Lock Protocol v0.1 Launch

The Ethereum Timelock Protocol

Lock Protocol
Lock Protocol
5 min readMar 6, 2020

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Key Points

  • Lock v0.1 is live on mainnet now — take me to to the app
  • Airdrops are now supported in the UI
  • Added option to deposit more of the same token to a lock instead of creating a new one each time
  • Create savings contracts that unlock when you deposit a predetermined maximum amount
  • Use 1 LOCK as the fee for one lock — message us on Twitter or Telegram if you would like a token to test Lock
  • We will stop MVP support and will unlock all assets on March 15th and the MVP is now moved here.

Development To Date

We released the MVP of Lock in December 2019 with a mission to be the protocol for timelocks and related functions on Ethereum. Our protocol and MVP application enabled users to lock ETH and a variety of ERC-20 tokens. Users could set beneficiaries and we had contract support for airdrops.

New Features for v0.1

After receiving initial user feedback, we have added new features to the platform to make it more useful to a wider audience. The features that we have added are explained below.

Airdrop Support in UI

The MVP didn’t allow for users to see whether or not they were eligible for an airdrop or how many tokens they would receive for it. Now users can see this information for each lock.

Airdrops in Lock UI

Add Tokens to Locks

In the MVP, if a user wanted to lock more of the same token with the same unlock date, they would have to create a new lock. This feature lets users add more tokens to an existing lock, which enables the possibility of savings contracts and other upcoming features. All the user has to do is click the + and choose how much more to deposit.

Add tokens with +

Savings Contracts

Users can keep a token locked until they have deposited a certain threshold. This is useful when saving up for big purchases or to create accounts that will pay someone back once it hits the full value.

  1. User sets Max. Amount when creating lock and deposits what they want to initially deposit
Enable Max. Amount to Set Unlock Value

2. User adds tokens to the lock later to fill up the lock to the max amount

Add tokens or the remainder to achieve unlock

3. Tokens are claimable once Maximum Amount has been reached

Click claim to receive funds back

Bulk Upload of Locks

It is now possible at the contract level to create bulk uploads of locks that will be distributed to multiple beneficiaries. We will be adding functionality to do this through the UI soon.

Tier Based Fees

We are committed to creating a pricing model that works for all users and enables us to continue to build the protocol. Instead of having a flat percentage fee for all locks, we have switched to a tier-based fee model. If you lock more tokens you will pay a lower fee.

Example Fee Structure
Example Fee Structure

LOCK Token

As an alternative to the tier-based fee we have also introduced the LOCK token. One LOCK token is good for a lock of any size. Message us on Twitter or Telegram with your ETH address if you would like a LOCK token to test the platform. We will introduce new ways to acquire LOCK soon.

Audit Updates

Our updated contracts have been re-audited twice. You can check the results here.

Integrations

Lock is now working on business development. We are reaching out to DeFi projects who we think will find Lock useful in their products.

Feel free to review Lock’s use cases to learn what is possible using the protocol. If it seems like it may be useful to include in your project, please reach out!

Also if the protocol would be more useful for you with slight modifications, please send us feedback about your needs. We will build integrations and continue to iterate as indicated by our customers.

Pausing MVP Support

The MVP has moved to this link.

We will be pausing contract support for our MVP on March 15th and all locked tokens will become claimable to relock in v0.1 on that day.

If you have tokens locked in the MVP send us the transaction details and we will send you LOCK tokens to move them to v0.1 for no fee.

To conclude

Integrations and notifications about lock statuses are still next on our development list as discussed in our roadmap. Adding a vesting feature for shares in an organization is also a priority.

We hope you enjoy v0.1 of the Lock Protocol. Please send us feedback through Drift on our application or any of our social channels.

You can follow Lock in these places:

Website | Medium | Twitter | Telegram

And remember to try the application here.

Thanks for reading!

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