Why I Love Algorand

Dear Algorand Community,

I love Algorand because it’s a great place to build new technology, to innovate, and to create opportunity for entrepreneurship. The underlying DeFi technology gives the power back to the people to control their own assets with freedom. In the United States especially, banks are largely corrupt, steal from customers, and enjoy the benefits of being too big too regulate. As a result, because of its innovative blockchain technology, Algorand creates opportunity for people all over the world to have access to world class financial services and the freedom from oppression of centralized governments and financial institutions.

I’m really disappointed in the response I’ve received from Algorand, Inc. regarding the smart contracts we’ve developed with Choice Coin. I’ve been banned from the Algorand Discord and my recent post on Algorand smart contracts was locked - both decisions were apparently made by @Ben. I think this was a categorically unfair and incorrect decision. I’m working extremely hard to add value to the Algorand network and to build great technology here.

It’s important to innovate, identify problems, and invent new solutions. There was a problem with Algorand smart contracts, we proposed a solution at the MIT Bitcoin Hackathon in 2021 and won the top prize for it. Then we won a grant to develop the solution as a new type of smart contract on Algorand. We succeeded in doing so. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity given to me by the Algorand Foundation and continue to work hard to make the most of it.

Apparently, Ben and others disagree with the idea that smart contracts should have a transactional nature like traditional contracts, but it’s important to have a diversity of ideas and developments in smart contract technology. It’s also important new ideas are vetted, well developed, and well thought out. And I’ve made every effort to describe, discuss, and distill the fundemental reasoning we’ve chosen to build a new type of smart contract on Algorand. In fact, all of the technology I develop on Algorand has been made open source for the benefit of the network.

It’s still very early for Algorand, Choice Coin, and blockchain technology more generally. In fact, it’s too early to simply dismiss ideas we disagree with. Ultimately, time will tell whether the market has a demand for smart contracts with application versus smart contracts as a cryptographic logic. There may even be demand for both. But I’m confident the smart contracts we’re building today will become a critical part of Algorand’s blockchain infrastructure in the years to come because they create real and lasting value both as a business mechanism and an information technology to save costs and improve efficiency in the way we work.

Algorand isn’t perfect - and it never will be - but we’re all working hard to make it better. As of late, the tokenomics and growth models are largely failing as a product of greater market conditions and the natural evolution high growth technology. It’s volatile. But, I’m confident in the long run this Network will succeed because many incredibly talented developers, Ben included, recognize the value in the underlying infrastructure and choose to build here because Algorand is the best blockchain to build on. That’s why we love Algorand.

To the Moon,

Brian

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I’d just like to interject for a moment, what you’re referring to as a smart contract is in fact a piece of off-chain code or as I’ve recently taking to calling it, not a smart contract.

Off chain scripts are not smart contracts, but rather another tool that can be used to interact with the blockchain made useful by the algorand sdk and other associated libraries.

Many off chain scripts that interact with the blockchain exist and run all the time, without users even realising. Through a peculiar turn of events we still do not refer to this off chain logic as smart contracts, because their logic does not exist on chain.

There really is smart contracts and there are people using it, but these are defined as pieces of on-chain logic that are transparent and trustless.

Smart contracts are an essential part of the algorand blockchain, but useless by themselves.

They can only function in the context of a dapp, or logic signatures(stateless) if you wish. Smart contracts are typically used as parts of a much larger application that requires on chain logic and providing a provably trustless application for it’s potential users.

All your so called “smart contracts” are really just variations of off chain logic that interacts with the algorand network.

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No - what I’m referring to is a smart contract. I’m sorry you’re having a hard time understanding smart contracts on Algorand. You’re correct that Algorand smart contracts are useless by themselves. This is the problem I’m focusing on solving.