DEV Community: Marques Traylor

Shadow

Marques Traylor — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:41:12 +0000

Spent a while working on the trading bot and then I thought, why just stop at one? Why not have a network of bots that are able to trade or perform any task for me while I am away?

Build and configure them to my liking, put them on a server and have them receive signals which are connected to a task for them to perform.

I started working on this for a while and I would love to share my current progress on the project. I decided to write it in python because I figured it would be a lot easier to run the network on my raspberry pi.

There's still work to be done and a lot of different ideas I want to try, but the basic idea is there and if you want to check it out the link to the repo is below!

https://github.com/TraylorBoy/Shadow

I plan on adding several built-in bots like the automated trader from my last post.

Automated Trader Project

Marques Traylor — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 14:12:25 +0000

I've started to work on an automated trading bot, ShadowBot. This bot will utilize Aave flash loans in order to increase potential profits from arbitrage trades with little to no risk. I plan on utilizing gas tokens as well by using the ShadowGas contract to act as a proxy for interacting with the trader.

More info soon!

Repo can be found here: https://github.com/TraylorBoy/ShadowBot

ShadowGas UI

Marques Traylor — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 17:08:54 +0000

I have finished the UI (Light Station) for my ShadowGas smart contract. The UI is in ReactJS and contains the Store and Transfer features of the contract.

After cloning the repo, setting up your environment, and deploying the contract, to run the UI in your local environment:

cd client

yarn install

yarn start

This will open up a new web page in your default browser at localhost:3000 and you should be taken to the Connect page of the UI.

Connect

Connect with your MetaMask wallet

After accepting the connection via MetaMask pop-up, press the confirm button

Wrong Network

Default network is Kovan, change it in the client/src/App.js file (see below)

Balances

Store/Transfer

Verify transaction in MetaMask

Balances automagically updates

Transaction Failed

Check out my other posts on the ShadowGas smart contract:

Store - https://dev.to/traylorboy/shadowgas-store-40m9
Transfer - https://dev.to/traylorboy/shadowgas-transfer-59jg
Trade - https://dev.to/traylorboy/shadowgas-trade-1a5a
1.1.0 - https://dev.to/traylorboy/shadowgas-v1-1-0-3100

Repo: https://github.com/TraylorBoy/ShadowGas

I am working on the Trade feature for the UI, after that is finished v2.0.0 will be released!

ShadowGas - v1.1.0

Marques Traylor — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 20:03:13 +0000

ShadowGas now supports GST2 Tokens in the new update. Now it can store and transfer CHI, LGT, and GST2 gas tokens.

v1.1.0

Removed unused contracts
Reduced the size of the ShadowGas contract from 7.50KB to 6.39KB
Added GST2 Scripts and Tasks (Tank, Refuel, Empty, EmptyTo)
Updated Contract, added gstDiscount modifier, _destroy function, gst store and transfer functions
Changed test directory (can test each token separately)
Added GST2 tests
Added GST2 configuration to shadow.config.json

shadow.config.json

`RefuelChiAmt` - Mint Chi Amount
`RefuelLgtAmt` - Mint Lgt Amount
`RefuelGstAmt` - Mint Gst Amount
`EmptyChiAmt` - Transfer Chi Amount
`EmptyLgtAmt` - Transfer Lgt Amount
`EmptyGstAmt` - Transfer Gst Amount
`EmptyChiTo` - Address to transfer Chi to
`EmptyLgtTo` - Address to transfer Lgt to
`EmptyGstTo` - Address to transfer Gst to
`GasLimit` - Gas Limit
`GasSpeed` - Gas Speed ("fast", "average", "slow") 
`TradeLimit` - The amount of trades to perform
`LgtTradeAmount` - Amount of LGT Tokens to trade

GST2 Kovan & Mainnet

Be sure to use the correct address for GST2!

Default is Kovan

GST2 Examples

npx buidler tank --token Gst

npx buidler refuel --token Gst

npx buidler empty --token Gst

npx buidler emptyTo --token Gst

Tests

npx buidler test

Run all tests

npx buidler test ./test/gst-test.js

Test GST2 Tokens

npx buidler test ./test/chi-test.js

Test Chi Tokens

npx buidler test ./test/lgt-test.js

Test Lgt Tokens

All tests should pass, but they do require ether to run

I am now working on v2.0.0, this version will include the UI in order to interact with the contract through the DApp.

ShadowGas - Trade

Marques Traylor — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 16:50:09 +0000

v1.0.0 of the ShadowGas smart contract is finished. My two recent posts (below) go over the Store and Transfer features of the contract and this one will go over the Trade feature.

https://dev.to/traylorboy/shadowgas-store-40m9

https://dev.to/traylorboy/shadowgas-transfer-59jg

The Trade feature currently only trades the liquid gas token, however I plan on including the other 2 later down the road

Updated the shadowGas.config.json file

shadow.config.json

`RefuelChiAmt` - Mint Chi Amount
`RefuelLgtAmt` - Mint Lgt Amount
`EmptyChiAmt` - Transfer Chi Amount
`EmptyLgtAmt` - Transfer Lgt Amount
`EmptyChiTo` - Address to transfer Chi to
`EmptyLgtTo` - Address to transfer Lgt to
`GasLimit` - Gas Limit
`GasSpeed` - Gas Speed ("fast", "average", "slow") 
`TradeLimit` - The amount of trades to perform
`LgtTradeAmount` - Amount of LGT Tokens to trade

Trade

Only trades LGT, but can use refueled CHI for discounts so profit may be more than expected if discount is applied

Oracle

npx buidler oracle

Will retrieve trade information for arbitrage

Arbitrage

npx buidler arbitrage

Will run a loop to continuously check for trade opportunities every minute and will execute trades if an opportunity is found until TradeLimit is reached

Examples

Check for trade opportunity

npx buidler oracle

If the costToMint > expectedProfit, no opportunity found

Testing the Arbitrage Strategy

Since the costToMint is heavily weighted by the current gasPrice, by changing the gasPrice variable (ex. 1 Gwei) on a testnet, you will be able to mint the LGT tokens for cheap and sell them for a profit within the same transaction since the costToMint will be much lower when minting at 1 Gwei than at 116 Gwei thus forcing a trade opportunity.

npx buidler arbitrage

v1.0.0 for the ShadowGas contract is released; after adding GST compatibility (v1.1.0), I will be developing the UI in React in order to interact with the contract!

The repo can be found here: https://github.com/TraylorBoy/ShadowGas

ShadowGas - Transfer

Marques Traylor — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 14:53:17 +0000

The ShadowGas Transfer feature allows you to move the gas tokens stored at the contract's address to the address of the contract's owner or to an address provided.

I recommend checking out my first post (below) before reading if you haven't already. It goes over the installation, setup, and the contract's Store feature.

https://dev.to/traylorboy/shadowgas-store-40m9

Transfer

<GAS_TOKEN> should be either Chi or Lgt

Empty

npx buidler empty --token <GAS_TOKEN>

Sends Chi or Lgt from contract to possessor (contract owner)

EmptyTo

npx buidler emptyTo --token <GAS_TOKEN>

Sends Chi or Lgt from contract to address (modify in shadow.config.js)

Examples

Empty 3 Lgt and Chi

You can modify the amount to send in shadow.config.json

npx buidler empty --token Lgt

npx buidler empty --token Chi

Empty 3 Lgt and Chi to address

You can modify the address to send to in shadow.config.json

npx buidler emptyTo --token Lgt

npx buidler emptyTo --token Chi

I am currently finishing up the trade feature!

The repo can be found here: https://github.com/TraylorBoy/ShadowGas

ShadowGas - Store

Marques Traylor — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 18:45:31 +0000

I have finished the Store feature of the ShadowGas contract.

Interaction with the contract can be done via buidler tasks and the console.

Install

git clone https://github.com/TraylorBoy/ShadowGas.git

cd ShadowGas

yarn install

After installing, you will need to create a .env file and modify the shadow.config.js and the buidler.config.js files

.env

SHADOWGAS="" - Contract Address
WALLET="" - Wallet Address
PRIVATEKEY="" - Wallet Private Key
KOVAN="" - Kovan Infura url
ROPSTEN="" - Ropsten Infura url
MAINNET="" - Mainnet Infura url
ETHERSCAN="" - Etherscan API Key
ETH_GAS_STATION="" - EthGasStation API Key

shadow.config.json

RefuelChiAmt - Mint Chi Amount
RefuelLgtAmt - Mint Lgt Amount
EmptyChiAmt - Transfer Chi Amount
EmptyLgtAmt - Transfer Lgt Amount
EmptyChiTo - Address to transfer Chi to
EmptyLgtTo - Address to transfer Lgt to
GasLimit - Gas Limit
GasSpeed - Gas Speed ("fast", "average", "slow")

Gas Price is retrieved from:

https://ethgasstation.info/
https://etherscan.io/gastracker

I am working on a Gas Oracle which may change this feature

buidler.config.js

...

module.exports = {
  defaultNetwork: "Kovan",
  ...
 }

You may modify the exported properties in the buidler.config.js file.

Store

<GAS_TOKEN> should be either: Chi or Lgt

Refuel

npx buidler refuel --token <GAS_TOKEN>

Mints either Chi or Lgt tokens and stores them at contract's address

Tank

npx buidler tank --token <GAS_TOKEN>

Retrieves Chi or Lgt token balance at contract's address

Examples

Refuel 13 Chi and Lgt tokens

Refuel amount can be modified via the shadow.config.js file

npx buidler refuel --token Chi

npx buidler refuel --token Lgt

Retrieve Chi and Lgt tank balances

npx buidler tank --token Chi

npx buidler tank --token Lgt

I will post the Transfer feature tomorrow!

The repo for the project is located here: https://github.com/TraylorBoy/ShadowGas

Coding w/ Music

Marques Traylor — Sun, 20 Sep 2020 18:29:50 +0000

Music always gets me in the mood to wire in and block out my surroundings, focusing on the code in front of me with the tunes as my auditory guide.

Although it may distract you as well, if you are the type that can get past that then you may find it a rather comforting addition to your environment while you're grinding away. It's like listening to music while studying!

A couple songs I love to start out with when I open VS Code are:

https://soundcloud.com/charles-thefirst/chynna-the-conversation-charlesthefirst-remix

https://soundcloud.com/a40ounce/tiedye-ky-hit-em-from-the-top-rope-feat-duke-blazer

Any and all recommendations for new tunes to code to are welcome!

ShadowGas Update

Marques Traylor — Sat, 19 Sep 2020 17:21:00 +0000

I have been working on my ShadowGas project for the past week and it has been a great learning experience.

With the help of another member on here (Sam Bacha) I was able to find another gas token called, Liquid Gas Token. The LGT allows you to mint and burn in the same transactions, thus discounting transactions a bit more than GST and CHI.

I have changed the ShadowGas contract to better fit it's described functionality (Stores, Transfers, and Trades). I have started testing the first two and at the moment the contract only includes functions that work with CHI and LGT (I plan on adding GST later).

The master branch shows the old contract, I have just pushed the new one to the dev branch. You can check out the repo below.

https://github.com/TraylorBoy/ShadowGas

I plan to continue on blogging my development of my ShadowGas project!

Don't Over Do It

Marques Traylor — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 16:37:02 +0000

Lack of sleep due to staying up all night coding?
Having a hard time focusing on your project?
Motivation slipping away?

Don't overdo it

It's as easy as closing your screen and logging in to the world around you.

For anyone reading this who feels frustrated, exhausted, or overwhelmed as they learn to code: take time off if you need it, and never hesitate to ask for help

https://flatironschool.com/blog/best-coding-advice-ever-got-take-break

Buidler Tasks & Plugins

Marques Traylor — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 20:09:54 +0000

Ever since I migrated from Truffle to Buidler, I have found buidler plugins & tasks to be very useful in my workflow.

If you don't know Buidler, check out their site at https://buidler.dev/

Buidler is a task runner for ethereum smart contract developers. It allows you to create tasks that aid in the workflow and productivity during development.

Buidler Task

Console

Output

Contract Sizer & Spdx License Identifier Plugins

These plugins will go in your buidler.config.js file.

The spdx-license-identifier plugin will prepend the license field from your package.json file in every contract that doesn't have one defined.

The contract-sizer plugin outputs the sizes of your contracts to the console.

Their website contains detailed documentation and also includes a tutorial if you want to learn more.

Tutorial: https://buidler.dev/tutorial/
Documentation: https://buidler.dev/getting-started/
Plugins: https://buidler.dev/plugins/

await Sleep(x);

Marques Traylor — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 22:39:37 +0000

If you're looking for a quick way to pause runtime while you:

Wait for a response
Making sure a variable updated successfully
etc...

async/await sleep

The len param is measured in milliseconds.

example

Sauce.sleep(15000); Resolves after 15 seconds

The transaction would resolve before the balance updated so I paused the script for 15 seconds while the transaction was being mined.

Hope this helps!