CBGTBT - Part 1 - Workshop introduction & primer
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This document is a beginner's guide to blockchain technology, presented during the #startingblock2015 tour across six European countries. It covers the fundamentals of blockchains, transactions, mining, and the implications of the technology for various sectors, emphasizing the importance of peer-to-peer networks and the challenges in understanding and implementing blockchain systems. The presentation aims to provide a foundational understanding necessary for coding and developing blockchain applications.
CBGTBT - Part 1 - Workshop introduction & primer
- 1. A Complete Beginners Guide to Blockchain Technology @blockstrap #StartingBlock2015
- 2. Introduction & Primer First, some context These slides are from the #StartingBlock2015 tour by @blockstrap. 6 European countries in 8 days β (Istanbul, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Prague, Berlin & London). We met lots of great people, answered lots of great questions and had a great time. We look forward to meeting many of them again in the near future. These slides might only make perfect sense if you were at the talks and can remember all the additional points we made whilst discussing the tech. This deck is 1st of 6. Questions? Comments? @MrAdamGiles adam@neuroware.io
- 3. Introduction & Primer Hello Adam Giles Cofounder & CEO of Neuroware.io Tools, software & Infrastructure for developers building blockchain applications Coding since late 80's Working with Bitcoin 2010 @MrAdamGiles adam@neuroware.io
- 4. Introduction & Primer Lets start at the beginning No prior knowledge of blockchains required. Weβll be looking at Bitcoin, but mostly talking software. Start with a simplified overview of how it all works, then dive deeper into each section. Heads up! Some of the simplifications are so simple, that Bitcoin experts will be yelling that theyβre wrong. (Theyβre right!)
- 5. Introduction & Primer Whoβs in the room? Whatβs your language of choice? β NodeJS β Python β Java β PHP β Ruby β HTML5 β C/C++/C# β Anything else? How long have you been coding? β Not a dev ( 0yrs ) β Total newbie ( <1 yr ) β Mid-level ( 1<5 yrs ) β Old timer ( +5 yrs )
- 6. Schedule Introduction & Primer - What you need to know Blockchains 101 - Complete beginners guide to a blockchain Transactions 101 - All about what goes into the blocks Mining & Blocks - How blocks get made Blockchains 102 - Implications of mining Transactions 102 - Nitty gritty details Each module is approx 40 mins with 15 min Q & A afterwards
- 7. Introduction & Primer What you need to know
- 8. No new technology in blockchains Introduction & Primer Just lots of it combined in a new way β Distributed Systems β Peer-to-peer networks β Hashing functions β Public - Private key cryptography β Cryptographic signatures β Elliptic curve cryptography
- 9. Code comes last Introduction & Primer Thereβs lots of me talking and pointing to the screen in this presentation. Blockchain technology is both technical and intricate, if we jumped straight into code, you might now know what you were looking at. I aim to give you the base understanding needed to pick up a library for your chosen language and know what itβs talking about.
- 10. Itβs all about Transactions
- 11. Cash is peer to peer Introduction & Primer Observations: β No middleman required. β DIY Fraud detection β Sufficient trust for the value of the transaction β Anonymous/Private β Distributed
- 12. Electronic Middlemen Introduction & Primer Observations: β Requires 3rd party trust β The more complex the flow, the more middlemen required β Specialised equipment needed (e.g. POS terminal, connection to Txn networks β Fraud detection by 3rd parties β Every step adds cost Electronic Middlemen
- 13. Middlemen adding value Introduction & Primer β Provision of infrastructure (Terminals, network connections etc) β Management of commercial relationships between parties (Lots of lawyers) β Abstraction of complexity β Fraud detection β Customer service β Regulatory compliance KYC, AML, Risk reporting β Removal of bad-actors from the ecosystem Until now, this is the best way weβve been able to achieve the goal of person-to-person transactions at a distance.
- 14. Transaction volumes are growing Introduction & Primer Now: β Online banking transaction growth β SMEβs/Retail acceptance of electronic transactions β Online purchases/Commerce β In-App purchases β Virtual currencies in games β International Transaction growth (Commerce and Remittance) β Value storage cards (loyalty cards, ERP, gift cards etc etc) Future: β Internet of Things β Autonomous Objects β Programmable money/Finance automation
- 15. In general... Introduction & Primer The easier it is to conduct transactions the more people transact.
- 16. Introduction & Primer β Cash is kingβ¦.but only useful locally and small amounts β Electronic transactions require Credit/Debit card β Fees are high for merchants (Fixed Fee + 1-3%) β Settlement is slow (multiple days) β Chargebacks shift risk to merchant β Microtransactions are cost prohibitive β Walled garden/In-country solutions are piecemeal β International Transfers ITT/Swift β Slow, costly, mistake prone β High onboarding costs/bureaucracy LimitationsLimitations
- 17. 50% of the world doesnβt have a bank account Introduction & Primer
- 18. Blockchain powered payment networks Introduction & Primer Solved: β Return to Peer-to-Peer β Speed β Trustless trust β No special equipment needed β Fraud β Minimal Cost β No chargebacks β No monthly fees β Transparency Ignored: β Policing bad-actors β KYC/AML β Insurance β Onboarding process β Customer service β Commercial Relationships Challenges: β Technical Complexity β Regulatory Uncertainty β Getting the currency in the first place
- 19. Introduction & Primer It's easy to create your own, and there are many. Each is separate and runs its own blockchain. The value transferred in each blockchain is primarily its own currency Many blockchains
- 20. What is a Blockchain? What you need to know
- 21. It all starts here Introduction & Primer
- 22. Just going shopping... Introduction & Primer
- 23. A centralised ledger Introduction & Primer
- 24. Importing the stones Introduction & Primer
- 25. Some interesting observations Introduction & Primer β The stones themselves had no non-monetary value β Eventually, spending your stones didn't require physically moving the stone β just acknowledgement of a change of ownership β Impossible to do a trade in secret β They developed a form of distributed ledger, but... β It couldn't scale!
- 26. A blockchain is an implementation of a ledger Introduction & Primer β Ledgers record transactions - the passing of value from owner to owner β Transactions are time based β Once a Txn is recorded you canβt alter them β You need to be able to detect if your ledger has been altered A blockchain is a protocol for building an immutable historical record of transactions
- 28. Network Evolution i) centralized iii) distributed ii) decentralized
- 29. Network Evolution i) centralized iii) distributed ii) decentralized
- 30. Network Evolution i) centralized iii) distributed ii) decentralized
- 31. Network Evolution i) centralized iii) distributed ii) decentralized
- 32. Network Evolution i) centralized iii) distributed ii) decentralized
- 33. Network Evolution i) centralized iii) distributed ii) decentralized
- 34. Network Evolution i) centralized iii) distributed ii) decentralized
- 35. Network Evolution i) centralized iii) distributed ii) decentralized
- 36. Network Evolution i) centralized iii) distributed ii) decentralized
- 37. Network Evolution i) centralized iii) distributed ii) decentralized
- 38. Distributed Networks Introduction & Primer β Many, equal nodes β Each node has multiple connections to other nodes β Very resilient to failures, attacks β As long as 2 nodes are up, the network is still running
- 39. Who Invented It?
- 40. Key historical dates Introduction & Primer β 2009 first block created β Satoshi Nakamoto was the pseudonym used β Early days, it was just him/her/them/it β Then crypto-geeks, then early technology adopters β Satoshi disappears December 2010 - date of last post β Recent years have seen 'professionalism' of the ecosystem
- 41. Seeking Satoshi Introduction & Primer β Not this guy! (probably) β Not a great coder β Not a great cryptographer β Aware of the controversy blockchains create
- 42. Seeking Satoshi Introduction & Primer While conspiracy theories are fun, it's mostly irrelevant β Operational design published openly β Protocol is opensource β Code is opensource and has mostly been re-written
- 43. Is It Money? Digital cash? Digital gold?
- 44. Has all the same characteristics Introduction & Primer Durability - Safe for long term storage Portability - Easy to move around and spend Divisibility - So you can spend small amounts Uniformity - Each unit of value is equal Limited supply - To preserve value Acceptability - So you can actually spend it
- 45. Is it legal tender? Introduction & Primer NO! Legal tender is defined as βcoins or banknotes that must be accepted if offered in payment of a debt.β Cryptocurrencies arenβt regulated by any central bank.
- 46. So what? Introduction & Primer Lots of things arenβt legal tender but still have value: β Gold β Diamonds β Rolex watch β US$ (outside the US)
- 47. Worlds most expensive pizza? Introduction & Primer 22nd May 2010 is Bitcoin Pizza day β bitcoins first real world transaction β Laszlo Hanyecz offered 10,000 BTC for 2 pizzas β Someone in the UK phoned through the order using their credit card β Then worth US ~$24 β Currently worth US ~$2.4m
- 48. Ecosystem Developments One of the fasting moving in tech
- 49. Introduction & Primer Parallels to the internet Blockchains today have been likened to the Internet in 90s. β Similar investment levels β Similar excitement levels β Similar visions of potential uses History doesnβt repeat, but it rhymes: We expect similar... β Similar path to maturity β people, tools, process β Similar adoption curve (perhaps faster) β Evolution of protocol/services built on blockchains (perhaps faster)
- 50. Introduction & Primer Parallels to the internet Just as the internet revolutionised access to information, blockchains will do the same to multiple industrial verticals: β Finance first β It's what blockchains were built to do β It's where the money is Non finance uses β Specialist blockchains dedicated to one task β Generalist blockchains to be used as a 'platform' Brave new world/wild west β still lots of learn and build
- 51. Introduction & Primer Where are we now? General Public Developers
- 52. Introduction & Primer Investment into the sector β Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn) Invested US$20M in Blockstream Personally β Sir Richard Branson backed BitPay (Exchange) in a US$30 Million Round β Circle (Exchange) raised US$50 Million - led by Goldman Sachs β NYSE led a US$75 Million Investment in Coinbase (Exchange) US$1 Billion from VC funding is expected in 2015 Although this is a small cross section, the importance is the names, not the numbers!
- 53. Introduction & Primer Evolution of the networks 1st generation networks just transfer value - bitcoin, litecoin, dogecoin Blockchain 1.5 technologies build upon existing blockchains by offering additional dependent layers and protocols allowing for unique offerings: - NameCoin provides distributed DNS - ColoredCoin, Counterparty and Omni can tag and track digital assets - FileCoin and StorJ provides distributed CDN (proof of bandwidth)
- 54. Introduction & Primer Evolution of the networks Blockchain 2.0 is currently in a mostly theoretical or pre-alpha state but involves starting from scratch and introducing turing-complete functionality β Ethetherum and Codius introduce autonomous applications (recently used by IBM at the core of their new IoT platform - ADEPT) Curated blockchains, Private access/Hybrid blockchains, entry/exit points are known & regulated β Ripple β Tembusu
- 59. Some building blocks Introduction & Primer β Blockchain terminology β Hash functions β Merkle trees β Encoding schemes β Public/Private key crypto β Digital Signatures
- 60. Terminology Introduction & Primer β Address: The βaccount numberβ of the person you are sending coins to. Can be used just once or multiple times. You can have many addresses β Transaction: The transfer of value/coins from one address to another address β Block/Blockchain: The record of transactions β Wallet: Software that manages your addresses and keeps track of transactions and balances
- 61. Hashing functions Introduction & Primer βA hash function is any function that can be used to map digital data of arbitrary size to digital data of fixed size. The values returned by a hash function are called hash values, hash codes, hash sums, or hashes.β There are many types, but Bitcoin uses SHA256; output is 256bits of data, or 64 hexadecimal characters
- 62. Hashing properties Introduction & Primer β Any size of data always results in the same length hash β Slight changes of input data gives totally different hashes β βHello Worldβ = a591a6d40bf420404a011733cfb7b190d62c65bf0bcda32b57b277d9ad9f146e β βHello World!β = 7f83b1657ff1fc53b92dc18148a1d65dfc2d4b1fa3d677284addd200126d9069 β The same input always produces the same output β Hashes are βone wayβ
- 63. Hashing usages Introduction & Primer β To record a value while hiding the original value (e.g. a password) β To verify the integrity of some data (store the hash, to check the data, hash it again and compare the values; should be the same hash value) β To prove youβve done calculations (generating hashes takes computing power)
- 64. Merkle Tree - Hash of hashes Introduction & Primer β Multiple blocks of data, in a certain order, into a single hash β Allows you to work out which block has changed
- 65. Encoding Schemes Introduction & Primer β Take some data, encode it for a specific purpose (e.g. easier to transmit, easier to read, easier to convert between formats) β Two way, you can encode and decode and end up with the same data β Bitcoin uses base 58 - easier to read (misses out 0 I O l as they all look like zeros and ones) β1234567890β = 2t6V2H
- 66. Public/Private key crypto Introduction & Primer β 2 uniquely related cryptographic keys β Data encrypted with the public key can only decrypted with the private one (and vice versa) β The maths behind it is very complex β Main aim is confidentiality (in messaging) β Also used for digital signatures (the bit weβre interested in)
- 67. Digital Signatures Introduction & Primer β Verify the messages came from the correct person β Verify the messages hasnβt been changed or tampered with β Can be used to prove that you have the private key β Main aim is confidence in identity (in messaging)
- 68. Ways to Develop Nodes vs APIs
- 69. Functional Categories Introduction & Primer Getting blockchain data: β Blocks β Transactions β Sending Transactions (known as relaying) Cryptocurrency functions: β Generating Private/Public keys, Hashing, Address Encoding etc β Creating transactions β Signing transactions β Support functions
- 70. Options Introduction & Primer Run your own node: β No dependencies on external service β Lots of RPC functions you can use to β No data on addresses you donβt control (apart from BTC) β No metadata β Uptime challenge β more chains = more nodes API: β Several available β Address tracking & metadata available β Advanced functions like multi-sig/exchange functions β External dependency
- 71. Hybrid Approach Introduction & Primer Run your own node for experimentation β Start on the testnet β Send initial transactions to seed your application β Watch how the transaction/data is represented through the API of your choice β Simulate external users API β Used by your main application/server/scripts Framework used for cryptocurrency functions β This stuff is hard, no need to reinvent the wheel
- 72. Any Questions?
Editor's Notes
- #3: Assume familiar with software, just not blockchains Bitcoin can be polizing, quickly decends into conversations/arguments about politics, But as software is eating the workd, that&apos;s what we&apos;ll be focusing on Simplified first , then circle back round and dive deeper Simplifications can be missleading Tell meif too fast/slow
- #4: Assume familiar with software, just not blockchains Bitcoin can be polizing, quickly decends into conversations/arguments about politics, But as software is eating the workd, that&apos;s what we&apos;ll be focusing on Simplified first , then circle back round and dive deeper Simplifications can be missleading Tell meif too fast/slow
- #5: Assume familiar with software, just not blockchains Bitcoin can be polizing, quickly decends into conversations/arguments about politics, But as software is eating the workd, that&apos;s what we&apos;ll be focusing on Simplified first , then circle back round and dive deeper Simplifications can be missleading Tell meif too fast/slow
- #18: 67% of adults use it Same money flow as oe of the large commercial banks
- #65: Doesn&apos;t matter how many blocks, sstill same length hash Blocks must be in the same order Used to check integrety of diiferent scrions fof theblocks