Ecosystem Update - December 2024
Alex Stoicescu
Jan 16, 2025
4 min.
Greetings, Request Network community!
Welcome to the Request Network ecosystem update for December 2024.
The Ecosystem Update focuses on protocol usage and our vision to build an ecosystem of decentralized apps for payment requests. Here, you will find our ecosystem updates, major news and announcements, and anything else that interests the community.
The current ecosystem built around the Request Network protocol includes the following builders: Huma Finance (lending and borrowing), Joba Network and TalentLayer (future-of-work platforms), BSOS (supply chain financing), Copra Finance (lending and borrowing), FLock (machine-learning credit scoring), intrXn (payments and invoicing) and Request Finance (invoicing and payroll). If you’re interested in what we are building together with the previously mentioned companies and want to share your vision with us, don’t hesitate to apply to our grants program.
Tech update
Request Scan: Single Request Forwarder
In December, we added the ability to view Single Request Forwarder deployments in Request Scan.
The Single Request Forwarder is a smart contract solution that enables integration with Request Network's payment system without modifying existing smart contracts.
Request Invoicing: UI Updates
In December we made several UI updates to the the Request Invoicing Template.
Added searchable selectors on the Create Invoice Form for Invoice Currency, Payment Chain, and Payment Currency. These selectors show a filtered list of options based on previous selections.
We added filtering by Status, Type (In/Out), and Chain on the Invoice Dashboard.
We added a payment progress stepper on the Invoice View to help show the steps to making a payment.
Highlights from December
2024 - Year in Review
We wrapped up 2024 with our comprehensive Year in Review blog post. The article details our significant protocol growth, with individual transactions increasing by 66.3% to 282,151 and batch transactions growing by 96.6% to 205,477.
Beyond the metrics, we explore the key developments that shaped our past year, from launching essential tools like Request Scan and Request Invoicing to expanding our team and global presence across 11 countries. The review also highlights our progress in strengthening the protocol's infrastructure, including deployments on Base, zkSync Era, CORE, and Sepolia.
Read the complete story of how Request Network built through the bear market and reached over $900M in total processed volume in 2024: https://request.network/blog/a-year-in-review-2024
End-of-year hackathon
The Request Network End-of-Year Hackathon demonstrated significant growth from our summer event. While the Summer hackathon attracted 140 hackers who created 33 projects, our End-of-Year hackathon expanded to 229 participants and 79 submissions. This remarkable increase in engagement underscores the growing interest in Request Network's infrastructure and the expanding developer ecosystem. The event showcased more projects and explored increasingly sophisticated use cases across blockchain financial applications.
Event Highlights
Total Participants: 229 hackers
Submissions: 79 projects
Prize Pool: $15,000
Winners
Best App Creating Requests
Payce ($7,000)
Decentralized payment infrastructure
Features: Batch payments, invoice creation, talent escrow system
Built to streamline crypto transactions for businesses and merchants
Second Best App Creating Requests
DevBout ($5,000)
Decentralized hackathon management platform
Leverages Request Network for end-to-end event coordination and prize distribution
Best App Consuming Request Network Data
Request Analytics ($3,000)
AI-powered payment analytics platform
Transforms blockchain transaction data into actionable business insights
Ecosystem Impact
The hackathon demonstrated Request Network's versatility across financial use cases, from invoicing and payments to complex financial management tools. The Request Network Foundation is exploring grant opportunities for top performers, with $30,000 set aside for promising projects.
Check out all the projects submitted right here.
AI Magic: Request Network Holiday Challenge
In December, we invited the community to showcase their creativity by combining Christmas magic and Request Network innovation in an AI-generated art contest.
What happened:
Almost two dozen participants submitted AI-generated holiday art featuring Request Network themes.
Five winners earned 350 REQ each for their stunning submissions.
A Community Favorite vote added a fun, interactive twist, and an extra 250 REQ.
Here are the winning pieces:
Thank you to everyone who participated and made this contest a huge success. Stay tuned for more community-driven initiatives in 2025!
Protocol usage in December
The above visual illustrates Request Network transactions (e.g., invoice creation, approval, and/or rejection).
December 2024's performance represents a significant recovery from November's slowdown. This rebound puts December as the second-highest month for transactions in 2024, only behind October's record-breaking performance (which saw nearly 40,000 individual transactions).
The strong December numbers reflect both the protocol's continued adoption and the success of recent technical improvements like the Single Request Forwarder and enhanced UI updates, helping close out 2024 with notably higher transaction volumes compared to the start of the year when monthly batched transactions were around 12-13k.
Note: a batched transaction can contain multiple individual transactions (such as in the case of a company’s payroll process). The token burn occurs once per batch transaction.
ABOUT REQUEST NETWORK
The Request Network Foundation’s mission is to re-invent accounting and finance by creating a decentralized network of interoperable apps that promotes transparency and real-time reporting.
We inspire and educate developers, partners, and authorities to use Request Network and build an open-source, seamless, and interoperable financial ecosystem.
We’re building a network that connects businesses worldwide, giving them ways to do business at the speed of the internet.
Be a part of tomorrow’s financial revolution.
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