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We completely agree with you that, in general, you don't want to attempt to create an entirely new consensus mechanism. As you know, there are generally only 2

We completely agree with you that, in general, you don't want to attempt to create an entirely new consensus mechanism. As you know, there are generally only 2 (perhaps 3) broad categories of byzantine tolerant consensus that boil down to PBFT and Nakamoto consensus. Ours is a flavor of PBFT designed to reduce message complexity. We also draw from Casper in order to get the incentives and game theory right which would not be considered part of the consensus algorithm traditionally, but must be considered in the DLT space. We're not really reinventing the wheel but rather adapting some interesting research to new problem set (which is consensus, without total ordering). We also plan on fully vetting and formally verifying our implementation before we move into production.

davidgerard 8y ago
So what's your system's threat model? What will this achieve that a centralised database and existing legal structures and agreements won't? (Assume I know the area and you can go into depth. However, remarkable claims will need a production system - anyone can and does claim anything's coming in "six months, for sure" - and an explanation of how you've achieved something that your many, many competitors haven't.)
lifty 8y ago
There is a new consensus algorithm called Avalanche, which apparently starts a new, 3rd category. You can read the white paper here: https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmUy4jh5mGNZvLkjies1RWM4YuvJh5o2FYopNPVYwrRVGV https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmUy4jh5mGNZvLkjies1RWM4YuvJh5o2FYopNPV...
- tobowers 8y ago
  Absolutely. That’s the “perhaps 3” part of the above. Avalanche is really interesting. Can’t wait to see Ava.
- Geee 8y ago
  From a quick glance, isn't this somewhat similar to what Nano is doing? Nano does balance-weighed voting on conflicting blocks via gossip until the network arrives at consensus. https://nano.org/en/whitepaper https://nano.org/en/whitepaper
- nybble41 8y ago
  Avalanche looks interesting, but there doesn't seem to be anything in the white paper to suggest how they plan to deal with Sybil attacks. Their safety guarantees are dependent on the number of Byzantine nodes in the network, but what prevents a single attacker from simulating a large number of independent nodes (e.g. with VMs, or a botnet) and exceeding that limit? Can a minority of correct nodes continue to function safely despite a hostile Byzantine majority?

davidgerard 8y ago

So what's your system's threat model? What will this achieve that a centralised database and existing legal structures and agreements won't? (Assume I know the area and you can go into depth. However, remarkable claims will need a production system - anyone can and does claim anything's coming in "six months, for sure" - and an explanation of how you've achieved something that your many, many competitors haven't.)

lifty 8y ago

There is a new consensus algorithm called Avalanche, which apparently starts a new, 3rd category. You can read the white paper here: https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmUy4jh5mGNZvLkjies1RWM4YuvJh5o2FYopNPVYwrRVGV https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmUy4jh5mGNZvLkjies1RWM4YuvJh5o2FYopNPV...

tobowers 8y ago
Absolutely. That’s the “perhaps 3” part of the above. Avalanche is really interesting. Can’t wait to see Ava.
Geee 8y ago
From a quick glance, isn't this somewhat similar to what Nano is doing? Nano does balance-weighed voting on conflicting blocks via gossip until the network arrives at consensus. https://nano.org/en/whitepaper https://nano.org/en/whitepaper
nybble41 8y ago
Avalanche looks interesting, but there doesn't seem to be anything in the white paper to suggest how they plan to deal with Sybil attacks. Their safety guarantees are dependent on the number of Byzantine nodes in the network, but what prevents a single attacker from simulating a large number of independent nodes (e.g. with VMs, or a botnet) and exceeding that limit? Can a minority of correct nodes continue to function safely despite a hostile Byzantine majority?