Phoebe initiated the meeting by outlining the main agenda, which centered around the latest announcement concerning LikeCoin‘s transition to 3.0 development. She planned to reserve time to discuss the migration plan and roadmap with kin, providing a basic introduction to what he had been writing and thinking about over the past few months. Before delving into this main agenda, Phoebe intended to cover some housekeeping items and updates from the Liker Land side, ensuring all participants were up to date on recent developments.
Update on Mintscan Support
Phoebe than explained that the Cosmostation team, which manages Mintscan, had reached out a few weeks ago to communicate their decision to cease supporting the LikeCoin chain starting this month. The official end of their support will be on June 13th, with an announcement expected soon. Phoebe expressed gratitude to the Mintscan and Cosmostation team for their supportive partnership, understanding the reasons behind their decision, and maintaining a positive relationship with them. Moving forward, alternatives for accessing LikeCoin chain data are being explored, with several options within Cosmos being considered. A separate announcement will provide more details on these substitutions.
This update coincides with the ongoing discussions about LikeCoin moving back to Ethereum. The transition will require time to adapt to a new Block Explorer, and an announcement regarding this change is expected this week. Phoebe emphasized that this is not an abrupt change and noted that LikeCoin is not the only chain affected by Mintscan’s operational adjustments. The Cosmostation team, being a major operator in Cosmos, is undergoing significant internal discussions on how to manage their operations and support various chains.
New eBook Features, Affiliate Program, and Upcoming Events
Phoebe shared several updates from Liker Land that occurred in May. Several new features and improvements were implemented, including autographs on Liker Land eBooks. This new feature aims to enhance the uniqueness of NFT eBook by adding a custom message page to some titles, including works by kin and dungkaicheung. Users who have purchased these eBooks will notice the embedded custom messages from the writers, which serve as hidden gems within the Liker Land site. This feature is currently in a testing phase with a limited selection of eBooks but will be expanded to include all new titles.
Additionally, an affiliate program was recently rolled out to foster new business partnerships with bookstores and influencers. This initiative seeks to position the eBook marketplace not as a competitor but as a collaborator with traditional publishing entities. By introducing the affiliate program, Liker Land aims to share revenue and profits with bookstores, allowing them to earn commissions through unique affiliate links. This program is designed to target the right audience and generate more sales and traffic for Liker Land. The recent newsletter mentioned this program, and existing bookstores have already started participating. The goal is to onboard as many partners as possible in the coming months, focusing initially on established relationships in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Individuals and influencers interested in participating are encouraged to reach out to the Liker Land team.
Phoebe highlighted the listing of a new book, “Plurality“, an open-source book project by several collaborators from Taiwan, including the author of “Radical Markets“. This book represents a new type of collaborative effort, and all profits from its sales will be donated back to the foundation supporting its creation. The community is encouraged to explore and support this project. There may also be an upcoming Twitter Space with the author, with updates to be provided as arrangements are made.
Phoebe also announced an upcoming event in Taiwan, where Liker Land will share its project experiments on Art and Culture at the National Art Museum with partners from Volume DAO. Phoebe will be present at this event on June 15th and invited those interested to meet in person. The event link will be shared in the chat later.
Plans for LikeCoin Migration
kin initiated the main discussion on LikeCoin 3.0, inviting questions from participants. He began by explaining the concept of the “green paper“, which, unlike a white paper, is meant to collect feedback from the community before finalizing any policies. kin emphasized that, operating through a DAO and without a foundation, LikeCoin’s direction should be community-driven rather than dictated by him alone, despite being a co-founder.
The green paper covers various areas and is lengthy, consisting of over 20,000 words across multiple articles. kin prefers to present his ideas in this format so that the community can selectively adopt actionable items rather than accepting or rejecting the entire document. He hopes community members, rather than himself, will raise proposals based on these suggestions.
kin highlighted the core proposal of LikeCoin 3.0, which is to migrate back to Ethereum. He explained that LikeCoin originally started on Ethereum as an ERC-20 token in 2017 but moved to Cosmos in 2019 due to high gas fees and slow transaction speeds on Ethereum at the time. Now, with significant improvements in Ethereum’s ecosystem, particularly with Layer 2 solutions, these issues have been mitigated. Layer 2 solutions offer speed and cost efficiency, making them viable options for LikeCoin’s future.
kin has written three articles detailing the rationale for this migration, with the most recent one to be posted in English soon. The proposal includes moving to one of four L2 chains: Optimism, Arbitrum, Base by Coinbase, or Matic. kin personally prefers Optimism but stressed that the final decision should reflect the community’s consensus. He has conducted preliminary discussions with community members and partners, such as those with applications running on LikeCoin, to gauge potential impacts and logistical considerations.
The transition to a new L2 chain can be phased and does not require all changes to occur simultaneously. Many tasks can be done in parallel, allowing for a smoother migration process. kin paused to invite questions and comments from the community, aiming to address any concerns and gather feedback on the proposed direction.
kin continued the discussion by outlining his plans to write an additional two or three articles detailing his thoughts on the migration process. These articles will cover various aspects, including the migration plan and the different tiers involved in the transition. The migration will involve moving from the LikeCoin chain to an ERC-20 token, addressing the DApps currently in use, and managing existing data, such as ISCN registrations and NFTs, including Writing NFTs and NFT eBooks minted on the LikeCoin chain.
kin emphasized that this migration does not need to happen overnight, allowing ample time for a smooth transition. A significant consideration is the interests of the validators who have secured the LikeCoin chain over the years. Moving back to Ethereum will eliminate the traditional role of validators, as there will be no need for transaction bookkeeping and no inflation. However, a system may still exist for users to cast votes on proposals. kin stressed the importance of developing a proposal that honors and respects the contributions of the validators, ensuring their interests are adequately addressed. This message was highlighted as a crucial point in the community call.
Phoebe concluded with a short, summarized call to action for the community. Firstly, she encouraged everyone to spend June familiarizing themselves with the articles in the green paper, suggesting that proposals could be raised gradually, focusing on building consensus on key aspects before proceeding further. Secondly, she emphasized the importance of ensuring that validators are adequately acknowledged for their contributions and supported during the migration process, echoing kin’s earlier point. Lastly, Phoebe addressed concerns about existing Writing NFTs and NFT eBooks registered on the Cosmos version of the LikeCoin chain, reassuring users that these assets will also be migrated to Ethereum, alleviating concerns expressed in the chat regarding NFTs.
The Technical Aspects of the Migration
kin suggested inviting William to share his insights by turning on his microphone, possibly to provide feedback to Swift. William responded by explaining a simple mapping from the LikeCoin chain to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), mentioning that tokens will be ERC-20 and NFTs will migrate to ERC-721 or ERC-1155. He encouraged the community to discuss other details of the existing ecosystem on LikeCoin, listing some items for clarification in the chat. kin mentioned the use of a snapshot for governance decisions. William pointed out technical challenges, particularly regarding the mapping of Cosmos xNFT modules to Ethereum or EVM NFT specifications, suggesting the need to develop a new specification for Writing NFTs and NFT eBooks.
kin emphasized the importance of community discussion and posted several articles on related topics. He planned to continue with additional articles to outline suggestions and proposed governance solutions, inviting community members to contribute, especially in technical implementation, with a small budget available for assistance.
Phoebe suggested consolidating discussions in one place, likely on Discord, and offered to start a thread. kin suggested a proposal discussion thread, considering the complexity of the migration process and the variety of proposals. Phoebe agreed and mentioned that Liker Land is also outlining its migration path gradually, with adjustments planned on the application end to ensure a seamless user experience.
In conclusion, Phoebe expressed anticipation for LikeCoin 3.0 developments in 2024 and promised to start a thread for continued discussion, copying relevant information for easier follow-up. She thanked kin and William, encouraging further discussion on the thread before ending the call.