About

Metronome (MET) is a cryptocurrency focused on making greater decentralization possible by building support for its token and smart contracts on multiple existing blockchain networks. Metronome aims to optimize for self-governance, reliability, and portability, as well as to satisfy the requirements of decentralized finance (DeFi), store-of-value (SoV), and method-of-payment applications.

The project is founded on three key design principles:

1. Self-governance: No undue influence from founders after the initial launch and public access
2. Reliability and predictability: Issuance and supply are immutable
3. Portability: Can help decentralize token ownership across different blockchains

History

Founded in May 2018, Metronome was created out of an understanding that certain institutional-grade cryptocurrency projects and cross-chain compatibility features were needed in the digital asset space. Three characteristics are key to Metronome's success, according to early Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik: self-governance, reliability, and portability. Properly engineered, these principles aim to accomplish Metronome's primary goal: longevity.

Self-Governance: Metronome uses a set of smart contracts to govern the launch, distribution, and cross-chain transfer of its MET token. Offloading control to these smart contracts limits the influence any external groups or individuals, including the project's creators, have on the protocol. Metronome does not have a foundation to manage or change the existing code.

Reliability: Unlike some other cryptocurrencies, Metronome designed MET to have a low, yet continuous issuance rate. The team believes this will help Metronome behave more like an actual currency and encourage its owners to use it as one.

Portability: Metronome's token, MET, has multi-chain support, meaning users can import and export MET across different chains. The project initially issued MET on Ethereum and recently launched a second contract set on Ethereum Classic, enabling MET tokens to "hop" between these two chains. Such portability should allow users to select the chain that suits their requirements for management and security.

By supporting a multi-chain future, Metronome hopes to preserve its longevity by not attaching itself to a single chain. The project's functions and token are governed by a set of four smart contracts (Ledger, Auction, Proceeds, Autonomous Converter) that supposedly allow Metronome to run autonomously. The Metronome creators continue to help with protocol development by building an open-source community of developers and users.

The Metronome team is also looking to engage with the fast-growing decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, most prominent within the Ethereum application ecosystem. Metronome, therefore, depicts that MET already possesses a few qualities ideal for DeFi use cases, including the ability to serve as a reliable and immutable asset and its support for the decentralized execution of cross-chain transfers.