Background

In the beginning, all of Defi consisted of manual transaction execution, because on-chain smart contracts could not (and still cannot) execute transactions themselves, neither on time nor on cue. In 2020, Andre Cronje of Yearn Finance introduced Keep3rV1, a decentralized automation marketplace where projects could post jobs and Keepers could search for jobs to try and decentralize automation. In partnership with Yearn and Balancer, PowerPool pioneered the introduction of automated flexible-weight, adaptive multi-token baskets (like $ASSY), and automated extrinsic yield optimisation on DeFi stablecoin vaults like Yearn Lazy Ape ($YLA). Soon thereafter, in 2020, PowerPool launched the PowerAgent v.1 automation network to serve as the primary decentralized automation network powering existing and future PowerPool asset management products.

In the latter part of 2023, PowerPool launched an entirely redesigned PowerAgent v.2 to provide more decentralized, generalised, reliable, and trustworthy autonomous automation that anyone can use, enabling any client protocol to reduce reliance on internal, bespoke ‘bot’ based automation that raises issues of reliability and trust, and creates single points of failure. Beginning with Gnosis Chain, PowerAgent v.2 is being rolled out on Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism Scroll and eventually to most EVM L1 ledgers and L2 scaling layers.

DeFi products increasingly require some form of automation to perform routine on-chain tasks. With the advent of PowerAgent v2, these tasks, or as we call them, Jobs, can now be configured, even templated, to perform a wide range of functions, either chronologically on time, repeating periodically, or else event-driven, based on automated evaluation of a specified set of trigger conditions involving on-chain, off chain (via oracles) or a mix of data sources. PowerAgent Automation Network is an innovative new compliment to the capabilities of EVM chains/layers, freeing users from the necessity of manual interventions, and improving the efficiency, trust, and reliability of existing protocols, permitting the development and operation of entirely new, innovative products and services.

Currently, some protocols are still automating their jobs by running centralized ‘keeper bots’ on private servers with fragile RPC connections, posing reliability and trust issues. Widely-used ‘homegrown’ or ‘roll your own’ centralized and fragile automation can provide basic functionality, but introduces trust assumptions and single points of failure into most solutions. If the single centralized private ‘keeper bot’ goes offline for some reason, then the entire protocol loses its ability to function. If the project controls its own keeper-bot, then the script can be changed and executed at any time, introducing major trust assumptions in otherwise trustless products and services. Home-rolled, centralised ‘keeper bots’ are also an increased regulatory attack surface for otherwise decentralised protocols.

PowerPool believes that in order to build robust, fail-safe decentralised and trustless autonomous protocols, developers must employ trustworthy and reliable automation mechanisms with a high degree of redundancy and decentralization, like PowerAgent v.2

The PowerAgent v.2 Automation Network Overview

PowerAgent v.2 has been developed to be an Auxiliary Service Network (ASN) to fill the underlying functionality gap in EVM chains/layers by enabling trustworthy, reliable, and highly decentralized automation in the web3 space to DeFi protocols, DApps, and, via DAppStore Templated services, to individuals. By supplying this crucial, autonomous infrastructure layer to most EVM L1 Ledgers and L2 scaling layers, PowerAgent v.2 offers open-sourced, credibly-neutral, guaranteed and secure time-based and conditional execution of smart contracts. It was designed as the “zero layer” for automation on which web3 products can be built. Client protocols can customize PowerAgent exactly to their needs, configuring Keeper selection algorithms and managing the crypto-economic incentives for Keepers executing the jobs for Job Owners. Developers can use it to power their own services, auto-collecting micro-royalties and contributing to common goods on each execution.

The PowerAgent v.2 Value Proposition

The PowerAgent Automation Network is open for use by any client protocol seeking to incorporate open-source, decentralized, reliable, permissionless, generalized, autonomous, configurable, cost-effective, secure, and trustworthy automation into on-chain products and services. PowerAgent v. 2 has been designed to offer the full range of features required to enable broad adoption:

Open source codebase

Generalized functionality

Permissionless

Autonomous

Decentralized

Configurable

Cost-effective

Secure

Trustworthy & Credibly Neutral

Who can be a Keeper and earn job fees? Any Ethereum (and other EVM PoS) chain node operators can run a PowerAgent Automation Network Keeper node to execute jobs and earn even more ETH (and BNB, xDAI, etc.). PowerAgent Keeper nodes are already available with DAppNode. Keeper nodes can be combined with any DVT/LST/Eigenlayer clients to finance stakes, minimize slashing risk, and participate in cross-staking. The combined node bundle enables maximum APR on PoS node runner stakes.

Potential Applications for PowerAgent v.2

The potential use cases for PowerAgent jobs are seemingly endless. Probably no one yet knows the full scope of future automation jobs. However, there are many existing examples of protocols already using various types and degrees of automation that can benefit from next-generation trustworthy automation networks like PowerAgent v. 2:

Job Categories Supported by PowerAgent

PowerAgent is designed to be a generalized tool capable of automating a wide range of jobs. It is highly configurable, allowing Job Owners to customize each individual job in context.

There are 3 main categories of Jobs currently supported by PowerAgent at launch:

  1. Selector-type (Signature) Jobs are the basic type of automation Jobs, employed when a certain function with no input parameters must be executed within a predefined time interval. For example, when a Vault needs to be harvested periodically, once a day, every hour, etc.
  2. Jobs with predefined CallData are a slightly more complex type of Job. It is used when Job function parameters (CallData) are provided by the Job Owner and must be passed during its execution. Such Jobs may be used for validating protocol users’ parameters (CallData consists of an address) or harvesting Vaults with an option to simultaneously re-stake rewards (CallData consists of a boolean value), or others.
  3. Jobs with an external Resolver are the most numerous and complex type of Jobs. A Resolver is a separate function in a smart contract that defines the conditions of execution and returns a boolean value signifying whether execution should take place and the CallData that should be passed to the Job function during execution. Connections to off-chain events via oracle networks also fit into this category. These Jobs have a wide variety of use cases: limit orders, automated fund-management strategies, liquidations of limit orders, execution of arbitrage opportunities, protocol parameters updates, etc.

TL:DR Summary

PowerAgent Automation Network  is a significant new addition to EVM blockchain solutions across potentially all EVM L1 chains and L2 layers. It is permissionless, so anyone can use it, and anyone can participate as a Keeper node and earn fees. PowerAgent is extremely configurable and capable of fulfilling numerous automation tasks for a wide range of clients’ applications. We strongly believe that, similar to oracle networks, ancillary service networks like PowerAgent will become essential for a growing number of leading DeFi protocols, dApps, and individuals, across a growing number of EVM chains.

If you have any questions about PowerAgent or its use cases or want to incorporate robust decentralized automation into your on-chain tasks, please join our Discord channel and feel free to ask your questions.