What Is Ergo (ERG)?                          

Ergo (ERG) is a programmable blockchain that uses advanced technological features to design decentralized apps (dDApps). According to the whitepaper, Ergo's goal is to make financial contracts more efficient, safe, and simple to implement. 

Blockchain is known for maintaining a safe transaction method using distributed ledger technology without using traditional financial institutions as intermediaries. Encryption and decentralization are critical components of the blockchain ecosystem. However, these traits have not proven viable for running a blockchain-based platform on a large scale and for the long term. The cost of network resources, computing power, and data storage is frequently exorbitant. The expense is then passed on to customers as a transaction fee. As a result, blockchain technology is still mostly limited to financial applications, where the advantages of improved security outweigh the disadvantages of higher transaction costs. 

To address the issues mentioned above and make blockchain more useful for mass adoption, Ergo envisions the following: 

• Prioritizing decentralization: Any parties whose absence or malicious activity may compromise the network's security should be avoided.

• Designed for ordinary people: The protocol intends that mining should not be centralized, and ordinary individuals should be able to join the protocol by operating a complete node and mining blocks.

• A platform for contractual currency: Ergo can be used for various purposes, but its primary goal is to make financial contracts more efficient, safe, and simple to implement.

• Long-term focus: Ergo intends to continue without hard forks, software or hardware upgrades, or other unforeseeable changes.

• Permissionless and open: The Ergo protocol aims to allow anybody to join the network and participate in the protocol without taking any preparatory steps. 

The consensus mechanism is an essential part of any blockchain system, and Ergo uses Autolykos, a self-developed unique proof-of-work (PoW) consensus technology. Ergo developers chose PoW methods for various reasons, including their general study, excellent security assurances, and user-friendliness. Going a step further, Autolykos is memory-based, does not require specialized hardware, and lets ordinary people engage in network security and reward mining.

Ergo aims to be a genuinely decentralized community-driven platform governed by the Ergo Foundation dedicated to:

• Promoting continuous development of the Ergo platform protocol

• Promoting the acceptance and use of the Ergo platform and its native token (ERG)

• Developing the ecosystem around the Ergo platform

• Promoting the use of the Ergo platform and blockchain technology for the greater good

• Supporting truly decentralized infrastructure

• Supporting the right to privacy as a fundamental human right

Hence, Ergo seeks to be well-suited to develop applications and currency systems as a platform for contractual currency. However, participating in such systems would require using Ergo's native token, ERG, to pay storage, rent, and transaction fees, providing miners with significant continuous incentives to protect the network with sufficient mining power. On the other hand, users will be motivated to acquire, use, and preserve ERGs if they regard Ergo apps as valuable. 

History of Ergo (ERG)

Alexander Chepurnoy is the cofounder of Ergo. He also cofounded smartcontract.com (now Chainlink). Dmitry Meshkov is the cofounder and core developer of Ergo. Previously, he worked as an RD researcher at Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), developing a blockchain prototype framework. Alexander Slesarenko is an Ergo Foundation board member and a Udmurt State University applied mathematics graduate. The team released the whitepaper on May 14, 2019. 

How Are New Ergo (ERG) Created? 

Users with access to commodity hardware can mine ERGO. However, the total supply of ERG is capped at under 100 million. Ergo uses a technique in which a portion of each block reward is set aside for development and marketing. The block rewards decrease steadily after the first two years. Block rewards start at 75 ERG and fall to zero over eight years, after which total supply will be fixed.

In addition to transaction fees, miners can now benefit from storage rent costs paid on boxes (UTXOs) that have not moved their currency for four years or longer. UTXO refers to the quantity of digital currency left behind after a completed cryptocurrency transaction. There are at least two benefits to this strategy. For instance, it provides miners with a new currency stream once block incentives are exhausted. This is a strong motivation because the network's security depends on mining power and miner involvement. Second, it allows lost coins to be recycled into the Ergo economy.