibly busy for me, but I've always dedicated time to the show. Likewise, it has been a busy year for so many other folks and they've made the time to continue to tune in! So we will do what we did on episode 50: review the last year's top stories and try to paint a bigger picture. If we can see everything as a whole, 2024 could be much clearer!

Also… HashPack revamped fiat onboarding!