Will the platform use a federated model or any other in order to find a consensus solution?
All network nodes are decentralized and none of them have priority. It is required to define a
network node that will process the queue of transactions stored at different network nodes. After that, it
must enter a newly generated transaction block into the ledger.
The CREDITS platform uses its own combined protocol to increase the speed of transaction
processing, to provide complete security of data storage, processing and transfer of transactions. The
protocol is based on the calculation of the mathematical function of all ledger transactions, applying the
Proof of Work principles. It accurately determines the storage of the latest up-to-date copy of the ledger
and software at this node (Proof of Capacity), by calculating the checksum of the values of the entire
contents – the hash code. The size of files is determined as well, as the proof that this is the latest,
up-to-date copy and a hash code of the latest transaction recorded in the system.
To become the main network node, the node searches for the value of the hash function that it
calculates based on the last stored ledger. We organize a healthy competitive environment between the
network nodes for the opportunity to become the main node; to generate and store a new ledger.
After calculating the function and obtaining the result, it is sent to all network nodes for
verification. The result contains a timestamp of the calculation and a value based on the calculation of
the function of the ledger files and software. All nodes receive the calculated value, compare the
calculation time allocated for the search for the main network server, verify it and confirm the trust
factor of the node, and also confirm its opportunity to participate in the competition – to become the
main network node.
After receiving approval from all network nodes, a list is formed of nodes that correctly
calculated the value of the function and contains a timestamp. The node that received the correct result
and had it approved in the fastest time, becomes the main network node of the moment.
The SHA-2 algorithm concept is used to calculate the hash sum of the file.
Hash functions of the SHA-2 family are built on the basis of the Merkle-Damgard structure.
The initial message after the addition is divided into blocks, each block is divided into 16 words.
The algorithm passes each message block through a cycle with 64 or 80 iterations (rounds). At each
iteration, 2 words are converted, and the rest of the words define the conversion function. The results of
each block process are summarized. The sum is the hash function value. However, the internal state is
initialized based on the results of the previous block processing. Therefore, it is impossible to
independently process blocks and sum up the results.
