GOCHAIN: The Virtual Block-Train we've been Waiting For
Where I come from, a train is an epic disaster. With the soot coming from its every nook, the heated congestion and its annoying slothfulness, one can only hope that a journey that should end by 10am does not go on till 12noon. Thus, that I see sleek, fast trains as living legends is only justifiable...
No doubt, Ethereum is one virtual train that caught the vision of the future early enough to implement a platform via the blockchain, platform on which several other projects have found a digital habitation for their smart contracts offerings. Tokens, DApps and globally shifty platforms like Cryptokitties rely on the Ethereum network on account of its revolutionary milestones it has covered. But sadly enough, the speed and efficiency of transactions are hardly commensurate with the growing number of projects on the network.
Although, the slow speed of the transactions, ranging from about 13 transactions per second, appears to be the bane of the network, the very hubris putting a barricade on its scalability, the network is facing other obvious challenges of decentralisation, security and an inhumane wastage of energy (these very issues plague Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency). I would like to point out that this does not exactly connote that the Ethereum network is failing; it only suggests that while the network has ignited a train and took off from ground zero, it is high time another train, which in this case, happens to be Gochain steps onto the rail and lead passengers to safety.
And no, it doesn't take too much to fold up one's luggage, tuck it in between one's arm, step down from the tired train of the Ethereum network, into Gochain's VR ultrafast train and slide onto one of its available, cosy seats. Gochain is 100% Ethereum compatible. So, by implication, moving one's already established Ethereum-based project to Gochain is a seamless process. So, right now, I am assuming everyone is on seat and the train is moving already (I am not exactly wrong in this sense, Gochain already has a functional TestNet)...
... 10 (Decentralization IN ITS PUREST FORM)
Fasten your Seatbelts... It's (not) going to be a bumpy ride.
You ever paid any attention to this instruction given by pilots on the verge of a takeoff? Well, this safety measure is a strict injunction handed down to preempt a fast, secure and organic journey. In like manner, Gochain evidently realises that it is impossible to scale beyond the heights attained by the Ethereum network, without first addressing the issue of uneven mining distribution. When it comes to mining activities, the country 'China', alongside her powerful tech moguls, has become a directly, associative collocation, a cliché. And this monopolistic capitalisation, very much, rules out the number one tenet doled out to believers on the inception of several cryptocurrencies. The brains behind Gochain have revealed that they are not in anyway about to trade blames as to what prompted the disillusionment regarding true decentralization. Rather, they have proactively scoured for and found a solution,
What is the next best solution and how do we solve this decentralization problem? Our solution is to take a step back towards the middle, or in this case towards centralization, to take a leap forward in creating the most decentralized solution possible. Sometimes you have to take a step or two back to make a leap forward. We are doing this by changing the consensus algorithm from Proof of Work (POW) to Proof of Reputation (POR). (Gochain Whitepaper).
The Proof of Reputation is an advanced form of the Proof of Authority where individuals act as validators to validate blocks and transactions. They publicly stake their identities to ensure the smooth running of the blocks and in turn get monetary values. For the PoR, companies, rather than individuals, will stake their reputations, in defending and validating the actions performed on Gochain, a standalone blockchain. Evidently, due to the fact that they have more to lose if they cheat the system, they will most likely keep their hands to themselves and not rape the chain. In ensuring decentralisation, 50 corporate validators will first be selected across 50 geographically strategic countries spread out on the ecosystem. With growth comes more validators across the globe and more yes (es) to a truly decentralised, safe and secure blockchain network that will hopefully put a definitive stop to a security breach of such height as the Volkswagen emission scandal.
... 100 (Fast AND FURIOUS)
Ask any racer. Any real racer. It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Wining's winning.
By all means, with the POR checked in green, the altitude of performing transactions will increase by more than a 100 times higher. The drudgery that comes with the erstwhile unreliable consensus algorithm will dissipate under the stratified organisational effectiveness of POR. That's not all. Gochain plans to invest in and deploy data storing and reductive operational mechanisms that hasten the pace of transactions. The incorporation of offline solutions like Plasma and Raiden is bound to fasttrack the already fast mode of smart contracts ran by Gochain.
It is easy enough to talk about how Visa completes about 150 million transactions in a day, and about 56, 000 transactions per second, without giving a thought to the past records of failures, and how only through persistent hard work were they able to set a numeric standard worth aspiring. With the equal tenacity shown by Gochain, whose TestNet are already recording a scaling success of 1300 transactions per second, I do believe that it is only a matter of time before Gochain attains their set goal of "of 13,000 tps or 1000x the speed of Ethereum."
Ok, you got me there. The quote up there? That's some line from the movie, "Fast and Furious(2001)". GoChain is winning already, no doubt. But funny enough, the race has only just started.
... 1000 ( Making a Greenhouse OUT OF A BLOCKCHAIN)
The mere thought of mining, and what is conjured in the mind is a lot of heavyweight machines, hoeing, digging, sweating, screeching, and a whole lot more energy draining down already clogged, parched oases. I used to think mining as a word said with regard to the blockchain was just a crypto slang, some metaphor that indirectly depicted the scampering attempt to earn cryptocurrencies. Well, this was until I read somewhere, sometime that there was nothing abstractly metaphoric about that word, that the inane amount of energy used to power the mining blocks of Bitcoin, Ethereum, other cryptocurrencies and tokens can supply energy to nations upon nations. Upon hearing this matter-of-fact, which was also voiced by The Guardian, in an article that hinged on the bitter truth that Bitcoin "uses as much CO2 a year as 1m transatlantic flights", and how this should be taken as "seriously as a climate threat", my brows became knotted by a tad.
So, it would appear GoChain had envisaged this challenge as a clinging one that must be shaken off. It is in light of this that they have, in their elimination of the PoW, which requires too much computational efforts to keep the bad guys out, have made a green house out of a blockchain. As promised, the energy consumption needed to run smart contracts will be 1000 times more minimal than the Ethereum network. The revolutionary impact of this is immense- countries like Iceland and the other Scandinavian folks who are given to accommodating cryptocurrency investors but are largely worried about what it would do their energy reserve will have their fears assuaged with GoChain. And even in the US, about 1 million households would be better off if the energy used to run Ethereum is well channeled.
Right now, I can only think of one full-handed sleek train running smoothly on bio energy. It's virtual. It's purple or pink (whatever the case). It's GoChain.
Say Hi to the PILOTS
There is an indigenous proverb that holds that there is no smoke without fire (By now, you must be wondering why I can't get enough of the word, smoke. Well no, my house didn't just recently get burnt to the ground). So, the point I am driving at here is that behind the smart invention of the GoChain blockchain is an engine of highly impressive team members revved by Jason Dekker and Travis Reeder. There are lots of male pilots tending to the train to ensure its successful operation. And there is one hostess who is there to smile at passengers, assay their doubts and explain all over again that you are almost as good as being at your destination. She is Brooke Hansen. You can drop off a mail at her desk by looking for the message icon at the far end of the GoChain website.
It is difficult to ignore the widely dispersed rumors about the absence of a CEO for a good period of time, something that is perceived by ICO critics, with a zero level of tolerance, as a bad omen labeling Gochain as a ticking time bomb. My curiosity being piqued, I joined the Telegram group to hear from the horses' mouths themselves, and it didn't take me too long to discover this:
This, being a logical renunciation of the alleged rumour, I do hope that many can put off the dark cape garbed on this emerging blockchain by skeptical critics and truly come to recognise that the revolution we have all been waiting for has stopped by our virtual train stations, in form of Gochain, which is waiting for passengers to book their tickets (or tokens, in this case) and be drifted away from the scaling issues of the Ethereum network, taken through a charted course of place values, and into Glory land.
For all the information you need, you can check out the GoChain Whitepaper, visit their website or join them on Telegram.
This is an entry to the sponsored contest organised by @originalworks. Here is the contest post
gochain2018
Aunty funmi the boss 👊👊
Congratulations! Where are you from if i may ask?