Slide

gm! Slide is building products that enable web3 applications (dApps) to serve effortless experiences to everyday users. We’re excited to announce our product and $12M fundraise from web3’s best investors.

Concepts like crypto, gas, token allowances, and wallets are complicated. Slide hides all crypto complexity, allowing companies to offer effortless web3 experiences.

Our co-founder @0xteymour chats with @Ashton_Addison_ about how blockchain apps can use Slide to onboard everyday users within 90 seconds – via email-login wallets, credit card NFT purchases, gasless transactions, and more! youtube.com/watch?v=f9SRJyjm…

Watch @0xteymour and other speakers including @VitalikButerin, @jerallaire, @SBF_FTX, @im_manderson, @toly, @mcuban, @fintechfrank with tickets from converge.circle.com (use SPEAKER25OFF to get 25% off)

Catch Slide’s CEO @0xteymour speak on panels about web3 UX and infrastructure for web3 developers, next Wednesday (9/28) at @circlepay’s Converge conference. #ConvergeSF22

At Slide, we’re making web3 effortless. We’re mostly focused on doing this with our products, but enjoy simplifying concepts like The Merge as well. Give us a follow to keep up with more content like this.

The Merge lays the groundwork for increasing Ethereum’s scalability, which will make the blockchain cheaper to use in the future. Plus there’s much more ahead: Vitalik, the blockchain’s co-founder, has said Ethereum will be just 55% complete post-merge! coindesk.com/tech/2022/08/01…

By tying voting power to ETH instead of computational power (like in PoW), PoS is far more energy efficient. PoS also makes it easier for anyone to become a validator (it no longer requires special hardware) so Ethereum will become more decentralized and secure.

Ethereum started with PoW and similar consensus to Bitcoin’s. In The Merge, Ethereum will switch to Proof of Stake (PoS) and a new consensus mechanism. In PoS, voting power is tied to ETH. Each computer in the network (“validators”) must pledge (“stake”) 32 ETH to participate.

Bitcoin’s consensus algorithm – the process of having the network agree on the state of the chain – is closely tied to PoW. Since voting power in PoW is tied to computational power, the mechanism requires significant energy use.

Bitcoin’s Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism enabled sybil resistance within a network of computers (called “miners”) for the first time. In PoW, voting power is tied to computational power. Since mining is costly, it’s expensive for one entity to acquire a controlling voting share.

Let’s use an election as an example. The “consensus algorithm” in an election is the set of rules by which someone is elected (whoever gets the most votes). A “sybil resistance” mechanism might be used to ensure each voter only votes once (e.g., checking each voter’s identity).

Consensus: the process in which a network of computers is able to vote and agree on the state of the blockchain – without trusting one another. Sybil resistance: preventing one entity from gaining a controlling share of a blockchain’s computers and exploiting it for profit.

First, the basics. A blockchain is a distributed database maintained by a network of computers. Two key properties of blockchains are distributed consensus and sybil resistance.

The Merge is the final step in Ethereum’s broader plan to completely move off of Proof of Work and adopt Proof of Stake. It’s all happening in about 5 hours. Let’s break it down 👇

Grateful to be supported by @jerallaire and the @circle_ventures team!