blockchain big data groningen meetup 2017-03-23

What is Blockchain?2017-03-23, Big Data Groningen - IBM Groningen

www.bitcoinproperly.org

http://www.bitcoinproperly.org

Three points

1. Incumbents do not get it

2. Most people talk about ‘blockchain” but don’t get it

3. …

@RonaldMulder en @lykle

The Incumbents don’t get it(they are your clients!)


It is not a regular databaseIt has no regular balances, or state values


I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reaction to technologies:

1.Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.

2.Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.

3.Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.

Douglas Adams - The Salmon of Doubt

1970 20161992 2007200920001988


Most people do not understand what Blockchain is

(that means, you, your client, and their advisors)@RonaldMulder en @lykle

What is this?@RonaldMulder en @lykle

Tone Vays@RonaldMulder en @lykle

Bitcoin - How it worksweeelllll….


Bitcoin• public/private key cryptography

• hashing

• endogenous digital asset (“coin”)

• peer-to-peer, distributed

• permissionless

• proof of work


Public/Private Key Infrastructure(elliptic curve digital signature algorithm)

Bitcoin: transactions@RonaldMulder en @lykle

Transaction Chain@RonaldMulder en @lykle

Bitcoin: Proof of Workdone by Miners


Miner’s incentive

Network1. New transactions are broadcast to all nodes

2. Each node collects new transactions into a block

3. Each node works on finding a difficult proof-of-work for its block

4. When a node finds a proof-of-work it broadcasts the block to all nodes

5. Nodes accept the block only if all transactions in it are valid and not already spent

6. Nodes express their acceptance of the block by working on creating the next block in the chain, using the hash of the accepted block as the previous hash


two chains, actually(in Bitcoin)

Bitcoin has no balancesNo ledger in the traditional sense

Distributed Ledger Technologylike Blockchain, but (totally) different

Bitcoin vs DLT• public/private key

cryptography

• hashing



• permissionless

• proof of work


• public/private key cryptography

• hashing



• permissionless

• proof of work??

Bitcoin vs Ethereum• 10 minute cycle

• Finite amount of coins

• Transaction costs

• hashing: SHA256

• Mining Pools possible

• proof of work

• Transactions

• Stack based Language


• 12 second cycle

• Yearly new coins forever

• “Gas” to charge transactions on complex criteria

• hashing: ethash

• Mining pools not attractive

• proof of work becomes Proof of Stake

• State

• Turing Complete Language

Three points

1. Incumbents do not get it

2. Most people talk about ‘blockchain” but don’t get it

3. …


You STILL do not get it@RonaldMulder en @lykle

Seriously, you don’t

Why is Blockchain hard to understand?

• In the case of Bitcoin, it is at the crossroads of:

• Game Theory

• Cryptography

• Computer networking and data transmissions

• Economic and monetary policies

Gartner Hype Cycle 2016

Build! Fail! Build! Test!Lead the World


Thank You!@thesisone, @lykle, @BTCEvangelist