In November, the Swarm community call brought exciting updates from the project team. The main highlights from the call are listed below.
bee version 2.3.0: doubled the reserved capacity and GSOC updates
Niki Papadatou, bee product lead, discussed the upcoming bee2.3.0 release at the November meeting, scheduled for release on December 4. The main feature of this version is the introduction of SWIP-21: doubling the reserve size. By doubling the reserve, node operators will increase their chances of winning in the "Schelling game", thereby increasing their participation and rewards.
The release also includes an update to GSOC (Graffiti Single Owner Chunks), which supports multiple users to contribute to a single owner block, which may give rise to a new wave of collaborative applications on Swarm. The implementation of GSoC paves the way for dynamic content on Swarm, allowing collaboration between multiple users! GSoC will support the construction of applications such as multi-user forums, social media sites, chat applications, etc.
This version is already available on testnet and initial testing shows promising results.
Enhanced Price Oracle and Multi-Chain Integration
Callum Toner from the research track shared the progress Swarm has made towards decentralization and mentioned that the upcoming release also features higher oracle prices. This update is designed to ensure a fairer and more responsive pricing mechanism that better reflects the supply and demand for storage in the network.
Additionally, Callum highlighted the ongoing work on multi-chain functionality, which will simplify the use of Swarm by supporting transactions across different chains, making Swarm a more accessible and versatile tool. This feature is currently in testing and will have good results, so the team may have a release date ready for the upcoming Solstice event (see below).
Swarm documentation updates
Thanks to the latest update, the swarm documentation is now more intuitive and better organized. Noah Maizels introduced several enhancements, introducing a more intuitive structure with separate concepts and reference sections. He also announced the "Ask Swarm AI" feature, which is similar to ChatGPT, and made major improvements to Algolia's search capabilities.
Spotlight: New sample applications on Swarm desktop and Datafund application
Áron Soós shared an update to the Swarm desktop with new sample applications and datasets integrated with it. These include a decentralized wiki, an open street map browser, and a Swarm screenshot tool that allows users to take screenshots and publish them directly to the Swarm network.
Áron’s presentation was followed by Črt Ahlin’s presentation, discussing progress on the Datafund application, which aims to decentralize AI by making datasets and models available through Swarm. The application, now available through the Swarm desktop, supports the use of decentralized storage and provides users with the option to pay for data using cryptocurrency. Future updates will add decentralized computing and provenance tracking, enhancing trust in the data and models available on the platform.
Community Talk
Paving the way for open hardware
The Community Dialogue segment hosted two guests: Nicola Ceornea, who spoke about ethical fashion, and Aata from Deboot, who shared his latest efforts on how to get data from the blockchain and perform computational operations on it.
As Nicola explained, Ethos is a project focused on creating open hardware, which they believe is the key to future-proofing decentralized technology. Ethos is working on a fully auditable hardware solution, the DGen-1, which is a "hardware wallet on steroids" designed for decentralized applications and crypto use.
Storage friction and fragmented accessibility
AATA shared insights into how extracting blockchain data relates to pricing storage based on “chain distance” – essentially the difficulty of getting data from storage to the blockchain and performing computations on it. The closer the data is to the chain, the higher the cost. This concept highlights how friction in decentralized storage can be reduced, significantly impacting its utility and cost.
Mass Winter Solstice Event
Instead of the usual monthly Beehive Community Calls, the Beehive Foundation will host its traditional Winter Solstice event on December 21st, 14:00 CET. The event will highlight key achievements in core development and ecosystem growth over the past six months, while outlining focus areas and priorities for the year ahead, facilitating an engaging conversation about future progress.