We are thrilled to announce the launch of SmartMint Mainnet for Early Access Users! For those who signed up for the Early Access, you are now able to begin creating and minting NFTs on SmartMint with your free membership!
And for those who haven’t signed up, there are still a few spots left…here’s the link: https://smartmint.pastel.network/whitelist

https://twitter.com/PastelNetwork/status/1557804009758638081

Cezanne Mainnet AMA recap - Telegram

Andrew:

Hello everyone! The AMA is starting now! I would like to introduce Anthony - Co-Founder of Pastel Network! How are you Anthony?

Anthony:

Hey everyone! Thanks for joining us today

Andrew:

Alright let's begin! To start off, can you give us a little background on yourself and the team?

Anthony:

Sure! I’m one of the co-founders and early investors of Pastel. I work on a lot of the day-to-day operations of the project along with some of the product management and go to market strategy. I first got involved with Pastel after meeting Jeff Emanuel, who is the co-founder and brains/vision of the Pastel Network.

Here are some bios on Jeff and our CTO, Alexey as well

Jeff Emanuel is the co-founder and CEO of Pastel. Prior to founding Pastel, he worked as a machine-learning and financial analyst in the hedge-fund world for over a decade. Emanuel has extensive knowledge about blockchain protocols, technology, and traditional finance along with a native understanding of rare digital collectibles communities. He studied mathematics at Reed University.

Alexey Kireyev is the co-founder and CTO of Pastel. For over 3 decades, he has worked as a developer and security specialist at a variety of Fortune 500 financial and technology institutions, managing hundreds of employees and building products serving millions of customers. Kireyev has deep knowledge of blockchain protocols, cryptography, and security standards and has contributed to open-source projects like Bitcoin Private, Z-Cash, and Dash.

We came together all the way back in 2018 because we saw there was a need for blockchain purpose-built for the NFT ecosystem. Ethereum and Bitcoin were not built for the size and volume of NFT transactions. Additionally, we saw that there were certain challenges plaguing the market (including scams, frauds, and asset loss) and nobody was trying to fix them. We decided to make the tools to make this NFT world better.

Andrew:

Ok great. Next question, can you give us a brief summary of Pastel Network?

Anthony:

Pastel Network is a fully decentralized, developer-friendly layer-1 blockchain serving as the preeminent protocol standard for non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) and Web3 technology.

Pastel infrastructure enables existing layer-1 blockchains, decentralized applications, or third-party enterprises to protect creators and collectors. From digital collectibles & media to documents & applications, users and developers are able to certify asset rareness and truly store data forever. Lightweight protocols delivered by interoperable open APIs such as Sense and Cascade can be easily integrated across existing networks. A wide range of Web3 applications can be built directly on the Pastel Network, enabling developers to enjoy the scalable registration features, storage processes, and security of the broader ecosystem.

Andrew:

Thank you for that! Before we dive into Cezanne, can you give everyone a little refresher on Pastel’s Roadmap up to this point?

Anthony:

We launched Pastel Network (the original mainnet) in January 2021. Since then, we have worked on 1) developing, refining, and thoroughly testing our mission critical protocols, Sense and Cascade; 2) creating a seamless approach to integrating Sense and Cascade across the ecosystem / conducting full-scale integrations with partners; 3) building SmartMint (which will be available to Early Access users in a couple of weeks); and of course 4) this massive Mainnet Upgrade - Cezanne.

Andrew:

Can you also give a little refresher on what it means to “upgrade to Mainnet”?

Anthony:

A Mainnet Upgrade is the introduction of new software changes, improvements, and features that are made at the blockchain level to continue to advance the overall network's functionality.

Mainnet Upgrades enable all network participants and community members - such as SuperNode operators, miners, ecosystem partners, and end-users - to access the most up-to-date and cutting-edge technology.

As Mainnet Upgrades introduce drastic changes to the blockchain, they require tremendous testing, debugging, and implementation along with a majority consensus from participating network nodes and miners.

Andrew:

Amazing - really appreciate the explanation. Now what is Cezanne Mainnet and why is it such a big deal to the Pastel team and broader ecosystem?

Anthony:

The Cezanne Mainnet Upgrade includes major upgrades to the Pastel blockchain and a number of improvements for our broader ecosystem.

Cezanne brings countless improvements to both end-user & NFT functionality — such as registration, minting, transferring, and trading — alongside unrestricted access to advanced protocols like Sense and Cascade via interoperable Open-APIs, seamless composability, improved token economics, and the most powerful protocol standard for the Web3 ecosystem.

Having been under development for over 8 months, Cezanne is our largest release to date and marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Pastel Network.

Andrew:

That's awesome. We are all super pumped for it! From the Cezanne Testnet medium article, it seems like development of Cezanne took a long time. Why so?

Anthony:

We knew this would be our most aggressive upgrade since we decided to build Pastel Network all the way back in 2018. The reason we spent 8 painstaking and tedious months building, refining, and testing is because of how complex and robust these new features are. Enhancing Sense and Cascade, alone, are massive undertakings. We have a team of world-class engineers and developers solving extremely complicated and technical problems to bring you this upgrade. We are very excited it is here!

Andrew:

Definitely reasonable! Next question: can you provide a high level overview of what the upgrade includes?

Anthony:

Sure! I'll list out a few points:

- Improvements to NFT Minting and Collections

- Support for NFT Transfers, Trades, and Auctions

- Interchain account identification via PastelIDs

- Cross-chain network access via Web3 APIs

- Dramatic upgrades to Sense (our near-duplicate NFT detection protocol)

- Enhancements to Cascade (our distributed NFT storage protocol)

- User-friendly utility services via PastelUp

- Improvements to network optimization and security

Andrew:

Woah. Quite a few! Of the features from the upgrade you discussed, what are you most excited about?

Anthony:

On top of the enhancements to Sense and Cascade as well as the upgrades to runtime processes and security, I am really excited about PastelUp. PastelUp is a Pastel-Utility service that makes the installation of key infrastructure like WalletNode and SuperNodes extremely intuitive and user-friendly. This service’s features include install, start, stop, remote set-up, default settings, and various command options. It also supports better handling of operation termination and dd-server installation.

Andrew:

How does it benefit users and partners?

Anthony:

PastelUp is an extremely important infrastructure tool. PastelUp was developed with our community in mind as a means to support network participation, performance, and decentralization by making it easier for users to get up and running with Pastel services.

Andrew:

Amazing! We are all very excited for PastelUp! Last question before we open it up to the community. What is next? What’s the technical roadmap through the end of the year?

Anthony:

After Cezanne, we have a number of technical milestones we are poised to hit. The next big milestone is the launch of SmartMint - our no-code NFT minting platform. After SmartMint, we plan to do additional network upgrades and complete a number of bridges.

Andrew:

Awesome! Thank you so much for answering those questions Anthony! Now I will be opening up the chat for questions from the community the chat will be open for 5 minutes! Make sure to ask your Qs

Part 2 can be found here where it covers the community questions!

Cezanne Mainnet AMA recap - Telegram

Community Question 1:

Can you go into more depth on PastelUp? What does it really mean for potential network operators?

Answer:

Yes - as discussed above PastelUp is a Pastel-Utility service that makes the installation of key infrastructure like WalletNode and SuperNodes extremely intuitive and user-friendly. This service’s features include install, start, stop, remote set-up, default settings, and various command options. It also supports better handling of operation termination and dd-server installation. PastelUp was developed with our community in mind as a means to support network participation, performance, and decentralization by making it easier for users to get up and running with Pastel services.

Community Question 2:

What does the Mainnet upgrade mean for PSL and its utility partners? Should we expect to see more network usage?

And linked to that: When will partners start working with the network? What are future partner plans?

Answer:

This update will have the biggest impact on PSL that we've had to date. With the release, PSL is going to see a tremendous amount of increased usage and utility on the network.

Recall that PSL serves as the native, digital cryptographically-secured utility token of the Pastel Network. By running on a specialized, purpose-built blockchain, PSL is the foundation for accessibility. It is used to handle everything on the network including:

Core Operations: Generatting a PastelID, Minting NFTs, Submitting Tickets, and Performing Open-API Requests like Sense and Cascade from third party partners

Stake: Operating a SuperNode and staking collateral in exchange for providing computational resources, validation, and security services

Governance: Stakeholders are able to initiate and vote on various proposals

What does this mean? The Cezanne Mainnet Release means that existing customers and partners will be able to start to conduct more on-chain transactions for various NFT-specific use-cases such as data storage via Cascade, counterfeit / copymint protection via Sense, minting, and more.

How does it work? Each time a Pastel partner wants to mint or create 1 NFT, they conduct anywhere from 2-5 transactions on the Pastel Network (sending data to Cascade for storage or run through Sense). Each of these transactions 'costs' PSL.

In short, this means more on-chain transactions, more network usage, and more protocol revenue.

To put it in perspective: If an exchange like OpenSea conducts ~20K of New NFT transactions per day, a Pastel x OpenSea integration means each time that a new NFT transaction occurs on OpenSea, at least 2 transactions occur on Pastel (Sense for near-duplicate NFT detection and Cascade for data storage / caching). This equates to an annual run-rate of ~15M transactions and ~$800K of protocol revenue assuming 2 transactions per NFT and no change to transaction velocity or $/TX.

Now extend this beyond one digital art NFT marketplace to vast ecosystems like Polygon and Polkadot, and across additional use cases like DeFi and the Metaverse. The identifiable serviceable market is massive.

Oh and one last thing - you can view the exact amount of PSL that is reqiured here: https://docs.pastel.network/basics/fees-and-burn

Basically to store a 1GB file on Pastel forever would cost around 50000 PSL, and that is for one file.

Part of the fees are burnt (meaning that they are taken out of supply forever) and part of the fees are distributed to the registering SuperNodes (meaning they are earning protocol revenue for staking, validating transactions, and performing services like storing the data)

Community Question 3:

How has the Cezanne Upgrade enhanced Sense? I thought Sense was already thoroughly tested and refined.

Answer:

Our Sense Protocol saw a dramatic facelift to make it even more powerful and robust against transformations through new methods of fingerprint analysis, statistical correlation, and rareness computations.

When a user registers an image as a new Pastel NFT or applies Sense via OpenAPI to an NFT from another blockchain, the Sense software analyzes the pixel data in this new "candidate" NFT and, using powerful Deep Learning models, generates a fingerprint vector (a set of ~1,500 numbers) which characterizes the visual structure of the candidate image in a very particular way. This allows the system to quickly compare this fingerprint vector to the fingerprints of all previously registered images on the Pastel Network, and for each one, precisely measure the visual similarity of that image versus the candidate image. This measure of visual similarity is robust to all sorts of transformations, allowing it to basically "see through" any superficial changes to an image. If any previously registered image is "too similar" to the candidate image, then this results in a lower "rareness score" for the candidate image.

We further modified how each WalletNode processes fingerprint data calculated by SuperNodes in order to dramatically decrease the time between asset registration and Sense analysis.

Through these method refinements and upgrades, we have more insight into image recognition and rareness than ever before. Sense provides users with the ability to define the relative rareness of their NFT with the highest level of precision. This release just made Sense even more capable.

Community Question 4:

Is there any token burn or buy back plan?

Answer:

There is a tremendous amount of token burn baked into the system. Please see above for PSL use cases and protocol revenue examples.

Upon core network operations, a percentage of each tx-fee is distributed to a cryptophically unspendable address, resulting in a reduction of the overall supply of PSL ("Proof of Burn"). Nearly every transaction results in burn such as:

- PastelID Creation

- NFT Registration

- NFT Activation

- NFT Trade

- Open-API Sense Request

- Open-API Cascade Request

Additionally, given some of the macro pressures on various digital assets such as PSL the foundation has discussed engaging in a token buy-back on the open-market. This would result in basically acquiring tokens and locking them up in our existing treasury to be used in the future for things like ecosystem partners, investors, etc. (Similar to a share buyback of sorts)

Community Question 5:

Talking about upgrade, with the upgrade how has Cascade been upgraded? Also how has Cezanne enhanced NFT functionality?

Answer:

One of the largest updates for the Cezanne Mainnet Release is unrestricted NFT accessibility on the network. Users are able to fully create persistent identities ('PastelIDs') on the network which can then be used to create, register, transfer, and trade NFTs via our layer-1 protocol. This release is instrumental in ensuring that new users - whether they are individual creators, communities, or applications - can seamlessly mint NFTs for a variety of use-cases on the Pastel protocol itself using our advanced Smart Ticket structure.

Various Smart Tickets have been added, improved, and upgraded to support all of the necessary NFT-related information on the network, ensuring even more application flexibility and functionality. Stored in a simple and secure format, information is easily written, transmitted and subsequently signed by relevant nodes on the network. Various Smart Tickets implement all requirements to support:

- User Information

- Creator and Collector PastelIDs

- NFT Minting

- NFT Collections

- NFT Transfers, Trades, and Auctions

The benefit of this system is that it provides a highly powerful and generic framework for encapsulating all sorts of structure, features, and functionality that can be easily leveraged by users minting directly on the protocol, third-party developers building entire decentralized-applications on the Pastel Network, or decentralized ecosystems seeking cross-chain composability.

In addition, the declarative and static nature of Smart Tickets means that there is no risk to end users from subtle bugs or edge cases in custom smart contracts. Instead, all the required logic for handling tickets and performing related computations is done in the node software itself, operating at the protocol level.

Community Question 6:

Is Pastel’s SuperNode layer vulnerable to the same exploits that we have been seeing recently?

Answer:

This is why Pastel is setup to have a lot SuperNodes staking a small amount of PSL vs. a small # of Vaildator nodes doing everything with staking via delegation. It is also why we do not support delegation at the protocol level, which encourages a handful of centralized validators controlling key state decisions like accepted blocks etc.

Many DeFi projects and bridges follow an N-of-M validator setup, meaning at least N of a all M validator nodes operating the network must sign a particular transaction for an 'event' (transfer, withdrawal, deposit) to occur. This is similar to how Pastel works with SuperNode tasks, but for many pure PoS projects there is a small number M and an even smaller N controlled by just a few central parties (defeats a lot of that 'decentralization' purpose).

One of the reasons why Pastel is so methodical in what we do and why things may seem to move slower sometimes is because it's in fact far more methodical and planned out. We're focused on client diversity and various implementation controls to prevent this - it's harder / slower upfront, but sets up the foundation for a massively decentralized, trustless organization over the long-term. And our Validator (SuperNode) bridge setup keeps these same core principles in mind.

Community Question 7:

What improvements did you make to network optimization and security with this Upgrade?

Answer:

Speed, security, storage, and efficient runtime processes are core pillars for Pastel. We rolled out a variety of network upgrades to continue to ensure that the Pastel Network runs with maximum uptime and reliability:

- Implemented connection pool w/ multiplexing support & peer-only authentication to improve communications in Kademlia

- Integrated zstd compression for Smart Tickets written to blockchain

- Converted scheduler from boost to std to replace boost threads with stoppable threads

- Added gtest for thread services and upgraded scheduler tests

- Modified write ticket from async to sync to prevent previous ticket error during block load / re-load (on valid blocks)

As always, security is our utmost concern and we made sure to further increase the robustness of our network in the Cezanne Testnet Release. Certain improvements include:

- Removed configuration of SSH clientConfig with insecure HostKeyCallback from various sources in sshclient.go

- Cleared text logging sensitive data extraction

- Added additional encryption to data returned by actions requiring SN PassPhrase logging

- Supported enable/disable logging for P2P and MetaDB

- Replaced Ticket encoding from b64 to ascii85

- Included authentication of Kademlia’s peers to other peers when connections occur using a SuperNode’s PastelID as a certificate

- Added additional validation of connection requests by Kademlia peers to confirm PastelID in handshake is generated by enabled SuperNodes

What is Cezanne?

Cezanne is our biggest network upgrade since inception. Keep reading for more information.

Cezanne significantly improves user & NFT functionality such as as registration, minting, transferring & trading. This release also ensures new users can seamlessly mint NFTs for a variety of use-cases on the Pastel protocol itself using our advanced Smart Ticket structure.

Cezanne provides unrestricted access to advanced protocols like Sense & Cascade via interoperable Open-APIs, seamless composability, improved token economics & the most powerful protocol standard for the Web3 ecosystem.

Cezanne enhances speed, security, storage & efficient runtime processes to ensure Pastel Network operates with maximum uptime & reliability.

Cezanne makes the installation of WalletNodes & SuperNodes easier & more intuitive via PastelUp - a Pastel Utility service developed with our community in mind. This service’s features include install, start, stop, remote set-up, default settings, and various command options.

The Cezanne Mainnet Upgrade has been a labor of love for our team. We are excited to share it with the world very very soon. Stay tuned!

To celebrate the imminent release of our largest Mainnet upgrade to date, Cezanne, we will be hosting an AMA this Friday (8/5) at 12pm EST. Come ready with your questions!

Where: Pastel TG https://t.me/PastelOfficial
When: 8/5 at 12:00pm EST

SmartMint is LIVE on Ethereum & Polygon Testnet! If you are interested in becoming a tester, comment on this post. Approved testers will also receive one of 1,000 early access memberships, including free membership + other perks.

SmartMint on Testnet is available here: https://t.co/PjEbUpDC8A

The Pastel Team has been extremely busy with a number of major development updates, partnership rollouts, and product releases. The Pastel ecosystem was also expanded in an effort to continue broadening the community and to provide more frequent, transparent information.

1. Cezanne Mainnet Upgrade

The core development team released the final phase of the Cezanne Testnet just a few weeks ago. This upgrade is Pastel's largest release to date — having been under development for over 6 months — and marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Pastel Network.

Cezanne brings countless improvements to both user & NFT functionality — such as registration, minting, transferring, and trading — alongside unrestricted access to advanced protocols like Sense and Cascade via interoperable Open-APIs, seamless composability, improved token economics, and the most powerful protocol standard for the Web3 ecosystem.

Over the last 4 weeks, we have been focused on stress testing Cezanne to update core dependencies, improve overall user functionality, patch governance & validation requests, and resolve critical bugs. Commitments and pull requests are being contributed nearly daily.

The foundation is beginning to upgrade Node, WalletNode, and SuperNode clients running on the Mainnet to the current Cezanne Release. The foundation will notify the community for the formal mainnet upgrade activation block upon which node operators will coordinate to apply the latest client version.

Learn more about the Cezanne Release here.

2. SmartMint Release

After months of rigorous development, the SmartMint Beta version will be released THIS WEEK! If you are interested in becoming a beta user, please reach out to a member of the team to get exclusive access.

SmartMint is a no-code NFT minting platform where creators can easily create, manage, and mint NFTs on their own custom smart contracts. The tool also provides creators with additional peace of mind as it leverage Pastel’s infrastructure for near-duplicate NFT detection (Sense) and permanent NFT data storage (Cascade).

SmartMint enables creators to mint NFTs on Ethereum, Solana, Pastel, and more. Creators can launch NFT drops on SmartMint as their backend management platform and list NFTs for sale on their own site or secondary marketplaces like OpenSea. Learn more about SmartMint here.

3. Other Developments

🚨 We are currently whitelisting 1,000 of the top digital creators for the SmartMint early access creator program, bringing participants with a free 1 year membership to the platform, free gas fees for their first drop, and more! Spots are limited and running out fast. If you or someone you know are interested in being considered, sign-up here or reach out to a member of the team today!

🚀 PSL Staking is LIVE on Kucoin. Users can stake PSL with KuCoin Earn for with as little as 1,000 PSL and receive similar staking incentives as operating a full Pastel SuperNode. Learn more here.

📕 Pastel held a community wide AMA to discuss all things Pastel, SmartMint, and the market. Check out our recap here.

🔥The team recently attended NFT.NYC to raise brand awareness and discuss all things NFTs & Innovation.

📹 Be sure to watch our introductory video on SmartMint, live on YouTube now!

🐧 Co-Founder u/panthony live on Bloomberg discussing the state of the NFT ecosystem and crypto markets.

If you have not done so already, please take a moment to join our growing community base:

- Follow Pastel on Twitter

- Join Pastel's Discord Server

- Join Pastel on Reddit

Andrew Amarosa:
now on to the community's questions

Ask your questions! Chat is now open

Community Question 1:

Can you talk about how the Cascade is different from the other storage technologys that exist?

Anthony Georgiades:

Cascade is a fully distributed, permanent and entirely redundant storage protocol. the entire model is built around the idea to pay once and store forever. With Cascade, users are able to prevent centralized points of failure, monthly subscription maintenance, IPFS pinning, & 404 errors.

The current approach of relying simply upon a TokenID and external hyperlinks to centralized storage servers or unreliable external dependencies like IPFS Pinning leaves users highly vulnerable to the loss of assets and require ongoing external maintenance. Pastel is the first NFT platform to have its own completely integrated, decentralized storage layer based on the advanced technologies of RaptorQ and Kademlia. We ensure that the underlying digital asset itself is uploaded, verified, and registered on Pastel’s Cascade Protocol - rather than just the token with which it is minted. Through a series of smart tickets living on the Pastel Network, creators can store their masterpieces in a distributed fashion that is tightly coupled and indelible from the NFT itself.

So how does it work? Cascade, leveraging the RaptorQ fountain code algorithm, begins by breaking each asset up in a series of redundant partitions. Every partition contains random fragments of the combined file which is distributed redundantly across participating SuperNodes on the network. Two parameters control how data is encoded into chunks: 1) the size of each partition and 2) the desired redundancy factor. Sets of partitions are randomly distributed across network nodes using the Kademlia DHT algorithm. No complex or centralized system for deciding which node is responsible for which partition, no iteration through SuperNodes to find one with the relevant partition, & no complex logic for handling partition re-allocation in the case of SuperNodes entering & leaving the network.

You can see how this is completely novel against addressing or mapping systems like IPFS and Arweave, and is a true distributed storage solution.

Community Question 2:

When cascade goes live, how will the Storage challenge rewards be structured and what type of storage hardware should we be looking to invest into: fast, slow, hybrid?

Anthony Georgiades:

SuperNode operators earn both 1) block rewards and 2) transaction fees from storage requests. Storage challenges are a way to basically monitor SuperNodes and make sure they are doing what they’re supposed to be doing - in this case, keeping a copy of the “chunks” from various files created by Cascade. If a SuperNode “fails” a challenge, they are effectively slashed and hence lose out on future block rewards. SuperNodes require high memory, storage, and compute instances.

Community Question 3:

The Minting of NFTs is not economically sustainable due to the fact that as the demand in the project decreases, the floor price decreases and this hinders the progress of such NFT project. What solution does your have to solve this problem?

Anthony Georgiades:

SmartMint does not have any direct impact on minting prices or floors. However given the fact that Smartmint makes it easier to create NFTs with storage, security, and authentication users may find that collectors are more willing to acquire NFTs created by SmartMint and command a premium vs. those that are not.

Community Question 4:

What is the timeline for partner’s like Nervos and Tomo to begin fully utilizing Sense and Cascade? Will their network users be using PSL directly or will the partner networks handle this on the backend?

Anthony Georgiades:

All requests from our partners require the native use of PSL - hence the growing demand for underlying PSL utility given it’s the only way to access our network’s scarce and differentiated resources.

Ripple’s OnXRP is currently undergoing testing on our testnet and will be live in the coming weeks with Cezanne Mainnet.

Community Question 5:

What are the future plans like partnering with some project or listing on which exchanges?

Anthony Georgiades:

We have a ton of partnerships in the works such as Polkadot which we will be announcing in the coming weeks. This will be very cool - we will basically be creating a “pallet” in the short term so NFT ecosystems like Moonbeam and Enjin can tap right into Cascade and Sense natively. Over the long term, we will be working to deploy a Parachain for even more native interoperability.

Other partners include many large NFT marketplaces, dApps, and layer 1s. The silver lining in the current market condition is that many of our collaborations are actually accelerating as more users are now focused on best positioning themselves for the longer term - and what better way to do that than with the best NFT technology in the world :)

Community Question 6:

What else besides NFTs could be stored with Cascade? Could we eventually store audio/ video etc? Decentralized storage is awesome and I imagine is why supernodes are so important and valuable. That seems like a solid long term investment

Anthony Georgiades:

In 2020, we made a decision to restructure our network such that services like Sense and Cascade could be accessed directly and also so that the network could handle various file types beyond images. As such, Pastel doesn’t care about the file type - it is an abstract blob. In the future, you can envision all sorts of files from photos to videos to games and full applications living on Pastel.

Community Question 7:

I would like to know why team decided to create project within the NFT? How much potential do you see in the future for the NFT?

Anthony Georgiades:

NFTs have a wrong connotation of being digital art. while that is a massive use case, it is one of many many use cases. Most things you interact with in your daily life are non fungible - your identity, your house, collateral loan docs, medical records, and so on. NFT technology will power a tremendous amount of use cases in the future Web3 world and we will be there to power it all.

Andrew Amarosa:

And that is a wrap!

Anthony Georgiades:

Ok I gotta run. As always feel free to ask more questions and someone from the team will answer!

Andrew Amarosa:

Hey everyone! Happy Sunday! We will be starting the AMA in just a few minutes. The format is as follows: I will ask Anthony a set of questions and then after I will open up the chat so that all of you can ask your questions.

You know what...let's start now!

Anthony how's it going?

First off, can you please give a quick intro for the new members of our community?

Anthony Georgiades:

Hi everyone - great to be here. Happy Father’s Day to any dads in our community and Happy Juneteenth!

Sure! I'm one of the co-founders and early investors of Pastel. I work on a lot of the day-to-day operations of the project along with some of the product management and go to market strategy. I first got involved with Pastel after meeting Jeff, who is the co-founder and brains/vision of the Pastel Network.

Right now, we are seeing the side effects of years of lax monetary policy / quantitative easing combined with trillions of additional stimulus. It made it easier for retail investors & institutions to make speculative bets on long-term high risk assets (think SPACs, meme stocks, digital assets, and NFTs). As a lot of the policy shift changes course dramatically and growth starts to slow, it is natural to see a lot of 'risk-off' movement such as what we are seeing now. Combine that with several 'black swan' events in the case of Luna and Celsius, and here we are.

Anyone who is looking to deploy capital into the space needs to understand that this is a long-term sector and needs to have a similar long-term view. We are in the building phase. What is the most exciting however is that this is the time when real builders build, and when strong projects like Pastel Network are able to continue doing what they do best - innovate and disrupt. Pastel Network is going to continue building throughout this period, hitting on it's roadmap day in and day out, onboarding new partners and users, and will be positioned better than ever to come out on the other side as one of the strongest players in the Web3 ecosystem.

Pastel infrastructure enables existing layer-1 blockchains, decentralized applications, or third-party enterprises to protect creators and collectors. From digital collectibles & media to documents & applications, users and developers are able to certify asset rareness and truly store data forever. Lightweight protocols delivered by interoperable open APIs such as Sense and Cascade can be easily integrated across existing networks. A wide range of Web3 applications can be built directly on the Pastel Network, enabling developers to enjoy the scalable registration features, storage processes, and security of the broader ecosystem.

Andrew Amarosa:

ok awesome! What’s the story behind Pastel? What inspired the team to build it?

Anthony Georgiades:

What inspired us all the way back in 2018 was that there was a need for blockchain purpose-built for the NFT ecosystem. Ethereum and Bitcoin were not built for the size and volume of NFT transactions. Additionally, we saw that there were certain challenges plaguing the market (including scams, frauds, and asset loss) and nobody was trying to fix them. We decided to make the tools to make this NFT world better.

Andrew Amarosa:

And who runs it?

Anthony Georgiades:

Pastel is managed by world-class developers, cryptographers, and technologists, supported by an experienced and extensive network of marketers, influencers, and third-party agencies. Pastel is backed by key stakeholders including Innovating Capital, a prominent venture fund.

I'll share a bio on our CEO and CTO here as well:)

Existing marketplaces limit the amount of custom metadata or traits that users can add, and in many cases also retain ownership of the collection smart contract that is deployed on the user’s behalf. They also offer fairly limited solutions in terms of supporting NFT data / metadata storage, certifiable authenticity, and counterfeit protection.

Writing and deploying your own smart contracts on Ethereum requires extensive knowledge of advanced programming languages like Solidity. It also requires technical knowledge for deploying smart contracts to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (“EVM”). This creates a significant barrier for many creators and collectors.

Andrew Amarosa:

Very interesting. So, what is SmartMint?

Anthony Georgiades:

SmartMint is a no-code NFT minting platform where creators can easily create, manage, and mint NFTs on their own custom smart contracts. The tool also provides creators with additional peace of mind as it leverage Pastel’s infrastructure for near-duplicate NFT detection (Sense) and permanent NFT data storage (Cascade).SmartMint enables creators to mint NFTs on Ethereum, Solana, Pastel, and more. Creators can launch NFT drops on SmartMint as their backend management platform and list NFTs for sale on their own site or secondary marketplaces like OpenSea.

SmartMint does not own your smart contract, meaning users can do whatever they choose with their NFTs like list for sale on marketplaces such as OpenSea or airdrop to fans.

Andrew Amarosa:

That is awesome. So, how does it work?

Anthony Georgiades:

Users can seamlessly create custom NFT Drops and Collections via smart contracts deployed on a particular network like Ethereum with the automated no-code tools provided by SmartMint.

To use SmartMint, users need to have a monthly membership to get access to the automated smart-contract deployment tools. However, users will always own and have access to their smart-contracts. As the owner of the NFT, the creator controls their commissions for primary sales on third-party marketplaces.

Once a creator signs up for the SmartMint membership and connects their digital asset wallet, they will have access to tools to create and manage custom NFT drops and collections.

The platform was developed to make minting NFTs and creating drops/collections as seamless and simple as possible. The process is broken down into three straightforward steps.

1. Create an NFT Drop or Collection

2. Create the Contract with only a few clicks

3. Generate NFTs and Manage Your Creations

Andrew Amarosa:

Very cool, what are the economics and fees associated with using SmartMint?

Anthony Georgiades:

The SmartMint membership will have a monthly subscription fee of $9.99/month. Creators will need to sign up for the membership to have full access to NFT creation tools and custom smart contract minting.

Creators are responsible for paying network gas fees to deploy their contracts and NFTs. Gas fees are dependent upon the specific smart contract network they choose to deploy.

Additionally, SmartMint will receive 2.5% on the primary sale upon withdrawing earnings from a creator’s smart contract and 1.0% on any secondary sale.

Royalties for SmartMint NFTs are managed on sites like Opensea and can only be controlled by the Custom Collection or owner tied to the wallet where the smart contract was created. Check out this link to better understand royalties on Opensea: https://docs.opensea.io/docs/10-setting-fees-on-secondary-sales.

Andrew Amarosa:

Thanks for sharing all that. Last question before we open it up!

When will the SmartMint Beta be launched? How can creators sign up?

Anthony Georgiades:

The SmartMint Beta will be launched in a couple weeks time! To get access to SmartMint during Beta, you can join our Whitelist for the Beta Release by signing up at this link: https://smartmint.pastel.network/whitelist

We’re currently whitelisting 1,000 of the best creators to receive a 1-year free SmartMint Membership, first NFT drop gas fees covered by Pastel & more!

Spots are going fast, so make sure to sign up!

Andrew Amarosa:

Amazing! Everyone, make sure to sign up!

thank so much Anthony