Project overview 

The main goal of SingularDTV project is to create an environment for decentralized media content spreading which is free from censorship and subjective assessments. snglsDAO is aimed to be a part of Singular DTV and exists as a governance layer of SNGLS Protocol. In other words, DAO layer is a decentralized administrative panel, which helps manage the network, change or adjust parameters and fulfill voting processes.  

Architecture 

One of the first steps of each project is to establish an appropriate framework for project implementation. As long as the project is totally new on the market, there is no similar solution to get a peek at. The other thing is that there will never be an ideal platform with all needed features included, so it is important to pick one, which can be flexible and adaptable to certain project’s changes. In case of this project the purpose was to reduce human intervention as much as possible, so using DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) approach for building the governance layer was chosen as the best solution. One of the main challenges was to create the logic of the entire system because we needed to build DAO while not using a traditional DAOStack. 

In order to be independent from DAOStack, we built a separate framework using their hub as a fundament. In fact we refactored it, optimized and empowered it with unique features we needed, like separate contracts which have to be built aside but linked with the existing DAO. When it comes to the architecture structure so, generally, there is no back-end, thus web app communicate with the contract layer, the same as Subgraph. 

The Graph is a service which allows to setup the index for the contracts and retrieve the contracts data directly. The Graph is designed with the aim of processing a huge number of requests in a very short time. This makes it more attractive than working directly with Ethereum node, whose capabilities are significantly limited. 

Contract layer is written on Solidity and based on Ethereum blockchain in order to reduce risks and enable its future integration with other applications. Creation of DAO is a complex and time-consuming process which requires broader knowledge of smart contracts running that is why a team with previous experience in deploying projects on Ethereum is a necessity. Contract layer is a set of DAOStack contracts which reflect the core of the system. Besides it, there was a need to build a separate contract, not pegged to DAO, which configures certain parameters such as listing fee or transaction fee. 

Web app layer is built on React and represents an adapted and modified web from the DAOStack alchemy with adjustment of all the unique features we needed. In order to create a  more convenient and user-friendly web, we made it configurable with 3Box. This allows participants to log in to the system easily with no need of a new account creation, because all user data is transferred automatically from the 3Box service. 

Token

SNGLS Protocol had been using its own SNGLS token before, but it needed to be adapted in order to be compatible with the new system. One of the main features it needed to implement, is to make it revenue claim free and switch it to pure ERC-20 standard token. Further, this should lead to SGT inclusion in the main DEX lists and, therefore, make it accessible everywhere. 

Firstly, the idea was to make a fork and use only new SGT token, but after a detailed assessment it appeared to be impossible due to certain law regulations, so the creation of an airdrop between old and new token was needed. The new token is credited in the same ratio as the old token, thus 100 SGT tokens are credited for 100 sngls.

The new SGT token has its utility value and is pegged to DAO. With it help participants can take part in voting process or protocol modifications, for example, to change network commissions or protocol parameters. SGTs are locked for reputation which gives users the ability to vote. Reputation level is an important part of voting, which displays the credibility of participants and gives a power for making a decision. Reputation level of a certain participant grows in proportion to the amount of locked SGT tokens. 

 At the same time, we have provided the possibility of using the old token. Users are still able to buy and transfer it, but the rewards will no longer be credited. Also, old sngls tokens can be staked in order to get rid of the commission on the network.

Conclusion 

Creation of SingularDTV is an important stage on the way to build a decentralized world, and Blaize team is very proud of being a part of it. As being the heart of the entire system, design and implementation of a “living” architecture and appropriate system’s logic was the main challenge. Another complexity was the creation of airdrop from old to the new SGT token. Implementation of following became an essential part for SingularDTV widespread and worldwide accessibility. 

The main core of the network reflects a decentralized autonomous system based on three layers: web application, smart contract and The Graph. Using The Graph was one of the important decisions for this project, which helped us to make sure of its importance and necessity. The Graph is a very powerful tool, which solves a rich list of problems connected with data storing, so now we often apply this solution in other projects.