[Recap] Tezos Q3 State of the Ecosystem

On August 15, 2023, Arthur Breitman, Co-Founder of Tezos, Valérie Whitacre, Head of Art, Michael Mendez, Head of DeFi Partnerships, and Jeremy Foo, Head of Gaming, discussed Tezos’s Q3 2023 State of the Ecosystem with Joshua Frank, Co-Founder and CEO of The Tie. Tezos is a self-amending open-source blockchain platform that enables peer-to-peer transactions and smart contract deployment. It is known for its on-chain governance mechanism, which allows stakeholders to propose and vote on changes to the protocol.

The call focused on four topics:

Watch the full replay below:

Arthur believes that rollups are essential for Tezos, highlighting their capacity to enable composability, interoperability, and reduced fees on the Tezos mainnet. Recognizing that transaction fees can surge during high-volume periods, he stresses the need for proactive fee management.

Etherlink, an upcoming rollup on Tezos, functions as an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible layer 2. Specifically designed to allow the easy deployment of Ethereum-based decentralized applications (dApps) to Tezos, Etherlink is just one example of layer 2 scaling solutions being built on Tezos.

With the Mumbai upgrade, Tezos integrated Smart Rollups, unlocking expanded interoperability and enabling the use of programming languages such as Python, Javascript, and Rust. For Arthur, scaling Tezos means crafting a unified Layer 2 governed by its XTZ holders, setting it apart from Ethereum's fragmented rollups built by third-party entities. He cites programming language composability, governance inheritance, and unified goals as key reasons for taking this approach to scale Tezos.

In 2021, Tezos launched its first NFT marketplace Hic et Nunc (now a collection on Objkt), sparking the rapid growth of its NFT community, aided by the blockchain's sustainability and affordability. Valérie highlights the global network of creators that rallied behind Tezos' sustainable and cost-effective approach, noting the community's continued expansion and loyalty.

Unlike other blockchains, Tezos stands out for its emphasis on fine art over PFP-style projects. This focus aligns well with its collaborations with esteemed art institutions like The Museum of Modern Art, the Serpentine Galleries, and Art Basel. These institutions harness Tezos for innovative ideas like ticketing or heritage tokens, benefiting from Tezos' wide-reaching platform while lending Tezos the established reputation of the art world.

Tezos has made strides within the DeFi space, emphasizing real-world assets and tokenization. Recent partnerships and builders have created tokenized assets on-chain such as gold, Swiss Francs, and Real Estate through companies like Fraktion. The goal is to allow these tokenized assets to be utilized and collateralized within the larger DeFi markets.

Recognizing the potential for institutional adoption, Fireblocks, a leading crypto custodian, recently enabled support for Tezos's FA1.2 and FA2 token standards. The widely-used FA1.2 standard is used to create fungible tokens, such as uUSD and XTZ, while the more recent FA2 standard supports a diverse range of token structures, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Tezos is focused on bringing trader-centric products to DeFi users. This approach is underscored by the introduction of an innovative trading product called "Power Perpetuals" by Kord.fi and Youves' comprehensive roadmap, as well as continued support for protocols that focus on the end-user experience.

Tezos builds strong relationships with premier gaming companies, as seen in its recent partnership with Ubisoft and Unity. Rather than chasing the high-risk world of AAA games, which Jeremy notes can be time-consuming and costly, Tezos strategically targets indie, hypercasual, and friendly wagering game genres. Upcoming releases on Tezos encompass trivia, racing, and games reminiscent of "slither.io".

Complementing this strategy, Tezos and Unity have co-developed the Tezos Unity SDK. This development kit facilitates game developers in integrating Tezos blockchain functionalities, such as user asset authentication and smart contracts, enabling them to craft secure, transparent games without the need for a specialized blockchain team.

For end-users, Tezos is making it increasingly easier for gamers to get started with Web3 gaming by removing common friction points with Web3 interactions, such as the need for traditional wallet seed phrases. Thanks to applications like Kukai Wallet, gamers can use social logins to access their wallets across multiple platforms. This makes it much easier and more convenient for gamers to get involved in the Tezos ecosystem.

Across its three verticals of Arts & Culture, DeFi, and Gaming, Tezos is focused on anticipating upcoming trends and growing its influence.

Arts and Culture: Valérie highlighted the continued growth of art on Tezos in its ability to serve new artists as well as artist's estates, to expand their practice and continue to integrate the legacy of the traditional art world into Web3.

DeFi: Michael stressed the evolving situation surrounding the regulatory environment in crypto, but highlighted the opportunity for permissioned DeFi to flourish as well as continued innovative trading products that protocols will be rolling out over the year.

Gaming: Jeremy is looking forward to high-quality upcoming games being released on Tezos later this year, which will take extensive advantage of Tezos's tooling and blockchain capabilities.

Arthur closed out by echoing the focus on adoption for the rest of the year, but expressed the most excitement in Tezos's growing technical capabilities. He believes that these advancements will find profound applications in Gaming and DeFi. He also noted the rise of the generative art scene, while pinpointing music as an untapped market in Web3 despite its immense popularity in everyday life. Finally, while Arthur believes the rails for DeFi have been built, he foresees a deeper integration of financial solutions such as Real-World Assets (RWAs) and prediction markets that can operate on a massive scale.

Disclaimer: This report is for informational purposes only and is not investment or trading advice. The views and opinions expressed in this report are exclusively those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Tie Inc. The Author may be holding the token or using the strategies mentioned in this report.  You are fully responsible for any decisions you make; The Tie Inc. is not liable for any loss or damage caused by reliance on information provided. For investment advice, please consult a registered investment advisor.