Smart Contracts and Futures Contracts For Ethereum Making Strides

Smart Contracts Are Being Improved 

Smart Contracts Solutions, a startup company, has launched ZeppelinOS on the Ethereum blockchain. The goal behind the project is to create a set of libraries which can be used by smart contracts apps, in addition to other tools and features offered over the Ethereum network. In order to motivate developers to contribute to its codebase, the creators of ZeppelinOS plan to reward them with their own cryptocurrency. 

One of the main objectives behind ZeppelinOS is to develop a standard platform where programmers can code, organize, and run smart contracts applications, according to company executive Demian Breneer. The company members further note that "hundreds of million of dollars" could be lost because of current vulnerabilities found in smart contracts. Due to the prohibitive costs associated with removing these bugs, there has not been too much that has been done to fix them.

Incentivized Platform for Smart Contracts Developers

With the introduction of ZEP tokens, native to the ZeppelinOS platform, developers will now be incentivized to work on fixes where they find vulnerabilities and also contribute to upgrading and updating the set of libraries created by the startup. Other startups including TrueBit, Storj, and OB1 have already begun experimenting with the platform's mainnet, which was released on Friday. 

Meanwhile, OpenBazaar executive has stated:

"They've proven to be an industry leading smart contract auditor and security focused organization and we hope to leverage their expertise and ZeppelinOS for future work on the OpenBazaar token."

OpenBazaar is an open-source community focused on creating a protocol for the e-commerce business.

CME Group Considering offering Ethereum Futures Contracts

While work is steadily being done to improve the existing Ethereum blockchain, the financial industry is also busy exploring options related to futures contracts offered with various cryptocurrencies. CME Group, Chicago's derivatives exchange, is now assessing the demand and appetite for Ethereum futures contracts, after introducing a benchmark and price index for ETH. 

Tim McCourt, head of equity solutions at CME, told Bloomberg that the exchange will be looking into whether or not it should offer Ethereum futures contracts, based on clients' interest level. He stated: 

“We’ll continue to gauge with them to ascertain the demand for futures. There are no plans at the exchange to launch one currently.”

Just this past Monday, CME Group released its benchmark Ether Reference Rate and Ether Real Time Index, both of which are used to deliver audited prices for ETH/USD. Data is accumulated from top exchanges including Kraken and Bitstamp and then its further processed Crypto Facilities, a crypto derivatives exchange.     

These developments above indicate that work is clearly being done to improve crypto-technology and the financial products and system around it. You can expect to read about more positive news here at Crypto Core Media.

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