ERG/USDT and ERG/BTC pairs are now open for trading on Bitcoin.com Exchange!  Armeanio, Ergo’s Business Manager expressed his enthusiasm when listing the ERG token on the exchange, by stating: “Ergo is excited to join the Bitcoin.com Exchange family. It is our honor to collaborate with Bitcoin.com Exchange as it has a history of being a good actor in the crypto space. They offer a wide variety of crypto products, services, educational content and user tools. We are looking forward to a long and prosperous partnership.”

ERG is listed on Bitcoin.com!

This resource serves as a starting point for anyone interested in learning more about the Ergo community. For more detailed information, please consult the most comprehensive handbook on the Ergo Ecosystem,[ergonaut.space](http://ergonaut.space).

## Ergo Blockchain

Ergo is an Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) based Proof of Work blockchain for Smart Contracts that is built with its own unique language, ErgoScript. The language is built with Sigma Protocols, allowing for the use of a secure and flexible sub-class of zero knowledge proofs. Ergo’s approach to UTXO (called Multi-Stage Contracts) introduces time-weighted data, read-only inputs and the implementation of Non-Interactive Proofs of Proof of Work (NIPoPoWs) - enabling light clients and cross chain interoperability. The mission for Ergo is to develop all the necessary tools for a decentralized finance ecosystem. Ergo is a partner of Cardano and Emurgo and a member of the Blockchain Privacy, Security & Adoption Alliance.

The lead developer of Ergo, Alex (Kushti) Chepurnoy, has been in the blockchain sector since 2011. He has built various projects such as smartcontract.com (old Chainlink), NXT, Scorex and he is a researcher of IOHK with over 20 papers under his name. Academia and peer-reviewed research are paramount to Ergo’s success in building a robust blockchain.

## Ergo Tokenomics

Ergo’s Proof of Work is based on the Autolykos v2 consensus algorithm which is a GPU mineable cryptocurrency. Ergo did not hold any ICO in the launch and the genesis block started fairly without any VC funding. Ergo first went live on Waves and was mineable as the Ergo First Year Token (EFYT).

There were no pre-mined coins reserved for the Ergo Foundation. Ergo’s ecosystem is funded through a distribution model that designates  10% of the mining rewards to the Ergo Treasury until the [end of 2nd year](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-07-07-2nd-ergoversary-wrap-up/) (of the mainnet launch). From this point onwards, the Treasury allocation will be halved every month for 6 months, afterwhich the Treasury will cease to receive any further allotment from the protocol. At the end of the distribution schedule, the Treasury funds represent only 4.37% of the total ERG supply. This model helps to build full decentralization.

The total coin supply is hard-capped at 97 million ERGs with an emission schedule of 8 years. This timetable, which is contrary to Bitcoin’s never-ending emission schedule, might seem very brief. However, Bitcoin is programmed to distribute 75% of its supply during the first 8 years, so Ergo’s emission design is not too far-off from Bitcoin’s. Rather than develop a protocol that continually mints coins as rewards for building the blockchain, Ergo has adopted a new and novel incentive for miners in the form of [Storage Rent](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-07-09-cryptocurrency-fees-a-solution-to-unreasonable-state-growth/).

Token emission graphic can be seen below.

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Bmru3HhP0QFKYnZQdxKHp8OZ8BsssasgVRlpcdLZ7MzB5D6rqANR9MjVUAvFHtbGM0Y3-H77QemWqrONKxpygBkpE6sZ8eLcU5dD9ljiwU6iVrRamgIDfeimYx7ZLdfQP8vOBnHH)

The ERG coin is the base layer currency for building and using smart contracts. 

Every type of transaction such as NFT minting, smart contract deployment, and swaps will essentially be signed with ERGs. The circulation of coins therefore will be boosted even with other ecosystems choosing to use the Ergo Blockchain. With more DeFi services such as cross-chain DEX and oracle pools, the future sustainability of Ergo tokenomics will be secured.

## Ergo Ecosystem

**Sigmaverse:** [sigmaverse.io](http://sigmaverse.io) is the decentralized applications hub of the Ergo Ecosystem.

**Oracle Pools:** Oracles are the messengers of blockchain networks. They connect off-chain and on-chain data and create the backbone of DeFi systems. Ergo has an UTXO based approach to oracles with [oracle pools](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-04-27-chainlink-oracles-vs-ergo-oracle-pools/) that will be cheaper and easier to access for decentralized information.

**SigUSD:** [Ergo’s algorithmic stable coin](https://sigmausd.io/#/) application is based on the AgeUSD protocol. Smart contracts secure SigUSD’s peg to the US dollar by backing it with SigRSV reserve coins.

**ErgoMixer:** UTXO based systems have strong privacy features and [ErgoMixer](https://github.com/ergoMixer/ergoMixBack) is a tool for people who want to protect their digital anonymity.

**Ergo Auction House:** Ergo’s NFT marketplace can be accessed at [ergoauctions.org](http://ergoauctions.org). Users can trade visual and audio NFTs easily with a non-custodial wallet.

**ErgoUtils:** Community made multi-purpose tool [ergoutils.org](http://ergoutils.org) is where users can mint NFTs, create custom tokens and use mixer-hops for privacy needs.

**Zero-Knowledge Treasury:** Ergo’s [zero-knowledge vaults](https://github.com/anon-real/DistributedSigsServer) are for mutual expenditure and multi-signature wallets; it's a decentralized on-chain version of a collective bank, or an organization.

**ErgoNFTs**: A community made NFT display application where you can [check](https://ergonfts.org/) your own NFTs.

**NIPoPoWs**: Non-Interactive Proofs of Proof of Work provide side-chains with light clients and enable cross-chain computations. Ergo.Meta, which is a cookbook for sidechains, will be soon published by Kushti.

## Wallets that are endorsed by Ergo:

[Ergo Full Node Wallet](https://github.com/ergoplatform/ergo/wiki/Set-up-a-full-node)

[Yoroi Web Wallet](https://yoroi-wallet.com/#/)

[Android Wallet](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-07-29-ergo-for-android-released/) (a mobile wallet on [Google Play Store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.ergoplatform.android))

## Roadmap

Alex Chepurnoy’s [latest update](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-07-13-updated-2021-roadmap-from-kushti/) offers insights into ongoing developments on the Ergo Platform.

Readers can also refer to the following infographic about Ergo Platform’s Roadmap.

![](/img/uploads/screenshot-2021-08-04-at-17.01.57.png)

After the overwhelming success of our very first hackathon, [ErgoHack](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-06-19-ergohack/), we are pleased to announce that plans are underway to organize a second one very soon. 

## Exchanges

ERG is currently listed on gate.io, coinex, bitcoin.com, waves.exchange, swop.fi, biki TradeOgre, HotBit, and KuCoin. ErgoDex will be launching very soon and the Ergo team is continuing to work on additional listings with other exchanges.

#### Useful Links:

<https://www.ergoforum.org/>

<https://ergoplatform.org/discover/#Documents/>

<https://github.com/ergoplatform/ergo/wiki>

<https://discord.gg/kj7s7nb>

<https://t.me/ergoplatform>

The Ergonaut Handbook


We’re pleased to announce the release of Ergo’s first mobile wallet! This app was built on top of [Ergo Appkit](https://github.com/aslesarenko/ergo-appkit) - Ergo’s official SDK - and has been [audited by the Ergo team](https://twitter.com/ergoplatformorg/status/1417039106576633857). If you still hesitate to add your secrets to it: you can also use it without giving your mnemonic. You won't be able to send funds then, but you can track your balance.

Just this past weekend the Ergo Foundation approved a one-time grant to Benjamin Schulte (aka MrStahlfelge - [Github](https://github.com/MrStahlfelge)) as a recognition of his development of Ergo Wallet for Android application.

He will also join the ergo dev team (as a part-time developer) starting from August to further develop the Android wallet and work on "Ergo on Android" related tech.

Features:

* generating wallets, restoring wallets in a way compatible with Yoroi and Ergo node (only the first address can be seen at the moment)
* you can add read-only wallets without entering your secrets to watch balance
* no need to make full sync, this is a lightweight client
* Requesting payments by showing QR code or sharing a link
* Sending payments, manually or by scanning a QR code
* Your secrets are stored password-encrypted or authentication-protected
* Show wallet balance, configurable comparison fiat currency

Available on the [Google Play store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.ergoplatform.android) below, or directly via a [GitHub](https://github.com/MrStahlfelge/ergo-wallet-android) APK. Please join the [Ergo Discord](https://discord.gg/kj7s7nb) for feedback or support.

Ergo for Android Released

Generate wallets and restore wallets (compatible to node wallets) - Add read-only wallets without entering your secrets - No need to make a full sync, this is a lightweight client - Request ERGs by showing QR code or sharing a link - Send ERGs manually or by scanning a QR code - Show wallet balance denominated in fiat curency.  Your secrets are stored password-encrypted or authentication-protected and never leave your device.  This app does not log any information, does not track you and does not profile you.

Happy to announce that an Android wallet is now available on the Google Play store!

Ergo has been a proud member of the **Blockchain Privacy, Security & Adoption Alliance (BPSAA)** for more than a year. We consider it a privilege to be a part of this dedicated community that works for the future of blockchain. 



The BPSAA envisions a world where cryptocurrencies achieve mass adoption to build a decentralized world, where individuals are not victimized by institutions. The focus of the Alliance is to promote the diffusion of cryptocurrencies without sacrificing the fundamental [cypherpunk ideology](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-04-26-the-ergo-manifesto/). The BPSAA’s vision is to facilitate continuous dynamic collaboration and integrate novel innovations into everyday life.



The BPSAA was born out of a group chat initiated by several members of Pirate Chain (Draeth, Lootz, Wookie, +DreamTim, Ph0enix and Cryptofist) and Wolf from Turtle Network. After those initial conversations, the BPSAA was formed from a partnership between Pirate Chain, Turtle Network, Sentinel and Etho Protocol. 



Although partnerships in crypto space are generally underused relationships, the BPSAA sustains a collaborative framework with its members and aims to grow through grassroots movements.



BPSAA [wants to establish](https://bpsaa.vision/news/q2-update-2020) a functional decentralized community through the framework of a non-profit organization. From there, the Alliance will be able to transmit innovations to wider masses by operating as a regulated entity.



The Blockchain Privacy, Security & Adoption Alliance ([bpsaa.vision](http://bpsaa.vision)) stands for:



* Privacy
* Security
* Cryptocurrency Adoption
* Decentralization
* Interoperability
* Open Source
* Fairness
* Transparency



We are proud to be a member of such a hardworking and creative community. 



We aim to deepen our ties with the BPSAA’s existing members by building bridges, welcoming new creative members and promoting the adoption and credibility that crypto deserves!\
\
For more information on the BPSAA, please see their [members](https://bpsaa.vision/members) and [partners](https://bpsaa.vision/partners-sponsors). You can also stay up to date on the latest news from the Alliance on [twitter](https://twitter.com/BPSAA_Official?s=20).

Ergo & BPSAA: A Shared Vision of the Future

Unlike many other projects, Ergo was born out of a true fair start and every effort has been made to ensure the ERG token will be fairly distributed. There was no private pre-mine, private sales, no initial coin offering, or venture capital funding. The Ergo Foundation receives a modest 4.43% of the total supply and is completed in just two and a half years from genesis. This means we need to be smart about where we spend funds on marketing, and support Ergo with grassroots methods where ever possible.

Ergo was launched with an aggressive [emission schedule](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2019_05_20-curve/), with all coins to be fully mined in eight years. To stabilise miners income after emission ends, they will be able to reclaim a very small amount (~.13 erg every 4 years) from otherwise lost, frozen or forgotten erg in the form of [storage rent](https://fc18.ifca.ai/bitcoin/papers/bitcoin18-final18.pdf). This will be enabled before emission, to allow the community to gauge the appropriate level it needs to be going forward. This approach ensures robust tokenomics; however, in line with the principles from [The Ergo Manifesto](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-04-26-the-ergo-manifesto/) for creating grassroots finance, we must grow from within to encourage others to develop on top of this bedrock of tooling Ergo is supplying.  

Ergo’s Zero-Knowledge Schnorr Signatures allow unique applications using sigma protocols on top of ergo which are being used to build trustless [crowd funders](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2019_09_06_crowdfund/), [simple collective spending approaches](https://www.ergoforum.org/t/a-simpler-collective-spending-approach-for-everyone/476), reversible ICOs, and much more. These systems will assist the community in guiding and vote for the future development of Ergo. 

### Education

After the [great success of the initial ErgoHack](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-06-19-ergohack/) a few weeks ago, two more are on their way to you this year helping us build up the structuring, documentation, and pathways for developers into the world of eUTxO. 

The [Ergo Foundation](https://ergoplatform.org/community/#Foundation/) is actively looking for a director of education. Ergo offers a variety of tools for decentralized finance, one way to maximize their use is to increase the amount of documentation, and offer tutorials to developers new to ErgoScipt and the extended UTxO model.

The Ergo Foundation is also in the process of working to create partnerships with educational non-profits to offer workshops and courses to teach incubators for adolescents and college students. 

To make Ergo truly understandable to everyone, this must also come from the community. To get us started, Mrs Glasgow has kindly kickstarted the new Ergo Community BitTube with ['Ergo for Eejits' -- A brief overview of the manifesto and values behind Ergo](https://bittube.tv/post/f1f55780-6365-433a-add1-1e33049c2f8f). 

### Incubator

We are launching a Hackathon Incubator. The first ErgoHack event was launched on relatively short notice, yet the community involvement in proposing ideas to the first Hackathon Incubator was very impressive. A special thank you to each and every community member who offered suggestions, ideas and support.\
\
The next two Hackathons will be focused on privacy tools and tools for social good. Users have a unique perspective based on the use cases that would improve their experience and livelihood, so we are planning to launch 2 new Hackathon Incubators to get community-driven feedback. All ideas are welcome.\
\
One lucky team will receive weekly payments, reporting progress during the weekly development chat on Discord. 

### Grow Ergo!

At the moment there are already some existing funds you can apply for, [DarkFund0](https://www.ergoforum.org/t/darkfund0-zk-fund-for-privacy-applications/398) is a privacy-focused fund aiming to build up privacy and security within Ergo. The first applicant for this has recently been granted and will be announced soon.

Those of you who remember the [Bearwhale Saga](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-05-13-bearwhale-saga/) will know that as a result of this one of the ‘Goodwhales’ who filled the SigmaUSD bank to minimise the risk to SigRSV holders is generously putting up $20,000 SigUSD for development. 

A wild [‘grow-ergo’ repository](https://github.com/ergoplatform/grow-ergo/issues) has appeared on GitHub, providing the framework for a central resource where bounties can be categorised and made accessible to all within the community. Bounties are a wonderful way to attract developer talent as well as advertising marketing and other tasks that anyone can get involved with to help grow Ergo. This may look a bit barren at the moment while we’re setting it up, however; we can announce The Ergo Foundation is assigning a special monthly operations budget of up to $20,000 per month for bounties, contests, tips and anything else that can help Ergo grow.

So join us on the [Ergo Community Based Marketing Telegram](https://t.me/ErgoSocials), and let's create true grassroots finance!

\
*Header image sourced from: [poorguycrypto.com](https://www.poorguycrypto.com/)*

Grow Ergo

A local exchange trading system --- or ‘LETS’ for short --- facilitates exchange between members by providing a local currency and a directory of offers and needs. LETS allows people to create value within their community, and barter collectively - exchanging their skills and services in return for skills and services they would have otherwise paid for. 

LETS can be thought of as a mechanism to facilitate the velocity of trade, goods, and services out-with the existing monetary system, allowing us to create sustainable local economies. To give a tangible example; one member may offer a couple of hours of tech support and use those tokens gained to buy a piece of art listed by another member. 

LETS have historically become popular during times of crisis. One of the first LETS' was founded by Michael Linton in a Canadian town stuck in depression back in 1981. LETS were also popular during the 1998-2002 Argentine Great Depression. Most LETS groups are small and consist of maybe 50 to 250 members, usually with paper-based credit notes and ledgers maintained by a committee. Similar systems have arisen in recent months amidst the pandemic --- [Tenino, Washington, started printing wooden money to facilitate trade between its residents](https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/20/us/tenino-washington-wooden-money-trnd/index.html). However, these analogue systems are inherently prone to counterfeit notes, dishonest activity by administrators, and, perhaps most importantly - human error. 

As lockdowns across the world effectively shut down whole sectors and a large part of the economy, we are entering a new era at a breakneck pace. Technology like Ergo can efficiently address this problem, building bridges between local economies without commercial or central banks. These separated communities could still be connected via gateways, allowing liquidity to move between them and avoiding exposure to toxic debt, creating a system that is immune from both inflation and depressions. Many variations of LETS could exist for individuals and small businesses, with varying participation criteria, credit limits, collateralisation requirements. 

Additionally, thanks to Ergo’s [sigma protocols](https://ergonaut.space/en/sigma-protocols), creating a ‘[Trustless LETS](https://github.com/ergoplatform/ergo/wiki/A-Trustless-Local-Exchange-Trading-System)’ on top of Ergo is also possible. A Trustless LETS has no membership record, therefore, no management committee is needed for enrolment allowing it to operate with full autonomy. This will be discussed in more detail in an upcoming article. 

If the ideas discussed here interest you, LETS start the discussion! Join us on the [\#lets](https://discord.gg/BVpT8vRUMa) channel on Discord -- or on [Ergo’s Agora](https://t.me/ErgoAgora), a Telegram group chat used to facilitate open discussions around privacy, anonymity, trust, economics and related topics.

The need to reform the global financial system has been evident since the last crisis in 2008. Now, COVID-19 has forced our hands. We cannot delay, and the best way to start is from the grassroots. 

Cryptocurrency should provide tools to enrich ordinary people. Their small businesses providing no much above making ends meet, not depersonalized big financial capital. This is what inspired me. This is my dream.

* [The Ergo Manifesto](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-04-26-the-ergo-manifesto/)

LETS start the discussion

**Ergo, a community-centered proof-of-work protocol is launching its first-ever hackathon next week, ERGOHACK.** 

It is our goal at Ergo to create a network for the people, censorship-resistant, resilient, open and free. It is our goal to build a system that creates smart contracts for the people, to put tooling in the hands of those that need it the most.  

The hackathon will run June 11-13th with crypto prizes for the top three slots and all presenters. 

Submissions must be filed by June 8th with the deadline for submitting solutions set for June 14th. 

Ergo is looking for solutions from teams that want to “hack for change” surrounding topics like tokenization schemes, visual tools for constructing multi-signatures, stealth address pool implementations, tools for NFTs and many more.  The winning teams will be announced on June 21st, with the following prizes up for grabs:

**1st Place**: 5,000 SigmaUSD\
**2nd Place**: 2,500 SigmaUSD\
**3rd Place**: 1,000 SigmaUSD\
*All presenters will receive 100 SigmaUSD.*

Additionally, All Hackathon participants will receive a commemorative **@ERGnomes** non-fungible token, the '**[HackaGnome](https://twitter.com/ERGnomes/status/1397206492433027089?s=20)**'

![ergonome-nft](/img/uploads/2021-06-04-17.07.57.jpg)

Submissions will be judged on the quality, implementation, and potential impact of the idea by the esteemed judges 

**Aleksei Pupyshev**\
Founder of Graviton, co-founder of Neutrino protocol and Gravity protocol

**Robert Kornacki**\
*CSO at dcSpark*\
Former Head of Research at Emurgo\
Ergo Foundation Member

**Alexander Chepurnoy AKA Kushti**\
*Ergo Core Developer* \
Co-founder of smartcontract.com\
Core developer at NXT\
Research Fellow at IOHK

**Bruno Woltzenlogel Paleo**\
*Technical Project Director*\
Author of Scientific Papers on chimeric ledgers, UTXO with scripts, multi-currencies, as well as the formal specifications in Haskell and Scala for these papers.

Need some background info on the languages, tooling, and frameworks used for Ergo?
Check out our community-driven content on [ergonaut.space](https://ergonaut.space/en/hackathon), and there’s a hidden treasure trove of information stashed across the [ergo forum](https://www.ergoforum.org/c/research-and-development/7?order=views). For some inspiration of what’s possible under Ergo, check out our [Hackathon Idea Incubator ](https://www.reddit.com/r/ergonauts/comments/nmof7c/hackathon_idea_incubator/)on Reddit. 

Join the event on our official [Discord server](https://discord.gg/kj7s7nb) and register your interest in the #Hackathon channel. 
We in the Ergo community look forward to seeing the unique and forward-thinking proposals from participants.

Ergo community launches its first hackathon ERGOHACK 

## Intro

SigmaUSD.io is the worlds first UTxO-based stable coin. The foundation on which a new era of digital finance will be built. A 100% cryptocurrency pegged decentralised stable coin that has no forced liquidation. (but is not without risk - as we’re about to find out).

It is an instantiation of the [AgeUSD protocol](https://github.com/Emurgo/age-usd) designed in partnership by IOHK, Ergo, and Emurgo.

It maintains the conservative settings for collateral reserves, avoiding the need for liquidations. Along with that, it supports a fully decentralised stablecoin emission setup. 

Thus, SigmaUSD offers the world a stable, simple, and decentralised stablecoin.

* [SigmaUSD vs the competition.](https://curiaregiscrypto.medium.com/sigmausd-vs-the-competition-e70b23fe37a3)
* [SigmaUSD on Ergo - Privacy, Stability and Governance](https://curiaregiscrypto.medium.com/sigmausd-on-ergo-a36e0cdff743)

SigmaUSD is a complex beast, but you need to know for this article the following. 

**SigmaUSD**

* Stable to $1
* If you buy SigmaUSD, and the price of Erg dips - you can claim more Erg for the same dollar value.

**SigmaRSV**

* SigmaRSV is similar to book value per share. Its value depends on both the size of the reserve and how it is utilised.
* When the price dips, SigUSD holders who exit at a lower point than they entered must be rewarded extra Erg to make their SigUSD up to $1
* SigRSV profits depend on these accumulated transaction fees plus any losses SigUSD holders experienced when exiting.

The 2% fee taken during minting goes back into the reserve. This fee accumulates in the reserve, appreciating the value of SigRSV and helping to prevent speculative orders.

Additionally, the contract locks at certain ratios, this is to ensure both that there is always enough reserve to meet the needs of the stablecoin under market conditions, and that the SigRSV position doesn’t suffer from significant dilution. 

![](https://ergonaut.space/photo_2021-05-26_01.56.49.jpeg)

## SigmaUSD V1

Shortly after the contract was live, we noticed a large player was jumping in and out of SigUSD at a semi-regular schedule. After some research, we identified that the Bearwhale was frontrunning the oracle price in an attempt to profit at the expense of reserve holders (SigRSV).

This type of oracle frontrunning is not uncommon and has happened before in the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem. It is a factor at play because oracle there must always be some amount of delay before a data point is accepted into a block, which opens up the ability for frontrunning to exist.

In our scenario, the Bearwhale was taking advantage of this by minting SigUSD early during the "Live Epoch" period of the oracle pool, once it was reasonably clear what the upcoming new Erg/USD datapoint would be—profiting on the price difference once the oracle pool finalised the datapoint. You can take a look at the whale's address [here](<https://explorer.ergoplatform.com/en/addresses/9hyDXH72HoNTiG2pvxFQwxAhWBU8CrbvwtJDtnYoa4jfpaSk1d3)>) (who appears to be an early miner in the Ergo ecosystem.

We decided at this stage to freeze the oracle price to allow people to redeem. The contract would then be relaunched with a higher fee, and governance tokens enabled.

Read the full blog post regarding this on the blog: [Finding The Right Balance](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021_03_04-finding-right-balance/).

## SigmaUSD V2

As soon as we launched V2, the Bearwhale was back with several attacks on different fronts. Thankfully, this led to some minor issues with the protocol coming to light and quickly being patched - improving the resiliency going forward. Don't you love free stress tests?

They initially purchased a significant stake in SigRSV - which most took as a sign of hope and that the Bearwhale was instead backing the protocol going forward. Unfortunately, ultimately, they discovered a loophole that allowed a mimicking of the SigmaUSD treasury, interjecting when someone was making a transaction, selling SigRSV to users while pocketing the fee.

When this was blocked, next was spamming the proxy addresses that ERG move through while being swapped for Sigma. This prevented the redemption of SigmaRSV and allowed the cycle into a short position, and keep the reserve ratio locked at 400%. Scripts from community members to counter his attempts, and subsequently, we rolled out a patch to prevent the attack.

Indeed, there were likely many other efforts to misuse and manipulate the oracle pools and the protocol itself, which were unsuccessful and we are not aware of.

While we cannot say for sure that the dumping on the open market was connected, 150,000 ERG sell-walls appearing shortly after the short positioned was entered was telling.

During the BTC-flash crash, the price of Erg fluctuated sharply to under $2; however, the robustness and smoothness of Oracle Pools came into play. 

They are limited to an update of 0.5% every 30minutes - up or down. The markets slowly recovered throughout the day, and the power of the Oracle Pools power was demonstrated. The Bearwhale had the chance to exit at a minimal loss during this period, but they did not. Maybe they were looking for lower prices of Erg.

Unfortunately, for his sake, the marketing machine is well-greased and roaring, and when we finally broke through $4, the whale exited his position with a loss of around 170,000 ERG, compared to his starting position at the beginning of V2. The exact amount made during V1 is hard to quantity, as the first transactions we see are withdrawals from the SigmaUSD bank (presumably, deposits made with another wallet). The Bearwhale's main address can be found [here](https://explorer.ergoplatform.com/en/addresses/9hyDXH72HoNTiG2pvxFQwxAhWBU8CrbvwtJDtnYoa4jfpaSk1d3), and [this second one](https://explorer.ergoplatform.com/en/addresses/9eyXNatnA6YM4tS1TjadEA6TFrd9bdufbFuykV89iX9vE9RBZZe) appeared later on. He likely has many others or friends helping him. 

Those who minted SigRSV at the start of the contract and cashed out here made a healthy profit.

At the moment, SigRSV holders might want to consider an exit. The size of the reserve compared to SigUSD utilisation is unbalanced and is high-risk for reserve holders. The Bearwhale is continuously rotating back into a short at a higher price point and try to redeem some of those ERGs. This is a risky gamble for him, and while he's a proficient hacker. He appears to be terrible at trading.

Is the game finished? No, we do not think so. But, from now on, the game is changed, and it is a fair game. Now, anyone can Mint/Redeem whatever they wish; the RR and SigRSV price are moving up and down as usual. No individual is preventing you from minting/redeeming USD/RSV, and it is ultimately you that decides on your position.

We must keep in mind that this protocol is not to benefit only the RSV holders; The war declared on the Bearwhale was because they were not playing fair. 

From now, lots of individuals and whales may enter into both positions and take profits or losses; that's fair. So, let us leave the bearwhale story behind and use the protocol wisely. I think all of us learned a lot from the battle and got more familiar with the risks/rewards of the protocol and the chaotic nature and wars waged behind the scenes in decentralised finance.

## The Future

The success of the SigmaUSD stablecoin depends not only on the price of Erg but also on the utilisation of SigUSD itself. 

anon_2020s has already integrated the mixing of SigmaUSD/RSV into the ErgoMixer. The first working non-custodial, programmable, non-interactive mixer in the cryptocurrency space. 

Both ERG and SigUSD are now accepted on [Cryptocurrency Checkout.](https://cryptocurrencycheckout.com/coin/sigmausd) This is a Non-Custodial Payment Gateway that provides plugins that make accepting multiple cryptocurrencies for your products and services as easy as entering your wallet addresses and copying some code into your website or application. 

The team is also working on SigUSD/USDx stablecoin pairs which would enable robust off-ramps; we have support upcoming for Auction House, the tip bot for Telegram, and, more significantly - ErgoDex on the horizon, which will likely be another serious test for autonomous contracts and the DeFi space as a whole. 

[Discussions are already budding on the forums](https://www.ergoforum.org/t/sigmausd-dao-bank-is-a-complex-beast/767/14) of how we can improve these contracts so that we can ensure the robustness and resilience of the protocol going forward. 

If you've made it this far, check out [The Ergo Manifesto](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-04-26-the-ergo-manifesto/) to see what Ergo is really about. Head over to [ergonaut.space/en/SigmaUSD](https://ergonaut.space/en/SigmaUSD) for more information on the protocol, or [r/ergonauts/faq](https://www.reddit.com/r/ergonauts/search?q=bearwhale&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all) for a comprehensive overview of all the components that make up Erg. 

We're not sure who minted the graphic above (a developer working on an NFT gallery stumbled on it). But it's [up for sale](https://ergoauctions.org/#/auction/specific/83643ed47afb08fab54a89b26f0077ddde3a02c01ee15aa52f5980231cf13e8e) on the auction house.

Finally, join the fight and help bring crypto back to its roots. There's a SigmaUSD group on [Telegram](https://t.me/SigmaUSD), a dedicated channel on [Discord](https://discord.gg/GkpppkfHAV), or head over to our rapidly growing community at [/r/ergonauts/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ergonauts/).

Bearwhale Saga

We’re happy to announce our collaboration with [Tesseract Systems](https://tesseract.one/) through our grants program that is going to provide full integration with the  [Ledger hardware wallet](https://www.ledger.com/). This integration will allow Ergonauts to safely store their ERG tokens with the world's most secure hardware wallet.



While there are many other ways users can store and interact with their ERG and tokens, the ledger provides a fully secure way to do this, ensuring that the private keys are never exposed to the internet directly when making a transaction. 



This ongoing collaboration will be a continuation of our constant search for better compatibility features, allowing users to access, store and manage ERG tokens on their Ledger devices.



The ledger hardware wallet, along with the live app, enables users to secure and control their portfolios fully. The two main wallets introduced by the company are the base model Nano S, for everyday crypto enthusiasts who are looking to secure their assets from home, or the upgraded Nano X model that allows them to manage it on the go from their smartphone. 



## Ledger Benefits and security



Ledger is pioneering hardware wallet technology, providing unprecedented levels of security for crypto assets by creating devices that are secure by design.



All hardware wallets created by the company possess a certified chip built to hold off any attacks. Aptly named the  “[Secure element](https://www.ledger.com/academy/security/the-secure-element-whistanding-security-attacks/)”. This provides an extra layer of security through cryptography. These chips are similar to the ones used in likes of passports and SIM cards. Nano wallets also have a unique and customized OS called “Bolos” explicitly designed to protect crypto assets which grant the higher protection against attacks possible.



Ledger wallets are the first and only certified hardware wallets on the market, approved by ANSSI, the french independent cybersecurity agency.



### About ERGO



Founded by some of the leading technologists in the sector. ERGO is a Proof of Work blockchain platform featuring smart contract capabilities that allow for full integration with the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector.



ERGOs [Sigma protocols](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2020_03_16_ergo_sigma/) and blockchain architecture allow for what otherwise would be very difficult in conventional smart contract platforms. The use cases for financial contracts are endless, including the issuance of decentralized [stablecoins](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-02-05-building-ergo-how-the-ageusd-stablecoin-works/), [NFTs](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2020-10-16-announcing-the-auction-house-nft-marketplace-on-ergo/), [Oracle pools](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2020-08-31-ergos-oracle-pools-and-what-they-mean-for-the-ecosystem/), and [decentralized mixers](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2020_03_20_ergo_mixer/), among many other things.



You can read Ergo’s Manifesto [here](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2021-04-26-the-ergo-manifesto/)



### About Tesseract



Tesseract is a protocol that allows dApps to run without having access to the user's private key. Instead, it facilitates communication with the Wallets to request transaction and data signatures.



The main goal of the Tesseract protocol is to enable dApp developers to provide a secure but at the same time smooth and easy-to-understand user experience without compromising privacy and decentralization. 



In contrast to the case-specific solutions, Tesseract protocol can work in various environments: on the smartphone, desktop, or even crossing the border of a single device (i.e. a dApp runs on the computer, and the wallet is on the smartphone).



You can test the demo dApp that utilizes Tesseract to work on iPhone here: <https://tesseract.one/#demo>

### About Ledger



The renowned leader in the industry of security solutions for crypto assets was founded in 2014. With its headquarters in San Francisco and Paris, Ledger has more than 200 employees developing a wide variety of products and services to shield assets either for companies or individuals. Their wallets support more than 1500 cryptocurrencies and can now be sold worldwide, making security reachable and affordable to all.

Ledger Integration begins


With the recent launch of the bootstrap period of the SigUSD stablecoin, the Ergo community participation rates have exceeded our expectation. This can be clearly seen by the total value locked (TVL) of over 6 million dollars worth of Ergs within the dApp as of writing. We at the Ergo Foundation have been closely monitoring how the community is using the SigUSD dApp, understanding the mechanics, and all of the different factors at play.

## Front-running Identified

Shortly after the dApp went live, we noticed a large whale was going in and out of SigUSD at a semi-regular schedule. After doing some research into the patterns this whale was using, it was identified that he was front-running the oracle price in an attempt to profit.

This type of oracle front-running has happened before in the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem, and is a factor at play because oracle datapoint updates can never be 100% immediate. There must always be some amount of delay before a datapoint is accepted into a block, which opens up the ability for frontrunning to exist.

In our scenario, the whale was taking advantage of this by minting SigUSD early during the “Live Epoch” period of the oracle pool (once it was reasonably clear what the upcoming new Erg/USD datapoint would be) and would profit on the price difference once the oracle pool finalized the datapoint. You can take a look at the whale’s address here (who appears to be an early miner in the Ergo ecosystem: https://explorer.ergoplatform.com/en/addresses/9hyDXH72HoNTiG2pvxFQwxAhWBU8CrbvwtJDtnYoa4jfpaSk1d3) 

## Pre-Launch Front-Running Mitigation Strategy

When designing the protocol underneath SigUSD (named the AgeUSD protocol), it was understood that frontrunning could be an issue. As such, a mechanism was put in place in the protocol to combat this; that being fees for minting and redeeming. In short, the fees for minting/redeeming SigUSD act as a barrier which prevents front-running from being profitable. This front-running barrier can be calculated by simply adding the fee for minting SigUSD plus the fee for redeeming SigUSD.

For the deployed SigUSD dApp the fees were set to be a low 1% per mint/redeem by the deployer (DarkSideBrrrrr) to provide the community a seamless experience for acquiring SigUSD/SigRSV without having to pay a lot extra. This decision for low fees however also made it more attractive for a greedy whale to abuse and attempt to front-run the dApp for profit. With only 1% fee on each action, this means that the front-running barrier ends up being 1% + 1%.

With an up-and-coming Blockchain like Ergo with a decent amount of price volatility, these 1% fees have been shown to be insufficient by the whale. Thus it was agreed upon that this front-running issue needed to be addressed immediately.


## Post-Launch Front-Running Mitigation Strategy

In order to protect Erg holders from being gamed by the front-running the whale was performing, the oracle pool was stopped in order to have the most fair way possible to upgrade the protocol. This means that the oracle rate for Erg/USD has been frozen at $3.16143 as can be seen in the [SigmaUSD web dApp](https://sigmausd.io/#/stablecoin).

This allows all SigmaUSD and SigmaRSV holders to redeem their tokens for Ergs safely. If the rate was not frozen, then the users who read this post first would be able to exit cleanly at the cost of other users who would continue to be negatively affected. As such, all SigmaUSD holders can redeem their tokens immediately, which will also allow all SigmaRSV holders to redeem their tokens as well.

Moving forward, this provides us with an opportunity to strike a new balance for SigmaUSD and address these issues with a multi-pronged approach.

The Ergo Foundation is recommending that community member DarksideBrrrr issues a new deployment of SigmaUSD with a 2% fee. This will double the barrier for all types of frontrunning any whale may wish to try to take advantage of.

Furthermore, the goal is to prevent the currently used risk-free front-running in its entirety. As such new oracle pools will be deployed with a “hardening upgrade”.

The first part of this upgrade involves setting a cap for price variations between datapoint updates. In other words, because front-running will be prevented by 2% fees (a 4% front-running barrier), datapoint updates can now be smoothed-out to only move up/down in 4% increments. (With very sharp movements allowed as to not prevent real major market movements from taking place). This change prevents the front-running technique that the whale was using.

Furthermore we also want to do even better and improve the experience for all oracle-based dApps while we’re making such large changes. As such we will be doubling the speed of the oracle pool datapoint posting. Originally being 60 minutes, the posting schedule is being sped up to 30 minutes.

This naturally works in tandem with the smoothed-out price updates thereby providing higher quality, fresher, and more useful on-chain data points.


## Going Forward
 
With novel updates to both oracle pools and the SigmaUSD dApp, the ecosystem and all Ergonauts are able to feel assured that the ecosystem is moving forward in the right direction.

The current plan is to launch the new oracle pool update within the next week, and we expect DarkSideBrrrr to be able to deploy a new instance of SigmaUSD shortly after that.

The Ergo community is one of the most valuable assets that we have, and we intend this transition to go as smoothly as possible so that everyone can get back to enjoying using SigmaUSD and SigmaRSV. We will keep you up to date as things progress in the coming week.



Finding The Right Balance

*Your portal to Ergo’s dApp universe is opening.*

Ergo has some amazing tech and some talented developers. However, as a decentralised and community-powered platform, it’s not always easy to know what’s going on all the time. Different people are developing different dApps and use cases, formally and informally. Connecting them to the same users and building that all-important DeFi network effect isn’t always easy.

That’s what the [Sigmaverse](https://sigmaverse.io) is about. Sigmaverse is a one-stop portal to the Ergo dApp ecosystem: a place where users can find all the cool functionality that community developers are building on Ergo, all in one place.

The idea is that developers can create their apps, and then list them on Sigmaverse using GitHub.

As it becomes the default site for accessing dApps, more and more devs will add their own, making it easy to learn about new additions to the Ergo ecosystem. A search bar allows users to check for a specific type of dApp.

So far, five dApps are listed on Sigmaverse:

* [Ergo Auction House](https://ergoauctions.org/): Ergo’s NFT market ([read more](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2020-10-16-announcing-the-auction-house-nft-marketplace-on-ergo/))
* [ErgoMixer](https://github.com/ergoMixer/ergoMixBack): trustless, self-sovereign mixing for ERG and Ergo tokens ([read more](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2020_03_20_ergo_mixer/))
* [ErgoUtils](https://ergoutils.org/): Issue tokens and NFTs on Ergo 
* [Oracle Pools](https://explorer.ergoplatform.com/en/oracle-pools-list): Ergo’s decentralised, extended UTXO approach to oracles ([read more](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2020-08-31-ergos-oracle-pools-and-what-they-mean-for-the-ecosystem/))
* [Zero-Knowledge Treasury](https://github.com/anon-real/DistributedSigsServer): create joint digital signatures with bespoke conditions ([read more](https://ergoplatform.org/blog/2020-09-04-announcing-the-zk-treasury-on-ergo/))

To include your dApp in Sigmaverse, create a new folder at https://github.com/ergoplatform/sigmaverse folder applications/{dAppName}, and in this folder create a new file, overview.md, with the following contents and structure:

```markdown
------
name: name of dApp
description: description of dApp
website: dApp website
logo_image: “{logotypeName}” – if you want to include this, save the image at applications/{dAppName}/{logotypeName}
preview_image: “{previewName}” – if you want to include this, save the image at applications/{dAppName}/{previewName}
appCategory: [“web” or/and “cli” or/and “desktop”]
------
```

That’s all! The process is fast and straightforward. To check out the dApps already available in the Sigmaverse, visit [](http://sigmaverse.io/)[Sigmaverse.io](https://sigmaverse.io).