When I first conceptualized the blockchain network for E3T, the digital money that will power our E3hubs closed-loop digital economic platform, Libra was not born yet. As E3hubs is a closed ecosystem, my team and I have designed the E3T blockchain network as a private permissioned blockchain that allows only members to transact.
To build a blockchain network, we need to adopt a consensus protocol. After conducting some extensive research, I found that the Ethereum Proof of Authority (PoA) is the most suitable consensus protocol for E3T. Two months later, Facebook announced the Libra whitepaper and amazingly it is very much similar to E3T. E3T is as good if not better than Libra.
Proof of Authority (PoA) is a reputation-based consensus algorithm that introduces a practical and efficient solution for blockchain networks.
Proof-of-Authority (PoA) is a new consensus algorithm family that provides high performance and fault tolerance. In PoA, rights to generate new blocks are awarded to nodes that have proven their authority to do so. To gain this authority and a right to generate new blocks, a node must pass a preliminary authentication.
The Proof of Authority model relies on a limited number of block validators and this is what makes it a highly scalable system. Blocks and transactions are verified by pre-approved participants, who act as moderators of the system.
My team and I decided to adopt PoA as the E3T consensus protocol for the following reasons:
The E3T network comprises a data layer (blockchain), a consensus layer (PoA), an application layer, a smart contract layer (solidity), and a network layer (validator nodes). The network is maintained by the P2P validator nodes. Validators will initially be selected from founder members who are trustworthy and have high reputations. The validators will be re-elected periodically to avoid concentration of power. Besides that, malicious nodes will be eliminated based on consensus and new nodes can be added in the same manner.
The E3T blockchain network will be hosted by the AWS private cloud as it can ensure the highest security, high throughput, low latency, and high scalability. Therefore, you can be assured that your digital currency E3T and other digital assets will be secure. I will talk more about AWS in a future article.
The Libra blockchain is a decentralized programmable database designed to support a low volatility cryptocurrency that will serve as an efficient medium of exchange for billions of people around the world.
Similarly, the E3T blockchain is a decentralized programmable database designed to support a low volatility token, E3T, that will serve as an efficient medium of exchange for all the entrepreneurs and E3hubs members around the world.
Both the Libra protocol and the E3T PoA protocol allow a set of validators to jointly maintain a database of programmable resources. These resources are owned by different user accounts authenticated by public key cryptography and adhere to custom rules specified by the developers of these resources. Validators process transactions and interact with each other to reach consensus on the state of the database. For Libra, these transactions are based on smart contracts using Move, while E3T transactions use Solidity.
Libra uses Move to define the core mechanism of the blockchain, such as the cryptocurrency Libra and the validator membership. In comparison, E3T uses Parity Ethereum to build the core mechanism of the E3T blockchain, such as the minting of E3T tokens and the validator membership. Parity Ethereum is the fastest and most advanced Ethereum client and provides the core infrastructure essential for speedy and reliable services. It was developed using the sophisticated and cutting-edge Rust programming language. Parity Ethereum is licensed under GPLv3 and can be used for all your Ethereum needs.
