Use Decentra-List to build your own custom on-chain address list
By pumpedlunch and Evan Duggan
Main takeaways
- Decentra-List is a new tool that allows devs and protocols to create decentralized on-chain address lists with an incentivized updating and dispute system.
- Anyone can propose additions or removals from the list, but any proposed changes must be verified by UMA’s optimistic oracle before being executed.
- Decentra-List can be used to create white/black lists, DAO roles, smart contract whitelists, on-chain credit rating markers, token ratings and whatever else you can dream up.
- The project is currently launching an alpha version that has not been audited by a third party.
Introducing Decentra-List
Decentra-List has launched to allow devs and protocols to create essential on-chain address lists that are decentrally-verified and remain up-to-date by incentivizing successful revisions of those lists.
Decentra-List uses UMA’s optimistic oracle as its dispute resolution layer. The tool provides large communities and developers the ability to list and reference addresses that meet any criteria based on publicly verifiable info.
Possible use cases include whitelists for airdrops or ongoing rewards, blacklists of hackers or compromised contracts, lists of smart contracts with specific features (ie. rebasing tokens) and reputation markers (ie. on chain credit rating markers).
Anyone can propose additions or removals from the list, but any proposed changes must be verified to meet the list criteria by UMA’s optimistic oracle before being executed. The list creator can offer incentives to update the list by offering a reward for each address successfully added or deleted.
UMA’s oracle uses a dispute window as a way to ensure that updates to the list will be accurate and neutral. By doing so, not only will the list stay updated, but the list creator can “put their money where their mouth is” by offering a bounty for a credible challenge. An unclaimed bounty will add credibility to the integrity of the list.
Decentra-List is currently launching an alpha version that has not been audited by a third party. Future improvements will be tailored towards features and use cases that receive adoption.
How Decentra-List functions
This project uses a proxy factory contract to create new lists. When a user proposes to add or remove addresses from the list, that data is included in a request to UMA’s OO to verify that the changes meet the list criteria.
The same transaction also proposes the price. Once the oracle settles the price, it calls a callback function in the list smart contract to mark the change as approved. The change can then be executed to add or remove the pending addresses from the list and pay out any rewards due to the proposer (this transaction can be automated in the future).
Role of the optimistic oracle
UMA is an optimistic oracle (OO) that can verify any statement proposed on the blockchain. It tells smart contracts “things about the world” so contracts and markets asking for that data can be settled.
The OO functions as a decentralized truth machine that includes human reasoning. It is flexible enough to handle ambiguity and expands what can be built in Web3, including a decentralized project like Decentra-List.
In case of dispute, the request will escalate to UMA’s DVM and UMA tokenholders will vote on a YES or NO question, to validate the addition/removal (or to block it) based on evidence.
Why devs should care
Decentra-List can be used to create decentralized, constantly-updating white/black lists, DAO roles, smart contract whitelists, on-chain credit rating markers, token ratings and whatever else you can dream up. Lists like these are valuable sources of information previously unavailable to devs in a decentralized manner. This tool will help to inspire a new wave of web3 dapps and features.
For instance, lists could be created for the following use cases:
- A list of addresses that belonged to SBF could be used as a decentralized investigative record that is of public importance.
- A list of token smart contracts that meet a token rating criteria based on historical volatility, upcoming token unlocks and/or available exchange liquidity could be used as a constantly-updating token whitelist across many protocols.
- A whitelist of NFT Exchange smart contracts that enforce creator set royalties on intermediated transactions could be used by any NFT creators to protect creator set exchange transfer royalties.
- A list of addresses that have voted in over 80% of a DAO’s votes in the last six months could be used as an on-chain list of current and consistent DAO members for rewards, role assignments or other privileges.
Project emerged from hackathon with UMA support
Decentra-List is launched currently on Ethereum Mainnet and Goerli. It was initially developed as an ETHOnline hackathon project, winning first place as ‘Best Use Case’ with UMA. Further funding and support by UMA helped bring this new project to fruition.
