On July 26th 2019, BitMax hosted AMA with Danny Rowshandel, Managing Director Global Business Development at High Performance Blockchain, on their telegram just two days after they announced a listing of HPB onto their exchange.

This is a summary of all questions an answers.

BitMax admin: Lets start with a quick introduction about HPB Danny

Danny: High Performance Blockchain (HPB) is a permissionless public blockchain protocol, where developers and enterprises can deploy smart contracts and decentralized applications. HPB is the first and still the only public blockchain that has combined a customized hardware chipset with high-performance blockchain software.

By creating a unique solution, we have been able to provide greater network security, accelerate data throughput on the blockchain, and provide additional functionalities to developers.

With our platform we aim to address the performance requirements of distributed and decentralized applications (DApps), such as IoT ecosystems, meeting real world business needs of reducing network congestion and confirmation times.

Q1: What is the current tps of hpb and future targets?

HPB’s current actual TPS lies between 5000–10000 Transactions Per Second, depending on the active nodes, network concurrency, server latency etc. Our team is currently optimizing the network to reach a stable performance of 10K TPS.

Q2: Danny, can you tell us how the random number generator on the Blockchain Offload Engine works? Is any other team working with both hardware and software?

Excellent questions.

Question 1:

Our BOE chipset consists of multiple FPGA Chips that are configured to exercise a certain function through VHDL language. These chips are heterogeneous in functionality and thus work differently than chipsets which are only able to perform one function.

In our system random numbers are generated through FPGA chips and sensory bodies that are configured to register voltage and temperature differences. Our chips are able to continuously measure those differences at extremely levels of sensitivity. For instance, our board detects a variance of 0.00001 volt, and based on this seeds a new random number.

This technology allows us to create true random numbers, which are highly secure and cannot be altered by malicious parties. Other blockchain projects make use of software random generation which are deterministic and have potential security risks as they are based on algorithms, which can be breached by skillful coders.

The potential use cases for hardware random number generation are endless. Any situation where we need to ensure impartiality we can implement hardware random number generation. You can think of gambling games, lotteries, online games etc. In software random number generation there is a chance that a third-party influences the final results. However, with the HPB hardware random number generator, the random number is non-deterministic and the results can be audited.

Question 2:

HPB is the first and still the only public blockchain project that has designed and manufactured a dedicated hardware chipset to enhance blockchain infrastructure performance and consensus algorithm. Our hardware chipset, the Blockchain Offload Engine (BOE), fundamentally changes the manner in which data is throughput in a blockchain system and how nodes interact with each other. Moreover, through the hardware random number generator that is embedded on the board, it can also provide additional functionalities to developers.

I would like to highlight that our chipset is different from conventional mining machines typically used for Bitcoin mining, or hardware devices built by other projects such as Skycoin. Traditional mining rigs are used for blockchain projects that are built on a PoW consensus mechanism, where its sole function is to accelerate the process of solving computation problems that chain together the blocks of transactions.

The HPB — BOE on the other hand is much more advanced. The BOE has the ability to encrypt data, randomize block structures, and support encrypted virtual machines. It is developed from the perspective of creating an integrative network, improving performance and security. Some key benefits include: 1) greater data throughput (high TPS), 2) greater data security by creating two layers of security through hardware and software, 3) reducing the cost of maintaining the network, and 4) true data structure randomization by using a hardware random number generator.

Q3: Do you know any other projects trying to solve the blockchain trilemma with a hardware solution?

As far as I know, we are still the only project which has taken this approach.

Q4: What does HPB think is the biggest obstacle for adoption?

The biggest challenge for adoption is that we have to educate the public and enterprises about the benefits of blockchain technology, and how it fits in within legacy systems. In order to overcome this obstacle, we have to build plug-n-play solutions, where developers and business people do not even realize that they are working with blockchain. Similarly to using the internet, most users do not know the intricacies of HTML or other programming languages. For blockchain to get real widespread adoption, we have to reach that same level.

Q5: Why should Enterprises build a dApp/solution on HPB and not on an other platform? Which companies do you already have on board who are/want developing/develop a dApp?

Q1: I believe that three elements are important: usability, security, and throughput. In order to provide proper support to enterprises and developers I believe that the benefits from our hardware (acceleration, security and added functionality) need to be combined with strong middleware support. Middleware is the connecting bridge, linking traditional systems with the underlying blockchain. It enables both businesses and corporations to quickly build DApps onto our chain.

No blockchain knowledge is needed, we can provide plug-n-play solutions: third-parties do not need to bother with creating blockchain wallet accounts or smart contracts etc. We are able to provide an interface that is intuitive to traditional developers.

Our team has developed middleware solutions that can be applied in various industries, including: food industry, finance, manufacturing, data management, and education. Depending on the potential partner’s requirements and legacy systems, we of course might have to make some adjustments, but implementation should generally not be a problem.

Q2:Some of the companies that we are currently working together with include: UnionPay, Shanghai Youwan and its network companies, and Prophet.

Q6: HPB is the first and still the only public blockchain that has combined a customized hardware chipset with high-performance blockchain software. Does this mean every node running in the blockchain will have to use customized hardware?

Yes, every node that is maintaining the HPB Network must make use of our customized hardware. Our hardware is distributed to each node holder for free

Q7: Did you have some plan to create a plateform to make ico or create easily tokens on HPB network ?

We are currently not planning to create a new ICO platform or exchange. It is already posible to create tokens on the HPB Network. For those that are familiar with creating ERC-20 tokens, it should be intuitive to also launch your token on the HPB Mainnet.

Q8: Who do you consider a competitor for HPB?

This question can be observed from two angles. First, in terms of market acquisition, I consider every other public chain to be our competitor, because we are all trying to attract DApps and enterprises to make use of our technology. However, from a product perspective, I do not believe we have any competitor, because there is simply no other project which provides a similar value proposition as HPB.

Q9: When did HPB started R&D of BOE hardware? How long did it take to develop BOE?

R&D for the BOE hardware already started in 2016. We finished manufacturing the first batch of BOEs around mid 2018.

Q10: Does HPB allow interoperability or is there a plan to?

Not yet, but we are working on creating full interoperability with Ethereum. At this moment we are also testing with other chains.

Q11: Danny, how did HPB find themselves as the only Blockchain project as a sitting member of World Bank’s SME Finance Forum? How will this partnership benefit HPB in the future?

Q1: Since the inception of HPB our CEO and other members of our founding team already had strong connections with various policy makers, and have been influential in informing them about blockchain technology, its potential use cases etc. Our CEO, Xiaoming Wang, is one of the top blockchain pioneers in China, and has co-authored multiple books on blockchain. His input is very much valued.

Q2: Through this partnership, HPB is linked to global policy-making networks such as the World Bank, OECD, APEC etc. Simultaneously, it gives us access to a network of global SMEs to understand their business challenges and explore how blockchain could boost their operations.

Q12: HPB have launched a series of blockchain courses on the largest chinese It educational platform. Will those courses also be avilable in english (or other languages) by time?

We are definitely looking into offering English and other language course materials in the future. As an aspiring leader in the blockchain space, we believe that educating as many people as possible about this technology is very important for the development of our industry and for the betterment of society.

Q13: When extreme marketing?

I am not sure what your definition of extreme marketing is. But I can confidently say that HPB will keep building new products, and try its utmost best to expand its ecosystem, and reach throughout the globe. We will definitely not sit still, and we won’t stay quiet about our achievements.

Q14: You just told us you are working with Unionpay which is a very big company (bigger than Visa and Mastercard combined), what do you do exactly for them? How can they benefit from a dApp on HPB and how does its progression looks like right now?

Q1 + Q2: UnionPay and HPB are working together to develop a tailored system to improve UnionPay’s big data management. The platform enables a network of users, primarily financial institutions, to more conveniently, efficiently and securely distribute data to each other. Most financial insitutions still store data, such as loan contracts and payments, physically or on outdated systems. Blockchain technology can be implemented here to enhance data storage and security. At the same time, we are working on mitigating potential fraud by making use of digital identity technology and traceability solutions.

Q3: We are currently tested the DApp in a secured network, to see whether all parties can reap the benefits that this system provides. Once we deem the system sufficiently stable, we will publicly launch the DApp on our public chain. At the first stage it will only be accessible to big institutions, however we do have plans to potentially expand this, and also involve regular consumers into the system through a mobile app.

Q15: HPB is more oriented enterprise adoption or public adoption for now from your opinion?

I would say that we are equally focusing on both, because we feel both are very important for the long-term viability of HPB.

Q16: Hi Danny, are you able to discuss any movement with regard to the MOU with UK-Government backed accelerator DLT Lab here in London, has there been any progress with this partnership? And are there any other activities / initiatives for here in the UK (if so what timeframe)?

At this moment our team’s priority is to expand our ecosystem and business relations in Korea and South-East Asia. Therefore, we are currently not actively involved yet in the UK market. But I can say that we communicate frequently, and we are likely to expand upon this partnership later this year. We have discussed and made plans to organize hackathons and incubator spaces to support promising companies and applications. Our goal is to do this from different perspectives: financially, business support, and tech support.

Q17: Besides the advantages you have already mentioned such as combo of hardware/software what would you consider to be an important overlooked point with HPB that will set it apart from the many platforms out there that many may not be aware of?

The important overlooked point is that HPB’s technology is vastly different from any other project in the space. Our entire blockchain network runs in a vastly different manner than other projects. Our consensus algorithm for instance is not Proof of Work (PoW) or Proof of Stake (PoS), we have our own consensus mechanism which we call Proof of Performance (PoP), where we next to staking, also consider node location, server and network speed.

I would say that our system is more complex than conventional blockchain projects.

Q18: Is there any benefit for hpb holders in mobile wallets?

Are we expecting unionpay smart data tracebilty to launch on hpb any time this year?

What should we expect from hpb in the last USA tour including visiting coin Base office and many others is there anything to share about that visit.

Q1: I assume that by benefits, you mean passive income streams. At this moment we do not provide this. In the future we may implement campaigns that allow you to win HPB rewards for a period of time. Moreover, we are also discussing different mechanisms to provide incentives to users who participate in our quarterly node election voting process. This however, is still yet up to debate among the team.

Q2:Yes, we expect a first release later this year.

Q3:Besides creating awareness for HPB in the North-American market, our visit to the States also allowed us to establish communication ties with big international corporations such as Facebook, Dropbox and Western Digital. We will continue to maintain those relations, and explore cooperation possibilities.

Q19: Danny, you already are an honorable member of #WangGang (of course), but what is your highscore in the WangGang game? http://game.myhpbwallet.com/

Haha, I am terrible at the game, it is really hard! I believe I only managed to get 5 points upto now.

Q20: We know now that combining hardware and software to the blockchain architecture allows to add more components to the blockchain, but why should it be done in a hardware-related manner, why not just implementing extra components/elements into the software code? So, in other words, what makes it necessary to add a hardware-chipset?

Scaling and optimizing through software has its limits. The recent lack of progress in leading projects such as Ethereum have made this evidently clear. In order to reach new technological advancements, we have to look at its infrastructure. When we want to improve gaming graphics, we also upgrade our video graphics, the same logic applies to blockchain.

Q21: What is your take on the gigantic difference in Bitmax`s reported and adjusted volume on coinmarketcap? Maybe Cao can chip in?

When we look at coinmarketcap, almost every single exchange has a significant difference between reported and adjusted volume. These difference arise due to different reasons, including: difference in methodologies, difference in technology used, and potential wash trading.

Nontheless, our team has observed that the Bitmax exchange is developing rapidly and continuously introduces novel products to enhance user experience. Therefore, I am confident that this partnership will help both our platforms to evolve to the next level.

Q22: What are your explanation or your deduction on the price and the marketcap at this level? Some theorie to expose ?

There are many variables that can include price. I could provide a myriad of potential explanations, but it is not very useful to speculate here.

All I can say is that I feel that HPB is currently undervalued in the market, and that our team will continue to work hard to improve our product and boost public awareness.

Q23: What should we expect going forward for HPB? Where do you see HPB in 2 years from now?

In the short-term, from a business perspective, you can expect us to be increasingly more active in Korea and the South-East Asian market. We will keep attending and hosting events there. From a technological perspective, we will aim to boost our TPS, enhance our security, and provide additional functionalities to developers and enterprises. Our hardware random number generator will be key here, and we expect to launch its functional use for developers within 2 months.

In 2 years, I hope that HPB is among the global market leaders in blockchain. Our team will do its best to create better products, improve communication with the community, and create new use-cases for blockchain technology.

Danny: On the behalf of the entire HPB team, I would like to express that we are delighted to start working together with Bitmax.

Thank you everyone for asking excellent questions! Looking forward to chatting with you the next time!