On Tuesday, August 10th, we welcomed the team behind ERGO to our telegram channel for an AMA. A huge thanks to everyone who joined us for the session and all the questions. Congratulations also to the 5 winners for the best questions.
For anyone looking to read up on the AMA, we’ve summarized the most important talking points here.
Q: What are your thoughts on blockchain adoption, and what can Ergo do to continue to make this technology more accessible to the mainstream public?
Alex: Ergo community is making a lot of efforts to clarify things around cryptocurrencies. Please refer to Ergo Manifesto. Still, first principles matter! From a technical perspective, the protocol is already capable of different known efficient on-chain scalability, off-chain, and cross-chain solutions.
Mark: Ergo has been focused on building a concrete base these past years and building solid foundations and financial tooling for the people. We strive to make Ergo more accessible each day and utilize our community in full to do this. This past week a community member has been organizing a ‘Women in Crypto’ group to bring more women into the scene. And the Local Exchange Trading System (collective bartering) will certainly help there IMO!
More concretely, iteratively building up our tooling and systems to be usable and friendly to anyone while giving them financial autonomy.
Armenio: Blockchain is an evolving technology. Personally, I think three areas need development to push the development curve.
The first is practical use cases for the common person. In Defi especially, we need to position ourselves to produce functional tools at a lower cost than the traditional finance community.
The second is user-friendly development tools and educational resources; I do think a part of this will be solved simply due to the technical capacity of younger generations. As building and interacting with blockchain becomes a widely adopted skill set, I think we will see an influx of developers.
The third is user-friendliness. User interfaces are always extremely important.
Q: What in your opinion makes Ergo’s smart contracts different?
Danish: Ergo has many differentiators which make it shine amongst others in the sphere; the cryptographic statements (via their sigma-protocols) are truly a unique Ergo advantage. Let’s compare a project like Waves, which just has Bitcoin-like multi-sig. Ergo is also about UTXO. It is harder to do contracts in the UTXO model, but UTXOs are more friendly to off-chain and privacy protocols (also fewer safety issues). Ergo will develop lots of different new privacy-preserving dapps and also should be a great showcase of its capabilities.
Armenio: Personally, I am a fan of the concept of multistage contracts due to the lower cost/ computational processing involved since much of the logic runs off-chain. This aligns well with the first adoption goal mentioned above. It is cost-competitive.
Alex: Ergo contracts are centered around protecting money with logic, not to be a thing per se. That’s why we’re talking about smart (or contractual money). After all, public blockchain means cryptocurrency, and cryptocurrency means that contracts are on top of money. Ergo continues Bitcoin ideas but with no Bitcoin Script limitations.
Q: The highly anticipated ErgoDEX release is coming very soon. What makes this DEX so special?
Alex: ErgoDex allows for AMM pools and orderbooks co-exist, with a trade between possible in a single transaction. Moreover, there are known widgets on top of the DEX already discovered, such as tokensales with buyback guarantee, a stablecoin (DexyUSD) etc.
Mark: There are several things that make ErgoDEX unique.
For those unaware, ErgoDex is a decentralized exchange that will run natively on top of both the Cardano and Ergo blockchain. This means that it’ll either ADA or ERG as the base token when needed. Compared to other DEXs on Cardano, ErgoDEX has the unique advanced of having developers that have been working on a live eUTXO blockchain for the past 2 years. (eUTXO or — the extended unspent transaction output model is based on the same research from IOHK that Cardano used when developing its chain). This shared model allows ErgoDex to explore shared liquidity, trustless swaps and other cross-chain goodies once deployed and Cardano’s smart contracts are live.
Last but not least, the developers have shown they are taking every opportunity to develop a platform that prevents plutocracy at every opportunity. Instead of selling large parts to private investors — ensuring ErgoDEX remains truly decentralized. Something that is often forgotten these days.
You can see the roadmap here: https://ergodex.io/ and an initial public beta will be launching shortly!
For a more detailed breakdown see:
Armeanio: The ErgoDex has unique tokenomics and liquidity mechanisms. The future plan to port assets between Cardano and Ergo will offer benefits and tooling of both ecosystems.
Cardano’s Voltaire project is something I really respect and watch closely. The powerful privacy tooling of Ergo also offers benefits for users that wish to enhance the privacy of their positions.
Q: If you had to give one piece of advice to individuals about how to make the most of their crypto and to companies about how to bring crypto into their business models, what would your advice be?
Danish: Blockchain technology opens up many possibilities and opportunities for us to create solutions that can be highly disruptive and potentially very lucrative. Those can indeed improve on existing systems, so I always advocate for people to educate themselves, join conversations and never stop learning. Regarding businesses, we have seen very known payment providers like paypal or square starting to accept btc payments so my advice would be to keep an eye on the space and explore if adding crypto can add value to the business model.
Armeanio: I think the best way to look at crypto from a corporate perspective is to see it as a fractionalized open-source software license. Cryptocurrencies are tools for business and commerce. There are many crypto projects that offer a variety of tooling.
Ergo is involved in the BPSAA and the tooling ranges from decentralized VPN’s to decentralized content storage and management. There is a large range of commercial applications available just in that small group.
The distributed nature of the technology is hardened to disruption and the consumer market access is greatly magnified, especially as we move into a multichain world.
Q: You recently hosted a Hackathon. What kinds of projects came out of that venture? What aspect of development is Ergo the most excited about? Are there plans for another Ergo Hackathon?
Mark: Here are the results from our last hackathon — more info in this blog post.
We should have the Raffle launching live shortly after going through some more development and testing — which also produced some great documentation for developers, and everyone is of course anxiously awaiting to see what ErgoTeam has in store for us.
ErgoTeam was developed by the community developer and will allow for a simple joint-spending approach while retaining complex threshold signatures ensuring the security and anonymity of its users.
Last but not least, pushing for decentralization at every point is one of the things that makes the Ergo community so great. The SmartPools team had some great discussions and put out a research paper (https://eprint.iacr.org/2021/846). Leading to another community member offering to help fund this venture.)
We have one or two more Hackthons planned this year — but I’ll let kushti or Armeanio expand here :) Given the influx, we have seen last time (and how many stuck around). These events help us to continue to build up our dev tooling and guidance and bring more people in to build on top Ergo and see what it’s really about. Once people do, they tend to stick about.
Alex: The hackathon was highly successful in regards with attracting devs, we got the first wave of newcomers a few weeks before the event. Six projects submitted results. ErgoRaffle will be launched over the mainnet in coming days, maybe more in future. We are going to have another hackathon definitely, this Autumn!
Armeanio: Hackathons are idea incubators. The truth for solutions and tooling is that often the individuals on the ground have the clearest perspective of the problem/solution and tooling needed to solve said problem/solution.
My perspective is that the greatest asset in a cryptocurrency project is the community itself.
Q: Do you have any real-world use cases that have never been implemented on any project and can change the world?
Mark: As far as I’m aware — Ergo is the only blockchain talking about Trustless LETS.
A local exchange trading system — or ‘LETS’ for short — facilitates exchange between members by providing a local currency and a directory of offers and needs. LETS allows people to create value within their community, and barter collectively — exchanging their skills and services in return for skills and services they would have otherwise paid for.
Read more here :
Q: How is this project different from the rest of the other outstanding projects currently in the market?
Mark: The Ergo Manifesto should provide some insight here :)
Ergo builds advanced cryptographic features and radically new DeFi functionality on the rock-solid foundations laid by a decade of blockchain theory and development. It complements tried and tested principles with the latest peer-reviewed academic research into cryptography, consensus models and digital currencies.
Ergo is a unique Proof-of-Work (PoW) cryptocurrency and DeFi platform, building on the first principles of Bitcoin. With a research-driven but practical development model, Ergo has prioritized useful features without compromising on security. The platform’s smart contracts are built on the extended UTXO (eUTXO) model with a unique data input concept, offering a radically different approach to provide robust, flexible cryptography and easy, safe scripting on privacy-centric Sigma Protocols (non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs). Storage rent (~.13 erg every 4 years) for long-term survivability, ultra-efficient light clients, and NiPoPoW technology. Too much to cover! 😂
Q: Do you have audit certificates?
Mark: Ergo has successfully passed a security audit of certain (most critical) parts of the code. You can find the report here.
Q: Can newbies with little cryptographic knowledge successfully Use, trust & invest on your platform?
Alex: Sure, I believe now many UIs around is simple enough, not to say about crypto knowledge. At the same time, the community is planning to clearly specify assumptions behind Ergo core protocols and dApps, so even with no crypto knowledge, an investor will know what is trust involved.
Q: 1. There are some opinions that PoW now is obsolete so why Ergo chose PoW instead of PoS? How would you resolve the “staking issue” for Ergo?
2. For almost all projects in the industry they need a private sale, seed sale, ICO, IEO, IDO… to fundraise in order to build the project vulnerably, so why didn’t Ergo do that. Where does the capital come from for the Team to develop and Is it affected by the Ergo’s progress?
Armeanio: 1. Proof of Work is still what I could call an emerging technology. Therefore I think having the PoW PoS debate is very premature. I would compare it to having the electric car vs internal combustion engine debate in the 1930s (both were around)
Proof of Work is well studied and the security is well understood. Simplicity and complexity when married create elegant solutions. I think if I could sum it up in the shortest way possible Ergo is designed with this balance KISS keep it simple stupid. Layering complexity in design can create multiple issues and points of failure.
2. Ergo was launched without fundraising due to supporting the concept of decentralization and preventing a tiered class system that so many projects release with. Many believe that buying market access out of the gate is the way to go, but they end up with technical debt. Meaning the technology is well behind their market position and adoption. Ergo is built on a very solid technical foundation, and that makes the driver of growth organic. It is slower, but in my opinion more robust.
Q: Do you have a token burn plan?
Mark: Wouldn’t really work like that on erg. The developers did not keep lots of tokens no there’s nothing to burn :)
Q: How old is your project?
Mark: Mainnet launched July 2019 (The previous spike was Ergo-First Year Token). See more here.
Q: Is it true that you’re supporting staking?
Mark: Yes through tokenization of dApps — ErgoMixer is up first. You can read more (technical details) here. But I believe this is almost done so you’ll find out soon.
Q: How can I trust there won’t be a rug pull?
Mark: Because Ergo doesn’t own the rug. There was no premine, no ICO, no VC funds. A small amount (~5%) is taken from miner rewards for the first 2.5 years to support all development, marketing, etc. It’s already started reducing and should be complete by January. Check here for more information
Q: Any plans to add more content for learning Ergoscript?
Alex: Yes, we are always improving the number and also the quality of tutorials etc , for now please refer to ErgoScript by the example: https://github.com/ergoplatform/ergoscript-by-example , https://github.com/anon-real/ergo-js-template (DApp template), and ready apps, they all are open sourced!
Q: What’s behind the project name?
Mark: Ergo means “therefore” in Latin, but “work” in Greek. Initially, the name was chosen to point to the fact that the design of the cryptocurrency is ERGOnomical.
Q: The common problem that often occurs DeFi projects is that smart contract vulnerability can lead to loss of funds, what steps has your projects taken to fix this major problem and prevent such occurrences in the future?
Armeanio: Regarding security concerns, UTxO operates much differently than the account model. In the account model, the token and the smart contract logic are separate, flaws in the programming between the two are often the vulnerability or point of failure that is exploited in the account-based model.
In extended UTxO the smart contract is embedded within the box (UTxO token) itself, there is no separation and each box is protected by a guard script making it much more difficult to manipulate.
Q: 90% of investors sell tokens after a first listing. Can you give us advice and tell benefits for hold your token in long term?
Alex: Ergo already listed on dozen of exchanges, and price going up mostly. Please note that this is a mineable Proof-of-Work cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, so pricing mechanics and distribution are different from most of modern tokens.
Q: Does your project have a bounty program?
Mark: Yes we’re still setting it up formally but checkout:
Q: How strong is ERGO’s security?
Mark: In regards to security, we always tried to use the most straightforward and well-studied approach; otherwise, to cover a new direction with a published paper and a lot of testing.” — kushti
Each script is applied to an unspent output. We have drawn this feature from the Bitcoin protocol, which uses UTXOs or the ‘coin’ model rather than an ‘account’ model like Ethereum’s. We consider this a more secure approach since boxes are immutable, as well as being more flexible.
Ergo’s blockchain uses the Autolykos algorithm for consensus, which is a variant of Equihash and offers better ASIC resistance. This enables better decentralization. At the same time, we recognize that ordinary users who do not run a full node should enjoy the same security benefits as miners. Ergo’s non-interactive proof-of-proof-of-work (NiPoPoW) allows anyone to make and verify transactions with complete confidence, without needing the storage, bandwidth, and time required to download the full blockchain. As little as 1 MB of data is needed — meaning any device can be used.
Q: Will Ergo be supported on Ledger or other hardware wallets?
Armeanio: In development, see below.
Q: Do you have tutorial videos to get to know your project?
Mark: You can find most links here: https://ergonaut.space/en/home. We have ErgoCast : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOdTaHFJxZjiBpu0xJstbUA and there are lots of videos listed here — https://ergo101.org/videos
Q: When we are in a Bear market, what are your plans for surviving?
Mark: Ergo was born in the crypto winter and will do just fine :) It’s built to be adaptable and sustainable.
Armeanio: Ergo is building for the long term, it was born in crypto winter and the devs kept their head down focusing on research and development. The commitment to this is outlined in the Ergo Manifesto.
Q: Do you have communities for non-English speakers?
Mark: We have amazing communities around the world ! See a full list here.We encourage people to embrace decentralization and spread ergo in their home countries.
Q: Can you explain the background of your team? How will you and your team carry out the project during the pandemic?
Mark: See the Hall of Fame:
Ergo was set up for decentralization before the pandemic hit!
Q: Could you share with us your approach to the community and your strategy to expand your community? Do you have practices that increase and encourage motivation for the community?
Armeanio: Personally, I think the best way to grow crypto as a whole is simple, education which leads to growth and adoption. Ergo is a research-driven project.
This is not simply on the user side. Although understanding the tools provided, their benefits, and their risks is always extremely important.
It is also important for developers to learn from the community what tools are needed.
It is important for developers to learn from other developers as the capacity and technology of a system evolve.
That is a feedback cycle that drives growth and adoption.
Q: Binance smart Chain blockchain is having high transaction speed and cheap gas fees, Are you planning to launch your main net or switch to other blockchains in the future?
Mark: Ergo Platform is one of the most sophisticated protocols in the space with stateless clients (for true full-nodes), NiPoPoWs (for light clients), and the ability for miners to vote on parameter changes like increasing the block size easily. Here’s an outline of the scaling plan.
L0: A lot of efficiency improvements in the node have been completed starting from v4.0.8. We are going to count every memory allocation and every operation. 20–50x improvements are likely still possible by just optimizing the node code. Implementations for bootstrapping with NiPoPoW proofs and UTXO set snapshots are planned.
L1: Ergo’s blocks have an *extension section* which allows the implementation of a wide variety of other scaling solutions such as *BitcoinNG-style macroblocks* and *Sharding* — and even lets us do generic sidechains with velvet or soft forks.
L2 (off-chain) — Ergo could support the Lightning Network, Rainbow network, Zero-Knowledge Contingent Payments, and FairSwap/FastSwap protocols — and many others. Our implementation here will depend on the applications.
Q: Too many projects promise magic but never release any working product or prove any revenue, Within a short/long time of release. Is it like this? If not can u tell us, What makes it different from other projects?
Alex: Ergo mainnet was launched back in 2019, and it is fully functional unlike PolkaDot etc.
Q: Can you list 1–2 killer features of Ergo?
Mark: NiPoPoWs : Trustless Light Clients with Minimal Resource Requirements: Ergo block header supports NiPoPoWs that enable synchronizing network by downloading < 1Mb of data.
Rigorous research and scientific approach: Ergo is based on original research, published at known peer-reviewed conferences. A list of scientific papers is available at https://apograf.io/c/7MEY3, but Ergo is not limited by research alone and continues to implement other novel scientific ideas.
Thanks again to everyone who joined us. It was a great pleasure hosting such a motivated and bright team in our channel. To learn more about Ergo follow the links in this blog and check out their website: https://ergoplatform.org/en/
