You have heard of a proof of work, but what about evidence of work proofs?

A complex notion, the research on non-interactive evidence of work evidence, or NiPoPoW, published in October, has received very little attention up to here, but it is reported as crossing the # 39, one of the main obstacles that blocked the market. sidechain technology widely anticipated.

In this article, researchers from the IOHK, IC3, and the University of Athens describe a mechanism to prove that data exists in the bitcoin blockchain of 39, a more efficient way.

Although the idea may be useful in more context, it is perhaps the most exciting in the way researchers describe the benefits of evidence for side chains, a technology that anchors other blockchains in the bitcoin. called vaporware, but which others call the "altcoin killer".



Sidechains seeks to solve a thorny problem: Adding features to Bitcoin is a slow and laborious process because a $ 230 billion worth is threatened if the new feature does not work or if it works poorly.

Instead of adding new features directly to the bitcoin blockchain, side chains allow developers to attach new features to a separate string. Since strings are always attached to the bitcoin blockchain, the features can take advantage of cryptocurrency network effects and test these applications, without harming the backbone in the event of a vulnerability.

For this reason, side chains have sparked enthusiasm at first, but they have been the subject of controversy because many fear for the safety of technology.

Even so, some engineers have come up with a parallel version of the technology that is trying to rely on better economic incentives to secure side chains, but some developers remain skeptical about the fact that they are ready to add to the bitcoin network.

But with the NiPoPoW research, skeptics are starting to change their minds.

Mark Friedenbach of Blockstream, who co-wrote the original white paper of sidechains, first proposed in 2014, told CoinDesk:

"This moves the ball significantly over the field."

Securing side chains

The paper helps to advance the idea of ​​side chains without trust, compared to the more centralized type of sidechains – where the movement of funds from a federated sidechain is ruled by a few companies – used today. 39; hui.

While a simple idea, side chains without trust are hard to put into practice.

They rely on a technology called SPV (Simplified Payments Verification), which works like this: to send money to a sidechain and return to the main bitcoin network users must attach proof that they really have funds. Without this evidence, when users or miners bring their money back into the main channel, they could, under certain conditions, take more money than they actually have.

This evidence must do two things before the technology can be added to the bitcoin: one, prevent this kind of theft, and two, be small enough to be able to be sent over the network without l & # 39; increase.

Although so-called "compact SPV evidence" has been proposed, it has been shown to be vulnerable to attacks, which could allow miners to steal money left on side chains.

However, the evidence described in the NiPoPoW document seems to resist these attacks.

"This is the first protocol, to my knowledge, that secures [sidechains] at all", PhD in Cryptography at the University of Athens. The candidate Dionysis Zindros, one of the co-authors of the article, told CoinDesk

He then explained that by "secure", it really meant resistance to double spending, where users or miners could spend their parts more than once.

"It's really a missing piece in the sidechain constructions we fill," Zindros said.

Friedenbach described the change in more technical terms: "This is a big step towards defining a block header commitment structure that allows evidence of log-sized strings." , of the type that one could use in a decentralized implementation of side chains. "

Working in front of

While Friedenbach calls NiPoPoW "good research," he added, there is still work to be done before the technology can be deployed on bitcoin.

This is a recurring theme in the world of cryptocurrency, where developers are careful to make changes to the code still young and new. And while side chains are trying to make the process of testing new features easier and less nerve-wracking, the very implementation of this process will require more thought.

On the one hand, to make side chains safer, many developers believe that merged mining – when miners operate multiple parts at the same time – would be essential.

"There are still important scripting capabilities that would be needed before merged anti-SPV side-chains could be supported on the mainnet bitnet," Friedenbach said.

But there are other concerns around fusion mining that are more important.

"There is also, of course, the non-trivial incentive problem of merged mining and the question of whether such a solution would constitute a decline in safety, given the current state of affairs. of the oligarchic mining industry, "Friedenbach added. ]

In the opinion of many, since the industry depends on the work of some large mining basins, it might be possible for these miners to have significant control over secondary chains, and it is not possible to Is not yet clear whether mining pools would have the power to steal funds.

That said, this piece of the puzzle is exciting for Friedenbach, even though the buzz around the paper has been subjugated.

He concluded:

"This idea deserves more attention."

Disclaimer: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which owns an interest in Blockstream.

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