MOAC: Enhancing Smart Contract Execution Performance through Layered and Sharded Multi-Chain Architecture
The MOAC whitepaper was published by the MOAC core team in 2018, aiming to address the pain points of existing blockchain platforms in terms of performance, cost, complexity, and interoperability, and to explore the possibilities of building efficient, scalable decentralized applications.
The theme of the MOAC whitepaper can be summarized as “MOAC Platform: Enhancing Smart Contract Performance through Layered Multi-Blockchain Architecture.” MOAC’s uniqueness lies in its layered multi-chain architecture, introducing the concepts of “MotherChain” and “MicroChain™,” and using blockchain sharding technology to provide each smart contract with an independent microchain, thereby separating transaction processing from smart contract execution. The significance of MOAC is its substantial improvement of blockchain transaction processing speed (TPS) and concurrency, reduction of DApp development and operational costs, and provision of a lower entry barrier for developers and users, thus promoting the development of the decentralized application ecosystem.
MOAC’s original intention is to maximize blockchain network performance and solve the scalability, efficiency, and high cost issues of existing blockchain platforms. The core viewpoint in the MOAC whitepaper is: through innovative multi-chain sharding architecture and the mechanism of providing independent microchains for smart contracts, MOAC can balance decentralization, scalability, and security, thereby achieving a high-performance, low-cost, and developer-friendly decentralized application experience.
MOAC whitepaper summary
What is MOAC
Friends, imagine we’re building a super busy city with all kinds of vehicles and destinations. If there’s only one main road, traffic will be jammed and inefficient. MOAC (short for “Mother of All Chains”) is a blockchain project that’s like a cleverly designed multi-layered transportation system for this city, aiming to solve the “traffic jam” problem—what we call scalability—that early blockchains (like Bitcoin and Ethereum) face when handling large volumes of transactions.
Simply put, MOAC is a “next-generation” blockchain platform whose core feature is a layered multi-blockchain architecture. Its goal is to make decentralized application (DApp—think of these as “smartphone apps” running on the blockchain) development and usage easier and cheaper, while also handling more transactions.
In this system, MOAC acts as a transportation hub with a main road (mother chain) and countless side roads (microchains). The main road handles important, global matters, while the side roads can be tailored to serve specific DApps or smart contracts. This way, everyone travels their own path without interfering with each other, greatly improving overall efficiency.
Project Vision and Value Proposition
MOAC’s vision is to connect and advance the entire blockchain market through its innovative architecture, making blockchain technology more harmonious and accessible. The core problems it aims to solve are:
- Insufficient scalability: Many early blockchain platforms can only process a limited number of transactions per second—like a narrow road that gets jammed when traffic increases. MOAC uses layering and sharding technology to greatly boost processing power.
- High transaction fees: On some busy blockchains, a single operation can be quite expensive. MOAC’s design aims to significantly lower the cost of smart contract operations.
- High barriers for development and use: For developers, building DApps on existing blockchains can be complex; for regular users, using DApps requires a lot of blockchain knowledge. MOAC hopes to lower these barriers so more people can participate easily.
Compared to similar projects, MOAC’s uniqueness lies in its combination of “mother chain” and “microchains,” as well as its support for cross-chain capabilities. This means it can not only process transactions within its own network, but also interact with other major blockchains (like Bitcoin and Ethereum), breaking the “information island” status between different blockchains.
Technical Features
MOAC’s technical core is its ingenious “layered multi-chain architecture,” which is like a multi-level interchange system for smoother traffic:
Layered Multi-Blockchain Architecture
- MotherChain™: This is MOAC’s “main road”—a public blockchain similar to Ethereum, mainly responsible for data storage, smart contract computation, account balance transfers, network consensus, and data access. The mother chain uses the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, meaning transactions are validated and new blocks generated through “mining.”
- MicroChains™: These are MOAC’s “side roads,” running atop the mother chain and tailored for specific smart contracts or DApps. Each microchain can operate independently, process its own transactions, and use different consensus mechanisms (such as Proof of Stake (PoS)), allowing them to handle high-concurrency transactions more efficiently. This design greatly enhances the network’s overall processing power and flexibility.
Blockchain Sharding
To further improve efficiency, MOAC introduces blockchain sharding technology. This is like dividing a long lane into many segments, each handling different vehicles simultaneously instead of crowding onto one road. By horizontally distributing data across multiple blockchains and nodes, MOAC can significantly increase transaction processing speed (TPS—transactions per second).
Cross-Chain Capabilities
Another highlight of MOAC is its cross-chain capabilities. This is like building bridges between different cities (blockchains), allowing vehicles (tokens or data) to move freely between them. This means DApps on MOAC can interact with other blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum, and users don’t need to switch platforms or perform complex exchanges.
Asynchronous Smart Contracts
MOAC uses microchains to enable asynchronous smart contracts, allowing different tasks to be processed in parallel rather than queued up one after another. This helps speed up DApp development and deployment.
Tokenomics
The MOAC project has its own native token, which plays a crucial role in the network:
Token Basics
- Token Symbol: MOAC, also commonly referred to as mc.
- Issuing Chain: MOAC mainnet.
- Initial Supply: The initial supply of MOAC tokens is 150 million.
- Issuance Mechanism and Inflation: To incentivize miners and maintain the network, MOAC issues an additional 6 million tokens per year through mining. This issuance halves to 3 million after four years, and halves again after another four years. By this mechanism, MOAC’s total supply is expected to reach 210 million by 2058.
- Current and Future Circulation: The MOAC Foundation holds about 53 million tokens, with the rest circulating in the market.
Token Utility
MOAC tokens serve several main purposes in the network:
- Gas Fees: Just as cars need fuel, MOAC tokens are used to pay for computing resources and transaction fees on the network—what we call “gas fees.” Whether running smart contracts or operating on microchains, MOAC tokens are consumed.
- Microchain Operation: MOAC tokens also support the operation of microchains.
Token Distribution and Unlocking Information
MOAC tokens were initially issued in July 2017 as ERC20 tokens (an Ethereum-based token standard). With the successful launch of the MOAC mainnet in April 2018, all ERC20 MOAC tokens were swapped 1:1 for native MOAC tokens. Since then, the ERC20 MOAC contract on Ethereum has been discontinued.
Team, Governance, and Funding
Team
The MOAC project team consists of pioneers with years of experience in the blockchain field. The company president, Sha Znou, is mentioned as a writer, venture capitalist, and well-known technology expert.
Governance
The MOAC project will ultimately be managed by the MOAC Foundation, a non-profit cooperative registered in Singapore. The foundation’s main responsibilities include: ensuring effective use of token sale proceeds, overseeing platform development (including applications and related services), ongoing maintenance, and providing public education for the community.
Funding
MOAC successfully raised over $7 million during its initial coin offering (ICO) from June 20 to July 5, 2017.
Roadmap
Since its inception, MOAC has gone through several key development stages:
- January 2017: Project launched.
- July 2017: ICO completed, raising over $7 million.
- November 2017: Testnet released.
- February 2018: Token and wallet released, compatible with Ethereum and Jingtum.
- March 2018 (Pangu version): MicroChain™ launched, PoS microchain module online, alpha DApp launched, V node and SCS mining opened.
- April 2018: Mainnet officially launched.
- December 2018 (Nuwa version): Next-generation P2P sharding technology released.
- 2019: Over 100 DApps launched.
- June 2019 (Fuxi version): Over 500 DApps launched.
Note: Publicly available roadmap information mainly covers the early stages of the project, from 2017 to 2019. For specific plans and milestones after 2019, details are not mentioned in current materials. Please refer to the latest official announcements or community updates for more information.
Common Risk Reminders
All blockchain projects carry certain risks, and MOAC is no exception. As you learn about this project, please pay attention to the following:
- Technical and Security Risks: Although MOAC uses advanced layered architecture and sharding technology, blockchain itself is still evolving. Smart contracts may have vulnerabilities, and the network may face various attacks.
- Economic Risks: The price of MOAC tokens is affected by market supply and demand, macroeconomic conditions, and project development, and is highly volatile. The blockchain sector is increasingly competitive, and whether MOAC can continue to attract developers and users is an economic risk to watch.
- Compliance and Operational Risks: Global regulations on blockchain and cryptocurrency are unclear and constantly changing, which may bring uncertainty to MOAC’s operations and development. Additionally, factors like project development progress, team execution, and community activity can affect long-term success.
Important Note: The above information is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Please conduct thorough independent research and risk assessment before making any investment decisions.
Verification Checklist
To learn more about the MOAC project, you can consult the following resources:
- Block Explorer: Visit MOAC’s block explorer (e.g., http://explorer.moac.io/home) to view current MOAC token supply, transaction records, and network activity.
- GitHub Activity: MOAC’s whitepaper mentions its code is published on GitHub. You can check its GitHub repository for code update frequency, developer community participation, and whether there is active development and maintenance.
- Official Website: Visit MOAC’s official website (e.g., www.moac.io) for the latest project information, announcements, and documentation.
Project Summary
MOAC is a “next-generation” blockchain platform dedicated to solving scalability, high cost, and complexity issues in existing blockchains. Through its innovative layered multi-chain architecture, it combines a main road-like “mother chain” with multiple flexible “microchains,” supplemented by blockchain sharding and cross-chain capabilities, aiming to build an efficient, low-cost, and developer-friendly decentralized application ecosystem. The MOAC token (mc) acts as the network’s fuel, supporting the entire ecosystem.
MOAC’s strengths lie in its unique technical design, especially the introduction of microchains, which provide greater flexibility and processing power for smart contracts, and its cross-chain interoperability, which may break down barriers between blockchains. However, as a blockchain project, it also faces fierce market competition, technological evolution challenges, and a constantly changing regulatory environment.
Overall, MOAC proposes a promising solution in the blockchain space, but its long-term development depends on technical implementation, ecosystem building, and market adoption. For anyone interested in MOAC, I strongly recommend studying its official materials and keeping up with the latest project developments. Remember, this is not investment advice—cryptocurrency markets are highly risky, so please exercise caution.