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Application Flow

Ordinox is a simple protocol aimed at making trading BRC20s and Runes easy while focusing on liquidity. With this in mind, Ordinox offers three simple actions:

  1. Deposit
  2. Execute Command
  3. Withdraw

Let's take a look at what this means:

1. Deposit:​

To trade assets on Ordinox, users need to deposit first. Does this mean you are bridging into Ordinox? Nope! You are depositing your asset into one of the vaults controlled by the Ordinox network. You can find more about that in our Vaults section.

Once you deposit your asset into Ordinox, the client uses a relayer to send the transaction ID to the Ordinox chain. Ordinox keeps this in the deposit-tx queue and checks every block to verify this transaction. Once verified, the user's balance (verified against the depositor's address) is updated on the Ordinox chain. Users can now use this balance to execute commands on Ordinox.

The assets that can be deposited are controlled via governance proposals on Ordinox. You cannot deposit assets that the chain doesn't support. Hence, it is recommended to deposit using clients that are officially supported. You will lose your asset if you deposit unsupported tokens or chains.

2. Execute Command​

Users can execute various commands to manage the balances they hold on Ordinox. Here is a full list of commands currently supported:

  • CMD_SWAP: Use the balance to swap to another token offered in a liquidity pool.
  • CMD_ADD_LIQUIDITY: Use the balance to add liquidity to a pool.
  • CMD_REMOVE_LIQUIDITY: Remove added liquidity, returning it to the balance.
  • CMD_WITHDRAW: Withdraw to the native asset (into Unisat/Metamask).
  • CMD_TRANSFER: Transfer the balance to another address(es).

Ordinox will support many more Commands opening up the opportunity for DeFi using Bitcoin assets.

3. Withdraw​

If users wish to withdraw their balance back into their original address (Unisat/Metamask or any other wallet the client supports), all they need to do is send a signed message to Ordinox. This will add their request to a withdrawal queue, which gets processed at the end of each Ordinox block. If users withdraw an asset on Bitcoin, they will be required to pay a fee which will be used to return their assets. If they use an alt-EVM chain, they don't have to pay any fee (yet).

In the background, when the chain is processing the withdrawal queue, it sends a series of on-chain messages and uses GG20 TSS among the validators to sign a transaction, which gets broadcasted onto the target chain. Here is a breakdown:

  1. Start processing a withdrawal item.
  2. Select a leader (deterministic randomness based on block height and cmd_id) on-chain.
  3. Leader selects the UTXOs to be sent out and publishes them on-chain.
  4. Other nodes verify that these are valid and vote for readiness.
  5. Leader initiates the TSS signing ceremony and once complete, all nodes try to broadcast the signed message on-chain.
  6. Only the first transaction gets broadcasted and the others fail because of duplicate transactions (which is viewed as transaction broadcast confirmation).

Smooth User Experience​

The user experience with the Ordinox network is designed to be as smooth and hassle-free as possible, ensuring that users can interact with the network without the need for a Cosmos wallet or possessing any gas on the Ordinox network. This level of convenience is achieved through the support of community-run relayers, which abstract away the complexities of network interaction from the users.

Here's how it works:

  • Community Relayers: These relayers handle the transactions between users and the Ordinox network. By leveraging these relayers, users are relieved from the necessity of managing Cosmos-specific resources or understanding the underlying technical processes.

  • Delegation to Third Parties: Since the signed pair of transaction ID (txID) and command data does not contain any sensitive information, users can safely delegate the submission of these details to third parties. This means that entities interested in supporting the Ordinox ecosystem can run their own network relayers.

  • Ordinox Labs' Relayers: To ensure a seamless user experience (UX), Ordinox Labs itself will operate relayers. Their involvement is aimed at making the interaction with the network as smooth as possible, reducing any potential friction for users.

  • Simplified User Interaction: For users, the process is straightforward. All they need to do is sign a plain text message (which is human-readable) using their preferred wallet interface, such as MetaMask or UniSat. This signed message is then submitted to the Ordinox network via a relayer.

  • Optionality: Anyone can build a client for Ordinox and run relayers. Users can even use their favorite Cosmos SDK wallet, import Ordinox as a chain, and interact with it firsthand without trusting any other software.