{"id":26892,"date":"2018-01-24T17:52:01","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T01:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?p=26892"},"modified":"2018-05-01T23:03:36","modified_gmt":"2018-05-02T06:03:36","slug":"district0x","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/district0x\/","title":{"rendered":"An Introduction to district0x: A Network of Decentralized Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

The term \u2018DAO\u2019 (otherwise known as decentralized autonomous organizations) still carries with it the negative stigma following the DAO hack in 2016 (leading to the controversial hard fork that resulted in Ethereum<\/a> and Ethereum Classic<\/a>), but it would be foolish to shelve the concept of decentralised autonomous organisations altogether, purely because one iteration had been poorly coded.<\/p>\n

\"district0x\"
district0x<\/a> is a network of decentralized markets and communities.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When it comes to (hopefully more successful) platforms enabling the creation and running of decentralized organizations, few can match district0x<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Its team have a vision of a digital realm free of the traditional governance structures that we\u2019ve become so accustomed to and are well on their way to releasing a polished framework to create and run blockchain-based businesses.<\/p>\n

Decentralized Marketplaces<\/h2>\n

The whitepaper<\/a> draws on the real-world examples of Uber and AirBnb, whose business models revolve around the collective power of their users, as opposed to monetizing their own tangible assets.<\/p>\n

\"district0x
DNT token holders can currently vote for what districts they think should be built next.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the userbase being the workhorse of these organizations, however, district0x<\/a> takes issue with their lack of a stake in the business and highlights the nonetheless centralized hierarchy in their operation.<\/p>\n

The district0x<\/a> team, comprised of established veterans of the crypto-industry, see potential in these pseudo-decentralized structures, though, and wants to see users participating in the decision-making process.<\/p>\n

The main problem, it seems, is that cohesion amongst communities that is hard to achieve without some entity calling the shots, so to speak. Or it was until the Ethereum<\/a> blockchain opened the door to a radical new approach.<\/p>\n

The d0xINFRA framework allows anyone to create what is called a \u2018district\u2019 (described as markets and communities existing as decentralized entities). A handful of basic functionalities (ranking users, creating posts, searching for content) are provided to the user, the idea is that they can develop their own platform with ease.<\/p>\n

Unlike too many ICOs nowadays that are selling vaporware, there are already fully-operational districts deployed on the Ethereum mainnet.<\/p>\n

Ethlance<\/h2>\n
\"Ethlance\"
Ethlance doesn\u2019t take a percentage of your earned Ether. The amount of Ether the employer pays is the amount the freelancer gets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ethlance<\/a> was the first district to launch. Similar in format to crypto.jobs<\/a> or BlockchainJobz<\/a>, the site allows companies to advertise work paid for in Ether. On the surface, Ethlance isn\u2019t groundbreaking \u2013 it appears to be a run-of-the-mill Craigslist-type job board (albeit with a much nicer UI).<\/p>\n

The real magic happens under the hood: the district runs on 14 smart contracts (fully open-source<\/a>) on the Ethereum blockchain, relying on IPFS to deliver content. It has attracted a number of users since being deployed, who enjoy the service for free (omitting, of course, the gas fees that keep the blockchain operational).<\/p>\n

Name Bazaar<\/h2>\n
\"Name
Name Bazaar is a peer-to-peer marketplace for the exchange of names registered via the Ethereum Name Service.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the first successful experiment, the district0x team deployed Name Bazaar<\/a>. An auction site for names registered on the Ethereum Name Service, Name Bazaar allows users to bid on their desired listings, or put registered names up for sale.<\/p>\n

The ability to purchase gems like fourtwenty.eth<\/a>, as exciting as it may be, is not the real takeaway from the second district\u2019s success \u2013 what has been effectively created here is a method of trading crypto assets on a decentralized platform. While currently limited in which assets are available, Name Bazaar is an excellent proof-of-concept as to how a marketplace could scale with no central ownership, while providing a valuable service.<\/p>\n

The DNT Token<\/h2>\n

\"DNTThe district0x token (DNT)<\/a>, much like Aragon<\/a>, could be classed as a governance token. Staking DNT tokens in a district confers upon the participant voting powers, the weight of which are proportionate to the amount staked in relation to the total (a user staking 300 tokens out of a total of 1000 would, therefore, have 30% of the voting power).<\/p>\n

DNT is not a currency in of itself — the platform plans 0x protocol<\/a> integration to remain agnostic on the monetary front). It has flown under the radar for some time, with a market cap of under $100 million (and ranks 185th in the crypto rankings<\/a>). Since its ICO in July of 2017, it has seen returns of 10x at its peak in early January, although the value has been dwindling since.<\/p>\n

\"district0x
The district0x DNT token hit an all-time high of $0.40 on January 7th, but is currently trading for $0.16 — down 60%<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Transparency<\/h2>\n

The district0x team has a reputation for being some of the most communicative and transparent developers<\/a> in the crypto-space, even publicly sharing their company salaries in a spreadsheet for everyone to see. They even have dedicated\u00a0transparency page<\/a> with public links to:<\/p>\n