ReGenesis 2025: Connecting Community Feedback with Strategic Direction

[daryledwards]

Intro

Many of you know me and many others don’t - my name is Daryl and I’m looking forward to posting here quite a bit more! I’m a repeat entrepreneur, I have a long history of supporting and advising various projects (including their governance), and I’m a cofounder of ReFi DAO. You can find me on X/twitter, please say hi!

TL;DR

• ReGenesis 2025 has been announced, outlining Metis’ strategic evolution
• This post cross-references previous community feedback with the new strategy
• Seeking specific feedback on: AI vertical focus and technical upgrades

Community Engagement Objective

I’d love for you all to share your thoughts on how the ReGenesis strategy aligns with community needs and where you see opportunities for refinement. I’ll compile your input into a report for strategic planning discussions.

Context & Feedback Integration

Recent community discussions State of Affairs and Make it or Break it have highlighted several key areas of concern. Let’s examine how these align with ReGenesis 2025 and where Metis can further develop our approach:

Previous Community Feedback	How ReGenesis Addresses This	What We Need Your Input On
Need for clearer communication and strategic direction; community expressed concerns about understanding Metis’ path forward	ReGenesis introduces targeted focus on specific verticals, starting with AI, providing a clear strategic anchor point and renewed vigor in marketing and communications	What specific areas of the strategy would benefit from more detailed explanation? What channels of communication would be most accessible for you?
Concerns about shifting narratives and lack of execution clarity; difficulty in tracking progress	Implementation of structured announcement schedule through ETHDenver, with clear milestones and deliverables	With the planned regular updates for Q1, how could we make it as engaging and interesting as possible?
Request for more consistent engagement from leadership and clearer dialogue channels	Development of clear technical roadmap with defined milestones, creating more touchpoints for community interaction	What engagement format resonates with you the most?

Technical Infrastructure

Previous Community Feedback	How ReGenesis Addresses This	What We Need Your Input On
Call for improved developer tools and documentation; difficulties in onboarding new builders	Andromeda upgrades focusing on network performance and developer experience improvements	Which developer tools would most accelerate your building process? What documentation gaps need filling?
Need for better infrastructure to support builders and scale projects effectively	Performance-driven roadmap for high-throughput projects, with specific focus on scalability	What performance thresholds does your project require? Which infrastructure improvements would most impact your development?
Concerns about technical debt and system reliability; need for robust, dependable infrastructure	Enhanced data availability and reduced gas fees through technical optimizations	What reliability metrics matter most to your use case? How can we better support your operational needs?

Ecosystem Development

Previous Community Feedback	How ReGenesis Addresses This	What We Need Your Input On
Request for better support of grassroots projects and clearer pathways to success	Focused vertical approach starting with AI, providing clear direction and support frameworks	As a grassroots builder, what are your key barriers? What specific resources would help you succeed?
Concerns about grant allocation effectiveness and project sustainability	Enhanced project incubation program with more structured support and clearer milestones. Grants will be more selective going forward, increasing spending efficacy.	What successful grants programs and projects from other ecosystems might be a fit for Metis? What additional measures might further focus funding on sustainable projects?
Need for clearer value proposition vs other L2s and distinct market positioning	Emphasis on sustainable ecosystem growth with specific vertical focus (AI), new & competitive tech, and ongoing marketing updates	What unique advantages should we develop in the AI vertical? How can we better differentiate Metis?

Moving Forward Together

Immediate Next Steps

1. Share your thoughts on the AI vertical focus and technical upgrades
2. Watch for the upcoming CVP process update proposal
3. Engage in the ReGenesis announcement series (starting this week), and let’s build hype for ethDenver together!

How Your Feedback Will Be Used

• All comments will be compiled into a comprehensive report
• An AI-powered summary will highlight key themes and suggestions
• Insights will be incorporated into strategic planning discussions

Specific Questions for Discussion

1. AI Vertical Focus

• What unique opportunities do you see for AI applications on Metis?
• What technical infrastructure would you need to build AI-powered dApps?
• What outcomes would you be excited to see from Metis’ focus on AI?

2. Technical Upgrades

• Which Andromeda upgrades would most impact your projects?
• What performance metrics are most critical for your applications?
• What developer tools would accelerate your building process?

3. Integration & Execution

• What communication and engagement is most effective for you personally?
• What communication cadence do you prefer personally?
• What is the most engaging method of communication for news, launches, and updates?

Share Your Thoughts

Please join the discussion by responding to any questions above or sharing your general feedback on ReGenesis 2025. Remember, this is an ongoing dialogue - your input helps shape our collective future.

Note: Keep an eye out for a CVP process update proposal later this week. Your feedback has been instrumental in shaping these improvements.

[cypherpunk669]

Appreciate the thread, Daryl. Love to see these CEG forums becoming more active, Shoutout to Ace for kickstarting this activity and to all the Metisians who have shared their thoughts. This is how we build a strong, genuine, authentic community that can take our ecosystem to great heights if we truly absorb the creativity being shared here.

I think now is a critical time in Metis’ trajectory - we are at a crossroads. Will we utilize community input in our path forward or remain perceivably aloof and disconnected? I think our stregnth lies in our diehard, committed Metis heads who are our users, builders, and contributors to the Metis eco. Having a smaller, more intimate community gives us the chance to do things differently and truly build an ecosystem from the ground up. This is our chance to set ourselves apart from every other network - in terms of both technology and approach.

I think the AI and tech roadmap are great and will finally have us back competing with the top L2s again. I think the AI infra can put us in a position that enhances and positively transforms how we approach decentralization. AI can serve as the bridge between our technical capabilities and our community-driven aspirations in several ways:

1. First, AI can help democratize complex decision-making processes by providing data-driven insights that all community members can understand and act upon, not just technical experts. This levels the playing field and enables true community governance. Imagine AI systems that can analyze proposed protocol changes and present their implications in clear, accessible terms to all stakeholders.

2. Second, AI can automate and optimize network operations while maintaining decentralization. Rather than relying on centralized management, AI can help distribute resources, manage network load, and adjust parameters based on real-time usage patterns - all while adhering to community-set guidelines. (Putting the A in DAO)

3. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, AI can help scale our community engagement without losing the intimate, personal touch that makes Metis special. AI tools can help moderate discussions, surface important community proposals, and even help translate technical concepts into terms that newer members can grasp easily.

By integrating AI thoughtfully into both our technical infrastructure and community management, we can create a truly decentralized network that remains efficient and user-friendly. This is how Metis can lead the way in showing how blockchain networks can be both technically sophisticated and genuinely community-driven.

Can’t wait to see the responses to Daryl’s post! We’re all here because we all want to see Metis thrive, so let’s keep these convos going and work together to make it happen!

[Cobi.Bean]

Metis SDK: A Gateway for More Builders

As a newer developer, one thing I believe could be impactful is a Metis SDK. With proper marketing and partnerships (e.g., Thirdweb, Alchemy, etc…), this could make developing on Metis 10x easier and attract more builders to the ecosystem.

Some ideas for the SDK include:

• Plug-and-play modules: Tools for gasless transactions, AI integration, voting, token gating, and DeFi primitives like lending/borrowing.
• Cross-chain bridge plugins: Seamless interoperability with chains like Solana, Base, and Ethereum to encourage greater activity.
• Indexing tools: Native solutions or integration with alternatives to The Graph for efficient data querying.

This SDK would lower barriers for developers and position Metis as a chain optimized for innovation and ease of use. The sooner it’s available, the faster we can empower builders to create impactful projects.

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Fiat Onboarding: Reducing Friction for Users

Another area that could greatly boost adoption is seamless fiat onboarding. Moonshot, while focused on memecoins, sets a great example of how intuitive onboarding can be. Features like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and credit/debit card integration could significantly lower friction for users entering the Metis ecosystem.

Even if Metis doesn’t build this directly, incubating or partnering with a company to create these fiat on-ramps could make it much easier for users to fund wallets and interact with Metis-based dApps.

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Ensuring Grants Go to Sustainable Projects

It’s also essential to ensure grants are allocated responsibly, particularly for larger amounts. Leveraging decentralized identity (DID) and proof of personhood could help:

• For Grants:

  • Verify recipients’ authenticity to prevent duplicate entities or bad actors from farming the Metis Foundation.
  • Track accountability with transparent, tamper-proof records of grant allocation and usage.

• For Governance:

  • Ensure the authenticity of governance participants with proof of personhood to avoid sybil attacks or manipulation by bots.
  • Build trust by guaranteeing that decision-making is fair and representative.

By integrating these tools, Metis could create a more secure, trustworthy approach to funding and governance, safeguarding its resources while fostering sustainable growth.

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Final Thoughts

To me, the SDK feels like the main priority because it directly empowers developers like me to build faster and with fewer barriers. Paired with seamless fiat onboarding and tools for sustainable grants and governance, Metis could establish itself as a leader in developer-friendly innovation and ecosystem integrity.

I’m excited to see how we can smash 2025 together.

-cobi

[Prince_omobee]

Hi Daryl, nice to connect with you, and good community-focused post

I see thoughts from Anthony and Cobi and I agree with the areas they touched and the pov, so no need for repetition.

For the new network direction, sadly however, I still feel this is Metis chasing another trend. Important questions need to be asked and answered convincingly internally.

Is AI really what Metis wants to focus on now and not just chasing a trend?

Would the team still be vested towards AI should the whole AI hype rn goes low?

Been in Metis for a while now and have seen Metis change different directions, and even sadly, has always come out late to the trend party or get stuck on the narrative.

I’m not a tech guy or builder - I’m a social contributor, and as such can speak better on the social side of things.

• Love the idea of a structured identity. Metis needs it, needs to stick to it while also competing in terms of tech and ease of building - having that robust economy and an identity. Arbitrum is known for DeFi and gaming, don’t mean other areas don’t flourish. Base is known for onboarding both trad and on-chain builders, artists etc, don’t mean other sectors don’t flourish. Metis needs that robustness.

• Metis needs that tech upgrade more badly than it knows. Being unique and different is good, but it’s no point if it’s not easy to onboard. Blockchain has become way easy for people to deploy, get access to materials, and build cool sh*t without hassle, and this hasn’t been the case for most builders on Metis. Happen to have overheard in a few Dev discussions and support groups and the experience isn’t pleasing.

• Lastly, at least if Metis is going to chase a trend, which I understand (reason it needs to have the robust infra), at least make haste to catch up on time. Metis was late to DeFi szn, late to meme szn, late to AI szn, and even now with AI agents.

Here’s the attached response I gave on a recent post from Quantic - perhaps it contains more aspects I didn’t touch here:

"It’s scarce these days seeing a good honest post on CEG about the network and I love that there’s been genuine ‘uproars’ from the community - shows dissatisfaction, but still wanting to build and see the network work.

I agree with you especially in the area of identity, which I believe is what affects the marketing alignment. You can sell yourself when you don’t know what you are.

Been in core social contributor in the ecosystem since 2021, and have seen Metis transition into different narratives/take up diff identities - onboarding web2 businesses (DACs), DeFi chain, ‘best tech’ (hybrid rollup) etc and now is even hard to talk socially about without looking aimless. Then the trial and errors of chasing trends, only to still be late to them, and also the stress of building on the network as I’ve always heard Devs complain on how ‘complicated/incomplete’ the tech infra is to deploy and launch even basic tokens (this particular reason is why I love the new roadmap to upgrade the network and become full EVM compatible, only that then we’d have better edge than other L2s with the deSeq and other specs)

I really do hope things turn around for the better and we head back to the top .

Signed. Prince Omobee"

[mariodpc]

Hey Daryl!

I do appreciate the community engagement post. I’ve been holding METIS since summer 2022 and in the depths of the Bear Market I was looking for the right project to attach myself too.

I’m a METIS maxi because truly I don’t see any other L2 with a great combination of fundamentals and ROI in the L2 space. Truly a gem.

My perspective plainly comes from a user and someone who engages in social media with crypto in general. I’ve seen my fair share of projects that show red flags when communication is lacking and when updates are delayed or non existent. Getting even a whiff of that from METIS was disappointing to me.

It’s very fixable though. So I will answer the questions that I feel that I can provide some insight to from the perspective of a METIS user and social media user.

What specific areas of the strategy would benefit from more detailed explanation? What channels of communication would be most accessible for you?

Part 1: I think educating your community on what Data Availability and Fraud Proofs are would be an excellent start. Technical jargon can get us lost. Literally dumbing it down in language for the user so it’s understandable can go a long way.

Part 2: X and Telegram are musts, but Ripple made deep headway into Instagram Reels and Tik tok. Short succinct videos or reels with price predictions really helped people be exposed to XRP. Some will just obviously put money in, but others may be intrigued enough to use the network.

With the planned regular updates for Q1, how could we make it as engaging and interesting as possible?

Idk if you have seen the X account

https://x.com/year_progress?s=21

But a progress bar that can show progress towards DA, Fraud Proofs, or even Stage 1 L2 Status would be a fun visual and daily reminder that not only are you working on the stated roadmap but it shows the community that you are executing.

Something like this:

What engagement format resonates with you the most?

I love hearing updates in X spaces. But, if you can get specifically the head of marketing to engage with the community… it would go a long way in bringing morale up for the believers.

For example, They can buy a monkex or lofi llama nft (both native to METIS) and have a post on X proving their engagement, it would show that leadership themselves are interested in their own ecosystem. Showing excitement for both, bigger well known projects and smaller native projects on METIS would create a sense of ownership. Treating both with care and respect would show the community that METIS is for everyone.

No better example of this being Vitalik, embracing the Milady community is an excellent way of promoting Ethereum Culture.

Shout out to Elena, Quantic, and Anthony. They are there in the METIS trenches with us, with the community. They have the pulse of what the community wants and leadership listening to them and their experiences with the community would do METIS justice.

What unique advantages should we develop in the AI vertical? How can we better differentiate Metis?

Part 1: I don’t have a fully developed opinion on this but I’m glad METIS is deciding to go all in on AI. It’s the future. The MAC initiative is very promising. Gathering native projects and having them collaborate is such a great idea. LazAI providing infrastructure would make them our very own Virtuals from Base on METIS. I’m bullish.

Part 2: I believe if we can get Stage 1 L2 classification, it would be a giant green flag waved towards investors and builders to come and use the tech. An emphatic push by METIS to say yes we are the first Stage 1 L2 with a Decentralized Sequencer would grab the attention of many, including Vitalik. It would legitimize us a strong player. A rightful top 5 L2. It’s what METIS deserves.

Seeing this on L2 Beat:

It’s a stain on what METIS truly is. That graphic doesn’t represent my view of METIS as a user of the tech. Trust me, I am not a fan of L2 Beat… No mentions from them ever. But Having them as “Gatekeepers” to evaluating the L2 space can be a hindrance in attracting users, investors, and Builders. Let’s get that graphic green and find our rightful place in the L2 space.

https://l2beat.com/scaling/projects/metis

Thank you for listening to me. I’ll see you all in the METIS trenches.

[daryledwards]

Thanks @cypherpunk669 @Cobi.Bean @Prince_omobee and @mariodpc for your thoughtful responses! I’m providing the below AI summary to the entire Metis Foundation team, including leadership, for them to take into account, with a link back to this thread. Of course please note that many projects and initiatives are already underway and so it may be difficult to see immediately which parts have an impact and how - but I know that some are already moving!

Mostly importantly, I believe strongly that a well-connected communication pipeline is a powerful driver of progress. Thanks for being part of that!

AI Thread Summary

The community has provided valuable feedback on the “ReGenesis 2025: Connecting Community Feedback with Strategic Direction” initiative. Key points include:

1. Community Engagement and Communication

• Desire for Genuine Engagement
  • Emphasis on utilizing community input to strengthen the ecosystem.
  • Encouragement to build a strong, authentic community through active participation.
  • Recognition of the critical juncture Metis faces in integrating community feedback.
• Improved Communication Strategies
  • Advocacy for clear, transparent, and consistent communication from the leadership.
  • Need for a well-defined identity and narrative to align marketing efforts.
  • Suggestion to avoid chasing trends and instead focus on a structured, coherent strategy.

2. Technical Infrastructure and Developer Support

• Proposal for a Metis SDK
  • Introduction of plug-and-play modules for various functionalities.
  • Development of cross-chain bridge plugins to enhance interoperability.
  • Creation of indexing tools to facilitate efficient data querying.
• Enhancement of Developer Experience
  • Call for seamless fiat onboarding to reduce user friction.
  • Implementation of tools to ensure responsible grant allocation and governance.
  • Emphasis on upgrading technical infrastructure to be more developer-friendly and EVM-compatible.

3. Strategic Direction and Identity

• Focus on AI Integration
  • Support for AI as a means to democratize decision-making and optimize network operations.
  • Caution against pursuing AI solely as a trend; importance of genuine commitment.
  • Need for clarity on whether AI aligns with Metis’s long-term goals.
• Establishing a Clear Identity
  • Necessity for Metis to define and maintain a consistent identity.
  • Importance of not shifting narratives frequently to avoid confusion.
  • Recommendation to develop a robust infrastructure that supports diverse sectors while maintaining a clear focus.

By addressing these areas, Metis can strengthen its ecosystem, support its developers, and establish a clear, strategic direction that resonates with its community.