Some ideas on one of possible development vectors:
Developing Digital Gold 2.0 and its infrastructure
Bitcoin has proven over years that it is successfully operating as digital gold, and there is technical explanation for
it based on plausible assumptions[1]. However, Bitcoin has no expressive contracts and so trustless derivatives.
Ergo can be considered as digital gold 2.0, a mineable digital commodity with no trusted issuer, but also
with possibility to have trustless derivatives (along other features, such as possibility to have cryptographic
protocols as applications), which come with nearly zero cost (as trust assumptions are still the same).
Since the mainnet launch, a lot of basic infrastructure (wallets, explorers), DeFi tools, trustless derivatives etc were
developed, including but not limited to:
- SigmaUSD stablecoin, first instantiation of Djed protocol (Djed, Zephyr etc)
- Spectrum DEX - AMM based decentralized exchange
- ErgoMixer - first in the cryptocurrency space non-interactive and non-custodial mixer on application level
- ErgoAuctionHouse - peer-to-peer auctions
- SigmaFi - peer-to-peer loans via bonds
- Duckpools - lending pools
- ErgoRaffle - decentralized crowdfunding
- EXLE - uncollateralized lending
- SigmaO - trustless options
- HodlCoin - trustless ERG derivative which price is always non-declining against ERG
- AuctionCoin - new emission principle via auctions
- Oracle Pools - federated transparent data providing
- Rosen Bridge - two-layered federated bridge to and from other blockchains
and more! (see sigmaverse.io)
and more to come! (Paideia, Dexy and Gluon stablecoins, ChainCash, Analog Ergo, OptionCoin and so on)
All those tools help to create more trustless collateral (via auctioncoin / option coin / fair initial mining offerings)
and expand decentralized monetary base as well as derivative money supply.
All the DeFi on Ergo is built on its own unique ErgoTree / ErgoScript contractual layer (also known as sigma).
And with sidechains with trustless transfers [2, 3] (where transfers security is reduced to sidechain consensus security),
it is possible to go further by having sidechains with different kinds of consensus (merged mined w. ERG, merged mined
with other blockchains, double merged mined etc), different additions to the contractual layer (Bulletproofs based
sigma protocols, certain contracts made first class citizens etc), different experiments with scalability (sharding etc),
ERG and other tokens on Ergo can be utilized there since launch (along with sidechain tokens), sidechains tokens will enrich
Ergo DeFi ecosystem.
And sidechains will get existing applications ready to be launched since the launch in many cases (depending on
modification contractual layer).
Thus Ergo and its Sigma layer can be viewed as a hub for UTXO PoW blockchains with contracts.
And in such environment, ErgoDevs DAO can profit from:
- getting % from sidechains tokens emission (like done in Ergo Treasury contract)
- providing consultancy and helping with rolling out apps on other sigma chains
References:
- Know Your Assumptions. GitHub - kushti/kya: Know Your Assumptions
- Two-Way Pegged Sidechains On Ergo (ErgoHack report) ergohack-sidechain/docs/whitepaper/sidechain.pdf at main · ross-weir/ergohack-sidechain · GitHub
- Ergo Sidechains (ErgoSummit video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6xggrwA8ys