Heco users – we made custom token icons for you!

Heco Token Icons

We have really good news for all users using the Heco network in AlphaWallet. We created a custom token library where we cover icons for the most important coins. We are proud to be one of the first choice for all users looking for Heco Wallet

heco wallet

Now, you can enjoy all tokens symbol in AlphaWallet. We are working on further changes for Heco (Huobi) users. Stay tuned.

How to improve the UX of layer-two Ethereum rollups?

Problem

I can’t agree more with Vitalik Buterin, who once said:

“In the migration to rollups, the biggest challenge is User Experience.” — Vitalik Buterin, ETHGlobal Summit.

Indeed. The second layer of Ethereum and the emerge of rollups needs better UX. Picture Bob, who is new to crypto. He has just created a new wallet, and he has no clue about what networks are. All of a sudden, he notices multiple DAI tokens in his wallet. What? All of those DAI tokens have a different balance. It says something about DAI on zkSync, DAI on Mainnet, DAI on Optimism…

Seeing the latest one, he becomes even more pessimistic on if he would ever be able to understand what the hack means. Moreover, every time he wants to purchase something online, he does not understand why he can’t just buy with the DAI he definitely has. Then he goes Youtube to watch 1,5h on what is zkRollup and Optimistic Rollups. Does he really need to know this fancy blockchain jargon? He just wanted to purchase something online.

Solution

What if he would have just one token in his wallet – DAI. In the same way, he has one bank account balance with multiple currencies. And every time he makes a purchase online, it will auto-convert to the DAI network he is spending at the best available rate. So Bob doesn’t have to pre-purchase DAI on different networks. He can do it manually, but he does not have to worry about it.

So from a UX perspective, Bob will only see one token – DAI. When he opens that token, he will be able to find how DAI is allocated on multiple networks.

If he wants to manually transfer to a different network, he is just a few clicks away.

Bob purchases NFT

Let’s consider a scenario when Bob wants to purchase a digital painting. The dapp runs on zkSync, and the price for that NFT is 1500 DAI. He hits “Purchase” and signs the transaction with his private key. Since his DAI balance on zkSync was too low, the wallet auto-converts to the DAI to the network he is spending at the best available rate. Unless this is going down to mainnet, the fee of that transaction will be very low.

Here is a sequence of the transaction, the wallet enables the bridge, auto-convert the remaining DAI, and purchases an NFT. Bob does not need to understand the conversion between networks. He just needs a cool painting. Doesn’t he?

After the transaction, Bob finds that his DAI balance was reduced to 230 DAI. He looks for the details. He finds that his zkSync balance was reduced from 1300 DAI to 0 DAI, and the Optimism Rollups is now 100 DAI (300 DAI previously).

How the Tokenization of the Gaming Industry Empowers Players

An edited version is originally published on Cointelegraph

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, one thing is clear: the video games industry is thriving.

As people around the world find themselves with more time on their hands’ thanks to government-mandated lockdowns and a partial economic shutdown, video game sales have skyrocketed.

Now, despite being overshadowed by some of the more glamorous uses for blockchain technology, the gaming industry may be poised for a generational leap forward with the advent of asset tokenization — a practice that could see the gaming industry opened up to a whole new wave of investors, while simultaneously unlocking a myriad of benefits for the world’s 2.5 billion gamers.

Tokenized teams and sponsorships

Back in July 2019, blockchain-powered voting platform Socios tokenized the popular Dota 2 esports team OG. This tokenization process yielded $OG Fan Tokens, which can be bought and sold on the Socios marketplace, allowing holders to participate in polls and earn unique OG rewards. Not the ideal way of using blockchain, as if the usages and trade activities are locked in one platform, there is no benefit of using blockchain besides getting some PR and marketing noise. To make the token portable in a secure and trustless way, using standardised underlayer smart-contracts (like ERC20, ERC721 on Ethereum) is not enough, we need to standardise the front layer as well by using technologies like TokenScript, etc.

But this did mark a tentative first step in esports tokenization, that will likely lead to a point where entire teams, contracts, and sponsorship deals will eventually be tokenized. Through this system, otherwise illiquid, indivisible asset types like teams, players, brands, and practically anything else can be tokenized and sold to almost anybody — opening the industry to a wider range of investors while potentially bringing fans closer to their favourite teams.

With the help of blockchain technology, esports teams will be able to launch new funding initiatives, potentially enabling community-backed sponsorships, tokenized-merchandise sales, and potentially even tokenized contracts — allowing fans and other investors to potentially own the team.

Through this system, we could see a time where esports teams tokenize their potential winnings in return for an upfront payment — leading to the elaboration of an entirely new type of investment. This, in combination with the potential to launch non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and tokenized merchandise, identifiers like membership could see esports teams line up additional sources of revenue.

Like all tokens, those that represent fractionalized contracts, teams, brands and more will exist on immutable blockchain ledgers that enable peer-to-peer transfers without the need for lawyers and intermediaries to conduct ownership transfers. This will act to drastically increase the liquidity of previously illiquid esports assets, while boosting transparency in the process. Plus users can “prove” the ownership to any 3rd parties to receive services without the need of going through any intermediaries or the token issuers. These basically form a Frictionless Market and an Integrated Web.

Video games will be tokenized

According to Newzoo’s 2020 Global Games Market Report, the global games market is slated to reach revenues of $159.3 billion in 2020 — up 9.3% year on year thanks to one of the most profitable years for the gaming industry.

This staggering growth is largely owed to the gradual transition from physical media-based games, to digitally-delivered games that are purchased directly from the vendor or through one of the numerous video game distribution platforms. Much of this growth was driven by a dramatic surge in the $68.5 billion mobile gaming industry, which now comprises almost half of the gaming market.

Despite this growth, those looking to invest in the gaming industry are largely restricted to simply buying stocks in their favourite publishers, game houses, and distribution platforms, while only large-scale investors are able to obtain private equity in studios and benefit from the success of their intellectual property (IP). This closed investment ecosystem is ripe for disruption by tokenization technologies.

Rather than simply rewarding backers with an early copy of the game or additional content, developers and publishers can begin offering tokenized equity to investors in the form of digital security tokens. Each token could represent fractional ownership of an IP and the proceeds generated from it, allowing companies to obtain immediate funding without needing to complete a traditional funding round or go public with an IPO.

In-game currencies and items are also poised to get the tokenization treatment. By assigning blockchain-based tokens to in-game assets and allowing them to be traded on external platforms, game developers open up in-game assets to the broader investment community, while potentially allowing NFTs to be transferred between games — creating new opportunities for Ready Player One-style cross-game interactions and cross-platform play.

So far, no AAA title has adopted tokenization technology, but tools and platforms like Enjin, WAX, TokenScript and Loom which are designed to help with the process are currently under development. These platforms or something very similar may one day provide the infrastructure for the world’s first mainstream tokenized in-game currencies and assets.

Casinos are Ahead of the Curve

Although it is evident that practically all facets of the gaming industry will be disrupted by tokenization, few segments have reacted as strongly to the technology as the online gambling industry.

Nowadays, there are literally dozens of online cryptocurrency casinos that have a token element incorporated as part of their operation. This typically comes in the form of allowing players to earn tokens as an extra reward for playing, or distributing token to players as part of the “buy-in” process, where players convert cryptocurrencies into tokenized chips.

These uses can be considered to be some of the more tame examples of tokenization. But some cryptocurrency casinos have taken it a step further and tokenized their profits — allowing investors to purchase tokens that represent a fraction of the revenue generated by the platform.

In the case of BitDice, a total of 70% of its profits are shared between holders of its CSNO token. Other platforms like BetHash and EarnBet have launched similar systems, allowing users to buy and earn native platform tokens like HASH and BET, which can then be used to earn some form of dividends or rewards.

Though the yields for these platforms have so far been modest and typically range in the order of a few percent APR due to the inherently volatile nature of cryptocurrency gambling, their long-term success has shown that this method of investment is in-demand, This indicates that this first generation of tokenized casinos may be a sign of things to come — and that a fully player-owned casino might be an inevitability.

Why DeFi needs TokenScript

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) demonstrates the power and maturity of the Ethereum ecosystem. While the user experience gradually improves, there remains a chasm between wallets and blockchains. This tends to confuse even the most sophisticated of Ethereum users.

Thankfully, TokenScript can bridge the chasm.

I tested Compound recently. This is the DeFi app everyone talks about. Though I use cryptocurrency and crypto-tokens, I’m not an Ethereum developer. So I tested Compound the easiest way possible – on my Chrome browser with MetaMask extension to connect to my wallet.

Testing Compound involved several steps:

The whole process occurred with fluency. It illustrated how advanced Ethereum wallets and dApps are, the different ways in which smart contracts integrate, and how DeFi renders centralized services obsolete. At no stage did I relinquish my keys to a third party.

There’s a lot of information missing, however.

With that in mind, there are some things which drastically tarnish the user experience:

1. Metamask has no records regarding the UniSwap exchange. All I ever see is a simple transactions list. If I researched them on Etherscan, I might find the details. This is potentially problematic for tax declaration purposes.

2. When I created cWBTC, my WBTC MetaMask balance fell to zero. To see my cWBTC balance, I had to paste the cWBTC contract address into some field. Then I had about 90x as much cWBTC as I had WBTC. This baffled me.

3. Whenever I lend WBTC on Compound, I receive COMP tokens. This is known as “yield farming.” It’s a nice feature, but it leaves an unanswered question: where are the tokens? To see them in MetaMask, I again have to find the contract address, then paste it in some field. But since my account balance is zero, I have to claim the tokens first. As a result, MetaMask can’t see the COMP I earned, at all. This is the case even when it knows the smart contract address.

4. Ultimately, I still use a website. If the Compound website goes offline, I’m at a loss as to what to do. In theory, I own all the keys for my funds. But my wallet doesn’t understand the operations involved. Nor does it acknowledge the tokens I own. Consequently, I’m completely dependent on the Compound website to interpret what occurs on the blockchain, then craft a transaction for me.

I love DeFi and am really impressed by Compound. But the lack of clarity around the transactions that happened in my wallet is a significant drawback for a variety of reasons. Even if we, theoretically, have decentralization and non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets, practically and personally I feel dependent on centralized services. I’m certain I feel this way for one reason:

Smart wallets have no choice but to be dumb.

All DeFi dApps include the problems I’ve described. And I think that’s because smart wallets, it bears repeating, are dumb.

How, then, do I think a smart wallet should behave?

I believe a smart wallet should:

And so on. But alas, MetaMask is dumb.

And that is not the fault of MetaMask. It is a great wallet. It enhanced the blockchain user experience on multiple fronts, and it serves as an impressive gateway to the Ethereum blockchain.

Nevertheless, MetaMask can’t be smart. It’s inherently limited in its understanding of the blockchain — and to be fair, every wallet is. This is because there’s no standardized layer between the blockchain and user agents. They’re just wallets.

MetaMask’s developers would need to perform a considerable amount of manual work to make MetaMask smart. They would need to format it so that it could read and understand smart contracts, describe them in the wallet UI, and craft the transaction schemes involved with the contracts.

It’s unreasonable to expect wallet developers to accomplish all that. Even if they could, it would blow MetaMask out of proportion and will pose a risk to the app’s performance. Furthermore, it would not be able to scale. Imagine the number of tokens and smart contracts that exist today and the ones that will pop up as DeFi becomes mainstream. The developers wouldn’t be able to timely implement all the required changes.

Instead, what we need is a layer between the blockchain and user agents. Something which allows smart contract authors and token issuers to explain smart wallets, smart contracts and tokens.

In that regard, it is this clarity that TokenScript provides. It’s the missing piece to replace websites with smart wallets, while maintaining seamless user experiences.

It’s a simple, yet powerful solution.

In simple terms, TokenScript is an overlay of JavaScript code with XML markup. It describes the properties, logics, operations and user interface elements associated with a token.

TokenScript is written and signed by the token issuer. Users can download it anywhere. We have a repository for them, but any website can serve it, just as any website can validate an author’s signature.

It also provides a common data layer. This way, if you have 10 tokens whose behaviour was dependant on Ether value, it wouldn’t be necessary for each of them to enquire the blockchain 10 times.

Wallets can store TokenScripts, then use them. As we said before, it’s a simple, yet powerful solution. And we’ve implemented TokenScript in AlphaWallet. It may be a work in progress, but we’ve made substantial progress. To date, we’ve created FIFA soccer tickets, digital car keys (i.e. car owner portals) for several automobile MNCs, smart DeFi tokens for major DeFi projects, as well as other smart tokens — such as the ones for ENS — all using TokenScript. You’ll find a few examples of TokenScript in our GitHub repository. In fact, we’ve already sketched out several use cases.

We sincerely believe that TokenScript is needed to unleash the power of tokenization and smart contracts. To obtain more information about TokenScript, or contribute to TokenScript, visit our GitHub repository, read its concept paper, and/or check out our community forums.

Qoin: Thriving Future of Tokenized eCommerce Marketplaces

AlphaWallet partnered with BCI, the parent of Bartercard, to bring tokenization to eCommerce.

Over the years since the ICO craze of 2017, there have been numerous spurious propositions of what blockchains are primed to achieve. Tokenization and their ability to produce frictionless markets may be their most salient use, however, outside of preserving a decentralized monetary policy like Bitcoin’s.

Bartercard and AlphaWallet

That’s why we partnered with Blockchain Investments Group “BCI”, the parent of Bartercard, earlier in the year to bring tokenization to the eCommerce world. Wielding TokenScript and white label AlphaWallet, the partnership between AlphaWallet and BCI is designed to bolster the SME community’s access to a wide range of services from tokenizing dollars, invoices to services and products — effectively creating an open market of exchange for businesses and consumers.

AlphaWallet and BCI created the first consumer-facing blockchain application based on Quorum, the JP Morgan and Microsoft platform based on Ethereum. Called Qoin Wallet, the wallet represents a secure front-end for tokenization that businesses and consumers can use to interact with each other in a marketplace for goods and services that back the underlying progressive blockchain payment token — Qoin.

Focusing on Enterprises

Ethereum mainnet’s architecture is excellent for its emerging DeFi narrative and some other intuitive applications of its design, but some of its current limitations make it prohibitively challenging for businesses to use it effectively. In particular, SMEs that lack the plush resources of their larger corporate counterparts.

Enter Qoin Wallet — a front-end token interface built on the Qoin Blockchain Network using Quorum.

Qoin Wallet

As previously mentioned, and a topic we have covered before, blockchains that use a better framework for constructing applications (e.g., TokenScript) are ideal for breaking down many of the burdens facing SMEs. For example, eCommerce marketplaces lack standardization, meaning that payments between SMEs and consumers involve onerous transaction fees and complexity.

Qoin wallet

Qoin Wallet, relying on AlphaWallet’s iteration of TokenScript and Bartercard’s track-record in eCommerce systems, enables SMEs to seamlessly trade and interact with consumers and other businesses without the overhead costs of conventional eCommerce marketplaces. The Qoin progressive coin makes the transfer process instant with low fees and no barriers like going through the costly fiat system.

Case Study: Ecommerce Marketplace

Unfortunately, with the current economic circumstances, many industries have been deemed high risk, meaning that payments are subject to extended delays, and in the case of Square, up to 30 percent taken from each transaction and allocated to a reserve fund to cover any payment declines or fraud. International transactions also carry more risk on the part of the payment processor, so if Company A in the US sends an invoice for a supply chain manufacturing commodity (e.g., steel) to Company B in Argentina, there is a distinct risk of the funds transferred being held for 7–14 days. Such delays can detrimentally impact cash-flows on several levels.

The Solution

Qoin Wallet circumvents this problem. As both a digital currency and merchant platforms for SMEs, Qoin has racked up over 3,000 valid merchants and is ideally positioned to serve the payment needs of small businesses facing onerous commercial payment costs.

By relying on Qoin as a payment token and using TokenScript for configuring token rights, parameters, etc, Company A and Company B can engage and settle invoices virtually instantly with reduced fees and settlement assurances approaching that of Ethereum.

The companies could even arrange tradeable tokenized invoices used for exchanging other goods and services with SMEs part of the broader market. The idea is to bring SMEs into the global fold of eCommerce marketplaces by knocking down the major hurdles that currently prohibit them from engaging with other businesses that they could otherwise form a mutually beneficial relationship with.

And, considering Bartercard’s vast experience in the eCommerce market, many of the intricate aspects of eCommerce marketplaces are accounted for with the AlphaWallet and Qoin Wallet. Combined with the assurances of Quorum and Ethereum, that’s a compelling proposition for an enormous market of SMEs, who, on all accounts, is set to take the brunt of the economic fallout of COVID-19 lockdowns.

Unlike many ICOs of 2017, that’s not a spurious value proposition of blockchains — it represents a bleeding-edge opportunity to realize tokenized marketplaces for businesses.

About Bartercard

Bartercard is the world’s largest centralised private B2B merchant ecosystem. This B2B ecosystem forms a ready nucleus open to the public and able to rapidly expand globally. Blockchain Investments “BCI” is the owner of Bartercard International, the world’s largest goods and services retail trade exchange, with 21,000 business members in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Thailand. For over 29 years Bartercard has operated its private digital currency known as the Bartercard Trade Dollar, and its members have traded over US$10 Billion on its trading platform. Website: bartercard.com.au

About The Qoin Association

The Qoin Association, established in Australia, is an independent membership organization that governs the Qoin digital currency on the Qoin Blockchain. Website: qoin.world

Case Study: Ecommerce Marketplace

You’ll never skip a beat with your gas fee in AlphaWallet

We get it, writing transactions by hand or with a poorly designed wallet can be costly, just ask this fat-fingered ETH whale.

How did this happen?

The most likely cause is that the sender either made the transaction by themselves or used a poorly designed wallet that doesn’t protect you against a blank check for the gas price.

What YOU can do about it — use AlphaWallet

Our wallet will never allow this to happen to you. We check optimal gas prices for your transaction and let you set your own; but prevent excessive gas prices by default.

How to buy ETH in AlphaWallet

For a small amount between $10-$250:

You can use many fiat on-ramp serves directly in AlphaWallet browser. For example, you can use Wyre and MoonPay by opening below URLs in AlphaWallet browser: pay.sendwyre.com or buy.moonpay.io or instant.ramp.network/

how to buy ETH

Tips: You can add these websites to your bookmarks for future use. Once added, you will have a beautiful website logo appear in your browser home screen. (Clicking the Browser button will bring your back to the browser home screen)

You can also compare the rate and fees between different service providers.

how to buy ETH

For a middle size amount between $250-$50K:

You can use regulated stablecoin services in the AlphaWallet browser. For example, you can use USDC and PAX by opening the URLs below inside the AlphaWallet browser: usdc.circle.com/start or account.paxos.com/login

Step 1:

Compare the USDC/ETH, PAX/ETH, BUSD/ETH rate on 1inch.exchange

For example, if I want to buy 10,000 USD, I found that the USDC/ETH rate is the best available.

how to buy ETH
how to buy ETH
how to buy ETH

Step 2:

Open usdc.circle.com/start in AlphaWallet Browser, follow the instructions to set up your circle account and start minting the digital dollar stablecoin USDC.

how to buy ETH

Step 3:

Once you have received USDC in AlphaWallet, open 1inch.exchange to swap the USDC into ETH (UNLOCK then SWAP NOW).

how to buy ETH

Rate comparison, 1inch vs MoonPay vs Binance

how to buy ETH

For a large size amount over $50K:

Break your trade up into smaller trades using the above method or find a profession OTC service whereby you can negotiate a good fixed rate.

How to have your token on mobile in minutes

Are you a token issuer or enthusiastic holder but really struggle with the wallet you are using or don’t want to switch to a new wallet just so that you can use the special features of said token?

Maybe you don’t have a custom wallet at all for your token, but really don’t want to create another crypto wallet for iOS and Android.

If that’s the case, there is an easy way out. Our web tool ABI-to-TokenScript allows you to do just that; create a custom script that highlights your tokens best features on iOS and Android with a native feel. Try it out here.

What is a TokenScript?

Put simply, a TokenScript is a special file that holds your token’s key features such as deposit, mint or vote and works cross platform with security and trust in mind.

To ensure such a file is not tampered with, it is cryptographically signed by the token issuer and verified within the app that runs it. Invalid signatures are rejected by the wallet app.

To learn more about this or to see our existing TokenScripts for Compound, ENS, NEST and more, go here. To see the design and rationale behind TokenScript, go here.

how to have your tokens in mobile wallet

What does this tool do for me?

This tool allows you to very quickly have your token on mobile so your users will have a richer experience.

All you have to do is paste your contract’s ABI, contract address, name, network and interface into the tool and you will get your very own TokenScript. At the current time, this tool supports ERC20 and ERC721 contracts.

The tool will parse all the events and function calls into the TokenScript for which you can use after it is generated to add extra features on.

By default, your TokenScript will present the mobile user with an approve and about page for your token. From there it is easy to add on other features like mint, deposit, vote or more.

I have created my TokenScript, now what?

Excellent! Combining files and testing, then simply create a pull request here and we would love to add it to our mobile wallet.

AlphaWallet 3.0 — Your tokens but smarter

The team at AlphaWallet is excited to bring to your AlphaWallet version 3.0!This release comes packed with smarter tokens, ENS integration and a much more intuitive UI.

ENS Integration

Thanks to the ENS team and TokenScript Schema 2020/06, AlphaWallet now comes with ENS integration, allowing you to view your ENS names, renew them & set an email address for them.

ENS name mobile app
ENS Manage your ENS name, all in the app

Whether you are a mass domain buyer or just want to manage your personal ENS names; these features are perfect for you.

Covet a domain that someone else owns? Simply watch their wallet in the app and check their email record.

A domain is going to expire? No worries, simply renew it via the token card.

We will later integrate refunding of ENS names that have been held for a year or more, allowing you to receive a refund for the ENS names you wish you hadn’t bought. Talk to us to use any other ENS functions natively.

Flush the sh*tcoins with our new manage token panel

With this release, you now have the ability to select/hide the tokens you want from the main settings menu. No more useless tokens in your wallet!

Event Support

AlphaWallet now supports the reading of events for your tokens inside the wallet. This means you can now feed updates and other relevant information inside your token cards with TokenScript.

Your token on mobile in minutes

A TokenScript allows you to showcase all the key features of your token natively in the app. No need to create your own custom wallet to suit your token.

Our new release is compatible with our ABI-to-TokenScript web tool which means you can have your own token in iOS and Android in minutes. Try it out here!

Learn more about the web tool here.

Many token issuers have their token in our wallet, what about you? See more here.

NEST token integration and many more

NEST is a new ERC20 token project that has hit the ethereum space with a vengeance. When we discovered that you have to download yet another wallet to leverage the power of NEST, we were mad and decided to integrate it within our wallet with TokenScript.

nest token
Nest Token in AlphaWallet app

You can read more about NEST Token here.

Want to fork AlphaWallet for your own use?

Jump over to our GitHub and fork away, we don’t mind one bit. Available under the MIT license. Free for commercial and non-commercial use.