There is a fifth class of option which has been talked about a few times. So rather than the only decentralised choice being (4) “SAFE integrates”, we could add:
- Swaps performed through a decentralised intermediary. “Intermediary Integrates SAFE and Omni/MaidSafeCoin”.
Option (2) is at the other extreme: swaps performed through a centralised intermediary.
Possible options vary in their degree of decentralisation. Array of possible candidates: One of the many Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) based interoperability projects like Keep or Fusion AnySwap.
Ren project or the recent ThorChain/Shapeshift. Any others? The space is exploding it is hard to keep up.
The SN token half of the swap channel would still require pre-mining, but there would be no need to put time pressure on anyone to perform the swap. It also has other longer term benefits:
Option 5) a) Decentralised Intermediary Integrates SAFE and Omni/MaidSafeCoin and Maid-ERC20 (or similarly widely used standard with large existing on/off ramp fiat network).
Option 5 a) Has potential to solve another large problem after SN launch: How to move value into and out of the network in a decentralised way after launch? We can hope that a CEX or two willing to buck FATF rules and integrate the SN APIs for us (and I have the sneaky suspicion Bittrex will step up for all the wrong reasons), but then the decentralized SN will have all its economic friction points channeled through a fragile, insecure and centralised bottleneck or two.
A few possible avenues to explore towards option 5/5a. For example ThorChain maintains 100 rotating nodes with minimal governance system, leaning on those rotating nodes staking value in supported coins to secure it. If official Thorchain cannot support Omni because it fails at being “economically significant”, then one possibility would be a straight fork of Thorchain + add extra Omni/SN observer components based on their templates. The 100 rotating nodes are then run by anyone interested inside or out of the SN community, each staking three things to secure it: Maid, Native SN Tokens, and a third token Maid.erc20 or similar. This could exist for as long as two way bridges are needed to move value in and out of the SN and there are community members willing to run nodes in exchange for fees. The other advantage to this method is there are fewer centralised legal considerations as swaps are via a decentralised bridge.