Today we’re launching the Tierion Network. The first service on the network is Chainpoint, a global “proof engine” that lets anyone prove the integrity and timestamp of any data, file, or process.

Chainpoint works by creating a timestamp proof that cryptographically links data to a transaction on a blockchain. Anyone with this proof can verify the data’s integrity and timestamp without relying on a trusted authority.

Early adopters and developers can download our new software and join the network.

Chainpoint Node — run a Node on the Tierion Network

Chainpoint CLI — a command-line tool to create and verify a Chainpoint proof

You can learn more about the Chainpoint protocol at https://chainpoint.org. Developers, be sure to follow Tierion and Chainpoint on Github.

How to run a Chainpoint Node

Developers can find instructions on installing and running a Chainpoint Node on Github. The software should run on any system that supports the Docker and Docker Compose container management tools and meets the minimal hardware requirements.

Hardware

The minimum hardware requirements for running a Node are relatively low. The following is suitable for a Node expecting light traffic:

1GB RAM

1 CPU Core

20GB Hard Disk or SSD

Public IPv4 address

If you are expecting larger volumes of data to be sent to your Node it’s recommended that you scale-up the system resources by adding more RAM and CPU cores. Alternatively, you can scale-out horizontally by running more Nodes.

Operating System

The software has been tested on the following operating systems:

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

macOS Version 10.12.6

Nodes will likely run on other operating systems that support Docker and Docker Compose, but support is not currently provided.

TNT Rewards

Chainpoint Nodes can earn Tierion Network Tokens for providing part of the Tierion Network infrastructure. To be eligible a Node must:

register a unique Ethereum address

maintain a minimum TNT balance for that address

provide public network services

pass all audits and health checks from Tierion Core

have enough credits to send hashes from a Node to Core

The current required minimum TNT balance is 2,500 TNT.

The current required minimum credit balance is 10,800 credits.

The current credit conversion rate is 200 credits per TNT.

The cost to submit a hash to Core is one credit.

These values will be periodically adjusted based on the value of TNT and network activity. Node operators should understand that the network has just launched and is undergoing testing.

Audit & Health Checks

Nodes are audited every thirty minutes. To pass the audit, a Node must be publicly accessible, Node time must be within five seconds of Core time, the Node must have a complete copy of the calendar and valid audit challenge solution, and the minimum credit balance must be maintained. Nodes are required to pass four consecutive audits to be eligible to receive rewards.

Reward Schedule

Rewards are issued every thirty minutes to a Node that passes the eligibility criteria. During the launch phase, the reward per period is 6,537.16 TNT. Ninety-five percent goes to a Node (6,210.30 TNT) and five percent goes to the Core member that paid to anchor the data (326.86 TNT). Tierion is ineligible to receive rewards. If Tierion is selected to anchor, 100% of the reward goes to the Node operator.

Update 9/24/17: Rewards have been turned off while the data collected during the first week of network operations is analyzed. See this post.

How to create and verify a Chainpoint proof

Each Chainpoint Node has an HTTP API. Swagger API documentation is available. Developers can also download and install the Chainpoint CLI.

To create a Chainpoint proof, you first need to generate a hash of your data. We recommended using the SHA256 hash function.

Next, you submit a hash to a Node using the HTTP API or Chainpoint CLI. You can send up to 1000 hashes in each submission. The Node will return a version 1 UUID for each hash submitted. This serves as a handle for retrieving your Chainpoint proof. Within ten seconds, you’ll be able retrieve an updated proof that is anchored to the calendar. Because we wait for six Bitcoin confirmations, it takes approximately 60 - 90 minutes to create a Chainpoint proof that’s fully anchored to Bitcoin.

Learn more at the Chainpoint web site and Github.