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Show HN: Building a no gimmick smart contract platform as a service

ellcrys.co

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Re: Show HN: Building a no gimmick smart contract platform as a service

#21

Post by ncodes »

seniorsassycat wrote: post #19
sandGorgon wrote: post #17

> Will Quants be “mined” or “premined”? > No. Every quants will be created by the general public through an event known as “Blood Fire”. During this event, everyone in the world takes a photo of their national banknotes. Each banknote is passed through a contract app that is able to identify its country and denomination and have the value (in USD) issued as quant tokens. This event will be powered by an Ellcrys smart…

Surprisingly, there is code backing this crazy idea https://github.com/ellcrys/openmint

> Surprisingly, there is code backing this crazy idea

Yes! and it works really well too :)

Re: Show HN: Building a no gimmick smart contract platform as a service

#22

Post by ncodes »

libertymcateer wrote: post #18

"Ellcrys" is a word that is likely subject to trademark and owned by Del Rey. Its unauthorized use, is, at best, 'iffy.' This aside, I've already written on HN about how I am deeply skeptical of self-executing contracts. Contracts can fit roughly into two types of categories: 1. Those with easily measured standards - which have largely already been automated without having to invent new technologies (e.g., turning on…

> "Ellcrys" is a word that is likely subject to trademark and owned by Del Rey.

umm, I will be looking into this. Thanks for the heads up.

I understand that there is a lot of debate about what a smart contract is, its legal scope and functions. However, we are not only building to host legal contracts but contract applications that are user-facing or API-based, owned and maintainer by teams or communities. These are the kind of contracts I believe will be most useful and practical today

Thanks for taking the time to check us out :)

Re: Show HN: Building a no gimmick smart contract platform as a service

#23

Post by libertymcateer »

ncodes wrote: post #22
libertymcateer wrote: post #18

"Ellcrys" is a word that is likely subject to trademark and owned by Del Rey. Its unauthorized use, is, at best, 'iffy.' This aside, I've already written on HN about how I am deeply skeptical of self-executing contracts. Contracts can fit roughly into two types of categories: 1. Those with easily measured standards - which have largely already been automated without having to invent new technologies (e.g., turning on…

> "Ellcrys" is a word that is likely subject to trademark and owned by Del Rey. umm, I will be looking into this. Thanks for the heads up. I understand that there is a lot of debate about what a smart contract is, its legal scope and functions. However, we are not only building to host legal contracts but contract applications that are user-facing or API-based, owned and maintainer by teams or communities. These are…

Very happy to see you responding!

Let me be totally clear about something: you have built something interesting and you should run with it. You will hear a ton of criticism, including on this forum, telling you to pack it up and take it home. That is bullshit. It is easy to criticize and hard to build. I'm often wrong - and I've been in your shoes. It can be hugely discouraging to read a bunch of criticism on hackernews. Don't take it too personally.

Keep on pursuing. At some point, if you do have to call it quits, make sure it is a reasoned decision based on (1) having already made your best efforts and (2) market feedback. Don't base it on the stuff you read from internet strangers.

Best of luck!

(Luck is when preparedness meets opportunity.)

Re: Show HN: Building a no gimmick smart contract platform as a service

#24

Post by ncodes »

libertymcateer wrote: post #23
ncodes wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Ellcrys" is a word that is likely subject to trademark and owned by Del Rey. umm, I will be looking into this. Thanks for the heads up. I understand that there is a lot of debate about what a smart contract is, its legal scope and functions. However, we are not only building to host legal contracts but contract applications that are user-facing or API-based, owned and maintainer by teams or communities. These are…

Very happy to see you responding! Let me be totally clear about something: you have built something interesting and you should run with it. You will hear a ton of criticism, including on this forum, telling you to pack it up and take it home. That is bullshit. It is easy to criticize and hard to build. I'm often wrong - and I've been in your shoes. It can be hugely discouraging to read a bunch of criticism on hackern…

Thank you so much for your kind words and advice. It means a lot to me. I will definitely remember these words as I build on and receive feedback :-)

Re: Show HN: Building a no gimmick smart contract platform as a service

#25

Post by kang »

aracari wrote: post #15
kang wrote: post #14

I do not mean to discourage you but what you are building is not smart contracts but just a worse version of aws. Smart contracts are these social protocols that are secured by cryptography and the calculation is done by the node themselves decentrally, everything remaining visible to the whole world. Unlike the current "smart contracts" in ethereum which implement the protocol centrally in a piece of code - the 'pro…

Wouldn't the fact that the EVM is hosted decentrally make it a decentralized protocol?

No that just makes it distributed hosting, like aws.

Re: Show HN: Building a no gimmick smart contract platform as a service

#26

Post by kang »

ncodes wrote: post #16
kang wrote: post #14

I do not mean to discourage you but what you are building is not smart contracts but just a worse version of aws. Smart contracts are these social protocols that are secured by cryptography and the calculation is done by the node themselves decentrally, everything remaining visible to the whole world. Unlike the current "smart contracts" in ethereum which implement the protocol centrally in a piece of code - the 'pro…

I respectfully disagree. You do not need a decentralized, social protocol to build a smart contract or self-executing application platform. A smart contract is simply an agreement between parties, written in codes and enforced by a third-party. In the case of Ethereum, it is enforced by cryptography, nodes independently executing codes and validating the results. This is great but hard to scale or build certain kind…

> A smart contract is simply an agreement between parties, written in codes and enforced by a third-party.

No, it is an agreement between parties enforced by cryptography, and no third party required.

> In the case of Ethereum, it is enforced by cryptography. No it is enforced by payment to the network, just like aws, but in a worst way, because code is executed wastefully, while still remaining at a central location.

What you are not understanding is that a smart contract is a protocol amongst people. You don't code it anywhere in the blockchain directly. It a a protocol that explains how, if each party runs code independently, assuming everyone as a criminal, still achieves its goal. For eg, multisig is a smart contract, which is a protocol where participants decide what code they'll run (signing) and the wallet layer that makes them meet is a separate layer altogether, not in the blockchain. Sometimes this layer may not even be required, for example in money-laundering or any of the 'hundis'.

Re: Show HN: Building a no gimmick smart contract platform as a service

#27

Post by ncodes »

kang wrote: post #26
ncodes wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I respectfully disagree. You do not need a decentralized, social protocol to build a smart contract or self-executing application platform. A smart contract is simply an agreement between parties, written in codes and enforced by a third-party. In the case of Ethereum, it is enforced by cryptography, nodes independently executing codes and validating the results. This is great but hard to scale or build certain kind…

> A smart contract is simply an agreement between parties, written in codes and enforced by a third-party. No, it is an agreement between parties enforced by cryptography, and no third party required. > In the case of Ethereum, it is enforced by cryptography. No it is enforced by payment to the network, just like aws, but in a worst way, because code is executed wastefully, while still remaining at a central location…

> What you are not understanding is that a smart contract is a protocol amongst people. You don't code it anywhere in the blockchain directly. It a a protocol that explains how, if each party runs code independently, assuming everyone as a criminal, still achieves its goal.

Okay, I see your point. This kind of smart contract you describe definitely needs strong cryptography and a blockchain would not be needed. I guess the issue is still about what a smart contract truly is and how it should work. I personally prefer the term self-executing contract as the "smart" seems too sensitive. Regardless of the language or definitions, I am interested in a platform were multisig applications can be executed safely and efficiently.

Re: Show HN: Building a no gimmick smart contract platform as a service

#28

Post by beeks10 »

I am not understanding this fully.

So I take a picture of a $100 U.S dollar, send it to your contract app, and I will get quant tokens? Which quant tokens are a cryptocurrency that I can sell on a exchange?

If this is true, you pretty much built a system were I can duplicate money because all I had to do is take a picture and send it? I didn't physically give you the money, I took a picture and you gave me money, while I kept the original money.

Is this how it really works?

I give you a picture of my money and you give me money? How is there value in Quant?

Re: Show HN: Building a no gimmick smart contract platform as a service

#29

Post by ncodes »

beeks10 wrote: post #28

I am not understanding this fully. So I take a picture of a $100 U.S dollar, send it to your contract app, and I will get quant tokens? Which quant tokens are a cryptocurrency that I can sell on a exchange? If this is true, you pretty much built a system were I can duplicate money because all I had to do is take a picture and send it? I didn't physically give you the money, I took a picture and you gave me money, whi…

> So I take a picture of a $100 U.S dollar, send it to your contract app, and I will get quant tokens? Which quant tokens are a cryptocurrency that I can sell on a exchange?

Yes. You take a photo of your any supported banknote and you get the equivalent in quants. We will be working with exchanges to have them listed.

> If this is true, you pretty much built a system were I can duplicate money because all I had to do is take a picture and send it? I didn't physically give you the money, I took a picture and you gave me money, while I kept the original money.

A banknote submitted and processed will no longer be usable on Ellcrys. It is simply a model for fair distribution of the digital currency such that everyone can claim what they are worth (cash) in quants. After the "blood fire" event and the total supply is claimed, no new banknotes will be accepted or processed. The initial value is derived from this conversion process; a banknote processed is considered "burned".

Most digital currencies gain their value from the utility of the platform they are native to. The Quant will be used to pay for resources allocated to contracts and could serve as a payment method for services offered by contracts.

I hope I answered your questions well. Happy to explain further if you need me to.

Re: Show HN: Building a no gimmick smart contract platform as a service

#30

Post by BoiledCabbage »

ncodes wrote: post #29
beeks10 wrote: post #28

I am not understanding this fully. So I take a picture of a $100 U.S dollar, send it to your contract app, and I will get quant tokens? Which quant tokens are a cryptocurrency that I can sell on a exchange? If this is true, you pretty much built a system were I can duplicate money because all I had to do is take a picture and send it? I didn't physically give you the money, I took a picture and you gave me money, whi…

> So I take a picture of a $100 U.S dollar, send it to your contract app, and I will get quant tokens? Which quant tokens are a cryptocurrency that I can sell on a exchange? Yes. You take a photo of your any supported banknote and you get the equivalent in quants. We will be working with exchanges to have them listed. > If this is true, you pretty much built a system were I can duplicate money because all I had to do…

So I just withdraw my funds take photos of them, "upload" them. Go back to my bank, exchange the bills and repeat?

What am I missing here. What is being accomplished by photoing bills?

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