1. A Dedicated Windows Dev has been hired and a Windows Install Wizard is in development
Dominic2200 is now available and responsible for all windows related user-issues posted into the DEXBot telegram channel. Windows users can usually expect a <24hr response time from Dominic to their queries. (Linux and Mac users can also expect quick assistance).Dominic is also working on a Windows Install Wizard to smooth out some issues windows users have had with installing the dependencies and ancillary software required by DEXBot.
2. Joel at Codaone is working on a stable 1.0 release
With the DEXBot code currently undergoing a refactor we have decided that a stable 1.0 release of the current pre-refactor code should be maintained. It has over 1 year of real world usage, and is fit for purpose for Relative Orders and Staggered Orders strategies.
3. A Refactor of the entire code is underway to compartmentalise functions of the bot to enable more open and free use of the software for future development
Price and order information is being separated so that price feeds can be used in indicators and tickers as well as for ordermatching.
The DEXBot team is undertaking updates to pybitshares to enable use of websocket async capabilities.
Code optimisation is underway to increase the speed at which DEXBot can make calculations, place trades, provide indicators and enable more GUI features.
Once this refactor is complete DEXBot will be fit for purpose for use as an arbitrage bot.
A CEX to DEX arbitrage feature will be developed as the primary focus as soon as the refactor is complete.
4. Quality Assurance Dev BitProfessor and team are 75% through unit testing the entire code
The unit test of the current DEXBot code is very important to avoid bugs and ensure smooth running but also to ensure that the code performs as expected both pre and post-refactor of the code.
The Staggered Orders strategy section of the code in particular is very large. Unit testing of this complex software is needed to make sure it behaves as expected even in edge cases.
5. GUI Dev Jacko is working on a Mountain Mode GUI Visualiser to demonstrate the state of the Mountain Mode orderbook and the strategies progress
This visualiser is in the planning stages and a mockup of this new GUI feature is shown below.
The ability to visually demonstrate the past and present behaviour of the bot in a single graphical image is very important for user engagement. To see the results of the bot in a digestible way helps to ensure long-term participation in market making on the BitShares DEX.
6. CEX to DEX Arbitrage Feature
We decided that the primary goal of WP2 was to end in the ability for users to take advantage of the price discrepancies between the DEX and other exchanges. An arbitrage trade is the result of knowing that an asset can be sold in 1 place at $X and then immediatly purchased in another place for $(X-%).
Example:
Exchange 1 trades BTC/LTC
The DEX trades BTC/LTC.
IF - On exchange 1, 1btc is available to buy at 10LTC, and simultaneously on the DEX 1btc is able to be sold for 11LTC - a trader who holds both LTC and BTC on BOTH exchange 1 and the DEX is able to place 2 trades simultaneously to sell his 1btc on exchange 1, and buy back 1BTC on the DEX. In such a scenario the trader would have made a +1LTC profit.
Given that arbitrage trading is entirely time sensitive and that DEXBot aims to bring market making tools to the average user then it is critical that DEXBot can place arbitrage trades at a competitive speed. With arbitrage the early birds catch all the worms and the slow birds starve.
With our primary aim to release a CEX-DEX arbitrage feature, first must come the speed improvements to DEXBot resulting from a refactor.
