[Part Two] Second Layer Solutions: A journey into Meta Transactions, Counterfactual Instantiation and P2P networks

Relaying transactions for fun, UX and profit

TL;DR

We started working on Universal Ids suggested by Alex Van de Sande. We strayed of the smart contract standard and changed the guidelines to optimise for UX. Also created a full p2p second layer network of relayer nodes. Made the network Sybil attack proof by instantiating contracts counterfactually — upon meaningful action.

How it all began — Universal Identities

You can read how we implemented the universal identity smart contracts in Part One.

The Relayer

All is good in the smart contract world, but how does one send transactions to this smart contract if you do not posses ETH in your wallet. This is where the Relayer comes into play.

Paying for your users transactions

The relayer is a software node, an API, that allows you to submit your signature of your intent through it. In its simplest form it just takes your signature and sends it to the smart contract covering for the costs.

Here is the simplest implementation:

A lot of Dapps trying to get adoption, given a suitable business model, can implement this Relayer architecture and essentially pay for the transactions of their users. Even better, this maintains the traceability and immutability promise of the blockchain.