We’re excited to share insights from the recent AMA with the IoTeX DevRel team with Simone Romano. In a live chat on Telegram, Simone answered some of the dev questions from community. Catch up on the full AMA on Telegram here.
1. How does IoTeX enhance the growth and development of the DePIN ecosystem, especially regarding offering a modularized infrastructure for DePIN crypto projects? What role does IoTeX’s off-chain compute protocol, W3bstream, play in catalyzing and expediting the go-to-market timelines for emerging DePIN projects?
Questions from Telegram: Contact @PaulTan001 & Telegram: Contact @JuliusDunham
IoTeX significantly contributes to the evolution of the DePIN ecosystem by addressing the complexities and resource-intensive nature of building DePIN projects. In fact, these projects require more than just the dApp development aspect; they also involve embedded IoT development, device data collection and storage, as well as addressing data trust and verification challenges, and blockchain scalability challenges. Traditionally, DePIN projects have leaned towards a centralized design for data processing and token rewards calculations, primarily interacting with blockchain through smart contracts triggered by cloud applications. This approach, however, raises trust issues and faces composability limitations. With years of dedicated research at the intersection of IoT and blockchain, IoTeX has pioneered the development of actual IoT devices that are Web3-ready. IoTeX offers a fast and secure layer 1 blockchain and introduces an innovative layer 2 network (W3bstream). This network enables DePIN projects to directly send their device data, addressing fundamental requirements such as data integrity and device identity verification effortlessly. Moreover, it introduces a DePIN-centric ZK-Rollup solution to activate their token economy, ensuring both trust and scalability. This comprehensive infrastructure, which also includes embedded SDKs and Layer-1 contracts that facilitate the deployment of DePIN projects, facilitates a more decentralized approach to DePIN, overcoming the trust and composability limitations of previous designs, and propelling the DePIN ecosystem forward.Blockquote
2. We are seeing the modular blockchain taking over, with Rollups like Dymension combining with Celestia Blockchian and Cosmos interoperability for example. In this scenario , modular blockchain works on specific layers only, for example data verification or execution. How can IoTeX blockchain evolve to catch this gap apart from W3bstream?
Question from The Dandy Sun
The emergence of modular blockchains represents a fundamental shift towards more scalable, flexible, and efficient blockchain ecosystems. IoTeX has always been committed to evolving in several strategic directions and leveraging this architectural paradigm. Notable examples are:
ioTube: With iotube.org, a decentralized Layer-2 bridge introduced a few years ago, we have significantly enhanced IoTeX’s interoperability capabilities by connecting IoTeX dApps to popular chains. This component helps position IoTeX as the hub for IoT/DePIN-related data and transactions across the blockchain universe.
Specialized DePIN Functionalities: Acknowledging the diverse requirements of DePIN and IoT applications in general, IoTeX has conducted extensive research on trusted hardware and data ownership. This research has been translated into actual PoC devices and embedded SDKs (DeviceConnect) that facilitates the creation of devices intended to generate data for blockchain applications.
W3bstream: Last but not least, with W3bstream, IoTeX is fully embracing the modularity concept by creating a dedicated Rollup network for DePIN Applications. Working in conjunction with the IoTeX Layer 1, interacting and leveraging with existing Data Availability and ZK Computational layers, W3bstream represents a modular infrastructure for DePIN, enhancing IoTeX’s platform’s capabilities and furthering our mission to integrate with existing technologies and push forward the blockchain ecosystem. Especially making blockchain part of our every day activities by simplifying the development of DePIN projects.
3. How do you plan to attract more capital and users to the IoTeX chain, given the development of the W3bstream ecosystem? Is there a “vampire attack” strategy in place to incentivize DePIN projects to migrate to IoTeX?
Question from Telegram: Contact @ShivuSze
Definitely we do not employ “vampire attacks” on other networks! Instead, IoTeX is focused on providing additional, dedicated tools to help new DePIN projects succeed by deploying on the IoTeX infrastructure, and encouraging existing, popular ones to join and expand into the IoTeX ecosystem. We are achieving this through several initiatives, including dedicated accelerators for DePIN projects, the upcoming “DePIN Sandbox” for developers, the Marshal DAO which aims to facilitate funding for projects with greater community involvement, among others.
4. What incentives are there to attract developers and dominate the DePIN ecosystem?
Question from Telegram: Contact @Richards_tl
We are actively working to become leaders in the DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructures) space, with several initiatives already launched and more in development:
R3al World IRL Event: R3al World (r3alworld.com) is IoTeX’s pioneering initiative, launched in early 2023 as the first and only DePIN-focused real-life event. It serves as a platform for all contributors within the DePIN ecosystem to meet, share developments, and showcase hardware miners. This collaborative event has united innovators across the globe, with successful gatherings in cities like Denver, Paris, Singapore, Austin, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. We’re excited to invite you to our next event in Denver in just a few weeks!
IEEE Research Workshops: IoTeX spearheaded the first IEEE International Workshop on DePIN, cementing our role in leading research within the DePIN space. The next workshop is scheduled for the end of May in Dublin, Ireland.
The Marshal DAO: The purpose of The Marshal DAO is to empower IoTeX stakeholders to propose how to allocate $IOTX incentives to expand the IoTeX ecosystem, including the onboarding and funding of reputable DePIN projects. The goal of the DAO is to address the need for transparent and effective incentive programs that align the interests of projects, investors, and community members. By doing so, it aims to support the funding of new DePIN projects/initiatives and foster the growth of the DePIN sector in a coordinated manner.
The DePIN Accelerator: We’re in the process of launching the first “DePIN Accelerator,” a program designed to incubate new DePIN projects. Through this initiative, IoTeX offers support from conceptualization to launch, providing expertise in token economics, funding, development, and project launch. We’ve already selected a group of projects for the first accelerator cycle, with announcements forthcoming.
The DePIN Sandbox: This technical initiative aims to consolidate our research findings in the DePIN space into a unified architecture. It will include Layer 1 contracts and interfaces, Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), Layer 2 verifiable computing, device and data authentication, among other state-of-the-art components. The sandbox is intended to offer DEPIN builders a fast-track to market, the opportunity to experiment with different designs, and the ability to extend their token economy to the IoTeX ecosystem.
These initiatives highlight our commitment to fostering innovation, collaboration, and growth within the DePIN ecosystem, offering developers comprehensive support and resources to bring their projects to life and to market successfully.
5. Are there any plans to introduce new products beyond IoTeX’s UCam and Pebble Tracker?
Question from Telegram: Contact @DeYicrypto
UCam and Pebble Tracker have emerged as milestone products from IoTeX, cementing our leadership at the intersection of IoT and Blockchain technology. These innovations resulted from our pioneering research focused on enabling real “data ownership” through blockchain and incorporating secure hardware technology to inject trustworthy data from verified devices into blockchain applications. While UCam and Pebble Tracker have set benchmarks in bridging the physical world with blockchain, defining the core principles behind any DePIN project, our goal extends beyond manufacturing devices. Our vision regarding the embedded world is to empower device manufacturers to forge the next generation of miners, rooted in IoT devices that smart contracts can rely on. Although we will continue to demonstrate how to integrate leading IoT platforms with IoTeX and W3bstream, manufacturing and releasing our own devices is not in our immediate roadmap.
6. How large is the developer team at the moment? Could you also share details about the developer team’s portfolio, including the areas of expertise at both senior and junior levels? Additionally, are there any opportunities for developers to apply now at IoTeX?
Question from Telegram: Contact @tolgaozek
The IoTeX team currently comprises approximately 30 developers, all of whom are blockchain experts divided among several teams: infrastructure, smart contracts, web design, Zero-Knowledge and embedded systems. Raullen is a cryptography expert and CEO of IoTeX. Prof. Xinxin Fan, who leads the IoTeX research team, is an expert in cryptography and IoT. Qevan Guo and Zhi Ding, leading products and infrastructure respectively, are experts in computer systems and natural language processing (NLP). Dustin Xie heads the blockchain development team. Leo and Nick are full-stack Web3 developers. Many other developers give their valuable contribution every day to new and existing developments. IoTeX openings can be found at MachineFi Lab But, if you are an excellent developer in any of these fields, please do not hesitate to send an email to us directly (hello@iotex.io, or to me directly at simone@iotex.io)
7. What is the Developer Relations team’s primary objective for 2024?
Question from Telegram: Contact @LAboy111
For 2024, the DevRel team at IoTeX is setting its sights on a major goal: to collaborate closely with our infrastructure team in order to facilitate the development and launch of the W3bstream Sandbox and its underlying architecture. This initiative is not just about building new technical solutions; it’s about creating a fertile ground for innovation where developers can experiment, build, and grow new DePIN projects within the IoTeX ecosystem.
Moreover, the DevRel team is dedicated to fostering a vibrant community around our platform. This includes extensive outreach efforts such as hosting workshops, webinars, hackathons, and participating in industry conferences to engage with developers, gather feedback, and continuously improve the developer experience on IoTeX. Our ultimate aim is to onboard an array of new DePIN projects to utilize the IoTeX infrastructure, thereby significantly expanding our ecosystem and driving innovation.
Live questions from the community:
1. How you guys going to improve marketing, since DePIN is not only a on chain field, what are the future plans to improvement of the IoTeX products and marketing strategy?
Question from Telegram: Contact @Enizoe
Since it’s a DevRel AMA, I’m going to answer this from the DevRel perspective.
Marketing for developers is a lot about to providing developer infrastructure and tools that they can use to experiment with and use in their existing projects or create new ones.So on our side, we believe a lot on this new “DePIN Sandbox” we are building: this will facilitate developers to get familiar with DePIN if they are not, and existing DePIN projects to experiment with what the IoTeX capabilities are. This should bring new development influx to IoTeX and we are sure some innovative DePIN projects will deploy thanks to the foundational architecture that we will deploy, so that they will only have to focus on the actual DePIN logic while IoTeX will manage the underlying infrastructure (e.g. device authentication, data verification, proving rewards calculation, etc)
2. Sounds very good after the 24 hour IoTeX upgrade proposal to increase the gas block limit to 50 million by indirectly increasing the #IoTeX TPS to 1000 in 5 seconds book time so is this one of the things in 2024 that will be the advantage of the IoTeX platform to attract users into the ecosystem IoTeX? Or is there anything else that will surprise you this year about IoTeX?
Question from Telegram: Contact @SHUVOHM
I’m glad someone came up with this question!
I’ve witnessed the recent influx of transactions in IoTeX during end of 2023 when several inscription projects deployed and brought millions of transactions per day. And I was amazed to see the IoTeX Layer-1 perform like a champion with an average 200 TPS and a peak of 400 TPS, much better than most of other layer 1s (check out chainspect).While blockchain TPS is not a fundamental feature, given that scalability is moving toward layer-2 solutions, it’s still a critical benchmark for DePIN, where these project have to deal with potentially millions of devices and billions of data messages. Even scaling the data messages with multiple W3bstream subnets, you will still have many blockchain transactions to deal with on the layer 1. For this reason it’s important that we push to boundaries of our Layer-1 and that’s why we set the 1000 TPS as an early goal for 2024.
This is just one component to wait for in 2024, the other important one will be the upcoming release of W3bstream that includes the sequencing of data messages in batches and the ZK verification of custom DePIN Logic - stay tuned for that!
Following our AMA session, we’ve selected the top 3 most intriguing questions, and the winners will receive their rewards in amount of 300 $IOTX!
Telegram: Contact @JuliusDunham
Telegram: Contact @SHUVOHM
Telegram: Contact @LAboy111
Congratulations to all winners 
In order to get a reward, please send a personal message via Telegram to @Artanovskaya with your IoTeX Wallet Address!