Cracking the Blockchain Trilemma/Quinlemma
Circular is promoting all the three typical values included in the blockchain trilemma, and addresses all of them together, adding also performance and programmability to the list.
Scalability vs Decentralization
In the early days of the blockchain industry, scalability was a major issue for many of the initial paradigms, which limited their ability to function as a true currency. Transactions were slow and this made them unsuitable for real-time transactions. As a result, some of the leading blockchain projects turned to architectural solutions that prioritized high-performance nodes, but this came at the cost of losing decentralization. This approach led to hardware centralization, where only those who could afford expensive hardware could participate in the validation process.
To address these issues, Circular has developed an innovative architectural infrastructure that is organized into classes of performance. This allows any device, including legacy computers including simple Raspberry Pis, to participate in the validation process and generate revenue.
This approach ensures that anyone can become part of the blockchain ecosystem, regardless of their financial resources or technical expertise. By enabling more people to participate in the network, Circular is promoting decentralization and creating a more inclusive blockchain ecosystem.
Scalability vs Security
The security of blockchain in the web3 paradigm relies on two key factors: decentralization and computational work required for tampering. Decentralization ensures that multiple copies of the blockchain are held by independent parties, making it difficult to tamper with the data. Additionally, the computational work required to tamper with each block adds an extra layer of security. Proof of Stake (PoS) and its derivatives were developed to address security concerns in the blockchain industry by introducing a stake slashing criteria to control node behavior.
However, this approach compromises decentralization as it only allows participants who can immobilize funds to join the network. Some Layer 1 solutions have attempted to mitigate this issue by implementing low staking fees, but this solution may only be effective when the token's value remains low and in general doesn't pose a valuable deterrent against higher value hacks.
Furthermore, PoS sacrifices an important aspect of blockchain security: the computational power needed to secure the data in a block. This computational power, combined with decentralization and chaining, ensures a high level of security. Additionally, PoS penalizes the high-performance computing industry, which has developed GPUs to support the hashing process.
In contrast, Circular takes a different approach by adopting a sustainable and high computational hashing method. It utilizes one node at a time to finalize a block, instead of a competitive mining. This approach offers a robust security standard while prioritizing environmental sustainability. Circular also has the ability to transparently switch cryptographic layers, making it prepared for the emergence of quantum computing.
Security vs Decentralization
Designing a fully decentralized infrastructure inevitably exposes the network to potential security risks. While it's true that anything can potentially be hacked, the best approach is to develop an infrastructure that can detect and mitigate the impact of potential attacks. While reducing the number of validators can improve network performance, it can also expose the network to significant security trade-offs.
To address these challenges, the Circular Consensus mechanism uses a reputation based system to increase or decrease the reputation of nodes based on their behavior, which helps to limit the damage caused by malicious nodes if an attack occurs. Reputation is earned over time and can be decreased if suspicious activities are detected by the algorithm. The overall goal is to offer a mechanism that can exclude a node from the consensus in the event of an attack.
By using a reputation mechanism, Circular Consensus can effectively detect and contain potential attacks while maintaining a high degree of decentralization. This approach strikes a balance between performance and security, ensuring that the network remains resilient against attacks.
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