Blockchain is a decentralized database that is shared and synchronized amongst nodes of a computer network and operates without the need for central authority.
The network must be open, publicly accessible to multiple people and transparent, and its content must be at hand for validation at all times with the help of reliable mathematical calculations.
Instead of being closed within a single database, as is the case with centralized systems, files and information are diversified throughout the blockchain and made available to as many computers connected to a common peer-to-peer network as needed.
The blockchain ensures that the data stored in there is virtually immutable and properly verified. Once recorded, the data can no longer be altered or deleted.
#Potential issues
Blockchain performance is often directly correlated with the number of active computers (nodes) within the network and the number of validated blocks that hold sets of information.
The more blocks, the better the data is protected, because more blocks are harder to falsify.
This solution may seem stable and sustainable, but it is far from perfect, mainly for the following reasons:
Inadequate mathematical methods are used to validate transactions, which unnecessarily burden the entire blockchain system and make it more complex and expensive than it should be.
The validation process is inevitably accompanied by a number of important topics open for discussion, such as high costs, inability to record large amounts of data, environmental challenges, huge energy consumption, vulnerability to illegal distribution and sales, and more.
Any network failure could potentially compromise the security and integrity of the data stored in the blockchain, while the credibility of the blockchain itself would be irreparably damaged.
Let's confront the facts head on and try to find a solution accordingly.
We will start with a simple example that illustrates the analogy between blockchain performance and the physical world.
#Illustration of different approaches to utilizing blockchain technology
Three neighbors are returning home and want to enter their houses.
The first neighbor has the key he took with him, unlocks the door and normally enters the house.
The second neighbor does not carry the key with him, but finds it under a flower pot, unlocks the door and enters the house.
The third neighbor has no key at all and cannot unlock the door. He calls for help from a locksmith, who breaks the lock and the neighbor can now enter the house.
#Conclusions to draw
It is obvious that the first neighbor acts most prudently, because he has the key he carries with him.
The second neighbor takes a risk for leaving the key under the pot, which somebody else could find (say, see him take the key and where he takes it out from) and enter the house.
The third neighbor behaves strangely and irrationally. Not only does he break the lock to get into his own house, but he invites all the malicious people watching him to do the same.
#An analogy with blockchain and the issue of data protection in the digital world
The "house" we want to enter is the data we want to access, and the way we enter the house is the way we protect the data.
The "key" we use to enter the house is the app we use to access the data.
If we have a key and carry it with us, it means that we can use the app to access data on our own device.
If the digital key, which we use to unlock the door and at the same time digitally lock the data inside the files, could somehow be inserted into the file itself and made available on demand through the same app, it would be the perfect solution.
If we have the key, but we don't carry it with us, we'll have to keep it elsewhere. In this present case, it will be stored in a blockchain.
This is a good solution, but not so good and sustainable as the previous one.
If we don't have the key at all, we'll have to "break the lock". In other words, we will have to access data in a much more difficult way.
This is the worst case scenario.
This leads to an increase in investment costs, introduces uncertainty and mistrust and significantly reduces the chances of making a profit, because the costs are too high.
#How to protect blockchain data from unauthorized access
Just as we need to know how to access data, we also need to know how to protect data from unauthorized access.
Even when it comes to data that does not require anonymity, it is necessary to disable changes to the files and preserve the authenticity and integrity of the content.
This is, for example, what it takes to create and mint non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
It makes sense to use software that embeds and cryptographically "locks" data into a file, including security-related data, and which can also recover that data and register any changes to the file.
And if we don't use the right software, it's like guarding a house that we can't lock (because we don't have a key).
We would have to set up video surveillance, set up multi-layer armored doors, hire security that consists of several tens, hundreds, thousands of guards...
In the digital world, the "guards" would be computers connected to a common network.
#Simplicity is the Virtue
When all of the above is known, it remains unclear why blockchain technology relies heavily on the latter, far worse solution.
Instead of using one, simple app that would take care of storing, securing and authenticating data, files and information, most blockchain networks are based on the principle "the more complex, the more expensive, the better".
Higher prices, however, are no guarantee of success, while complexity rarely improves quality.
The complexity of the algorithms used in blockchain technology is not a reflection of the mathematical functions underlying these algorithms.
It's a fairly simple formula of computing/validating hash values of all the transactions in a blockchain, and most developers are familiar with it (a cryptographic hash represents an encrypted fixed-length value that identifies a given amount of data).
The complexity is a consequence of the excessive exploitation of these calculations.
Due to the lack of a appropriate software solution, the path of least resistance is chosen and the use of inadequate replacements is insisted on.
As a result, the efficiency of the algorithms is drastically reduced due to the fact that they are unnecessarily burdened with numerous, still unsolved issues (as mentioned in the first chapter).
It is incomprehensible that engineers persistently try to force a solution within one and the same working environment, although it is crystal clear that this concept must be changed.
#A blockchain solution with no more than three computers in the network
Telinov8 Network is a simple and reliable blockchain solution with up to three nodes connected to a common peer-to-peer (P2P) computer network and sharing broadcast data with each other.
The data that is transmitted and shared throughout the blockchain is referred to as a digital message.
Some other solutions may include multiple nodes in the chain (e.g. voting systems, supply chains, video streaming services, etc.), but this technology is primarily adapted to dealing with NFTs (non-fungible tokens) or any other digital assets including, but not limited to images, photos, animated GIFs, songs, movies or e-books.
The first node in the queue is the one that initiates a digital message transaction (e.g. a cryptocurrency transaction, a non-fungible token validation etc.).
Transaction data is pre-stored in a file that represents a digital message. So this is not a virtual transaction, but an actual file that can be sent, received, stored, shared and viewed.
On other occasions, the second node would be called the "central authority", but in this case it is only one of the nodes in the common network.
In a way, this node can still play the role of supervisor and mediator. For example, it can host, even temporarily, a non-fungible token or a message supposed to be transmitted to the end user.
It also serves as a remote database server, which provides information on completed transactions at any time via a web app and cloud-based software running in the background.
The third node is the receiver of the digital message. For example, the recipient can be a non-fungible token (NFT) buyer, a cryptocurrency trader, and so on.
#How to achieve a consensus mechanism that all nodes in the blockchain agree with
The digital message transaction is considered final after all three computers in the network have validated the data contained in the digital message.
Using the same data verification software, all three computers make decisions completely independently of each other and inform each other about the outcome of the verification.
If the transaction is correct, a block with transaction data is formed and automatically stored in all three computers.
Transaction data matches what was stored in the digital message when the transaction was initiated and this is a significant advantage over other blockchain solutions.
It enables Telinov8 Network to verify the authenticity and integrity of data independently of external sources and regardless of external changes that may occur in the meantime.
Even if transaction data from any of the three computers, for any reason, temporarily or permanently, becomes inaccessible, no harm can be done, as this data is permanently stored in a digital message and will exist and be available as long as the digital message exists.
Blockchain is just another, additional confirmation of the validity of the transaction, while the actual data is embedded in a non-fungible token, cryptocurrency, online shared document, bank payment or any other file that makes up the digital message.
#Set out for the future of creating authentic digital assets
#Telinov8 Network is a simple and reliable blockchain solution with up to three nodes connected to a common peer-to-peer (P2P) computer network that operates without the need for central authority.
The data that is transmitted and shared throughout the blockchain is referred to as a digital message.
This technology is primarily adapted to dealing with NFTs (non-fungible tokens) or any other digital assets including, but not limited to images, photos, animated GIFs, songs, movies or e-books.