January 7, 2019

Happy New Year to the Counterparty Community! As it is with the holidays, it has been quiet on most fronts from projects within the ecosystem but nevertheless, let’s continue with this month’s updates:



Ecosystem Updates:



Mandel Duck paired with HashHub Tokyo to release the beta version of SaruTobi Lightning for android. As mentioned last month, the beta version features lightning payments and tipping for users. Over 3000 tips have been sent so far.

Working with @HashHub_Tokyo pleased to announce SaruTobi @lightning beta for android! Simple arcade style game where you can earn lightning bitcoin tips using the DENRYU system and purchase items with LN wallet tell us what you think!https://t.co/isOFI4P5a2 — Christian Moss (@MandelDuck) December 21, 2018

Mandel Duck also teased the release of SaruTobi RakuGaki mode, check out a sneak peek below:

Mafia Wars started the new year with a reward for any new members. Offering 1,000 MAFIACASH to help them get started in the game, as well as, the opportunity to join a crime family for free, new users need to sign up to the Mafia Wars telegram group to proceed:

For a limited time new members can join a crime family at no cost as well as get 1,000 free MAFIACASH to get them started in the game! Come join the Mafia Wars game telegram channel at https://t.co/k4GNP3yI2B to get your free MAFIACASH and start playing the game today! #MafiaWars — Mafia Wars (@mafiawars_io) January 4, 2019

Continuing on, the team has continued to release new card designs via their social media platforms that you can purchase here. The team also completed their 7th distribution of MAFIACASH (their first of the new year).

BitCrystals has had a quiet month with only an update from the Spells of Genesis team. This update involves an updated version of the game. Version 1.2.21 includes a new victory/defeat screen alongside additional ways to earn in-game currency.



Resident BitCrystals artist; Joey Chips has also recently released another card design for the CrystalsCraft environment. He recently published a piece on his portfolio of work, check it out here.



FoldingCoin has a few updates this month as Executive Director of the project; Bill Beard met with the CFO of a major healthcare organization, with plans to follow up concerning both funding and the affiliation of a research organization.

The team has also made it to the next level of selection on the echoing green grant.

The FoldingCoin development team has been working with getting Humber College set up to conduct usability studies on their installer and product, to improve ease of use.



For more news, check out the team’s public meeting below:



Augmentors recently posted a year-in-review via their medium publication.

Highlighting their achievements of the year that include the launch of their open beta in August, as well as, most recently, their feature by Apple’s app store. Check it out in the jump.



Age of Rust continues to tease their community with sneak peeks of their game via their twitter handle. Game developer; Space Pirate, will feature counterparty and BTC rewards that are also cross-platform (as they have done in their previous Beta release) in-game. Below are a few in-game previews that demonstrate how players will discover their rewards:



The cave is unstable, but you know buried deep within someone stashed some crypto. You hear voices, startled, your weapon slips from your hand. You quickly you dash through the cavern into the darkness beyond into the Age of Rust. #blockchaingame #enjin #eth pic.twitter.com/6SFQ2g0neV — Age of Rust (@SpacePirate_io) December 23, 2018

Secrets buried in the snowdrifts… you trudge along in the freezing winds past the dead towards the colony ruins. Stranded, lost, and cold… you continue to stumble forward in search of the lost crypto you desire in the Age of Rust. #enjin #ethereum #blockchaingame pic.twitter.com/KpmLDroksv — Age of Rust (@SpacePirate_io) December 19, 2018

Infi.space, a project still in its roots as a collectible trade card game and strategy project, recently shared a call for users to join their telegram group via social media.

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Counterparty in the News:

A good primer on non-fungible tokens and how they’re issued differently on different blockchains from @wasthatawolf. https://t.co/eIa5XwjlWz — Marty Bent (@MartyBent) December 31, 2018

In a piece by Rare Pepe Wallet founder Joe Looney, “the real cost of Cryptogoods” discusses the altered value of tokens aka ‘cryptogoods’ depending on the platform. Going beyond gaming items, Looney’s work often includes nonfungible tokens and cryptoart too – mentioning that this emerging media can often be overwhelming to newcomers.

The article begins to discuss the platform and longevity of cryptogoods as a basis for its realness and value. He begins with a history lesson going back to 2015, citing Counterparty and the popularity of trading cards via the protocol on the bitcoin blockchain. This lesson draws popular mentions to projects such as Bitcorns and Rare Pepes.



With his definition that “a cryptogood is a token issued by an artist, game developer, musician, etc. that is generally represented by an image, video or text” Looney goes on to point out they are not representative of currencies or physical goods. After going on to discuss his original points – comparing the issuance of cryptogoods via Counterparty vs Ethereum – Looney ends rather open-ended with a fair warning to users not to get caught up in mass opinion. A worthwhile read, check it out here.



In other exciting news, the Rare Digital Art Festival is returning to New York on May 18th, 2019! Expanding on Looney’s article, “Rare digital art is a movement to take internet assets that have previously been infinitely copyable (songs, memes, etc) and turn them into provably rare, tradable blockchain assets”. (source)



Let's try this again…



The Rare Digital Art Festival is returning to NYC on 5/18/19 #RareAF2 pic.twitter.com/8FPPhqORlE — Joe Looney (@wasthatawolf) January 4, 2019

Development News:



Counterparty 9.56.0 was released just before the new year! Alongside immediate support for Segwit (CIP15) on testnet, and mainnet (which activated at block 557236). 9.56.0 is also updated to use Bitcoin Core 0.16.3 and includes the changes listed within CIP19 as mentioned below (to replace the addrindex patch):



Faster blockchain sync and parsing

Segwit support for lower fees





Hash Timelocked Contracts (HTLCs) which enable atomic swaps and lightning





Better fee estimation

All users and projects within the Counterparty ecosystem are encouraged to have upgraded by today (January 7th, 2019) for the hardfork.





Again, here is a reminder of current and future CIPs, following this upgrade:







CIP 6 – P2SH data encoding:

P2SH data encoding will allow Counterparty to utilize more space for transactions. CIP 6 will be beneficial to large transactions and is a prerequisite in supporting some of the more advanced send types, such as multi-peer-multi-asset (MPMA) and Multiparty Counterparty Aggregate Transactions (MCAT).



CIP 10 – Multi-Peer Multi-Asset Sends (MPMA):

Multi-Peer Multi-Assets sends will allow many assets to be sent to many peers in a single transaction, simplifying batch transactions, and reducing transaction fees even further.





CIP 13 – Multiparty Counterparty Aggregate Transactions (MCAT):

MCAT will allow Counterparty users to group their transactions with those of other Counterparty users, to reduce their send costs considerably. Most users will be able to utilize this feature to send transactions for less than the cost of a single bitcoin transaction.



CIP 13 will also allow Counterparty users to utilize MCAT nodes, to send assets across the Counterparty Network, and pay for the transaction fees in an asset other than BTC.



Counterparty is an open-source, community-funded project which progresses solely through the generous time and monetary donations of others.



To stay up to date with any pending and currently developing CIPs check out their Github pages and the official Counterparty donate page here.



If you have a project that you’d like included in our newsletter please contact us at projects@counterparty.io



Please share or RT Counterparty CIPs on social media so we can help fulfill them faster!



We have also recently opened up a press channel for any media inquiries and would ask any media outlets to contact press@Counterparty.io.





Please join the @Counterparty_XCP group on Telegram for breaking news and real-time Counterparty conversation!



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

