Alright

Alright is a peer-to-peer agreements app to safely exchange goods & services with anyone through decentralized escrow. It enables two people to lock in an agreement to buy or sell something, secure the deal with collateral as a security deposit, and release the payment when they are both ready. Alright is for any transaction that comes with some counterparty risk of non-performance, and it is faster, easier, and cheaper than using traditional middleman escrow services. See the Alright pitch and all the details. This grant proposal is for the first milestone in the roadmap, to launch the Alright app to TestNet. ## Alright - Escrow for Everyone ### The Problem De-risking transactions is costly and complex. Marketplaces charge high fees for trust, but reviews can be faked and disputes are a quagmire. Nearly half of gig workers report not being paid, and three-quarters of people say they would leave marketplaces. Traditional escrow services are expensive, complicated, and slow, if people even use them. ### The Solution Alright de-risks transactions with decentralized escrow that is easy, fast, and affordable. Payment when the job is completed successfully? Payment when the item arrives as described? Payment when you both agree it? Alright, then! ### How It Works Paying through an Alright escrow agreement is a simple three-step process: 1. Agree on your payment terms plus a security deposit and lock in the deal together 2. Do your thing! Finish the job, send the stuff, and make sure everything is alright 3. When you are both ready, send the payment forward and release the collateral When both people put up a security deposit, they have a very strong incentive to act honestly and complete the deal as agreed. ### Technology The Alright smart contract and interface are carefully designed to maximize Algorand's capabilities, demonstrate Web3 values, and achieve several qualities: - **Safety:** Deposited funds are locked only when both parties fully match on terms and deposits are in, payments and collateral are not released until both parties confirm - **Flexibility:** Deposits can be recalled, requests can be rejected, payouts can be adjusted, and deals can be customized for different combinations of payments and collateral - **Convenience:** All workflows are asynchronous and can be completed in any sequence with no need to coordinate actions - **Capability:** Up to 32kb of supporting data can be attached to active deals directly on chain - **Scalability:** Rewritten from the Hackathon prototype to now utilize box storage, the app can support unlimited users and up to 30 concurrent deals per account with no minimum balance requirement on user's accounts - **Performance:** Thanks mostly to Algorand, every workflow step completes with Web2 speed as users expect - **Resilience:** The Alright client works with zero dependency on a centrally-owned back end--you can download/install the app and use it forever (decentralized hosting will also be explored) ### Use Cases Many common transactions involve risk of something going wrong, and Alright's collateralized deals enable buyers to confirm everything is all right before paying and sellers to know they will get paid. - Freelancing: Gigs, contracts, commissions - when you need to ensure the work gets done - Vehicles: Cars, bikes, motorcycles, boats - when you need to feel safe meeting in person - Collectibles: Art, antiques, memorabilia - when you need to confirm authenticity - Valuables: Instruments, electronics, jewelry - when you need to check it out it first - Real Estate: Rentals, houses, land - when you need to inspect it or ensure care is taken - Digital Assets: Swaps, tokens, game items - when you need to swap and can't do it atomically ### Example Workflow Beth wants to hire Dave to build a website for her. They agree on a price and the requirements the site must meet. Beth chooses to escrow her payment through Alright so that Dave gets paid when the work is delivered. To keep them both honest, they each put up a security deposit for a portion of the payment amount. The payment and security deposits are sent to Alright's smart contract, and when the details match, Alright locks them in. Beth feels confident that Dave will complete the project because he has collateralized their agreement. Dave can start work knowing Beth will follow through on the payment because she has also contributed collateral. Dave presents the finished product to Beth and requests payment. Beth is satisfied with the work and agrees to release the funds. As soon as she does so, her payment is forwarded to Dave and they both receive their collateral back. ### Ethos Empowerment - Alright is founded on the idea that people should be able to transact with each other safely without needing to trust a middleman or paying expensive fees for corporate guarantees. Secured agreements help align people's incentives to act honestly and deal fairly. Accessibility - Peer-to-peer escrow agreements are underpinned by blockchain technology because it shares the same values of enabling a more inclusive financial system. Algorand's carbon-negative, borderless network confirms transactions in seconds, making a high-performance financial tool accessible to everyone. Transparency - The smart contract which enables decentralized escrow deals is open-source because transparency is valuable in a world that is often opaque. Alright does not require trusting a third party and invites you to read and verify the code for yourself.