Design by "Analyser"

Greetings to the DAPS community worldwide! It's been an exciting time! So exciting, that we haven't had time to make another proper report until now! This is our first Steemit post as well. =)

In our last progress report, we laid out the rough timelines and details of the to-be DAPS coin and the overarching structure of the project. In this update, we will be discussing items ranging from the intended DAPS specs to our team and other important project-related initiatives, beginning at where the previous progress report was written.

Website, Whitepaper, and Newsletter

To begin; After some initial delays, the official DAPScoin website was launched, and now generates over 2,000 daily active users in just two months. While fully functional, we plan to redesign the current DAPScoin website, adding features and additional information as we go forward.

As we launched the website, we created an idea for a DAPS Newsletter. This weekly "DAPS Newsletter" focuses on cryptocurrency news, and DAPS project updates. The DAPS News team (headed by 'Buba') compiles news and other suggested updates, while the Project Coordinator and PR manager compile the "update" page. We encourage users to check out previous newsletters and always be ready for the next edition! You can sign up for the newsletter here.

This team effort has become a natural process for us, and we love to produce the Newsletters to keep our community up to date on our project. We also enjoy how non-Peepcoin/DAPS users appreciate them!

The DAPS Newsletter is our first foray into scheduled content production, but will not be our last. On site content and news will be hosted, using a similar format to the DAPS Newletter. The DAPS Newsletter will be a mainstay in the project indefinitely, we have produced 7 issues so far and look forward to hundreds more! Future Media Team initiatives will include full video production, article writing, public outreach, and other plans proposed. We want our team to have fun while doing what they love, and invite you to join! If you like to write or make graphics and other multimedia, contact us.

The DAPS whitepaper was finalized and published as the website was operational, to nearly unanimous positive reviews. It details the origin of the project, the DAPS chain features intended and their creation, and explains some basics behind the "Proof-Of-Audit" theory/implementation. The DAPS whitepaper 1.0 may change some details going forward, but much of the foundation will stay the same.

While we are proud of the current whitepaper, we understand it needs revision and more work to be a great whitepaper. We are currently in the midst of a full peer review and editing process, this will be done multiple times through many different academics in order to achieve a hardened and debate-tested whitepaper. We intend for the DAPS whitepaper and Harpocrates protocol therein to be the best of many ideas, utilizing input and fine tuning from scholars of blockchain and cryptography (and other related fields).

Governance and CORE Program

As we launched the website, the process of implementing our governance started. We set standard rules and a code of conduct for our team, and recruited professional long-term oriented individuals to the project.

We completed and implemented the CORE program, which sets up a long term governance structure for the team in the post-Project Coordinator phase, and enables members with high proficiency in blockchain and associations with other teams the ability to join our project officially in a transparent manner.

CORE members are expected to place 50m of their coins into an address, in a wallet that stakes. 25% of the stakes from this 50m "CORE address" are required to be donated to the Peepcoin (and future DAPS) fund. CORE members are allowed to decide the future of the project alongside the Project Coordinator and development, and will be able to vote on DAPS development fund expenditures and emissions allocation when DAPS is live.

While CORE is designed for third party members to join the DAPS team, it also enables members inside of our community or team to move up to a higher level of responsibility if they meet the requirements as another user would. This open and cyclical system will keep some central structure to the project long term, no matter what happens. If you think you fit the requirements for CORE, contact us!

DAPS CORE will be the pinnacle of blockchain, and a model for other coins to follow in the future

With the completion of CORE, we consider the governance finished. There will be some tweaks and perhaps further measures implemented, but the framework will stay mostly the same; an open volunteer organization headed by a Project Coordinator, where all team members are expected to abide by the governance as written. To completely secure the integrity of the DAPS Project and any sensitive information shared, full NDA requirements are being rolled out for all current and future team members. Many in the team have signaled their support for this initiative, which will be critical to prevent any "Insider" activity from harming our community and our future goals.

Peepcoin's Twilight, DAPS' Dawn

Peepcoin

The DAPS Development team has worked hard to review and fix the existing Peepcoin codebase. There were many issues with the legacy code it was based on, including the old QT code. As we avoided a total rewrite, the team copied the existing Peepcoin1 source into our official Github, and set to work fixing the myriad of compatibility issues.

Our team has meticulously fixed most layout, UI and other display issues stemming from the old QT layout system. The code has been fixed as to allow users to build a homebrew Mac, Linux, and Windows wallet from the source with relative ease.

The full 1.0.2 Peepcoin wallet changelog is:

UI redone and fixed for most displays, including a full graphic redesign

Built-in Block Explorer

Denarius-style Staking calculation screen

Litestake integrated (Much less hard disk read/write, less stress on older computers)

Stake Combination commands integrated (stakemindepth, stakecombine, stakesplit)

Automatic Peepcoin.conf creation

Code reworked to build properly from source on most modern OS

The current Peepcoin 1.0.2 wallet has some additional fixes upcoming. We have also incorporated a mobile wallet expert, who is looking at producing a Peepcoin mobile wallet while the rest of development moves on to DAPS.

DAPS

The DAPS chain feature list has been decided, and will be:

Mandatory TOR/OBFS4 nodes: SpectreCoin has longest tested TOR/OBFS4 implementation, and actively developed library. OBFS4 is an addon to the TOR protocol, enabling users in nations where TOR relays/proxies are blocked to access these networks. In blockchain, this means users can connect to the network no matter where they are without anyone knowing. Mandatory Stealth Addresses, optional public ('T') addresses: While Phore includes stealth addresses, will consider Monero & Sumokoin implementation. RingCT+Zero-Knowledge, ZK-stark library is bridge to ZK+RingCT: ZK-Stark library will enable integration of Zero-Knowledge proofs with Monero's RingCT implementation. Masternodes: Phore includes masternode layer. Masternodes are incentivized 24/7 nodes, which enable further features. PoSv3: Phore is a PoSv3 based staking system. PoSv3 is an evolution of the old Proof-Of-Stake. PoSv3 attempts to solve the "rich get richer" issue of traditional PoS networks. Instead of a static return, users with a small amount of coins may be able to stake above their expected return, due to luck. See-saw MN rewards: Use PIVX/Bulwark see-saw masternode reward system. The skew is 60/40 MN/PoS when the MN dominance is below 40% of network. This rebalances 1% every 1% that MN dominance rises above 40%, up to a maximum of 40/60 MN/POS reward if the masternode dominance is 60% of the network. This will prevent masternodes from gaining outsized rewards, and keep the total masternode count under control. Users will likely be able to earn more using PoS if the rewards are 45/55 MN/POS, for example. Multinodes: Tokugawa coin masternodes allow multiple masternodes per IP, allowing users to save significantly on VPS costs. (We will be implementing this even with the recent increase of Peepcoin price, to alleviate MN hosting costs) Proof-Of-Audit: Trustless implementation of full privacy, enables supply audit and preserves chain integrity against various exploits arising from fully-private blockchain networks.

As of writing, the above features will be prioritized. To accelerate the process of building DAPS we will begin recruiting reasonably priced long-term minded contributors with expertise in the Zero-Knowledge-Proof school and practical blockchain applications therein. This will strengthen the development team, and enable full testing of the DAPS feature list. A strong, safe and expert-vetted system is the goal.

Alongside this, we will seek a dedicated swap expert to enact the swap in an automated manner. We are currently reaching out to other projects in an attempt to integrate known and reputable swap implementation experts. As the swap is such an important part of the process, we will ensure the swap is built and tested thoroughly prior to being live. The DAPS Project plans collaboration with other privacy projects and academic figures. With securing certain experts on the DAPS development team, we will likely be able to tackle the intended feature list easily and move onto more advanced functions.

Beyond DAPS, the team will focus on other applications and dynamic solutions to be integrated onto DAPS. Other off-chain projects that add to the DAPScoin ecosystem and chain itself will be considered.

Exchanges: Bleutrade, Dragons and More!

As of the last progress report, we were working on getting Peepcoin on C-Patex. We managed to achieve this goal, amongst many others. In a short time Peepcoin has grown to a handful of exchanges which are swap-ready including TradeOgre, C-Patex, CryptohubOnline, BiteBTC and now Bleutrade. Remember; no new exchange will be added without confirming they will work with us during the swap. Any exchange which does not comply with the swap is not recommended by our project.

In the last month, we were approached by Bleutrade to list our coin on their exchange and engage in other collaboration to spread their message. They were looking to expand their coin lineup, and were impressed by our community. Their plans include a future rebranding and mass marketing initiatives in an effort to become a top exchange by next year. We were proud to accept their offer of cooperation as their goals and ambitious vision for worldwide growth match our own. Bleutrade is a known reputable exchange, established in 2014.

We asked the community to contribute to the listing. This was our first 'full' donation drive, and we managed to collect the 2 BTC required thanks in majority to Kwaku (DAPS Africa) and the Project Coordinator.

The Bleutrade listing has been a smashing success, for both Bleutrade and Peepcoin-DAPS. Peepcoin has traded over 2 million USD in the short time it's been included on Bleutrade. Our community has nearly doubled in this time as well. Peepcoin is now regularly in the top volume bracket, sometimes reaching #1. We are humbled by this, and look forward to what we can achieve with Bleutrade's future growth ahead. With key listings on certain new exchanges, we believe similar impacts can be had, spreading our message and brand in ways we couldn't achieve otherwise.

We consider Bleutrade our partner exchange, and encourage users to trade Peepcoins using their platform, withdrawing any they may have on Coinexchange.io. If you are not on Bleutrade, sign up today! Their rebranding is soon, don't miss out!

With the Bleutrade success, we were approached by another exchange Sistemkoin for listing. They requested 4 BTC, to be paid in less than two days. They are a top 50 exchange, so we prioritized getting the funds together, asking the community if they would support a new drive. The community overwhelmingly voted yes, and we launched the donation drive to gather 4 BTC. Upon gathering the funds and final verification of the Sistemkoin administration itself in more detail, we had some serious concerns that needed to be addressed. As Sistemkoin was unwilling to address them, we decided not to risk the community's donations on this listing.

Cryptopia and DragonEx were community favorites to target

To solve where the funds should go instead, we opened a poll to the public about which exchanges to focus on. There were many options, but DragonEx and Cryptopia were very large favorites of the community. The vast majority of the community voted for Cryptopia, which is now being contacted regarding the listing price. If needed, the donation drive will be reopened to secure the DOT for Cryptopia to fulfill the community's desire.

For DragonEx, we were already in contact with their administration. They have set up Peepcoin to be voted on next month in their Dragon Token ("DT" coin) vote. The vote is conducted by users of the DragonEx exchange which own atleast 10 DT. To be approved, 10% of the DT supply must signal for Peepcoin, and 1,000 members must vote. The DT supply is ~4.5 Million, so if 1,000 users with 400 DT vote for Peepcoin, we will be listed. As Dragon Tokens are not spent in the vote, it's encouraged for users to sign up and acquire the minimum DT to signal support for our project. Currently DT are 7–8$ a coin, so the minimum money required to take part in voting is ~80$.

Sign up to DragonEx today, acquire 10 DT and be ready to support Peepcoin!

DAPS Team Updates: A Dose of CapricornCandy

We're all in this together! Image by Andiirawan, made with love

The DAPS team has become very large in a short time, mostly to cope with the growth of users and required support needed to handle their needs, including many for areas including International roles. We are rapidly spreading internationally and in English communities, so we will keep growing the team as needed!

As our community has grown, we have been forced to create separate Telegram channels for trade discussion and wallet or other tech help. We hope this solution provides a reasonable middle ground for our community, as our 3,000-strong telegram chat can become very messy at times. We encourage users to follow the moderator's wishes, and remember they're only trying to make things easier for the project and the Coordinator!

The DAPS Team has nearly 100 members, with 10 developers, 15 on our News & Media team, 25 on our Mod Squad, and nearly 50 on our International team. We are proud of the current DAPS Team, and believe we have an all-star team in many aspects. We will continue to expand, prioritizing bringing on professional-minded people who want to contribute in a positive way to our project.

One of the main architects of the ID vetting process and governance is the DAPS PR manager, Adel De Meyer. Adel is a top influencer and an expert in marketing and branding. She was glad to contribute to our rebranding process in March, and has been here ever since. A caring and passionate member of our community, she goes above and beyond the call of PR duties and directly interacts with the community, all while managing her own personal brand and engaging in a weekly Blockchain Chat! Make sure to check out her Twitter or website, and remember #BlockchainChat happens weekly, hosted by her! We are honored that she continues to contribute to our project, and stands amongst the most devoted to this project long term.

Thank you to the team, and Adel De Meyer, for everything so far. Without them, this project wouldn't be possible. If you're interested in helping, contact us and join the team yourself! Please be aware a full NDA requirement is being implemented.

Outreach, Outreach, Outreach

As of writing, our Twitter has over 4,000 followers, our main Telegram has 3,000 Members, our Discord and other combined media has around 2,000 users. According to estimates our whole community is atleast 5,000 strong, and constantly growing. Our social media impressions have skyrocketed, passing 1 million per month on Twitter while our website regularly achieves 2,000 daily-active-users directly.

YouTube video producers have started contacting the Project Coordinator and PR manager for interviews regarding DAPS, which will be coming in the next couple weeks. Currently, the Project Coordinator is lined up for an interview on the Larry and Joe show. The DAPS PR manager Adel De Meyer is scheduled to appear on a top Australian crypto group "Crypto Calls Australia" to discuss DAPS and other subjects, mostly regarding the non-technical aspects of the project.

We welcome all videos and interviews, as they give us the chance to spread the word! All interviews and video productions should be setup with the DAPS PR manager and Project Coordinator, which can be contacted anytime on the [email protected] email. We will attempt to make your videos more detail-rich, and answer any questions you may have!

Some of our team members on the International end have secured us videos and advertisements in third party media, including Russian, Japanese, and Turkish media. Youtubers such as KenTheCrypto and others have already produced videos, using input from the Coordinator, but we now have additional media coming from across the world!

Peepcoin-DAPS was featured in a comprehensive article by VirtualMoneyLife, a popular Japanese crypto publication. Peepcoin was the subject of a video review by Raketa18, a large Russian crypto channel on youtube, and has been included in other venues as well. We are glad to see the world covering us, and want more such reviews! We want to spread the DAPS message worldwide, using coverage like this.

Over 80% of the current Peepcoin network is secured by Non-US nodes, a great sign that our work on international outreach has succeeded. We will continue to expand our horizons globally into untapped markets including Africa and the Middle East, and focusing on other traditional blockchain-friendly markets. Bringing blockchain and privacy philosophies to new members of the ecosystem is key to our long term mission, no matter where they are.

We will not neglect to focus on the traditional markets which welcome our project already, including Russia, Japan, Korea, India, the EU, South America, and other areas. Our growth has been tremendous internationally, which we will continue to nurture.

Want to help our International team? We need you! Please join our team and help members of your language sphere take part in the DAPS revolution as well.

As Peepcoin's story ends, ours begins

The Road Ahead

Thanks to "Analyser" and "Andiirawan" of the DAPS Design Crew for the consistently amazing graphic work

Now begins our campaign: the creation of DAPS, the building of the long-term infrastructure for the project, and most importantly the securing of funds required to achieve these ambitious goals. We will be crafting innovative mass-marketing initiatives, with a focus on viral marketing to smash the paper barrier. Creating a privacy protocol that will establish a new paradigm in blockchain while becoming a global brand is our long term goal.

The DAPS Roadmap has been mostly completed up to the DAPS construction phase. The Peepcoin upgrade phase and foundation building has been a success, and we now focus entirely on the DAPS building and outreach phase of our roadmap. The original estimate for 2nd half 2018 deployment of DAPS is still being used, but we always encourage users to be cautious and understand we are building a fully experimental system which will require field testing before launching. Any updates on timelines, breakthroughs in DAPS development, or other critical initiatives will be reported as they are made.

Due to the nature of the DAPS Newsletter and forthcoming blog and other content production, these "progress reports" will likely be sparse until the full publication of DAPS.

Thank you for reading, and join us on Discord or Telegram anytime if you have questions. If you're still new to the project, please check out our website.

Personally, we are truly humbled by the community and the growth we have had. Our generous community is always asking how to help, even going so far as to telling us to launch new donation drives! Please be aware we will open further donation drives in the future to secure critical funding, according to the wishes of the community.

We will always work hard and keep delivering what we promise. Your vision is our vision, we on the DAPS team are all a part of this community like you the reader who is seeing this today. We are proud to be a part of this process and represent a community that spreads to nearly every country on Earth. The future is bright for us, mostly thanks to this amazing community. Without you, this journey wouldn't be possible. We stand united, ready to change the crypto world and deliver the DAPS vision, knowing we have you beside us. Thank you.