The Audit has begun
December Update, 2023
I just sent this email update to a few friends. I thought it also made sense to share with the broader community. We’ve been so heads-down preparing for the audit and managing Ripe Radness, I know an update like this is long overdue!
The Audit
We just kicked off our first official code audit this week. After a thorough vetting/diligence process, we chose ChainSecurity to be our first official auditor.
- Working with a top audit firm like ChainSecurity represents a giant investment for us (still bootstrapped, no outside funding). But safety and security is our top priority, so we will not be taking any shortcuts.
- We chose ChainSecurity because a) they’ve audited many DeFi lending/borrowing protocols before (Maker, Aave, Compound), b) they’ve audited many protocols we’ve integrated with (Curve, Lido, Yearn, etc), c) they come highly recommended from founders/builders in the ecosystem, and d) they have strong Vyper experience (the smart contract programming language we are using).
- Because of the uniqueness of our protocol, ChainSecurity expressed a lot of interest and excitement in working with us. That was meaningful in our decision-making process because we’re not just looking for a one-time auditor, but a long-term security partner.
- We expect the full process to be 2–3 months. Mainnet launch on track for end of Q1.
Ripe Radness (our testnet seasons)
Most of this year we’ve been testing the Ripe protocol on testnet (it’s sort of a staging environment before launching to mainnet). The purpose was to stress-test the protocol, fine-tune mechanism design, and learn. While we’ve been methodical thru-out this process, that hasn’t stopped us from iterating, refining, improving, and hardening the protocol all year. We’ve learned so much this year. But with audits now starting, we clearly feel ready for the next stage. Here’s a recap of our testnet “seasons” this year.
- Season 1: ~200 users tested Ripe’s key use cases — borrow, bond, deposit, and stake — competing in all the ways possible to reach the top of our live leaderboard.
- Season 2: was all about data, and specifically our ability to have better visibility & tracking of protocol data/metrics to be able to update parameters dynamically. This has led us to strengthen our data flywheel, dramatically improve our understanding of key mechanisms like bonding and staking rewards, and develop powerful internal dashboards that will ultimately be open and accessible to everyone on Mainnet.
- Season 3: this was a major milestone on the path to our full vision: a world where everyone is able to earn on and borrow against their assets — both physical and digital. For the first time ever, users were able to deposit, earn, and borrow against NFTs (Bored Apes) & RWAs (Rolex, Tesla, and even real estate such as a NYC apartment building)! See a screenshot at bottom of email.
- Season 4: this focused on our risk and liquidation mechanism design — our Stability Pool (for fungible assets) and Auctions (for NFTs/RWAs). This season is still live and running today.
- Season 5: will be kicking off shortly. This will represent all the code that is currently “frozen” and being audited. It includes A LOT of small fixes and improvements, but also some new mechanisms like Collateral Redemptions, v1 Governance, and dynamic/responsive monetary policy (interest rates, etc).
Wrap Up
A year ago, we had to make some tough decisions. But I’m happy we did — it was the right move. Since then, we’ve been able to double, triple, quadruple-down on Ripe, attacking this opportunity with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. Building relentlessly thru the Bear Market, when most have moved onto the next shiny thing (generative AI). We’re still here grinding. And we aren’t going anywhere.
It’s definitely been a long (and hard) journey. A lot of late nights and weekends. A lot of sacrifices. A lot of slogging thru the mud. But that work has been easier to do when driven by something much bigger — a mission, a purpose. My Why video is as relevant today as it was at the beginning of the year. Our conviction that Ripe (and DeFi more broadly) will play an essential role in the financial plumbing/infrastructure of tomorrow has only grown stronger. This technology can and will bring incredible economic opportunities & financial services to people all over the world.
We’re now entering a new phase. Ripe’s smart contract code is frozen and we’re knocking on the door of mainnet. It’s almost time to unleash this thing into the world… and hopefully in the process, we might just change it.
~ Mick & Ripe Team
