Ferrum Network Partners with Algorand — Receives Strategic Backing from Algorand Foundation

Ferrum Network is the latest recipient of a sizable grant from the Algorand Foundation. Ferrum will be bringing their suite of white label products and services to the Algorand ecosystem!

Nick Odio

Published in

FerrumNetwork

6 min readSep 2, 2021

Dear Ferrum Community,

We are delighted to say that we have become a part of one of the most promising and vibrant ecosystems — Algorand!

Ferrum Network is now the proud recipient of a sizable grant from the Algorand Foundation.

What does this partnership entail?

Ferrum and Algorand are embarking on an exciting journey together that involves a multifaceted partnership along with the strategic backing to ensure that all integrations are met.

Ferrum will be integrating the Algorand blockchain with our suite of white label products, including our Cross-Chain Token Bridge and our Staking as a Service solutions. We also aim to help grow the Algorand ecosystem through the Iron Alliance — our vast network of incubated and partner projects. Ferrum will be referring projects to Algorand for either first right of refusal for their investment arm or their grant/developer support programs when building on Algorand.

“We are delighted to welcome Ferrum Network to the Algorand ecosystem through our Grant Program. For mass blockchain adoption, interoperability is imperative. The true value of blockchain use cases across digital identity, healthcare, supply chain, etc. cannot be fully realized without interoperability. We are very excited to partner with Ferrum Network and look forward to integrating with their Cross Chain Token Bridge’’. — Jason Lee, COO of the Algorand Foundation.

Identifying Areas of Opportunity

Ferrum intends to encourage four success metrics that we believe are crucial components for infrastructure plays and dApps alike: Adoption and Interoperability, Token Utility, Capacity, and Security.

Adoption and Interoperability

Problem: “The amount of dApps that have added value to the Ethereum ecosystem is staggering. Many of which are easily configurable to EVM compatible and L2 solutions, but this has led to more scalable L1 solutions left on an island with few early adopters choosing scalability over comfortability. We believe that we can help solve this problem in a multitude of ways and we are extremely grateful to Addie, Jason, and the rest of the Algorand Foundation for this incredible opportunity!” — Ian Friend, Co-Founder and COO at Ferrum Network.

One of the other major challenges that non EVM compatible L1 chains face regarding adoption is achieving interoperability. EVM compatible bridging solutions are a dime a dozen. However, there is yet to be an industry standard with the architectural differences to facilitate in bridging to non EVM compatible chains. Naturally, if projects deciding whether or not to build on Algorand don’t have the ability to be cross-chain, they will be less inclined to build there in the first place.

Solution: Ferrum’s mission is literally to break down barriers to mass adoption. By integrating Algorand with our Cross-Chain Token Bridge, we will enable interoperability by helping to connect Algorand and the projects building there to the broader crypto community.

By integrating our Staking as a Service product with the network, we offer the same opportunities we’ve provided to over 100 projects on Ethereum. Knowing those solutions are in place will attract many more developers and dApps to the network thus encouraging the adoption of Algorand and crypto as a whole!

Token Utility

Problem: More often than not, when a project launches, their product is not fully complete and lacks token utility. Oftentimes, this causes investors to grow impatient and sell the token prematurely. Without a functioning product on the day of a launch, a project must have built in token utility or risk losing investors.

Solution: Ferrum designs white label products that add token utility from a project’s early stages and beyond. Through our Staking as a Service technology Ferrum provides projects the ability to give their communities a reason to lock their tokens, see the bigger vision of the project, and be rewarded for it.

Through our Cross-Chain Token Bridge, we give projects the ability to become cross chain compatible and add additional token utility through our unique bridge swap fee mechanism. Projects can choose to burn these fees and become a deflationary asset, treat it as a revenue stream, consider them token buybacks, or use it as a reward mechanism for their community… the possibilities are endless!

With upcoming products such as reflection staking, in which open ended staking pools can be opened on multiple chains with dynamic APYs, we will soon be able to bridge assets across chains and bridge our products to add an unprecedented level of token utility.

Creating Space and Freeing Capacity

Problem: A substantial number of projects choose not to build their core products on alternative networks. Their motivation behind this decision is the requirement to build out technologies that are integral to a project’s success but take time away from their roadmap and, ultimately, their core products. When the value proposition of a project is lost so is the value of the asset.

Solution: Ferrum is a product oriented company. Thus, we recognize that it’s essential for other projects in the space to have the capacity to work on their core products.

Solutions usually arise out of necessity. As with our Staking as a Service, after building it out for ourselves initially, we noticed a substantial number of projects trying to build out their own in-house staking tech. Then it happened again… with the rise of cross chain interoperability we started to notice the same pattern of projects attempting to build out their own bridging solutions. The time it took to build out these types of essential features ultimately led to delays in these sorts of project’s core products. Ferrum builds white-label blockchain solutions that empowers startups and established organizations, enabling them to get their product to market faster. We intend to do this for the Algorand ecosystem as well!

Security

Problem: When talking about software, exploits are inevitable. They’re especially common in emerging markets such as crypto, as we’ve seen lately with the ever increasing number of hacks that seem to be occurring almost daily. Two of the most prevalent vectors for attacks are bridging solutions and staking solutions.

Solution: Ferrum is committed to building secure protocols. We consider ourselves “paranoid security freaks” and emphasize business and operational security best practices in addition to technical architecture security. This approach boasts nearly 100 Staking as a Service clients with an all-time high of over $100 million in TVL, which translates to hundreds of smart contracts that have been created. We proudly boast a clean track record throughout our tenure providing these solutions and have not fallen victim to a single exploit! We have taken this same approach when architecting the Ferrum Cross-Chain Token Bridge and have integrated some of the same security protocols used in our Staking Tech.

By bringing this same set of secure protocols to the Algorand ecosystem, we intend to further facilitate in promoting a safe and secure place to build innovative solutions in the blockchain space!

In Closing…

We could not be more thrilled to be the latest addition to Algorand’s amazing community and ecosystem. We will work diligently and tirelessly to ensure the value that we are committed to bringing is executed properly and in a timely manner. We look forward to a long a fruitful partnership.

Stay tuned!

Very truly yours,

The Ferrum Network Team

About Algorand

Algorand created the world’s first pure proof-of-stake foundational blockchain designed for the future of finance. Beyond the elementary requirement of an open, public network, Algorand’s technology enables a set of high performing Layer-1 blockchains that provide security, scalability, complete transaction finality, built in privacy, Co-Chains, and advanced smart contracts.

About Algorand Foundation

The Algorand Foundation is dedicated to fulfilling the global promise of blockchain technology by leveraging the Algorand protocol and open source software, which was initially designed by Silvio Micali and a team of leading scientists. With core beliefs in the establishment of an open, public and permissionless blockchain, the Algorand Foundation has a vision for an inclusive ecosystem that provides an opportunity for everyone to harness the potential of an equitable and truly borderless economy.

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