MakeOS: An Ellcrys Relaunch
We have relaunched the Ellcrys project as MakeOS.
We are continuing the mission to create a free place for developers to build community-driven, user-first software products and services. A code collaboration protocol that allows developers to host, share and contribute code without a middleman between them. But we will no longer continue under the Ellcrys brand.
The Ellcrys project failed due to a lack of funding to continue building after we lost our ability to extend our runway due to losses incurred during the last crypto market crash.
In this article, I will describe the difference between the MakeOS project and the migration plan for existing Ellcrys community and their tokens and how we will fund MakeOS.
The Problem Is Unchanged
We are still driven to solve the same problem — Eliminating censorship in code collaboration and empowering developers to build co-own, co-managed, co-governed software products and services. With such developer freedom, we believe open source will foster an ecosystem than builds products that respect and value users. Nothing has changed here, we just got better at describing the problem and our proposed solution. We are now strictly focused on creating an alternative to GitHub on which every other component that allows us to reach our goals will be built. In the past, we struggled to decide the correct entry point to solving the problem and the narrative was not very relatable to most people.
The Solution Is Clearer
If it was not clear what Ellcrys was doing, it will be clear with MakeOS. MakeOS is looking to build an alternative to GitHub, period. Now, it is not because GitHub is terrible at what it does, no at all. It is because we need to enable open source collaborators to build world-changing products and services that are inherently and provably open, transparent in how they are developed, operated and governed. For this to happen, they need to be able to build in the open, share ownership, be free to associate without fear of censorship and their work must be protected and accessible to everyone. They need to be able to collaborate without relying on middlemen.
A New Company
A fully operational decentralized network has no owner. It is owned by everyone who uses and provide resources that enable it to remain operational and useful. However, in the early stages of development, it is built and marketed by an entity (an individual, a group or a company). The Ellcrys project was spearheaded by Ellcrys PBC, a public benefit company. Today, MakeOS is being developed by Make One, Inc.
New, Realistic Technology
In hindsight, I believe we had some really big ideas and plans that did not correspond with our technical and financial capabilities at the time. Many of those ideas were based on funding projections that did not materialize and our ability to hire the right people to execute them.
We intended to build a blockchain that utilized a hybrid consensus system where proof-of-work participants proposed blocks and proof-of-stake participants notarized these blocks. The plan was to build out the proof-of-work side first then proceed to add the proof-of-stake side. In the end, we ran out of time just after releasing a proof-of-work alphanet.
With MakeOS we are optimizing for speed. We will no longer attempt to rebuild what already exists if our requirements have been fulfilled in another project. We are now prioritizing forking, extending and contributing to existing projects.
For instance, we are building on Tendermint Core. Tendermint Core is the leading blockchain consensus engine that powers the Cosmos blockchain. It is a BFT, proof-of-stake consensus system that offers fast finality.
MakeOS is also building on a Kademlia Distributed Hash Table technology for git object storage and provisioning. We are using the same DHT technology used in the Interplanetary File System and Filecoin networks.
Network Economics
Currency System
MakeOS is a dual token system. Meaning, it will have two tokens that are symbiotic to each other. Unlike Ellcrys where there was just the ELL token. MakeOS includes Latinum and Dilithium as the two primary currencies on the network (as a Trekkie, I tend to find occasions to show my love 🖖).
Latinum (LTN) is the primary transactional currency on the network. It is also the governance token. You need it to pay transaction fees, for staking in all governance services, for sending money to someone on the network and for staking. On the mainnet, there will be an initial supply of 150,000,000 (150 Million) Latinum in the system with a majority locked up as a security bond, leaving only a small amount in circulation. As a deflationary coin, there will only ever be 700,000,000 (700 Million) Latinum.
Dilithium (DIL), on the other hand, is the gas or energy token. It’s primarily used for minting new Latinum when it is burned. Only validators can burn Dilithium to create Latinum. When a validator proposes a block, she must burn Dilithium to make her own Latinum reward. This reward is the block reward. If a validator does not burn Dilithium, they will get no reward and will eventually be removed from the validator set. Additionally:
- Dilithium is a short-lived token. What this means is that it constantly decays to zero (0) within a short period of time in the same way a battery discharges over time.
- Dilithium is not great for storing monetary value since it loses its stored value. You cannot HODL with Dilithium.
- Dilithium’s decay rate can be halted by staking Latinum. If you want to keep your Dilithium from decaying to zero or HODL, you must stake Latinum to stop it from decaying further. Once the bond is withdrawn, the decay continues.
- Like Latinum, Dilithium can also be used to pay transaction fees but it cannot be used in native staking or governance events.
- While Validators need Dilithium to mint Latinum, repositories need Dilithium to create native repository tokens. Anyone will have the ability to burn Dilithium to make repository tokens as long as the repositories have token support.
- Protocol-incentivized Hosts and Remotes also require Dilithium to operate. Dilithium is the tax for protocol operators. They are the main drivers of demand for Dilithium.
- Dilithium is a mined coin. It is created via proof of work like Bitcoin.
Dilithium and Latinum enjoy a symbiotic relationship. Latinum cannot exist unless Dilithium is burned. On the other hand, Dilithium cannot exist for long unless Latinum is used to halt its decay. This relationship creates the first use-case for both tokens. In the second year of the mainnet, Miners will mine up to 1 000 000 000 (1 Billion) Dilithium or less. Less Dilithium can be mined if the amount being kept from decaying is high. The first year supply will be produced via MakeOS cloud mining engine.
Dilithium can be used as a monetary policy tool to make Latinum an increasingly scare token. By increasing the rate of Dilithium generation, quickening Dilithium decay rate and increasing the amount of Latinum required to halt Dilithium decay, we can cause more Latinums to be removed from circulation. These parameters will be configurable via governance.
Initial Dilithium Mining
The network will launch with a total of 150,000,000 (150 Million) Latinums.
We will allow everyone to participate in the minting and distribution of these Latinums and Dilithiums. You won’t be able to purchase them like in a token sale, instead, you will try to mine them. There are three components that will be employed to achieve fair mining and distribution. These components are:
- Cloud Mining Platform: This is a centralized cloud mining engine dedicated for running CPUs that perform proof-of-work using our Blake2 mining algorithm. It allows users to create public or private mining pools, join pools and rent CPU power for mining. The output of this platform is a record of Dilithium and their owners.
- Dilithium Allocation Contract (DAC): This is an Ethereum contract that keeps a record of everyone who has mined Dilithiums on the cloud mining platform. When you mine on the mining platform, you will be allowed to transfer your Dilithium to this contract. This contract is the authoritative record that will be used by the Network Launcher to bootstrap a MakeOS Network.
- Latinum Auction Contract (LAC): This is an Etheruem auction contract that burns Dilithium and returns Latinum. The amount of Dilithium that must be burned to produce a Latinum is determined via a pro-rata Dutch Auction system. Every day for 300 days, 250,000 Latinums will be available for minting. Owners of Dilithium will indicate how much Dilithium they are willing to burn for that Latinum and at the end of the day, every bidder will mint Latinum in proportion to their bids. If you burned the most Dilithium, you will mint more Latinum than anyone for that day. The auction will begin on Mar 1 only if 100,000,000 (100 Million) Dilithium is pooled into it, otherwise, it is delayed until the threshold is reached.
For regulatory reasons, Dilithiums that cannot be converted to Latinums will be transferred to the main MakeOS Network. The network launcher will use both the DAC and LAC to determine who to allocate to.
We are partnering with an agency to help us conduct KYC and to stay compliant with the rules and regulations of many countries, as a result, Dilithium holders who are unaccredited investors in some restrictive countries may not be permitted to convert to Latinum. If you fall within such jurisdiction, you will only receive Dilithium on a MakeOS main network. Only Dilithium on the mainnet decays, miners do not have to worry about decay on the cloud mining platform, DAC or LAC.
The revenue from the sale of computing resources will go toward funding hiring, product and ecosystem development.
People are already mining. Get your free miner now and make sure to read and understand the mining agreement.
See this article for a step-by-step guide to mining.
Free Dilithium Giveaway
There is an ongoing airdrop for the first 10,000 users to register on the Mining service. You will receive 1000 Dilithium which is almost equivalent to mining for a full day with a private pool.
Ellcrys Token Swap
Even though Ellcrys is now defunct, we decided that we will swap ELL held by Ellcrys community members for Latinum. Token holders who got their tokens from participating in Ellcrys pre-sales, bounty and airdrop campaigns are eligible for the swap.
We will take a snapshot of the ELL token contract and use it as the source for the swap. The auction contract will auto-allocate Latinum to the eligible ELL holders; You do not need to own, mine or burn Dilithium.
Please note that every eligible ELL holder will need to go through KYC and must not be a citizen of a restricted region (the US or China) listed in the Ellcrys token sale.
ELL holders who are unable to swap for Latinum on the Auction Contract, will have the option to receive Latinum on the MakeOS mainnet.
Lastly, there is a 90% decrease between Ellcrys’ 1.5 Billion initial tokens supply and MakeOS’s 150 Million initial supply; This means every eligible ELL holder’s tokens will be reduced by 90%. For example, if you have 500 ELL, the equivalent on MakeOS is 50 LTN (500 – (500 * 0.9)).
Funding
Unlike Ellcrys that had no way to earn, We plan to finance MakeOS from the proceeds of our cloud mining platform. It is a self-sustaining, Platform-as-a-Service business that will allow us to fairly distribute Dilithium and earn from the process. This funding stream will end when a MakeOS Network mainnet is launched.
Exchange Listing
In the short term, we will be listing the Latinum tokens on DEXes. CEXes will follow when adequate revenue is realized from the cloud mining service.
Roadmap
You can find the new roadmap here. It is important to mention that our ability to achieve the milestones in their respective proposed time frame is largely dependent on the success of the cloud mining platform.
New Social Media Accounts
We have new social media accounts for discussions, updates sharing, bug reports and more.
Feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions.
