AMA with CEO Dmitry Gerasimov: September 7, 2023

Hello, everyone! I'm Dmitry Gerasimov, the CEO of Demlabs and the Cellframe project.

We're live with our regular stream. Here, we share updates on our development progress, company news, and answer your questions.

Today, we are live for the first time since the mainnet launch on July 12th. It was the most expected event in Cellframe's history, but we're not standing still and continue to move forward. Right now, we'll be discussing all our latest news and our plans for the near future.

‌So, today we have the following topics:

• Cellframe Mainnet Development

• Updates on Cellframe Node and Cellframe Dashboard

• Node roles in the Cellframe network including Service Nodes

• News from the KelVPN team

• Bidirectional bridge and updated roadmap

• Marketing efforts and Demlabs company news

Backbone network development

‌ Our first topic is the progress and stability of the Cellframe main network - Backbone. What progress have we made since the mainnet launch and when external validators began to join the network?

First and foremost, we performed a detailed code analysis of the network to find vulnerabilities and leaks. We also made memory usage more efficient and resolved several errors and bugs that were causing network interruptions. Moreover, we enhanced the efficiency of zerochain events. All of these actions have already improved the stability of the main network.

Currently, we are also going through a comprehensive overhaul of the Cellframe Explorer backend and refining the functionality for cross-network transactions between the Backbone and KelVPN networks.

‌ What I mentioned earlier relates to the tasks required for the KelVPN mainnet launch.

Now, we'll dive into the GitLab commit data to showcase our development progress and move on to the next topic.

Next in line, we have some exciting updates concerning Cellframe Node and Cellframe Dashboard.

Cellframe Node. Updates

‌ I want to stress that the Cellframe Node is vital in our network, powering all our nodes. It includes Cellframe's essential features in its code, so we regularly update and improve it. Here's what we've achieved lately:

• We performed significant refactoring of lists.

• Introduced an emergency voting mechanism for new blocks.

• Addressed several issues, including resolving high CPU load problems and preventing node crashes when handling multiple networks.

Our progress doesn't stop here. Moving forward, we have some exciting news to share about the Cellframe Dashboard project—an application that offers a graphical display of nodes of the Cellframe node.

Cellframe Dashboard. Updates

‌ Since the mainnet launch, we've released four builds of the Cellframe Dashboard. Here's what we've achieved during this time:

• We improved transaction generation math, including percentage calculations.

• We introduced a multi-threaded mode for Cellframe Dashboard, speeding up command processing.

• You can now bolster your wallet's security with post-quantum encryption algorithms. Picnic and CRYSTALS-Dilithium signatures are already available. FALCON and SPHINCS+, also available inside the SDK, are coming soon to be available in the Cellframe Dashboard as well.

To stay up to date, you can always download the latest version from the Cellframe website: https://cellframe.net/download/

Now, let's dive into our next topic: the various roles of nodes in the Cellframe network.

Cellframe Nodes. Types and functions

We've already discussed that all nodes in our blockchain share the same engine - Cellframe Node. Together, they ensure the stability of the network, but the roles and functions of nodes can vary. So, we have:

Root Nodes: Enable the creation of new chains in the network or even new networks Often they use the PoA consensus, but also could be run over PoW or PoS.

Archive Nodes: Preserve a complete history of data and transactions across all shards in the network, regardless of forks, and add new data as needed. Usually root nodes combine this role with archive nodes.

Master Nodes: Can add data to chains, participate in consensus and voting, and provide services.

Full Nodes: Most common node in the network. Store an exact copy of the current blockchain version in their shards since the last fork. They retain data for their own shards and compute balances for them. All balances out of their shards they receive from master nodes.

Light Nodes: Store in the ledger only those transactions related to their own balance.

This diversity of node types and functions contributes to the robustness and flexibility of the Cellframe network.

‌It's important to understand that when it comes to blockchain strength, full nodes are the better choice. Having more full nodes in the blockchain means more ledger verifiers and fewer opportunities for attacks.

However, running a full node can demand more hardware power. Still, we're actively working on making it less resource-intensive through techniques like sharding. Our aim is to enable full nodes to run almost anywhere.

But we're not neglecting light nodes. In fact, we're introducing our version with unique features—a service node.

It's perfect for basic devices like Raspberry Nano, which might struggle with a full node's workload because it has not enough memory but can manage minimal transaction data and offer services like equipment control or VPN distribution.

KelVPN project news

‌ Just a reminder, KelVPN is a decentralized VPN service with its own token and a parachain in the Cellframe ecosystem.

Collaborative mode

Over the past few months, the team has been working on a key feature of the service - the collaborative mode. This mode will allow service users to choose internet traffic providers, and providers to earn commissions for their services.

There are two versions of this mode in development:

The decentralized version for more experienced users: In this mode, the user independently connects to the VPN service, selects a provider, and settles directly with them in native KelVPN network tokens. Here, you'll need your own Cellframe wallet and experience with blockchain networks. This option is also suitable for those who need maximum anonymity because all interactions occur within the blockchain network.

‌Option two is designed for users who may not have experience with blockchain networks or those who prefer not to directly connect to our native network. This option looks like a traditional VPN service from the user's perspective.

Users select a plan, a provider, and purchase a serial key, paying for it in their preferred method, whether it's via a credit card through a payment gateway or with cryptocurrency through MetaMask or TrustWallet. However, all the interesting stuff happens internally.

The interaction between users and providers occurs through the CDB (Central DataBase). User funds go there and are then directed to providers in the form of native KEL tokens. In other words, regardless of the chosen option, providers receive their compensation in KEL tokens at the established price, while users can select the most convenient mode of operation. CDB just acts like a gateway between fiat money and cryptocurrency on the Cellframe protocol.

Development news

‌Now, let's talk about the latest developments from the KelVPN team.

They've recently given the application a fresh new look. Also they updated the design of the KelVPN website: https://kelvpn.com/

‌What's more, there's now a dedicated section with information on how to become a VPN service provider.

An important update to note is that users can now engage in single-staking with KEL tokens directly within the native KelVPN network! By the way it`is already present in the Cellframe Node configuration.

Previously, single-staking KEL was only possible in the Backbone (Cellframe main network) through the Cellframe staking website. Now, the single-staking feature for KEL has been moved to the KEL staking website. https://stake.kelvpn.com/

So, if you have KEL tokens and you're interested in staking them, you can do so right away.

T-dApps. Ecosystem development

‌KelVPN service represents the first example of t-dApps within the Cellframe ecosystem, and we're looking forward to seeing more of them in the future. We often get questions about how our t-dApps differ from regular decentralized applications (dApps) and what advantages they offer. Let me explain:

The key difference lies in ownership. t-dApps have no owner; they're open to anyone. Anyone can create and run a t-dApp and earn from it by charging a small commission to developers.

For example, you can set up a Cellframe node on your computer with a "white" IP address. Then, you can stake KEL tokens in the KelVPN network and start earning tokens by providing traffic to users. You operate the application as a service, and there are no limitations imposed by smart contracts or centralized payment services.

This approach also enhances security since there are no specific points where funds flow through and could potentially be vulnerable to theft.

Bidirectional bridge. New goal and new roadmap

‌After the mainnet launch, we set a new big goal for ourselves - the launch of a bidirectional bridge. For this new goal, we have a new roadmap, which we will show later. But for now, let me tell you a bit about what this bridge is, why it's such an important and ambitious task.

A bidirectional bridge is a bridge between blockchain networks. It will connect external networks (Ethereum and BSC) with networks on our own Cellframe protocol - CF-20. It will work in two directions: from our CF-20 networks to external networks and vice versa, from Ethereum and BSC networks to CF-20 networks. Right now it works only in one direction, from Ethereum and BSC to CF-20.

With the launch of the bridge, users will be able to transfer tokens from CF-20 to external networks and vice versa: withdraw staking rewards or trade tokens on exchanges in other networks. We need to ensure the highest level of security to eliminate the possibility of hacking and fund withdrawals. Additionally, we need to meticulously fine-tune network synchronization to minimize errors when interacting with other networks. And after that we can add CF-20 support for other CEX.

Here is our roadmap. You can see where we are right now and what is left to do to complete work before we can start to run a bidirectional bridge.

Marketing activities. August results

‌We're always moving ahead and deeply appreciate your support for our marketing work. Let me break down what we've been up to lately:

We had a friendly chat with crypto enthusiasts in a partner AMA session on Telegram, hosted by "Venus Queen & Friends." https://t.me/VenusQueen2

They had some great questions, and it's fantastic interacting with such enthusiastic people.

We teamed up with the German project DeFiExpertise to make a video about our company: https://youtu.be/r4l3lKlSh0U?si=8ko02HjCQfLr5WpT

It got more than 15K views and helped both our channel and our friends' channel get more subscribers.

We realized Cellframe is catching on around the world, so we decided to do more outreach. We sent a press release to some media in Brazil, where interest in Cellframe is growing, just like everywhere else.

In short, our social media reach went up by 38%, and about 19% more people joined our audience. We're excited about these promising results and can't wait for more growth.

Demlabs Company news

‌Now, onto the next topic. Let me share some news from "Demlabs" company. We celebrated our 6th birthday in August! Over the past year, many things have happened:

We actively worked on our projects and successfully launched the mainnet.

We moved to a new, larger office. The old one has become the "Demlabs Studio," where we hold AMA sessions and other events.

We co-organized an international cryptographic Olympiad and began creating tasks for participants. https://nsucrypto.nsu.ru/

We celebrated our company's birthday by the shore of the "Ob Sea." Well, it's technically a reservoir, but for folks in Novosibirsk, it's their "sea." Now, with fresh energy, we're ready to move forward!

And now, let's dive into the questions you've sent.

Questions

Are there any plans for development of a Cellframe web wallet as an extension for popular web browsers (Google, Chrome, FireFox etc.)?

Yes, we have such plans.

What's the development progress on Cellframe Wallet for Android?

Almost done. Left only to polish simple few issues, more related with stability and it's ready. So, I believe soon we`ll see it and release it.

Cellframe is positioned as a multi-layered service oriented platform. If a product is being developed on layer 1, is development also underway on layer 0?

No, it is not happening that way. When you design your product to act as multi-layer, you develop it as a multi-layer product at the same time. So we don't develop layer 0, then layer 1 etc. No, you develop the ability to act as layer 0, layer 1 and layer 2 at the same time.

Can you give us updates about Cellframe DEX and sharding? When will we have them?

Cellframe DEX comes really soon. There are only a few small issues. We close to them and will announce it. And with sharding we need a little more work but also we have begun doing it.

Is the launch of a bidirectional bridge connected to access to new exchanges?

Yes, it is connected because a lot of top tier exchanges require a bidirectional bridge.

Access to new CEX: the team wants to list CELL in a big CEXs, or first start with small CEXs and then continue with BIG CEXs?

We tried to list on small and I think it makes no sense because usually we have organic listings on small CEX and mostly that have no impact. Anyway we`ll see the situation because sometimes a small listing also has a good impact. We`ll be more targeted in the first year.

What about the mainnet stability? What's the node reward APR?

Stability is growing. It became better and better. APR is falling down because as more nodes join us, rewards for every single node goes down. So to obtain as much profit as possible you will need to join as soon as possible. Everything is simple.

When will we be able to run nodes on windows(dashboard)?

In the test version it's already running. I have seen how it happens on one of the developer's computers. I can't say for sure when it will be completely ready for Community. But it could be in the near future, I believe. There are no specific barriers between us and this release. We just need to fix some bugs and we will have it.

When will we see smart contracts be launched on mainnet ?

I think we will integrate this ability this winter.

Why is the team not listing on multiple exchanges since now the native mainnet is also active?

We need to complete a bidirectional bridge for this.

When will KelVPN mainnet launch?

Technically it's already launched. KelVPN main network is presented and running. Its configuration is presented in Cellframe Node configs. However we have not fixed all bugs related with VPN service providing. So, maybe next week, maybe after but it should happen really soon.

What is the marketing budget amount the team has? Please be specific in amount.

If you are asking for the marketing budget amount that we have, I cannot say a specific number now, but that's a lot.

About Twitter influencers we have bad experience:

I prefer to spend more for some listings or for the specific events, like the АМА session that we pass before it.

Okay, it was all your questions. Thank you for all your time, for all your support! Good bye!