Blockchain Trilemma - Crypto Academy / S5W2 - Homework post for @nane15
I am delighted to actively partake in this week 2 homework for Beginners, resulting from the beautiful lesson ( Link ) conveyed to us by professor @nane15. Haven said that, i'll get straight to work.
QUESTION 1.
Explain in your own words what the Blockchain Trilemma is.
With reference from the Oxford Dictionary, the word Trilemma means
A situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between three alternatives, especially when these are equally undesirable.
With respect to this definition, it is safe to decisively say that the word Trilemma protrays the act of chosing amongst 3 problems, which has an equally adverse impact on the issue at hand. A choice must be made, thus all 3 problems can't be handled at ones.
The Blockchain Trilemma is a concept consisting of a set of three main issues faced by developers during the buildup of a Blockchain. Ever since the talk on Blockchain Trilemma was first talked about, Blockchain developers are yet to create a Blockchain which consist of all three (3) solutions to these three (3) main issues. The three main issues faced by developers during a Blockchain buildup are; Decentralization, Scalability, and Security.
The Blockchain Trilemma mainly protrays the availability of three (3) unique but contradictory solutions to these three (3) main issues faced by developers during a Blockchain buildup. The solutions are contradictory in the sense that, a developer cannot successfully executive all three (3) solutions to the three (3) different problems encountered, without dropping one (1). In other words, only two (2) out of the three (3) problems can be tackled successfully during a Blockchain buildup. A developer is forced to drop one (1) solution to one (1) of the problems, since it cannot compact with all the other solutions within a single Blockchain buildup.
Achieving all three (3) solutions by a Blockchain developer is almost impossible, since the possibility only exist theoretically so far. Although there are a couple of Blockchains dedicated to realizing all three (3) solutions in a single buildup, the realistic nature of whether or not a Blockchain is a Trilemma, is widely debated till date.
QUESTION 2.
Is the Blockchain Trilemma Really a Trilemma?
Before i give a definite answer to the said question above, it is worth noting that the Blockchain Trilemma was brought forth as a theoretical concept of utmost importance, to help bring out their (problems faced) relationship with one another, in respect to the development and execution of the Blockchain ecosystem. In as much as the Blockchain Trilemma posses a major challenge to the wide acceptance of the Blockchain ecosystem, developers are endlessly working on possible means overcoming the Blockchain Trilemma, and there is a degree of success in ideas on how to resolve the Trilemma faced by Blockchain developers. An example of such developers is the possible progress made so far by Co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, with relative to the said Ethereum 2.0, which is a smart contract ecosystem, based on Proof-of-Stake (PoS).
With all that said, it is safe to say that the Blockchain Trilemma is indeed a Trilemma which sets a high challenge for Blockchain developers, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it is beyond solving.
QUESTION 3.
Define the following concepts in your own words:
A. Decentralization
In terms of the features on a Blockchain, this is the easiest and first/main base. To achieve a Blockchain with a perfect Decentralization feature, control is equally distributed amongst its users, with no third party management. In other words, a peer-to-peer transaction ecosystem is adopted with no centralised body to act as a mediator. Some Blockchains are more decentralized than others, and this can be possible when the control power isn't evenly distributed amongst all users on the Blockchain ecosystem.
This feature is the major backbone for most Public Blockchains, and it is safe to say that it is the main reason why the Technological Revolution is catapulted to the top. Theoretically speaking, the more a Blockchain is decentralized, the more secured it becomes, and the lesser the performance is as well.
B. Scalability
This feature refers to the concept in which a said Blockchain ecosystem possesses a stable level of multi transactions executed by the multitude of its users per second, as they grow on the system. A system with perfect Scalability should be able to harbour the increasing capacity of its overall users, without any form of a glitch or slowdown during simultaneous multi transactional activities on the Blockchain. It can be measured by based on the overall number of transactions that can be carried out by a multitude of its users, in a single second.
This is the major challenge generally faced by all Decentralized Blockchain during payments. As such, a reduction in the level of Decentralization within a Blockchain ecosystem could see an increase in Scalability levels. This will tend to moderately control the number of transactions per second, to suit a perfect scalability level on the Blockchain.
C. Blockchain Security
From common knowledge, the word Security simply means to be free from danger or threats.
With that said, Blockchain Security is achieved mainly by creating a unique source code for the Blockchain's database, as well as part of its operations in respect to consensus protocols. In theory, a secured Blockchain database is one which is impossible to breaches, nor brute force corruption attacks.
Blockchain Security is a very vital feature for any trustworthy Blockchain system.
Without this feature, Blockchains would be liable to easy breach and vulnerabilities to cyber hackers.
The main reason why there is a higher vulnerability in the security of a Blockchain database when compared with that of a Centralized database is because a decentralized system is open-source, and as such, very liable to security breaches since any hacker can study its codings, and come up with a way to bypass security.
More often, security and scalability can't both be realized effectively. In as much as Scalability tries to expand the system's population, Security tends to stabilize the network such that it functions perfectly, with little or no worries.
Unlike Decentralization and Scalability, this feature (Security) can't be foregone easily and replaced by any of the aforementioned. It is worth noting that, in the bid to achieve a perfect Blockchain ecosystem, some developers have neglected this feature (Security) while trying to perfect the other features (Decentralization and Security).
QUESTION 4.
Based on your knowledge, explain at least two viable solutions to the challenges posed in the Blockchain Trilemma.
For First Layer Solutions
These set of solutions are channelled towards fixing direct problems rising from the base of the blockchain.
It is safe to assume PoW (Proof of Work) to be the main foundation for the consensus protocols of the cryptocurrency network. New ideas and claims of having a complete solution to the Blockchain Trilemma, are brought out with each newly introduced blockchain ecosystem every now and then. Examples of such cryptocurrency networks that beleive to have solved the Blockchain Trilemma without having to compromise at least one (1), are Solana, Algorand and Polkadot.
A perfect example is the Algorand approach which was invented by an MIT Professor by name Silvio Micali (also Algorand founder), who possesses a unique knowledge in computer science and cryptography.
In his approach, Scalability is attained without compromising Decentralization nor Security. The approach is very similar to DPoS (Delegated Proof of Stake) wherein a selected number of validating nodes/candidates handle the addition of new blocks/transactions (a Decentralized approach).
To portray the retain of Scalability, a total of 1000 validating nodes/candidates winners are chosen at random, within a microsecond (duration of the lottery picking series).
To ensure Decentralization, the winners are chosen amongst token holders via a cryptographic lottory system, which grants everyone an equal chance of a lucky draw each series (making it more democratic than centralized).
Finally, to ensure Security, winners from the cryptographic lottery series are selected at random making it extremely diffucult for anyone to predict/know who exactly could be amongst the next 1000 validating nodes.
Theoritically, random selection is a reliable tool for achieving Decentralization and reducing risk for attacks by over 51%).
For Second Layer Solutions
These degree of solutions resolve the problems in an indirect or separate manner compared to the aforementioned (First Layer Solutions). Lightning Network is a good example of of a Second Layer Solution to the Scalability problem faced by the Bitcoin Blockchain (since Bitcoin doesn't support a smart contract). The Lightning Network is a whole external system on its own, and it's effective in resolving the lack of speed within the Bitcoin Blockchain during per second multi transactions.
It is worth noting that just about 7 transactions per second can be executed on the Bitcoin Blockchain, but within Channels of the Lightning Network, over 1,000,000 transactions per second can be executed due to an infinite level of interconnection of channels amongst users.
This network (Lightning Network) provides channels for payment between traders, as they carry out their transactions within seconds due to fast validation in real time. Transactions cost very little, and in some cases, totally free. Due to the continuous connection of channels between traders as they transact, scalabilility is said to be almost infinite.
Transactions on this network are cheap, swift and secured.
CONCLUSION
Upon the completion of this homework, i have improved greatly my understanding on what the Blockchain Trilemma is all about, the various trilemma faced by developers on the bud to create a better/perfect Blockchain, and the possible solutions suggested and executed by some outstanding developers. I also realised that even though the Blockchain Trilemma has proven to be so hard to resolve without compromising at least one (1), it is not impossible to be resolved some day.
The Blockchain ecosystem is the future, but we face a major Trilemma on the path to create a perfect Blockchain. As such, to achieve a completely revolutionized world acceptance of the Blockchain ecosystem, we must first fully resolve the Blockchain Trilemma.
Special thanks to Professor @nane15
