29.01.22
The main NFT market is currently located on Ethereum. Although L2s have advantages, their user landscape is fragmented and they present a big learning curve. An L2 launch would cause unnecessary friction and work against our aim of reaching a broad audience spanning both crypto natives and people coming to Web3 for the first time.
Not Ethereum. We are looking at a number of L2 solutions for facilitating membership renewals with low cost transactions. At the moment, we are seriously considering Gnosischain for s1 because it’s carbon negative and developer friendly, has low transaction costs, and runs on a token pegged to $USD, which will ensure subscription rates remain stable/accessible. Longterm, we are aiming to be compatible with as many chains as possible.
Similar to annual “quarters” but more flexible, “seasons” carry the double valence of organizational and editorial development. On average, a season will last a few months, with the exact length contingent on both the time needed to implement new structures/tech as well as the external vibes/economic/political conditions influencing our content. During Channel s0, we will be testing out s1 features, and preparing to help migrate anyone interested in moving to token-enabled subscriptions.
The s0 Founder token grants open-ended access to all Channel content, which initially includes an RSS bundling the Joshua Citarella, Interdependence, and New Models podcasts. It also enables entry to the Founder region of the Channel Discord, a direct line to the Channel creators and developers, and a voice in the project’s evolution toward a fully decentralized protocol.
Season 0 (s0) is different from the regular seasons. It is offered in the form of a Founder NFT featuring art by Team Rolfes; it unlocks open-ended access to all Channel content, and gives the s0 holder a voice in the project’s development (see above). The funds and the community generated by this initial s0 collection will help us refine the Channel tool set and distribute it broadly. One way to think about the s0 token is as a membership encompassing both the Channel protocol and the Channel creator content. Subsequent seasons will be focused on creator content specifically and will be priced in accordance with the regular subscription fees—i.e., they’ll be in the same general price-range as your existing subscription.
Ethereum is energy intensive, yes, but it uses a fixed amount of energy regardless of the volume of activity happening on the network. In other words, minting an NFT on the Ethereum network does not directly change the amount of energy used. But as we love Mother Gaia, Channel itself will run on a proof-of-stake chain that consumes negligible energy. This has the coinciding benefit of keeping s1 subscriptions affordable (given the much lower gas fees). For accurate information about the relative energy costs of the Ethereum network, check out these channel podcast discussions with prominent energy experts [1], [2]