Nostr Protocol and NRC-20
Nostr Protocol and Blockchains
Nostr Protocol is a highly scalable, transparent, censorship-resistant, and decentralized global network that innovates upon its decentralized relays. Relays are software that sends, receives, and stores text messages. Anyone with a device, such as, but not limited to, a laptop and an internet connection, can run a relay. Those users running relays are fully independent of centralized software owned by tech giants (e.g. Amazon, Google, etc.). And, horizontal scaling is attainable by simply adding more relays.
On a broader level, Nostr Protocol can be used as an off-chain communication layer whereby users can send encrypted messages from any Nostr Client (e.g. Damus, Iris, TPWallet, etc.) to the relays and relays would broadcast those messages to all other connected clients. In other words, transactions can be executed off-chain and then settled on any specified chain. Nostr Protocol also utilizes the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) protocol for fast and efficient data storage and retrieval on a decentralized network of nodes. Transaction data can be retrieved and play-backed to ensure full transparency and for auditing purposes.
NRC-20
NRC-20 Token is a technical standard for fungible tokens created using the Nostr Protocol. NRC-20 Tokens are multi-chain enabled assets that can be sent, received, stored, and used on the Nostr Protocol.
Assets deployed on various blockchains by their token standards — including but not limited to ERC-20 and BRC-20 — can be turned into NRC-20 Tokens on the Nostr Protocol through a canonical minting mechanism.
When a user bridges their token from the source chain to Nostr Protocol, the original token is locked in NostrSwap’s smart contract on the respective blockchains. NostrSwap then transmits an instruction message to mint the token on Nostr Protocol. The newly minted token is distributed to the user’s account address on NostrSwap.
When a user wants to redeem the token on Nostr Protocol for their original token on the source chain, the user would initiate a transaction in the opposite direction, and the bridge asset is burned on Nostr Protocol. The network then passes an instruction message back to the source chain and confirms that the transaction on Nostr Protocol is valid, and the original asset is unlocked for the user.
Idea Origination:
Our idea originated on the basis of the Nostr Protocol’s natural advantages:
- 1. A highly scalable, decentralized, and censorship-resistant protocol
2. High emphasis on privacy and security as all data on the platform is encrypted end-to-end and stored on decentralized servers. This means that only the user has control of their data and it is not stored in a central location that can be hacked or monitored
3. Users have complete control over their data. This means that users can choose who can see their posts and information, and they can also delete their data at any time. This gives users peace of mind knowing that their information is secure and under their control
The unique attributes of the Nostr Protocol bring us to the thought of creating a protocol and a token standard on it to enable transaction, storage, and usage of assets off-chain in a decentralized setting and settle transactions on-chain. Hence, through Nostr Protocol, NostrSwap is envisioned to:
1. Have users executing transactions in a conversation window or tweet thread with Chat-to-Trade commands on Nostr social clients
2. Have users’ account balances broadcasted to the Nostr Protocol and the public would be able to search, track, and audit via our Explorer (which is similar to Etherscan)
3. Support all blockchains (including non-EVM compatible ones) and their underlying token standards and consolidate all chains’ liquidity to a single point
4. Eliminate gas fees that are prevalent for executing transactions on blockchains and provide superior user experience and speed that rivals the fastest centralized exchanges
5. Support buying/selling of BRC-20 Tokens with stablecoins (e.g. USDT, USDC) as, on the Bitcoin chain, it’s only possible to buy/sell BRC-20 Tokens with Bitcoin (BTC) currently