What is GalaChain?
Author: Stella L (stella@footprint.network)
This article was first published in the Footprint Analytics column on CoinGecko.
What is GalaChain?
GalaChain is a Layer 1 blockchain built for entertainment but ready for anything, created by Gala Games to power its growing entertainment ecosystem. GalaChain is built on Hyperledger Fabric (HLF) and powered by a network of Founder’s Nodes.Key Takeaways
- GalaChain is a Layer 1 blockchain developed by Gala to serve as the backbone of its Web3 entertainment ecosystem, including games, music and film.
- GalaChain is built on the robust foundation of Hyperledger Fabric(HLF) and powered by a network of Founder’s Nodes.
- The GALA token serves as the foundational utility token within the expansive Gala ecosystem, emitted daily to active Founder’s Node operators.
- Following the successful implementation of GalaChain for Gala’s core entertainment brands, a publicly available SDK and creators toolkit opened in early 2024, extending GalaChain development to creators and innovators from industries beyond entertainment.
Introduction to GalaChain
GalaChain was initially built by pioneering web3 gaming platform and publisher Gala Games for the rapidly expanding demands of 21st century gaming. With its impressive speed, security and scalability, GalaChain is the backbone of Gala’s core family of brands, with Gala Music and Gala Film built on the network. This blockchain ensures that various components of the Gala ecosystem operate smoothly without the delays and high costs associated with other blockchains.
At its core, GalaChain is powered by a network of Founder’s Nodes. The central token, GALA, plays a crucial role, being burned as transactional gas fees and rewarding the node operators that power the ecosystem. As a Layer 1 blockchain, GalaChain also enables the creation of other tokens, channels and more specialized node networks, such as its game-specific nodes for titles like Common Ground World and Last Expedition, or its Theater Nodes, which host decentralized film content on the Gala Film platform.
GalaChain was designed with a clear objective: To robustly support the demands of Web2 gaming while adding Web3 functions (such as ownership and rewards) and extending its capabilities to other industries. The design philosophy behind GalaChain is simple yet ambitious: If it can seamlessly handle the intensive requirements of gaming, it can accommodate virtually any application or industry need. This approach positions GalaChain as a distinctly scalable blockchain solution with a head start on the tech demands of multiple industries.
Source: Footprint Analytics GalaChain Dashboard
The Team Behind GalaChain
Gala was founded in 2018 by Eric Schiermeyer, co-founder of Zynga and pioneering innovator of the social gaming genre. The founding team included some of the creators of social gaming hits like Farmville 2, Words with Friends and Zynga Poker. Zynga is recognized as a global leader in interactive entertainment, known for its social video game services. Farmville 2 is one of its standout agriculture-simulation social network games whose legacy is carried on with Gala’s Common Ground World, adding ownership, rewards and unique farm sim mechanics to a massively popular gaming genre.
Gala’s partnerships span a diverse array of reputable entities within the gaming and entertainment industries. These include DreamWorks Animation, an animation studio under Universal Pictures; AMC Networks, an entertainment company; and NBCUniversal, a multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. Additionally, Gala has collaborated with iconic game developers such as Peter Molyneux and Will Wright. The company also works with music industry giants such as Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Brray, Kings of Leon and many more.
Since its inception, Gala has grown to be a leader in Web3 entertainment. The development of GalaChain exemplifies its commitment to innovation, providing a robust and versatile blockchain platform to support its expanding ecosystem.
How GalaChain Works
GalaChain combines advanced blockchain technology with a robust network infrastructure to create a versatile and high-performance platform for the Gala ecosystem.Hyperledger Fabric (HLF)
GalaChain is built on the robust foundation of Hyperledger Fabric (HLF), which provides a modular architecture with interchangeable components such as consensus and membership services. This plug-and-play environment ensures that GalaChain can be customized to meet the specific needs of the Gala ecosystem. Hyperledger Fabric, a project initiated by the Linux Foundation in 2015, promotes the development of cross-industry blockchain technologies through a collaborative, community-driven approach.
One of the key features of Hyperledger Fabric is its private and permissioned nature, making it ideal for enterprise use. Companies like Honeywell, Walmart, and Bosch leverage HLF for their secure, scalable, and customizable private blockchains. For GalaChain, this means a stable and adaptable chain that supports the various components of Gala’s entertainment ecosystem.
GalaChain sets itself apart from other blockchains like Ethereum and Bitcoin which rely on non-permissioned, probabilistic consensus algorithms and are prone to ledger forks. GalaChain uses deterministic consensus algorithms with a specific type of node called an orderer, part of an ordering service. This asynchronous and multi-step process ensures that any block validated by a peer is final and accurate, eliminating the risk of ledger forks. By separating chaincode execution from the ordering process, GalaChain avoids bottlenecks, enhancing performance and scalability. The blockchain is designed to integrate smoothly with both Gala’s platform and the Gala Node Network.
Founder’s Nodes
The Founder’s Node Ecosystem is another cornerstone of GalaChain’s architecture. Limited to just 50,000 nodes, these operators are crucial in providing players with true ownership of their assets and content. By running a Founder’s Node, operators help maintain a decentralized infrastructure that supports complex, decentralized tasks tailored to specific project needs. Daily distribution from these Founder’s Nodes are the only way GALA originates.
Alongside Founder’s Nodes, many projects throughout the Gala Ecosystem are running individual Nodes with specialized workloads.The Gala Node Network supports custom-built tasks and provides a unique approach to project monetization, bypassing the complexities of traditional ICOs and reducing central costs. Their effectiveness is proven, serving as the backbone for existing applications and top-tier games.
Developed by experts who have built some of the largest gaming networks globally, these nodes offer unparalleled experience and scalability. This allows projects to expand their node network as needed, potentially eliminating the need for datacenter and cloud hosting expenses.
The scope of Founder’s Nodes operations is set to expand significantly in the near future. They are expected to take on critical responsibilities in bridge transactions and chain security, among other key functions. Their versatility and capacity to adapt to various roles ensure the robustness and agility of the ecosystem, making it well-equipped to meet both current and future challenges.
Features of GalaChain
The following features make GalaChain a sustainable and accessible platform for developers and users alike, supporting a wide range of applications within the Gala ecosystem.Environmentally Conscious
GalaChain is designed to be environmentally conscious, consuming significantly less energy than other blockchain platforms while offering superior computational capabilities. This approach ensures that GalaChain remains sustainable and efficient, aligning with global efforts to reduce energy consumption in technology.
Developer-Friendly
GalaChain is highly developer-centric, providing extensive resources to make the platform more accessible and easier to use. Contracts and tokens can be efficiently created using TypeScript, which reduces onboarding friction for developers not familiar with specialized languages like Solidity. Developers on GalaChain have easy access to an open-source SDK with custom chaincode templates, simplifying the development process. Additionally, the ultra-simplified Gala Creator Portal allows innovators and developers to easily bring their visions to life on the Gala Platform, creating even more possibilities that they can create on chain.
The GalaChain Ecosystem
The GalaChain ecosystem integrates diverse platforms and applications, leveraging blockchain technology to enhance user experiences across gaming, music, film, and more.Gala Games
As the cornerstone of the GalaChain ecosystem, Gala Games boasts a portfolio of 17 games, including 6 in early access and 3 coming soon. These games support various platforms such as browser, mobile (Android and iOS), Windows, and Mac.
Currently, 12 of these games have been onboarded on GalaChain, including Champions Arena, Legacy and The Walking Dead: Empires, leveraging its robust infrastructure to provide seamless and enhanced gaming experiences. The titles curated by Gala have recently been joined by Voyager: Ascension – the first 3rd party published game to onboard onto Gala’s platform. The integration of GalaChain ensures improved performance, lower transaction costs, and greater security, making it a vital component of Gala Games’ ongoing success and expansion.
Gala Music
Gala Music is a decentralized music streaming platform powered by GalaChain and IPFS. Artists can transform songs into NFTs and directly sell them on Gala Music without the large cut of traditional producers. Digital signatures for songs are uploaded on GalaChain as NFTs. MUSIC is the native token of the platform, and Gala Music boasts over 20,000 Jukebox Nodes, making it one of the largest DePIN networks. Jukebox Node operators are rewarded with MUSIC tokens for supporting the ecosystem along with artists, track owners and listeners
Gala Music allows artists to maintain ownership of their intellectual property, offering transparency and improved monetization. Fans benefit from direct engagement with musicians and exclusive access to content and merchandise. Supported by iconic artists like Snoop Dogg and Jordin Sparks, Gala Music has over 200 registered music creators.
Gala Film
Gala Film is a decentralized platform enabling filmmakers to tokenize their works as NFTs. This ensures transparency, security, and enhanced monetization, giving creators greater control over their intellectual property. Through direct engagement with audiences, filmmakers can offer exclusive access to content and merchandise.
Theater Nodes are the backbone of Gala’s decentralized film ecosystem. By owning a license and operating a Theater Node, users can contribute computing power to host cinematic content and receive daily rewards. Additionally, users can own Moments – unique scenes from films or series that generate rewards every time the content is watched. These Moments vary in rarity, providing a unique and rewarding experience for both creators and viewers within the community.
In addition, the FILM token is coming soon. FILM will serve as the utility token within the Gala Film ecosystem.
NFTs
The GalaChain ecosystem includes a variety of popular NFT collections encompassing in-game NFTs from Gala Games, music NFTs from Gala Music, and film NFTs from Gala Film. These NFTs provide unique digital assets that enhance user engagement and offer new monetization opportunities for creators. NFT enthusiasts can mint and transfer their NFTs on the GalaChain Inventory or through third-party marketplaces such as NFTHarbor.io.
Source: Footprint Analytics GalaChain NFT Dashboard
DeFi
GalaSwap enables direct token swapping on GalaChain, allowing users to trade GALA and other bridgeable tokens seamlessly. The GalaSwap Project Token Creation Tool allows the creation of custom tokens on GalaChain, also allowing creators to distribute mint allowances as they wish to addresses on chain.
The GALA Token
GALA serves as the foundational utility token within the expansive Gala ecosystem.GALA
GALA is aimed at facilitating a seamless, secure mode of payment and incentivization among participants engaging within the network.
GALA acts as the primary reward mechanism for Founder’s Nodes, accruing GALA daily according to benchmarks based on uptime to support the network workloads.. Founder’s Nodes also receive distributions of other tokens in the ecosystem, as well as a small percentage of NFTs minted to GalaChain.
The token employs a Gnosis multisig safe, a secure arrangement ensuring that no single team member has unilateral access. This reinforces the principle of collective oversight and enhancing operational security.
The total supply of GALA is capped at 50 billion tokens. The daily emission rate is dynamically adjusted based on the circulating supply. This supply decreases when GALA is burned after being used as fees within the Gala ecosystem or spent on activities that support the ecosystem. GALA was launched without any pre-minting or initial allocation. All tokens were earned through Founder’s Node operation, with 100% of GALA allocated to Founder’s Nodes within the Gala ecosystem.
GalaChain Allowance
GalaChain Allowance is a system that grants rewards from running a node or other various reward mechanisms, allowing users to convert these rewards into on-chain tokens within their wallets at their convenience. Once a GalaChain Allowance is granted, users can choose to convert or fulfill the allowance, transferring the tokens to their GalaChain wallet.
This system ensures that the rewards or tokens are reserved for the user until they are ready to mint them, providing a flexible and cost-free method for managing rewards and in-game assets. It is an evolution of the previous Treasure Chest system Gala used prior to the debut of GalaChain, when tokens were minted on Ethereum. It allows users to have control over any costs or tax implications of minting.
What Is Next for GalaChain?
According to the Gala Ecosystem Blueprint, GalaChain’s roadmap for Q3 2024 includes several key developments aimed at enhancing its ecosystem. The upcoming Node Workload Development SDK will enable the creation of game-specific and activity-specific nodes, while the Chaincode Template Bounty Program will encourage innovation among community developers.GalaChain plans to create more open-source options around utilizing its platform to go along with the GalaChain SDK developers are already using to spin up their own channels and deploy their own chain code to GalaChain. Furthermore, SDKs for Android and iOS will be developed to expand mobile development within the Gala ecosystem, along with an SDK for Unreal Engine to support advanced game development.
Looking ahead to Q4 2024 and beyond, GalaChain aims to build bridges to other prominent blockchain ecosystems, enhancing interoperability and the utility of the Gala Ecosystem. Plans are also in place for developers to have the opportunity to deploy Isochains on Founder’s Nodes, selecting the number of nodes needed to achieve desired resiliency levels. This will incentivize and reward node operators, ensuring their continued contribution to the network.
Conclusion
GalaChain stands as the cornerstone infrastructure for the Gala ecosystem, blending advanced blockchain technology with a robust network of nodes. Influential in Web3 gaming development, GalaChain plays a crucial role in the gaming industry innovation. With its innovative features, developer-friendly tools, and decentralized structure, GalaChain not only supports the diverse needs of the Gala ecosystem but also sets the stage for future advancements.
About Footprint Analytics
Footprint Analytics is a comprehensive blockchain data analytics platform that simplifies complex analysis for businesses and projects in the Web3 ecosystem. It offers tailored solutions that eliminate the need for extensive expertise and infrastructure maintenance. The platform provides long-term growth tools designed to help build and manage communities step by step, emphasizing sustainable growth and user loyalty. By combining powerful analytics with community management tools, Footprint Analytics enables projects to leverage blockchain data effectively for decision-making and growth strategies across various sectors including GameFi, NFT, and DeFi.
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