TSSNOLOGY.
TSS is kind of a big deal for THORChain.
The majority of nodes need to agree.
It Starts with One Way State Pegs
Nodes are connected to BNB, BTC, ETH (and other) chains via Bifröst modules.
Once nodes are done syncing, they begin watching vault addresses on each chain.
If they ever see an inbound transaction concerning a vault address they watch, they deserialise it and convert it into a witness transaction.
Once a super-majority of nodes agree on a particular transaction, it moves from a pending state to a finalized transaction. See the code snippets below for samples.
type Tx struct {
ID TxID `json:”id”`
Chain Chain `json:”chain”`
FromAddress Address `json:”from_address”`
ToAddress Address `json:”to_address”`
Coins Coins `json:”coins”`
Gas Gas `json:”gas”`
Memo tring `json:”memo”`
}type ObservedTx struct {
Tx common.Tx `json:”tx”`
Status status `json:”status”`
OutHashes common.TxIDs `json:”out_hashes”`
BlockHeight int64 `json:”block_height”`
Signers []sdk.AccAddress `json:”signers”`
ObservedPubKey common.PubKey `json:”observed_pub_key”`
}But sir, how many chains can nodes observe at once?
As many as they wish. As long as it makes economic sense i.e. server operation costs vs. the value driven by the added chain. The more swaps, the better for nodes and LP’s.
Next, the state machine performs logic.
So That a txOut Gets Created
The state machine performs logic such as ordering transactions, computing state changes, and delegating them to a particular outbound vault. Finally, a txOut item is created and stored in the Key-Value store.
The txOut item details which chain it should be sent on, the destination address, the vault it should be sent from, and the maximum gas that should be spent. See the sample txOut below.
But sir, a vault?
ASGARD vault is a pubkey during a TSS key-signing ceremony. They have no private keys. It’s not custodial.
1 type TxOutItem struct {
2 Chain common.Chain `json:”chain”`
3 ToAddress common.Address `json:”to”`
4 VaultPubKey common.PubKey `json:”vault_pubkey”`
5 Coin common.Coin `json:”coin”`
6 Memo string `json:”memo”`
7 MaxGas common.Gas `json:”max_gas”`
8 InHash common.TxID `json:”in_hash”`
9 OutHash common.TxID `json:”out_hash”`
10 }Finally, nodes sign via a TSS ceremony.
So That the txOut Gets Broadcast
During the previous stage, the state machine selected the most ideal vault for the job i.e. ASGARD vs. YGGDRASIL vault. If the the latter, a single node can process the txOut, otherwise all the nodes need to come to a ceremony to coordinate key-signing so that the ASGARD vault sends the funds.
With 36 THORNodes operating, at least 24 of them (2/3) need to come together in a
TSS ceremony
and sign the transaction. The final signed transaction is then broadcast to the respective chain.
But sir, what’s a YGGDRASIL vault and why wouldn’t a node operator just steal from it?
A YGGDRASIL is a “hot vault” where some small amount of funds are stored in THORNodes, which allows for faster transactions during swaps. A node operator wouldn’t steal assets from the vault because as an operator, they must bond a minimum amount of RUNE to secure the network. Today the lowest bond is 339,233 RUNE worth $2,758,768 USD. If they steal from their own vault, they’d get slashed from their bond 1.5X the amount stolen. They’d lose more than they gained. Makes zero economic sense.
But sir, how can CEXes earn with THORChain?
With affiliate fees supported by the network, they can convert their infrastructure to make use of THORChain’s Decentralized Liquidity Network while setting whichever fees they want. It’s a win-win.
Papers & Audits |
THORCHain has been studied by the industry’s brightest.
Read the various papers to come to your own conclusions ;)
But sir, I'm not technical enough to understand these ^
No worries, the community is quite active via various channels including Twitter, Telegram and Discord. It is suggested you join and ask away any questions you may have. Remember that educating yourself is a core component to gaining confidence in the network and ultimately becoming a Liquidity Provider.
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$1B VOL IN 138 DAYS
THORChain processed an incredible transaction volume while in its infancy. This isn't smoke and mirrors, its utility is real.
But sir, how can I benefit from this technology?
You can swap native assets from your hardware wallets. You can participate as a Liquidity Provider and earn fee rewards. You can arbitrage price inefficiencies. You can operate a THORNode. You can integrate with your wallet or exchange. You can do so much.
