Pion Integrating with DeRand

DeRand Generating Chain-Independent Random Numbers using Pion VRF Protocol

Published in

Muon

3 min readFeb 22, 2024

After a lot of work on the core, Muon team can now shift its focus to supporting new and existing partners building on our tech (for more on this, check our 2024 outlook article).

A partnership with the DeRand project — a verifiable random number generator — was in the making for several weeks. Yesterday, February 21, it was officially announced.

DeRand generates chain-agnostic, secure and permissionless random numbers. This would not be possible without Pion’s VRF protocol that leverages Pion’s vast network of nodes and its secure and efficient TSS implementation.

Verifiable Random Numbers, Backbone for Security

The utilization of random numbers (RN) in web3 spans a spectrum of applications, from simple use-cases like games and lotteries to complex operations such as consensus mechanisms, data encryption keys, and token generation. The wide array of use-cases have made random numbers virtually indispensable.

In spite of RNs’ widespread use, most Random Number Generators (RNGs) can produce only Pseudo-random numbers, and generating truly random numbers — that are both verifiable and unpredictable — has remained a challenge. Furthermore, not being multi-chain, permissionless or modular, adds to the complexity of RNGs.

Meet DeRand

DeRand is a decentralized and chain-agnostic verifiable random number generator (RNG). It leverages Pion’s (by Muon) decentralized Threshold Signature Scheme to generate verifiable random numbers for smart contract security on any blockchain. (DeRand’s launch article)

DeRand — with the help of Pion TSS — generates truly verifiable random numbers (VRN) that are secure, chain-independent, permissionless and cost-efficient.

DeRand Components

DeRand VRNs are based on three interactive building blocks:

Coordinator Contracts: To request random numbers, dApps should call a function on these smart contracts.
MuonApp: An app built on Pion that generates a secure and verifiable random seed for each request.
Executors: These are nodes that monitor Coordinator contracts on different chains, and trigger the generation of RNs.

The following graphic is a simple illustration of how these components interact.

Distinctive Features

DeRand VRNs stand out because of certain features brought about by its design as well as its integration with Pion.

Chain-Agnostic: DeRand VRNs inherit the intrinsically chain-independent characteristic of Pion network. This enables DeRand to enjoy a multi-chain fee structure and offer services to EVM and non-EVM chains, and even the off-chain world.
Permissionless: Using Pion’s 1,600+ nodes, Threshold Network and Random Rotating Subnets makes DeRand VRNs genuinely decentralized.
Truly Random: The random seed generated by Pion’s VRF protocol is in fact the signature of a unique message signed by the TSS network. As the signature/seed is both unpredictable and verifiable, it leads to truly random numbers.
Cost-Efficient: The nodes in a subnet cooperate to produce the signature off-chain. This reduces the protocol costs dramatically making DeRand nearly free. (Just the transaction fees are paid by the dApp). Moreover, unlike other RNGs in web 3, the fees for all networks are the same, a flat fee structure.
Modular & Flexible: Developers with smart contract libraries and a protocol structure that aligns with existing VRF platforms, like Chainlink’s, require minimal code alterations to use DeRand VRF.

DeRand’s VRF, made possible with Muon tech, effectively addresses a long-lasting problem in Web3 and allows dApps to easily access gas-efficient and permissionless VRNs on various chains.

Stay tuned for the updates about Pion’s other partners.

Pion is the Muon ecosystem’s Canary and first mainnet. It is a chain-independent and stateless DON (Decentralized Oracle Network) that enables dApps to make their off-chain components decentralized. By incorporating Pion (by Muon), the manner in which decentralized applications store, process, and access data will be fundamentally transformed.

Run a Pion node.