Smart Contracts are the underlying force driving all blockchain-based transactions.
In simple terms, a smart contract is a computer protocol that executes if certain conditions are met. The term ‘smart contract’ itself is a bit of a misnomer, as these programs are neither particularly smart nor are they contracts, in the pure sense of the word.
These computer programs facilitate the performance of blockchain transactions, as long as the conditions set on the program are met.
These devices were first unveiled circa 1993 and have evolved over time to incorporate decentralized security, encryption, and other features that make them apt to be used on the blockchain.
The problem is, as complex and ‘secure’ as they are purported to be, these smart contracts are still vulnerable to attack. There have been a number of high-profile hacks involving smart contracts over the last two or three years.
Research has shown that about 45% of smart contracts written in the widely-used Ethereum programming language, Solidity, contain vulnerabilities or coding errors that can be exploited.
This is where a new ICO, Firmo, comes in. Firmo is introducing FirmoLang, a proprietary language to write smart contracts.
FirmoLang: secure smart contracts for the financial sector
According to Firmo’s website, “FirmoLang enables the secure execution of a new generation of financial contracts on the blockchain.”
Firmo focuses on financial derivatives, which is a general term that encompasses stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other financial devices.
Firmo's Community Lead, Nir Blumberger, discusses why derivatives are not securely offered in the crypto space. Curious to learn more? Chat with the team in Firmo's Telegram group: https://t.co/ACvjbkYP2d #crypto #blockchain #ethereum pic.twitter.com/YY8QF6w2cF
— Firmo (@firmonetwork) April 26, 2018
This ICO’s goal is to enable financial companies such as cryptocurrency exchanges to offer decentralized derivatives through FirmoLang.
The marketing blurb states that FirmoLang is:
- Secure
- Intuitive
- Versatile
Consult the Technical Paper for more information about FirmoLang’s capabilities.
Firmo in figures & quick facts
- Token name – FRM
- Token price – 1 FRM = $0.15
- Token generation event – June 2018
Social media presence and digital footprint
Here are the numbers for Firmo at the time of writing (mid May 2018).
- Twitter – 5,300 followers
- Facebook – 3,300 followers
- Telegram – 5,546 followers
- Youtube – 11 followers
Competition
ICOs operating in the financial world are plentiful. But ICOs targeting derivatives are far fewer, and ICOs creating their own programming language to offer secure derivatives, fewer still.
From this point of view, Firmo offers a rather unique proposition, which puts it at a very advantageous position in the market.
Whitepaper
The blockchain world is being built at this very moment, but there are still vulnerabilities that need to be solved. Read more about how researchers are classifying bugs within smart contracts. Comments? Talk with our dev team here: https://t.co/ACvjbkYP2dhttps://t.co/Zlu2U7GMNU pic.twitter.com/1BatCDX2qP
— Firmo (@firmonetwork) May 7, 2018
Consult the Firmo Technical Paper for more information about the platform, additional features and services, etc.
Conclusion
Firmo’s proposition is complex and pioneering. The company comes in with a proprietary programming language to facilitate financial entities to offer secure derivatives. This concept alone delves into realms of deep complexity, so it may take a while for investors to even begin understanding it.
There are a couple of issues worth mentioning. Firmo offers a Technical Paper explaining the underlying technology, but it does not include an actual whitepaper detailing what the whole project is about, or how it came to be. Also, and strangely enough for an ICO aimed so squarely at the financial world, it offers no tokenomics information whatsoever. The Technical Paper does say that a whitepaper will be available soon, so we’ll wait for that.
Wondering what we're talking about when we say futures, options, and swaps? Check out Firmo's beginner guide to derivatives: https://t.co/FckMd9z6Zg
— Firmo (@firmonetwork) April 20, 2018
On the plus side, Firmo does have a significant following on social media.
Overall, Firmo offers a very solid proposition that at times feel a tad too technical, almost like an end of year project or a Proof-of-Work endeavor.
