Alacris & 1kx Join Efforts for Blockchain Solutions
Alacris, a Boston-based blockchain project created by LegiLogic, and 1kx, an early stage token fund, are joining to advance efforts in layer 2 solutions to work toward reducing the complexity of developing distributed applications using blockchain and thus create the opportunity for wider use of the technology.
Wide-spread use of blockchain technology is stalled due to issues with lack of scalability (both high latency and low throughput for transactions), lack of interoperability between blockchains and uncertainty regarding governance. However, even as these issues are being addressed by many ongoing projects, a larger problem continues to loom over the space: developing robust applications is too difficult for developers who are not experienced in all layers of blockchain security since even the smallest vulnerability can cause users to lose all their money.
LegiLogic and Alacris Co-Founders, Chris Swenor, CEO, and Francois-Rene Rideau, Chief Architect, are building an operating system Alacris, which is aiming to solve these issues.
“Just last month the COO of Algorand stated there are close to 30 million developers in the world and only around 200 thousand blockchain developers. This is because developing blockchain is hard and inefficient,” Swenor said. “We are building Alacris so the common developer doesn’t need to have 3 PhDs to be confident about building a decentralized app on the blockchain.”
Alacris recently raised close to $1 million in funding, through 1kx, Nervos Network and CMBI, and released a demonstration of a fast payment system. The Alacris Operating System goes beyond addressing scaling and interoperability like other Layer 2 protocols currently being built. The Alacris Operating System aims to make the development of robust decentralized applications accessible to a multitude of developers more than it currently is. Developers have the ability to pick “primitives,” which are software building blocks that deliver useful functionality and service, from a catalog sourced from Alacris’ own internal development, as well as from the broader community and partners. Using primitives, developers are able to utilize our Domain Specific Language and even choose which base-layer or blockchain platform they want to use. Through the compile process, the code is then automatically formally verified providing the developer NASA-level security without learning a new skill set.
“Having seen a lot of layer 2 projects, we saw few that were thinking beyond Ethereum to create an operating system on top of multiple layer 1 chains” 1kx Founder Lasse Clausen said. “Alacris offers this compelling vision of a layer 2 solution that could become the actual platform for developers to build decentralised applications on, and not the layer 1 chains.”
1kx was founded by Clausen and Christopher Heymann in pursuit of backing companies in the blockchain space with the mission to be founder friendly and a source of support with early-stage capital for tokenized projects.
“We’re excited about crypto economics because they enable new structures for large networks, potentially better than for-profit companies,” Clausen said. “As former startup entrepreneurs building a mobility network, we experienced first hand how traditional, VC backed startups really just aim for lock-in in order to extract as much rent as possible. We think an open source, tokenized network aligns incentives among stakeholders much better, making it more efficient and more scalable.”
Swenor said the partnership will allow Alacris to grow by hiring some of the best minds in the blockchain and crypto space but goes beyond just what the dollars can bring to the organization.
“This partnership allows us more clout within blockchain along with being able to leverage the years of experience Lasse and Christopher bring to the table, which is worth much more,” he said.
“At Alacris, we pride on our ability to envision and deliver solutions that are meaningful both from a business and a technical point of view,” Rideau said. “When we met Lasse, Christopher and their team, we were impressed by how they too could zoom in to exactly the issues that mattered both economically and technically. They stand out among other investors. We are excited to be working with them, and already grateful for all their feedback and guidance so far.”
Alacris is an Operating System for the blockchain. We provide formalized security, automatic fraud detection and recovery, as well as bridges to layer 1 and layer 2 protocols. Abstracting away all infrastructure concerns from the DApp developers so they can focus on building the applications. Developed by LegiLogic in 2018, Alacris is located in Boston. For more information, contact Amy Lynch, communications, at amy@alacris.io or call (956) 244–2879.
