What is Aergo?

Aergo is an open-source enterprise blockchain platform that seeks to optimize hybrid deployments, which consist of both permissioned and permissionless blockchain architectures. It is designed to support SQL, allowing for easy data handling and familiar smart contract programming for developers. Aergo is built and utilized by Blocko, a South Korean blockchain technology company backed by Samsung. Blocko has reportedly deployed production blockchain solutions for large-scale clients including Lotte Card, Shinhan Bank, Korea Exchange, Hyundai Motors, and more.

How does Aergo work?

Aergo operates as a hybrid blockchain platform, supporting both public and private blockchain architectures. It offers a smart contract engine that supports Lua and SQL, making it accessible for developers. Private blockchains on the Aergo platform run on a Proof-of-Authority consensus mechanism powered by a RAFT algorithm. The public blockchain network, the Aergo mainnet, operates on a Byzantine Fault-Tolerant Delegated Proof-of-Stake mechanism. Users can use the platform to pay enterprise-grade cloud providers, such as large telecommunications firms, to host their private blockchains on dedicated nodes.

What are the potential use cases for Aergo?

Aergo is designed for enterprise use cases, providing infrastructure for enterprises and developers to host decentralized applications (DApps) based on the Aergo Chain. It seeks to offer a solution for businesses to save on manual security expenditures for authentication processes. For instance, a solution deployed by Lotte Card for fingerprint credit card verifications reportedly saved Lotte Card 90% of their manual security expenditures. Other potential use cases include deployment in large-scale clients such as POSCO, Korea Stock Exchange, Shinhan Bank, and Hyundai Motor Group.

What is the history of Aergo?

Aergo was introduced as a project that seeks to provide an ecosystem of complementary decentralized applications, technologies, and service providers that leverage secure cloud delivery models. The technology behind Aergo is based on COINSTACK from Blocko Inc, a blockchain technology and enterprise IT integration-services company with operations in the UK, South Korea, and Hong Kong. COINSTACK-based blockchain systems have already been deployed to 25 million users in over 20 in-production systems. Blocko has prepared and developed some of the core key technologies for Aergo.