Microsoft Azure adds RSK Smart Contracts to its Cloud Offering

RIF Labs has announced that developers can now launch a RSK Smart Mainnet node on Microsoft’s Azure BaaS offering, becoming one of the few public blockchains supported by Microsoft’s Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) marketplace.

The integration provides a simplified process for setting up an environment that facilitates the development of decentralized applications (dApps) and services supported by the Bitcoin blockchain. This enables users to deploy and configure an RSK blockchain network in minutes, instead of setting up local servers and manually installing and maintaining the nodes. Now both non-blockchain and blockchain developers can learn and experiment at a low-cost and easily on the RSK network.

Diego Gutierrez Zaldivar, CEO of RIF Labs commented: “Making development as easy and seamless as possible is vital to realizing blockchain technology’s full potential. Microsoft’s endorsement of RSK Smart Contract Network is critical in bridging the gap to mass adoption, which in turn will help unleash the power of the Internet of Value.”

“dApp developers can now focus on building their product since they don’t have to worry anymore about spending hours in setting up and maintaining the node. Microsoft’s support will be key to accelerate adoption of RSK technologies and the Bitcoin Ecosystem” said Adrian Eidelman, RSK Strategist and RIF Labs CTO.

Microsoft has for several years provided BaaS support for enterprise blockchains, such as R3 and Hyperledger Fabric. However, it’s one of the few cloud providers to support public blockchain development, making it a natural partner for RIF Labs’ continued work in bringing smart contract capabilities to the Bitcoin blockchain. The developer environment provided by Azure’s BaaS allows blockchain developers to learn and fail fast at a low-cost, making continued dApp experimentation on the RSK network significantly easier for blockchain and traditional developers alike.

This will be especially important in the months ahead, as RIF Labs launches new protocol implementations for RIF OS including off-chain payments, data storage, data feeds, and secure communications. Additionally, the ability to setup multiple nodes with a one-click process gives developers the opportunity to expand the RSK network at minimal upfront cost, while also providing new opportunities to obtain mining rewards via storage rental on the nodes themselves. This will be key to maintaining the decentralized structure of the network as developers increasingly look to take advantage of Ethereum-like smart contract capabilities secured by the hashing power of the Bitcoin Network.

“Through Microsoft Azure Marketplace, customers around the world can easily find, buy, and deploy partner solutions they can trust, all certified and optimized to run on Azure,” said Sajan Parihar, Director, Microsoft Azure Platform at Microsoft Corp. “We’re happy to welcome RSK Smart Contracts to the growing Azure Marketplace ecosystem.”

For more information on setting up a new node on RSKSmart Orchid Mainnet via Azure, please visit https://developers.rsk.co/rsk/node/install/azure/. And for more information on RIF Labs, visit rifos.org.

About Rif Labs:

RIF Labs operates as a purpose driven organization focused on promoting and developing the next generation of open blockchain-based infrastructure that will enable worldwide financial inclusion and bridge the gap between this nascent technology and mass adoption.

RIF Labs is implementing RIF OS Protocols – an all in one, easy to use, P2P blockchain infrastructure service suite that will allow greater scalability and faster time to market for traditional and blockchain developers.

The organization has a growing team of mission driven, passionate collaborators all over the globe, led by the RSK Labs founding team that brought to market the first Smart Contract Network developed on top of the Bitcoin Network. The team continues to build upon it through new platforms such as RIF OS and related initiatives to fulfill the organization’s vision of bringing the Internet of Value to life.

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