RSK´s Tech Stack: An Overview of RIF´s Ecosystem

Smart contracts are usually not associated to something that has direct impact on people’s lives. However, RSK has multiple use cases that have a clear impact on different and diverse communities. 

On this guide, we will go through RSK’s technology stack and which are the solutions that this blockchain network is sharing with the crypto and blockchain community to foster financial inclusion, traceability and social impact. It all begins with RSK´s tech stack. 

RIF Identity

RIF Identity is the first solution in our list of services deployed by RSK. This is perhaps one of the key elements of how people will become the real owner of their data and information. RIF Identity is the reputation and identity layer that operates within RIF´s ecosystem with RNS as the main component.

In the last few years, we have seen how identity protocols have tried to reach a larger part of the population to make it easier for users to interact with their data. However, some of these protocols lack the necessary interoperability that would make them useful. RIF Identity changes that thanks to its APIs and libraries, which allow users to interact with all of the major self-sovereign identity protocols. 

When we talk about identity and data control, we know that our information is handled by companies, centralized organizations and governments. Blockchain technology is changing that. With RIF Identity, users and individuals from all over the world can control their identities (IDs) and get access to a wide number of decentralized solutions and economies. 

RIF Identity makes it possible for those using these services, to create a self-sovereign reputation. This is a key point that would allow users to participate in decentralized economies and projects, not only in the cryptocurrency market but also in other initiatives. Thanks to RIF Identity, users can protect their data and privacy empowering them to decide who can use or interact with their data. At the same time, people will also be able to move from one marketplace and platform to another without losing their track record. 

Related to reputation and identities based on blockchain technology,  RNS is a decentralized solution that enables users to have an easy-to-handle and readable blockchain domain name.  

Finally, rLogin is also one of the latest projects released to the market enabling access to DeFi and self-sovereign identities. Users will be able to manage their accounts directly and connect to Web3 and Identity 3.0 (SSI) platforms. 

RIF Payments

RSK is offering a protocol that enables access to any off-chain payment network. By supporting tokens that run on the RSK network, it is possible for users to enable fast, highly scalable and low-cost payments. 

RIF Payments creates abstraction layers between payment networks. In this way, it ensures cross-token and cross-network transactions. Furthermore, users are able to interact with a wide range of networks like Lumino, Lightning and Raiden among others. Additionally, RIF Payments makes it possible through the Lumino Network to make off-chain transfers on any token that is deployed on the RSK Network. 

RIF Storage

RIF Storage is one of the core solutions offered by RSK. This is a censorship resistance and permissionless storage protocol that is fully decentralized and that provides individuals with the possibility to interact with a large number of decentralized storage networks. 

Decentralized storage networks such as IPFS or Swarm are some of the examples of networks that can connect to RIF Storage but there are many others. Developers won´t have to worry anymore about storage for their applications and the content that they handle. By using RIF Storage, users can take back ownership of data.

Additionally, through RIF Storage, it is possible for applications to scale without having to invest in new infrastructure. Everything works seamlessly and without friction for the end-user. Due to the incentives structure, every individual has the possibility to become a storage provider and get rewarded in the process.

Summarizing, these are just some of the benefits of using RIF Storage:

• No single point of failure.
• Lower costs against legacy options.
• Decentralized and permissionless.

RIF Storage is at the forefront of the market offering cutting-edge solutions in the blockchain industry. 

RIF Gateways

RSK´s Tech Stack includes RIF Gateways, a set of tools and protocols that make it possible for blockchain networks to interact with the external world. With RIF Gateways, companies and end-users are able to access all sorts of off-chain information. This allows parties to have more advanced and accurate smart contracts that work with updated and reliable external data sources. 

By using an implementation-agnostic protocol for internal and external data consumption, different blockchain networks can easily find all sorts of oracle services. Furthermore, RIF Gateways relies on some of the most advanced solutions currently available in the industry and provides a user-oriented and unified API. 

Consequently, RIF Gateways reduces the friction that there is between blockchain networks and eliminates the complexity of gathering off-chain data. Rather than offering new solutions that cannot be easily implemented, RIF Gateways creates bridges between blockchains, making their services more efficient for users. 

IOV Labs has also integrated Chainlink Oracles into the RSK Smart Contracts platform through RIF Gateways. With this integration, developers get seamless access to resources outside the RSK platform. Currently, Chainlink works as the largest and most used oracle protocol in the blockchain industry, showing that RIF Gateways is working with the best projects in the space. Furthermore, Chainlink is also benefiting from this integration as oracles are now able to offer their services to users on the RSK Network. 

RIF Communications

Nowadays, most of the information that we share is relayed through centralized service providers. Messaging platforms, for example, remain vulnerable to centralized parties that control the information that we send and receive. With a decentralized internet, we become the owners of our data, identity and messages. RIF Communications establishes secure communication channels that remain anonymous and confidential. 

For those users that fear impersonation of any of the endpoints, RIF Communications works differently making sure that the messages remain authentic. You cannot get impersonated and your information is protected. 

An important highlight is that RIF Communications is completely private. Compared to some messaging applications that could get access to your messages and data, RIF Communications makes sure that you remain anonymous if you decide to do so. No person in the network would be able to identify the sender or receiver of messages.