Author: Sophia Brown
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” Alan Kay January 3rd 2009 marked the beginning of a new era. The invention of the blockchain is a milestone in technology — the string of characters 36PrZ1KHYMpqSyAQXSG8VwbUiq2EogxLo2 being just one of the side effects triggered by it. Thanks to you and this technology, more than thirty one thousand bitcoins will go towards spawning an entire new digital realm. The unfettered peer to peer world wide digital finance grid is building itself out. You make this possible. More than 5000 years ago, the earliest economic systems were introduced in Mesopotamia,…
Over the next few weeks, I am going to make a series of posts that is going to be a large overview of the possibilities for scalability of Ethereum, intending to create a precise understanding of the problems at bay in implementing a scalable cryptocurrency infrastructure, and where the least-bad tradeoffs and sacrifices required to solve those problems might lie. As a general outline of the form that this series is going to take, I intend to first discuss the fundamental problem with Ethereum 1.0 as it stands, as well as every other cryptocurrency platform in existence, and introduce limited…
Special thanks to Vlad Zamfir and Zack Hess for ongoing research and discussions on proof-of-stake algorithms and their own input into Slasher-like proposals One of the hardest problems in cryptocurrency development is that of devising effective consensus algorithms. Certainly, relatively passable default options exist. At the very least it is possible to rely on a Bitcoin-like proof of work algorithm based on either a randomly-generated circuit approach targeted for specialized-hardware resitance, or failing that simple SHA3, and our existing GHOST optimizations allow for such an algorithm to provide block times of 12 seconds. However, proof of work as a general…
Who are you? I’m Gav – together with Jeffrey Wilcke and Vitalik Buterin, I’m one third of the ultimate leadership of Ethereum ÐΞV. ÐΞV is a UK software firm that is under a non-profit-making agreement with the Ethereum Foundation to create version 1.0 of the Web Three software stack. We three directors—who are ultimately responsible that the software is built and works—are the same three developers who designed and implemented the first working versions of the Ethereum clients. ÐΞV is geographically split between London (where our comms operation is based) and Berlin (which hosts the main hub of ÐΞV). Though…
Special thanks to Vlad Zamfir, Chris Barnett and Dominic Williams for ideas and inspiration In a recent blog post I outlined some partial solutions to scalability, all of which fit into the umbrella of Ethereum 1.0 as it stands. Specialized micropayment protocols such as channels and probabilistic payment systems could be used to make small payments, using the blockchain either only for eventual settlement, or only probabilistically. For some computation-heavy applications, computation can be done by one party by default, but in a way that can be “pulled down” to be audited by the entire chain if someone suspects malfeasance.…
An important and controversial topic in the area of personal wallet security is the concept of “brainwallets” – storing funds using a private key generated from a password memorized entirely in one’s head. Theoretically, brainwallets have the potential to provide almost utopian guarantee of security for long-term savings: for as long as they are kept unused, they are not vulnerable to physical theft or hacks of any kind, and there is no way to even prove that you still remember the wallet; they are as safe as your very own human mind. At the same time, however, many have argued…
Well… what a busy two weeks. I thought it about time to make another update for any of you who might be interested in how we’re doing. If you don’t already know, I’m Gavin, a founder of Ethereum and one of the three directors (alongside Vitalik and Jeffrey) of Ethereum ÐΞV, the development entity building Ethereum and all the associated technology. After doing some recruitment on behalf of DEV in Bucharest with the help of Mihai Alisie and the lovely Roxanna Sureanu I spent the last week at my home (and coincidentally, the Ethereum HQ) in Zug, Switzerland. During this…
I thought it was about time I’d give an update on my side of things for those interested in knowing how we’re doing on the Dutch side. My name is Jeff, a founder of Ethereum and one of the three directors (alongside Vitalik and Gavin) of Ethereum ÐΞV, the development entity building Ethereum and all the associated tech. Over the past months I’ve been been looking for a suitable office space to host the Amsterdam Hub. Unfortunately it takes more work than I initially anticipated and have got nothing to show for so far. I’ve past on this tasks to my…
Hi, I’m Stephan Tual, and I’ve been responsible for Ethereum’s adoption and education since January as CCO. I’m also leading our UK ÐΞV hub, located at Co-Work in Putney (South West London). I feel really privileged to be able to lead the effort on the communication strategy at ÐΞV. For the very first time, we’re seeing the mainstream public take a genuine interest in the potential of decentralisation. The feeling of excitement about what ‘could be’ when I first read Vitalik’s whitepaper on that fateful Christmas afternoon is now shared by dozens of thousands of technologists, developers and entrepreneurs. Thanks to the Ether…
Special thanks to Robert Sams for the development of Seignorage Shares and insights regarding how to correctly value volatile coins in multi-currency systems Note: we are not planning on adding price stabilization to ether; our philosophy has always been to keep ether simple to minimize black-swan risks. Results of this research will likely go into either subcurrencies or independent blockchains One of the main problems with Bitcoin for ordinary users is that, while the network may be a great way of sending payments, with lower transaction costs, much more expansive global reach, and a very high level of censorship resistance,…