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Aug 08, 2022

Essentials Introduces EasySwap: An Elastos DeFi Tool for Automated Asset Exchange

As functional and responsive as the Elastos ecosystem applications and tools have become, a major challenge remains for users: acquiring ELA and transferring it to the right chain – most notably, the Elastos Smart Chain (ESC) – to begin exploring the breadth of high-impact dApps that live there.

Challenges in Acquiring ELA

At present, the majority of users rely on CEXs (Centralized Exchanges) such as Huobi, Kucoin, and Coinbase to acquire ELA. Although the purchase process is relatively secure, transferring newly acquired ELA back to the Elastos ecosystem is inefficient and requires a number of transactions across applications. Users must first make an initial withdrawal to the Elastos mainchain, and then use Elastos Essentials to transfer ELA to the ESC. It is not uncommon for the entire process to take upwards of an hour – hardly an inviting experience for new entrants to the ecosystem.

Of course, with DeFi users can move away from centralized platforms and simplify the process substantially. Using Glide Finance, users can connect a wallet, bridge ETH from Ethereum, and then swap their ETH for ELA on the ESC. It’s a slick and seamless process, but for most newcomers, it will not be an intuitive nor a simple process the first time around.

To grow the Elastos community, streamlining the onboarding process must be a top priority – and that means simplifying ELA acquisition to a one-click feature in a user’s favorite wallet.

EasySwap: One-Click Token Swaps from Elastos Essentials

EasySwap is a user-friendly tool in the Elastos Essentials Super-Wallet that leverages ecosystem DeFi platforms to automate cross-chain bridging and swap (DEX) functions on behalf of users. EasySwap is not a DeFi platform in and of itself; it merely leverages existing DeFi tools and services so users with limited DeFi experience and technical know-how can acquire the assets they desire and begin exploring Elastos dApps. 

Primary Features

At launch, EasySwaps is bringing four major features to users:

  1. Discover personal assets (Ethereum, BSC, HECO), that can be bridged to the ESC.
    • Queries all supported chains and displays user’s bridge-able asset balances.
  2. Bridge assets from a supported chain to the ESC.
    • After selecting off-chain assets, users select which token they would like to receive on the ESC, whether ELA or a wrapped asset such as WETH.
  3. Call a faucet service to receive ELA for gas on the ESC.
    • EasySwap calls a faucet API to send 0.01 ELA to the user’s address on the ESC, enabling the user to make a few initial transactions.
  4. Swap wrapped tokens to ELA.
    • By selecting ELA as the destination token, a swap is automatically conducted to convert other asset holdings into ELA. 
    • Thanks to the faucet service, automated swap transactions can be completed  even if the user does not have any ELA in their wallet.

User Experience: Key Notes

Although EasySwap is designed to target newcomers to the Elastos ecosystem, it is and will remain open to the full public. However, there are some limitations and considerations that users should take into account before exploring EasySwap in its initial release.

Asset Support: In its first iteration, EasySwap will support specific assets from Ethereum, BSC, and HECO. To access a wider array of assets, users may consider using a standard, full-featured DEX such as Glide Finance.

Advanced Features: EasySwap is designed to epitomize simplicity for new users, and will therefore not support more sophisticated features such as slippage configuration. For fully customizable swap operations, users are again recommended to use a full-featured DEX.

Backend Troubleshooting: EasySwap transfer processes involve multiple steps, and may experience difficulties such as network errors, blockchain errors, and extended bridge delays. In anticipation of such difficulties, Essentials maintains a state for global processes that can be resumed even in case of an app crash. Thus, swaps in progress are automatically resumed upon restarting Essentials.

Transaction Times: The Essentials team estimates that tokens on HECO can be bridged and swapped to ELA on the ESC in approximately 90 seconds – quite a feat for a one-click, multi-step transaction. Of course, it should be noted that transaction times may vary depending on external variables including the blockchain where assets are held and bridge service duration.

EasySwap in Practice: A Case Example for Onboarding

In order to best serve new entrants to the Elastos ecosystem, Essentials plans to integrate EasySwap prompts into ecosystem applications. Below is a robust case example.

Sotsale, a new Elastos community member, downloads Essentials to get involved in the ecosystem. Sotsale is especially interested in NFTs, and seeks to acquire one for himself on MetEast, one of the Elastos ecosystems’ leading NFT marketplaces. Sotsale’s user experience proceeds as follows:

  • On MetEast, a prompt displays a button “Start on Elastos Now.”
  • Sotsale clicks the button, and his pre-installed Essentials application opens to display a custom welcome screen specifically crafted for MetEast users.
    • If Sotsale had not downloaded Essentials, he would have been redirected to the appropriate app store and prompted to install the application.
  • Following the introductory message in Essentials, Sotsale is automatically directed to the EasySwap home screen.
  • Here, Sotsale selects a token that he already owns on Ethereum, BSC, or HECO, and following a one-click confirmation, he receives ELA on the ESC. 
  • Sotsale is now ready to begin using MetEast, and may purchase his favorite NFT right away.

Leveraging Ecosystem DeFi Platforms to Support Users

EasySwap will be able to integrate virtually any DeFi platform and bridging application developed in the Elastos ecosystem to facilitate asset exchange on behalf of users. In the interim, EasySwap will leverage two main applications:

  • ShadowTokens: A bridging application developed by the Elaphant Team that is used primarily for cross-chain transfers. Through Essentials, EasySwap will interact directly with ShadowTokens smart contracts.
  • Glide Finance: A DEX (Decentralized Exchange) that supports an ELA faucet service and token swap operations on the ESC. Through Essentials, EasySwap interacts directly with Glide smart contracts for swap operations, and with a centralized API for the ELA faucet service.

To stay up-to-date and in-the-know on Elastos Essentials, EasySwap, and their efforts to optimize user experience and expand the Elastos community, stay tuned here on the official Elastos Info Blog.

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