Could a sidechain protocol create an addressable "Internet of Blockchains" and facilitate scaling?

Summary:

Sidechains can be a useful tool for scaling Bitcoin, allowing them to be transferred from the main blockchain into external blockchains. However, current thinking suggests that sidechains are isolated from each other and moving Bitcoin between them would involve a slow transfer back to the mainchain. It is proposed that a protocol for addressable blockchains should be created, all using a shared proof of work, which effectively acts as an Internet of Blockchains. This protocol would allow Bitcoins to be moved into the master sidechain, called Angel, which sits at the top of a tree of blockchains. Each blockchain has its own unique address, much like an IP address, and the Angel blockchain acts as a registrar, keeping a public record of every blockchain and its properties. A blockchain can be created by getting a createBlockchain transaction included in an Angel block, with details of parameters such as block creation time and block size limit. Mining in Angel uses a standardized format, creating hashes which allow different blockchains to contribute to the same Angel proof of work. Blockchains can have child blockchains and parents are aware of their children, allowing for some cool security features. If a child tries to withdraw to a parent after spending on the child (a double spend attempt), this will be visible instantly, and all child nodes will immediately be able to broadcast proof of the double spend to parent chain nodes so they do not mine on those blocks. This means children can inherit a level of security from their parents without the same PoW difficulty.Angel allows for the free market to decide which approaches are successful and for complementary blockchains with different use cases, such as privacy, high transaction volume, and Turing completeness to more seamlessly exist alongside each other, using Bitcoin as the standard medium of exchange. This idea was proposed as a way to scale Bitcoin infinitely and there are many conflicting visions on how to achieve this. Standardization allows better pooling of resources and the use of a shared proof of work means that Angel allows for infinite scaling. More thoughts on the idea can be found at https://seebitcoin.com/2016/09/introducing-buzz-a-turing-complete-concept-for-scaling-bitcoin-to-infinity-and-beyond/.

Updated on: 2023-06-11T20:20:44.444206+00:00