Search results for: “democracy”

The Will of D

I had only been back in Hong Kong for a day, still adjusting to the time difference, when I dragged myself out of bed at 5:00 AM on Monday to catch the first flight to Taipei. I was attending d/acc day to listen to talks and share about d/hk. I might discuss the philosophy of d/acc in another article later, but this week, I want to talk about the “D” in DHK.

A reader once asked me about my process for choosing topics for the weekly report. As the saying goes, “ideas are cheap, execution is precious.” I find topics everywhere; the real difficulty is developing them. Even for subjects I know best, it takes me half a day to write. My schedule is filled with pending topics, already planned out to issue #221 in September. Yet, almost every week when I actually sit down to write, I end up tackling issues that have jumped the queue for various reasons. Like this week, my sharing about d/hk unearthed the long-shelved topic of “D.”

The “D” in DHK

Many know that DHK was originally called #decentralizehk. When simplifying the brand back then, my good friend R strongly advocated for “DeHK” and even proactively checked the availability of domains like dehk.org. Many have heard of DeFi, DeX, etc., making the meaning of DeHK quite apparent. Coupled with the domain availability, it was a good name. The reason I insisted on DHK and regretfully didn’t accept his suggestion is that the “D” represents far more than just decentralize.

When most people see DHK, the first association the “D” might trigger is probably “Dollar”; after all, HKD reversed is DHK. I didn’t intend to create this association, but if it helps someone remember DHK, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Most people know the original core meaning of D is Decentralize. Literally translated, DHK could mean “Decentralized Hong Kong,” which aligns with the mission stated in our declaration: “to provide web3 civic education for Muggles.” What was truly unexpected was that several years after DHK was founded, the Hong Kong government also put forward similar discourse, (in a sense) embracing cryptocurrency and aiming to “build Hong Kong into a digital asset management center.” While I don’t think this makes DHK politically correct or eligible for funding to run web3 civic education, at least blockchain is no longer universally condemned, and cryptocurrency isn’t seen as a monstrous threat, which is undoubtedly a good thing.

Decentralize’s twin is Democratize. The physical world of Hong Kong lacks democracy; DHK attempts to create democracy in the digital world. You might think this sounds naive (“膠” – slang for silly/unrealistic), but at least I am sincerely committed (“真心膠” – genuinely committed despite appearing naive) rather than just talking the talk. DHK volunteers use a QV (quadratic voting) mechanism each quarter to evaluate contributions, and then distribute the community’s leftover $DHK for the quarter based on contribution levels. This is the democracy we created ourselves – not only practical but also more advanced than the voting and distribution mechanisms of any country. Democracy isn’t just about voting; more importantly, it’s about daily participation. In this respect, DHK’s consistent approach is that everyone can join as a dao member, and every dao member can become a volunteer to initiate their own projects.

Besides Decentralize and Democratize, Diversify is also essential. Only a society with choices can be diverse, and only a diverse society allows individuals to have choices in life. A system lacking diversity cannot be truly decentralized, nor can it achieve genuine democracy, and vice versa. Therefore, diversity is another core value of DHK, inseparable from decentralization and democracy.

There’s another “D” that is particularly important for Hong Kong: Diasporic. Since 2019, the UK alone has seen over 200,000 Hong Kong immigrants, nearly 4% of Hong Kong’s population. Adding those in Taiwan, Canada, the US, Australia, and elsewhere, it’s no exaggeration to say Hong Kong has become a diaspora. I deeply agree with the sentiment that “Hong Kong is not just a place, but more importantly, its people.” However, to prevent this from becoming just a romantic slogan, we need a vessel to carry the history and meaning of this “Ship of Theseus.” Claiming DHK is that vessel might be an overstatement, but it can at least be a piece of the puzzle. DHK volunteers are spread across Hong Kong, the UK, Taiwan, and North America, while dao members are even more dispersed. This group’s identity is no longer based on a shared location, and perhaps will increasingly not depend on the ID cards and passports they hold. Through weekly reports, discussion groups, and other activities, using networks, tokens, and blockchain for daily interaction, DHK continues to interpret the identity of Hong Kongers in everyday life, constructing a diasporic community.

The final “D,” and the main reason I attended d/acc day, is Defend. The “D” in d/acc stands for Decentralize and Democratic, but also Defensive, while “acc” means Acceleration. Combined, it signifies accelerating technological and economic development while simultaneously avoiding centralization, valuing democracy, and prioritizing defense. For instance, in today’s rapid AI development, rather than solely competing to develop Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) or even Artificial Superintelligence (ASI), d/acc focuses more on whether the emergence of AGI and ASI could lead to unprecedented disasters as described in science fiction, or obliterate human value.

Currently, all nations hope to win the AI race. Some see it not just as a competition for economic efficiency but as an arms race. Some patriotic elites in the US even refer to AI research as the “new Manhattan Project.” As the name implies, if detonated, the consequences could surpass nuclear bombs, becoming the most severe man-made disaster in history. Despite the extremely severe potential consequences, the winner enjoys exclusive benefits while the disaster is shared collectively (perhaps even borne by others). Preparing for AI defense, especially in the current climate emphasizing national priorities, is destined to have no market. Even far-sighted heads of state are unlikely to gain popular support. What is shared by the most receives the least care – a typical tragedy of the commons, and a core concern of d/acc.

Returning to the main theme, what DHK aims to defend are Hong Kong’s culture, traditions, and core values, including Traditional Chinese, Cantonese, freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. Language is a “niche” issue shared with places like Taiwan and Guangzhou, while the others are universal values, or at least values upheld by advanced nations. Thus, what DHK seeks to defend includes not only Hong Kong but also broader humanistic concerns.

I have no intention of deifying DHK. Quite the opposite, I am keenly aware of our limited strength. Just preserving Hong Kong’s history is a lifelong task. Therefore, defending universal values like the rule of law and human rights might seem like “being overwhelmed by too much empathy/passion” (“困乏我多情”). DHK’s daily practice focuses more on Hong Kong issues, implemented bit by bit through projects like the “Drifting Classroom” – focusing on marginalized small shops), the “UBR Unconditional Basic Reader” program (collecting Hong Kong books), donating to support local civic media, and the conceptual DHKid identity system.

DHK isn’t the only thing centered around “D”; so is the Japanese manga One Piece. In One Piece, there is the so-called “Will of D,” a belief associated with a certain country or family, symbolizing the spirit of resisting oppression and pursuing freedom. Whitebeard, the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, once said that the “Will of D” will be inherited by future generations; even if the bloodline is broken, the spirit will endure and eventually change the world.

In One Piece, D also carries another layer of imagery, representing Dream and Dawn. To uphold the “Will of D” is to hold onto dreams, believing firmly that darkness will eventually pass, and dawn will arrive.

p.s. DHK’s predecessor was my column #decentralizehk in Apple Daily. Once, a good friend J advised me not to be so provocative with my language to avoid trouble. I understood J was just concerned, but this type of concern puts extra peer pressure on citizens already walking on thin ice and unwilling to compromise. Annoyed, I complained that J didn’t blame the regime oppressing the people but instead blamed me for my peaceful social intervention. We went back and forth and had a small argument. Recalling this small incident isn’t about assigning blame, but about illustrating how tense the spirit is, how tight the pressure, when living in an authoritarian society and speaking under white terror.

p.p.s. Dedicated to the unwavering Will of D.

2025.04.03
Web3dom Season One: A Reflective Milestone
Publishing one article a week for three years might not be something to boast about, especially when many seasoned writers and artists maintain their daily routines for decades. However, sticking to it is still worth a little self-reward. And the reward is… to keep writing! 🥲

Over the past year, excluding retrospectives and event notifications, I published 55 articles. These, as usual, cover Information Freedom (23 articles), Financial Freedom (18), Democracy (9), and Uncle’s Diary (5).

At the end of this post, I have listed all 55 English articles from this season for those who might want to catch up or revisit. I’ve marked the most popular ones with a 🔥 and my personal favorites, often the overlooked gems, with a 🌈. Although I’d like to select more, I’ve limited myself to just one per category. If you disagree with my choices, feel free to leave a comment.

I’m often worried that I write too much about my daily life, veering off the “web3dom” topic. However, after checking, I found that my life diary accounts for less than 10% of the content, thanks to the “nano diary” strategy—brief personal notes placed at the end of each weekly update in the “p.s.” section to reduce the impact of personal ramblings on the newsletter.

Besides categorizing by “Three Freedoms”, the articles can be divided into various series, including book preservation (10.5 articles), Bitcoin (8), book and film reviews (5.5), LikeCoin (5), product reviews (4), and information security (4).

Thanks to the advent of AI, the newsletter has been available in English under the name web3dom – of web3 and freedom. The latest issue is last week’s #54. Over the year, web3dom accumulated 135 free subscribers. The response has been modest, but I’ve been managing it passively without actively promoting it.

Another experiment this season was switching platforms. Over the past month, emails have been sent via Paragraph. The migration had some errors, and there are still some bugs to fix, but the platform’s functionality is promising. After moving to Paragraph, the Chinese and English newsletters were combined. Subscribers continue to receive the language they were subscribed to on Substack but can change their preferences or opt for both languages.

Subscription and Community Support

As of today, my newsletters have over 21,400 free subscribers across both languages, with an open rate slightly dropping to about 31% after the platform switch. The peak number of paid subscribers was 168, but it has recently dropped to 154, all from the Chinese version, contributing approximately $8,660 annually. Previously, I used this income to support my writing and reporting. However, with the DHK dao maturing, starting in the fourth season, I will transfer all the income directly to a multi-signature wallet managed by community members.

I lead a simple life, and any surplus I have is invested back into civil society. So, there’s no need to feel sorry for me. Instead, since the subscription income is used for the community, we should support it even more. I should adopt the same mindset: since it’s not for me, I need to move away from a passive approach, actively promote paid subscriptions, and encourage more people to become “daoists”.

Information Freedom
Financial Freedom
Democracy
Uncle’s Diary
2024.06.12
LikeCoin 3.0 Green Paper. Part Two. Where Does the Coin Fall?
Last week’s newsletter was the debut on Paragraph.xyz. Kindly check your spam folder, newsletters tend to get misjudged as junk mail, dropping last week’s open rate to 30%, likely due to this. If you find the newsletter in your spam folder, kindly move it back to your inbox to train Gmail or your email system, and please add the sender [email protected] to your address book.

Now, back to our discussion on the LikeCoin Green Paper, here is the third piece.

Bringing LikeCoin’s infrastructure back to Ethereum raises a series of questions that need further consideration.
1. Should LikeCoin’s smart contracts be deployed on a single chain or multiple chains, with cross-chain bridges allowing LIKE tokens 3.0 to operate simultaneously across multiple chains while maintaining the total supply unchanged?
2. With Ethereum hosting over 100 L2 chains, which one or ones should LikeCoin choose as the underlying layer for 3.0?
3. How should users of LikeCoin 1.0 and 2.0 upgrade their existing LIKE tokens?
4. What are the options for validators from LikeCoin 2.0, and how can they continue to participate?
5. How should data on LikeCoin 2.0, such as ISCN and NFTs, be migrated to LikeCoin 3.0?
6. How can DApps from LikeCoin 2.0 be upgraded to LikeCoin 3.0?
7. How will LikeCoin 3.0 tokens be distributed, and will there be any limits?
8. On which platforms will LikeCoin 3.0 tokens be traded?
9. What governance mechanisms and tools will LikeCoin 3.0 utilize?
Given that the first two questions are more fundamental and impact decisions on other fronts, this article will prioritize addressing them, while other questions will be discussed in subsequent articles.

Single Chain vs Multi-Chain

While L2 has been developing for several years and is gradually maturing, most exchanges and OTC boutiques in Taiwan and Hong Kong have not kept up, for reasons unknown – whether it’s due to an inability to discern or understand the demand, or perhaps regulatory constraints. From what I can observe, most users either haven’t grasped the situation yet and are adopting a wait-and-see approach, or they’re still recovering from the bear market two years ago and lack interest in new developments. Therefore, when discussing whether LikeCoin 3.0 should exist on a single chain or multiple chains, let’s first briefly explain the concept of L2.

L2, or Layer 2, is the second layer network, which is Ethereum’s scaling solution. It allows general computations to be executed on L2, which are then periodically bundled (“roll up”) onto the L1 mainnet, significantly increasing L1 capacity and reducing user transaction costs. To illustrate, let’s use the example of four people – Alice, Bob, Carol and Dave – playing mahjong, with two of them from Taiwan and two from Hong Kong, for example. If Alice wins a hand, Bob, Carol and Dave all need to transfer money. This process is not only cumbersome but also costly. So, Bob comes up with a solution: he takes out pen and paper and uses four columns to represent the four individuals, with Carol responsible for keeping track. In Alice’s column, he writes +400; in Bob’s -200; in Carol’s -100 and in Dave’s -100. Dave further suggests settling every four rounds, and everyone transfers the money in the bank.

In this example, the bank account represents L1, reliable but with high transaction costs. Bob’s proposed accounting method represents L2, which lacks the credibility of a bank but is convenient and efficient. Carol, the person keeping track, is technically referred to as a sequencer, while Dave’s improvement suggestion is roll up, which ensures the security of L2 is periodically returned to L1.

The above analogy aims to provide readers who are unfamiliar with L2 with a basic understanding. However, please don’t take it too seriously, as playing mahjong and keeping accounts cannot fully encompass all L2 concepts. For example, EVM smart contracts can be deployed on multiple L2s, and users don’t necessarily have to concentrate on the same ledger but can use their preferred chain. Before minting new tokens for LikeCoin 3.0, the first decision to make is whether to use a single chain or multiple chains.

Regarding this issue, I suggest first locking in on a single L2 chain. The most obvious benefit of single-chain deployment is consolidating liquidity. Otherwise, if deployed across multiple chains, liquidity becomes dispersed, making it difficult for users to decide where to buy or sell LIKE tokens. In fact, one well-known drawback of current L2s is precisely liquidity fragmentation. In addition to trading, consolidating LikeCoin on a single chain also allows DApps, NFTs and other data to be centralized. Although multi-chain offers choices, when the scale is not large enough, it may lead to data, NFTs and content being scattered across multiple chains, thus disrupting the user experience. Moreover, by conducting a vote before deployment to choose a single L2 as the foundation for LikeCoin, we can balance democracy with efficiency.

However, the selection of the first L2 chain by the community is just the beginning. Years later, the chosen L2 may become crowded, or LikeCoin’s ecosystem may be mature enough to expand to more L2s. Therefore, LikeCoin’s smart contracts can leave room for maneuvering, so that under the premise of community consensus, LikeCoin can be deployed to another or even multiple L2s. This is also the common practice of large-scale DApps like Uniswap and AAVE, starting from L1 and then being led by the community to decide whether to deploy the protocol on more L2s. Each deployment is both an expansion and an inevitable dispersion of liquidity and user groups. It’s the most flexible and feasible approach, tailored to the needs of the community.

photo credit: public domain 亜東印画輯. Cover: CC-BY-NC-SA 王惠瑩

L2: The Better Choice?

When it comes to selecting an L2 solution to support LikeCoin, the first consideration is whether to develop our own L2. Honestly, I’ve been pondering this possibility for the past 2 years. However, as time has passed, the situation has become increasingly clear: our own L2 might lack the stablecoins like USDC, crucial support from platforms like Uniswap and Opensea, essentially losing most advantages of migrating back to Ethereum. If we were to go with our own chain, we might as well continue operating the existing LikeCoin chain. While developing and maintaining L2 is much simpler and cheaper compared to L1, it still requires a considerable effort. For instance, Gitcoin’s L2 Public Good Network (PGN) recently ceased operations due to poor response.

Stepping back, the Ethereum ecosystem offers over 100 L2 options for LikeCoin to choose from, and the number keeps growing. Evaluating each one individually is nearly impossible. A more practical approach is to identify the peripheral applications that LikeCoin needs the most, filter out L2 solutions that support these applications, and then make further decisions based on that narrowed down list.

In my estimation, the essential peripheral applications that LikeCoin 3.0 would need when moving to Ethereum L2 include:

1. USDC and USDT ERC-20: for liquidity and exchanges

2. Uniswap: for liquidity provision and trading

3. Opensea: for presenting, selling and trading NFT books and Writing NFT interfaces

4. Gnosis Safe: for multi-signature wallets

The absence of any of these applications would significantly impact the operation of LikeCoin 3.0. Therefore, if we were to choose an L2 to deploy LikeCoin smart contracts, I would opt for one that supports all of the above applications. Below, I’ve listed some L2 chains supported by USDC and several DApps, as well as other L1 chains using 0x addresses, for reference. (Note: USDT is similar to USDC, so it’s not considered separately here.)
- USDC: Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Celo, Ethereum, Optimism, Polygon PoS, zkSync
- Uniswap: Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Blast, BNB chain, Celo, Ethereum, Optimism, Polygon PoS
- Opensea: Arbitrum, Arbitrum Nova, Avalanche, Base, Blast, BNB chain, Ethereum, Klaytn, Optimism, Polygon PoS, Zora
- Gnosis Safe: Arbitrum, Aurora (Near), Avalanche, Base, BNB chain, Celo, Ethereum, Gnosis Chain, Optimism, Polygon PoS, Polygon zkEVM, ZkSync Era
Among the L2 or side chains that are supported by both USDC, Uniswap, Opensea,and Gnosis Safe, apart from the Ethereum mainnet and another L1 chain, Avalanche, there are 4 options:
- Arbitrum
- Base
- Optimism
- Polygon PoS
After passing through various considerations, each has its own strengths and community preferences. It should not be too wrongno matter which one the community will ultimately choose. Unless one of these chains is supported by a foundation to cover the development costs of LikeCoin 3.0, my top recommendation, based on self-funding or potentially retrospective rewards, would be Optimism (OP mainnet). This is primarily because the community atmosphere there tends to be more supportive of public goods and concerned with public interest. Over the past year, many projects and users with similar ideas have gravitated towards Optimism. Especially after the closure of PGN Public Good Network, Optimism has become almost the default choice. For example, Matters, a close ally of LikeCoin, has recently deployed USDT donation and the latest feature, Billboard, which distributes ad profits to authors, on Optimism. If LikeCoin 3.0 settles on Optimism, integration and interaction with Matters are expected to be simplified, greatly improving the current cross-chain user experience.

Next time, we’ll continue discussing other aspects.

p.s. Sometimes emotions get the best of me, like when I saw dozens of bamboo trees in the village being cut down and replaced with a red flag.
2024.05.29
LikeCoin 3.0 Green Paper. Introduction
If we consider the creation of the LIKE ERC-20 token on Ethereum on February 8, 2018 as LikeCoin 1.0, then the launch of our own L1 blockchain with the genesis block mined on November 15, 2019 marks the arrival of LikeCoin 2.0. Since then, there have been earth-shaking changes in the LikeCoin ecosystem, the blockchain industry, our home base Hong Kong, and the entire world. As we enter the seventh year, it’s time to discuss the next steps for our community, which I call LikeCoin 3.0.

To keep pace with the times, LikeCoin must not only innovate technically but also coordinate with DApps, adapt to changes in peripheral tools, adjust the token economy, maintain governance continuity, safeguard stakeholders’ interests, help users adapt, and plan for migration. In the next few articles, I will express my views on various aspects, stimulating discussion within the community to seek consensus and gradually implement changes.

Before diving into specific recommendations, let’s first examine several key factors that have influenced LikeCoin’s trajectory amidst the technological and social developments of recent years.

LikeCoin Community

First and foremost is LikeCoin itself. Since the launch of “2.0” (I’ve never been a fan of this term, it always feels a bit awkward), LikeCoin, as a protocol, has begun to operate on the principles of liquid democracy. Any proposals related to token economics, protocol updates, community funding, etc., must first be discussed in the forum, then formally submitted as proposals. Once approved, they are executed directly on the blockchain. For proposals involving manual intervention, legitimacy is established through the approval of the proposal, authorizing individual stakeholders to execute them.

Over the past four and a half years, this liquid democracy mechanism has processed a total of 81 proposals. Among them, 73 received enough deposit to proceed to voting, with 68 being approved and 5 being rejected. Due to the large number of proposals, below are just a few representative examples to outline the contours of liquid democracy:
- Proposal #4 on September 21, 2020: Opening up direct user voting, initiating the direct democratic part of the referendum mechanism. Approved, developers were authorized to implement it.
- Proposal #7 on January 6, 2021: Adjusting the inflation rate dynamically between 7-20%. Approved, executed directly on the chain.
- Proposal #25 on December 11, 2021: Utilizing community funds to distribute Fairdrop LIKE tokens to the Cosmos community according to a specific formula. Approved, funds were automatically disbursed on-chain, developers executed it.
- Proposal #32 on January 27, 2022: Dissolving the community delegation committee. Rejected, not executed.
- Proposal #52 on July 13, 2022: Updating the StarFerry version of the validator software to include NFT functionality. Approved, automatically executed on-chain, validators cooperated with the upgrade.
- Proposal #62 on March 2, 2023: Paying outsourced workers with assets belonging to the community, managed by a multisig wallet. Approved, authorized the multisig wallet manager to sign payments.
On one hand, on-chain governance is advancing, while on the other, traditional governance is receding. I had hoped that after ten years, the LikeCoin project would be taken over by the community for decentralized governance. However, unforeseen societal deteriorations prompted me to accelerate the process significantly. On November 30, 2020, I resigned from the foundation and began the process of dissolving it. Finally, on December 10, 2021, LikeCoin Foundation Limited was officially dissolved, marking the transition to DAO governance.

Losing the status conferred by the system and the income provided by the position doesn’t mean I won’t be involved anymore. As I’ve said before, I’ve committed to this project for ten years, and that hasn’t changed. Besides being a founder, I’m also a stakeholder, reader and creator, using LikeCoin every day. However, given my unique position, I’ve been seeking an appropriate distance to continue contributing without overshadowing others or becoming an obstacle to the development of LikeCoin DAO. After much deliberation, I’ve decided to turn my myriad thoughts into the LikeCoin 3.0 Green Paper, offering concrete suggestions on how this decentralized publishing protocol should move forward.

It’s well-known that in the blockchain community, projects often publish white papers outlining their goals, designs and operating mechanisms, but green papers are rare. The practice of white papers and green papers comes from traditional governance. White papers are typically used by governments to announce policy outlines, while democratic governments often present initial proposals in green papers for discussion, gathering public opinions, adjusting them and finalizing them as white papers. For example, the Hong Kong British government released the Green Paper on Representative Government on July 18, 1984, followed by the White Paper on Representative Government on November 21, 1984, before implementing related policies in 1985.

Legitimacy is the foundation of governance. The reason I position my suggestions for LikeCoin as a green paper is fundamentally because the development of the community is determined by the DAO, and I’m not qualified to unilaterally publish a white paper to set directions. Green papers, on the other hand, are different. There’s no need for qualifications, and any stakeholder can express their views. It’s more of an obligation than a privilege. The so-called “LikeCoin 3.0 Green Paper” is merely an integration of a series of suggestions. Actual implementation doesn’t require packaged decisions but is better suited to be broken down into multiple proposals for individual review. Additionally, revisions can be made during the process. As long as there are ideas, the community can even propose entirely different counter-suggestions.

As a Civic Liker, I will do my utmost to propose development suggestions beneficial to LikeCoin. Ultimately, whether they are adopted and how they are implemented will be decided by the entire community.

Ethereum Infrastructure

Back on November 25, 2017, when LikeCoin was just getting started, I attended the Taipei Ethereum Meetup in Taiwan. Despite Vitalik and several core developers being there in person, and even amidst a bullish market, with Ether trading at around 400 dollars, there were fewer than a hundred people in attendance, and the cowork space in a basement on Changchun Road was more than enough to accommodate everyone. I remember Vitalik’s topic at the time was Ethereum 2.0, where he discussed technologies like sharding and Plasma, and it was anticipated that 2.0 would be launched shortly. I also naively believed it (and it was during this event that I met the author of Blocktrend, Astro Hsu, whom I had been following for a while. So, you could say I practically grew up reading Blocktrend).

As they say, changing the engine mid-flight is the hardest part. Ethereum 2.0 turned out to be much more complex than initially envisioned, undergoing numerous revisions in the process of implementation. The development time far exceeded estimates, with sharding still not implemented even today. However, with its active and robust community, Ethereum overcame many obstacles over 6 to 7 years, gradually realizing the vision of 2.0 through a series of upgrades. The most critical upgrades include:
- December 1, 2020: The launch of the Beacon chain marked the beginning of Proof-of-Stake, with pioneers staking ETH to secure the Ethereum network.
- August 5, 2021: The London upgrade, which reduced gas fees and began burning some of the ETH used for transactions (EIP-1559).
- September 15, 2022: The Paris upgrade, a historic moment known as The Merge, officially transitioning into the Proof-of-Stake era.
- April 12, 2023: The Shapella upgrade unlocked staked ETH, allowing nodes to claim rewards and exit the network.
- March 13, 2024: The Dencun upgrade significantly lowered transaction costs on Layer 2 networks (EIP-4844).
Although ongoing upgrade work is still in progress, since the Dencun upgrade, the usability of the Ethereum mainnet along with the L2 ecosystem has become quite high, largely fulfilling the promise of low-cost, high-performance transactions. For most applications, infrastructure is no longer the bottleneck.

Furthermore, with the implementation of abstract accounts (ERC-4337), issues such as high barriers to entry for newcomers and poor user experiences that have plagued the entire industry are expected to be gradually resolved.

Creative Ecology

LikeCoin is a community token for creators and journalists, from its inception of turning likes into rewards, to content conservation since 2020, and then decentralized publishing since 2022. Although it continues to evolve, it has always maintained its original aspiration of focusing on the needs of creators.

Looking at the creative ecology, it’s clear that we just can’t forget our original aspiration. In LikeCoin’s birthplace, most citizen media have been forced to shut down, even the highest-selling newspapers have closed their doors, losing not only their future but also over two decades of content in a single night. Although the example comes from a single city, citizens around the world must be vigilant and guard against the trend of authoritarian censorship.

In terms of livelihood, with the popularity of subscription models, the income of a small number of creators has improved. However, subscription models not only exacerbate income disparities among creators but also trap content behind paywalls, preventing information from circulating. Coupled with increasingly authoritarian algorithms on platforms and readers’ dwindling attention spans, in this information age, public discourse faces its most daunting challenges.

In summary, compared to seven years ago when LikeCoin was founded, blockchain infrastructure has come a long way and is now entering a golden age, gradually realizing its initial vision. However, beyond technology, the problems facing creators have rarely been resolved and have even become more severe.

This is the context of LikeCoin 3.0.

P.S. I’ve been procrastinating on this simple short piece for months, not knowing where to start, delaying it for a whole two months. I hope that after taking the first step today, I can smoothly complete the remaining parts of the green paper.
2024.05.08
Web3 Bookplate: Proof of Readership
Hong Kong has always been renowned for its efficiency, outshining Taiwan by leaps and bounds. While Taiwan’s multitude of parties are continuously embroiled in disputes over various social issues, Hong Kong has, in what feels like the speed of light, already completed the entire process for the Safeguarding National Security Bill – from public consultation, summarization of opinions, submission to the Legislative Council, to debates, reviews and passing the first and second readings. After attending the Taipei Book Fair and dragging a suitcase full of books back from the airport, I’ve come to deeply appreciate the benefits brought about by “advance to prosperity”.

The Taiwanese Lifestyle: A Proof of Work

However, in one aspect, the efficiency between Taiwan and Hong Kong is completely reversed – and that’s printing. Years ago, when I was in Taiwan and in dire need of printing, I discovered to my relief that virtually every convenience store offered printing services. Operating a printer at 7-Eleven, I felt like a kid who had just moved to the city from a remote village and was using a flush toilet for the first time, full of wonder and amazement.

You might find it hard to believe, but in Hong Kong, I’ve had to take a half-hour bus ride to the office just to print a single document more than once. Printers at home have become obsolete, stationery shops have turned into real estate agencies, and photo developing shops have shut down with the rise of Instagram. Finding a printing service during the day is hard enough, let alone at night when it’s practically impossible. Thankfully, this hasn’t caused me much trouble since I hardly need to print anything throughout the year, having used electronic signatures for many years and being accustomed to reading directly from a computer screen. In fact, nearly every time I’ve needed to print something in the last decade has been because of something related to Taiwan, whether it’s an entry permit or some application.

Taiwan is fantastic, except for the extensive use of paper. Every time I’m in Taiwan, my pockets are always stuffed with receipts and invoices. Although recycling is well-managed, true environmentalism should be about avoiding unnecessary production, right? Besides, in education-focused Taiwan, there’s an abundance of certificates for everything; for someone unskilled like me, there’s a pile of appreciation certificates for sharing sessions at universities or conducting training at various institutions, which leaves me blushing from head to toe. Out of respect, I’ve kept and preserved them all, only to find out later that they can actually come in handy when applying for certifications.

From education and lifestyle to consumption, everything requires proof. Living in Taiwan is indeed a “Proof of Work”.

From Invoices and Receipts to NFTs and DIDs

Let me take this moment to elaborate, perhaps for the “10th time” (cue mysterious voice: it’s been more than ten times, actually), on the significance of NFTs. Essentially, the nature of NFTs is quite straightforward; they serve as a form of certificate. In some scenarios, they act as receipts, proving ownership of something for which you’ve either paid money or exerted effort. In other cases, they resemble certificates of appreciation or diplomas, evidencing your attendance, participation, or completion of something.

Unlike invoices, which are centrally recorded in the government’s database by tax authorities, akin to fiat currency, NFTs are recorded on a blockchain that operates without a central authority but with consensus. Compared to certificates of appreciation, which can be easily forged and are hard to verify, NFTs offer immutable but publicly accessible records, making verification a breeze.

Regarding the management of invoices through devices issued by the Ministry of Finance, the corresponding digital counterpart would be cryptocurrency wallets like Metamask. Furthermore, the “Digital Wallet” announced by the Ministry of Digital Affairs at the beginning of the year, set to officially launch next year, will serve as a carrier for various credentials such as the Citizen Digital Certificate, health insurance card, membership cards and qualification certificates. Following the W3C international standard, it utilizes Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) to manage different aspects of personal identity, not only eliminating the need for paper but also fully embracing the principle of decentralization.

On one hand, Taiwan relies heavily on paper-based processes, showing a certain adherence to tradition. On the other hand, it embraces digital democracy in a highly progressive manner, leaving other nations’ governments in the dust. I believe “Taiwan can help” and am looking forward to Taiwan demonstrating to the world a simple yet non-authoritarian digital democracy. I have great confidence in the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the civil society, but my only concern is whether public outreach is sufficient and whether the people’s understanding can keep pace. I worry if fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) towards the government and emerging technologies could overshadow well-intentioned policies.

Bookplate NFTs and a Web3 Bookshelf

Invoices correlate with purchases, diplomas with education, and letters of appreciation with public participation. But what about a medium to encapsulate our reading history and cultural footprint?

Back in the days before e-books became popular, when I still bought physical books in large quantities, I had a habit of keeping the bookstore receipts tucked inside them, noting the when and where of my purchases, and incidentally using them as bookmarks. Over the years, as I’ve gradually parted with my collection of physical books, flipping through them one last time often revealed receipts that had become unreadable. For books that held special meaning, I sometimes went a step further, signing my name and dating the title page.

Whether it’s preserving receipts, personal signatures, or stamps, any method of “declaring ownership” is purely a personal act, invisible to a community. Recognizing this, I’ve included a book token with the direct sale of Moneyverse: how money works in the multiverse. Unlike traditional book tokens made from prints, this book token utilizes NFT technology to verify ownership of the corresponding physical book, offering immutable and publicly accessible records. Imagine if other books and sales channels could support book token NFTs, enabling book lovers to connect with authors while building a Web3 bookshelf, thus forging their identity in the world of reading and forming connections through books.

In the first phase of a decentralized publishing experiment at the end of 2022, I published Moneyverse: how money works in the multiverse as an NFT ebook. If this concept seems bewildering, think of an “NFT ebook” as “NFT + ebook”, by comparison to current practices. After purchasing the NFT ebook, you’d receive the text via email, similar to receiving a physical book in the mail after purchasing Moneyverse: how money works in the multiverse.  Meanwhile, readers could also claim an NFT, just like now with the book token NFT, only that back then, I figured book tokens were less recognized than NFTs, hence the lack of such terminology.

To be honest, out of the 1024 NFT ebooks sold last time, 312 NFTs went unclaimed. Although it’s somewhat disheartening to have a batch of NFTs sitting unclaimed in my wallet, since the text had already been acquired, the NFTs seemed to serve little purpose beyond display. Readers’ reluctance to claim them, similar to my own habit of declining receipts after shopping, is entirely understandable.

However, does this “included with the book” NFT serve no purpose other than display? The answer is a resounding no, and let me prove it right away. First and foremost, by accessing the NFT’s display interface, the general public can see information about the book, while the holders can link to the text, which will be kept up to date. Moreover, readers who own the Moneyverse: how money works in the multiverse  NFT can enjoy a 30% discount when purchasing the physical book Moneyverse: how money works in the multiverse. This discount should have been available from the publication’s outset, but due to the first edition selling out and only now with the second printing can I provide the original NFT holders with a discount code via email, for which I apologize.

While a 30% discount on books is nice, let’s spice things up a bit. If you return the Moneyverse: how money works in the multiverse NFT to ckxpress.likecoin (like13f4glvg80zvfrrs7utft5p68pct4mcq7t5atf6) and email me your postal address, you will receive a signed physical copy of Moneyverse: how investment works in the multiverse.  This arrangement might seem simple, but on further thought, you’ll realize that without NFTs, such an action would be impossible. After all, you don’t truly own a traditional ebook, so how could you return it? However, with the Moneyverse: how money works in the multiverse  NFT having a secondary market price of $39.9, and the physical book only costing $19.9, whether to exchange the NFT for a new book is left to the reader’s discretion.

This time, my new book is published in physical form, partly to satisfy readers who love physical books and to engage as much as possible with the traditional publishing and sales ecosystem. On the other hand, it’s a “covert operation” as the second phase of the decentralized publishing experiment, incorporating the book token NFT, not only allowing readers to showcase their physical book collection on a web3 bookshelf but also opening up more possibilities. What book token NFT holders will gain in the future, even I don’t know. What I do know is that with this connection, I, the persistent author, will be able to find the readers who have supported me and properly thank you.

Black Window Bookplate

Further Reading
2024.03.15
Comparing Cosmos and Ethereum Ecosystems from the Interfaces of Keplr and Metamask

Recently, Instagram launched Threads and expressly stated that it would later join the ActivityPub federation. After years of cultivation, the concept of federation on the internet has finally garnered some attention from general users. Besides ActivityPub, another point of interest is the blockchain federation, the Cosmos ecosystem.
(more…)

2023.07.20
DHK dao-mocracy: The “making of” validator governance

Established in 2020, DHK dao later became a validator for several chains in the Cosmos ecosystem, playing a role similar to that of a “legislative councilor” and participating in governance of the blockchain world.
(more…)

2023.04.05
Wishing you progress in the new year and good health

Since 2018, I have been distributing LikeCoin red envelopes every year using the Lunar New Year as an excuse, and this is already the sixth year.

With the development of technology, the distribution method has changed every year. Starting from the most primitive and closest to tradition in 2018, commemorative coins that can be redeemed for LikeCoin online were placed inside paper envelopes. Later, people could simply leave their wallet addresses in posts to receive them. By last year, as the infrastructure matured, I invited everyone to follow the tutorial to set up their own self-managed LikeCoin wallet, and by leaving a comment, they could receive a red envelope. A total of 1,116 were sent out, which was quite tiring just to think about it.

LikeCoin red packet in 2018

In this Year of the Rabbit, I learned to be lazy, entrusting the task to a bot, which helped me find readers who held my Writing NFTs, and then I sent my red packets and blessings to everyone in bulk.

If you are currently collecting any of my Writing NFTs, or have purchased the NFT book “Moneyverse: How money works in the multiverse“, please search for your wallet address on Mintscan. You should have already received 388 LikeCoins, along with my blessings. So this is not only about practicing being lazy but also about using the Lunar New Year as a thanksgiving to thank those who have supported me in the past.

Mintscan

If you bought the book but didn’t receive a red packet, it’s most likely because you haven’t claimed your NFT yet. It’s like buying a pair of shoes online but not providing a shipping address, so the sender can’t deliver the goods to you. I understand that everyone is busy, so I haven’t been urging you. When you have time, please check your mailbox, search for the email sent to you from [email protected], and follow a few steps to claim it.

If you are also an author and want to reward readers who have collected your Writing NFTs, you may follow this tutorial to export a list and organize it using a spreadsheet. For example, you can sort by different criteria to reward your top fans, or offer different gifts based on the level of support.

The example in the video is about giving away Writing NFTs, which is more literary. I, on the other hand, used another tool to send LikeCoin in bulk, not only because it’s more practical, but also to ensure all readers have some spare change on hand, making it easier for them to engage in the entire creative and reading ecosystem.

The amount of the red packet is just a small token of appreciation, not significant, but enough to collect other Writing NFTs, directly support authors, or ideally, stake with a trusted validator and participate in liquid democracy. In short, it’s about taking action and being “as swift as a rabbit”.

p.s. In the new year, the most important thing is to learn

Although I fully agree with and even try to protect the value of books, I do not call myself a “book lover”. Maybe I am just a “book buyer”. Many of the books in my bookshelf are not only unread but have been waiting for me to open them for years.

I am ashamed of this, but I know that this bad habit is quite common. After all, reading is just one of the motivations for buying books.

I don’t buy books purely for collection purposes that I never intend to read. However, because my reading speed is far behind my impulse to buy books, over time, I have accumulated a lot of “physical NFTs” that I only store and never read—yes, books are like physical NFTs. I have expressed my support for the authors and their works, and as a result, collected a version of the works, some of which even have the author’s autograph and may appreciate in value after going out of print. At the right time, I can also transfer these physical NFTs. As for reading, it’s certainly my original intention, but it’s only part of the whole meaning.

After writing about Z-Library last week, I was inspired to tidy up my bookshelf, download digital copies of some books I own, and let the corresponding physical NFTs drift away. Information is valuable when it is fluid. Having these books sit in my bookshelf not only takes up my space but also wastes their life. In the new year, the most important thing is to learn. If you are interested in any of the following physical NFTs, please send me an email, and I will find a way to mail them to you.

Although I don’t think anyone would be interested in “Running Linux” from nearly thirty years ago (nor can I understand why I kept it for decades and moved it from one place to another multiple times), some are timeless masterpieces that I almost can’t bear to let go. But when I think about the next person who will read them, I feel that the joy of reading alone is not as good as the joy of reading together.

2023.01.25
Reader Referendum: 2023 Writing Plan

I’m not the kind of person who sets annual goals at the beginning of the year. As far as writing is concerned, I always seem to hastily embrace the last-minute deadline for the weekly newsletter, hurriedly thinking of a topic and quickly getting to writing. I don’t like this state, as it lacks editing and professionalism, but I can’t change it for now.
(more…)

2023.01.11
From Kai Tak Airport to Star Ferry Pier: The 10-Year Promise of LikeCoin – The First Half

In 2017, my partner and I initiated LikeCoin, claiming to dedicate ten years to this project. At that time, it was a bold statement, but most people regarded it as promotional language or even nonsense, and no one ever questioned this promise.

In 2023, I would like to reiterate: For the LikeCoin project, I plan to invest ten years of my life.
(more…)

2023.01.04

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