Elrond | 1000x Throughput | Blazing fast TX speed

[xtester]

We've just updated our OP.

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Elrond is a complete rethinking of public blockchain architecture, solving scalability through adaptive state sharding, efficiency through secure proof of stake, and will enable EVM compliance by design. Elrond attempts to bring a 1000x improvement compared to the current status quo, aiming for 10,000 TPS, low latency, and minimal fees.
 
Abstract: The advent of secure public blockchains through Bitcoin and later Ethereum, has brought forth a notable degree of interest and capital influx, providing the premise for a global wave of permissionless innovation. Despite lofty promises, creating a decentralized, secure and scalable public blockchain has proved to be a strenuous task. This paper proposes Elrond, a novel architecture which goes beyond state of the art by introducing a genuine state sharding scheme for practical scalability, eliminating energy and computational waste while ensuring distributed fairness through a Secure Proof of Stake (SPoS) consensus. Having a strong focus on security, Elrond’s network is built to ensure resistance to known security problems like Sybil attack, Rogue-key attack, Nothing at Stake attack and others. In an ecosystem that strives for interconnectivity, our solution for smart contracts offers an EVM compliant engine to ensure interoperability by design. Preliminary simulations reflect that Elrond exceeds Visa’s average throughput and achieves an improvement of three orders of magnitude or 1000x compared to the existing viable approaches, while drastically reducing the costs of bootstrapping and storage to ensure long-term sustainability. - https://elrond.com/files/Elrond_Whitepaper_EN.pdf

Defining the challenges:

Several challenges must be addressed properly in the process of creating an innovative public blockchain solution designed to scale:

• Full decentralization - Eliminating the need for any trusted third party, hence removing any single point of failure;
• Robust security - Allowing secure transactions and preventing any attacks based on known attack vectors;
• High scalability - Enabling the network to achieve a performance at least equal to the centralized counterpart, as measured in TPS;
• Efficiency - Performing all network services with minimal energy and computational requirements;
• Bootstrapping and storage enhancement - Ensuring a competitive cost for data storage and bootstrapping synchronization;
• Cross-chain interoperability - Enforced by design, permitting unlimited communication between external services.

Starting from the above challenges, we’ve created Elrond as a complete rethinking of public blockchain infrastructure, specifically designed to be secure, efficient, scalable and interoperable. Elrond’s main contribution rests on two cornerstone building blocks:

1) A genuine State Sharding approach: effectively partitioning the chain state into multiple shards, handled in parallel by different participating validators;
2) Secure Proof of Stake consensus mechanism: an improved variation of Proof of Stake (PoS) that ensures long term security and distributed fairness, while eliminating the need for energy intensive PoW algorithms.

Adaptive State Sharding

Elrond proposes a dynamically adaptive sharding mechanism that enables shard computation and reorganizing based on necessity and the number of active network nodes. The reassignment of nodes in the shards at the beginning of each epoch is progressive and nondeterministic, inducing no temporary liveness penalties. Adaptive state sharding comes with additional challenges compared to the static model. One of the key-points resides in how shard-splitting and shard merging is done to prevent overall latency penalties. Latency, in this case, is the communication overhead required by nodes, in order to retrieve the new state, once their shard address space assignment has been modified.
Users are external actors and can be identified by a unique account address; nodes are computers/devices in the Elrond network that run our protocol. Notions like users, nodes, addresses will be further described in chapter II.1 - Entities



Elrond solves this challenge by:

• Dividing the wallet (user)account address space in shards, using a binary tree which can be built with the sole requirement of knowing the exact number of shards in a certain epoch. Using this method, the accumulated latency is reduced and the network liveness is improved in two ways. First, thanks to the designed model, the dividing of the account address space is predetermined by hierarchy. Hence, there is no split overhead, meaning that one shard breaks into two shards, each of them keeping only one half of the previous address space in addition to the associated state. Second, the latency is reduced through the state redundancy mechanism, as the merge is prepared by retaining the state in the sibling nodes.
• Introducing a technique of balancing the nodes in each shard, to achieve overall architecture equilibrium. This technique ensures a balanced workload and reward for each node in the network.
• Designing a built-in mechanism for automatic transaction routing in the corresponding shards, considerably reduces latency as a result. The routing algorithm is described in chapter IV.4 - Elrond sharding approach
• In order to achieve considerable improvements with respect to bootstrapping and storage, Elrond makes use of a shard pruning mechanism. This ensures sustainability of our architecture even with a throughput of tens of thousands of transactions per second (TPS).

Secure Proof of Stake (SPoS)

We introduce a Secure Proof of Stake consensus mechanism, that expands on Algorand’s idea of a random selection mechanism, differentiating itself through the following aspects:

• Elrond introduces an improvement which reduces the latency allowing each node in the shard to determine the members of the consensus group (block proposer and validators) at the beginning of a round. This is possible because the last block’s aggregated signature is used as the randomization factor r. The block proposer is the validator in the consensus group who’s hash of the public key and randomization factor is the smallest. In contrast to Algorand’s approach, where the random committee selection can take up to 12 seconds, in Elrond the time necessary for random selection of the consensus group is considerably reduced (estimated under 100 ms). Indeed, there is no communication requirement for this random selection process, which enables Elrond to have a newly and randomly selected group that succeeds in committing a new block to the ledger in each round. The tradeoff for this enhancement relies on the premise that an adversary cannot adapt faster than the round’s time frame. A further improvement on the security of the randomness source, would be the use of verifiable delay functions (VDFs) in order to prevent any tampering possibilities of the randomness source until it is too late.
• In addition to the stake factor generally used in PoS architectures as a sole decision input, Elrond refines its consensus mechanism by adding an additional weight factor called rating, The node’s probability to be selected in the consensus group takes into consideration both stake and rating. The rating of a block proposer is recalculated at the end of each round epoch, except in cases where slashing should occur, when the actual rating decrease is done instantly, adding another layer of security by promoting meritocracy.
• Elrond uses Bellare and Neven multisignature scheme, which eliminates one communication round in the signing algorithm, because no proof of possession is needed, but maintains the same security level.

FAQ - https://elrond.com/faq

[xtester]

Great project, looking forward  a pleasant cooperation, we want to list you coin on our exchange it is free. A great start, search MXshine! or  marketing@mxshine.com

www.mxshine.com

Thanks for the offer. Will contact you when the time comes.

[xtester]

Useful list of our latest posts:

• YABP (Yet Another Blockchain Primer)
• The Elrond Fellowship — Ambassador Program
• Elrond technical progress update — some talk about it, we build it #3
• Partnership Announcement — Elrond Initiates Cooperation With Leading Payment Provider NETOPIA Payments
  

[dallas_btc]

Hi guys. I found Elrond project on a website that publishes ratings from popular experts: https://topexperts.io/ico/elrond-network
There is a common 5.45/10 score from 13 experts

[xtester]

Hi guys. I found Elrond project on a website that publishes ratings from popular experts: https://topexperts.io/ico/elrond-network
There is a common 5.45/10 score from 13 experts

Thanks for the info. Some of those seem like bad quality filters.

[xtester]

Some perspective on differentiation with other large public blockchains.

More information about this can be found in our paper.

[satb]

Sounds like a very interesting project after reading through your website, whitepapers, blogs.  Particularly like the Team behind this project, and the vision.  I understand there won't be an "ICO", what method could I use to become an investor in this project?

[xtester]

Sounds like a very interesting project after reading through your website, whitepapers, blogs.  Particularly like the Team behind this project, and the vision.  I understand there won't be an "ICO", what method could I use to become an investor in this project?

Thanks for the interest. We are currently preparing for a private seed round and will make some announcements regarding token distribution in December.

[cyberpunkworld]

Hello there, I like your project and would like to get in contact.

Meanwhile I have some questions and hope that you can clear them out for me.
In regard to your Testnet, do you have an estimated time for launch? and what is the desired number of nodes to be achieved in order to show(case) Elrond’s potential for scalability? How many coins are needed for staking? Do you have any documents for testnet? Details on token distribution?

Again, great job, looking forward to seeing more about this project's development.

[xtester]

Hello there, I like your project and would like to get in contact.

Meanwhile I have some questions and hope that you can clear them out for me.
In regard to your Testnet, do you have an estimated time for launch? and what is the desired number of nodes to be achieved in order to show(case) Elrond’s potential for scalability? How many coins are needed for staking? Do you have any documents for testnet? Details on token distribution?

Again, great job, looking forward to seeing more about this project's development.

Glad to have you here.

Q1: Our internal target is that the testnet should be launched sometime around Christmas but there's still lots of work to be done.
Q2: In our prototype, we have run tests with 200 nodes, so in the testnet we intend to scale this considerably. However, we'll have to see how this works in the first release, or if we'll do this only with the second release.
Q3: The precise number has not been decided yet, but we will probably post some of the simulations around the testnet launch to receive some feedback on them.
Q4: Do you mean technical documentation?
Q5: We are discussing some really interesting ideas and should also post some notes on this around the testnet launch. The idea is to create a wider distribution, departing a bit from the simple ICO distribution, to create a way for real supporters to join during the bootstrapping phase even without investing direct money. This will most likely be a combination of several distribution methods.

[xtester]

Elrond’s Design Rationale

Know your enemies, your weaknesses so you can counteract, and you shall prevail during byzantine behavior: https://medium.com/elrondnetwork/elronds-design-rationale-12eb194bf485

[princessjenyz]

There are lot of industry experts as advisors has been attracted in this project. The project is also composed of strong technical team to reach its milestone. Elrond has also professionally crafted and visually pleasant marketing materials, including its pitch deck. Community support in social media is pretty good with 10.6k Telegram members and 1.2k Twitter followers.

[NeuroticFish]

We've just published our first relevant partnership.

Elrond Initiates Cooperation With Leading Payment Provider NETOPIA Payments: https://medium.com/elrondnetwork/partnership-announcement-elrond-initiates-cooperation-with-leading-payment-provider-netopia-223e7c9217b5

I know it's a bit late, but I've just read about this on another newspaper and I have some questions:
1. Netopia already offers Bitcoin payment at a couple of online stores (PC Garage, evoMag, ..) but they are not that many. Will ERD payment be available at a bigger number of online stores?
2. Netopia has quite a fee for Bitcoin payments (inflated price when seen in Bitcoin). Will indeed be no fee for ERD, or I've misunderstood something?
3. Will ERD be available on a bigger number of exchanges?
4. When is all this payment thing planned to go live?

[xtester]

We've just published our first relevant partnership.

Elrond Initiates Cooperation With Leading Payment Provider NETOPIA Payments: https://medium.com/elrondnetwork/partnership-announcement-elrond-initiates-cooperation-with-leading-payment-provider-netopia-223e7c9217b5

I know it's a bit late, but I've just read about this on another newspaper and I have some questions:
1. Netopia already offers Bitcoin payment at a couple of online stores (PC Garage, evoMag, ..) but they are not that many. Will ERD payment be available at a bigger number of online stores?
2. Netopia has quite a fee for Bitcoin payments (inflated price when seen in Bitcoin). Will indeed be no fee for ERD, or I've misunderstood something?
3. Will ERD be available on a bigger number of exchanges?
4. When is all this payment thing planned to go live?

Good questions.

Here is the most important part of the announcement highlighted:
"Elrond and NETOPIA aim to jointly explore the potential of integrating Elrond’s token, ERD, into the NETOPIA payment platform allowing their merchants to offer on their turn to their users and clients the possibility to acquire products and services through ERD tokens as well.

This will also mean that 6,000+ merchants who are using the NETOPIA solutions will be able to accept ERD cryptocurrency overnight, with no development or operational costs on their part."

For reference about Netopia:
"NETOPIA is the biggest electronic payment processor in Romania, expecting to process in 2018 more than 13 million digital transactions with a total value of around $400 Million."

So to answer your questions:
1. This partnership will bring over 6000 online stores where Elrond will be accepted. Lots of other stores and means of using Elrond will come to add on this and will be announced as we advance.
2. There will not be any fee on the development or integration side for the merchants accepting Elrond. I suspect the standard fee will apply for Elrond at first.
3. Definitely. We are already working on this, and will make announcements as conclude discussions with some of the exchanges. The important part is for us to launch the tech, listings will come with that.
4. Payment utility should go live as soon as we launch the token. We expect this to happen sometime in Q1 2019. We're working hard to reach these targets.

[xtester]

New medium post just out: Is Ethereum 2.0 overlooking communication costs?  

"While reviewing Ethereum 2.0’s available documentation, some unaddressed issues and limitations became obvious. This article examines Serenity’s design rationale, highlights some of the identified issues, offers solutions, and in the end contrasts them with our approach at Elrond."

[robro]

These are just a number of online publications where the strategic partnership between Elrond and NETOPIA payments is featured.


Start-up.ro : https://start-up.ro/netopia-si-elrond-parteneriat-blockchain-pentru-o-noua-criptomoneda/

Forbes: https://www.forbes.ro/netopia-payments-este-cel-mai-mare-procesator-de-plati-electronice-de-pe-piata-locala-va-incheia-un-parteneriat-cu-startup-ul-romanesc-elrond-131383

Revistabiz: https://www.revistabiz.ro/disruptie-made-in-romania/

Business magazin: https://www.businessmagazin.ro/actualitate/netopia-payments-anunta-parteneriatul-cu-elrond-startup-ul-romanesc-care-dezvolta-un-nou-blockchain-si-o-noua-criptomoneda-17790211

ZF: https://www.zf.ro/business-hi-tech/netopia-a-incheiat-un-parteneriat-cu-elrond-startup-ul-romanesc-care-dezvolta-un-nou-blockchain-si-o-noua-criptomoneda-17789309

GoanadupaBitcoin: https://goanadupabitcoin.ro/bitcoin-romania/elrond-anunta-parteneriat/

nocash: https://www.nocash.info.ro/companiile-romanesti-testeaza-blockchain-pe-zona-de-plati-netopia-payments-si-startup-ul-elrond-vor-lansa-o-noua-criptomoneda-in-2019/

Orange.ro : https://www.orange.ro/info/news/zf/article/2798746

Startupcafe.ro : https://www.startupcafe.ro/afaceri/magazine-online-netopia-vand-criptomonede.htm

Pescurt.ro : http://pescurt.ro/stiri-economie/netopia-payments-anunta-parteneriatul-cu-elrond,-startup-ul-romanesc-care-dezvolta-un-nou-blockchain-si-o-noua-criptomoneda_18-12-2018_13762045

ultimele striri.eu: https://www.ultimele-stiri.eu/articol/netopia-payments-anunta-parteneriatul-cu-elrond-un-nou-startup-romanesc/4840431

ziar.com: https://www.ziar.com/news=11951836

economie.hotnews.ro: https://economie.hotnews.ro/stiri-it-22873291-magazinele-online-care-folosesc-netopia-vor-putea-vinde-criptomonede.htm#self

[nizamcc]

Maybe your project is promising. But it will be very difficult for you to conduct competitive activities in a crowded market with the same projects. You will need a large infusion of funds into advertising, a large infusion of funds into developers. It's complicated. But I will monitor your progress.

[NeuroticFish]

1. This partnership will bring over 6000 online stores where Elrond will be accepted. Lots of other stores and means of using Elrond will come to add on this and will be announced as we advance.
2. There will not be any fee on the development or integration side for the merchants accepting Elrond. I suspect the standard fee will apply for Elrond at first.
3. Definitely. We are already working on this, and will make announcements as conclude discussions with some of the exchanges. The important part is for us to launch the tech, listings will come with that.
4. Payment utility should go live as soon as we launch the token. We expect this to happen sometime in Q1 2019. We're working hard to reach these targets.

Thanks for the answers. As @nizamcc also said, it will not be easy to succeed. But you seem to be on the right track, especially if you focus on such partnerships. Another tough step would be the expansion in other countries. Good luck!

[xtester]

Maybe your project is promising. But it will be very difficult for you to conduct competitive activities in a crowded market with the same projects. You will need a large infusion of funds into advertising, a large infusion of funds into developers. It's complicated. But I will monitor your progress.

Agree with all your points.

The most important advantage we have is that our technology is very compelling once released. In a market full of empty promises, shipping what we proposed will be an extraordinary feat. We are very close to doing that already.

The funds we will gather will be used to speed up and expand our global presence, but momentum is growing steadily.

If dapps would have a platofrm offering a 1000x improvement in fundamental architecture efficiency today, most of them would migrate instantly.

Still we recognize distribution is also critical for elrond to truly take off. That's why we're working hard on relevant partnerships that will add real utility to our ecosystem. We will continue to announce some of them which are quite exciting.

One more thing: there is also a surprise product we are working on, adding a significant edge to our distribution strategy. But more on that later 

[xtester]

Another tough step would be the expansion in other countries. Good luck!

We are already working on that and have some relevant things to update on as soon as conclusions are reached.

In any case, this is one of the main priorities beyond shipping as fast as possible.