Development update
Development update
The free option problem
The free option problem is an apparently inescapable problem in state channels. However, it can be mitigated. I'll cover 3 possible mitigations in this blog post. It's a variant of the fair exchange problem, which is a known concept in the field of cryptography as a whole.
DevOps
Using C.O.R.E. to work on mesh network routing protocols
C.O.R.E. may sound like the name of a 1980's superhero team, but it is actually a tool that simulates wired and wifi networks, right down to the radio waves. For this reason I am using it to test my modifications to Babel, an ad-hoc 'mesh' routing protocol.
State channel pong
How can a blockchain enforce honest behavior during a game of pong?
Response to A tale of two cryptocurrencies
I just read Tony Ascieri's A tale of two cryptocurrencies [https://tonyarcieri.com/a-tale-of-two-cryptocurrencies] and while it's generally a pleasant overview of what's going on in cryptocurrency today, it has a few big misconceptions, and is missing a lot of detail on some other fronts. The essay adopts a tone that has been common in the week since the DAO hack, a conviction that Turing-complete languages are doomed to fail, and that anyone who would use them for anything is stupid. I don't
Mesh Networks
Full Althea presentation
I gave a full presentation on Althea at SF Bitcoin Devs. This talk goes into a lot of detail.
CCC lightning talk
I gave a quick overview of Althea and UPC at Chaos Computer Congress 2015. It's a nice easy starting point to understand some of the concepts involved.
Proportional hashlocks
The proportional hashlock gives us the ability to build a sort of higher level micropayment channel that sits on top of a multihop payment which is released incrementally.
Blockchain
Universal Payment Channels
Costless, instantaneous payments let us use money in a completely new way. Conventional payment processors impose arbitrary fees and delays, and cryptocurrencies can function only with inevitable confirmation times and blockchain bloat. Free from these constraints, we can create a new class of appli