Introducing aBLOCK
What is aBLOCK?
The new aBLOCK token is a “wrapped” version of $BLOCK, making it possible for people from any country to buy BLOCK on Anyswap or other exchanges where ERC-20 tokens are traded on the Ethereum mainnet.
By design, there is one BLOCK token wrapped inside each aBLOCK token. In other words, there is a 1:1 mapping between BLOCK and aBLOCK at the bridge where wrapping and unwrapping take place. This unwrapping can take place at any time, enabling buyers of aBLOCK to immediately convert to the native BLOCK token. At the Anyswap bridging station where wrapping/unwrapping takes place, the price of aBLOCK will be exactly equal to the price of BLOCK. However, the price of aBLOCK can vary from one exchange to another, in the same way the price of BLOCK can be different from one exchange to another. Fortunately, it is very easy to swap between them because Anyswap users can convert aBLOCK into BLOCK on the same site.
For those unfamiliar with Anyswap, it is an easily accessible, easy to use, high liquidity, decentralized exchange. (Note, aBLOCK can also be acquired on Uniswap, another high liquidity, decentralized exchange.)
Why aBLOCK?
The main benefits of aBLOCK are improved accessibility to purchase BLOCK, and as a payment token for Hydra, Blocknet’s “Decentralized Infura” solution.
aBLOCK will make it possible for people from every country (including America) to buy BLOCK (as aBLOCK). Additionally BLOCK / aBLOCK liquidity will be greatly improved because those in the ETH-based DeFi space now have easy access to BLOCK (as aBLOCK) on Anyswap and Uniswap. aBLOCK investors who are interested in participating in the Blocknet network can also “unwrap” their aBLOCK. In other words, they can bridge it back to native BLOCK at a ratio of 1:1. Native BLOCK can then be used for staking and/or Service Node collateral. You can read more about staking here and setting up service node here.
aBLOCK will also serve as a convenient payment method for Hydra, Blocknet’s “Decentralized Infura” solution. Hydra enables decentralized API access for developers and users to retrieve accurate and reliable blockchain information from potentially any blockchain. Powered by Blocknet’s XRouter protocol, Hydra provides users an all-in-one solution for all supported chains, including Ethereum. However, because Hydra clients that utilize Ethereum may not have a Blocknet wallet, it is much more practical and convenient to charge fees in a token which exists on the Ethereum chain, i.e an ERC20 token. aBLOCK satisfies both the desire to charge Hydra fees in the BLOCK token (wrapped as aBLOCK), as well as the desire to accept fees in an ERC20 token.
How to Bridge, Acquire/Trade and Add Liquidity for aBLOCK
Users must first set up a Metamask wallet that can be connected to the Anyswap website.
1. Open Chrome browser, install Metamask from the Chrome Web Store and create a MetaMask wallet (if you haven’t done so previously).
2. Ensure the Network Dropdown at the top of MetaMask is set to Ethereum Mainnet, and that you have a small amount of ETH in your MetaMask wallet to cover gas fees.
3. Add the aBLOCK token to MetaMask (if it’s not there already): Open MetaMask, scroll to the bottom of your Assets list, click “Add Token,” select “Custom Token,” paste 0xe692c8d72bd4ac7764090d54842a305546dd1de5 into Token Contract Address, click “Next,” click “Add Tokens.”
4. Navigate in Chrome to: https://anyswap.exchange/bridge
5. Select “ETH Mainnet” at the top of the Anyswap page, then click “Connect to Wallet” and select, “MetaMask.”
To bridge and wrap BLOCK to aBLOCK:
1. Set up the bridge to go from “BLOCK” to “aBLOCK” (Blocknet ERC20):
2. Enter the amount of BLOCK you want to bridge
3. Send that amount of BLOCK to the “Deposit BLOCK address”
4. Click “CrossChain Deposit.”
After your deposit has enough confirmations, you will then have ERC20 aBLOCK in your MetaMask wallet.
Note: There is no fee for wrapping BLOCK into aBLOCK (a.k.a. bridging BLOCK onto Anyswap). However, when unwrapping aBLOCK to redeem the BLOCK inside (a.k.a. bridging BLOCK off of Anyswap), there is a 0.1% “gateway” fee, payable in BLOCK. (min gateway fee = 5 BLOCK; min redeem amount = 10 BLOCK). Also, to cover gas fees, users should maintain a small amount of ETH in their wallets.
To bridge and unwrap aBLOCK to BLOCK:
1. Ensure your aBLOCK is in your MetaMask wallet.
2. Set up the bridge to go from “aBLOCK” (Blocknet ERC20) to “BLOCK”:
3. Enter the amount of BLOCK you want to redeem.
4. Enter the “Recipient BLOCK address”
5. Click, “Redeem.”
Note: Management of wrapping and unwrapping is powered by Fusion’s Distributed Control Rights Management (DCRM). DCRM uses a decentralized custodian model which locks BLOCK coins as it wraps them into aBLOCK, and keeps them securely locked until an equal amount of aBLOCK is burnt/unwrapped. More details on DCRM can be found here.
Trading aBlock on Anyswap and Uniswap
To Trade aBLOCK on Anyswap, visit Anyswap Swap, make sure “ETH Mainnet” is selected at the top of the page and MetaMask is unlocked and connected to Anyswap. Then select the ETH/aBLOCK or aBLOCK/ETH pair as desired, fill in the desired amount and click “Swap.”
To Trade aBLOCK on Uniswap, visit Uniswap aBLOCK and make sure MetaMask is unlocked and connected to Uniswap. Then click “Trade” in the upper right corner, then select the ETH/aBLOCK or aBLOCK/ETH pair as desired, fill in the desired amount, then follow instructions for swapping.
Adding Liquidity on Anyswap and Uniswap
To add liquidity on Anyswap, visit Anyswap Liquidity, make sure “ETH Mainnet” is selected at the top of the page, make sure MetaMask is unlocked and connected to Anyswap, and that it contains both ETH and aBLOCK, then set up to add liquidity like this:
To add liquidity on Uniswap, visit Uniswap aBLOCK, make sure MetaMask is unlocked and connected to Uniswap, then click “+ Add Liquidity” in the upper right corner, then continue to follow the instructions.
Uniswap Trades can be tracked on Token View here and Dextools here.
The official aBLOCK contract link on Etherscan can be found here: https://etherscan.io/token/0xe692c8d72bd4ac7764090d54842a305546dd1de5
For newcomers wondering what Blocknet is all about, please check out this short article (3 min read) that covers the essentials.
