REMME Q2 results
Q2 of 2018 has come and gone and thus it behoves us to provide an update on everything that’s been achieved this past quarter at REMME. During the course of this summary, we’ll detail the work we’ve put in over the last three months including the progress that’s been made on private sidechains, open source integration libraries, atomic swaps and additional ways to secure our protocol with the aid of 2FA. We’ll also outline the work that’s still to be done, which we’ll be tackling during Q3. There’s a lot to cover so let’s get started.
1. Private sidechains
What was planned
Private blockchains for integration with enterprise systems were to be implemented. The planned functionality was:
1. Blockchain-based certificate data storage
2. Integrations with different clients’ systems
3. Bitcoin anchoring for higher auditability
What’s been done
Sidechains + Public blockchain: REMME ecosystem upgrade.
The concept behind creating an ecosystem with sidechains was to provide the most seamless integration for the use of REMME solutions by both Fortune 500 enterprises and small startups. Sidechains are an ideal fit for companies with over 100,000 users (internal and/or external) to maximize speed of operations, enable additional flexibility, and meet the terms of the company’s privacy policy. In a nutshell, REMME’s sidechains are closely controlled decentralized networks operated by consortia in which the data is confidential and is accessed only by trusted members. These run inside an enterprise network and are inaccessible from outside.
REMME connects decentralized sidechains (private REMChain) and public blockchain (REMChain) into a single distributed ecosystem through anchoring, providing companies with the comfort and familiarity they expect, whilst including the benefits of public blockchains: transparency, auditability and a restoration point, without anchoring it to the genesis block (the point of blockchain creation).
While our R&D team is still closely working with REMME Research Lab’s initiative for finalizing the public REMChain consensus algorithm, we’re ready to present the sidechain testnet (private REMChain). It was actually presented by the REMME R&D team at Hyperledger Hackfest in Amsterdam on 27–29 June, but the public announcement will follow later this month.
At the current stage we’re at, developers can deploy multiple nodes with REMCore software installed and providing the redundant storage for public key certificates with no single point of failure. In another words, they can actually run their own sidechain with trusted nodes. After the public announcement, developers will be able to submit their request and get testnet tokens for running different experiments and accessing Private REMChain features.
Takeaway List:
- Private REMChain is ready for tests.
- We’re currently using PoET (Proof Of Elapsed Time) consensus algorithm, where the next active node is selected based on more complex conditions.
- The REMChain blockchain will be used for anchoring by default. Using other public blockchains will be possible at client’s request provided they clearly understand and are willing to pay unpredictable transaction costs when anchoring each time.
- REMME Core features are available for integration through REST API.
Read here on how to set up a masternode.
- Test REMME protocol REST API, which enables other client libraries and applications to use REMME’s masternode rules to handle operations with certificates. Link to specifications.
- Check block and transaction status in real-time in REMChain block explorer
2. Open source integration libraries
What’s been planned
Develop software components to be incorporated into the code of systems and applications that will support REMME PKI (d) protocol.
What’s been done
- .JS REMlib v.0.2.4
Programming library for third-party integration using JavaScript programming language and/or Node.js server-side software.
REMME JS Client: https://www.npmjs.com/package/remme
JS integration library for REMChain: https://github.com/Remmeauth/remme-client-js
- .Net REMlib v.0.2.2
Programming library for third-party integration used with a .Net technology stack.
.Net integration library (C# programming language) for REMChain: https://github.com/Remmeauth/remme-client-dotnet
3. Additional 2FA options
What’s been planned
Additional 2FA options for REMME WebAuth such as Signal, Status, WeChat, Trezor.
What’s been done
The current REMME WebAuth app demo allows users to:
- Register on the system together with Google Authenticator (GA 2FA)
- Download and store the certificate
- Log in with this client certificate together with GA 2FA
- Revoke the certificate
- Log out from the session
During the research phase, while defining the scope of our pilot program with participants, we received feedback that 90% of them were comfortable with using Google Authenticator for the purposes of the pilot. After getting this feedback, our team made a decision to reschedule the introduction of additional 2FA options for Q3 and instead began work on the inter-blockchain migration mechanism that was previously planned for release in our roadmap for Q3.
Useful links:
Test the REMME WebAuth demo
3. Atomic Swap (new in Q2)
What’s been planned (Q3 in roadmap)
A system for cross-blockchain token migration is needed which will enable clients to use REM token, initially released on the Ethereum platform, on REMChain. In our whitepaper we defined the optimal choice as being a centralized system similar to Waves cryptocurrency gates. The idea was that one of the nodes could be tracking transactions in both Ethereum and REMChain. When a user sends tokens to this node on Ethereum (with the user’s REMChain address enclosed in metadata), the same amount of tokens is sent to the user’s account on REMChain, and the system works in the same way for transferring REM to the Ethereum blockchain.
What’s been done
We’ve developed REMGate to facilitate the decentralized cross-blockchain migration from the ERC20 REMME token to REMchain and vice-versa with 1:1 exchange rate. This component also provides a guarantee for order fulfillment in both blockchains based on a smart-contract concept. At the current stage of development these features have already been introduced:
- Swap processing journey
- Swap status spier
- Swap transaction tracer
- Stuck swap email notification
- Ethereum and REMChain smart contracts (handler/DApp)
4. Security tests
What’s been planned
Ongoing product security audits and pen-tests.
What’s been done
Bearing in mind the rescheduling and adding of new components to the roadmap (atomic swaps, developing a new consensus algorithm for public REMChain), the logical decision has been made to finalize our work on the Public REMChain testnet and start both public and private bug bounty campaigns in the middle of Q3. However, we’ve already started planning these campaigns, their conditions and reward pool. During the first stage, we’re planning to cooperate with several well-known platforms, and are currently in negotiations with Hackerone and Hackenproof.
5. Integrations
What’s been planned
20+ integrations.
What’s been done
We wound up receiving close to 300 applications to join our pilot program, a number that took us by surprise. The list of approved participants includes Changelly, Mercury Cash, WandX, and many others, ranged from small companies of less than five employees to a large payments firm with more than 500 million users. These numbers are extremely encouraging, not least considering our goal of attracting enterprise clients, where the rate of innovation and adoption is much slower than in crypto. For example, the standard sales cycle for enterprises takes an average of 6–9 months when it comes to selling a software product based on commonly used and well-known technologies.
We’re still in the midst of our pilot program, but we’ve decided to adapt the process by which we conduct it. Companies that are ready to begin pilot testing in the shortest time will no longer be obliged to wait for the next scheduled phase of the pilot program. Instead, they can press ahead immediately by sending us a request through a form on the REMME website. Another important update is the ability to choose one of several products for testing. In this list, participants will likely find one new product that was not previously announced: REMME Managed PKI, a hassle-free tool for Certificate Lifecycle Management, which is intended to compete with such products as Venafi and CertCentral by DigiCert. But that’s a part of another story that we plan to tell you in our next update :)
Conclusion
To summarize then, we’re pleased to report that on almost every single front, we’ve finished Q2 ahead of schedule. While we can’t promise to overachieve every quarter (though we’ll certainly do our best), we’re extremely confident about what the next three months hold for REMME, for our pilot program participants, and for our community at large. We’ve already achieved more than we’d thought possible during the course of Q2, and are particularly pleased with the development of sidechains and 2FA integration. We’re also delighted with how the pilot program’s progressing. As always, though, we’re prone to looking forwards rather than backwards.
In the near future we look forward to relaying details of:
- Documentation on masternodes: rewards and structure, description of application process
- Public REMChain testnet
- Details of consensus algorithm for public REMChain
- Atomic Swap completion
- Results of several of the pilot projects that have been started already
- REMME product line update
- New team members
👋 Thanks for joining us on this journey so far. Stay secure and we’ll speak soon!
Team REMME.
The actual development process can be checked in the dev branch.
Releases are for significant functionality changes only.
REMME’s official links:
- Website: https://remme.io/
- Telegram group: https://t.me/remme
- Apply to join Tech Community: https://remme.io/community
- Telegram news channel: https://t.me/remme_daily
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/remme_io
- Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/remme/
