A Crash Course on the Utility of Gridcoin
The Idea
Gridcoin seeks to build a sustainable digital asset prioritizing distributed processing on the open source platform, BOINC.
Let’s break that down.
The Block Chain and Proof of Work
Math based digital assets, or Cryptocurrency, are assets that operate using a technology known as the Blockchain. Essentially, a blockchain operates by compiling an open ledger of transactions, known as a Block. These blocks are constantly being created, reviewed, confirmed, and added onto one another, thereby creating a chain of blocks. Many assets, such as Bitcoin, create and maintain their blockchains through a protocol called Proof of Work (PoW). The PoW protocol utilizes computing power to solve complex puzzles that confirm the transactions in the block are accurate and secure. This act is known as Mining and it can be done with any type of computer processor. If a miner solves a puzzle, the block to which the puzzle belonged is added to the blockchain and the miner is rewarded. The rate at which a computer solves these puzzles is call the Hash Rate and the size of the reward is determined by a mathematical formula governed by parameters that can be changed, should the politics of the asset choose.
The World’s Largest Super Computer
Essentially, digital assets operating through Proof of Work are collections of individuals networking their computing power to form a decentralized supercomputer. The networked supercomputer Bitcoin, for example, is more powerful than the most powerful centralized supercomputer by magnitudes of thousands – Consider all the spare and underutilized processors in the world – what does your computer do when you’re sleeping? Unfortunately, assets operating via the PoW protocol have several major failings. Primarily, the computing power used by PoW is directed at nothing more than solving the complex puzzles created by transactions in the blockchain – The world’s largest supercomputer is working on nothing but making more of itself. On top of that, the electricity needed to operate such a blockchain is substantial. It is estimated, for example, that the power consumed by Bitcoin will surpass that consumed by the whole of Denmark by 2020.
All that wasted energy, yet the market thrives. Meanwhile, the demand for processing power is skyrocketing as science and technology becomes exponentially more complex. Imagine if the computation of Bitcoin was used to produce actionable data and if that computation was incentivized. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Proof of Stake
Proof of Stake (PoS) is a blockchain protocol developed after Proof of Work. Proof of Stake secures the blockchain through a protocol built into the asset’s client. This protocol operates based on the balance, or Stake, of that client. PoS secures a blockchain by granting a client the privilege of compiling network transactions into a block. Once this block is confirmed it is added to the blockchain and the client that produced the block is rewarded. The likelihood of securing a block depends on a client’s Stake in relation to other clients on the network. The rewards of PoS are dependent on the particular asset and its politics. As PoS requires minimal processing power to stake a block, most households can keep a PoS client running on their computer without any disruption to normal activities.
Gridcoin builds and secures its blockchain through PoS. It currently rewards active stakers with a compounding 1.5% yearly interest on their stake.
Gridcoin: Distributed Proof of Research
Let’s review:
- Proof of Work secures the blockchain with wasted computation.
- Proof of Stake secures the blockchain with minimal computation.
- Gridcoin secures the blockchain with PoS and…
Gridcoin introduces a protocol known as DPoR, or Distributed Proof of Research. DPoR is a protocol that rewards computations on The Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, or BOINC. BOINC is an open source infrastructure that hosts projects requiring large volumes of data to be processed. These projects are created by anyone, ranging from organizations such as SETI and The LHC, to groups looking to cure Alzheimer’s or Cancer, to individuals testing their skills with programing or exploring math. As BOINC has been operating since 2004, it is already host to dozens of projects. Any BOINC project that passes Gridcoin’s test for security and integrity is given the opportunity to be “Whitelisted” through a vote. Any whitelisted project will reward miners with GRC in accordance with Gridcoin’s reward protocols.
The unique nature of Gridcoin and BOINC working in tandem creates a substructure in the Gridcoin PoS protocol known as a Superblock. A superblock is essentially the way Gridcoin and BOINC communicate.
If you would like to see what sort of projects Gridcoin supports, head to the wiki list here:
http://wiki.gridcoin.us/Current_BOINC_Whitelist
If you would like to read up on the details of the DPoR protocol, head to the wiki page here:
http://wiki.gridcoin.us/Proof-of-Research
Operation and Development
Gridcoin operates on the principal tenants of decentralized governance. Bug fixes, community outreach, maintenance, and other day to day operations are organized by the Gridcoin Community. Major changes to the protocols of Gridcoin are discussed among the community and put to a vote. All Gridcoin miners and stakers are given a vote and the weight of that vote is determined by their contributions to BOINC, their stake, or both. The voting structure, as with the reward structure, is subject to changes decided upon by community discussions and votes.
Major contributions to Gridcoin are funded by The Gridcoin Foundation, founded by Rob Halförd, the principal developer of Gridcoin. Minor contributions and bug fixes are funded by a Bounty system. Bounties are donations volunteered by the community for the completion of a specific task. The Gridcoin community is constantly seeking new developers, organizers, designers, writers, coders, ideas, and conversations.
Join the discussion!
I have described here the absolute basics of what makes Gridcoin unique. There is, of course, so much more to Gridcoin and you are encouraged to learn as much or as little as you desire – you do not need to be an expert to participate in the Gridcoin Project. If you would like to learn more, look around the community for resources and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, ask, and the community will point you in the right direction.
Steemit
https://steemit.com/trending/gridcoin/
Reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/gridcoin/
Twitter
https://twitter.com/GridcoinNetwork
Forum
https://cryptocurrencytalk.com/forum/464-gridcoin-grc/
Website
http://gridcoin.us/
Sounds like a great project, wish there was a wallet for mac users
one day, perhaps. =)
I've had fun learning about gridcoin. My magnitude is still 0, but I'm thinking maybe that's because I have to wait for a superblock? The wallet keeps telling me I have 1 or 2 days interest and the reward is about 1 day given the stake I have, but I guess I'll just have to wait it out. I'm working on two projects now, and I have done work for both of them, but it's confusing to know if the work I've done will ever be enough for gridcoin. Maybe I just need to wait longer. It's all interesting stuff, for sure. I'll drop into the forum/IRC eventually if I can't figure it out.
Your magnitude 0 is almost definitely due to an issue related to the current superblock. Waiting it out is pretty much all you can do for now =). Devs are working on sorting it out. I would recommend @dutch's article for a concise description of superblocks/our current situation:
https://steemit.com/gridcoin/@dutch/analysis-of-the-late-gridcoin-superblock-and-suggested-solutions
Excellent! Thank you.
Are you mining (running BOINC)? Joining a pool could be a smart approach grcpool.com (I have no affiliation etc) has been reliable for me.
I've also found the gridcoin wallet can be heavy user of RAM if you are running other things on your hardware.
Yeah, I'm attempting solo mining. I was hoping the difficulty is low enough for that to work. Thanks for the pool recommendation. I think I'll run this for a bit longer and see what comes of it.
Yeah, likely the superblock issue.
But as I always say: Gridcoin is not a scam coin, it's science. And science always takes a bit longer. You PoR rewards are "stored" for 6 month. You will stake in that time (if you have your wallet unlocked for staking that is)
If my staking chances are high (it's says I should stake within 1 or 2 days... it goes back and forth, yet it's been a few days) but my PoR are very low (I'm currently just playing around on my laptop to see what's possible), does that mean I won't stake because the chances are combined together?
But yeah, from all the reading I've done on forums, reddit, Steemit, etc the answer is often "just wait a week and see what happens." I'd just love to know that I have everything properly configured... I think I do, but I can't know for sure until I see those glorious rewards coming in. Hehehe. I am seeing my work accepted at the two projects I sign up for, so that's cool. I really like the idea behind this coin working to improve the world.
if it says within 1 or 2 days you will probably stake a few times a day. the amount you receive per stake depends on the balance of the client combined with your contributions to BOINC -- you don't need to be boincing to stake. HOWEVER xD. because you have 0 magnitude you cannot stake. that is another issue currently being explored.
I thought the 0 magnitude might be a problem. Here's hoping for the next superblock soon! :)
Are you all fixed?
I see we just had a super block three hours ago... but my magnitude is still 0. :(
What am I doing wrong? Any ideas as to what I can do next? Do I need to keep my CPID private? Client message says probing coin age.
Bummer that this seems so tricky to get going. Even when I started, I had to build the client for my mac from source because homebrew failed:
Seems it's been an uphill battle since then. My Boinc Manager has me on the Gridcoin teams for the two projects I'm on and my gridcoin wallet does show me doing something for the world community grid:
Any thoughts to get me going? Should I jump into IRC and ask around there?
Thanks for your help. At least I can be happy that both the projects I'm doing work for are submitting and working. I happened to start when the world computing grid went down this past weekend.
I would go to IRC for help.
You'll find lots of helpful users with loadsa knowledge there.
yeah I'd jump into irc to troubleshoot this
Don't believe the interest estimates; I've found it's generally inaccurate. It will Depend on your balance as well; so even if you have a high mag but basically no balance you aren't going to get your interest payments every 1 or 2 days like the estimate says.
the chance to stake a block depends entirely on the "mature" balance in your client -- GRC that has been sitting in the client for some time.
Very interesting, keep up the good work!
Well done jringo great explanation on how Gridcoin works.
I know there has been some supposition on the length of time we waited for the last superblock.
Here's a link to a post by one of our developers that I believe will answer any questions you may have:
https://steemit.com/gridcoin/@ravonn/gridcoin-superblock-we-forgive-you