This is a use case which strongly leverages upon Rate3’s core vision of being a cross-chain asset tokenization protocol. But before we go into the technical details on how we would facilitate that, let’s first explore the reasons for why such a service is needed.

Most of the regulated USD stablecoins today such as PAX and GUSD are Ethereum-based ERC20 tokens. Therefore, this prevents, for example, a Stellar-based Dapp like SatoshiPay from making use of them.

This same compatibility problem will surface for Dapps on the IOST ecosystem as well, as they will require stablecoins as a means of low-volatility value transfer too.

Rate3’s Cross-Chain Swap service will allow for an asset that is non-native to the IOST blockchain (like PAX and GUSD) to be transposed onto the IOST blockchain and vice versa:

User sends the non-IOST asset (lets use the ERC20 token PAX for this example) to the Rate3 Cross-Chain Swap service The ERC20 PAX will be moved to a wallet address — which will be disclosed and made transparently viewable — within the original blockchain network (i.e. Ethereum) The value of the assets in this Ethereum address will back the value of newly-issued tokens on the IOST blockchain (lets call them iUSD tokens for this example) on a 1:1 basis When the user wishes to move iUSD away from IOST and back onto the original blockchain, he/she will send iUSD to a specified IOST address corresponding to Rate3’s Cross-Chain Swap service The equivalent PAX will then be sent back to the user’s Ethereum wallet address Users will thus be able to swap digital assets of other blockchains in and out of IOST via this solution. This service will also be further extended to other tokens and stablecoins in future, which will be determined by the requests of the community A fee in the ERC20 stablecoin form will be charged for this service. Users will be incentivized to hold RTE in order to qualify for discounted fees.

Lastly, we’ve also had the experience of constructing our own Singapore-dollar stablecoin SGDR from the ground up previously. It is on our roadmap for SGDR to be ultimately compatible across IOST, Ethereum and Stellar by the end of 2019, with further interoperability support for other popular blockchains to come after that.

2. Rate3 is a Bluehill Portfolio Project

Bluehill is a blockchain incubator and accelerator firm dedicated to the advancement of the IOST ecosystem.

Having raised a USD 50M global fund in June 2018 for this purpose, the incubator has thus far selected just 7 portfolio projects to back — including Certik, Origo and Rate3 — helping them to facilitate new industry partnerships, mentorship and future potential investment for these blockchain startups.

Being part of this portfolio was essential towards Rate3 developing a strategic partnership with IOST.

3. Rate3 will run an IOST Validator Node (Servi Node)

Finally, to further reinforce this alliance between Rate3 and IOST, we have been invited to run a validator node (aka a “Servi node”) by the IOST team. Servi nodes are voted by IOST token holders to collectively uphold the integrity by ensuring that only non-malicious transactions are allowed to be written to the IOST blockchain.

In exchange, these elected nodes receive a share of block rewards as well as transaction fees. IOST’s novel Proof-of-Believability consensus mechanism ensures a fair and diverse distribution of nodes, through having node rotations at 10 minute intervals, and a “points deductions system” on incumbent nodes to allow for a continual refresh in the line up of validator nodes.

As more IOST Dapps mature and proliferate across the ecosystem, we foresee increased usage of our services for powering cross-chain stablecoins (e.g. iUSD).

Rate3 will have a significant first-mover’s advantage in this regard from being a strategic partner. Therefore, it is in our interest to want to run an ultra reliable, non-malicious node with a highly credible reputation for the purposes of both securing and for gaining low-latency access to the blockchain. The rewards from being a Servi node will be used to pay for operations as well as to further grow the IOST ecosystem via partnerships. As of 14th Jan 2018, the inaugural IOST Node election process is now live and can be observable here.