Hacker | @Microsoft Top 100 Security Researcher of 2018 (alias: Dmitri Kaslov) | Crypto
Blockchain consensus mechanisms — TK Matima
There seems to be a misunderstanding, or perhaps an acceptance for the sake of simplicity, of what consensus mechanisms blockchains use. Everywhere you read on the internet, they say a form of the following “Proof of Stake (POS) is a consensus algorithm for XYZ chain” or “Proof of Work (POW) is a consensus algorithm for XYZ chain”. But Proof of Stake (POS) and Proof of Work (POW) aren’t exactly consensus mechanisms (atleast not on their own). ***POW & POS are mechanisms to prevent Sybil attac...
Blockchain consensus mechanisms — TK Matima
There seems to be a misunderstanding, or perhaps an acceptance for the sake of simplicity, of what consensus mechanisms blockchains use. Everywhere you read on the internet, they say a form of the following “Proof of Stake (POS) is a consensus algorithm for XYZ chain” or “Proof of Work (POW) is a consensus algorithm for XYZ chain”. But Proof of Stake (POS) and Proof of Work (POW) aren’t exactly consensus mechanisms (atleast not on their own). ***POW & POS are mechanisms to prevent Sybil attac...
Killer applications for Blockchains thus far — TK Matima
Blockchains, and cryptocurrencies by extension, have captured the imagination of almost everyone. Hardly a day goes by without Bitcoin being mentioned in the news. By and large, most things in this industry are based in speculation, but if you look abit further out and abit deeper in, you will see the seeds of something incredible happening before our very eyes! In this short article, I highlight some of the “killer products” for blockchains, beyond the speculative trading of Bitcoin. Coincid...
Killer applications for Blockchains thus far — TK Matima
Blockchains, and cryptocurrencies by extension, have captured the imagination of almost everyone. Hardly a day goes by without Bitcoin being mentioned in the news. By and large, most things in this industry are based in speculation, but if you look abit further out and abit deeper in, you will see the seeds of something incredible happening before our very eyes! In this short article, I highlight some of the “killer products” for blockchains, beyond the speculative trading of Bitcoin. Coincid...
Zero Knowledge Proofs - an overview (without the maths) — TK Matima
If you spend enough time in the cryptocurrency/digital assets space, you will hear the words “Zero Knowledge” mentioned quiet often. For most, the maths just block out all the maths and cryptography terminology when people talk about zero knowledge proofs. In this short post, I will attempt to explain zero knowledge proofs as well as their many applications - all without the hard maths and cryptography formulae. Zero Knowledge proofs isn’t new, it’s been around since the 1980s - although most...
Zero Knowledge Proofs - an overview (without the maths) — TK Matima
If you spend enough time in the cryptocurrency/digital assets space, you will hear the words “Zero Knowledge” mentioned quiet often. For most, the maths just block out all the maths and cryptography terminology when people talk about zero knowledge proofs. In this short post, I will attempt to explain zero knowledge proofs as well as their many applications - all without the hard maths and cryptography formulae. Zero Knowledge proofs isn’t new, it’s been around since the 1980s - although most...
Current state of storing, restoring and bequeathing crypto assets / wallets — TK Matima
If you have been in crypto for a while, you will no doubt have heard the term “Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins”. It’s essentially a view, adopted mostly by “Bitcoiners”, that encourages users to hold their own private keys (for Bitcoin) instead of entrusting the keys to a third-party i.e. a Crypto Exchange. It may seem folly now given the increasing number of custody solutions that now exist in crypto - many of which are insured (somewhat). Many have lost their Bitcoin/crypto due to exchanges b...
Current state of storing, restoring and bequeathing crypto assets / wallets — TK Matima
If you have been in crypto for a while, you will no doubt have heard the term “Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins”. It’s essentially a view, adopted mostly by “Bitcoiners”, that encourages users to hold their own private keys (for Bitcoin) instead of entrusting the keys to a third-party i.e. a Crypto Exchange. It may seem folly now given the increasing number of custody solutions that now exist in crypto - many of which are insured (somewhat). Many have lost their Bitcoin/crypto due to exchanges b...
How Eth2.0 mitigates specific PoS (Proof of Stake) attacks — TK Matima
In December 2020, ETH2.0 Beacon Chain launched. This Phase 0 launched forms part of a multi-year process that will see ETH1.x transform from a PoW (Proof of Work) to a PoS (Proof of Stake) blockchain. This is an exciting period in Ethland and is the product of years of research of optimal solutions to ensure Ethereum remains secure and decentralized despite a change of consensus mechanism. its been a long held belief that PoW has the most security guarantees unlike, say, PoS. I have previousl...
How Eth2.0 mitigates specific PoS (Proof of Stake) attacks — TK Matima
In December 2020, ETH2.0 Beacon Chain launched. This Phase 0 launched forms part of a multi-year process that will see ETH1.x transform from a PoW (Proof of Work) to a PoS (Proof of Stake) blockchain. This is an exciting period in Ethland and is the product of years of research of optimal solutions to ensure Ethereum remains secure and decentralized despite a change of consensus mechanism. its been a long held belief that PoW has the most security guarantees unlike, say, PoS. I have previousl...
