The past two weeks were spent researching and further testing tools and functionalities that we consider relevant for the AppCoins protocol. The tools we have been testing are Microraiden and Casper FFG.

Integrating Microraiden

Microraiden is the simplified version of the Raiden Network and can be used to perform off-chain transactions between predetermined peers (many-to-one approach). Although it doesn’t support multi-hop transfers and bidirectional payment channels, its functionality can still be potentially relevant for the AppCoins protocol.

Our approach to start testing Microraiden’s functionality was two-fold:

Implement the client in Java Test the server-side functionalities

Regarding the 1st approach, since the AppCoins protocol is to be integrated by app stores and be used from mobile apps, a Java implementation enables us to test Microraiden off-chain transactions using an Android frontend app. This is specially relevant since Aptoide will be showcasing the AppCoins protocol from within its Android app. If you want to see the PoC we released during the Web Summit, follow this link.

As for the 2nd approach, deeply understanding Microraiden’s core functionality is key to know the true potential of its technology and to see if it can really be used inside the AppCoins protocol and how. The AppCoins protocol will need to define Resources (refer to Microraiden’s GitHub) that will be exchanged for APPC tokens, as off-chain transactions will be used throughout all the protocol’s use cases: in-app purchases, mobile advertising and developers/apps reputation.

We’ve synchronised the blockchain in the Rinkeby testnet and put up the Microraiden example running for this testnet.

Rinkeby testnet synced

Microraiden demo proxy example running

Testing Casper FFG

The Casper project is especially important as it’s directly related to sharding (an easier explanation can be found here), which will enable Ethereum to scale its TPS and become a better solution in the crypto space. Casper FFG is one of the two parallel work streams being currently developed in order to promote the transition of Ethereum from a PoW to a PoS blockchain.

Since the AppCoins protocol is done relying on an ERC20 token, any change and update to the Ethereum protocol can have a very important impact on what our protocol can achieve. Therefore, understanding the current state of the Casper FFG and its functionality can help us prepare for what may come from it in the near future.

In addition, the AppCoins team also wants to contribute to the Ethereum network, in this case by helping to test the current implementation of Casper FFG, as AppCoins wants to be an active player in the community.

For this, we’ve decided to setup a Casper FFG node in our infrastructure, running on an AWS machine with Ubuntu 16.04 using the docker image that is available here. In the following screenshot one can see the node running.

Casper FFG node logs

The Casper FFG can also be run in a testnet instead of connecting to the mainnet. We’ll probably try it out while developing and testing the AppCoins protocol for the three aforementioned use cases.