As we approach the second quarter of 2023, AERGO team decided to hold the first Townhall for 2023. It is a moment to evaluate and reflect on our actions, and results.
Genesis of AERGO
AERGO was conceived in 2014, before the concept of Ethereum or EVM even existed, based on the initial direction of “blockchain for the enterprise.” Regardless of the industry and era, the need to quickly process large amounts of data in real time with SQL/JDBC support has been consistent. AERGO has been targeting the market through a private blockchain that provides an environment where existing enterprise customers can directly integrate their data with the blockchain.
Bridging the Two Universes: de-facto Enterprise to Consumer
Over the past few years, various projects based on public blockchains, such as DeFi and NFTs, have seemed to monopolize market attention and drive the growth of the blockchain market. However, private blockchains have been expanding their reach quietly.
The needs of the enterprise blockchain market are evolving in the form of “Layer 1.5,” which encompasses both private and public blockchains that require connectivity with various chains through technologies such as bridges.
This is why AERGO has been creating side chains that can interconnect and utilize resources in various environments, from enterprise to public blockchains, based on the core features of SQL language, D-DPOS consensus structure, and Merkle bridges. By utilizing the characteristics of Layer 1.5, AERGO is evolving into a de-facto enterprise blockchain that targets a wide range of enterprise customers, rather than a platform limited to the cryptocurrency market.
Together with its core technology partners, Blocko and Blocko XYZ, AERGO is building and operating blockchain solutions for various corporate customers, including domestic and foreign entertainment and distribution management companies, and plans to secure more than 500,000 active users within the year.
In addition, in order to preempt the STO/e-securities field, which has recently attracted the attention of the financial sector, we have unveiled ‘Silvermine’, a security token issuance platform. Silvermine provides basic functions that are difficult to provide by existing cryptocurrency issuance platforms, including issuance, burning, increase and decrease, and division. With this, we plan to expand beyond STOs to non-financial assets such as carbon credits and other asset markets where transaction tracking is critical.
AERGO’s Expansion Towards the Public Ecosystem (NFT / Web 3)
AERGO’s focus is not limited to enterprise blockchain. Through Blocko XYZ, we are expanding our platform to include NFTs and even ‘NFT-as-a-Service’, which allows us to provide additional services such as membership and personal information authentication using SBT (Soul-Bound Token).
Currently, Blocko XYZ has reduced the cumbersome NFT minting process of over 20 steps from membership to sale to 4 steps, minimized minting costs, and is currently managing about 300,000 active wallets (MAU=active users), with over 800,000 NFTs minted, and continues to increase its share of the domestic NFT market.
AERGO is planning to support ‘Composable Transaction’ to support the increase in transactions that will occur in the NFT and Web 3 fields in the future and activate the AERGO native token, and has started the transition of the exchange mainnet.
In addition, we have established an Ecosystem Fund to expand the AERGO-based ecosystem and have been providing support to various DApp and service developers. Currently, the closest Dapp to launching is BOOOST, an AERGO-based Web 3 social app.
BOOOST is currently undergoing closed beta testing which features walking and driving modes, but will soon expand into socializing. Users will not only be able to visualize the impact of their daily activities, but will also be able to curate a digital version of themselves, everything on a single app, one activity at a time.
Q&A
Q1. Are AERGO and Blocko considering to offer alternative payment solutions beyond traditional merchant networks like GemPay still?
It’s a great question. Payments are an essential feature for expanding beyond just paying to buy goods, and into more services and solutions. It is also key to targeting the B2B market as well as the B2C market, which is why AERGO and Blocko are very positive about developing/introducing additional payment features. Due to volatile market conditions and unclear regulatory issues, it is not easy to launch a crypto-native payment system or DeFi system at the moment. However, AERGO and Blocko are preparing to utilize bridge/cross-chain technology to serve as a payment system in the near future. This will be included in the ‘AERGO 2.0 Whitepaper’, which will be released in May, and we will share more details in a future whitepaper.
Here’s a preview of what we’ve got lined up for the AERGO 2.0 Whitepaper:
AERGO Opsilo (working title): A lightweight and easy Web3 and app deployment platform where developers can develop and design Dapps and services while ensuring delivery quality, security, cost optimization, cost management, and compliance throughout the application lifecycle.
AERGO EVM-Compatibility: A fully EVM-compatible engine, enabling smart contracts written in Solidity to be supported on AERGO smart contract code base to support enterprise-grade applications and Web 3 Dapps in the long term.
AERGO AI / ML: AI and Machine Learning will dynamically change how data is processed and audited. By combining AI / ML with the AERGO blockchain, we will continuously explore and seek to expand the possibilities of AERGO platform.
Q2. What are your thoughts about introducing new crypto primitives to AERGO mainnet? (i.e., DeFi solutions that allow people & businesses to diversify out of USD, KRW into traditionally safe assets like vaulted tokenized gold & silver)
In the wake of the recent Luna debacle, blockchain-based stable coins or pegged assets have become the number one target of financial regulators worldwide. While this is definitely something that will be needed in the future, the regulatory risk is too high to develop and launch right now.
However, a similar area that AERGO and Blocko are currently focusing on is tokenized securities(STOs). On February 3, the Financial Services Commission of South Korea announced to overhaul regulatory system on the issuance and circulation of security tokens. “Token securities” refers to securities under the Act on the Capital Market and Financial Investment Business that are digitized based on distributed ledger technology. The Financial Services Commission has announced that it plans to allow the issuance and distribution of token securities by overhauling the system that has been an obstacle to the issuance and distribution of securities utilizing distributed ledgers.
Q3. How does AERGO plan to address scalability and interoperability challenges in blockchain technology?
Scalability and interoperability are two areas we’ve been focusing on since the beginning of AERGO’s development. They are essential for the democratization of blockchain technology, and we want to address them in the following ways.
1. Scalability: AERGO supports vertical and horizontal scaling. From the initial concept, we have been connecting both on-chain and off-chain using side-chain to enable scalability.
2. Interoperability: As we have mentioned, AERGO is a Layer 1.5 blockchain, which means that it is a fast, low-cost Layer 1 blockchain that can interoperate between side-chain and private chains using Merkle Bridge.
Q4. How does AERGO ensure regular communication and collaboration with its management team and community members to identify and discuss new ideas and opportunities for growth?
AERGO will have Townhall sessions and video interviews with executives to engage with the community. Furthermore, we plan to create various channels to communicate with more developers as developers’ engagement will be crucial for AERGO’s current focus on STO, NFTs, and other areas.
Also, AERGO and Blocko will provide a unified set of tools and developer-friendly environments so that developers can easily build, deploy and run AERGO-based Dapps. Development status and results will be translated into everyday language and announced on the AERGO community and Medium.
Q5. Would it be possible for you to share a projected release date, or at minimum, a sneak peek of the roadmap to help us better understand your future plans?
AERGO and Blocko are working on more projects than ever with various Dapp studios, including Booost (Web 3) and Blocko XYZ (NFT/SBT). We’re also currently working with several listed exchanges to support the AERGO mainnet. We’ll be keeping you updated on these developments via AERGO Twitter and Medium. Starting with this Town hall, we’ll be uploading video interviews with key members of the AERGO and Blocko teams, which will provide key insights into the AERGO 2.0 whitepaper, which will be released in May.
Q6. Will AERGO move from erc-20 to native Aergo tokens in the foreseeable future? How will AERGO expand its ecosystem? Will there be more implementation partners to help utilize Aergo more broadly? What does AERGO see as the niche where they can thrive in a world with many different L1s?
AERGO is currently in discussions with most exchanges to convert to mainnet tokens. As mentioned earlier, we are expanding our ecosystem into the Web3 and NFT sectors with various Dapp studios and partners including Blocko XYZ and BOOOST. In the STO space, we are discussing partnerships with other blockchain projects as well as Blocko to broaden the market base.
AERGO is a fast, low-cost Layer 1 blockchain that can interoperate between side-chain and private chains using Merkle Bridge technology. Our experience in building and maintaining real-world projects, especially for enterprise customers, and our diverse product offerings in response to regulations are advantages that other blockchain projects cannot easily access. We plan to take the lead in the STO field based on these experiences.
In May, we will release the AERGO 2.0 Whitepaper, which will outline our new direction and development roadmap. As we reshape ourselves to meet market changes and customer demands, we will reveal something worth waiting for.
Q7. How are you bringing value to the Aergo token?
As AERGO and Blocko move forward with the project, we are aiming to secure healthier on-chain activities and expand the ecosystem, rather than the short-term value of the Aergo token. BOOOST in the Web3 field and Blocko XYZ in the NFT/SBT field are continuing meaningful activities, so please pay attention to them. We will disclose more details about AERGO’s direction and new technology development plans in May.