Gate.io AMA with SHELL Trade-The First-ever Dual-sided Bridge Designed for Easy Cross-network Transfers Between BTC and SOL within BRC20 Tokens

2024-01-25, 04:58

Time: Jan 23th, 2023 at 11:00 AM UTC
Gate.io hosted an AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) session with Alex,representative of SHELL TRADE in the Twitter Space.
Official Website: https://shell.trade/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShellTrade
Follow SHELL Trade on Twitter and Telegram

Guest

Alex — representative of SHELL Trade

Q&A from Gate.io

Q1: Could you provide a brief overview of Shell Trade? What does it do? The background of the team?

Alex: Certainly! Shell Trade is focused on developing a cross-chain protocol that bridges the Solana and Bitcoin ecos. Our aim is to enhance the liquidity between these two significant networks.

Regarding our team’s background, we bring about three years of experience in various sectors like DeFi, GameFi, and LSDfi. I, Alex, am one of the core contributors. My expertise lies in nurturing several projects, guiding them to successfully launch their tokens on top-tier Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) through Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) and Initial DEX Offerings (IDOs). Our team’s strengths lie in our comprehensive experience in building products from the ground up, covering all aspects from development and token strategy to marketing activities.

Q2: Can you share a bit about the development journey of Shell Trade? When did the project start and how did it reach today’s stage?

Alex: Our journey with Shell Trade began as we noticed the rising popularity of Solana among Western users and the growth of BRC20, particularly driven by Asian, especially Chinese communities. The inception of this project was a result of our team’s early involvement in BRC20’s development, where we saw an opportunity to make a significant impact on the Bitcoin eco. My personal experiences with Solana DeFi since 2021, predating the wealth surge from FTX-backed projects, have been instrumental in shaping our direction.

Since last October, our team has been dedicated to enhancing the synergy between the Solana and Bitcoin ecos by fostering increased liquidity and utility. This ambition led us to develop a promising cross-chain protocol, which we officially commenced in late November. We have now finalized the essential tools, including a bridge set to launch this week alongside our TGE. SHELL is evolving beyond its initial role as a bridge, growing into a comprehensive platform. However, I need to keep some specifics confidential at this juncture.

Q3: How does Shell work? What’s the revenue source for Shell?

Alex: As previously mentioned, we’ve developed essential tools including a bridge and a token for Shell. Similar to other bridges, a key revenue source for us is transaction fees. Additionally, we’re focused on building an open platform that enables collaboration with innovative projects, particularly those on Solana, which may present airdrop opportunities. This collaboration not only supports our revenue generation but is also crucial for our strategy to acquire new users. Following the launch of our token, we intend to offer rewards to our partners as a token of appreciation.

A prime example of success in this domain is MultiBit, which has cultivated a remarkable community and rewards its collaborators. We’re drawing inspiration from their achievements and are committed to differentiating ourselves with unique features and strategic initiatives in the future.

Q4: What does the future roadmap look like?

Alex: Our roadmap is strategically planned in phases:

Phase 1: Launch of our token and the SOL/BRC20 bridge going live.
Phase 2: Building up partnerships within the eco.
Phase 3: Implementing a cross-chain NFT bridge and integrating more EVM chains.
Phase 4: Introducing innovative features, such as cross-chain swaps.

As part of our business strategy, we’re focused on attracting more retail investors and business partners. Additionally, we are developing a range of features around our SHELL platform, with the bridge being just the beginning. For instance, we plan to establish a cross-chain swap feature between the Solana and Bitcoin ecos. Due to the lack of smart contracts in the BRC20 eco, we will leverage a Bitcoin layer 2 solution.

Our overarching vision is to unlock the liquidity of assets on the BTC blockchain. The cross-chain bridge is our initial step in this direction. For our upcoming initiatives, we are working on a cross-chain trading protocol for native assets, and we plan to publicly announce these new developments soon.

Q5: Could you explain your Tech points?

Alex: Our Cross-Chain Technology:
The core of our cross-chain bridge lies in the asset confirmation monitoring on the source chain and the asset release on the target chain.

For monitoring nodes, Shell utilizes multiple self-built independent nodes and third-party nodes to confirm asset transfers. Only when multiple monitoring nodes reach the confirmation threshold will the final transaction be confirmed. As for release nodes, they are independent of monitoring nodes. Asset releases are independently signed by independent nodes (multi-sign wallet controlled) to avoid a one-point failure.

Author: Rio Fu., Gate.io Community

*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.

*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.