AMA with Dmitry Nagornykh and Dmitry Gerasimov, March 6, 2025

Hello everyone! I’m Dmitry Gerasimov, the leader of the Cellframe Network project, and welcome to our regular session. Today, we have some special guests with us. In the studio is Dmitry Nagornykh, the leader of the Dotflat project. We’re here to answer many of the questions you’ve sent us in advance. Let’s get started!

Please tell us what the Cellframe development team is currently working on?

Dmitry Gerasimov: It’s hard to say we’re working only on one thing. The majority of our efforts are concentrated on two-level sharding, which we aim to implement. Another key focus is the new wallet application, which is not just a light client. I'm talking about the Cellframe Wallet, which will replace the Cellframe Dashboard. Its release is very close — possibly next week, we’ll launch the public beta version. These two aspects take up most of our work.

Dotflat is positioned as an “advanced” decentralized stablecoin that is resistant to inflation. How is such resistance achieved?

Dmitry Nagornykh: To understand how we ensure inflation resistance, you first need to grasp the soft peg mechanism. I'll try to explain it simply. From time to time, a smart contract determines whether there is sufficient collateral to issue a certain amount of stablecoins. For this, it relies on exchange rates — primarily, the cryptocurrency-to-USD rate.

Stablecoins like DAI already implement a similar mechanism. But we went further. We consider not only crypto-to-USD exchange rates but also commodity prices denominated in dollars. This allows us to track the dynamics between crypto and a weighted commodity basket.

By analyzing these changes, we can use them as an indicator, ensuring that the Dotflat stablecoin remains stable relative to this basket. So, in 10 or 20 years, the same amount in Dotflat will still buy the same amount of rice, orange juice, coffee, and other essentials.

What stage is the implementation of the second level of sharding and smart contracts at?

Dmitry Gerasimov: Regarding two-level sharding, I’ve already partially answered this. It's in the final stage of development. Right now, we are working on the hard fork mechanism, which is a key component of sharding. Splitting wallets between shards isn’t the hard part. The most difficult aspect is organizing their operation, establishing connections between them, and implementing the mechanism for splitting an overloaded shard into two new ones.

Most of the new core development is dedicated to this. Once this is done, we’ll just need to add the mechanism for distributing wallets between sharded chains. Then, everything will be ready.

The next release will introduce the hard fork, significantly reducing RAM requirements. And a month or two after that, two-level sharding will be fully implemented.

For regular users, the difference isn’t noticeable yet since the current network load doesn’t exceed the capabilities of the first-level sharding. The second layer is preparation for the future. But in any case, work is in progress.

What methods/mechanisms are used to link the Dotflat rate to a basket of consumer goods? How is the composition of this basket formed?

Dmitry Nagornykh: As I already mentioned, we use a soft peg mechanism similar to what DAI employs. It has already proven its resistance to frequent crypto market fluctuations. I could explain the details for a long time, but I’ll try to be brief.

How is the basket composition determined? Right now, it's done centrally. We’ve selected a range of commodities — metals, minerals, food industry products — and included them in equal proportions. At this stage, it's a concept demonstrating how it works.

In the future, the community will be able to participate in forming the basket, adjusting the proportions of goods, and even changing the logic itself. Perhaps users will be able to modify the smart contract address of the basket, fundamentally altering its structure.

Currently, we use reliable financial indicators and data sources, such as stock exchange quotes, for example, from the London Stock Exchange. This ensures the accuracy of information. In the future, additional indices may appear, or the community may propose its own mechanisms.

Dmitry Gerasimov: I think Cellframe technologies will help enhance security in this area, as they at least reduce the attack surface for quantum hackers. Projects like ours could be particularly vulnerable to such threats — they would only need to compromise a chain with an oracle-based consensus and manipulate the data being provided.

That’s why we’re addressing this issue. I also want to mention that after Q-Day, complex on-chain mechanics, like smart contracts, will become significantly more expensive. To prepare for this, we've optimized the most essential on-chain functionalities, such as voting and currency exchange, ensuring they remain efficient and gas-friendly after Q-Day.

The QEVM project is implementing its own parachain with quantum-resistant EVM contracts, but you are also planning to launch WASM smart contracts in Cellframe. How will they be used and why did you choose WASM for this?

Dmitry Gerasimov: They serve different purposes. EVM is primarily about compatibility. There is already a vast ecosystem of smart contracts, including the Dotflat contract, which is written in Solidity for EVM. However, EVM is not the most efficient virtual machine for executing code. Its performance is limited, partly due to Solidity being a high-level language.

WASM, on the other hand, is much faster. After Q-Day, computational efficiency will become critically important, and WASM will be more practical for native smart contracts. At first, we considered creating a native EVM shard, but then we met Ian Smith, who proposed moving QEVM into a separate project, and we handed that direction over to him.

Nonetheless, we are developing shared mechanisms supporting both EVM and WASM contracts. For example, the new CF02 token standard — it is compatible with both WASM and EVM.

For native contracts, WASM was chosen because we are concerned about transaction fees and gas costs. Gas is already expensive, and after Q-Day, it will become even more so.

CDP smart contracts and oracles are two key elements in the flatcoin issuance system. At what stage of development/launch are these mechanisms now?

Dmitry Nagornykh: Okay, CDP is already deployed. The oracle smart contract is already deployed on the Ethereum mainnet. The code is open, so you can examine it and look at all the transactions, which are also open.

We will send you the addresses of these contracts if you are interested. Well, the oracle contract is centralized for now, and there are a few changes to be made. First of all, we need to implement the consensus mechanism to decentralize the quote transactions. Additionally, we need to make some more minor changes to the contract, but for now, it works.

Also, we have an issue with transaction costs. For now, quotes are renewed manually — I have to run some scripts to make them happen. But in the future, we believe we can do it on a daily basis or on demand, meaning that if a user needs to renew the quotes, they just invoke a certain function in the smart contract and it happens.But don’t forget to pay for the gas. It’s already launched in a beta version.

Dmitry Gerasimov: I think we’ll have some news soon about new mechanics from the Cellframe Network that could help build consensus for oracles and other custom on-chain consensus mechanisms. We’re working on a new API, which I believe will be a valuable tool for this.

The most discussed “quantum” news right now is a new powerful quantum chip from Chinese scientists. Does this mean that the quantum apocalypse is even closer?

Dmitry Gerasimov: Unfortunately, yes. Every new breakthrough — every research discovery, every release, every experimental setup — brings it closer and closer. Remember how scientists five years ago were predicting that quantum computers capable of breaking encryption would arrive in the 2040s or 2050s? Now, they’re talking about the 2030s. Personally, I believe it will happen even sooner, in the 2020s.

So, this news didn’t surprise me at all. I fully expected it. In fact, I anticipate even more quantum chip breakthroughs this year and next — one after another.

The real surprise is for those who have long dismissed this as a distant, theoretical problem — something to worry about in the far-off future, like how some people viewed the Y2K issue in the early 2000s. But this isn’t a minor technical glitch that can be easily patched. It’s a serious problem. And as with most crises, the real hype will begin once ordinary people start feeling its impact firsthand.

How are Dotflat and Cellframe related? Will the project eventually have its own parachain in the ecosystem?

Dmitry Nagornykh: Well, for now, the plans are as follows: as we will have smart contracts in Cellframe, we will be able to move our logic to a safer, more secure place and make it quantum stable. If everything goes smoothly, we believe that we can make Dotflat flatcoin a recommended stablecoin for the Cellframe ecosystem. This is the plan.

Dmitry Gerasimov: Yes, I agree with this plan, and I personally propose using DFC as the default stablecoin or flatcoin. It could serve as the default payment coin or even as an inflation vault, as suggested. I really like this idea — it's far more than just a fiat-backed stablecoin.

Dmitry Nagornykh: As far as I believe, and as far as Dmitry believes, we both think there should be a better way to exchange money — a real alternative to the US dollar or any other fiat currency. Fiat is inherently inflationary and centralized, meaning it is controlled by external entities. In reality, you don’t truly own it, even if you think otherwise. They can freeze your funds, and you won’t be able to do anything about it. That’s just how it is.

Dmitry Gerasimov: So, by the way, all other stablecoins we have are wrapped stablecoins, meaning there is still no native stablecoin issuance on our network. However, DFC has native issuance within our ecosystem, which makes it a recommended choice. I believe that very soon, we’ll see a trading pair with DFC replacing some USDC pairs. I also recommend using DFC for token sales on CF20.

Cellframe recently launched a partnership with Codemelt, a company that specializes in web3 and blockchain development. How does it contribute to the development of the Cellframe ecosystem?

We are bringing in more developers — just as the Microsoft CEO once said: "Developers, developers, developers, developers. That’s exactly what we need”. We are actively forming new partnerships with developers to encourage them to build solutions on Cellframe.

After all, developers have many choices — they can build on Cellframe, they can build on Polkadot, or anywhere else. But by establishing partnerships with us, they are more likely to choose and promote Cellframe.

The presale of Dotflat governance tokens has recently started. Please tell us how they can be used and what benefits they give to the owner?

Dmitry Nagornykh: Governance tokens, or rule tokens, offer two primary benefits — both of which are fundamental. First, token holders have the power to govern the system and adjust its crucial parameters. Second, and just as important, the entire system is designed to generate revenue. All the earnings, including. Flatcoins, will be distributed among governance token holders. These are the core advantages — simple but significant.

Dmitry Gerasimov: Yes, it's a basic concept. Typically, when there's something that generates profit, the distribution of this profit usually occurs through government tokens.

How are Dotflat and Cellframe related? Will the project eventually have its own parachain in the ecosystem?

Dmitry Gerasimov: For Dotflat, as I understand it, parachains are mostly used for oracle consensus, so they are quite necessary. Whether it will be connected to the backbone largely depends on the holders, as we plan to relaunch Cellframe auctions soon. I believe DFС will participate in this auction to become linked to the Cellframe backbone and be tradable. Personally, I’m looking forward to DFС being paired with CELL, QEVM, CPUNK, and other tokens within our ecosystem.

Some time has passed since the presale started. Please share the first results and further plans for the development of the project.

Dmitry Nagornykh: Well, some time has passed since the presale began. I'd like to share the initial results and our plans for the project's future development. First and foremost, I want to express my deep gratitude to all the backers and investors who believed in this project. With the current results, we’ve raised 14,000 USDC.

Is that good or bad? I’m not sure, but I do think it's positive in several ways. First of all, as I manage my personal finances daily, I can assure you that every penny of this money will be spent solely on the growth of the project, and you’ll be able to track it through the transactions. Additionally, I’ve had various businesses in my life, and I absolutely dislike spending money inefficiently. That’s why I have two fundamental principles I will apply to this project.

The first principle is that I want to ensure every penny spent is on something liquid, meaning that if anything goes wrong, it can be sold with little to no loss. For this reason, we will allocate some of the funds to liquidity, ensuring more collateral in Ether and minting more Dotflat coins. The second principle is that when spending significant sums, we must be 100% certain that the money is being used effectively. That’s why when it comes to marketing, we will first test different methods to see whether they are effective before allocating more budget. Furthermore, my personal money, time, efforts, and energy are all invested in this project. I want it to succeed — I don’t want to be wasting it. That’s why I will do everything possible to bring this project to life and generate profits for all of us.

The good news is that, with the funds we’ve raised, I automatically take full responsibility for this project and the money involved. I will do my best to meet your expectations and not abandon the project. That said, the current result isn’t enough to hire a large team of developers or to launch extensive marketing campaigns, but it does show me that the project has great potential. It confirms that it’s realistic to make this happen, and it gives me confidence in the future success of the project.

Dmitry Gerasimov: Well, we all believe in you and trust you personally, so don’t worry. Everything is transparent, and there are no doubts about where the funds will go. However, I want to mention that the current results of the token sales are not final. We are working on attracting liquidity providers for this and other upcoming activities. I’m confident that in the near future, we’ll see more positive results. Once the sale concludes, I believe we’ll have enough funds to hire everyone needed — whether it’s the staff or the developers.

The presale of RLE tokens has started on Cellframe DEX. Do you have plans to open sales on other platforms? This will help expand the audience of the project.

Dmitry Nagornykh: Currently, there are two pools on Uniswap: one pair is Ethereum versus DFC and the other is DFC versus the RLE token. These are the options available for purchasing. The addresses for these pools will be provided, and you are welcome to buy the tokens.

However, please keep in mind that we cannot just 'switch on the printer' and produce as many DFC as we want. We must provide collateral in Ethereum to back them. That's why the liquidity in the pools may not be as large as you might expect. But, as the demand for DFC increases, we will supply more by acquiring more Ethereum.

Dmitry Gerasimov: Yes, I believe we should work together to attract more liquidity providers, especially for the pools — not just for providing 14k tokens during the presale, but to form a collateral pool for emitting DFС tokens.

Will Cellframe Network work on securing liquidity providers or market makers to support CELL trading on centralized exchanges?

Dmitry Gerasimov: Yes, this is something we are actively working on. We’re focusing on connecting the current reward programs for liquidity providers on centralized exchanges. Stay tuned for more updates.

What are the main benefits of Dotflat?

Dmitry Nagornykh: If someone from the blockchain or internet world presented me with a deal like this, I would definitely accept it. Here’s the deal: you can buy a stablecoin with no inflation in our terms, deposit it, and earn 8% annually. It’s backed by 150% in highly liquid cryptocurrency like Ether. And importantly, these aren’t just my words — this is the code behind the smart contracts, which can’t be changed. If someone offered me that deal, I would take it without hesitation.

These are the main benefits, and another one is for people who own crypto and need money but don’t want to sell it. They can borrow Dotflat by providing collateral. So, I believe this is a win-win situation for every user. I, myself, am an end user of this project, and one of my goals is to offer this kind of service to myself as well. As Dotflat emission increases, the total supply will grow, and the amount of collateral in the pool will rise, benefiting RLE token holders.

How does Cellframe plan to attract more users to its ecosystem?

Dmitry Gerasimov: Through collaborations with crypto influencers, Tier 1 and Tier 2 exchanges with higher trading volumes. But for Tier 1, we need to show significant trading volume — without that, we can't make it. We’re actively working on this.

Is the growth of Dotflat initially limited by the growth of Cellframe? Should we focus more on the growth and ease of use of Cellframe first?

Dmitry Nagornykh: Right, Cellframe and Dotflat — so we believe that as you provide more use cases and opportunities to your users, the more growth you can achieve. We’re not currently limited by the growth of Cellframe because the smart contracts are deployed on the Ethereum mainnet. The only limit to Dotflat’s growth right now is the amount of Ethereum liquidity that exists in the universe. In the future, yes, there might be limits, but right now we’re not restricted.

What partnerships are in place to bring developers and projects to the Cellframe ecosystem?

Dmitry Gerasimov: We can’t disclose specifics right now, as things are still in progress. I’ve met many startup founders who are considering Cellframe for their projects, but when things are more definite, we’ll definitely share the news.

How many projects are building on Cellframe, and what industries do they target?

Dmitry Gerasimov: Between 10 and 20 projects are building on Cellframe across various industries. We can't share too many details since we’re a platform for both financial and non-financial services.

Are there plans for enterprise or government-related partnerships to drive adoption of quantum security technologies?

Dmitry Gerasimov: Yes, we’re focusing on enterprise use cases, and we are in contact with agencies to stay up-to-date on modern cryptography and verify Cellframe for large-scale enterprise use. But that’s a longer-term plan, as we’re focused on the commercial sector right now.

What steps have been taken to improve user experience for onboarding top technical users?

Dmitry Gerasimov: We will soon release the Cellframe wallet, which will significantly enhance the user experience.

How will the team increase visibility and attract new investors?

Dmitry Gerasimov: We're focusing on attracting liquidity providers and venture capital.

How does Cellframe plan to capitalize on 2025, the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology?

Dmitry Gerasimov: You can see that I’m not sitting in the office anymore — I’m attending conferences all over the world to expose and grow the project.

Thank you for your attention, and thank you for your time. It was a really great AMA session. Goodbye, everyone.