first live implementation of the next-gen blockchain – FinTech Futures

The blockchain protocol of open source smart contract took a step forward last week when the first live implementation of its next generation blockchain was released in Rome. Graham Buck relationships.

For an initiative that is just two years old, many expectations have been developed around æternity: a blockchain protocol of open source and smart contracts based on cryptographic peer-to-peer (P2P) decentralized technology. Much of this expectation depends on the ability of its design team to create a decentralized (dapp) application platform that is leaner and faster than that offered by Ethereum.

Aeternity has been described as "a very special project" with the ambition to introduce a proprietary programming language into smart contracts, including the construction of real-world oracles, such as IoT (Internet of Things) sensors combined with other forms input data for smart contracts.

His mission defines the goal as "to enable a truly decentralized sharing economy, based on an ecosystem of applications without trust and an unlimited, rapid and secure exchange of values ​​on a global scale". According to the founder of æternity Yanislav (Yani) Malahov: "Our vision is less focused on technology and more on humanitarianism, with technology representing the tool to get there".

The hopes that the project can achieve its ambitions were encouraged at the end of last month, dubbed "Week of Genesis". Although the company is incorporated into Liechenstein's Pricipality, its team is distributed in several countries. The members gathered in a hillside villa near Frascati, south-east of the Italian capital and near the famous Cinecittà film studios, for the release of Rome, the first live implementation of the new generation blockchain.

Æternity describes the version of Rome as "a crucial moment in the history of the project, leaving the first users, developers and miners for the first time to test and build on a live version of their decentralized network", adding that as an open source, decentralized project , can only be initiated by the consent of the community.

Journalists present at the launch were also invited to participate in a brainstorming session to set priorities for the following year, in which compatibility with other blockchain protocols was suggested as the main objective.

The exit of Rome was long awaited, having originally been scheduled for the end of July. It offers a range of technology solutions that address blockchain scalability and allow developers to create decentralized applications in Sophia, the functional programming language developed by æternity. The three declared core objectives of the platform are to provide "unparalleled productivity, transparent governance and global scalability", along with a consensus mechanism that offers maximum efficiency and cost savings.

Vladislav Dramaliev, head of marketing and community, defines "the middle ground" between Ethereum and Bitcoin, emphasizes that "it is not just our project, it is everyone's project – unlike others out there that are less guided by the community, as they are dominated by a strong leader ".

Explain that the delay in the release of Rome reflects the additional work involved in incorporating into the æternity protocol the consent mechanism of Bitcoin Next Generation (BitcoinNG) developed by the Cornell University Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts, alias IC3, as suggested by the co-director of the IC3 Emin Sirer.

"Including BitcoinNG has somewhat slowed our progress, but we are the first proof-of-work blockchain platform (PoW) to include this consensus mechanism," says Dramaliev. "It's exciting for both us and the kids at IC3, who can see that their ideas have been incorporated"

The underlying value token of Æternity, the AE token, is transferable between members and is used to compensate for participant nodes for any number of calculations performed. All AE token users can participate in the governance of the æternity blockchain through a voting process, weighted by the number of tokens that the user holds.

A four-phase project

Last month, just before the publication of Rome, the haternity began the first phase of the migration of token AE from Ethereum to the block Genesis of the blockchain. The toternity migration to the main network is a four-step process for a period of ten months until next September. With phase 0 completed in a period of ten days in mid-late November, phase 1 should end in February 2019, phase 2 next May and the third and last phase by next September, after which the token Ethereum AE will cease to be transferable.

"Initially we wanted to use the same encryption as Ethereum, but reconsidered because of the ease of copying and phishing," says Executive Director Emin Mahrt. "We really wanted to avoid the risk of people losing tokens.

"In the end, we decided that we had to go through the long and boring path that allowed us to integrate the tokens into the blockchain without any controversy.After completing phase 0, phase 1 should see 80% of tokens migrate . "

The design and launch of a new cryptocurrency platform is a complex process. "Yani had clear ideas about how the system should be implemented and sought to provide a solid foundation that could not only address current problems, but also those that could arise in the future," says Dramaliev.

"The goal was to provide users with everything they needed within the program, so it would not be necessary to download more applications from elsewhere, which resulted in a well-crafted technology package addressing both current and future issues. to the blockchain ".

However, the launch of the Roma is accompanied by a note of caution that emphasizes that "internality" is "a work in progress" and the initial version is potentially vulnerable to attack and instability.

"As in the case of public releases and hardfunks, there is a period of time necessary for the mining power to accumulate, stabilize and decentralize", a statement released by the team's precautions. "Despite all the simulations we have performed, a public and live blockchain can really be tested in battle in the wild.It is possible that the code imperfections will manifest and cause interruptions.

"We believe it is very important to communicate clearly and transparently with the community on network security: transactions can currently be done using the command line only to allow technically savvy users to use the network. less savvy Internet users will be available in the next few weeks, although we believe the network will be stable, caution is important at this time. "

According to Dramaliev: "We aim to hunt any harmful miner in the next two months, but this depends on the other members of the community who support our efforts".

There is a further caution for early adopters of Rome that it is highly probable that the bugs have to be eliminated from the community through continuous testing and network monitoring. "At this early stage, we recommend taking a cautious approach to transferring tokens between accounts," the team advises. "Despite these warnings, we are confident that Rome is a stable and secure release."

The goal of the æternity team was to address the various obstacles on the way to mass adoption of blockchain technology. "At this stage, the most decentralized solutions have not yet become very scalable," comments Dramaliev. "This creates fragmentation and the goal is to have a single decentralized system, over time, specialization will be established and some blockchain platforms will disappear.

"Our team has the ability to develop the platform for a wide range of business use cases that are easy to use for businesses as they are for the individual." The range of applications that can be created on æternity includes nano and micro payments, supply chain management, information markets and multiplayer video games.

"We want to see the lines of corporate blurring and an Internet of Value emergence where it is much easier to use the whole ecosystem through interoperability, which means removing the barriers that currently separate different blockchains," adds Dramaliev.

"It is a pity that there is not a greater degree of collaboration between the various blockchain projects under development, but the sector has too many crazy and dominant personalities who have strong technical opinions".