DRAFT - not published. Working index, open to iteration.
Comment on this draft (Google Doc folder)
The ZAO - History (draft v0.1)
A dated index of what The ZAO has actually shipped - events, products, partnerships - each entry linked to where you can read more. Not a story yet. A table of contents for one.
This is the paper version: a plain, linkable timeline. The real ask - a smooth, collaborative UI where anyone in the community can submit their own entry to the timeline - is a separate, bigger build. This page is the scaffold for that: get the dates and links right first, then build the interface on top.
The exact founding date is not yet confirmed in the research library. The earliest dated, sourced entry below is April 2024 (ZAO-PALOOZA). If The ZAO's community and governance predate that - which they likely do - that history is not yet written down anywhere this index can cite. Open gap, not an invented date.
The first ZAO in-real-life meetup, tied to NFT NYC 2024. Twelve artists performed; the event broke even. The proof-of-concept that the community could organize live.[1]
Read: ZAO Festivals ->Ten artists, set during Art Basel Miami Week. Featured a WaveWarZ LIVE rematch battle on stage and a Student $LOANZ Token sponsorship.[1]
Read: ZAO Festivals ->The first edition of The ZAO's recurring concert series, on Spatial.io, with AttaBotty and Clejan.[2]
Read: COC Concertz ->Weekly Respect issuance (ZOR) begins - the start of what the main Whitepaper calls "over a year of unbroken weekly practice," 100+ weeks as of July 2026.[3]
Read: The ZAO Whitepaper ->WaveWarZ's own canonical Hackmd whitepaper, Solana-native at the time. Battle history on the platform traces back to around this period.[4]
Read: WaveWarZ ->Tom Fellenz, Stilo World, and AttaBotty, at the SaltyVerse Auditorium.[2]
Read: COC Concertz ->"Year of the ZABAL - Day 1." Daily, in BetterCallZaal's voice, on Paragraph. 190+ consecutive issues as of July 2026.[5]
Read: ZAO Newsletter ->Three Solidity/Foundry contracts verified on Base Sepolia (chain 84532): WaveWarzBase, WaveWarzMarketplace, WaveWarzMusicNFT. 134/135 tests passing. Still needs a technical co-founder to reach mainnet.[6]
Read: WaveWarZ ->Held at StiloWorld; artist details archived, pending fuller documentation.[2]
Read: COC Concertz ->Joseph Goats, Tom Fellenz, and Stilo World, including a 3-song live set from Joseph Goats in Caracas.[2]
Read: COC Concertz ->zpoidh repository shipped, Round 3 (Best ad for ZABAL Gamez) live and later fully resolved, best practices documented.[7]
Read: PoidH ->Month one of the three-month builder onboarding event: recorded sessions on ZAO governance, Respect, and ecosystem tools.[8]
Read: ZABAL Games ->Best ad for ZABAL Gamez - fully resolved, winner paid on-chain.[7]
Read: PoidH ->Month two: public submission window, goal of 200 distinct builders across three tracks.[8]
Read: ZABAL Games ->A day-party artist showcase at Dcoop's residence; a dry run for content capture and production ahead of ZAOstock.[1]
Read: ZAO Festivals ->In planning as of this writing; artist roster forming. Likely the last edition on the current Spatial.io/StiloWorld setup before the venue-direction decision lands.[2]
Read: COC Concertz ->Not a ZAO milestone, but forces one: COC Concertz's primary virtual venue (StiloWorld) loses its hosting tier. Decision on what replaces it targeted for the week before.[9]
Read: COC Concertz ->72-hour mentor-and-builder sprint, live reveal stream, USDC prize pool, Hats Protocol credential on Base.[8]
Read: ZABAL Games ->The flagship festival. Goal: 250 total attendees. Tied to the Art of Ellsworth and Maine Craft Weekend calendar.[1]
Read: ZAO Festivals ->Zuke's founding/launch date, the exact history of the Fractal's design (versus just when weekly Respect issuance began), and anything before April 2024 are all open gaps - not filled with invented dates. If you have the real dates, add them; that is exactly what the collaborative version of this page is for.