By: Geeq  on Dec 29, 2022

It’s that time again when we take a breath, raise a glass to the year gone past and set our sights firmly on the future. Here at Geeq, we are proud to have made great strides in 2022.

Tackle real problems, get real solutions

In 2022, we took on the challenge of developing our first cloud-based, Geeq-native application: the Geeq Data private blockchain attestation service for enterprise. Geeq Data provides a way for trusted and/or non-trusted affiliates to send attestations to a private blockchain without requiring enterprises to open up their firewalls.

Because Geeq’s private blockchains are stand-alone instances, each running Geeq’s validation and other protocols, enterprises have choices over the way(s) they can adopt Geeq Data according to their specific needs and constraints.

For example, it is possible to deploy separate private blockchains for each department purely as a back-up to keep proof for data integrity or create an access point from within their enterprise data system for more active, ad hoc interactions that would be helpful to a particular set of users.

Technical strides

We released the Testing Framework for our first native application, Geeq Data, and put it through its paces with an invitation to make suggestions and find bugs through a community treasure hunt. Geeq Data provides a definitive answer to “why and when would you use a blockchain?” We describe the benefits and wide applicability of this simplest Geeq blockchain-backed app here.

Our blockchain provides data reliability and consistency without requiring a systems overhaul; it is lightweight and low-cost. You can read about Geeq Data’s milestone deployment of its test-net here.

As we had hoped, users were able to interact quickly and easily, as all they were presented with was a 4 step guide through the familiar format of a webapp, with all the blockchain interactions automated on the back-end.

For more technical users, Geeq presented a sample webapp for a Geeq Data block explorer, which any front-end builder can design without relying on a centralized source. Finally, we shared how Geeq is able to scale so efficiently for applications while being able to settle every transaction directly on-chain in an explainer. Geeq’s “forest of chains” platform allows apps to scale without sacrificing security.

In our most recent technical update, you will find more details on the current protocol (version 4.1), progress on our Block Explorer, and new automated testing. Regular updates are published here, with useful explainers for less technical readers, and short videos to convey the unique value propositions of Geeq Data.

During the product development cycle for Geeq Data, the Geeq team hit upon a winning recipe that clearly delineated back end and dev ops from front end development. The blockchain protocol project manager worked closely to meet the requirements set out by the Geeq Data product manager, whose primary concern was to deliver what clients needed while having a smooth and rewarding user experience.

Focused listening to potential super users showed us they liked the predictable and replicable approach Geeq was taking in developing a secure blockchain back end for generic functions (such as attestation) that still left them the flexibility to decide how to configure their own data environments to match the way they were working already.

The emergence of demand for additional features

While we worked, we realized commercial interest was growing in working with a trusted blockchain partner who could provide enterprise (private) blockchain services in the near term and help businesses prepare for interactions with some form of secure public blockchain in the medium term.

For followers who understand Geeq’s team and architecture well, it should be no surprise that adding public aspects to private services could be accommodated in several ways. Again, being able to maintain a high level of security for enterprises while allowing them to choose what information to share is only possible because of Geeq’s original (and continuing) specifications for a multi-chain platform.

We heard requests to augment private blockchain services that fell, roughly, in two buckets :
1. Private chains, with confidential sharing to an external source, such as a regulator.
2. Private chains, with selective or full transparency to the public, such as a company expecting to move stepwise into Web3.

Throughout the year, the Geeq development team worked on elegant ways to accommodate these requests and more. It became apparent that businesses across sectors liked the idea of adopting Geeq’s no-smart contracts approach to applications suited for both Web2 and Web3.

Updated roadmap and token support

We took these indicators seriously. In consultation with our partners, potential clients, and trusted advisors, the result was a substantially updated version of Geeq’s protocols that significantly expanded the potential universe of Geeq-native applications. In order to add features to support new capabilities for applications, such as mints without smart contracts, the entire protocol and development plan had to be reviewed, reworked, and streamlined, in pieces and as a whole, to ensure they adhered to Geeq’s internal logic and consistency.

Armed with the knowledge that we could repeat the blockchain + application development cycle we made the major decision to expand the set of transactions and features that Geeq will support in-protocol. In-protocol support means all the information required for transactions will be sent in a standard format, regardless of the types of transaction (e.g. a transfer of coins, a submission to Geeq Data, the transfer of a NFT).

While standardization is a high priority for Geeq’s internal team (thus worth the investment to integrate the additional features with the protocol from the beginning), it also has the benefit that users and app developers will find Geeq’s native apps simple, predictable, and easy to adopt.

Taken together, Geeq’s blockchain services are coming into view as the next generation of applications that happen to be powered by a dependable and stable blockchain infrastructure, in contrast with other blockchain platforms that offer an ever-changing, experimental array of smart contracts and scaling solutions.

This new clarity about Geeq’s no-smart contracts approach was introduced to the Geeq community with an updated roadmap, one based on milestones, not artificial deadlines. In response to reasonable questions from token holders, Geeq committed to implementing a new win-win plan when enterprises adopt Geeq’s private blockchains. Geeq also launched further rounds of web staking (including a special promotion with KuCoin), and as always, staking announcements and all other token news can be found here. These initiatives benefit everyone without changing the original tokenomics at all.

Strategic partnerships, funding, and patent award

Exciting new strategic partnerships with Rowbot and Morpheus.Network have positioned us to bring Geeq Data’s attestation services to their platforms. Rowbot and Morpheus.Network work directly with marquee clients in finance, healthcare, logistics and other verticals with pressing needs for data management services.

Rowbot offers a no-code, self-service data management platform, assembled by a team who has worked with large global banks, insurance companies, as well as other organizations with highly sensitive data.

Morpheus.Network provides supply chain automation leveraging IoT, blockchain and other emerging technologies. We are excited to work closely with these trusted industry leaders who recognize the importance of adding a Geeq Data assurance layer to support their data products and services.

We were also proud to win major investment from GEM Digital Limited, an international digital assets investment firm, recognizing how important it will be for future adopters to feel secure when using blockchain.

On the legal side, we received a US patent for the Geeq protocol, which firmly establishes the Geeq difference and separates us from incumbents. This provides us with valuable certainty to support us as we push forward with development.

Talking to the world

Of course, it’s no good doing great things if nobody knows about it. So we have put a lot of effort behind communicating Geeq’s technology and progress to a wider audience, at conferences, in online conversations and in publications. Here are some highlights.

Interviews and more:

• Oddgems invited Stephanie to an AMA to discuss our strategy and progress.
• BlockDrops’ podcast host Maurício Magaldi bonded with Stephanie over the need to provide enterprises with practical blockchain solutions they could adopt in a piecewise fashion.
• CryptoCoinShow’s Ashton Addison and Stephanie discussed the difference between Geeq’s secure multi-chain scaling solutions compared to other multi-chain proposals.
• Hodlers Hub talked to Stephanie about how Geeq got started and lessons learned.

Panels and presentations:

• Stephanie was invited to several conferences to contribute her practical view of how to articulate the benefits of Web3 and encourage measured steps toward adoption. She spoke at The Venture Forward virtual summit, Prepare4VC’s panel Metawhat?, and was able to physically participate in a panel on Web3 decentralization as well as give a general talk at Wagmas’ Web3 Summit in San Diego. At the last event, she offered concrete steps for established brands to take into Web3, along with her perspective of how Web3 technologies would change market incentives for incumbents.
• Morpheus Labs hosted a Web3 Sandbox hackathon, where Stephanie joined a discussion on Web3 and regulation, while Geeq co-founder John Conley discussed the problems with smart contracts and presented Geeq’s no-smart contracts alternative. You can see the slides from his presentation here.

Use cases explored:

• The pressing data quality problems facing enterprises, especially in the financial sector.
• Unlock opportunities in ESG.
• Tame healthcare’s data crisis.
• Lock down supply chain security.
• Ensure aviation compliance.

Last, but not least : New strategic goals (and a new CEO)

Last week, Geeq celebrated the end of 2022 with its first live-stream, attended by Geeqs Ric Asselstine (Founding CEO and Chairman of the Board), Stephanie So (new CEO of Geeq), inaugural guest and one of our favorite visionaries Matt Linton (CEO of Rowbot), John Conley (Chief Economist of Geeq) and Slavian Oatu (new CDO of Geeq). They spoke variously about big data, the value of choosing technology that addresses problems rather than renaming them, the inevitable need for decentralized tools, and the importance of community – singling out two Geeq community leaders for special gifts and thanks.

The holiday live-stream marked the launch of a new effort to strengthen community ties by having more Geeqy events, encouraging more participation, and engaging in broader outreach.

Finally, Stephanie announced Geeq’s next strategic move. In 2023, Geeq’s focus will be on a 2-in-1 product that combines Geeq’s no-smart contract NFTs with its attestation service for enterprise. This 2-in-1 product tackles a major problem in the adoption of NFTs, that is, until ownership of digital assets have legal force, customers cannot rely on blockchain to enforce their property rights. Delivering a service for users to track secure transfers of assets on-chain with attestations to contracts and certificates of authenticity to back them up will transform NFTs from a mental exercise into a practical solution.

We hope you enjoyed reading, and look forward to seeing you in 2023!

Best,
The Geeq Team