Why and how Pantos is different to other cross-chain projects

We listen to community feedback very closely and it’s very important for us to elaborate Pantos as detailed as possible. Some of you asked us over our official Pantos Telegram group (https://t.me/pantosio), how the Pantos project compares to other good and ambitious cross-chain projects. In this post we want to clarify Pantos further and give you a detailed update on our approach.

There are several very good cross-blockchain projects. One of the key differences is that Pantos is a scientific research project, which aims to build Token Atomic Swap Technology (TAST) for token transfers. Together with talented scientist, some of the biggest blockchain projects on the planet and renowned experts of the global blockchain space, we want to bring TAST and an innovative cross-chain transfer protocol to life.

With Pantos and TAST we would like to create and enable innovations, which have not yet been done by other cross-chain projects. This includes:

• Cross-chain token TRANSFERS (not just SWAPS)
• Frictionless migration / transfer of the SAME asset from one blockchain to another
• (Near) real-time arbitrage, which means more stability and less volatility
• Research of open source technology as a joint academic effort
• Development of a high quality, open source atomic swap / transfer protocol
• Setting an industry standard with an innovative multi-blockchain token system
• A Blockchain Domination Index to measure PAN distribution among blockchains

TAST is the key factor which distinguishes Pantos from other cross-chain projects: We want to research and develop a new, open source standard for transferring the same asset from one blockchain to another.

The words “transferring” and “same” are important, because transferring has another meaning than swapping. Currently an Atomic Swap means a change in currency. That means all current cross-chain projects want to change asset A in a decentralised way to asset B on a different chain, for example Litecoin to Ethereum.

TAST aims to do an Atomic Swap for the SAME asset. Our token, PAN, will act as a proof-of-concept, which will be the first token to implement the capabilities of TAST. This means, that the basic goal of the project is to be able to transfer a PAN token from e.g. Ethereum to a PAN token on e.g. Lisk by using the TAST protocol. We are aware that this might be confusing, as we use the word Atomic Swap. But in fact it is not a swap between assets, but a transfer of the same asset (using Atomic Swap).

Pantos and its PAN token will enable near real-time arbitrage trading. This is a key aspect of the project and an innovative and unique feature. PAN will be the first token, which will be independent from currency swings on different blockchains. For example: If the ETH price should drop for some reason, EVERY asset on the Ethereum blockchain drops with the ETH price in EUR or USD. When the PAN token on Waves, for example, is clearly not affected by the ETH drop, there is an instant arbitrage option.

Thus, eventually the PAN token should not be affected from the currency drop on a single chain. As volatility has always been a big point of criticism of digital currencies, this is an important use case. There will be a big step to establish stability, liquidity and further bring our industry to mainstream adoption.

Furthermore, there is an additional use case of PAN’s innovative arbitrage feature. Because PAN tokens will be exchangeable on different blockchains on a one-for-one basis, the market introduction of such on various exchanges can cause price differences. Initially, traders will be in a position where they can exploit emerging price differences between cryptocurrency pairs and use PAN as a universal denominator token to profit of it.

With increasing acceptance and growth, opportunities of arbitrage trading using PAN will be efficiently exploited; the introduction of Pantos could therefore add needed stability to the currently volatile cryptocurrency trading market.

For the first time, it will be possible for the same token / asset to exist on different blockchains. This means, that with this system you won’t have to exchange your token anymore, you can simply transfer them from blockchain A to blockchain B. Due to this, the token / asset will no longer be affected by price swings on the blockchains.

Current Atomic Swap systems face a couple of difficulties. For example, they are neither easy-to-use nor private. Merkleized Abstract Syntax Trees (MASTs) have been proposed as a privacy improvement. Assuming their eventual integration into Bitcoin and other digital currencies, MASTs have the potential to significantly improve privacy by obfuscating sender and recipient information.

Another issue, that has yet to be solved for current Atomic Swap systems, is the fact that transaction partners must first find each other, that both have to agree to fixed terms before the transaction can take place and that several transactions are still ultimately required on multiple blockchains. Whilst Atomic Swaps have been successfully conducted by using prototype systems, the current lack of user-friendliness hinders widespread mainstream adoption of the technology.

The demand and need for easy-to-use atomic swap technology will only increase. For this reason, we find it timely to begin active development of a high-quality, open-source atomic swap / transfer protocol.

We believe, that a facilitation of currency swaps will have the additional benefit of bringing currently separate blockchain-based projects closer together, enhancing cooperation, reducing duplicated efforts, and resulting in a healthier crypto ecosystem.

Rather than to wait for developments in this direction to occur, Pantos and it’s research team want to use state-of-the-art scaling technologies like Atomic Swap and Lightning Network to develop a new open-source standard for a tokenised world.

Our goal is to enable projects and users to transfer token and migrate them easily and without friction from one blockchain to another. The aim is to minimise and eliminate the risk of blockchains help blockchain technology grow.

The TAST transfer protocol will make things possible, which have not been possible before. For example (near) real-time arbitrage trading between exchanges and the introduction of a new metric to measure the real-time PAN usage and distribution among blockchain platform the Blockchain Domination Index.

Transparency and openness have always been core values in the crypto space. Therefore, instead of submerging after the completed ICO for a few years to do “research in stealth mode”, we aim to rapidly assemble working solutions using currently available technology. We do this because we firmly believe that open, transparent communication between diverse stakeholders yields better results than secretly working for months or years to meet (over-)promised results in highly orchestrated unveilings.

We will follow a lean and agile approach, developing a multi-blockchain token system iteratively and with thorough testing at every milestone. To accomplish our ultimate vision, we have established four smaller milestone phases, each with its own set of deliverables. These are outlined below.

Current Phase: Growing the Pantos Community

Pantos is centred on the notion of improving communication and collaboration within the crypto space. Therefore, we have already signed up the Lisk, Waves, Komodo and NEM projects as partners. Our collaboration with exploration space @ ÖAW will ensure best practices in the design of communication platforms capable of generating innovation in the blockchain space.

We are also in the process of reaching out to other stakeholders within and outside of the blockchain and cryptocurrency communities, with the intention on forming further collaborations and partnerships. Institutional involvement in Pantos during this first stage has tangible benefits, such as direct influence on key design parameters and decision-making processes. At the same time, collaborators are incentivised through additional positive public exposure in connection with a community-driven, open-source project that benefits the entire crypto ecosystem. Finally, a partnership within the Pantos project will be rewarded with listing of their digital currency on Bitpanda.com.

Phase One: Proof of Concept and Interim Solution

Truly decentralised protocols such as Bitcoin are still ultimately in their infancy. Our vision — the decentralisation of a cross-blockchain trade — is, like Bitcoin itself, an ambitious one, requiring technologies that are at this stage theoretically possible, but lacking implementation . That said, it is possible for us to provide an initial, centralised proof of concept, providing a platform on which the later goal of decentralisation can be accomplished. Therefore, the first version of Pantos will be an interim solution, with the existing Bitpanda.com platform serving as the key connecting piece of technology between blockchains. In this way, we can demonstrate to our users almost immediately after launch, how fast PAN can be transferred between blockchains.

Example: Moving PAN from the Ethereum to the Bitcoin Blockchain

If the user wants to transfer his PAN to another Blockchain, all he needs to do is to deposit PAN to his Bitpanda Wallet and select his desired target Blockchain whilst withdrawing them again.

Phase Two — Automation

After the rollout of a proof-of-concept implementation in Phase 1, we will shift our focus to automation. Thanks to the development of a dedicated, open-source Pantos API, users will no longer be bound to any specific interface, and will therefore be able to perform systematic (algorithmic) trading. This way, while still able to utilise, the Bitpanda platform adopters will also have the flexibility to design and implement their own trading UXs/UI’s for automatic transfers between blockchains, while the settlement continues to run via the Bitpanda platform. This phase allows users to program trading bots to perform automated arbitrage.

Phase Three — Decentralisation

In the third and final phase, Pantos will represent a critical advancement in the blockchain technology. Expectedly, it will function as a fully decentralised multi-blockchain token system, and as a de facto open-source standard for cross-chain token transfers. The complete technical specifications for the system will be published in peer-reviewed, open-source research papers, and as a publicly accessible Visionpaper. In short, similar to a decentralised autonomous counterparty organisation, PAN tokens will interact via various distributed smart contracts to facilitate trades. Users will be able to meet and exchange PAN tokens directly between blockchains with no centralised party involved.

Visit our official website for more information. For regular updates on Pantos you can also follow the following channels:

Facebook: facebook.com/PantosIO

Twitter twitter.com/PantosIO

Reddit: reddit.com/r/Pantos

Telegram https://t.me/PantosIO

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/Pantos_IO