January 2025 Monthly Summary
Roko Network Monthly Update
Month: January 2025
Executive Summary
January 2025 marked a pivotal strategic shift for Roko Network. The team made the critical decision to build a Substrate-based Layer 1 blockchain rather than an L2 solution, while simultaneously advancing plans for a Bittensor timing subnet. Key infrastructure decisions were made around the Hydra node architecture for distributed compute, and the team began positioning for flywheel DeFi integrations.
Major Decisions
L1 vs L2 Resolution
After comprehensive research by Stalker (Unforkable) and Sykm, the team decided on a Substrate L1 blockchain over an L2 solution. Key factors:
- Similar development timeline (~2 months for basic functionality)
- Full control over gas fees and governance without parent chain dependencies
- Substrate's modular pallet architecture enables future upgrades without chain restarts
- ROCO serves as native gas token with configurable per-function fees
- EVM compatibility via Frontier pallet for MetaMask integration
Strategic Pivot to Achievable Goals
The team pivoted from expensive infrastructure projects ($15M+ L1 build) to a leaner approach:
- Wrap a timing hardware provider's existing cloud services into a Bittensor subnet
- Leverage existing partnerships (Yuma, a timing hardware provider, NeverMind)
- Focus on generating revenue through timing service fees
Technical Progress
Bittensor Subnet Design
Brendon completed the combined timing + QA subnet mechanism design:
- Miners provide precision timing via a timing hardware provider hardware
- Miners answer questions about subnet capabilities using RAG pipelines
- Validators evaluate timing accuracy (drift/skew) and QA response quality
- 50/50 weighting between timing and QA performance
- Hardware requirements: 8-16 core CPU, 32GB RAM, 100GB storage + a timing hardware provider cards
Hydra Node Architecture
Jesse and Chet designed the Hydra distributed compute system:
- WebSocket-based client-host architecture (no port forwarding required)
- Service marketplace supporting Ollama, Whisper, Piper, timing network, vector storage
- Variable trust levels for sensitive compute workloads
- Browser extension and standalone client deployment options
- Centralized coordination first, with decentralization roadmap
Flywheel Integration
Sykm advanced Superchain bridging strategy:
- ROCO to be listed on Superbridge for Base chain bridging
- Liquidity pools planned for Aerodrome
- Vote-escrowed tokenomics for directing emissions to ROCO pools
Infrastructure Updates
- AWS organization setup initiated for secure validator key management
- A100 server deployment planning (coolant selection: distilled water + glycol)
- 12-month hosting proposal in development covering Genesis and Langflow instances
- Time card distribution planning for initial timing network nodes
Partnerships & Ecosystem
- Yuma: Will provide access to multiple Bittensor subnets without direct TAO staking
- a timing hardware provider: Enterprise timing services ($38K/year) to be wrapped and resold
- NeverMind: Payment protocol integration for micropayments across subnets
- Time Appliances Project: IEEE standard definition by March (weekly Wednesday governance calls)
- OSS Capital: Initial interest expressed for potential investment
Research & Analysis
Subnets of Interest Identified
- Masa (Subnets 42, 59) - Twitter data and agent arena
- Subnet 17 - 3D object database
- Rayon Labs/19AI - High-performance inference
- Gaia/Subnet 57 - Geospatial data
- Shoots/Subnet 64 - Serverless compute
- Taoshi/Subnet 8 - Time series prediction
AI Development Tools
Team embracing AI-assisted development:
- DeepSeek R1 for reasoning flows
- Multi-model consensus architecture for distributed inference
- Retrieval-augmented thinking (RAT) patterns
Key Metrics
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| L1 Decision | Substrate chosen over L2 |
| Subnet Design | Mechanism document complete |
| TAO Commitment | 12,000 TAO from whale investor |
| Hydra Architecture | Design phase complete |
| Team Size | Core team + recruiting for Rust devs |
Looking Ahead to February
- Formalize L1 development proposal with detailed timeline
- Submit Superbridge integration application
- Continue Hydra node prototype development
- Begin subnet wrapper development for a timing hardware provider services
- Advance A100 server deployment
Team Focus Areas
| Team Member | Primary Focus |
|---|---|
| Stalker (Unforkable)/Sykm | L1 Substrate development proposal |
| Manitcor | Timing network integration, AWS setup |
| Brendon | Subnet mechanism refinement |
| Jesse/Chet | Hydra node architecture |
| Big | Timeline management, TAP governance calls |
| Maptet | Partnerships, tokenomics coordination |