Welcome to the Ergo Ecosystem
The Ergo Ecosystem is a thriving hub of decentralized applications, infrastructure, and protocols empowering users, developers, and communities. Explore everything from secure DeFi to private transactions, community DAOs, and next-generation developer tooling.
The Ergo Ecosystem Vision
Ergo merges proven blockchain foundations with innovative research, providing a platform for open finance, privacy, and resilient, community-owned infrastructure. Build, experiment, and collaborate on a platform engineered for real-world impact.
Infrastructure
Explore the technologies powering Ergo: robust Proof of Work consensus, extended UTXO, oracles, bridges, and cross-chain capabilities.
Financial Tools
Dive into the financial backbone of Ergo: decentralized exchanges, stablecoins, lending, synthetics, and new DeFi primitives.
Privacy Solutions
Ergo is at the forefront of privacy innovation, featuring native zero-knowledge proofs, non-custodial mixers, and stealth addresses.
Decentralized Governance
Community-driven governance with DAOs, on-chain voting, and collaborative tools that empower open decision-making.
NFTs & Gaming
NFT collections, creator protocols, and on-chain games: experience a thriving digital culture built on Ergo.
Developer Tooling
All the SDKs, APIs, libraries, templates, and resources to build your vision on Ergo’s innovative platform.
Core Components
Autolykos
Memory-hard, ASIC-resistant Proof of Work algorithm optimized for GPUs. The security backbone of the Ergo blockchain.
eUTXO
Ergo’s extended UTXO model enables complex scripts, arbitrary data, and powerful on-chain logic at the protocol level.
ErgoScript
A robust, high-level smart contract language for expressive and auditable decentralized logic.
NIPoPoWs
Non-Interactive Proofs of Proof-of-Work: true light clients, secure bridges, and efficient mobile-first interactions.
Privacy
Native support for discrete log-based zero-knowledge proofs and privacy-preserving transactions.
Storage Rent
A unique mechanism charging small fees for unmoved coins, keeping the blockchain state sustainable long-term.
Oracles
Decentralized Oracle Pools securely inject real-world data into Ergo, powering advanced DeFi and cross-chain dApps.
Scaling
Layer-1 optimizations, stateless clients, and ongoing sharding research for efficient, future-proof growth.
Parachains/Sidechains
Interoperability and horizontal scaling via NIPoPoW-powered sidechains and cross-chain bridges.
Conceptual Example: Programmable Contracts
Even the most complex use case is simpler than general-purpose software that can be used to program any contract. After all, generalized logic must be both far-reaching and secure. Moreover, even a specialized contract comprises many steps, each of which is fairly simple. Thus, another requirement for a general-purpose platform is that it should simplify the process of writing contracts, making them as accessible (and safe) as possible. This can be achieved using template agreements with customizable parameters.
Gold-backed Tokens Example
Alice uses ERGs to purchase gold-backed tokens from Bob. Bob stores the gold in a secure vault and uses the blockchain to issue one token for every Troy ounce of gold he holds. Alice can then use these tokens freely in different contracts, transferring and trading them under whatever conditions she specifies in the smart contract code. When Alice wants to sell the tokens for physical gold, she can conduct another transaction with Bob, receiving ERG in return at the market price.
The point of blockchain contracts is to eliminate the need for trust. While the purchase transaction is now trustless, in this instance, Alice still needs to trust Bob about two things: 1. Bob may refuse to swap the gold tokens back to ERG at the correct price when Alice wants to sell. 2. Bob may default on his obligations – running away with the gold or misusing the funds he receives and operating a fractional reserve.
Extending the Contracts with Oracles and Insurance
We can create an Oracle or decentralized price feed to address these issues. This uses multiple external data sources to record the price of gold on the blockchain at regular intervals. This price feed will be the reference point for the redemption contract that manages the sale of Alice's gold with Bob (or any other participant). Thus, the system automatically enforces the right price when a swap takes place.
The second situation requires a third-party insurer, Charlie, whose service is also hosted on the blockchain with a smart contract (perhaps an Insurance dApp). When Alice purchases gold from Bob, she additionally buys an insurance contract from Charlie. The payment can depend on factors like the amount of insurance required and Bob's reputation, managed by a decentralized feedback mechanism. Now, if Bob defaults, Alice will automatically receive the value of her gold tokens, with Charlie effectively acting as a buyer of last resort.
Explore the Ecosystem
Use the navigation on the left to explore each section in detail. Whether you're interested in DeFi, privacy, NFTs, or governance, the Ergo Ecosystem has something for everyone.
Join us in building the future of open, decentralized finance and technology.