Merge pull request #102 from zomglings/better-readme

Improved main README for the repo

README.md

@@ -1,2 +1,59 @@
 # moonstream
-The Bugout blockchain inspector
+
+\[[Live at https://moonstream.to/](https://moonstream.to)\] | \[[Join us on Discord](https://discord.gg/pYE65FuNSz)\]
+
+## What is Moonstream?
+
+Moonstream is a product which helps anyone participate in decentralized finance. From the most
+sophisticated flash arbitrageurs to people looking for yield from currency that would otherwise lie
+dormant in their exchange accounts.
+
+Moonstream users can subscribe to events from any blockchain - from the activity of specific accounts
+or smart contracts to updates about general market movements. This information comes from the blockchains
+themselves, from their mempools/transaction pools, and from centralized exchanges, social media, and
+the news. This forms a stream of information tailored to their specific needs.
+
+They can use this information to execute transactions directly from the Moonstream frontend or they
+can set up programs which execute (on- or off-chain) when their stream meets certain conditions.
+
+## Who uses Moonstream?
+
+1. **Development teams deploying decentralized applications.** They use Moonstream to analyze how
+   users are calling their dapps, and set up alerts for suspicious activity.
+2. **Algorithmic funds.** They use Moonstream to execute transactions directly on-chain under
+   prespecified conditions.
+3. **Crypto traders.** They use Moonstream to evaluate trading strategies based on data from
+   centralized exchanges, the blockchain, and the transaction pool.
+
+## Free software
+
+Proprietary technologies are not inclusive technologies, and we believe in inclusion.
+
+All of our technology is open source. This repository contains all the code that powers
+https://moonstream.to. The code is licensed with the [Apache License, Version 2.0](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).
+
+You are and _will always be_ free to host your own instance of Moonstream.
+
+## Architecture
+
+This monorepo contains the following components:
+
+1. [`frontend`](./frontend): A web frontend for Moonstream. Allows users to perform API operations
+   through a visual interface. The frontend also offers charting and analysis functionality. Built
+   in [React](https://reactjs.org/).
+2. [`backend`'](./backend): The Moonstream API. This portion of the code base implements a REST API
+   through which users can manage the events that show up in their stream and actually consume their
+   stream data. Built in [Python](https://www.python.org/) using [Fast API](https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/).
+3. [`crawlers`](./crawlers): This part of the code base contains workers which extract data from
+   blockchains, transaction pools, and other sources. Currently contains a single [Python](https://www.python.org/)
+   package but we will soon be addding crawlers implemented in other languages: [Go](https://golang.org/),
+   [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/)), and [Javascript](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript).
+4. [`db`](./db): Moonstream stores blockchain data in [Postgres](https://www.postgresql.org/). This
+   directory contains the code we use to manage the schema in our Postgres database. For sources that
+   send higher volumes of data, we use a separate Postgres database and interface with it using
+   [Bugout](https://bugout.dev). For more information on how that data is processed, check how the API
+   inserts events from those sources into a stream.
+
+## Contributing
+
+If you would like to contribute to Moonstream, please reach out to @zomglings on the [Moonstream Discord](https://discord.gg/pYE65FuNSz).