From 5c66d730585bcdb85451b75938b1d37c7068cd62 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: demogorgod Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2022 01:55:10 -0400 Subject: [PATCH 1/7] Delete pages/index from landing app --- apps/landing/src/components/nav/NavBar.vue | 4 +- apps/landing/src/pages/index/index.vue | 298 --------------------- 2 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 300 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 apps/landing/src/pages/index/index.vue diff --git a/apps/landing/src/components/nav/NavBar.vue b/apps/landing/src/components/nav/NavBar.vue index ed6a3ad8b..92f2d2fe4 100644 --- a/apps/landing/src/components/nav/NavBar.vue +++ b/apps/landing/src/components/nav/NavBar.vue @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ > - + + + We’ve written before about what the value + proposition of blockchain is and why we’re building technology as close + to the consensus layer as possible. Fundamentally, the consensus mechanism + is what powers a new medium; exchange of value without the need for a third + party, peer to peer transactions. It’s clear that many of the current issues + in the crypto space today are due to egregious speculative activity and + attempted takeovers from centralized entities acting far away from the + consensus layer. + +
+ We’ll briefly touch on some recent issues in the Web3 space, the major + reasons we think they occurred, and why we’re building Casimir to help fix this. +
+
+
+
+ Bridge Attacks +
+
+ In February 2022, the DeFi platform + + + Wormhole was exploited for $325 million. + Wormhole was a popular VC backed blockchain bridge designed to allow users to + access tokens across chains using a single access point. More recently the + + + Binance Smart Chain was exploited for $100M+. While bridges are a potentially + convenient solution to the mass of protocols in existence, a single smart + contract or hot wallet with $100M+ of deposited tokens is proving to be too + attractive of a target for hackers. So far in 2022, $2B worth of tokens on + bridges have been hacked! +
+
+ +
+
+ Decentralized in Name Only +
+
+ The first of the warning bells of the impending 2022 crypto sell off was + the collapse of Terra. There are a range of reasons why Terra collapsed but + simply, algorithmic stable coins backed by digital assets have fundamental + challenges due to the volatile nature of digital assets. + + + This early breakdown from Staking Rewards names a comyination of an + overreliance on the yield platform Anchor comyined with significant + off-chain usage on exchanges being a driving factor in the collapse of Terra. + Those externalities, controlled by central entities, effectively subverted + the consensus mechanism of the project by operating off-chain where + overleveraged risk could not be observed. Additional issues were caused + by a concentration of premined tokens in the hands of Terraform Labs who + essentially controlled protocol voting and overrode the desires of some in + the community to reduce risks. A more recent postmortem in June 2022 + showed that the liquidity issues and subsequent depegging of the UST + stable coin were + + + caused by Terraform Labs themselves. +
+
+
+ +
+ The Rise and Fall of CeDeFi +
+
+ Next to fall, and + + + still unwinding, is the “Centralized Decentralized Finance” (CeDeFi) company + Celsius. Companies like Celsius and BlockFi have driven huge growth in crypto + by offering high interest rate yields on your deposited tokens. They act as a + bank but don’t do a good job of indicating the potential risk their + depositors face nor do they follow the same regulations as traditional banks. + + + Celsius was exposed to Terra and potentially lost $500M there alone. More + recent are revelations that + + + Celsius executives cashed out just prior to the collapse and bankruptcy filing. +
+
+ Last of the + + + “contagion” was the + + + collapse of Three Arrows Capital. Ongoing investigations are looking at whether + + + 3AC took large margin longs on crypto through fraudulent activity and then were + subsequently liquidated over the past month of pullbacks. Overall, it sounds + pretty bad for 3AC management and + + + they might be going to jail. +
+
+ The unifying thread of these major collapses was the concentration of digital + assets and their control into single points of failure. Even worse, the users + themselves were in the dark, unaware of what was occurring with little + visibility into the behind-the-scenes actions of those companies. What the + latest round of speculative growth in Web3 was built around was, in short, + unsustainable, over-leveraged, unregulated, wildcat banking, totally divorced + from the core ideas of a decentralized currency. +
+
+ Unfortunately, all of these problems were intentionally created + (not the fallout of course); many players in the Web3 ecosystem today + are attempting to rebuild traditional business models around SaaS and + fee extractional models by creating layers of complexity that separate users + from the core Web3 value proposition: Peer to Peer transactions. +
+
+ While the 2022 drawback in Web3 did a lot to refocus the industry on its + core principles, there are still growing centralization and regulatory concerns: +
+
+ Ethereum Merge +
+
+ + + Ethereum 2.0 staking is currently heavily concentrated among major + cryptocurrency exchanges and the + + + Lido Pool. So far, just two centralized staking providers, + Coinbase and Lido, have mined almost 50% of + + + Ethereum blocks post merge. Control of cryptocurrencies by + “banks” (Coinbase, Kraken, BlockFi, FTX, etc) presents a + threat to the uncensorable features of the Ethereum blockchain. + With control of the Ethereum blockchain and operating under + U.S. regulatory policies, these entities must implement any and + all controls as required by law. What this means is that + cryptocurrencies would effectively become fiat currencies - + implemented by decree from the state. +
+
+ If we are to avoid this scenario we must help create a truly + decentralized ecosystem where a few centralized entities + can’t control the Consensus mechanism of a Web3 protocol. + We need native Web3 solutions - peer to peer, decentralized + solutions and tools that empower the users, not centralized + market makers. We’re building Casimir to do just that. +
+
+ Decentralization +
+
+ Probably the most overused and watered down word in the space + is decentralized. Everything in blockchain/web3 is called decentralized, + whether or not it actually is. The unfortunate reality is that + blockchains are decentralized in name only. + + + A recent study by Trail of Bits for DARPA concludes blockchains + are fairly centralized. They report that the pooled mining for + Bitcoin gives a Nakamoto coefficient of 4 to Bitcoin and Proof + of Stake protocols aren’t much better. I won’t get into criticism + of the overall piece by Trail of Bits, particularly the misassociation + of pools and protocol control for Bitcoin, but the Nakamoto Coefficient + for Proof of Stake is worth analyzing. Chris Remus of Chainflow has + written extensively on Staking Decentralization and currently maintains a + + + live Nakamoto Coefficient tracker that predates the Trail of Bits report. + The Nakamoto coefficient is a measure of decentralization and, + + + by definition, the numyer of nodes needed to control the Consensus mechanism + of the protocol. The lower the numyer, the less decentralized. At the time + of this writing, some major protocols have very low Nakamoto Coefficients, + of note Polygon is at 3. +
+
+ The goal of Proof of Stake protocols should be to get the highest Nakamoto + Coefficient numyer possible, which would make it very difficult to manipulate + the protocol since it would require simultaneous compromisation of hundreds + of nodes. For example, Cosmos has an active set of validators of 150, + around the world. Compromising all of them would be likely impossible, + however the Nakamoto Coefficient of Cosmos, is only 7, meaning that to + control the Consensus mechanism of Cosmos would only take a compromise of + the top 7 Cosmos validators. A tough job to be sure, but a lot easier than + the 150 total active validators in the Cosmos ecosystem. +
+
+ What this means in practice is that the allocation of staked tokens should + be spread across all validators as equally as possible, not continually + concentrated in a few of the already heavily staked validators. +
+
+ So why are the Nakamoto coefficients so low? Let’s talk about the User Experience +
+
+ User Experience +
+
+ The crypto user experience today… sucks. You’re forced to either leave + significant returns on the table and surrender control of your assets + to a major platform; or, endure the inconvenience of manually staking + across multiple protocols, wallets, platforms, and websites. It’s + harder to know what’s going on and it becomes easier to get scammed + through faulty smart contracts. The easiest way to manage multiple + crypto tokens and assets is through centralized exchanges like Coinbase, + which leave a lot to be desired. Not only are you not in true control + of your coins, if you’re staking, you’re missing out on potential + rewards that Coinbase scoops up for its bottom line. If you’re more + adventurous, you may have multiple wallets and multiple staking websites + you use. You have the benefits of self custody but are forced to go + through the process of managing the wide range of websites and wallets + you have to interact with the various protocols. It becomes confusing + to manage and monitor all of your stuff and there aren’t any good + solutions today that help you compile everything. +
+
+ What's more, current Web3 non-custodial products, like MetaMask, + fall far short of protecting users from scams or interacting with + bad smart contracts. Because cryptocurrencies are so difficult to + interact with and understand, even seasoned pros get manipulated and hacked. +
+
+ Let’s look at how this poor user experience even affects the + Consensus mechanisms of PoS protocols. One of the easiest + ways to stake in the + + + Cosmos Ecosystem is using Keplr, a mobile/web wallet that + allows you to stake to any of the Tendermint based protocols. + However, users trying to stake with Keplr aren’t given + much to work with. +
+
+ A new Staker has no way of deciding who to stake to. + There are no easy ways of determining whether a listed + validator is reliable or participating in the governance + of a protocol. Users have no real reason to choose a validator + outside of the top ten, because there are no tools to sort + and research each individual validator. So people just pick + validators from the top of the list due to the appearance of + quality. We can see this effect through the Nakamoto + Coefficient of Cosmos today, which is 7. What’s more, two + of the top five Validators are cryptocurrency exchanges. In + Proof of Stake today, cryptocurrency exchanges have an outsized + impact on the consensus mechanism of proof of stake protocols. +
+
+ So, we’re left where we started. Exchanges offer the best user + experience and are gaining control over Proof of Stake protocols. + Since exchanges are likely to be regulated more like banks in the + future, we are looking at a future where Proof of Stake is + controlled by banks. What this means is that they control + consensus. They can censor accounts, users, or transactions + that they don’t like or are told to by the government. That’s a + fundamental threat to the idea of decentralization and cryptocurrency + as a whole - an uncensorable digital currency. +
+
+ We’re seeing that a poor user experience is driving centralization + and will continue to lead to major single point of failures like + Celsius unless we create tools that allow users to take full + advantage of the protocols they use. +
+
+ How we're building Casimir +
+
+ First, we reexamined how Web3 and Crypto is being built today. + It’s been often stated that Web3 is “going to be just like the + internet”. It’s certainly true that there may be some parallels + in growth trajectory and societal impact; however, for many + projects in the space today, “just like the internet” means + being built using today’s internet: AWS/Google Cloud, numerous + HTML websites, and centralized SaaS powerhouses. With Casimir, + we want to break the paradigm of today’s Web3 and reexamine how + users interact with and use blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and Web3 overall. +
+
+ We are getting off the Web 2.0 rails and building something new, + a native web3 experience that prioritizes decentralization, user + experience, and user control. We’re building the first true Web3 + portal, capable of integrating with any wallet, any blockchain, + and any token, allowing users to easily navigate Web3 and interact + with the protocols directly, not through a centralized exchange + or a variety of unconnected websites. +
+
+ Improving the User Experience through Decentralization +
+
+ We’re starting bottom up. Unlike current UIs, designed with + traditional Web2 architectures, we’re starting at the Consensus + and Infrastructure layers of Web3. These layers of decentralized + node infrastructure providers hold fully indexed blockchain + databases, provide APIs for querying, worldwide decentralized + nodes for consistent uptime, and process transactions as they + are added to the blockchain. +
+
+ This won’t be a new protocol blockchain. A lot of the + interoperability efforts so far have just created yet another + blockchain, another website, another token, and another wallet. + The future of Web3 is a multichain experience and although bridges + have been a temporary fix to move between chains, they’ve become + too much of a risk and a better solution would be to create an + interface that allows users to seamlessly move between protocols + and wallets without having to +
+
+ By accessing these nodes directly, users are assured of uptime, + uncensorable transactions, and can minimize fees taken by the normal + third party intermediaries. Also, users can access on-chain + analytics and information that these nodes carry as well as the + various smart contracts and tokens each protocol supports. +
+
+ There are 3 key areas we’re focusing on as we design Casimir: + Transparency through Decentralization, Usability, and Security. +
+
+ Transparency through Decentralization: +
+
+ Usability: Similar to a Mint or Personal Capital, it will be a + place where users can aggregate their digital currencies and + assets, for an easy place to manage what they have across the + various protocols they use. Most crypto users have multiple wallets + and assets from a variety of protocols, so a single location for + them to better manage and view their assets is much needed without + it being a single point of failure for any stakeholder. + Cross chain without the Bridge. +
+
+ Casimir will do more than just a Mint, however, it will allow + users to interact with their chosen protocols, accessing mints + and air-drops, Stake and manage their digital currencies across + protocols beyond ethereum, and access specialized tooling that + helps protect users. These user toolings are, frankly, things + that should already exist: +
+
+ Security (non custodial, non tracking, analytics, on chain custody): + Smart contract analyzer for users to know what their interaction + with a smart contract will *actually* do and informs users of what + smart contracts they’ve given permissions to and enables them to + cancel those permissions on old contracts. Because we are working + at the protocol level, we are able to provide users with real time + information and on chain analytics to help users make the best + decisions with their digital assets. +
+
+ We eventually plan to launch a mobile/web wallet that will give + users full control over the assets from tokens to NFTs and beyond + for any major token protocol. This wallet will have intuitive + backups and protection for users while allowing them to easily + access the entire Web3 ecosystem. +
+ diff --git a/apps/landing/tailwind.config.js b/apps/landing/tailwind.config.js index e22431180..2cf6fcd6f 100644 --- a/apps/landing/tailwind.config.js +++ b/apps/landing/tailwind.config.js @@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ module.exports = { spacing: { 'gutter': '16px', 'navbar': '300px', + 'margins': '48px', 'routerview': `calc(100vh - 300px)`, } }, From fe0437fad86ef1bcd9b8890a9cf5c7057b4c771c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: demogorgod Date: Sat, 5 Nov 2022 22:30:40 -0400 Subject: [PATCH 4/7] Add images to Why Casimir? page --- .../src/pages/whitepaper/Whitepaper.vue | 129 +++++++++++++----- .../components/casimir-user-flow.png | Bin 0 -> 12238 bytes .../whitepaper/components/cosmos-staking.png | Bin 0 -> 150342 bytes .../components/current-web3-user-flow.png | Bin 0 -> 14663 bytes .../whitepaper/components/metamask-tweet.png | Bin 0 -> 389437 bytes 5 files changed, 96 insertions(+), 33 deletions(-) create mode 100644 apps/landing/src/pages/whitepaper/components/casimir-user-flow.png create mode 100644 apps/landing/src/pages/whitepaper/components/cosmos-staking.png create mode 100644 apps/landing/src/pages/whitepaper/components/current-web3-user-flow.png create mode 100644 apps/landing/src/pages/whitepaper/components/metamask-tweet.png diff --git a/apps/landing/src/pages/whitepaper/Whitepaper.vue b/apps/landing/src/pages/whitepaper/Whitepaper.vue index 6be58e177..be9768523 100644 --- a/apps/landing/src/pages/whitepaper/Whitepaper.vue +++ b/apps/landing/src/pages/whitepaper/Whitepaper.vue @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@