Po.et/Echo Partnership FAQ
What is Echo?
Echo is a network for creating permissionless, decentralized applications that work with Bitcoin. Echo has a trust minimized bridge to Bitcoin (built on previous work by Liquid and Rootstock) that allows applications to natively transact with BTC.
Why is Po.et partnering with Echo?
You can read more about this here.
Is Echo “acquiring” Po.et?
No, Po.et and Echo are two completely separate teams and are not merging.
Now that we are nearing the completion of building out the Linked Claims protocol, we can focus on building apps and supporting the adoption of Po.et applications. We will be one of the first teams to use Echo and this offer is meant to help get a great distribution of ECHO token holders to secure the new network.
What does this mean for the Po.et roadmap?
Our current roadmap will remain very similar to close out the “Connecting the Dots” roadmap.
After that, we’ll begin transitioning the Po.et protocols to be rebranded as the Linked Claims protocols and we will open up maintenance of the Linked Claims protocol to the community.
There will be individual roadmaps for each of the future applications that the Po.et team creates.
What will happen to the Po.et website and communities?
The website will be updated to showcase a more app development focus and point people to learn more about Echo. We want Po.et developed applications to help bring activity to the Echo network.
The Echo team will be building their own community for token holders; Po.et’s communication channels will stay primarily focused on Po.et, but will contain information from Echo as it makes sense.
Is Po.et being taken over by Echo?
No. Po.et will continue to build decentralized media applications, but the Echo team is allowing for POE tokens to be upgraded into their network in order to get the attention of our community to help secure their network. The Po.et team will be using Echo as their primary platform for smart contract development.
Does Echo have a token?
Echo has a core asset, the ECHO token, which is used for the security mechanism of its consensus algorithm. The ECHO token is inflationary and used to reward full nodes for participating in Proof of Weighted Randomness consensus.
Why should I exchange my POE for Echo?
Holding and staking ECHO tokens will help secure the underlying infrastructure that Po.et will be using for its applications.
What will happen to my POE tokens? Do I need to take any action?
You will be using your POE ERC-20 token and upgrading it into an ECHO token through a smart contract. The upgrade is completely optional and will have a perpetually open window which allows you to take your time to think about upgrading.
For more details, please review our posts on the conversion details:
- https://blog.po.et/a-welcome-note-from-echo-190d3485123f
- https://blog.po.et/its-time-to-convert-your-poe-44942e40483a
After I upgrade, when will I receive my ECHO tokens?
Echo needs to reach its mainnet milestone in order for the upgrade to be complete. The expected date will be announced in Q1 2020.
Once their mainnet is launched, you will be able to generate an Echo address in order to receive your ECHO tokens.
Is it required that I upgrade my POE to ECHO?
The Po.et Foundation is moving its support to the Echo network and will not require the POE ERC-20 token as part of its applications. You are not forced to upgrade in any specific timeline and your POE tokens are not being taken away from you.
To continue to support the Po.et ecosystem, you will want to upgrade your POE to ECHO to ensure that the Echo network is secure.
Will someone personally help me with the upgrade?
Unfortunately, we cannot help you out privately and we will never reach out to you to help with the upgrade. Anyone who says they will help you out should be considered to have malicious intent. If you’re looking for assistance, you are welcome to ask questions in our public Telegram channel. We will never ask for your balance of POE, ask you for money to help, or use a “special contract”. The current upgrade process is set up to be permissionless and decentralized by design and does not require anyone from the Po.et team to be involved in any way.
Do I need ETH in order to use the contract?
Yes. All on-chain transactions on Ethereum require ‘gas’ to execute the smart contract.
How is Po.et planning on leveraging Echo long term?
Po.et will be using Echo as their primary smart contract platform. As Po.et transitions to focusing on building applications, Echo’s capabilities will become very important to leverage.
We are excited to take advantage of the ability to use Bitcoin to pay for transaction fees, the increased throughput over Ethereum, and the ability to run Echo nodes with fairly basic hardware. Also, much of the tooling developed to work with Ethereum will also work on Echo because Echo has implemented the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
What is a sidechain?
Sidechain is a mechanism that allows users to transfer bitcoins between other blockchains and enables the ability to return their bitcoins back to the Bitcoin network at any time. The technology extends Bitcoin existing functionality and provides its users with access to new and innovative Bitcoin uses cases.
How does Echo’s consensus work?
In PoWR consensus, every user is automatically able to participate in the block production and validation process, either by running a node or delegating to an existing node. Each new block of transactions is generated by a committee randomly chosen from the pool of all network users. There is no requirement to lock up or “stake” currency, add computing power, or earn the votes of other users — every network user is eligible. For more information, visit here.
What is a verifiable random function (VRF)?
A verifiable random function (VRF) is a pseudo-random cryptographic function that is used in EchoRand to choose the block producers and block verifiers for each block through cryptographic sortition. This function allows each participating node to independently compute if it is chosen for a verification role for the next block and to broadcast that proof along with the block. This prevents any node in Echo from knowing who will produce the next block ahead of time, mitigating some classes of bribe or targeted DDoS attacks. For more information, visit here.
How is Echo different from Delegated Proof of Stake blockchains (EOS, Bitshares)?
Unlike traditional delegated-proof-of-stake (DPoS) blockchains, there is no superset of elected or delegated “supernodes” that produce and validate each block. Instead, every node in the network participates in block production and verification when chosen randomly according to its account balance.
Will I be able to store my private keys for Echo with a hardware wallet?
There are no hardware wallets available yet as Echo has not reached mainnet, but they are currently working to get major hardware wallets on board.
Does Echo have a wallet available?
For more information on using Echo’s wallet, visit here.
How can I learn more about Echo?
