Crossing the Finish Line

A recurring theme for software development is the challenge of expectations between stakeholders. Teams walk that fine line between innovation and adoption.

As a project, we have to maintain scope and find ways to fulfil the “wish-list” while also meeting business goals and hitting time and budget targets.

At the same time, stakeholders crave results, they want reassurance that their projects are in safe hands, that progress is being made and that deadlines are met.

Essentially, the project team and stakeholders want the same thing. They all have a vested interest in the quality of the final product, and they all want success.

Our Progress

At yAxis, our focus on success has not wavered, and we’ve been busy evolving the path that will get us there.

Most DeFi projects are run by remote teams which has its own pros and cons. And in DAOs, we have incentive models instead of employment contracts.

Developers juggle a weight of responsibility, and projects tend to take more time than envisaged; being available 24/7 can eat away at work/life balance. Fatigue is real, and people suffer from carrying these weights.

Our developers certainly are feeling this after 9 months of grind. Recently, the bulk C4 findings came as a surprise, especially when looking forward to a well deserved break.

Whilst being respectful of fatigue, as a project and community we still need to pick ourselves up and get over the finish line.

What’s left to do?

There isn’t much left to be done, but it does need to be done. In terms of the C4 audit, we’re through 112 of 164 findings.

We have one known blocker on the backend before the frontend can finish up. Again, not a problem but it does need to be done.

The v3 vaults are generic, meaning we can copy/paste the deploy script to support any ERC-20 compatible asset we like. Whilst we are targeting BTC, ETH and LINK initially — this architecture is scalable to allow us to have eventually 100+ vaults.

It’s again why it’s important to address the C4 findings, as any issue in the generic vault will exist on every future copy/paste vault we deploy.

How are we supporting this effort?

• Onboarded two additional developers to the team. @Haz and @GainsGoblin
• Contracted a solidity researcher to process the ‘Gas Optimisation’ findings.
• Hired a specialist strategy developer, who’s already written a Convex MIM strategy for us. @Frankzhu
• About to sign on another full-time solidity developer.

This is intended to take all the workload and pressure off our founding developers who can then review and guide the work being done and get some needed rest.

These additional resources have already made significant progress and we’ll introduce them formally in the near future.

V3 Guidance

Tomorrow, we are looking forward to the Haechi audit beginning. Once we receive the Haechi report, we will assess any differences to the C4 findings and react appropriately.

We realise the uncertainty around a specific launch date sits uncomfortably with some of our token holders, but we have one goal in mind, and that is a lasting protocol that we as a team can be proud of and confident in.

We can’t knowingly risk users’ funds and, irrespective of any previously given timelines, we must spend the time necessary to ensure we are ready to launch.

Ya Herd?

With calls for more insight, we also want to reassess how we communicate with our passionate community. Our weekly ‘Ya Herd?’ podcast has been a tremendous resource for connecting with people, and understanding the key concepts of yAxis and DeFi.

We can reevaluate when, what and how we communicate as the project advances. We welcome your suggestions on this.

Currently the team is exploring the possibility of producing a version of ‘Ya Herd?’ that would be in more of a project update format, whilst also addressing any community Q&A. The exact format is yet to be fully agreed upon and will be expanded in due course.

We understand the past few weeks have been challenging for both the community and the team, however, our ultimate goal has not changed.

We still want to make DeFi easy, while also making it secure. We sincerely believe we are close to achieving those goals.

The steps taken, and plans we’ve put in place alongside an expanded development team paints a bright future.

Thanks, as always. See you in Discord!