In a big move for the decentralized technology ecosystem, Agoric and DCF today jointly announce that Agoric has transferred the Endo project, its open source libraries for building safe JavaScript application platforms, to the DCF organizational umbrella. This strategic collaboration significantly enhances Endo’s opportunities for technological advancement, brand visibility, and industry-wide adoption.
Not entirely sure what Endo is? Wondering how this integration would influence DCF’s future? Join us in breaking all this down.
What Is Endo?
Endo is a software toolbox designed to enhance the security and integrity of decentralized cooperation and distributed systems. Its broad framework enables language-based distributed protocols, fostering safe collaboration among decentralized, and sometimes adversary, applications and agents.
At the heart of Endo’s technology stack is Hardened JavaScript or HardenedJS, a secure subset of JavaScript designed to mitigate vulnerabilities while enabling high-integrity, verifiable computing environments.
What is HardenedJS?
If you’re looking for safe ways to interact with and run arbitrary people’s programs, then HardenedJS is the solution for you. As Kris Kowal, Agoric software engineer and Endo tech lead, explains:
HardenedJS isn’t just a technical curiosity. It’s a standards track mode for the JavaScript language for safe plugin systems and supply chain attack resistance. With its async, compartment-based module system, HardenedJS is well-positioned to influence the future of secure web and decentralized computing standards.
Endo’s Mission
Endo is a one-size-fits-all solution for managing arbitrary relationships between agents, including, but not limited to, humans, bots, apps, and non-human intelligences.
Endo’s main purpose is to restore users’ agency and empower them to engage with third-party applications to the degree that makes sense for their risk profile. By enabling programs to defend their integrity when working alongside other parties, Endo encourages fearless cooperation among users and services.
If you’re striving to create highly interactive software while avoiding vulnerability, Endo is the tool you’ve been longing for.
Who’s Using Endo?
Prominent blockchain innovators, such as Agoric, Moddable, and MetaMask, are already utilizing Endo’s stack, underscoring its foundational role in secure digital infrastructure.
For Agoric, Hardened JavaScript is the foundation that ensures it can safely and deterministically run smart contracts. On the other hand, MetaMask, the leading Web3 wallet, built a tool called LavaMoat on top of HardenedJS. It allows them to limit the attack surface they expose to third-party dependencies, from their front end to the build tooling during development.
The Visionary Minds Behind Endo
Endo is led by two luminaries in the tech world:
- Mark S. Miller, Chief Scientist at Agoric, architect of language-based secure distributed computing with his E programming language, and a pioneer of capability-based security, a foundational principle in decentralized systems. In 1988, Miller published the Agoric Open Systems Papers and laid out the concept of software agents creating and participating in a market for digital assets and computational resources. Ever since then, Miller has been pursuing the goal of enabling cooperation between untrusting partners — the fundamental feature required to power economic interactions, and the main piece that has been missing in the toolkit available to software developers.
- Kris Kowal is a Software Engineer at Agoric and a pioneering JavaScript innovator. As the creator of the Q library and a key contributor to CommonJS, Kris has been instrumental in popularizing asynchronous promises and modular programming within the JavaScript community.
Their combined expertise drives Endo’s mission to build secure, powerful, and resilient computing platforms. Both Mark and Kris will continue in their normal capacities at Agoric.
Why This Integration Matters
The integration of Endo into the DCF umbrella marks a transformative step forward. DCF is a well-established leader in blockchain decentralization and public-good governance models, making it the perfect partner to help Endo:
- Accelerate its technology roadmap
- Broaden developer engagement
- Scale industry partnerships
One of Endo’s most ambitious goals has been to turn its innovations into well-supported commons, i.e., share them as public goods with as large an audience as possible. Now, backed by the DCF, this objective can be achieved.
Empowering Decentralized AI Through Secure Computation
Looking forward, the collaboration between Endo and DCF sets the stage for groundbreaking advancements in the fields of decentralized AI and AI safety. Endo is uniquely positioned to combine verifiable computing with autonomous agent systems, creating a secure foundation for applications that can reason, learn, and act independently.
The partnership also includes work on a demonstration tool showcasing how HardenedJS can host multiple applications without prior awareness of its security constraints – a critical advancement in developer-friendly secure computing.
The Future of Secure Decentralization
With DCF’s governance expertise and Endo’s secure technology stack, this partnership is more than an integration. It’s a stepping stone and a commitment to the future of decentralized computing and AI.
Stay tuned as Endo and DCF continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in secure, decentralized, and public-good-focused innovation.
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