COTI End-of-Year AMA Recap

14 min readDec 22, 2022

Earlier today, we held an AMA with Shahaf Bar-Geffen, COTI’s CEO, Yuval Altun, COTI’s Full-stack Team Leader, and Alex Panasenko, COTI’s Director of Product Management.
The AMA took place on the COTI official Telegram group. If you weren’t able to join, here is the full recap:

Lidar:

Hey everyone, thank you for joining us today for our special end-of-year AMA! My name is Lidar, COTI’s Community Manager, and I will be your host today.
Joining me today are Shahaf Bar-Geffen, COTI’s CEO, Yuval Altun, COTI’s Full-stack Team Leader, and Alex Panasenko, COTI’s Director of Product Management. Welcome guys!

Shahaf:

Hello everyone! Hope you are all here and ready with your best questions.

Yuval:

Hi everyone

Alex:

👋

Lidar:

COTI had a great year in 2022, despite everything that happened in the market; we launched the COTI Treasury, MultiDAG 2.0 on Testnet, and the Mainnet hard fork event is scheduled for next week, Djed testnet and soon on Mainnet as well, and more. Stay tuned for our Year in Review which will be published in the next few days.

We will start off by answering some pre-submitted questions, and then we will open the conversation up to everyone. The chat will be muted for the first part. So without further adieu, let’s begin.

Here is our first question, by Blockheads: “I am a testnet node operator, my goal is to make it to mainnet. What is your advice for me to best prepare for the possibility of achieving this?”

Shahaf:

First, Blockheads, I would like to thank you for being a part of the COTI ecosystem as a testnet node operator!

One of our goals for 2023 is to expand the number of new Node operators, by quite a lot, and allow more testnet operators to run a mainnet node. When we’re done with the upcoming hardfork, we’ll start gearing up for that.

My advice for you would be to:

1. continue running a testnet node

2. upgrade it according to the latest version (1.3.2) that includes the hard fork

3. contribute as much as you can to the COTI community and ecosystem, as we are giving priority to those who are contributing and helping everyone.

Keep the faith!

Lidar:

Thank you Shahaf for answering this!

We have another question, this time from Jay: “When will the release of details regarding earning gCOTI via Treasury and new Treasury extended lockup durations, APY bonuses for the same, etc.?”

Shahaf:

Great question. We’re very excited about gCOTI and the Treasury upgrades in 2023.

gCOTI will have many utilities like Treasury governance, boosting APY by locking COTI for longer periods, the right to participate in liquidations and more.

As I mentioned in my last update video, we plan to introduce gCOTI sometime around the end of February (and always remember that when it comes to developments, timelines are not set in stone and might change. OK?).

Our plan is to release a mini white-paper outlining developments in what we call Treasury 2.0 in January.

This will include exciting new features and capabilities for the Treasury and details how gCOTI fits in.

The big things to expect from Treasury 2.0 are new types of assets we will allow for deposits and new mechanisms that will make the treasury an even bigger success!

The combination of the two will allow us to both grow the overall value that the treasury captures while producing greater rewards to participants

What you can do now to prepare for it:

1. continue to interact with the Treasury

2. support the COTI ecosystem

3. start making long term plans…

Lidar:

Thanks. Looking forward to it! 😁

This time we have a question from Wanderer: “Back in one of the White Papers COTI lists smart contracts as what will also be in development. Has anything changed on this or is delay in this development down to regulation or technology or something else?”

Yuval:

The information in the white paper represents COTI’s initial features when it was written in 2018.

Things have evolved since then, and a lot of things have been added and upgraded.

In 2023, we will work on new capabilities for the COTI V2 infrastructure and we are definitely looking into smart contracts among other things.

The plan for V2 is to also introduce support to developers that wish to build in an environment that can be regulated. The plan is to work on it during 2023 and hopefully have a live product in 2024. Additional details will be shared in the next few weeks when we’ll present our plans for 2023 and beyond.

Lidar:

Thank you for this answer, looks like we have exciting plans for 2023 😏

This next question was asked by Sam:”With COTI concentrating more on COTI Enterprise clients, is COTI Pay not being promoted to compete with other payment processors like Moonpay and PayPal for crypto payments”

Alex, do you want to take this one?

Alex:

Sure, that is a great question. I’ll be happy to answer.

There are some similarities, but they are not identical. Unlike the competition, the COTI Pay solution enables enterprise clients to establish a private payment network with their MultiDAG 2.0 minted token at its core with its tokenomics that meet the enterprise business needs.

In addition, COTI Pay also utilizes COTI Bridge 2.0 to bridge liquidity across blockchains; furthermore, COTI provides technical and business guidance that simplifies the process of integrating a Web 2.0 business with Web 3.0 technology, making it a one-stop shop for enterprise clients.

To summarize, COTI Pay business is more about building new networks, rather than just accepting crypto as a form of payment.

Lidar:

Thank you Alex!

We have another question, this time from Florian: “With recession and non favorable market conditions looming in 2023, how well positioned (esp. with regards to runway) is Coti to deliver on the roadmap and milestones in 2023?”

Shahaf:

I’ll start by saying that COTI has years and years of runway. We are, and always have been, a long term player.

This bear market has been especially tough for many people and developers, there’s no denying it. We’ve been through bear markets before, COTI was established in 2017, and since then, we have experienced different bear market cycles, and we made it through. You will too!

We have a lot of plans for years ahead and we are focused on building for the long term. We will publish these plans and our 2023 roadmap soon.

When we meet around this time next year, I hope that the worst of the bear market will be behind us and that you’ll all be impressed with what we have achieved.

Lidar:

Awesome! Thank you Shahaf 🙏🏻

Let’s move on to the next 2 questions from Pascal:” What functionalities will DJED 1.1 offer and what functionalities will be added under DJED 1.2+1.3? How can we buy SHEN?”

Alex:

Regarding your first question, this is Djed’s roadmap:

Djed 1.1.1 — is planned to be launched in January with Vasil hard fork compatibility. The code has been audited and everything looks good — no critical vulnerabilities were found.

Djed 1.2 — version will utilize “Vasil” hard fork capabilities such as higher scalability. In addition, Plutus V2 will also be utilized in Djed 1.2.

Djed 1.3 — is where we will introduce Extended Djed — which will support $SHEN dynamic fees and pricing models to provide incentives to holders. In addition, we will enable staking rewards. That said, we hope to be able to introduce staking support earlier as there is a lot of added value it will bring to Djed.

We are also planning to release a utility for $DJED in the form of Djed Pay. The plan is to build an application that enables merchants, ecommerce, and non-profit organizations to receive $DJED as a form of payment. In addition, we have plans to add other collateral forms for minthing $DJED, Such as wrapped BTC, ETH, and other tokens.

And to answer your second question $SHEN will be available to everyone, like $DJED. You will be able to mint $SHEN through djed.xyz, or buy it on DEXs.

It’s important to mention that the number of minted $SHEN is dependent on the reserve ratio between $SHEN and $DJED, as soon as the ratio has reached 800%, you will not be able to mint $SHEN. So there is a race condition here and there are advantages for early birds.

Lidar:

Thanks Alex.

Now we’ll take one more question from our pre-submitted questions and then let you guys submit a few live questions. The next question is from Kevin: “I’m always concerned about security. So my question would be if we could expect any new tool to protect even more our deposits in the Treasury. I would suggest an email confirmation every time someone wants to withdraw a deposit. Thank you!”

Yuval:

I will take this one

As with everything we do, security is our top priority. Any action performed on the Treasury is protected by your seed signature.

Adding email or 2FA to the VIPER wallet will not protect you entirely in case that someone steals your seed.

With that being said, this is a good feature for the VIPER wallet that we already have in our backlog.

Lidar:

Thanks Yuval!

Now let’s open the chat for some live questions. Once there are many questions we will mute the chat again to give the team time to answer.
Let’s go! 🔥

Сommunity:

Where do you see COTI in 10 years?

Shahaf:

I believe that in 10 years our world will be one that in which value is moved seamlessly and digitally from peers. COTI will be a major player in that world!

Сommunity:

Hello team, about the timeline, when can we see the full djed ? 2023 ?

Alex:
We believe it can be achieved by the end of Q4 2023.

Сommunity:

Any fiat on-ramp partnership or similar to support $DJED adoption?

Shahaf:

We have one with Binance, Simplex and MoonPay

Сommunity:

I thought we were moving away from simplex?

Shahaf:

As card providers, not as a fiat on-ramp

Сommunity:

Do treasury rewards come from the distribution schedule?

Alex:

COTI Treasury depositors receive revenues mainly from two sources: (1) internal Treasury revenues (fees and liquidations of Treasury positions), (2) external sources (mainnet fees and other COTI revenues); these revenues are distributed to the Treasury participants as APY.

Сommunity:

How will enterprise tokens utilize COTI? Also are you working with any central banks?

Shahaf:

We believe COTI is uniquely positioned to serve enterprises who can launch their own Private Payment Network (PPN) — something that no other Layer 1 can deliver.

COTI’s Private Payment Network (PPN) offering includes:

Issuance of a CMD branded payment token
Issuance of a CMD branded loyalty token
Branded wallet (standalone or hosted in the enterprise’s app)
Bridge to other networks, offering the widest possible reach
Payment gateway for users to send money to the network

Сommunity:

Any update from Ledger?

Yuval:

It’s about to be launched in the developer mood. It will be published in public mode once a security audit is done. Feel free to help us push it!

Сommunity:

Can we add GCOTI to existing locked deposits in Treasury, or would we need to unlock it first? Would prefer to not have just LOCKED COTI for 120 days and then receive GCOTI, but no coti to lock away, since all is already locked.

Alex:

I’m working on this feature, and I’ll consider your input. Thanks.

Сommunity:

Where is the Enterprise announcement? No excuses this time

Shahaf:

As I have mentioned before, everything that is Enterprise is slow cooked so you have to be as patient as we are. We’ll do our best to give more information when we can!

Сommunity:

Will COTI get more attention in videos, it’s been more about shen and djed?

Lidar:

COTI has actually gotten attention in the latest interview videos, and more are planned for the coming future :)

Сommunity:

I want additional security and a level of signing transactions. Atm after clicking confirm, the transaction is finalized. I would like an additional review page for every transaction, ledger would also DK this

Alex:

Hi, I understand the need, and it’s already in our backlog.

Shahaf:

With Ledger, by the way, I believe that the pace at which they’ll do the security audit is directly related to the amount of demand they’ll receive from the COTI community. Send them your love!

Сommunity:

What is going on with a longer staking period? Still on track? We true Contains really looking for 😊

Shahaf:

I appreciate that! And yes, this is part of the gCOTI release.

Сommunity:

I think longer locking periods will not automatically lead to more rewards. If still everyone uses the highest period, it does not mean there are more rewards available. Am I wrong?

Shahaf:

I think it’ll overall grow the value of the network which is beneficial for all participants

Сommunity:

If $shen is not introduced in the first version of $djed, how will the minting/burning mechanism work?

Alex:

Both #SHEN and #DJED will be an integral part of the first version.

Сommunity:

Are you working with any central banks?

Shahaf:

We are engaged in a few RFPs, yes

Сommunity:

Why would an enterprise want an own payment system? What does it bring them?

Shahaf:

It lowers their fees and latency by a lot. It also grows their loyalty and data control.

Alex:

Reduced transaction costs, customer loyalty, ability to collect fees for offered services, and ability to form partnerships with other onchain businesses. I hope this answers your question.

Сommunity:

Will we see COTI as a Cardano coin or wrapped to be able to exchange it on sunadeswap etc next year?

Yuval:

We do have plans to allow COTI to exist on other networks as well, and COTI on Cardano’s network is definitely on our list.

Сommunity:

Are u guys still fishing for exchanges?

Shahaf:

We’re listed on all tier one exchanges 😊

Сommunity:

Hi guys. Maybe I missed the question but is $SHEN being mintable for retail (through COTI pay?) or only investor grade companies?

Lidar:

$SHEN will be available for everyone.

Moreover, $SHEN holders can be limited based on a maximum reserve ratio of 800% (no $SHEN minting when the reserve ratio is above 800%).

Сommunity:

What revenue is expected from the issuance of enterprise token to treasury for now

Alex:

Fees collected by the smart contract will find their way to the treasury and be distributed as rewards. I can’t commit to a particular number as it depends on adoption and market conditions. With that said, we see $DJED as one of the top stablecoins on Cardano.

Сommunity:

Last year, it was repeatedly emphasized that debit cards and bank accounts play an important role in COTI’s ecosystem. This year, it suddenly became very quiet on this topic. Here are my questions: Will bank accounts ever be integrated directly into the Viper wallet? Have you guys ever thought about offering some kind of cashback from the treasury for payments made with the card. (e.g. people who have 250000 or more COTI in treasury get 5% cashback etc.).

This would probably increase demand for COTI as people like to receive cashback on payments and generate many new viper wallet users.

Alex:

I agree that cashback rewards will drive adoption. Our business development teams are exploring these options with potential partners for such a program.

Сommunity:

What plan or roadmap use djed and Shen use in future ??

Lidar:

In terms of business development, we have over 40 partnerships that will be implemented once Djed is live

Сommunity:

Djed final version estimated timeline?

Alex:

End of Q42023

Сommunity:

how DJED can maintain the value of stability considering that recently there has been a collapse in other stablecoin projects. what algorithm is used in DJED which is the advantage of this stablecoin ??

Vlad:

Please watch all of the latest interviews with Shahaf:

Lidar:
For more information please watch the following explanation video:

Сommunity:

As mentioned by Shahaf: “We are, and always have been, a long term player”
Long terms = below or above 10 years? Or unlimited?

Shahaf:

longer than 10 years, for sure

Сommunity:

When launched in January 2023, will there be any fees (in COTI) going to the treasury after launching? Or have to wait for some time for djed’s implementation with djed’s partnerships?

Alex:

DJED Fees are gathered in $ADA as this solution is deployed on the Cardano chain. Treasury rewards are distributed in $COTI. We have a business process that enables transferring DJED fees to distribution as COTI rewards in Treasury. Hope it answers your question.

Сommunity:

Will Ledger be compatible with the treasury? Or in other words: Can I lock my COTI in the treasury while they stay in my wallet?

Yuval:

No, when depositing to the treasury the funds are moved to the treasury therefore the funds will not stay in your ledger while deposited in the treasury.

Сommunity:

Will there ever be a more decentralized way of staking, like a 1x unlocked staking on Ledger? maybe by tracking the balance etc.

Yuval:
currently, it is not on our roadmap but we will consider the suggestion.

Сommunity:

Will you negotiate any special privileges (for big bag long term holders) with enterprises and central banks? Any special discounts or exclusive access etc

Shahaf:

We’ll see about that

Сommunity:

When deploying a lot more test nodes to mainnet. Will the minimum required coti coins (150k) change?

Lidar:

Probably yes

Сommunity:

Does that mean that there will be a lower/higher fixed stake requirement, or will there be different set amounts?

Lidar:

We are exploring the possibilities. When we’re done with the upcoming hard fork, we’ll share more information kind sir 😉

Сommunity:

Not really a question but I don’t understand why we still don’t have stacking available for the USA, ok it’s regulation but still, we are missing a huge impact on the treasury that could bring more fees and assets locked.

Alex:

There is currently a lot of regulatory uncertainty in the US that we hope will be reduced. There are a lot of projects that do not provide services in the US for the same reason.

Сommunity:

Is there anything in the pipeline for a new card supplier for us to use our crypto?

Shahaf:

Still negotiating and prospecting, but nothing yet

Сommunity:

Will there be DJED’s plans to issue payment cards for real-world use or just digital currency payments?

Alex:

It’s more a DJED Pay utility type of offering and does not relate directly to DJED stable coin minting.

Сommunity:

Hello Shahaf, do you think there would be a problem if there are not enough $ADA stakers for $DJED and if we don’t hit our above 4x target? I know that it is not going to depeg, just asking what happens if there is just not enough interest and if we can't hit the 4x threshold

Shahaf:

Happy to say that I don’t see this becoming a problem with the sort of liquidity that is already secured. That said, remember that you can ALWAYS redeem your Djed, regardless of collateral.

Сommunity:

Has COTI been approached with the proposals or the other way around?

Shahaf:

Our business teams are VERY active.

Сommunity:

Can we then at least get monthly revenue transfer to the treasury by source

Alex:

I cannot guarantee the schedule at this point, but we will keep Treasury APY competitive and provide adequate incentives.

Lidar:

That is all the time we have today folks. Thank you everyone for these excellent questions, and thank you Shahaf, Alex and Yuval for answering them. We will share the AMA recap soon. If you have any further questions feel free to send them here 😃 Have a great day and as always, stay COTI!

Shahaf:

Thank you all for being here today, I appreciate your time.

Stay tuned for our 2023 roadmap release!

Alex:

Thank you.

It’s been a pleasure #STAYCOTI

Lidar:

Good bye guys 😃 See you