A few days ago, Moonbeam founder Derek was invited to participate in RiRi's live broadcast.
Click to watch video playback, the following is a selection of live content:
The original intention of Moonbeam & Moonriver
Moonbeam is committed to building a platform for developers, mainly focusing on cross-chain use cases. Polkadot is without a doubt the leader in this regard, and because of this, we chose to build on Polkadot, which is why we chose to develop for Ethereum compatibility. As time goes on, more and more blockchains will appear, and the demand for developers to access various blockchains will continue to increase. This is the basic concept of building Moonbeam & Moonriver.
The difference between Multi-Chain and Cross-Chain
In the past, projects basically chose a single chain to deploy smart contracts, such as Ethereum. As the number of blockchains continues to increase, besides Ethereum, other public chains also have their own user groups. How to bring services to different public chains at the same time?
Classic deployment case: Sushi is a well-known project of the EVM compatible chain. It was first deployed on Ethereum. With the emergence of other public chains, how to reach users and assets on these public chains has become a pain point for Sushi. The existing solution to multi-chain development is to "copy" projects on Ethereum to other chains. Sushi's multi-chain expansion is very rapid, and it has been deployed to more than 16 chains. Compared with only existing on Ethereum, Sushi can now acquire more local users and assets on other chains.
Then, new problems follow. The deployment situation just mentioned is equivalent to 16 isolated islands, and information cannot be transmitted between each other. This is what Moonbeam exists for. We can help developers build projects across the constraints between these chains, and at the same time synchronize all businesses as if under the same system (instead of using 16 separate systems).
Multichain looks to me like a combination of multiple use cases. The current cross-chain basically transfers assets through cross-chain bridges, but it is currently undergoing a major innovation and upgrade of cross-chain technology. Polkadot occupies a leading position because of its XCM technology, and we are also constantly developing Moonbeam’s built-in cross-chain technology. chain function.
We are witnessing cross-chain progress, how does blockchain change the future?
First of all, we admit that there are indeed many blockchains, and these blockchains can still be said to be islands today. Although there are cross-chain bridges now, in fact, transactions still happen on its own chain. There will be a variety of different blockchains in the future, and there will be standards. At that point there will be some blockchains united to use the same operating system. It's like there are many computers now, but when you use them, you only have operating systems such as Apple, Android, Windows, and so on. Therefore, I think the blockchain will develop like this in the future: developers develop the blockchain by themselves, and at the same time, it will be required by the existing operating system standards.
One of the operating systems is Substrate, which is a technology developed by Parity, the team behind Polkadot. It is also a tool for building Moonbeam, which is a framework for building blockchains by itself; All blockchains choose to use EVM. The third is the Cosmos SDK, which can be said to be a competitor of Substrate from a certain angle, or another way.
Then Moonbeam positions itself as between the two, Substrate and EVM. We are also in contact with Cosmos for integration recently. These operating systems will be the center, driving the continuous development and growth of the blockchain.
Factors for the success of EVM DApp/Layer 1
Layer 1: For any product, it is very important to be unique and remain in the user's memory. In the case of Substrate and Cosmos SDK, it is actually relatively easier to build a Layer 1. So being able to differentiate becomes very important. If you want to build an EVM chain, it becomes more and more difficult. Both BSC and Avalanche C-chain are doing EVM. The good thing is that this is already a standard that developers can use, but there are still some differences: for us, it is to optimize these cross-chain use cases.
EVM DApp: Many existing EVM DApps have come to Moonbeam, we need these to build the basic layer and performance. What the team is currently looking forward to is the creation of cross-chain messages, called Connected Contracts. Smart contracts on Moonbeam are interconnected with smart contracts on other chains, which is a brand new way. But it is still in the early stages of development, and we expect use cases to emerge in the second half of the year.
The future trend of DApp
For the extension of the previous part: take Compound, which users are familiar with, as an example. Compound is a lending protocol where users can deposit asset A and withdraw asset B. Back to the multi-chain layout, lending protocols are deployed on Ethereum, Moonbeam, Avalanche, BSC, etc. Every deployment is an isolated island: if you only access it on the BSC, you cannot get the operation information performed on the BSC after returning to Moonbeam.
So we're landing Connected Contract with a team called Prime. Moonbeam is equivalent to the location of the host, and the remote satellite device is on other chains, such as the Ethereum mainnet, Avalanche, etc. If information is deposited on Avalanche, the information will be sent to the Moonbeam host to say (instead of locally in Avalanche): "This user made a deposit"; then the user withdraws in Ethereum, and the information is sent to the Moonbeam host Said: "This user deposits in Avalanche and can withdraw it in Ethereum".
While this is only a small change from what it was before, any changes on the chain will be visible and usable on other chains in the grand scheme of things. Taking a bank as an example, the head office and branches are connected together and are in the same system, and users can get services at each branch. Now that we are in the early stages of this big turning point, I think the protocol can rethink what it means to them to use this method (interconnected smart contracts) in the multi-chain environment.
Milestones since Moonriver went live one year ago
We maintain the frequency of updates every month, respond to the market in a timely manner, add features in response to feedback, ask questions, and continue to do this. I think that's why we were able to do so well. Because the platform is permissionless, I can't guarantee to know everything, and sometimes I'm surprised by what's new every week. Currently, there is aDowntown MoonbeamThe website has included more than 200 ecological projects.
XC-20 and ERC-20
Our general concept is that EVM can be accessed on Polkadot/Kusama at the same time. The reality is that all teams built in Polkadot have at least one native token of their own. But the problem is that they are all Substrate’s native Tokens and cannot access EVM, which makes them unusable for developers on Moonbeam. Therefore, we feel that it is urgent to solve this problem.
We first implemented the XC-20 functionality in XCM. The XC-20 function enables all Substrate’s native Tokens to be transferred to Moonbeam, and all developers can use and deploy their applications on Moonbeam (that is, within the EVM).
At the same time, these Tokens can also become ERC-20 format (Ethereum’s standard Token), which means they are compatible with Ethereum tools, such as MetaMask. Therefore, this function actually expands the functionality of Polkadot assets. Currently, hundreds of applications can use these Tokens. This is a first for messaging technology, and we're already seeing remarkable results.
Cross-chain bridge
Cross-chain bridge
There are currently many routes in/out of Moonbeam. One of them is XCM, which can use Polkadot's native messaging mechanism to transfer assets from the relay chain/parachain to Moonbeam. At the same time, we also have many cross-chain bridges, connecting Moonbeam and chains outside Polkadot, such as Ethereum and Cosmos.
One of the bridges we work with is Nomad. Nomad is mainly responsible for bridging Moonbeam and Ethereum. They have strong security technology themselves. The other is Axelar. This team is trying to make an XCM product similar to Polkadot, but allows Moonbeam to go to other chains other than Polkadot. We have cooperated in many interesting scenarios, such as the cross-chain interconnection I mentioned earlier.
In addition, there are many, many innovative things happening. We want Moonbeam to be a powerful place to connect. The opportunity I see for cross-chains is that each chain is like a small economic entity/country, and specific routing will become more and more important in the future, because harmonious economic entities/countries need to have a way to send goods to/from (i.e. What we call Token/Service). Therefore, I hope that Moonbeam can become one of the key trade routes, enabling projects in Polkadot to go outside Polkadot. Over time, it became a key center for trade.
Future development of Moonriver
Moonbeam and Moonriver have different communities, but also some overlap. I don't agree with the view that "some projects will only choose one to deploy". But I think it can be closer to the direction of lean.
I used to think that maybe NFT games and other types of projects will be on Moonriver, and DeFi projects will be on Moonbeam. Now this trend will develop, but it is undeniable that there will still be DeFi projects that choose Moonriver, and NFT game-type projects that choose Moonbeam. Therefore, this cannot be defined in a strict sense.
I also realized that everything actually interacts. For example, a game project still needs DeFi to make things reasonable. Users need DeFi to operate homogeneous items obtained from games. In addition, for example, the things obtained in the game need to be traded in the NFT market, and DeFi is needed to run the collateral part. Of course, I have also seen that some game projects are currently more inclined to be deployed on Moonriver, and the cost may be relatively low. These projects themselves have a small number of people and no VC funding. But we can wait and see.
In general, from a use case perspective, everyone is focusing on DeFi at the beginning. But now we can also see the rapid growth of NFT use cases, especially the rise of games and metaverses.
The development of the network is actually different from what I imagined at the beginning, which is one of the reasons why I think this job is great. Every day is a new feeling, communicating with the team and learning new things. Also because this is an open platform, the community will also provide their ideas, even better than our team's.
Community and Moonbeam
I think it's the atmosphere we've created, the team and the community have the same culture and the same goals. Recently, we held a small community event, which gathered many collectors, project parties, and other parachain teams. Although the market is not optimistic recently, I feel that people still maintain their enthusiasm for exploration, which is also an encouragement to me, and makes me feel that what we are doing is the right thing.
Moonbeam Updates
Moonbeam has basically completed the construction of the infrastructure. The recent launch of Chainlink has unlocked the launch of a large number of DeFi projects. This stage is now in the first wave of DeFi deployment and launch, and builders can now use the method of interconnecting smart contracts. This is the key part of our Q3. I'm passionate about this because it's uniquely enabled by Moonbeam (Polcato's XCM).
If you look at the excellent Layer 1 in the market, there are more choices such as Polygon and Avalanche, why choose Moonbeam? You can build an application that can reach any user and any asset, and Moonbeam can provide this function. Of course, there are other benefits in addition to this, such as an excellent community and low gas fees. We are currently in the stage of DeFi infrastructure, and this will be realized in the second half of the year.
Future development of Polkadot
We have been working with Parity, the team behind Polkadot, to optimize performance.
Secondly, I am also very excited about the technology of parallel threads. From the perspective of use cases, returning to the topic of why building on Moonbeam instead of other EVM chains, we will build some functions on parallel threads to allow Moonbeam developers to use Substrate It is quite special and powerful to strengthen its DApp with the full strength of it.
More and more people are working on EVM and building smart contracts, but few are discovering the utility of Substrate. We also hope that the development of Moonbeam can play a role in publicity and education. Using Substrate, there is no need to write a whole process, only a small piece of logic, as a parallel thread, is connected back to the smart contract. Moonbeam is an entry point for applications to enter the Polkadot ecosystem, so parallel threads can be used as an entry point for the underlying solution to enter Substrate, thereby benefiting from the powerful functions of Substrate.
In addition, I think there will be more excellent parachain teams. Parachains built on Polkadot provide a variety of valuable services, so the more valuable services there are, the more services can reach users directly, and Moonbeam tries to create these services that can be accessed by everyone arrive. For example, developers on Moonbeam currently have 20 services that can be used. If there are 30, 40 or more in the future, then there will be more valuable options. So it is very important for me to discover more excellent parachains that can provide more and more valuable services to the network.
About Moonbeam
Moonbeam is a smart contract platform compatible with Ethereum in the Polkadot network, which can easily build native interoperable decentralized applications. The Ethereum compatibility feature allows developers to deploy existing Solidity smart contracts and DApp frontends to Moonbeam with minimal changes. Moonbeam will build on the success of its sister parachain Moonriver on Kusama, amassing developer and user activity from over 100 projects building DApps and protocols on the network. As a parachain on the Polkadot network, Moonbeam will benefit from the shared security of the Polkadot relay chain and the interoperability advantages of connecting other Polkadot chains.
official website
Moonriver is Moonbeam's peer network designed to provide a permanent testing environment for incentivized experiments. The code of the newly launched project will be deployed to Moonriver first, and undergo a series of tests and experimental verifications in its real economic environment. After the verification is completed and passed the test, the project code can be officially deployed to Moonbeam on Polkadot.
