Welcome to the Request Network ecosystem update for October 2024.

The Ecosystem Update focuses on protocol usage and our vision to build an ecosystem of decentralized apps for payment requests. Here, you will find our ecosystem updates, major news and announcements, and anything else that interests the community.

The current ecosystem built around the Request Network protocol includes the following builders: Huma Finance (lending and borrowing), Joba Network and TalentLayer (future-of-work platforms), BSOS (supply chain financing), Copra Finance (lending and borrowing), FLock (machine-learning credit scoring), intrXn (payments and invoicing) and Request Finance (invoicing and payroll). If you’re interested in what we are building together with the previously mentioned companies and want to share your vision with us, don’t hesitate to apply to our grants program.

Tech update

Head’s-down working on new features

In October, the Tech Team was busy working on new features, and we’re excited to share more details with you in a future Ecosystem Update.

Improving UX for creating and viewing encrypted Requests by integrating Lit Protocol

Developing the Single Request Proxy payment type, which allows for payment using basic transfer calls, thus enabling payment from centralized exchanges (CEXs).

Improved UI Design for Request Invoicing and Request Checkout Playground.

Request Invoicing - Support more wallet connection kits

We released and deployed an update to the web components used by Request Invoicing that allows them to use any wallet connection kit that adheres to the Wagmi standard interface. The Request Invoicing template is now compatible with the following wallet connection kits and probably more.

Highlights from October

GeoGuessr competition

We strive to hold a fun event with the community in the Request Network Discord server at least once a month. In October, we invited everyone to take a wild guess while looking at Google Streetview images 😄 The game is called Geoguessr, and its viral content has blessed our feeds ever since they held a World Cup competition. 

Interoperability blog post

To continue our series of blog posts around the Request Network values, we published a new post called Smashing silos with interoperability, which you can read here. The blog post explores the importance of interoperability in Web3, highlighting how seamless communication between decentralized apps can eliminate silos, enhance user experience, and unlock blockchain's true potential.

Team offsite

Earlier this year, the Request Network team met for an offsite in Marrakech, which was a vibrant mix of collaboration, strategy, and unforgettable experiences. Team members from around the globe came together for a week to align on big goals, map out the future, and brainstorm the next big moves for Request Network. But it wasn’t all work—there was plenty of play. The team explored the bustling streets of Marrakech, savored incredible Moroccan cuisine, and bonded through unique activities that deepened connections beyond the office. It was a perfect blend of productivity and adventure, leaving everyone energized and united for what’s next.

On the other hand, the tech team spent a day designing and building a proof-of-concept integration with BlindPay, an offramp provider. One of the key conclusions was that either the payee or the payer must KYC and that both designs make sense in different contexts. For example, for Payroll, it makes sense for the payer to KYC, but for E-commerce, it makes more sense for the payee to KYC. Check out the Mermaid Diagram and the Demo Video!

Milk Road campaign

The Request Network Milk Road campaign was a sponsorship package spanned three days—Monday, Thursday, and Friday—across three newsletter features in one of the world’s most popular crypto newsletters. Monday’s content introduced Request Network's vision, values, and general information, laying the groundwork for understanding the project. Thursday’s focus shifted to the Request Checkout template, emphasizing its ease of use and benefits for crypto payments. On Friday, the spotlight was on the Request Invoicing template, showcasing how it simplified Web3 invoicing. 

REQ Token Burn

In October, we performed a token burn: 37,887 $REQ tokens, worth $3470, were burned, bringing the total number of burned tokens to 475,385, according to the community-run dashboard.

Protocol Usage in October

The above visual illustrates Request Network transactions (e.g., invoice creation, approval, and/or rejection).

October 2024 is going down in history as the month with the most transactions. So far. With almost 40,000 individual transactions, October 2024 will be remembered as a landmark in Request Network’s history, proving that the need for crypto payments and crypto invoicing is real and needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Source : Request - Nov 8, 2024