An Agoric Deep Dive: Cosmos' new JavaScript Smart Contract Platform

Introduction

Agoric (website) is a cosmos based blockchain platform tailored for creating secure smart contracts. Built atop the Cosmos SDK and leveraging the Tendermint Proof-of-Stake mechanism, Agoric enables developers to design decentralized applications using familiar JavaScript smart contracts. Moreover, it offers DeFi building blocks, enhancing its potential in the decentralized finance space. MetaMask recently launched "Snaps," crafted using Agoric's Hardened JavaScript.

MetaMask has always been a go-to for users interacting with Ethereum apps. The advent of Snaps has broadened this scope, allowing developers to tailor the platform further. To tackle this, Snaps were securely separated from the primary MetaMask application using Hardened JavaScript, a tool from the Agoric suite. This separation ensured Snaps had limited permissions, prioritizing user safety.

This collaboration between MetaMask and Agoric, especially with the Cosmos integration, is set to bring new users to the Cosmos world. Diving into Agoric reveals its essence as a platform tailored for crafting secure smart contracts, envisioning a future of seamless global economic collaboration.

DeFi with Hardened JavaScript and Interchain Integration

Agoric is a smart contract platform aiming to bring a multitude of developers into DeFi. Its use of Hardened JavaScript is a game-changer, offering both accessibility for the extensive JavaScript developer community and enhanced security. This ensures that developers can seamlessly create, launch, and manage advanced decentralized applications.

By merging its unique programming approach with Cosmos Tendermint Proof-of-Stake, Agoric paves the way for a new cryptoeconomic standard library. This library is expected to harness the growth seen in prominent JavaScript platforms like Node.js and React.js.

It seamlessly blends advanced technology with a reliable consensus protocol, offering a swift and dependable chain through the Tendermint consensus. This guarantees quick transaction finality. Moreover, Agoric provides developers with a familiar environment, enabling them to utilize JavaScript, but with added layers of security and precision essential for crafting smart contracts.

The Driving Force Behind Agoric

The Agoric team is a blend of seasoned professionals known for introducing groundbreaking technologies and products. Mark S. Miller, the Chief Scientist, stands out as a pioneer in Agoric computing and smart contracts. He's credited with designing the E and Dr. SES programming languages, inventing Miller Columns, and playing a pivotal role in the Xanadu hypertext publishing system.

Dean Tribble holds the position of Chief Executive Officer. He's recognized for co-designing the negotiation process for AMiX, the first smart contracting system. His impressive resume includes a role as a Principal Architect at Microsoft, where he contributed to the design of the Midori operating system.

Michael Jablon, the Chief Operating Officer, boasts over a quarter-century of strategic leadership. At Spectrum, previously Time Warner Cable, Michael's vision as the VP of Product and Strategy saw the launch and exponential growth of Digital Phone, reaching over 4M subscribers and raking in $2B annually.

On the funding front, Agoric has made significant strides. They've amassed a total of $89,040,000 through 5 funding rounds, including two ICOs in late December 2021 to early January 2022 and several private and seed rounds.

An Advanced Blockchain Solution

At its core, the Agoric chain is both fast and predictable. It leverages the high-performance Tendermint consensus protocol, ensuring swift finality and the assurance that once transactions are added to the chain, they remain irreversible. This speed and predictability are further enhanced by improved gas economics, which eliminate the gaming of gas prices, allowing users to strike a balance between cost and urgency.

Developers working with Agoric can expect a familiar experience, as they can program in JavaScript, the world's most widely-used programming language. Agoric has enriched JavaScript with added security, determinism, and asynchrony features tailored to the unique requirements of smart contract development. Security is paramount, and Agoric's robust Object-Capability (OCap) security model offers multi-layered defense mechanisms. This model ensures better risk separation and containment, which is crucial for DeFi markets.

Agoric's technology stack seamlessly integrates the proven Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus with a distributed, secure virtual machine architecture. This architecture supports their advanced smart contract framework and a robust crypto economy. One of the standout features is the Zoe Smart Contract Framework, which includes ERTP (Electronic Rights Transfer Protocol). ERTP offers a standardized method to create and exchange both fungible and non-fungible digital assets. This standardization simplifies the creation of intricate digital assets that are instantly tradable and composable.

A Two Token Model of Agoric

Agoric has designed a unique economic model that integrates two distinct tokens, each serving a specific purpose within its ecosystem.

The first token, BLD, is a staking token that plays a pivotal role in securing and governing the Agoric chain and its economy. By delegating BLD to validators, it ensures a decentralized execution of the chain. Those who stake BLD are rewarded in multiple ways. They receive staking rewards from the new issuance of BLD and also get a portion of the Inter Protocol fees. The BLD token operates under the Cosmos’s Proof of Stake model, and its stakers govern both the Agoric chain and the Inter Protocol.

The second token, IST, is a stable token issued by the Inter Protocol. It's designed to maintain parity with the USD, making it ideal for facilitating economic growth and executing on-chain transactions. To ensure its stability, even in fluctuating market conditions, IST is overcollateralized.

When it comes to the distribution of tokens at the network's launch, the allocation is as follows:

• Early Contributors: 18.6%
• Network & Decentralization: 17%
• Operations: 12.5%
• Foundation: 12.5%
• Private Sale: 12.5%
• Early Backers: 11.4%
• Community & Ecosystem: 5.5%
• Public Sale: 7%
• Advisors: 3%

This distribution excludes future staking rewards. It's also worth noting that all locked BLD tokens can be staked, and the staking rewards for BLD are not bound by the lockup and release schedules.

The Recent Update

Agoric recently announced a significant upgrade to its platform, moving to Mainnet-1B. This upgrade brings a plethora of enhancements that promise to elevate the user experience and expand the platform's capabilities.

One of the standout features of this update is the improved experience for node operators. With the integration of State Sync, initially developed by Cosmos, node operators can now join the network faster by syncing from a snapshot of a block height. This eliminates the need to replay all blocks from the genesis, reducing the sync time from potentially days or weeks to mere minutes or hours.

The upgrade also introduces the ability to update individual Hardened JavaScript smart contracts on a live mainnet. Agoric's commitment to scalability and performance is evident in this update. They've optimized the performance of Hardened JavaScript and introduced virtualization to on-chain contracts, which reduces memory usage and boosts overall performance. Additionally, the introduction of Critical Message Prioritization ensures that essential transactions, such as oracle price updates and governance parameter changes, are processed promptly, even during times of high network activity.

Final thoughts

Their recent Mainnet-1B upgrade showcases their commitment to innovation, scalability, and user experience. The enhancements brought by this update, from the rapid syncing capabilities for node operators to the real-time modification of smart contracts, are clear indicators of Agoric's forward-thinking approach.

The introduction of Inter Protocol’s Vaults and the establishment of a decentralized oracle network further solidify their position as pioneers in the industry. With a team that boasts a rich blend of experience and expertise, coupled with their unique two-token economic model, Agoric can potentially make significant strides in the DeFi landscape.