AstroX: Update #2
We are happy to announce our latest progress at AstroX!
- AstroX has just been granted DFINITY Foundation’s Developer Grant, a program that supports developer and entrepreneur teams who build DApps, tools, and infrastructure on the Internet Computer. We are one of the first grantees of this program.
- We successfully released v0.1.12 of Agent-dart.
- A Proof-of-Concept (POC) demo of AstroX Me has been released.
About DFINITY Foundation’s Developer Grant
The Developer Grant is a key subset of DFINITY Foundation’s Internet Computer Developer Ecosystem Program, which aims to support the growth of a new ecosystem of DApps and services on the open web. The Developer Grant particularly awards promising developers and teams who focus on DApps, developer tools, and infrastructure on the Internet Computer.
In May, the DFINITY Foundation launched The Developer Grant and IC Developer Ecosystem Program, with AstroX among the first 60 grantees.
We are thrilled and honored to receive the grant. The team members behind AstroX have been building tools and solutions for different blockchain projects for years and received multiple ecosystem grants from them (respectively Zilliqa, Harmony, Polkadot). We understand the needs of both end-users and developers. We also understand the importance of satisfying developer tools and infrastructure for a successful program.
That’s why we created Agent-dart and AstroX Me, both of which aim to catalyze the development of the DFINITY ecosystem. Receiving DFINITY Foundation’s Developer Grant has been a great encouragement for us. It shows that our work has been recognized and welcomed by the DFINITY developer community.
DFINITY Foundation’s Developer Grant provides three awards tiers: $5,000, $25,000, and $100,000. AstroX has been awarded the $25,000 grant. So far, the Developer Grant has awarded over $1 million in funding to 60 developer and entrepreneur teams.
What is Agent-dart?
Agent-dart is a flutter plugin SDK package for developing mobile apps built for Internet Computer.
It empowers developers to create standalone mobile apps on DFINITY’s blockchain without deploying front-end web resources the way in traditional development environments. With the help of Agent-dart, DApps on the Internet Computer will be truly cross-platform, directly interacting with WebAssebmly (WASM) format smart contract.
V0.1.12 of Agent-dart has integrated Rosetta-API and secp256k1 curve. It also supports Internet Identity, PlugWallet, and Keysmith with different derive paths.
Since the release of Agent-dart, we have received collaboration invitations from Distrikt, ReAct.chat, and Plug. We want to give special thanks to the Distrikt team, as they helped us locate the key issue in synchronizing the authentication systems of Internet Identity on mobile client & web client.
What is AstroX Me?
AstroX Me is an enhanced identity system built on top of Internet Identity (II). While II helps users create and link identities on different websites and apps without using usernames and passwords, it requires hardware authentication methods, such as Yubikey, Ledger, or smartphones with facial recognition technology, thus being inaccessible to a large number of users.
AstroX Me aims to make it easier for most Web2 users to access II without owning authentication hardware. It integrates Metamask/Web3 log-ins with Internet Identity, thus creating an authentication system equivalent to the WebAuthn system and smartphone biometrics.
It also provides an advanced identity management panel, allowing users to CRUD (create, read, update, and delete) their identities easily, and allow or disallow DApps using a whitelist and blacklist. Existing Web2 identities, such as email addresses, cell phone numbers, and Google accounts, will be integrated with users’ Web3 identities.
The released POC demo of AstroX Me works on browsers for now, and the mobile version is coming soon. You’re more than welcome to leave your feedback or suggestions at our forum.
What Will AstroX Me be Capable of in the Long Run?
In the future, we plan to give AstroX Me another important feature, which is to aggregate various mobile wallets and connect them to DApp ecosystems.
There are several major types of crypto wallets within the DFINITY ecosystem:
- Traditional self-custody wallets, such as dfx wallet or Plugwallet.
- Wallets that run on special DApps and are associated with user identity, such as NNS wallet.
- Wallets that are run on other blockchains, such as Ethereum MetaMask wallet.
As for the self-custody wallets, AstroX Me will allow users to pick their service provider. Unique derive paths will be assigned to each wallet, or users will be redirected to the service provider when their signatures are required.
As for identity-associated wallets, AstroX Me will access the canister of the related DApp and integrate it into our system. Users can access their wallets with corresponding identities.
Whatever wallets they choose to use, AstroX Me users DO NOT have to import their private keys into the AstroX system. All users’ private keys will be protected from the aggregator to ensure the security of users’ personal data and digital assets.
We will build into AstroX Me the smart contracts of various crypto wallets, such as Wallet Connect or Harmony One wallet so that users can access their wallets seamlessly. AstroX Me will also integrate signers of mainstream hardware wallets, such as Ledger, Trezor, or SafePal, so don’t throw away your hardware wallet yet!
For more details of AstroX Me, please check out our first blog post.
The DFINITY ecosystem has vast potential, and we are still exploring other possibilities for AstroX Me. We will be more than delighted to discuss AstroX Me or DFINITY with you in our community. You can find us on Github, Twitter, Discord, and Telegram.
STAY TUNED!
