PORT Harbor — October ‘21

A monthly letter from the founders

ANCHOR POINT

Load the canons,

Welcome to November! The month of October flew by, but was jam-packed full of progress and additional developments! So much so, that this edition of the newsletter was delayed by a day, as I was kept quite busy with meetings and other duties for the last couple of weeks.

Our dev team has continued to crush deadlines and plow ahead at a quicker pace than expected. It’s great to have engineers that are not only highly proficient at their jobs, but are also able to work together cohesively and be incredibly productive as a unit.

We spent most of October working very closely with our design team from Wondr, and we couldn’t be more pleased. For those of you who saw the sneak-peak video of v2 during our live AMA with Chase Raz, you can thank the Wondr team for that incredibly sleek and polished new UI. We’re grateful to work with such a talented group of professionals, and we’re sure our users will be thankful too.

Wondr is also actively designing the front end of the web app that we have been building. We’ll share more about that when the time draws near; we hope to push it out closely on the heels of v2.

In regards to interoperability, we’re still patiently waiting for ZRC-to-ERC bridge compatibility with ZilSwap. We trust the diligent approach from ZIL and Switcheo teams, and respect the weightiness of what’s being accomplished, as they bring to close a carefully crafted symphony of code.

In the meantime, we’ve kept very busy, and are now poised for an even stronger push of momentum onto the Ethereum network, as the backwards compatibility for the bridge looks to be released nearly in parallel with our own launch.

The APP

We debuted the prototype video of v2 during our recent AMA, which was received with overwhelming support and excitement. The full video is 70 minutes long, however v2 can be found at the 5 minute mark. The live stream was recorded and can be viewed on our YT page at youtube.com/c/packageportal

We’re now in the home stretch for the v2 launch, and the engines are roaring. We’ve not yet made any announcements regarding the exact date of release, however we are nearing our internal deadline and are incredibly close to completion; so we are on schedule.

Once we submit the new build to Apple’s app store, we’ll need to wait for their review and approval before being able to share any go-live dates, but we are well on track for a November release. Android versions have a less rigorous review process and we can control the timing a little better, but as usual, we will release to both platforms at the same time.

THE BUSINESS

Now that we’ve got a backend architecture that is able to support individual merchants, it enables us to provide retailers with more specific and targeted solutions for their particular needs. In other words, we can get down to the nitty gritty with regards to contractual language.

We’ll soon begin circulating documentation of the onboarding process to our merchant prospects. A number of conversations have been ongoing, but our new systems enable us to begin the actual ingress process for retailers, and make efforts to get the PackagePortal app into the hands of their consumers.

To that end, a marketing budget has been allocated specifically for the remainder of Q4, with many campaigns being set in motion, for a timed release around the launch date. We’ll be targeting crypto-centric users outside of the Zilliqa ecosystem, as we employ both online and offline strategies. The ETH network gives us more accessibility for both end-users and clients, and we plan to aggressively pursue both with our innovative product and service.

THE TOKENS

PORT has sustained its positive market sentiment for a number of consecutive weeks. The token moved ahead in market cap rankings on ZilSwap throughout October, surpassing both XSGD and gZIL to close the month at number #2, behind XCAD. Price ranged upwards from around $4.50 at the start of the month, to over $21.00 at the monthly close.

The final Summer Shipments reward was shipped out on November 1 as promised. Liquidity Providers on ZilSwap saw sharp increases in token value over the month, causing noticeable levels of impermanent loss. However, the final batch of hefty rewards were able to assuage any wounds.

Staking contracts are complete and have been tested internally. We’re currently awaiting a scheduled audit from Zilliqa Research, and the final bits of front end work from Wondr, but we expect to be going live with that very soon.

Staking PORT will be available in two different flavors, both of which include daily accrual and bonus rewards: (APY% — TBD)

The Buoy — short term storage

• 7 Day Lockup Period
• 10% Instant Withdrawal Fee (shared among stakers)

The Dock — Long term storage

• 90 Day Lockup Period
• 25% Instant Withdrawal Fee (shared among stakers)

A Final Word

By J.G. Whitley, CEO

Moving into the month of November always gives me a sense of urgency. This is the time of year when peak shopping volume begins to spike, wreaking havoc for those in the last-mile delivery industry; a man’s fortitude is put to the test. After so many years of this cycle, my internal calendar just triggers go-mode in November — no excuses, no handouts, and no one’s coming to help…just go.

The cold and chaos that ensues this time of year always seems to build towards a crescendo at the end of the month; when America celebrates Thanksgiving and then Black Friday followed by weeks of shopping mayhem. Unique to me is a birthday on the last day of November. This year I’ll be 40 — a milestone year with plenty of goals attached.

This sense of urgency and drive to reach goals pushing hard into the wind, always feels heightened around birthdays. I suppose it’s due to dwelling on our own mortality as we count off yet another year blessed to be on this side of the soil. But I’ve got goals that won’t reach themselves, so there’s work to be done. The clocks won’t stop to give us rest or let us catch up, and greatness requires action and moving with purpose, seizing every opportunity that presents itself.

With all that’s gone on this past year, and all that lies ahead, I couldn’t be more grateful. Yet my competitive nature will not allow me to rest until PackagePortal is recognized as one of the world’s great startup stories, making global impact for good, while being used far and wide. Not for my namesake or for riches or celebrity status — but to bring honor to my father’s name and He who sent me. I’ll grind to give the kids on the block a different kind of role model. I’ll go hard for my ancestors who couldn’t.

The time has come to push hard into the wind — Full Sail! Let’s Go!!

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