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Blockchains:What and Why
Dr. Gavin Woodco-founder, ethereum project
founder, ethcore limited
@gavofyork
Take a step back
Important Things to Forget
Coin
Crypto
Currency
Bit
ChainBlockHash
Consensus
Fork
MinerSign
ASIC
Curve
What is the Blockchain?
A Blockchain is...
A Byzantine-Fault-Tolerant decentralised singleton fixed-function state-transition
system
It’s a type of Computing Machine
SlowCode runs 5-100x slower that natively compiled
Expensive to useBasic computation, memory and storage costs are ~1950s levels
Not always immediately decisive(Trans-)Actions can sometimes be reorganised
Sounds. Awesome.
Actually, it is.
A Shared SingletonOne single computer among many
Cannot Break, Shut down or be CorruptedResistant to attack or coercion
UbiquitousNo special or costly hardware required for access
Verifiable & AuditableAll transactions recorded, archived and replayable. Always.
So, Bitcoin?
And Ethereum?
Natively Multi-UserHas as many accounts as is needed
Natively Object-OrientedEncapsulation enforced in “virtual silicon”
AccessibleWherever there’s Javascript, there’s Ethereum
And Smart Contracts?
So, Bitcoin would be...
Guarantees for Smart Contracts
AtomicityEntire operation runs or nothing does
SynchronyNo two operations can interfere with each other
ProvenanceAll messages (method calls) can be inspected to determine caller address
Guarantees
PermanenceObject’s data are permanent
ImmortalityObject can never be externally deleted - can only voluntarily commit suicide
ImmutabilityObject’s code can never be changed
1995
2015
Mauve?
Types of Blockchain
Permissioned vs Permissionless
FasterManaged upkeep
Private membershipTrusted
Legal
SlowerPublic ownershipOpen & transparentTrust-freeAllegal
PoW vs PoS vs PoA
SlowerWastefulHardwareNo-finalityTrust-freeProvenCostly
FastestEfficient
SoftwareFinality
Trust-boundSafeFree
FasterEfficientSoftware
Finality (Possible)
Trust-freeUnprovenLess costly
Why?
Compared to connection-poor siloes
Innovation Turbocharger
Walled Gardens
Interoperability DifficultReliability, standards, trust, security collude to make it a nightmare
Increased BarriersFor integrating multi-party, multi-domain systems
CumbersomeServers are expensive to set up and maintain;
Blockchain always-on, always ready
Not to mention Security
AuditabilityAll results are readily auditable from their inputs
SecurityFewer servers and databases to hack
AuthenticityAll interactions are cryptographically signed:
Unauthorised Interactions are Impossible
A bridge across trust boundaries
Diffuses the Trust Problem
Blockchain
Platform for Reduced-trust Computingfor
identity managementsmart contracts
interoperable infrastructurepermissions management
auditability
Why Not?
Problems
PrivacyEveryone validates everything - everyone sees everything
ScalabilityEveryone processes everything - in order
Integration & InfrastructureNot yet baked
Blockchain:What and Why
Dr. Gavin Wood@gavofyork
Questions?