That is an opinion editorial by Moustafa Amin, a know-how chief with greater than 20 years {of professional} expertise throughout massive organizations, service suppliers and telecom corporations.
“Bitcoin Not Blockchain”
Should you’re a frequent reader of Bitcoin Journal or for those who’re a Bitcoin fanatic typically, you may need seen this motto. I got here throughout it quite a few occasions and I agree with it 100%.
Typically there may very well be a minor exception, as an example when the scope is constrained, the context is non-public and there’s no want for tokenization however generally, it’s at all times clever to stay to bitcoin.
Let’s analyze an imaginary case research round IP addresses utilizing a “site visitors mild” analogy — yellow, pink and inexperienced.
IP Addresses
I assume that the readers are or a minimum of aware of how information communications happen throughout the web based mostly on the IP protocol (TCP/IP if we wish to be technically correct). The extra technological readers might pay attention to web protocol (IP) addresses, like IPv4 and IPv6.
Attempt to Google “Who controls IP addresses?” You’ll promptly get “IANA: the Web Assigned Numbers Authority.” IANA is the highest authority behind IP deal with allocation and task. There are 5 totally different regional web registries (RIR) with jurisdiction beneath the IANA.
As a matter of reality, as a person or a standard web person you can not request IP addresses instantly from IANA or one of many 5 RIRs, however solely from web service suppliers, such because the companies supplied by cell or telecom operators.
From this structure, you possibly can think about a central database of IP addresses held and maintained by IANA.
An imaginary pattern of IP addresses database
Allow us to assume that at some point IANA decides to launch a blockchain model of its IP addresses database, wouldn’t that be a legit challenge? The reply depends upon their method and their intention for doing so.
Earlier than we proceed, allow us to agree on a few factors:
- The time period blockchain doesn’t at all times consult with the underlying know-how of Bitcoin as invented (or found) by Satoshi Nakamoto. As a substitute, it has grow to be a advertising time period that’s extensively utilized by distributors as a buzzword to explain their merchandise in both non-public or public contexts.
- Even with a decentralized model of the IP addresses database, the IP addresses will at all times stay in IANA’s custody. These assets won’t ever be handed over to the general public neighborhood.
The Yellow Path
If IANA cares concerning the integrity, security and safety of their present centralized IP addresses database and desires to make it decentralized over a blockchain by having separate an identical copies of the database held in geographically dispersed areas for decentralization and redundancy, they’d search for an answer that will likely be a mixture of decentralized storage (IPFS for instance) and personal blockchain (cloud-based or open-source). This may very well be in comparison with AWS blockchain, Hyperledger, Multichain, and so on.
On this case, every regional RIR will likely be answerable for some nodes that run this non-public blockchain. Every node will ship and obtain updates over the blockchain whereas storing an an identical always-updated copy of the IP addresses database.
No token will likely be required on this answer, and the entire answer will likely be maintained by nodes falling beneath both the jurisdiction of IANA or the RIR. As a matter of reality, IANA can pause, cease, restart, truncate and even delete elements of this non-public blockchain at their will.
Mainly, this case shouldn’t be totally different from the present state of affairs the place IANA can change and even delete elements of the IP addresses database of their centralized database (in the event that they wish to). I’m not saying they’d, however they might.
This path is labeled “yellow” as a result of it may very well be acceptable because it doesn’t symbolize any danger to outsiders, i.e., there aren’t any buyers who put up cash for tokens.
The Pink Path
What if IANA decides to launch their blockchain model of IP addresses as a wise contract dApp — utilizing some platform like Ethereum, and even as a separate public blockchain — and tokenizes the entire thing and perhaps runs crowdfunding occasions to distribute these tokens? I received’t waste your beneficial time discussing this situation any additional: This is able to make it no totally different from the opposite 20,000 ineffective altcoins on the market!
The Inexperienced Path
What if IANA is clever sufficient to maintain their IP addresses database really decentralized over the one actually decentralized blockchain — Bitcoin — and permitting cost in sats? A attainable possibility may very well be an utility constructed on high of Bitcoin or the Lightning Community and built-in with a distributed off-chain storage.
The distributed storage will retailer the precise IP addresses together with their respective homeowners. This is able to occur off-chain to keep away from overwhelming the Bitcoin community, however the indexes to the database entries may very well be saved on chain.
To counteract Bitcoin’s pseudonymity, clients (suppliers or operators) will nonetheless be required to offer identification info for full possession of their IP addresses. Sadly, this might be in full compliance with know-your-customer legal guidelines (KYC) for on-line surveillance, as you would possibly guess.
Whatever the abundance of IP addresses, they’re restricted by nature, which means that IANA can not mint or create new addresses out of skinny air.
Fast reality: there are barely lower than 4.3 billion IPv4 addresses that have been all bought (depletion of IPv4 addresses began again in 2011), whereas there are 340 trillion, trillion, trillion IPv6 addresses — an insanely big quantity in order that the minimal IPv6 deal with allocation is split by 32 to be equal to the variety of all IPv4 addresses on the market.
As all transactions will likely be completely saved over the ledger, IANA can’t fiddle and resell the identical chunk of IP addresses to a different proprietor. That is named an “IP deal with block,” to not be confused with Bitcoin blocks.
The Very best Path
What if we substitute the managed and surveilled IP addresses with new web addresses which can be based mostly on Bitcoin? These addresses will inherit all Bitcoin’s options, i.e., they are going to be purely decentralized, safe, future-proof, strong, nameless, unhackable, managed by no single authority and plenty of extra.
Is it only a dream? For now. If this may very well be true we might be altering the web as we all know it.
This can be a visitor publish by Moustafa Amin. Opinions expressed are completely their very own and don’t essentially mirror these of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Journal.