Agoric

Agoric is an open-source development company launching a layer 1, proof-of-stake public blockchain designed to enable JavaScript developers to rapidly build safe smart contracts. Phase 0 of the mainnet was launched in November 2021, and the Agoric BLD token ICO was launched in December 2021.

Agoric's hardened JavaScript makes it easier to access the 10+ million JavaScript developers worldwide, enabling more developers to participate. Its JavaScript-native smart contract platform offers developers a safe, reusable library of DeFi components to rapidlybuild, deploy, and operate sophisticated Dapps, NFTs, and DeFi markets without having to learn everything from scratch, resulting in faster development times, fewer errors, and more efficient development practices.

The Agoric public blockchain, part of the Cosmos ecosystem, is built upon the battle-tested Tendermint Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus system with native Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) support. In addition to using the JavaScript programming language, the Agoric platform introduces Zoe, a “first of its kind” platform service that enables safe economic composition between smart contracts. Zoe brings to Web3 developers on the Agoric platform the kind of modern, pluggable component framework that has dominated Web2 development.

The San Francisco-based company was founded in 2018 by Dean Tribble, CEO of Agoric; Mark S. Miller, its chief scientist; Brian Warner; and Bill Tulloh. Agoric completed its first seed funding round in May 2018 for an undisclosed amount from the Zcash Company, Naval Ravikant, and Polychain Capital. In late 2021, Agoric raised $32,000,000 in venture funding and over $50,000,000 from its BLD token ICO.

In November 2021, Phase 0 of the Agoric mainnet went live. During this phase, early investors and validators set up their BLD tokens on the Agoric chain in order to launch a decentralized public chain. In Phase 1, Agoric will launch the Agoric virtual machine, the RUN token and protocol, vault contracts, and native automated market maker (AMM). In Phase 2, Agoric will allow permissioned smart contracts to be deployed on-chain subject to BLD holder governance. In Phase 3, Agoric will add permissionless smart contracts that any developer can deploy onto the Agoric public chain with no approval process required. All Phases should be complete in 2022 with Phase 3 expected to be complete by Q4 2022.

The Agoric chain has three systems: the Dapp Economy, the Run Protocol, and the Staking Economy.

Like other blockchains, the Dapp Economy is the place where Dapps are deployed. It also allows market participants to transact and create digital assets with each other (both fungible and non-fungible).

The Run Protocol mints RUN, the stable currency that is pegged 1:1 to the dollar (USD). All protocol fees, including those for gas, are paid in RUN. RUN serves as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value for users. The RUN protocol is governed by BLD holders and includes an integrated Automated Market Maker (AMM). Participants borrow RUN by depositing digital collateral in a participant-controlled vault where RUN is collateralized by assets like ATOM, ETH, USDC, etc. Therefore, the more economic activity on the Agoric chain, the greater the demand for RUN.

The Staking Economy is where BLD holders stake their tokens with validators to ensure the Agoric chain’s security and ongoing operation. These systems work collaboratively to ensure a vibrant crypto economy in which economic activity secures, stabilizes, and rewards network participants.

The Agoric chain features two native tokens, BLD and RUN. The Agoric BLD ICO was held on December 29, 2021 on Coinlist and raised over $50,000,000. BLD tokens purchased for option 1 are locked until June 2022 and tokens for option 2 are locked until November 2022.

BLD is the native staking token of the Agoric blockchain. It secures the network and is used for governance. RUN is a fee token used to pay for chain services (e.g., gas), implement smart contracts on-chain, and support cross-chain activity. RUN will be created on-chain by smart contracts authorized by the BLD holders through governance. The BLD and RUN tokens serve complementary purposes in order to prioritize network security and scale the ecosystem.

Agoric has partnered with Keplr, a leading wallet in the Cosmos network, to support the BLD token.

The Zoe smart contract framework is the means through which Agoric provides security and composability to developers. Zoe supports developing smart contracts in a modern, pluggable component framework that has been the dominant paradigm for Web2 applications. The platform is designed to speed development and reduce the risks of using and building smart contracts.

A core differentiator between Zoe and other smart contract platforms is offer-safety, which ensures that all on-chain transactions either settle and close or return to users what they offered in the proposed transaction. In some blockchains, if the contract fails due to bugs, malicious code, or other reasons, the user has no recourse to get their provided assets back. By contrast, with Zoe, a user makes a swap request in the form of an offer—“I will give you X tokens if and only if you give me Y tokens”—and provides the X tokens to the Zoe smart contract infrastructure, not the contract itself. The contract is then notified of the offered swap and will only receive the X tokens if it provides the Y tokens that the user wants to the infrastructure. The infrastructure itself ensures that the user gets what they want or their provided assets back.

The Zoe smart contract framework also includes the Electronic Rights Transfer Protocol (ERTP), which is Agoric’s token standard for creating and transferring tokens and other digital assets.