A Deep Dive into TeleportDAO

Last week, we announced the TeleportDAO Token Sale, taking place between April 11 and April 18, 2024 at 17:00 UTC.

TeleportDAO enables trustless and Bitcoin-grade secure connections from Bitcoin to EVM chains and Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions through a light-client bridge. The protocol facilitates Bitcoin bridging and supports the creation of cross-chain applications for Bitcoin.

We sat down with the TeleportDAO team to learn more about the problems they solve, TST token utility and growth strategy, their recent partnerships, their approach to cross-chain applications, and how they see the future of interoperability protocols.

Let’s dive in.

1. What is TeleportDAO and what problems does it solve?

TeleportDAO is a trust-minimized and secure interoperability protocol connecting Bitcoin to EVM chains and Bitcoin L2s. This facilitates the creation of secure cross-chain applications for Bitcoin, allowing EVM users to access Bitcoin assets such as Bitcoin, BRC-20s, RUNEs (Bitcoin tokens), and Ordinals (Bitcoin NFTs). While many bridges use a validator-based approach to connect blockchains, TeleportDAO opts for light-client verification due to its significant advantages. To demonstrate the functionality of our bridge, TeleportDAO developed two dApps: TeleSwap and TeleOrdinal. These platforms enable EVM users to purchase BTC, BRC-20s, and Ordinals using any ERC-20 token.

2. What are the inherent use cases of the TST token?

TST serves three main purposes:

1. Governance Decisions: TST holders play a crucial role in governing and deciding the direction of both the TeleSwap and TeleOrdinal protocols. They make decisions on various matters such as how to allocate funds, which proposals to accept or reject, adding support for new chains, setting fees, and more. Their responsibilities cover both platforms, ensuring efficient decision-making and resource management to advance the objectives of each protocol.
2. Collateral for Lockers: To become a Locker node, collateral needs to be locked in the TeleSwap contract. Initially, Lockers are required to lock the native token of the EVM chain. However, with the introduction of the TST token, Lockers will also need to lock a certain amount of TST. Eventually, only TST will be accepted as collateral, replacing native tokens. This transition happens once the TST price stabilizes in the market, ensuring its safety as the sole collateral. As demand for the TeleSwap protocol grows, Lockers must lock additional TST to enhance protocol security, thereby increasing demand for TST to provide services for users.
3. Discount Token: TST serves as a discount token to incentivize users of both TeleSwap and TeleOrdinal. Holding a specific amount of TST in their EVM wallet exempts TeleSwap users from treasury fees, reducing their overall costs. Similarly, TeleOrdinal incentivizes TST holding by waiving the protocol fee for Ordinal sellers who meet the specified TST holding criteria, allowing buyers' payments to go entirely to these sellers.
   

3. You note partnerships with major Web3 projects including Across, UnitSat, bitSmiley, liquality, Quickswap, and many others. What do these partnerships unlock for TeleportDAO and what other use cases are you most excited about?

These partnerships allow TeleportDAO to integrate TeleSwap seamlessly into various Bitcoin wallets, enabling users to trade BTC and BRC-20 tokens in a non-custodial manner. As a result, TeleSwap emerges as a primary liquidity protocol for Bitcoin assets. Moreover, TeleportDAO is collaborating with innovative projects developing new Bitcoin-based applications, offering them its Bitcoin bridging service. With the growing adoption of Bitcoin layer 2 solutions, TeleportDAO anticipates numerous integration opportunities with such applications. As more applications on layer 2 networks require secure connections to Bitcoin, TeleportDAO aims to be at the forefront, providing the necessary infrastructure and support.

4. Can you elaborate on how TeleportDAO's light-client bridge enhances security compared to traditional validator-based approaches, particularly in terms of protecting against potential hacks or data breaches?

There are two main approaches to building blockchain bridges: the light-client approach and the validator-based approach. The primary difference lies in how the bridge verifies data from the source chain on the target chain. In validator-based bridges, this validation is performed by validator nodes, acting as a middle layer. However, in light-client bridges, the bridge contract itself conducts the verification, with nodes serving as relayers of data rather than verifiers.

Light-client solutions offer significant advantages over validator-based bridges. Firstly, they enhance security by delegating cross-chain data verification to smart contracts, mitigating the risk of potential security breaches from third-party validators. Secondly, they promote capital efficiency by eliminating the need for validators to lock up capital, facilitating value transfer between chains without collateral requirements. Lastly, they foster decentralization by allowing anyone to contribute to maintaining the bridge and enabling easy entry for new nodes, ensuring a more inclusive and resilient network.

5. How does TeleportDAO stand out from other interoperability protocols that focus on cross-chain applications?

One key aspect that sets TeleportDAO apart is its focus on connecting Bitcoin to all other layers, including Bitcoin Layer 2s. With significant development happening on Bitcoin Layer 2 networks, TeleportDAO anticipates a substantial demand for bringing Bitcoin assets to these layers. TeleportDAO aims to be the primary bridge for all these Layer 2 solutions.

Another crucial distinction lies in its trustless architecture, which eliminates the need to rely on any third party for bridging. This is particularly significant in the context of Bitcoin bridging, as Bitcoin holders are understandably cautious about risking their assets through less secure bridges.

6. What key milestones or developments does TeleportDAO aim to achieve in the near to mid-term future? Are there any upcoming protocol upgrades or enhancements?

TeleportDAO’s Bitcoin bridge will be operational across multiple Bitcoin L2s, and it will initiate collaborative efforts with them to encourage developers to create innovative cross-chain applications. Additionally, TeleportDAO is actively integrating TeleSwap into various Bitcoin wallets, thereby expanding TeleSwap's user base significantly. TeleportDAO is also exploring the implementation of restaking for its Locker nodes, aiming to substantially increase system capacity.

7. What strategies does TeleportDAO have in place for governance and community-led growth, development, and self-sustainability?

The majority of TST tokens are held within the TeleportDAO ecosystem, serving as fuel for the development of our products. TST holders will soon have the opportunity to participate in allocating ecosystem resources to projects and teams responsible for developing tools, interfaces, and widgets for TeleSwap and TeleOrdinal.

Additionally, TeleportDAO actively collects user suggestions for product enhancements on Discord, prioritizing those that align with key objectives. Users who contribute the most valuable suggestions and ideas, which have the potential to drive TeleportDAO’s growth, will be rewarded accordingly.

8. What is the best way to get involved in the TeleportDAO community?

Join the TeleportDAO Community: Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram

Legal Disclaimer

Not available for residents of the United States, China, Canada, South Korea, and certain other jurisdictions.

This post is being distributed by CoinList Global Services Ltd., dba “CoinList,” or one of its affiliates. Use of the CoinList website is subject to certain disclosures, restrictions and risks available here.

The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only. The contents of this page are based on information available at the time of its preparation and are subject to change without notice.

No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information contained on this page. Any projections or forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and judgments as of the date of this publication and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements.

This page may include links to external websites or third-party content for informational purposes. The inclusion of such links does not imply endorsement or approval of the content, and CoinList disclaims any responsibility for the content of such external sites.