Yala Updates: November

November has been transformative for Yala: we successfully completed our Testnet V1, and saw significant community growth through our testing phase. These foundational steps pave the way for our next milestones: the launch of Testnet V2 and our mainnet in Q1 2025.

In this update, we'll cover several key topics, including:

• Yala Protocol Developments & Testnet V1 achievements
• Community Building and Growth
• Bangkok Devcon Highlights

The Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem has been evolving, and so has Yala. Throughout our development, we've remained focused on diligent research. Our Testnet has brought us a significant number of authentic users, who have provided valuable feedback and ideas. This continuous cycle of research, user interaction, and fresh insights has led to innovations, some of which are now part of our roadmap. 

We’re getting closer to our mission—to bridge BTC liquidity across blockchains—taking meaningful steps in a collaborative and forward-thinking way.

Yala Protocol Developments & Testnet V1

On December 5th, we officially launched Testnet V2 and concluded Testnet V1, which had been live for the past month. Throughout this time, we gradually rolled out key features and core assets in different phases of the Testnet, helping users explore, engage with, and familiarize themselves with our platform.

We understand that the Testnet is crucial—it’s the final test of our product before the mainnet launch and a vital opportunity to build our user base for future mass adoption. Thanks to the invaluable feedback we've gathered, our product and engineering teams have made several key optimizations. These refinements are designed to enhance the user experience, ensuring smoother and more secure interactions as we move forward.

We’re also excited to share the impressive results from Testnet V1:

• 206.10K BTC staked on the testnet
• $11.48B in $YU minted
• Over 396K users engaged

Let’s take a look at some of the key progress made by our product and engineering teams:

1. Liquidity Incentive Plan: We deeply understand that liquidity is the lifeblood of any DeFi protocol. We introduced the liquidity incentive plan to our platform. Users who provide liquidity for both $YU and YBTC on Uniswap will be rewarded with LP tokens. In Testnet V2, users can stake their LP tokens obtained from Uniswap to earn Yala testnet points, further enhancing their utility.
2. $YU and YBTC Minting: In Testnet V1, we launched the $YU stablecoin minting service, and with the upcoming Testnet V2, we will introduce the wrapped BTC minting feature—YBTC. Both of these assets will play a crucial role in the future yield-bearing process. As part of the new Stake & Unstake functions, users can now deposit BTC to obtain YBTC and withdraw YBTC to receive BTC at a 1:1 ratio. To enhance security during this process, we’ve increased the block processing time in Testnet V2. Unlike Testnet V1, which processed 1 block every 10 minutes, Testnet V2 now processes 6 blocks (~1 hour), striking a balance between enhanced security and operational efficiency.
3. Swap: We’ve also enabled a swap feature between $YU and YBTC, allowing users to easily exchange these two assets. This is an important step toward enabling Yala assets to swap with other assets, bringing BTC liquidity to the broader ecosystem.
4. Optimization User experience: To improve user experience, we’ve launched a dedicated "In and Out History" page, providing full transparency by displaying your entire staking and unstaking history. Additionally, we’ve updated the "Get Started" page to help users quickly get up and running with our platform.

Community Growth

By early December, Yala's community reached an impressive milestone of nearly 160K members, demonstrating the strong momentum and growing interest in our ecosystem.

Twitter (X) has been a key platform for Yala’s visibility and community engagement. Since the launch of our Testnet, we’ve seen a 58% increase in followers, with a remarkable 15% growth in a single week during Testnet V1. This surge in engagement reflects the growing interest in our project and the active involvement of our community. Throughout November and December, our follower growth has remained consistent, averaging 5-7% weekly, further validating the effectiveness of our community-building strategy and our ability to foster lasting relationships with our supporters.

Discord has flourished with a 77.3% increase in both total and active members, establishing itself as a vital hub for meaningful community discussions. Our moderators' quick and effective support has significantly enhanced user satisfaction, creating a vibrant space where our community continues to grow and collaborate.

Bangkok DevCon Recap

We firmly believe that in-person presence offers a unique and valuable opportunity to enhance communication and build trust. Even during the busy month of November, part of our team traveled to Bangkok for Devcon.

During the event, our team participated in several key panels, including:

• Community Frens - Bangkok Edition
• ReDeFining Bitcoin: The future of BTCfi
• Mass Adoption Forum
• BTCON Thailand
• DevCon Mass Adoption Rooftop Mixer
• and more.

For a full recap of Yala’s experience at Devcon, check out our post here:

We wrapped up our November report with a powerful quote shared by our co-founder, KT, during his keynote in Bangkok, addressing the fragmented liquidity issues in the BTC ecosystem:

"Just as the Euro united countries in the European Union, $YU is building a standard to create seamless liquidity flow across the Bitcoin ecosystem and beyond, including EVM-compatible and other chains."

What's Next: December

December brings the Christmas spirit and the much-anticipated launch of Yala’s Testnet V2. This update introduces YBTC, our tokenized Bitcoin, which serves as the foundation for $YU and unlocks yield opportunities for $YU holders, further expanding Yala's earning potential beyond stablecoin arbitrage and interest-earning savings.

Additionally, users will experience our liquidity incentive plan built on Uniswap, where we’ll introduce LP tokens to reward those who provide liquidity for $YU and YBTC. This is a key step in enhancing our ecosystem and driving long-term growth.

To celebrate the season of giving, we’re boosting rewards for product engagement and referrals as part of our Xmas Advent Calendar campaign - a special thank-you to our growing community.

Stay tuned for exciting updates as we continue building together, and get ready for the upcoming mainnet in Q1!