Moonbeam is a smart contract parachain being developed on Polkadot that aims to provide Ethereum compatibility. It will allow Ethereum developers and projects to access the Polkadot ecosystem and benefit from increased scalability, while minimizing changes needed to existing Solidity smart contracts and dapps. Moonbeam will use a custom collator model and incentivize reliable block production. The goal is to provide a simple and accessible way for functionality to be combined and achieve larger effects between connected chains.

1. A Smart Contract Parachain with
Ethereum Compatibility
Derek Yoo
PureStake

2. "I think there is a world
market for maybe five
computers."
- Thomas Watson, CEO of IBM, 1943

3. The Future is Multi-Chain
Leading to
New Platforms
Many next-gen chains emerged in
2019 which address scalability.
Ethereum
is Congested
Cost efficiency & scalability
challenges are driving projects to
build on other chains
& Spawning New
Ecosystems
where Polkadot and Substrate act as
catalysts.
… And even more are on the way in 2020

4. But Chains are Islands, Creating Unique Challenges
In this multichain future, chains are still islands by default and
cross-chain integration is the exception rather than the rule.
For
Developers
Fragmented markets
make targeting users
and assets on most of
these islands
impractical
For
Users
DeFi and other
services are largely
inaccessible from all
islands except for
Ethereum
For
Chains
Decentralization is
threatened as markets
and liquidity are largely
pooling into centralized
exchanges.

5. Cross-Chain Integration Platforms
We prefer Substrate / Rust to
Cosmos SDK / Go
We think Polkadot’s design will make
cross-chain integration easier
We like Parity, Web3 Foundation, and
the rest of the ecosystem
TECH
DESIGN
TEAM

6. Moonbeam is a Smart Contract Parachain on Polkadot
Cross-Chain
Integration
Smart Contract
On-Ramp to Polkadot
Ethereum
Compatibility
The name “Moonbeam” comes
from the jazz standard
“Polkadots and Moonbeams”

7. Intel 8086 launched June 1978
● Fun Facts:
○ 8 x 16 bit registers
○ 1MB Address Space
○ 5 MHz
○ 29,000 transistors
○ Little-endian byte order
● Prioritized backwards compatibility
● Intended to be short lived with no
successors
● Currently the dominant chip
architecture in the laptop / desktop /
server marketWhy did x86 become dominant?

8. Moonbeam Initial Users and Functionality
Ethereum Developers
Build for existing Ethereum developers who
are hitting scalability limits.
● Scalability Strategy
Teams deciding now: Layer 2 (e.g. zk rollups),
sidechains, Polkadot / Moonbeam
● It’s a Numbers Game
Existing Ethereum projects = quickest way to get
platform traction (and Polkadot adoption)
● Easy Entry + Upgrade Path
Low-friction way to start on Polkadot, can
upgrade to parachain or parathread
Ethereum Compatibility
Minimize required change to existing
Ethereum-based projects to run on Moonbeam.
● Solidity Support
via the EVM Frame Pallet
● Web3 Provider
Web3.js-compatible API
● EVM <-> Substrate Runtime
Integration between EVM and Substrate runtime

9. Node
High Level Architecture
Rust-based EVM
based on
SputnikVM.
Solidity contracts
deployed and
executed here.
Decode RLP, store
invoked tx, logs,
dispatcher to EVM
backend.
Web3.js
compatible API.
Maps to Substrate
RPC calls.
Substrate RPC
receives raw
Ethereum tx.
Web3 RPC
Substrate
RPC
EVM
Connector
EVM Pallet
Truffle
Existing
Ethereum DApp
Frontend

10. Ethereum Compatibility Components
Frontend
● Web3 RPC extension =
part of the node
● Strive for compatibility
with web3.js
● Should be able to use
standard dev tools like
Truffle
● Won’t work for all
DApps
(e.g. ones that rely on Eth
internals)
Backend
● Deploy existing
Solidity contracts
● Strive for 100%
faithful contract
execution
● Need to handle
different kinds of keys
(secp256k1 and sr25519)
● Some things won’t
make sense
(e.g. difficulty, uncles,
pending blocks)
State Migration
● Tool to export state
from Ethereum as of
given block height
● State = accounts,
storage, code
● State can be imported
into Moonbeam
● Migratory costs will be
subsidized to start

11. Collators on Moonbeam
Moonbeam will include a custom collator incentive
pallet (rather than the staking frame pallet).
● Allows a custom feature set:
○ Permissionless
○ Pays out active collators for block production on each block
○ Detects and does not pay inactive collators
● Ensures reliable block production and censorship resistance
● Good for the fixed token supply on Moonbeam and
parachain use case
● No yield competition with DeFi protocols that build on
Moonbeam
● Number of slots controlled via governance with a goal of
ensuring viable economics for node operators

12. If Polkadot is like
Linux, then Substrate
is like the Standard C
library.
The old Unix philosophy applies
to parachains:
“Do one thing and do it well.”
Moonbeam:
The “Bash of Polkadot”
● A simple, accessible place where
functionality can be combined to
achieve larger effects.
● Can always migrate to a "native"
parachain if more performance and
control are needed.
● Example: Compound-like protocol
that enables borrowing and lending
BTC <-> aUSD. Implementation could
combine:
○ Acala aUSD stablecoin
○ Interlay designed BTC bridge
○ Chainlink BTC/USD price oracle

13. Connected Chains (Whether We Like It or Not)
Increasing decentralized connectivity
between blockchains inevitable.
Led by market forces
Perry Expedition, Edo Bay, July 1853
Isolationist strategies unlikely to work.

14. How to Get in Touch
Visit our new website: https://moonbeam.network
We’re actively seeking:
● Substrate/Rust developers
● Node operators interested in running
collators
We’d also love to hear from:
● Polkadot projects who are interested in
collaborating
● Ethereum projects that could benefit from
Moonbeam
Feel free to reach out to me directly:
derek@purestake.com
@mechanicalwatch