The Baking Sheet - Issue #132

January 06, 2023

Welcome to 2023, a new era for Tezos

Welcome to this week's issue of the 'The Baking Sheet', your go-to source for all things Tezos. In this newsletter, we'll be bringing you the latest news, updates, and insights on the world of Tezos, as well as providing tips and resources for those looking to get more involved in the Tezos community.

As we kick off the new year of 2023, it's an exciting time to be a part of the Tezos ecosystem. With its unique governance model and focus on security and formal verification, Tezos has positioned itself as a strong contender in the crowded world of cryptocurrency. As more and more people become interested in digital assets, NFTs, and blockchain gaming, Tezos is positioned to be the premiere chain in this space.

So whether you're a seasoned Tezos veteran or just getting started, we hope that 'The Baking Sheet' will provide you with everything you need to stay up-to-date and informed on all things Tezos. Happy reading!

5 New Years Resolutions for the Ecosystem

It’s that time of year again.

A time for reflection. A time to take stock. A time for renewed optimism for the fresh New Year.

Here in the Tezos ecosystem, we have goals of our own. 2022 was a tumultuous year in the wide world of blockchain technology. If you’re reading this, I’ll go ahead and assume that you’re well aware of how things have progressed in the larger blockchain space these past 12 months, and I won’t bore you by re-hashing it all again here.

Amid the chaos and tumult of 2022 in the larger blockchain space, the Tezos ecosystem has quietly been making progress. We’ve watched massive partnerships unfold, Tezos-powered games brought to market, the digital arts community move into our ecosystem in droves, and other exciting Tezos developments happening all across the globe.

But, as we are all acutely aware, there’s still more work to be done.

So, with that in mind, here are 5 New Year’s Resolutions for the Tezos ecosystem that I hope we can all get behind. As we’ve seen, our ecosystem holds tremendous promise and pride. I’m sure we all hope to see the Tezos ecosystem move toward realizing that promise in 2023.

These 5 resolutions would be a great place to start…

1) Keep building!

The Tezos ecosystem has experienced amazing growth these past few years. The Tezos protocol has successfully upgraded for the twelfth time in December of 2022. If our ecosystem’s history is any indication, it’s a safe bet that there will be several more upgrades to come in 2023. Our industry-leading governance model enabled this ongoing evolution to continue in 2022, and has proven to be of great benefit for those building tools and applications in the Tezos ecosystem. As 2023 rolls on, and as humanity inches closer to the Web 3.0 revolution to come, it behooves us to keep building on the progress that has been made. The foundation is set for another productive year for those building on our chain, and the rewards for doing so could have a profound positive impact on where the Tezos ecosystem is headed in the months and years to come.

2) More everything!

We’ve seen the impact that new projects in the Tezos ecosystem can have on Tezos blockchain metrics while attracting new users and this is quite exciting. Exciting gaming offerings, NFT drops, and the like represent a significant shot in the arm for our ecosystem as a whole. The recent release of the Official Manchester United Digital Collectibles and the ensuing explosion of activity on the Tezos chain stands as a prime example. We need to keep these new projects coming as 2023 rolls on- whatever form they may take. The growth of the Tezos userbase depends on our community continuing to build, develop, and support the new offerings being brought forth in our ecosystem. Our shared success depends on it!

3) It’s Transaction Season

There’s simply no way around it: when it comes to the success of the Tezos ecosystem as a whole, participation is key. With the laudable goal of 1 million transactions per second now well within our collective sights, it’s more important than ever for everyone in our community to get actively involved. I’ve already mentioned the importance of supporting the new projects being built in the Tezos ecosystem, but it bears repeating: the more we all take part in and experiment with the amazing Tezos-powered offerings to come, the further we can push our protocol toward the Web 3.0-enabled future we’ve been promised. Remember, it takes a village!

4) Do unto others…

The Tezos community is, famously, a very welcoming and supportive place to be. As exciting new tools, applications, games, etc. continue to be rolled out across the Tezos ecosystem in the year to come, it’s absolutely crucial that our community remains as welcoming and supportive as possible. It behooves every one of us to extend a hand to those just finding their way into the Tezos ecosystem, answer the questions they may have, steer them toward the people/groups/chats that can help them accomplish their Tezos-related goals, and make them feel at home. The blockchain space can be a daunting one for those unfamiliar with its jargon, technologies, expectations, and personalities, but here in the Tezos community, it doesn’t have to be if we all do our part. (You can also get rewarded for helping others through the Community Rewards Program!)

5) Go forth and multiply

Overall market downturn aside, there are still masses of people out there who are curious about blockchain technology and its potential applications. With its bevy of offerings in the NFT, gaming, and Defi arenas, the Tezos ecosystem is a great place for the ‘cryptocurious’ to dip their toes into this powerful emerging technology. Make no mistake: the opportunity to bring new users into the Tezos ecosystem at scale in 2023 is very real. I’ve recently published a step-by-step guide to sending the gift of Tezos to a friend, family member, or loved one during the holiday season of 2022. But there’s no reason to stop there. Tezos tokens make great birthday presents as well. They give new users a simple introduction to the functioning Tezos ecosystem, help people open their first crypto wallet, and help show the world exactly what Tezos has to offer. Small, simple steps like this, executed by our community at large, can (and will) add up to a big impact on the ongoing quest to grow the Tezos user base moving forward.

Will 2023 be a better year than the one which preceded it for the blockchain space at large and the Tezos ecosystem more specifically? I certainly hope so, but only time will tell. What I do know for certain is that all the pieces are in place. In my extensive conversations over the past 12 months with the builders and developers that make the Tezos ecosystem and blockchain go, one common thread has emerged: there’s a lot happening in the Tezos ecosystem right now, and there’s a whole lot more to come.

Let’s make sure the world understands this in 2023!

This Week in the Tezos Ecosystem

The downturn of 2022 culled many projects with shaky fundamentals—or that were outright frauds—but 2023 is the year that can reward honest actors in the space.

Since the beginning of the Tezos Community Rewards Program (‘Tezos CRP’) more than 66,758 tez have been given out to Tezos community members that are bringing value to the Tezos ecosystem. Every…

Ledger Leopard, an international company offering turnkey Web3 and blockchain solutions to businesses, is strengthening its involvement in the Tezos ecosystem by becoming a corporate baker. This new position will allow this Web3 specialist to validate, secure and add transactions (blocks) to the Tezos blockchain.

We rang in 2023 and while we reflect on 2022, it has been nothing short of an emotional roller coaster when the discussion comes to crypto. Besides the bad events that has led to the current market…

Altme has launched a "Self-Sovereign Identity" (SSI) digital wallet on Android and iOS, making Tezos one of the first Web 3 ecosystems to offer a fully decentralized identity (DID) solution.

This Week in Tezos Development

A low-probability scenario caused a temporary slowdown of the network. This is a known possibility and intended behavior of the Tenderbake consensus algorithm.

PlonK is a prominent universal and updatable zk-SNARK for general circuit satisfiability. We present aPlonK, a variant of PlonK that reduces the proof size and verification time when multiple statements are proven in a batch.

Tezos AMA on Binance.US

Join us next week on January 12th for a special Tezos AMA co-hosted by Binance.US!

Featuring Tezos Commons own Cryptonio to answer questions, participants will have a chance to win $750 in tez.

Now Streaming: TezTalks Radio #52

Join Marissa live from Art Basel Paris to discuss the importance of building permanent art collections on the blockchain.