Steemit Crypto Academy Season 4 Week 2 by professor @fredquantum (Mimblewimble Protocol)

Hi, professor @fredquantum I must admit I'm knowing about the Mimblewimble protocol for the first time a very big thanks for sharing such an interesting lecture.

Blockchain technology without doubt has been a game-changer in the financial and circular section around the world it use cases, has been applied in different departments and sections in technology, health, finance, and industries not to mention security which was a major challenge in the financial system users information and data can be stored without second thoughts of a security breach these are made possible due to blockchain inception and cryptography.

The Mimblewimble protocol aims to provide users with a more scalable and secure environment where transactions among users can be done more transparently without exposing their complete transaction details to the public.

As innovations are introduced certainly more advancements and improvements will also be experienced there is no doubt since the inception of blockchain technology with Bitcoin being a pioneer digital currency financial firms have witnessed a complete metamorphosis in terms of security, transparency, and scalability in executing day to day transactions without the need of intermediaries to foresee all transactions.

Bitcoin came and brought about transparency and security in digital transaction Mimblewimble improves on blockchain privacy protocol the blockchain takes users transaction details very sensitive by allowing the only sender and receiver to have access to some sensitive part of a transaction.

Mimblewimble was introduced to tackle some transactions limitations lets take an example using two different blocks. Block A is a different blockchain in block A user decide to send some amount of crypto to a friend on completing his transaction details will be displayed for public view this is an example of an open chain transaction that can be viewed by the public while taking block B when user A still choose to try sending his money using a different block which is block B his transaction was displayed for public view with some important parts like the specific amount sent for the transaction hidden from the public and address.

From the illustration given above block B is a clear example of what the Mimblewimble protocol is all about it aims to work efficiently on users' privacy by allowing certain information to be only seen by the sender and receiver.

The Mimblewimble blockchain works cordially with both sender and receiver working hand in hand which means there must be a mutual argument between the two parties before any transaction will be coordinated on the chain.

Transaction on the chain requires encryption and decryption here the sender will choose a random string of numbers ( which represents the amount he/she is sending) the receiver who will be decrypting the sender's transaction which as well is aware of such transaction and will use his private key to decode the sender's transaction.

The above process is called binding factor which means Mimblewimble works in a confidential transaction process between two parties by using cryptographic keys for both the sender and receiver to have access to key information on their transaction these limits, external users, from publicly tracking transactions done between two parties.

The binding factor is also indicating a sign of ownership which means for any transaction to be processed the sender in the quote should own some amount of token for such token to also be valid equal amount must be sent out as outputand the receiver must receive the equal amount as input let's say $5 is sent out by the send for the transaction to be validated the receiver is to receive $5 any amount about or below $5 will make the transaction invalid

This is why the Mimblewimble protocol relies on Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) a method based on discrete logarithm.

The Mimblewimble deals with complex equations the strength of the blockchain is to solve these complex equations to strengthen the security of the blockchain and users' transactions.

In general Mimblewimble works when there is a mutual agreement between two parties both having their private keys for deciphering a transaction also for transactions to be validated on the block equal amount must be sent and received by both parties.

Confidential transaction as the name implies has to deal with anonymity here users privacy in processing transaction are protected which gives the sender and receiver complete authority over their transactions with the help of cryptographic keys staying anonymous while processing transactions are possible on mimblewimble blockchain.

Requirements for processing a confidential transaction

• For these types of transactions to be possible/completed there must be output which is the sender and amount to be sent and a receiver who serves as the input to receive the sent amount

• For a transaction to be validated both output and input must be the same, let's say the sender is sending out $5 worth of Mimblewimble token the receiver must confirm and validate the exact amount of $5 worth of Mimblewimble token before the transaction will be validated.

• For both parties an encryption key will be available this will make it easier for both parties, to view the complete transaction detail and have access to hidden information limited to the public.

• Binding factor is an important key role in Mimblewimble blockchain it shows real ownership over a token with it a sender can be able to spend his token.

In general confidential transactions involve having two parties in agreement to complete a transaction the output and input must be the same for such transaction to be valid also binding factor is necessary for generating ownership over a spent token.

The sole purpose of confidential transactions is to protect users' identities and information while some information is a display for public view.

If we take Bitcoin as a case study it will be observed that major limitations that the current blockchain faces are security threats although it has a high rating in terms of security we have seen cases where users get attack with what is known as dusting attack

In the crypto space a dusting attack is a process whereby a malicious user such as a hacker/account spammer sends a little amount of cryptocurrency to a random user address to track and steal from innocent users.

These dusting attacks are made possible due to bitcoin transactions being open-source which means anyone from the public can easily view transaction details see the amount sent on the transaction and also the address of both the receiver and sender.

The Mimblewimble protocol application/utilization to protect users transactions

With the Mimblewimble protocol implementation on the bitcoin blockchain, the aforementioned attack on users will be eliminated with the use of confidential transactions where users conducting a transaction will be in control of their transaction details.

Using CoinJoining techniques this process reduces the block size of a blockchain, for instance in Bitcoin blockchain a continuous block will be formed once a new transaction is completed It will be merged with the previous block the higher the number of block size the lower the scalability, with Mimblewimble blockchain this is eliminated here only the input and output data are stored this gives the blockchain a degree of lightness as there is no need to store redundant data.

In general, we can see by implementing confidential transactions users' security and privacy will be increased and with the CoinJoining techniques scalability will be increased on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Advantages of Mimblewimble protocol

1. With Mimblewimble blockchain no third party can track/spy on another user transaction since its transaction history does not disclose senders and receivers address with this we can say Mimblewimble is an anonymous blockchain protocol.

2. Difficulty in tracking users transactions makes its blockchain hack-proof

3. Considering block size in any blockchain is very important as it determines blockchain scalability the Mimblewimble blockchain is very small which gives it an advantage over another subsequent blockchain platform.

Disadvantages of Mimblewimble protocol

1. Mimblewimble is prone to attack since the blockchain protocol solely depends on digital signatures with quantum computers that can be used for deciphering hard keys.

2. Completing transactions on a confidential support blockchain system is time-consuming and slow.

BEAM TOKEN

Beam Market cap

Beam token is ranked #474 on the coinmarketcap list with a current price of $0.736619 as of the time of writing this post it has 24hr trading volume of $12,009,891 with a live market capitalization of $71,411,717 beam has a market circulating supply of 96,945,320 and a maximum supply of 262,800,000 of beam coin.

About beam token

Beam token was launched in March 2018 it is currently operating under the Mimblewimble blockchain the team behind beam coin saw a problem in anonymity in Bitcoin transactions where users identify can be traced which infringe on users privacy in other to handle this limitation the team came up with the idea to launch the beam token that will protect users privacy while conducting digital transactions.

Beam team consists of engineerings and software developers who have several years of experience in technology Alexander Zaidelson is the project’s CEO he is an expert and an advisor he started his career as a software developer he is also a founder of p2p file-sharing company.

Beam aim/objective

• Protecting user information and data while conducting a transaction is one of the sole aims of the beam project.

• Making safe transactions between counterparties among financial users.

• It allows users to safely control who and how information about their transactions should be disclosed by increasing users' confidence in handling their personal information and identities like addresses for receiving a token.

Where to buy beam token

Beam tokens can be bought on several exchanges which include binance hotbit and gate.io

conclusion

In every financial institution, security is taken as a number priority blockchain technology has over the years proof to achieve these goals of building trust amount users where transactions can be conducted and display for the general public to view a transparent atmosphere where users can buy and sell.

With Mimblewimble blockchain, these securities have been increased among users making it possible for users to have more control over their conducted transactions it offers a more secure platform for users, in addition, the Mimblewimble blockchain aims to provide and improve users trust and confidence terms of controlling their digital token.