satoshi
Founder
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Activity: 364 Merit: 1997 View Profile
Re: BitDNS and Generalizing Bitcoin
December 09, 2010, 09:02:42 PM
Merited by Traxo (1)
#222
I think it would be possible for BitDNS to be a completely separate network and separate block chain, yet share CPU power with Bitcoin. The only overlap is to make it so miners can search for proof-of-work for both networks simultaneously.
The networks wouldn't need any coordination. Miners would subscribe to both networks in parallel. They would scan SHA such that if they get a hit, they potentially solve both at once. A solution may be for just one of the networks if one network has a lower difficulty.
I think an external miner could call getwork on both programs and combine the work. Maybe call Bitcoin, get work from it, hand it to BitDNS getwork to combine into a combined work.
Instead of fragmentation, networks share and augment each other's total CPU power. This would solve the problem that if there are multiple networks, they are a danger to each other if the available CPU power gangs up on one. Instead, all networks in the world would share combined CPU power, increasing the total strength. It would make it easier for small networks to get started by tapping into a ready base of miners.
-Satoshi Nakimoto
These were the anonymously written words of Satoshi Nakimoto, posted to bitcointalk nearly a decade ago and yet they describe a concept that today we are only truly realizing. What Satoshi describes is not only an elegant solution to many of today's cryptocurrency shortcomings but if implemented properly, could form the backbone for an entire crypto-economy of secure, scalable, and self sufficient chains, outside of the flawed one we currently have.
This new crypto-economy would need to be backed by a secure chain itself with immunity to 51% attacks and powerful cutting edge technological features supporting anonymity and protection of assets to pass on down to the interconnected chains.
One such cutting edge project is Verus Coin (https://veruscoin.io/).
I do know that merged mining as a concept has been around for a while. There are even some implementations out there too, but not on the scale of what Verus is doing. They are creating fully interconnected and yet independent blockchains that scale and because of their implementation (The bottom link on Merkle Mountain Ranges (MMRs)) they will all be able to be exchanged with each other and converted automatically, like a smart exchange without the need for buyers and sellers. What they are doing is truly revolutionary in it's one click chain creation ease and the fact that it is a massive network of chains (just like each of all the coins we have now) but where people can mine up to 15 projects at a time at no additional energy costs and all the created projects are fully protected. I do understand that other projects are doing great things as well and it was not my aim to downplay that but rather to highlight what can come next and fill in the holes left from a first generation blockchain network.
Verus has a unique, new consensus algorithm called Proof of Power, a 50% PoW/50% PoS algorithm that solves theoretical weaknesses in other PoS systems (Nothing at Stake problem for example) and is provably immune to 51% hash attacks. Verus utilizes zk-snarks tech zero-knowledge proofs and is not "forced private", allowing for both transparent and shielded (private) transactions along with private messages as well. They created their very own hardware equalizing algorithm VerusHash 2.0, that leverages the many hardware advantages intrinsic to modern CPU's architecture, enabling the most decentralizing hardware, CPUs (due to their virtually complete market penetration), to stay relevant as miners for the indefinite future. VerusHash 2.0 is specifically designed to better equalize hashrates across all mining hardware types, allowing CPUs and FPGAs to mine competitively on the same network and by favoring the latest CPUs over older types, has the additional benefit of being a defense against the centralizing potential of botnets.
Verus and the Verus Coin project are community driven, all open source (https://github.com/VerusCoin/VerusCoin) and they are also now currently running a test net of their all new protocol, PBaaS (Public Blockchain as a Service) with merged mining of up to 15 (including Verus) fully independent, secure, scalable chains that all share the properties of the parent chain described above. Check out their Discord to give merged mining a try for yourself.
A Peek at the GUI (Graphical User Interface) version of the wallet
https://i.redd.it/tizymfge54v21.jpg
https://i.redd.it/zuh9m9lf54v21.png
A Peek at the CLI (Command Line Interface) version of the wallet (with GUI) courtesy of a community member.
https://i.redd.it/tgafnawl54v21.jpg
A helpful place for lots of useful information and if you want to learn more, check out their Medium page (https://medium.com/veruscoin)
A rough description of the concepts described above:
-PBaaS: or Public Blockchain as a Service is a revolutionary new take on the blockchain as a service model entirely unique to Verus that offers the tools and necessary means to build on and utilize blockchain technology for business or personal use. It is similar to using a web hosting service to build a website with, but rather than having to build one by yourself from scratch, the service provider supplies the basics and handles all the necessary tasks from general upkeep to infrastructure maintenance. Since Verus doesn't rely on a centralized authority to work, there isn't any one single point of failure in the network, so in the event of a hack, power failure, data breach or loss, Verus' system is immune while the other options aren't. Instead of relying on a centralized system, Verus elegantly does work for the public by utilizing the public to do work.
-Merge Mining: or auxiliary mining is a lesser known cryptographic concept that has been seldom discussed and even less so attempted, but can be found as far back as bitcointalk's earliest days. Unfortunately, development in this area of work has remained largely stagnant due to the numerous difficulties involved in coding it, coupled with the sheer complexity and vast scope involved in the programming work. Fortunately, the development team's years of experience and months of hard work have finally paid off, and now merge mining in it's true form is at last a reality. This means that a miner could find a block for Verus and now hypothetically also earn block rewards for several other projects at the exact same time! With literally nothing to lose, and significantly more to gain, it's a no brainer choice for miners. Now miners who mine for profit can make more with the same energy expenditure, while at the same time still have the option to speculatively mine and hold projects they really believe in or care about. Businesses and individual project creators will benefit too by being able to attach a newly formed project to the hashrate of a larger, more established one. This would provide security and reliability to new projects right away and in their earliest stages, a point where they are most vulnerable. Verus has created the foundation for which any person or business, whether small or large, can safely and easily enter into the blockchain.
A semi-visual descriptive paper on the immense benefits of utilizing Merkle mountain ranges, one of the many technologies implemented in Verus PBaaS- https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/bitcoin-dev/2016-May/012715.html
Also, full disclosure for readers or mods, I am also a member of this crypto community among several others and should not diminish the value of it's content. I wrote this post to highlight a genuine technical achievement in cryptocurrency and if not here, then where do we discuss this?
The lead developer Michael Toutonghi has spent decades in the field programming and is a former Vice President and Technical Fellow at Microsoft, recognized founder and architect of Microsoft's .Net platform, ex-Technical Fellow of Microsoft's advertising platform, ex-CTO, Parallels Corporation, and an experienced distributed computing and machine learning architect. The project he helped create employs and makes use of a diverse myriad of technologies and security features to form one of the most advanced and secure cryptocurrency to date.
What their team has managed to do (in testnet, but open to the public for testing) is truly unique in that they've already built a functional system of fully interconnected blockchains that each are also completely independent from one another and fully scalable, private, secure, and immune to 51% attacks. Public blockchain as a service is their ultimate goal of offering these near infinite, secure blockchains to project creators, mineable for near zero energy and protected from attacks. Secure voting, polling, and identity using the tech are on the not-too-distant horizon.
Even the briefest glance over any of their work and it is easy to see this is not just another bs post. I hope this complies with all the rules. If there is some other place to discuss cryptocurrency and the launch of an all new system within it, please let me know. Things keep getting removed without a word said why. I'm happy to do things the proper way.
