Moonbeam

Moonbeam is an Ethereum-compatible smart contract platform on the Polkadot network for building natively interoperable applications. The Ethereum compatibility lets developers deploy existing Solidity smart contracts and decentralized application (dApp) front ends to Moonbeam.

Developed by Purestake under the guidance of Derek Yoo, Moonbeam delivers Ethereum compatibility within a Polkadot parachain environment to allow developers to utilize programming languages and tools within a layer 1 chain. It is compatible with the Substrate and Polkadot ecosystems, as well as block explorers, wallets like Metamask, parachains, and others.On Moonbeam, dApps that were originally made for the Ethereum blockchain can be run. It also supports accounts, as well as private keys from the Ethereum network, including ECDSA signatures.

Moonriver is a companion network to Moonbeam that provides a canary network. Like Moonbeam, Moonriver has an Ethereum-like environment and works with Ethereum tools, dApps, and protocols. To begin, new code is shipped to Moonriver for testing and verification. The code is then shipped to Moonbeam on Polkadot. In June 2021, the Moonriver network was deployed as a parachain to Kusama and deployed to Polkadot later. Participants can use their existing Ethereum-like H160 accounts & ECDSA signatures to utilize Moonriver. They can also connect tools like MetaMask, Hardhat, Waffle, Remix, and Truffle, as well as use JavaScript libraries, like Web3.Js or Ethers.Js. Users can write smart contracts in Solidity. MOVR token is the utility token of the Moonriver Network and Moonriver requires it to function.

Glimmer (GLMR) is the native platform token for Moonbeam and was launched in January 2022. The utility token is akin to ETH on Ethereum, with Polkadot functionality like staking and on-chain governance functions. The Glimmer token is not an ERC-20 token. However, Moonbeam offers a pre-compile, allowing developers to interact with it via an ERC-20 interface.

Moonbeam requires the Glimmer token to function. Its uses include the following:

• Aiding the gas metering of smart contract implementation
• Galvanizing collators and fueling the logistics surrounding the development of a decentralized node infrastructure on which the platform can operate
• Streamlining the on-chain governance mechanism such as proposing referenda, electing council members, and voting
• Funding transaction fees on the network