Rotki: Privacy-First Portfolio Management
An Open-Source Solution for Tracking and Analyzing Investments Safely
Introduction
Managing cryptocurrency investments and accounting can be challenging due to the complexities involved and the need for data privacy and security. Existing solutions often require users to upload sensitive financial information to external servers, raising concerns about data breaches and misuse.
Rotki, first developed by Lefteris Karapetsas in 2017, addresses these challenges as a ‘local-first’ portfolio management tool which helps users track their cryptocurrency investments. Local-first means that the data is primarily stored and processed on the user's device (like a hard drive or local storage) rather than relying on remote servers.
This approach enhances privacy and security by keeping sensitive information off the internet, unlike most financial apps that require users to upload portfolio information online. This reduces the risk of data theft or misappropriation.
Rotki's primary objective is to securely and transparently manage crypto and tradfi portfolios. It decodes transaction histories for easy accounting and includes features like calendar reminders for governance votes and ENS name renewals.
The long-term vision is to evolve Rotki into a superapp blending DeFi and traditional finance, integrating centralized exchanges (CEXes) for a comprehensive financial management solution.
Technical Architecture
Rotki's technology is designed to allow users to manage their portfolios across different blockchains and exchanges. Users can view their balances on centralized exchanges, decentralized exchanges, blockchains, and their own manual ledger directly from the Rotki UI. The platform makes it easy to add data sources, fix issues, and update the system.
Each aspect of a user’s portfolio can be represented as a dedicated module that retrieves balances and transaction histories. This data is then standardized into a common format, which is displayed on a user-friendly dashboard. Users can view their combined data and also break it down by location or asset type.
This modular approach ensures that data from various sources is translated and presented in a streamlined manner.
Rotki also offers a premium subscription with tools for portfolio management, including encrypted cloud backups, detailed staking and DeFi tracking, and higher processing limits with extensive analytics.
Contribution to the DeFi Ecosystem (Product Features)
Rotki addresses several challenges in the DeFi ecosystem:
Privacy Preservation: Rotki is a local-first application, keeping all user data on their devices, unlike other apps that run on centralized servers.
Transparency: Being fully open-source, Rotki allows users to see how their data is used and how calculations are made.
Comprehensive Management: Rotki provides a holistic view of portfolios across multiple chains, exchanges, and traditional finance.
Active Management: The app intends to facilitate not only portfolio tracking but also active management and interaction with blockchain applications.
Open-Source and Community Contributions
Rotki is built using open-source libraries and frameworks, including Python and TypeScript. Technologies like Electron (for creating desktop applications), Vue.js (for building user interfaces), Web3.py (for interacting with blockchain networks), and SQLCipher (for securing data) are integrated into its architecture.
The Rotki team ensures their code is understandable and modular, facilitating easy contributions from others. They provide extensive documentation through a usage guide and a contribution guide to help external contributors familiarize themselves with the codebase. Support is also available via a dedicated channel on their Discord server.
This comprehensive support system has resulted in significant community involvement, with over 145 contributors adding features and integrations, as documented on their GitHub repository. Contributions include complete blockchain integrations like Scroll and Avalanche, showcasing the power of open-source collaboration.
ENS DAO x Rotki
Rotki received a 50k USDC grant from the ENS DAO, contributing to its development efforts and team compensation. Through this grant, Rotki added support for ZKSync Lite, a blockchain protocol similar to Ethereum that predates the ZKSync era. This integration allows users to automatically track and view all transactions and balances from their ZKSync Lite accounts within the Rotki app.
Additionally, Rotki implemented an in-app calendar feature, enabling users to create events, set reminders, and manage their schedules. This includes automatic reminders for ENS name expiration or registration, with plans to expand to governance vote deadlines, airdrop claims, and other DeFi activities.
For more details, visit the release notes at: Rotki Release v1.33.0.
About ENS DAO Grants
The Large Grants opportunity from the Public Goods Working Group awards up to 50k USDC to applicable Ethereum or Web3 Public Goods. This grant aims to provide a pathway for foundational public goods in the Ethereum or Web3 ecosystems to request more significant funding. Foundational public goods, in this context, have exceptional usefulness or an established record of making an impact for users or developers.
To learn more, visit the ENS DAO Governance Forum and follow ENS DAO for notifications of when the next Large Grants opportunity will begin.
Note: Grants are paid out in tranches. The original distribution date was Q1 2024, and subsequent fund distributions have been made since, following the completion of milestones
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