Latest research
Concave is the New Linear: The Impossibility of Anti-Plutocratic DAO Governance
What makes a “fair” DAO governance mechanism?
Empowering crypto innovation through open-source R&D
Circle Research is committed to open-source principles, making our leading research accessible to the global community. We aim to contribute to the public good and accelerate crypto and blockchain innovation.
Research contributions
Recibo: Encrypted Messages for ERC-20 Transactions
Introducing Recibo, an innovative smart contract model that enhances ERC-20 token transactions by integrating messages functionality and gasless transfer capabilities. We show how Recibo can be used to incorporate international payment messaging standards such as ISO 20022 to address transaction documentation, regulatory compliance, and user privacy.
Exploring Confirmation Rules for Ethereum
Examining recent research into confirmation rules for Ethereum to balance the needs of faster settlement with security for certain applications. This analysis derives insights from "A Fast Confirmation Rule for the Ethereum Consensus Protocol," a paper co-authored by researchers at Offchain Labs, the Ethereum Foundation, Consensys, and the University of Canterbury.
Confidential ERC-20 Framework
Inco Network and Circle Research introduce the Confidential ERC-20 Framework: Compliant Privacy on Public Blockchains using Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE). The framework transforms standard ERC-20 tokens into confidential wrapped versions that mask balances and transaction amounts, providing users with additional privacy protections while maintaining compliance controls.
Temporary Approve
Exploring ERC-7674, a proposed extension to ERC-20 tokens. Unlike existing ERC-20 approvals, ERC-7674 introduces temporary approvals which last only for a single transaction, reducing a user’s exposure to contracts they have approved.
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FAQs
Circle Research has a charter to accelerate and amplify technical innovation within the crypto industry by developing technical, open-source research with direct applications. Led by a small team of Circle researchers, engineers, and product managers, projects published by Circle Research are committed to public good and open-source contributions to push the boundaries of crypto and blockchain technology.
Yes. Content published by Circle Research is free and available for anyone to consume, use, and build upon.
Yes. Most contributions from Circle Research will include code in our GitHub repository. Anyone can access this open-source code and fork it for their application and use.
We will aim to publish open-source research contributions with code a few times a year.
Economic Research
Check out our Policy Hub for our latest papers on macroeconomics, stablecoins, digital assets, distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchains.