This post is a continuation of what we discussed in 6.1 (If you missed it, you can read it here). We introduced Bitcoin as the first and most well-known blockchain developer, and ended with the two methods of consensus protocol: proof-of-work and proof-of-stake. In this post we will be introducing you to some of the other blockchain networks and how these have expanded on the original technology.
This post will be more technical and jargon-heavy than most of our other articles in this series. This is because technicalities are what sets one developer apart from another. And this is relevant when we decide who to trust to build the blockchain network.
Driven by the wind
We would be able to compare blockchain development platforms to the wind, and the way it drives and empowers a sailing vessel. Although the vessel can steer itself, the wind provides a momentum that has a direct impact on the movement of the vessel. It’s the same with blockchain development platforms, they empower and give momentum to all the ventures and organisations that use their platforms to power their own projects. Let’s look at a few different platforms:
Ethereum
Vatalik Buterin published a paper that launched the Ethereum project in 2015. He realised that blockchain technology had far more use than mere facilitating a payment protocol. He used blockchain to create decentralised apps (dApps). Ethereum introduced smart contracts into the blockchain world, together with the ability to launch initial coin offerings (both of these concepts will be explained in the next instalments of the series). Ethereum v2.0 (launched in 2021) tried to address its scalability problem by converting to POS, which can still only manage around 30 tps [19].
EOS
EOS is another blockchain platform [20], which aims to become a decentralised operating system, which can support industrial-scale dApps. Dan Larimer (creator of BitShare, Steemit and Block.One) is EOS’ driving force.
He claimed that they (EOS) have the ability to conduct 10 000 transactions per second, and they plan to remove transaction fees. EOS achieves its scalability via the utilisation of the delegated POS (DPOS) consensus mechanism.
Delegated proof-of-stake
DPOS makes use of a voting system where stakeholders outsource their work to a third-party. Under normal POS consensus system, staking tokens is a process that involves buying and setting aside a certain amount of tokens to become an active validating node in the network.
DPOS delegate the validation of the block to the third-party block producer, that are responsible to secure the network on the behalf of the stakeholders. DPOS differ from POS by making use of 21 elected block producers, who are in charge of taking care of the consensus and general network health [20]. Anyone can participate in the block producer election and they will be given an opportunity to produce blocks proportional to the total votes they receive relative to all the other producers. In DPOS, the voting system is critical to the success of the consensus and the health of the network. The voting system is dependent on the delegates’ reputation. If an elected node misbehaves or does not work efficiently, it will be expelled and replaced by another node. See [20] for more details.
At Yknot Blockchain Solutions we like to say that Telos is ‘the wind that drives us’ which gives momentum and new direction to our work. Now that you understand some of the other platforms better, you will see why we prefer to work on the Telos network.
Telos is “a truly decentralized network operated by visionaries, technologists, builders, trail blazers and active stakeholders” [22].
Telos
It’s a trustworthy and inclusive organisation that uses blockchain as a tool to achieve its larger vision of connecting people around shared purpose and as a technology designed to change the world.
“There is a shift happening in the leadership paradigm of the internet. Users and developers want a more collaborative decision-making model that empowers everyone, rather than just a select few. Telos is designed to help bring about this change and allow humanity to flourish by building the economy of the future. Over time, the vibrant Telos community is building its network as a place for purpose-driven startups, individual developers, and more..” [22].
Telos practically achieves this purpose (described above) with some of the following technical functions and features:
- Fee-less transactions
- 10,000 Transactions Per Second
- Environmentally Concious (because they work on DPOS instead of POW, which consumes MUCH less energy)
- Leading ESG Compliance (Environmental, Social, Governance) platform
- Developer-friendly tools and low-cost deployment.
- On-Chain Governance
- Community support, including the Telos Works proposal system and grant making for new projects, from the independent Telos Foundation.
- Telos Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)
- Telos Web Wallet
- A suite of innovative & competitive tools
- Equitable governance & arbitration
- 100+ Applications & Integrations
Telos has a range of incredible applications in their ecosystem including: Tswaps, T-starter, Telos Web Wallet, Telos Decide voter, Telos Private and more.
Today’s instalment of our series has been rather technical. We hope we haven’t lost you out in a sea of jargon. But the details are REALLY important when it comes to blockchain development platforms. We know that most people don’t understand all the terms, and that’s okay. Just trust us when we say that Telos can be trusted. We can confidently use their technology to design solutions for our customers that they can trust. Trustworthy solutions that allow for trustless transactions.
** ** This was Part 2 of an explanation of blockchain development platforms. In the next instalment of our series we will give an overview of smart contracts. Follow the series on medium.com and on our website.
Read more about Telos:
In [26], [27] and [28] more can be read on the advantages Telos brings to the table compared to EOS, and why Telos is the upcoming leader in blockchain and dApps.
Telos utilises (DPOS) to run the Telos Blockchain. For further reading, you can read the whitepapers listed in [6] and [7] for an in-depth discussion on DPOS compared to other blockchain verification methods.
References:
[6] Larimer, D., 2017. DPOS Consensus Algorithm – The Missing White Paper — Steemit. [Online] Steemit.com. Available at: https://steemit.com/dpos/@dantheman/dpos-consensus-algorithm-this-missing-white-paper> [Accessed 22 June 2021].
[7] Larimer, D., 2021. EOS.IO Technical White Paper v2. [Online] GitHub. Available at: <https://github.com/EOSIO/Documentation/blob/master/TechnicalWhitePaper.md> [Accessed 22 June 2021].
[19] L. Conway, “Ethereum 2.0: What You Need To Know”, The Street Crypto: Bitcoin and cryptocurrency news, advice, analysis and more, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/ethereum/ethereum-2-upgrade-what-you-need-to-know#:~:text=Right%20now%2C%20Ethereum%20can%20only%20handle%20around%2030%20transactions%20per%20second. [Accessed: 06- Jul- 2021].
[20] “Different Blockchains: Ethereum vs Cosmos vs Hyperledger And More!”, Blockgeeks, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://blockgeeks.com/guides/different-blockchains/. [Accessed: 06- Jul- 2021].
[21] “Benefits of Telos compared to EVM chains”, Docs.telos.net. [Online]. Available: https://docs.telos.net/evm/comparing-telos-to-other-evm-chains. [Accessed: 06- Jul- 2021].
[22] “Telos.net | The Blockchain Platform for Web 3.0 – Telos is a decentralised computing network, global economy and app ecosystem, powered by their leading scalable smart contract blockchain and TLOS cryptocurrency.”, Telos.net, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://telos.net/. [Accessed: 06- Jul- 2021].
[23] “ESG Blockchain – Telos.net | The Blockchain Platform for Web 3.0”, Telos.net, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://telos.net/esg-blockchain/. [Accessed: 06- Jul- 2021].
[26] Telos Feed, “Room for Improvement. A comparison between EOS and Telos.,” Medium, 12-Jun-2019. [Online]. Available: https://medium.com/@Telosfeed_en/room-for-improvement-a-comparison-between-eos-and-telos-312c2a35414e. [Accessed: 06-Jul-2021].
[27] Telos Feed, “DAO AND DPOS: What are they and how they influence Telos?,” Medium, 15-Jun-2019. [Online]. Available: https://medium.com/@Telosfeed_en/dao-and-dpos-what-are-they-and-how-they-influence-telos-1bdbaaef6fd8. [Accessed: 06-Jul-2021].
[28] Telos Feed, “What is Telos Blockchain?,” Medium, 03-Jun-2019. [Online]. Available: https://medium.com/@Telosfeed_en/what-is-telos-blockchain-5b3858d18662. [Accessed: 06-Jul-2021].
