Gridcoin 4.0-2018 General Roadmap Poll - Proof of Research Blockchain

This is the description and thread for the Gridcoin 4.0-2018 General Roadmap Poll pertaining to using research done to secure the blockchain. You can find the Cryptocurrency Talk thread, which contains information on all polls, here. Any questions asked on this thread should relate only to this poll. Any questions on the Cryptocurrency Talk thread that are related to this poll will be relayed here and vice versa. Please, do not be afraid to ask questions. We want to make sure that everyone understands what they are voting on.

You can find the poll on Gridcoinstats here.

The poll was made by @tomasbrod with address: SFhy5MRyNqVcC2pCtEYeMSULe6wA5SPYMk.

A blockchain is a chain of blocks held on many nodes of the blockchain’s network. A block is a collection of information compiled by a single node of the network and confirmed and accepted by other nodes. There are dozens of protocols that determine which node is given the privilege to compile information into a block. The two most common protocols are Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS). Being given the chance to compile a block is known as “Securing the Network” and is one of the principal technologies behind a blockchain. The network security protocols are ways of decentralizing power. Because a blockchain is nothing more than a series of blocks, and blocks are compiled by nodes on the network, it can be said that whoever compiles the most blocks owns the blockchain. If Bob can compile, or secure, 90% of the blocks, Bob gets to say what information goes into 90% of the blockchain. The purpose of most blockchain security protocols is to distribute that power among many nodes so that no one entity can compile 51% of the blocks.

Currently, Gridcoin uses a Proof of Stake protocol. PoS is common among many blockchains today. It relies primarily on a statistic which any node can easily retrieve from the blockchain and confirm: How many coins does an address have? The number of coins held by an address is known as “Stake.” There are other variables to PoS, such as time, which differ among blockchains, but all PoS blockchains use stake as their principal security statistic. The current PoS protocol used by Gridcoin is known as “Stake V8.”

Gridcoin is a unique blockchain. Most blockchains contain stake as the only clearly defined and confirmable statistic. Gridcoin, on the other hand, contains Stake along with BOINC statistics. Before Stake V8, Gridcoin used these BOINC statistics, which calculate a variable, known as “Magnitude,” to help decide which node is given the privilege of securing a block. Stake V8 was implemented because of a security flaw in that protocol. It may be possible to again use magnitude to secure the blockchain, however it is unknown if this can be done securely.

"Should we continue exploring ways of using research done on BOINC (magnitude) to secure the blockchain?"

-Yes

-No

-Need more information

-Abstain