Introducing IDChain

Published in

idchain_one

3 min readDec 23, 2020

We created IDChain to synchronize BrightID node operations, but its unique qualities make it an attractive platform for other projects. We’ve been using it for several months, and it’s ready for other projects to use.

Features

Short block intervals.
Every verified unique human gets a lifetime supply (average) of gas.
Validators (the proof-of-authority equivalent to miners) can be democratically elected. The top proposal is to use delegated proof-of-stake with quadratic voting to lessen the voting power of whales. This is possible with BrightID.
Validators get paid a modest salary by BrightID Main DAO, instead of gas fees (which are instead burned). This ensures that validators are aligned with making IDChain usable by the masses, not making a profit.

Start using IDChain

IDChain is ready to use right now. Follow these steps to receive your free supply of Eidi (the native gas token) and start using IDChain with Metamask.

Eidi

Eidi is the native gas token on IDChain (similar to Ether on Ethereum). The lifetime supply is designated by validators to match what they believe an average user will spend on transaction fees. If a user spends more, they need to buy Eidi from a user that spends less.

What can I do with IDChain?

Launch a cheap Aragon DAO

BrightID and IDChain itself use DAOs on IDChain for governance. You can start making Aragon DAOs at aragon.idchain.one with your lifetime supply of Eidi.

Move DAI between Mainnet and IDChain

We’ve implemented the excellent bridge from PoA to create a way to move DAI stablecoin between Mainnet and IDChain. The bridge is at dai.idchain.one.

Easily run a node with DappNode

IDChain is in the public registry in DappNode, so go ahead and spin up a node with DappNode!

Explore blocks and contracts

IDChain comes with the excellent open-source block explorer by PoA called blockscout, which you can check out at explorer.idchain.one. Just like etherscan, blockscout lets you view and interact with verified smart contracts, such as the one that distributes Eidi.

What is proof-of-authority?

A proof-of-authority blockchain uses authorized individuals to sign blocks and stake their real-world reputation. This approach was pioneered by Parity, which created the Aura algorithm. A lot of great tooling was created by PoA Network. (We are using blockscout and PoA bridge.) They have also written great articles on proof-of-authority, such as this one.

Future Plans

Anyone can port DApps and contracts they like from Mainnet to IDChain. Some features we’d like to see:

Bridges for other tokens besides DAI. Arbitrary message bridges.
Various ways to vote: liquid democracy, ranked choice, quadratic voting, conviction voting. Citizens of IDChain should have many options for democratic participation.
Decentralized exchanges. Update: Uniswap on IDChain 🦄.
Other DAO-like platforms, such as Colony.
Anything you want!

We want a democratic way to elect validators. Right now, they elect each other, but we want to research methods that let IDChain citizens participate. If you have ideas please talk to us!

**UPDATE**
Moloch DAOs can now be created with a simple GUI interface at https://idchain.daohaus.club/

Please see our github repo for more information.

Originally published at https://medium.com on December 23, 2020.