Ann: Aleph Zero. Peer-reviewed Consensus Protocol. DAG. Fast and Efficient aBFT. Free Value Transfers. Decentralized. Fast Finality. Scalable. Leaderless. Randomness Beacons. Smart Contracts. Open Source.
PurposeThe Aleph Zero Foundation is developing a platform based on a peer-reviewed consensus protocol based on a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) that solves the blockchain trilemma. It has been theorized that it is highly difficult for any distributed ledger protocol to simultaneously satisfy three distinct properties—scalability, decentralization, and security—without introducing some levels of trade-off to at least one of them. Aleph Zero solves each of these issues and does so with minimal sacrifice.
Our SolutionScalability and Speed: By using a DAG as an intermediate data structure before constructing a proper blockchain, the protocol allows for many blocks to be created concurrently. It is the only known atomic broadcast protocol (i.e., protocol constructing a chain of previously unordered transactions), that is proven to finalize in a constant number of rounds, even in a very harsh, asynchronous network conditions. Additionally, due to its optimal (constant) communication complexity, it is able to achieve very high transaction throughput even with nodes running on mid-range computers.
We observed
nearly 100,000 TPS with 20 second validation time in our Proof-of-Concept code in
Python. This code has been released under LGPL, and we invite you to independently verify our claims. You can find it here:
https://github.com/alephzerofoundation/Proof-of-ConceptWe
did not use shards, sidechains, or parallel chains to achieve these numbers. These are purely layer 1 numbers (using our Proof-of-Concept).
Decentralization: Aleph protocol scales linearly with a number of operating nodes meaning that it is easily capable of running with hundred of validators even without the second layer concepts such as sharding and committee swaps. The fixed committee size we used in the Proof-of-Concept was 128 nodes in 8 different AWS regions across 5 continents.
Moving forward, we will randomly choose a fixed set of committee members to participate in the protocol for a small period of time from a much larger pool of potentially hundreds of thousands of validators. The random selection will be proportional to a node’s stake-weight which includes delegated, or leased, amounts.
Such a protocol allows for an arbitrary number of network validators to participate in the random selection of a term-limited committee. After a committee’s term has ended, a new committee is automatically elected, and the process repeats indefinitely. This solution is not yet implemented in our Python Proof-of-Concept, however, it will be live in the upcoming alfanet Golang implementation.
Security: The Aleph Zero protocol is proven to be an asynchronous, Byzantine fault tolerant protocol. Asynchrony is the harshest network condition, where a malicious attacker is assumed to be capable of arbitrarily delaying any message sent across the network before the message is eventually received.
For more information, see our peer-reviewed whitepaper proving all of the above claims, that will be published in the proceedings of Advances in Financial Technology ‘19. You can find the pre-print version of the article here:
https://arxiv.org/abs/1908.05156.
Other Core FeaturesOPEN-SOURCE ~ We believe in open science and the strength and innovation that come from open-source technologies.
FREE VALUE TRANSFER TRANSACTIONS ~ Simple value transfers or peer-to-peer coin swaps are free. More complex transactions that use smart contracts are not (but still cheap!).
OFF-CHAIN COMPUTED SMART CONTRACTS ~ Customize functionality for automation and programmable contracts designed in a way that provides both high scalability and high level of privacy.
FAST STATE SYNCHRONIZATION ~ Full nodes joining the network for the first time do not need to replay the entire transaction history. Rather, the network provides a smaller proof regarding the state of the ledger.
THE ‘COMMON WALLET’~ Using advanced cryptography, exchange your Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other supported digital assets on a non-custodial peer to peer decentralized exchange.
The foundationTo assure and oversee the development of the Aleph Zero protocol, a non-profit Swiss foundation has been established. The Aleph Zero Foundation has been founded to further the development of the Aleph Zero protocol and the related technologies, as well as the support of applications using the Aleph Zero protocol.
The aim is to encourage more scientific methods and interpretive standards for the DLT domain as a whole. That includes—but is not limited to—establishing standard methods of measurement for metrics of performance and encouraging an open discourse about the limitations and benefits of DLT. Furthermore, The Aleph Zero team desires to increase both academic interest in the field and public trust in the technology's readiness for mass adoption. Moreover, our goal is to promote and educate the public on decentralized software architectures, distributed ledger technologies, and consensus protocols, with a dominating but not exclusive focus on the Aleph Zero consensus protocol.
The foundation is under the direct supervision of the ESA, which not only will ensure that all resources will be allocated wisely, but that all development is in accordance with the purpose of the Foundation.
TeamBoth the research and development of the technology is done by the Team at Cardinal Cryptography — operated in Krakow, Poland, but with team members in several other European countries as well as America. We’re driven by principles set forth by giants in the open-source ecosystem, like Mozilla, Linux, and Ethereum, and our number one priority is giving the ownership of the internet back to society at large.
Our team is ever-growing, but currently (as of Sep. 2019) consists of 17+ people ranging from scientists, developers and marketers, with previous prestigious accomplishments such as 5 Math and Computer Science PhD’s, several postdocs, a receiver of the Paul Bruckman Prize and the first prize in International Mathematics Competition, a ACM ICPC World Finalists — the World’s most prestigious programming competition; and a Simons-Berkeley Research Fellow — which is intended for exceptional young scientists, and more. Our team similarly have a lot of working experience within large companies and institutions, such as: IBM, ABB, Stellar, Codewise, Capgemini, ING Bank, UC-Berkeley, Jagiellonian University, Simons Institute, Tsinghua University and Copenhagen University.
Communication & Contact informationSite -
http://alephzero.orgBlog -
https://alephzero.org/blogTwitter -
https://twitter.com/Aleph__ZeroTelegram -
https://t.me/AlephZeroFoundationCommon -
https://getcommon.comFacebook -
https://www.facebook.com/AlephZeroFoundation/Linkedin -
https://www.linkedin.com/company/alephzero/Medium -
https://medium.com/aleph-zero-foundationEmail -
hello@alephzero.org
