Last Updated On December 26th, 2019

The Republic Protocol is a decentralized and open-source dark pool. It is designed for atomic trading across different chains, starting with Ethereum and Bitcoin blockchains. The system has the objective of allowing private transactions in any volume size using ETH, BTC and ERC-20 tokens. Its main target market comprises large institutional traders who by virtue of their size and reach transact in bigger volumes. At the moment, most blockchain models do not support this. This a Republic Protocol review and analysis of its technology and upcoming ICO.

Contents

Technical Details

how it workDecentralization

The protocol that runs the Republic network. It has the basic responsibility of matching orders without having any knowledge about them. In order to achieve this, it uses what is referred to as Shamir Secret Sharing Scheme. This decentralized scheme breaks down individual orders into constituent fragments. The fragments are then distributed across various nodes.

The broken down orders are almost impossible to reconstruct. The only way would be to try and recombine a big percentage of the fragments. But the decentralized system is equipped to stop this from happening using the Registrar, an Ethereum smart contract. The Registrar organizes the network’s nodes into structures. Which, makes it impracticable to gather enough fragments of any order to recombine and reconstruct the original.

Interaction within the Technology

Traders on the platform have to respect the structure that governs their orders as stated by the Registrar. Failure to do this could expose them to the risk of having their orders revealed.

In addition to this, the decentralized system also uses a Zero Knowledge Proof. It is used to verify computational integrity without the possibility of revealing any pertinent information. This arises from the fact that nodes can use fragments from two distinct orders to cooperate with other network nodes to carry out computations. In doing so, it determines whether orders match. The smart contract allowing this operation is referred to as the Judge.

Smart Contract Protocols

The Judge and the Registrar are the two primary smart contract protocols that define the decentralized system. After the matching operation, a process referred to as atomic swap is then carried out between two traders over the Republic system. It uses regular encryption procedures to ensure that the atomic swap details are safe.

The project’s developers at the moment have a prototype that is undergoing tests internally. They have also released a number of GitHub updates including some crucial component parts of the soon-to-launch network. There are updates on the cross-chain or atomic swap trading model, the node distribution, as well as the peer-to-peer trading structure. Soon, the project will hold an ICO.

Distinct Features of the Republic Protocol

Order Matching

This refers to the process using which nodes on it will carry out the function of matching orders, one against another, without having the capacity to observe pertinent details. This will require that they break down the order by separating sensitive data. Every node performs computations on the fragments it accesses from different orders. It then combines results with those from other nodes. The result is a combination, not of the underlying orders but of the results from all computations carried out on the separate nodes.

The beauty of this decentralized system is that only half of the fragments comprising any order are required for reconstruction of the original order. But nodes are incentivized in order to avoid acting on this possibility so as to ensure privacy for the users.

But at the same time, this feature means that if half of the nodes carrying out computations get compromised or for some reason leave the network, the remaining ones can still complete the computation. This makes the system highly resilient to attacks and failures.

Winners and Losers

Nodes on this network compete to discover order matches. When a node discovers a match, they must register it so that everyone is aware of closed deals. Traders also get notifications to this effect and any registered match cannot be involved in other matches in future.

On the ETH network, this task is carried out under an assumption. This means that any orders that do not match are used in subsequent matching games. When an order expires before being matched, then the fee paid for this has to be refunded.

The system also includes a protocol for Atomic Swapping that is executed between traders whose orders have been matched. This makes it possible to pass messages and even to set up a direct peer-to-peer connection between them to complete the order. They do not have to execute the order but due to the bonds they have placed to operate nodes, they have the incentive they need to carry out their role.

The nodes are at no point in a position to reveal the details of an order. If a hacker manages to carry out a 51% attack, the fragment distribution will only allow for reconstruction of 50% of the fragments. This level of control would greatly limit their probability of a successful acquisition of other order fragments.

The Republic Protocol Token (REN)

The Republic Protocol will use the REN token for two main functions on the network:

Incentive

token details

Miners on the Republic network will get the token as an incentive for their role in running its nodes. The traders who operate on it will be required to stake tokens in order to have access to use the protocol. The concept here is similar to the one on the Ethereum protocol. Whereby, there is no specific fee required for this purpose. But the higher the fee a user proposes, the higher the priority given to his trade.

Regulation

Additionally, those running nodes on it as well as its traders will be required to put up a bond. It is for regulation purposes so as to limit bad behavior. This will work in two main ways. First, creating an identity on the network will require a bond. It is refundable when one wishes to leave the community. The user will lose the bond if ever the user in question engages in wrongful conduct within it.

The second way requires that a user place a bond before running a node. The node operator loses the bond if the operator tries to falsify information concerning any trade. The bond also serves to discourage any single entity from registering multiple nodes on the network. It is a measure of control. It is set at a high enough value to prevent such malicious activity. But it is still reasonable enough to allow honest nodes to meet the threshold.

Token Value

The idea is that the more users there are on the Republic, the higher the utility of the REN token. This, in turn, will mean a higher value and will ensure high demand for traders wishing to make use of the features on the platform. Subsequently, more traders on it will mean a need for more nodes and higher profits for node operators. Once they hold the ICO, more nodes will translate to a high-security network that will appeal to venture capitalists and traders.

Hard Cap

ICO for the REN token will have a market capitalization of 1 billion with the protocol planning to raise 35,000 ETH for 60.2% of the total REN token. The remaining percentage will be shared with the team of advisors, founders and others getting 9.9%. And 10% will be allocated to community development programs and partnerships while the rest will go into the network’s reserve.

Token Sale

The network is currently running an ICO private pre-sale for its strategic investors and the crowdfunding is scheduled for February 2018. Its precise date will be announced in due time.

Token Roadmap

Q1 2018 is basically assigned to get the core functions of the system in order. This will require setting up nodes and carrying out atomic swaps for the initial crypto assets that the system should support.

Q2 2018 will see the launch of trader terminals and the testnet so as to deploy the system on an actual blockchain.

During Q3, mainnet deployment will take place and node configurations will be availed.

Starting Q4 and into the future, the team wants to scale the project in order to support more coins as well as alternative atomic swap methods. During this time also, there will be efforts to try and incorporate higher trading frequencies on the network.

The Team

team informationThe entire team comprises 12 members, with CEO Taiyang Zhang at the helm together with Loog Wang, the CTO. Zhang comes with a three-year experience as a director at Neucode and one year as Virgil Capital director. Wang has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and has worked for two years as the Lead Software Developer at Neucode. He has also worked as a researcher for seven months at the Australian National University.

Most of the others have strong backgrounds in academia but limited experience in the real world. In spite of this, their efforts have attracted a number of renowned investment firms for their ICO. These are Consensys, Blockchain Capital, Blockchain Global, Signum Capital, Pantera, Signal Ventures, Saxo and CIMB among others.

Republic Protocol Review of Opportunities

 

oppurtunitiesICO & Institutional Investors

One of the foremost opportunities for the Republic Protocol is the fact that at the moment, the crypto market is mostly comprised of individuals and small companies. There is a surge in interest from institutional investors but little in the way of industry Future frameworks to handle their level of investment.

The Republic Protocol seeks to implement a model that will cater to all of the above groups of people, offering a highly scalable system. This means that even with an influx of huge institutional investors into the space, the system will be able to adapt with minimal price slippage. This is a major contrast to existing systems and thus offers a niche market for the product.

In the Future

These large venture capitalists are at present unable to move their assets without taking a toll on the crypto ecosystem. If such an investor today went to a regular exchange and tried to convert a massive amount of one cryptocurrency to another, this would significantly affect the value of these currencies on the platform in question. A dark pool is off the blockchain and it allows these big fish to transact directly without the need for an intermediary. They do not have to know each other on this trustless system. Rather, the automated mechanism ensures that both parties honor their side of the agreement to the exchange.

ICO is aimed for February this year. The crypto assets targeted by this protocol, ETH, BTC and ERC-20 tokens are worth more than $0.5 trillion at present. This would imply that if the ICO captures just 5% of the market, it would translate to $25 billion.

Dark Pool Services

There are quite a number of companies that offer dark pool services in the market at present. But none of them has been able to turn into a household name. Successfully operating this kind of trade requires a significant level of trust because it usually involves large amounts of investment. The Republic Protocol offers a revolution in that it uses a trustless system and thus does not require third-party intermediaries.

Scaling through Atomic Swaps

The use of cross-chain technology for atomic swaps is one of the most appealing innovations at the moment. It, in fact, makes one of the biggest blockchain themes for 2018. If the Republic Protocol succeeds in executing this, the potential for its system will be remarkable.

Weaknesses

    • weaknessesThe Republic Protocol project is still quite a long way from maturity. Its activity on GitHub only started out in December of last year. It is still basically a whitepaper project. The initial internal testnet for the first crypto assets is yet to be launched. This is scheduled for the beginning of Q2 2018.
    • It is still uncertain whether the team will be able to carry out all of the requirements of the system. There are challenges in the atomic swap, the hidden orders and verification processes for the computation.
  • Most of the team members, particularly the developers have limited experience.

Conclusion

The Republic Protocol is a worthwhile product which targets a niche crypto market. It is designed to allow private transactions between big investors using trustless mechanisms and atomic swaps.

The token supporting the network, REN, has high utility and offers a reasonable growth potential. Even though the project is still mostly on paper, its scheduled testnets over the next few months. This will confirm its viability or lack thereof and potential for success and growth.

Those who are part of the niche market may be the ones who will be more inclined to take part in the ICO. Learn what are the most promising cryptocurrencies this year. Check out the Republic Protocol website and the Republic Protocol whitepaper

Additional Resources