Smart contracts on Ethereum are fully self contained and any information or access to off-chain data is restricted. Tellor solves this problem by creating a system where parties can request the value of an off-chain data point (e.g. ETH/USD) and miners compete to add this value to an on-chain data bank, accessible by all Ethereum smart contracts. Inputs to a data series are secured by a network of staked miners. The main Tellor smart contract creates a time series of each requested data series and aims to become the standard source of high value data for decentralized applications. This oracle, “Tellor”, utilizes similar incentive mechanisms to other cryptocurrency systems through the issuance of Tellor’s token, Tributes, that are used to request a particular data series from miners.
CommerceBlock is a public blockchain infrastructure company that is architecting a platform that allows anyone to build and use financial products and services historically reserved for commercial banking customers. The CommerceBlock network will be the first technology platform that provides a combination of trust minimal trade, decentralised contract execution, on-chain derivatives, and asset-backed token issuance to public blockchains. The advent of the Bitcoin protocol has enabled permission-less financial innovation. CommerceBlock’s product offerings provide a suite of tools that enables anyone to build and use services that construct contracts, manage trade flows, engage in multiparty dispute management, issue assets, and hedge currency risk. Developers and end users will be able to manage all stages of a business interaction and fulfil their contractual obligations by utilising the CommerceBlock platform. These services will be integrated into infrastructure we have already implemented. We have released the first open-source implementation of the pay-to-contract and homomorphic address protocol outlined by Timo Hanke and Ilja Gerhardt. The protocol has been designed in such a way that all business logic, customer funds, and trade details are managed on the client side meaning at no point does CommerceBlock have access to customer funds or private information.