Despite being against the trend a few years ago, the industry seems to be looking forward to a "multi-chain future" where applications and users seamlessly traverse different layer 1 networks (such as Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot, etc.) in the background according to the situation.
Want to provide liquidity to DeFi protocols? Today, that usually means using Ethereum. Want to post something on decentralized social media? This could mean using Solana, an Ethereum second-layer solution, or another high-throughput blockchain. As blockchains are optimized for different use cases, protocols that abstract all the complexities of cross-chain coordination are needed.
A project addressing this problem, Rangers Protocol, recently closed a funding round with participation from Pantera Capital, Framework Ventures, Alameda Research, Hashkey, and a number of other top investors, at a valuation of $63 million. After nearly three years in development, the protocol is finally ready to be announced to the world via its upcoming mainnet launch.
What is the Rangers Protocol?
The core of Rangers Protocol is the "metaverse blockchain infrastructure". In other words, it gives decentralized applications (dApps) and assets the ability to interact frictionlessly with multiple different chains. This is especially important in the so-called "metaverse" - where users will want to engage in complex actions, possibly pulling data, assets or smart contracts from different blockchains. For example, an original game might want to integrate Ethereum's ERC -721, store its high-frequency data on Solana, and incorporate Terra's UST as an in-game currency.
This project was incubated by MixMarvel, a well-known blockchain game publisher. Rangers Protocol is independent now, but its strong ties to the gaming space have given them an understanding of what the industry needs.
Source: Rangers Protocol ( white paper )
To understand how the Rangers Protocol achieves this goal, it is important to understand the protocol's architecture. It has several unique features:
Random proof-of-stake L1 with validating and proposing nodes.
Protected by BLS+VRF (and TSS) algorithm. This is an upgrade of an encryption algorithm that the team believes will gradually become an industry standard.
Extremely high throughput, generating a new block every second.
Real-time transactions that do not require block disclosure before settlement. This supports many high frequency trading use cases.
EVM compatibility, which allows dApp developers to easily migrate their projects and smart contracts to Rangers Protocol.
Rangers Protocol also has an interesting approach to NFTs. In addition to supporting the most popular existing NFT standards such as ERC-721, the platform adds many other features to NFTs:
Strong data portability and collections, including minting, trading and burning.
dApp NFT availability. According to the team, "We believe that the most critical value of NFTs is in the re-use and inheritance of data. In other words, NFTs should be reusable by multiple dapps." The Rangers Protocol standard enables dApps to add unique features to NFTs. , and have temporary ownership of their own data in the asset description.
Built-in NFT loans that allow borrowers to use assets without allowing them to transfer them.
Although similar in some respects to other high-throughput L1s, the Rangers Protocol's focus on facilitating cross-chains, especially to the Metaverse, has resulted in some unique protocol design decisions. Every detail is extensively outlined in the project’s updated white paper if you’re interested in learning more.
What is the protocol's native token, RPG?
Rangers Protocol Gas (RPG) is the token that powers the protocol. It serves both as a base-layer currency for random proof-of-stake consensus (staked and received by validators), and as a method of pricing network fees. As the Rangers Protocol gains adoption, there will be a corresponding increase in demand for RPGs in order to participate in the protocol.
This month, the protocol will distribute tokens to the community via IDOs, marking the first time an RPG has entered the market. Community enthusiasm for the sale was high; over 10,000 people applied to join IDO’s whitelist. As more RPG tokens gradually enter the market, more community members will have the opportunity to financially benefit from the project.
Source: Rangers Protocol (white paper)
How is the Rangers Protocol used now?
An earlier version of the Rangers Protocol (formerly known as the Rocket Protocol) has been used to improve the efficiency and user-friendliness of many games.
For example, the blockchain-based game HyperDragons Rocket Arena, which topped the DappReview leaderboard in mid-2018, incorporates technology from Rangers Protocol into many in-game elements. This allows users to seamlessly transition from deploying assets on layer 1 and layer 2 chains, greatly reducing the network fees that may be incurred for playing games. In addition, the low latency of the blockchain makes the game more responsive; players no longer need to wait 5-30 minutes to confirm operations on the main blockchain.
HyperSnakes, a browser game that was hugely popular a few years ago, also used the scalable capabilities of the Rangers Protocol to enhance the overall gaming experience. This allows the game to be launched on multiple blockchains at the same time, including Ethereum, Tron and Ant Blockchain. The game's infrastructure thrived, even adding nearly 20,000 daily users for a while.
Source: Rangers Protocol ( Twitter )
In July, the testnet version of Rangers Protocol launched, releasing many of the features the team has been working on over the years. While access to the testnet is still limited to selected developers, fixed-rate lending protocol BlueStone on Ethereum has successfully migrated to Rangers Protocol. Due to the EVM compatibility of the chain, no contract changes are required, only minor changes are made to the front end.
As the team eyes a full mainnet launch later this year, they hope other developers will also integrate Rangers Protocol to reap some of the advantages that this cross-chain universe has to offer.
Follow them on Twitter and join their Discord if you want to keep in touch with them during the protocol deployment process.
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rangers-protocol-metaverse-blockchain-infrastructure-veradittakit
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