A Call for Decentralization
Centralized systems are at the backbone of our society, often working unnoticed or otherwise taken for granted as given facets of life. These institutions handle our most sensitive data and our most intimate of communications; our entire life’s savings exist as strings of numbers stored on their servers. These are the banks, the Facebooks, and the Googles that have become increasingly interwoven into our daily lives. We depend on them to make sure their systems run smoothly, efficiently, and fairly. Generally, we can go about our lives without any hiccups, trusting that our paychecks are kept safe and our emails are impenetrable. It’s comforting knowing there are authorities guarding our information and looking out for our best interest - but what if our trust is misplaced?
Facebook is currently negotiating a multi-billion dollar settlement for mishandling user data, Equifax recently compromised 100 million social security numbers, and we can’t even access our own money without paying someone else a fee. These third parties have become judge and jury, siphoning away the rights of the individual in favor of their own bottom line.
We are conditioned to brush off these grave institutional failures as inconveniences - mention a fine or tighter regulation for the offender, and life grinds on until the next incident. The truth is, however, there is an alternative to having third parties dictate the terms by which we live our lives. We don’t need to accept the latest bank fee increase or hope agreeing to the latest “terms of service” doesn’t mean our personal data gets sold.
More than just a buzzword or a new investment, blockchain represents ideology. It represents a major shift from unwavering trust in the institutions that own our data and control our money toward a more people-centered future. It represents a system built for and maintained by the people, a system where “person” and “consumer” are not synonymous - a system where rights are valued over profits.
The Emergence of a New System
Like any emerging complex system, blockchain was not born perfect. The underlying technology was first billed as Bitcoin - an alternative currency that eliminated the need for banking institutions. This made it possible to send electronic payments directly from person to person without the need to trust third parties with the transactions. No fees, no waiting 3 to 5 business days, no limits, no paperwork. Inadvertently, Bitcoin gave birth to something much more lasting - blockchain. Akin to first sending emails and later discovering that the internet powering those emails could be used for other purposes, use cases of blockchain have diversified immensely. Its decentralized and non-tamperable nature provide increased data security, speedy transactions, and an easily verifiable record while being free from any singular governing authority. Due to this, it is an ideal environment to send payments, develop applications, store contracts, track global shipments, manage assets, and much more.
However, pragmatically reaching this point has been a work in progress due to design flaws in the preliminary systems. Based on the decentralized nature of blockchain, information is not stored on a singular server - no one taskmaster updates the server or is responsible for authenticating the information and then relaying it to users. Instead, the blockchain system relies on a global network of users relaying information, updating the ledgers, and authenticating transactions. Each one of these relaying users - called nodes - must agree on the same history of events in order for it to appear on the blockchain. Reaching an agreement can be time and labour intensive - making the process slower than centralized systems that rely on a singular central core. Deciding just how to reach an agreement is the first of two issue that must be solved in order to increase speed and security.
The second lies in the fact that some nodes may even attempt to falsify information for personal gain. This means that we must work to make the system as fast as possible while also eliminating malicious users. Even if we solve the latter issue, the amount of data going through the system is slowed down to a trickling bottleneck as all of the nodes work to verify what gets added to the growing chain. Therefore, the current nature of blockchain results in sacrificing speed for increased security unseen in centralized systems. These issues must then be solved in order to build a truly secure, efficient, and fast environment for mass user adoption.
Both Bitcoin and the second generation blockchain Ethereum use versions of the Proof-of-Work algorithm - a methodology through which the nodes reach a consensus on what gets added to the chain. While Ethereum improved upon the first generation by implemented what are known as Smart Contracts and the Ethereum Virtual Machine, which provided users with what was thought to be an ideal operating platform, slow performance is still an issue.
In order for a blockchain to be practical for those who use it, the amount of traffic the system can handle at any given time must be scaled higher. Bitcoin can handle around 7 transactions per second (TPS) while Ethereum pushes the limit to 20 TPS. In comparison, Visa can manage an impressive 24,000 transactions per second. Later projects such as EOS, which use the Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism, have reached speeds of more than 9000TPS - but the battle is not over.
Of course, speed is at the cornerstone of any platform. Developers care about how many people their app can support at any given time and users care about not having their access throttled, but the process through which these outcomes are achieved also hold importance in the arena. Not only must we work to build faster blockchains, but these efforts cannot skew away from the ideology which first gave birth to them.
A Fast, Secure, and Conscientious Blockchain Platform for Mass Adoption
Under the Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm seen in Bitcoin and Ethereum, all nodes may take part in the data verification process. This greatly limits the amount of transactions that the systems can handle, meaning that mass adoption is limited. The more users that onboard, the more nodes the data must be verified by, increasing exponentially the strain on the system.
The Delegated Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm was able to solve this issue by allowing only a select few “super” nodes to take part in the verification process. These nodes are selected randomly based on the amount and age of coins that the users hold in the system. Hypothetically this would be a decent system, but in practice the incentives for bribery are increased which result in a higher probability of malicious nodes working for self gain.
The Proof-of-Reputation (PoR) consensus algorithm developed by Bitconch has not only solves the issue of slow transaction speeds, but has also laid the foundation to create a more well-rounded community and efficient operating platform with reduced incentives for malicious behavior. Through building upon previous generations of consensus algorithms, PoR has produced speeds of up to 120,000 transactions per second, rivaling the efficiency of centralized systems while also exemplifying the security present in decentralized systems.
The methodology is similar to the DPoS consensus algorithm in that PoR relies on special nodes for the verification process, however, the amount of coins held is no longer a consideration. The reputation value (Bit-R) of Bitconch coin (BUS) holders participating in the verification process is determined by three factors: user socialization, currency holding time, and computing power contribution.
https://i.redd.it/fioo7azlr8h21.png
In short, through detailing users habits, trustworthiness and contributions, users are assigned a comprehensive and quantitative reputation value. Only those with Bit-R values in the top 5% are eligible for the verification process, and in order to balance efficiency and decentralization, between 30 and 500 nodes from those within this top 5% are randomly selected for the final verification. Therefore, the Bitconch chain builds an ecosystem that mirrors the organic nature of society - rewarding those who make positive contributions in the community, not only those who have the most resources. Alone, however, this process is still not enough to push TPS above those already produced through DPoS consensus algorithms - maxing out around 10,000TPS.
Achieving the 120,000TPS seen in the Bitconch ecosystem depends on further optimization known as BLAZE (Bitconch Ledger Access Zero-delay Extension). This allows for the simultaneously verification of multiple blocks through factoring the operation into five unique yet concurrent phases - fetching data, decoding, hashing, stating the change, and finally writing data.
https://i.redd.it/a9aobk0nr8h21.png
When coupled with BLAZE, the Bitconch Proof-of-Reputation consensus algorithm produces a platform capable of withstanding large scale commercial traffic that would otherwise cripple previous blockchains.
The result is an efficient operating platform scaled to the requirements of diversified business, creative, and personal needs that also integrates fundamental values vital in building a self-sustained and conscientious ecosystem.
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