NeoSwap: Spearheading the Charge

When you spend as much time immersed in the crypto space as I have you tend to learn a thing or two. One of the lessons that I learned pretty early on is to look out for innovation in a project or on a blockchain. This was one of the things that further affirmed my bullishness about the Stacks ecosystem, even during the worst of the bear market. There were so many builders working dilligently on groundbreaking protocols that I knew I was in the right place. One such builder is Dr. John Ennis, the CEO of NeoSwap.

NeoSwap: Let’s Get Up To Speed

My first article on NeoSwap was published in June 2022. In fact, it was the very first Stacks project that I wrote about. Shortly after that John was kind enough to let me interview him about the protocol, and the rest as they say is history.

(On a side note, had the NeoSwap team and John not been so kind and gracious about my inquiries, there is a very good chance I may not have started writing about Stacks projects at all. These events not only inspired me, but gave me the confidence to continue walking down this path. So thank you!)

NeoSwap offers smart swaps, which are events where a group of participants can buy/sell/trade NFTs with each other. In addition to smart swaps NeoSwap also offers smart auctions. The smart auction allows for bidders to set their maximum spend limit and bid on multiple items that they may want. The protocol does not allow the bidder to overspend, but at the same time eliminates the possibility that the bidder could potentially come up emptyhanded after being beat on a single bid. In other words, the NeoSwap smart auction is more efficient that traditional auctions. Ultimately what this means is that the bidders are much more likely to walk away with something they like and the seller benefits by virtue of having made more sales.

During our conversation John also told me about a brand new feature coming soon to NeoSwap. An AI powered trading assistant called THEO. This new feature, will provide users with a more customized trading experience by analyzing past trading behavior and allowing for a custom, personalized, experience. I knew I was in the right place.

NeoSwap - Pushing the Envelope

In addition to all of the features and updates that the NeoSwap team has been pushing, including becoming amultichain project, (Yes, in addition to being available on Stacks, NeoSwap is available on MATIC and SOL). NeoSwap quickly responded to the ordinal mania that has swept the Bitcoin and Stacks communities.

It is at this point I assume that you are familiar with Bitcoin ordinals and inscriptions. Even if you have been paying attention, this is all still quite new. One day, seemingly out of the blue, Crypto Twitter started talking about these images that you could inscribe onto Bitcoin. The thing is, that inscriptions are not NFTs, in fact, even for a crypto native this represented a new set of rules and processes to follow to get your hands on an inscription. Essentially it was akin to reliving the experience of interacting with your wallet and tokens for the very first time.

So while the earliest adopters were working on making the act of inscribing user friendly (hat tip Satoshibles), NeoSwap was figuring out how to create a market for them. In less than one weeks time NeoSwap and Satoshibles teamed up for the first Satoshibles ordinals auction. The basic way it worked was that Satoshibles minted NFTs that basically acted as tickets to be redeemed for inscriptions. The community used the NeoSwap smart auctions to make their bids, and after the auction closed the tickets were redeemed and the Satoshibles ordinals sent to the winners. Let that sink in. This is the speed at which the projects within the Stacks community operates.

Subsequent to the Satoshibles auction, NeoSwap also hosted an Alex Rudloff Blocks auction. Obviously these auctions were massively successful and this is partly due to the trusted reputation’s of the parties involved. This worked, but it isn’t ideal. So during this time the giga brains at NeoSwap developed a trustless way to do ordinal swaps by leveraging the power of smart contracts. So if the idea of being able to conduct safe, OTC, ordinal swaps appeals to you, I would strongly advise you go here and get early access. (I know, I spoil you guys and gals, what can I say. I love my readers).

Closing Thoughts

It goes without saying that the Stacks ecosystem is so fortunate to have the NeoSwap team setting the pace with the level of innovation they bring to the table. John and the team are changing the game, and in all honesty, they are just getting started. I believe now, as I believed then that what NeoSwap will do for web3 commers is akin to what Ebay did for web2 commerce.

I really haven’t been able to focus on the macro environment, or even trading for that matter (today was the first time I looked at a price chart in about a week), with all of the innovation happening on Bitcoin and especially within the Stacks ecosystem. To say that I am bullish is an understatement at this point. I am so glad that I am here for this, and so are you.

That’s about all I have to say for right now, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. A big shoutout to Dr. John for being so generous with his time, and with that I am out of here. Until next time, Jack.

I am going to start including a BTC and STX address in my articles. I am implementing this until Sigle brings the monetary component of the app to fruition. Don’t by any means feel compelled to pay anything, this blog brings me a lot of joy and is my way of contributing to the Stacks ecosystem. If you do enjoy the material and want to contribute, it is certainly appreciated.

BTC: bc1qv538qmsqvcydglsedyqvu3mgy87pcmxwa8y6c5

STX: SPQE3J7XMMK0DN0BWJZHGE6B05VDYQRXRMDV734D

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