A guide to Ergo

Ergo is a next-generation Proof of Work smart-contract Layer-1 blockchain that enables new models of financial interaction, underpinned by a safe and rich scripting language and flexible and powerful Zero-Knowledge proofs.

Ergo has strong roots in important values anyone should expect from a cryptocurrency. Learning Ergo is learning why we need financial freedom, decentralisation, and privacy as core tools to build a desirable future in the digital age.

Alex Chepurnoy (the founder of Ergo) founded smartcontract.com, which eventually became Chainlink. He also contributed to the development of Cardano in the early days and controbuted to writing Cardano research papers.

Introduction

Ergo leverages all the advantages of Proof of Work to enable new models of financial interaction, based on a safe and rich scripting language built with flexible and powerful cryptographic proofs. It is built on strong fundamentals:

Charles Hoskinson regularly speaks highly of Ergo, as for example in his appearance in the Lex Friedman podcast, where he said that Ergo is the “sprititual successor to Bitcoin” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5sDMfOHki4)

History

The Ergo Blockchain, which started in 2019, was created by a team of esteemed developers and cryptocurrency experts, including Alex Chepurnoy and Dmitry Meshkov, who are well-known for their significant contributions to the blockchain community. The main purpose of developing Ergo was to offer a platform that is not only secure and efficient but also user-friendly for financial contracts, all while utilizing blockchain technology.

These developers identified the need for a secure, decentralized platform that would enable the development and execution of intricate financial contracts digitally. They envisioned a future where DeFi (Decentralized Finance) could be essential in numerous sectors. Therefore, Ergo was introduced with the goal of providing a strong foundation for developing such applications.

Adherence to the principle of a fair start was fundamental in the launch of the Ergo Blockchain. There was no Initial Coin Offering (ICO), no pre-mine, and no special advantages given to early investors. This methodology stands as a demonstration of the founding team’s dedication to fairness and decentralization. By abstaining from an ICO or pre-mine, Ergo prevented any specific group from acquiring excessive influence or control over the network.

The Ergo Blockchain emanates from comprehensive research and implements inventive solutions to tackle the challenges and inefficiencies observed in earlier blockchains. It incorporates a suite of research-driven features like non-interactive proof of proof of work (NiPoPoWS), which grants enhanced privacy, along with a memory-hard mining proof of work algorithm, fostering decentralization and adaptability.

Its architecture is crafted to be adaptable, enabling it to accommodate new technologies and shifts in user needs over time. A notable feature of Ergo is blockchain pruning, allowing nodes to remove unnecessary historical data while sustaining full security. This feature represents a significant advancement towards amplifying the scalability of the blockchain.

Ergo’s distinctive strategy in implementing smart contracts, termed as ErgoScript, stems from thorough research. This approach enables the platform to facilitate more intricate financial contracts securely and efficiently. ErgoScript contracts operate on the fundamentals of Σ-protocols, a form of zero-knowledge proof, allowing for enhanced flexibility and security.

Read more here: https://docs.ergoplatform.com/dev/protocol/why/

On-chain governance

Miners have the ability to alter numerous parameters on-the-fly through voting. This includes changes to instruction costs, computational cost limits per block, block size limits, storage fee factors, and block versions, among others. Voting on the block version spans 32 epochs and necessitates the approval of over 90% of the miners for any change to be implemented. For less critical alterations, such as block size limits, a simple majority suffices. Changes of the first kind will be categorized as foundational changes, while those of the second kind will be termed everyday changes. In each block, a miner has the opportunity to vote for two everyday changes and one foundational change, with the votes being incorporated into the block’s header.

Links

Official website: https://ergoplatform.org/en/
Github: https://github.com/ergoplatform
Whitepaper 1: Whitepaper I: Ergo: The Resilient Platform For Contractual Money
Whitepaper 2: Whitepaper II: ErgoScript, a Cryptocurrency Scripting Language Supporting Noninteractive Zero-Knowledge Proofs
Whitepaper 3: Whitepaper III: Advanced ErgoScript Tutorial
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ergonauts & https://www.reddit.com/r/erg_miners/
Telegram: https://t.me/ergoplatform
Foundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErgoFoundation
Community Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sigmanauts
Ergo Docs: https://docs.ergoplatform.com/
List of Videos/ Dapps / NFTs / Wallets & Tokens on Ergo: https://ergcube.com/
Ergo Manifesto: https://ergoplatform.org/en/blog/2021-04-26-the-ergo-manifesto/
Ergo wiki: https://github.com/ergoplatform/ergo/wiki
Community wiki: https://ergonaut.space/en/home
Forum: https://www.ergoforum.org/
Discord: https://discord.com/ergo-platform
Blog: https://ergoplatform.org/en/blog/
Portal listing Ergo projects: https://sigmaverse.io/
Mining Calculator: https://ergoplatform.org/en/get-erg/#Mining
Ergo Explorers: https://explorer.ergoplatform.com/ and https://ergexplorer.com/ and https://sigmaspace.io/en (beta)
Statistics: https://ergo.watch/
Ergo Roadmap: https://ergoplatform.org/en/blog/The-Ergo-Roadmap-What%E2%80%99s-Next-Part-3/
https://ergoplatform.org/en/ecosystem/#Roadmap
Messari Ergo page: https://messari.io/project/ergo
All APIs: https://docs.ergoplatform.com/dev/stack/api/
CoinGecko: https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/ergo
Emission and metrics: https://ergo.watch/emission and https://ergo.watch/metrics

Tutorials

Tutorials on everything Ergo in 6 languages: https://ergotutorials.com

Ergo Community Twitter accounts

https://twitter.com/ergomergoadargo/status/1600014686799286273?s=20&t=uct302lKhAUdCUVAC47zrA

Major teams building on Ergo

@Spectrum Labs The only permissionless DEX on Cardano and Ergo with open batching. 100% open-sourced and transparent
@RosenBridge_erg “Ergocentric” framework for cross-chain settlement.
@Sigmanauts A community-run platform bringing exposure to the Ergo ecosystem
@SigmaO Options
@Sigmafi_app P2P lending
@duckpools_io Pooled lending
@PhoenixErgo Degen fi
@LiliumErgo Mass mint/sales distributor for NFTs
@single_tx_swap P2P escrow
@ZengateGlobal Tokenized traceability NFTs for real world businesses
@Dexy_Ergo Decentralized Stablecoin pegged to gold.
SigUSD is Ergo’s other stablecoin that has never de-pegged
@PaideiaDAO DAO governance
@ErgoPadOfficial Launchpad for project funding
@CyberVerse_io Metaverse/gaming
@Blitz_TCG TCG gaming
@CruxFinance Data/analytics/portfolio tracking
@azorus_xyz Data/analytics
@skyharbor_io NFT marketplace
@auction_house_ NFT marketplace
@THz__fm Music
@NautilusWallet Wallet/Development
@ErgoLend non collateralized loans to small businesses
https://github.com/ergoMixer/ergoMixBack (first non custodial open source mixer in crypto)
@Grand_Gambit Casino
@GreasyCEX Baseless Project bron for entertainement in support of Ergo
@Ergo_Apparel Ergo Merch

Wallets

https://ergoplatform.org/en/get-erg/#Wallets

Exchanges

https://ergonaut.space/en/Community/exchanges
https://ergoplatform.org/en/get-erg/#Exchanges

Swap $ADA for $ERG

https://twitter.com/@ChangeNOW_io
https://twitter.com/@SimpleSwap_io
https://twitter.com/@nonkyc_exchange
https://twitter.com/@TradeOgre

Learn to code on Ergo

Free education courses:
https://twitter.com/DeCoEducation
https://deco-education.github.io/deco-docs/docs/intro/
Python library to interact with the Ergo blockchain: https://github.com/ladopixel/tERGminal

Interesting articles

Youtube

Ergo NFTs

The Cardano & Ergo networking Club

If you are interested in Ergo & Cardano networking, join The Ergada Club: