History and Fundamentals Flashcards
Who wrote the white paper Bitcoin : A peer-to-peer Electronic Cash System?
Satoshi Nakamoto (pseudonym)
What is the name the Bitcoin white paper?
Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer Electronic cash system
What was the purpose of Bitcoin?
To create an electronic transaction system without relying on trust.
How did the first idea of the blockchain come about?
When physicists Stuart Haber and W Scott Stornetta were trying to solve the problem of keeping the past secure (keeping digital information safe and tamper resistant).
When did Stuart Haber and W Scott Stornetta publish their paper about cryptographically secured blocks?
1991
When was proof of work first established?
1993
Why was proof of work developed?
To counter the proliferation of spam and other network abuses
When was the blockchain we know today established?
2008 when Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin white paper
What date was Ethereum established?
2014
What was the USP of Ethereum?
The Ethereum Virtual Machine
What is the EVM?
Ethereum Virtual Machine - a distributed world computer that runs on the blockchain.
What are the technologies underlying Bitcoin?
Cryptography
Computing
Electronics
What was the advantage of Bitcoin?
It enabled participants to digitally transact directly without another participant, bypassing the centralised intermediary to validate the payment.
Who was the leading founder of Ethereum?
Vitalik Buterin
What is the name of the Ethereum white paper?
Ethereum: A next generation smart contract and decentralised application platform.
What are the 4 interdependent components that enable the Ethereum platform to operate?
1) Cryptographic Tokens
2) Peer-to-peer networking
3) Turing complete virtual machine
4) Consensus Formation algorithm
What is a cryptographic token?
A mathematically proven voucher that can be exchanged for goods or services.
E.g. Bitcoin or Ether
What is peer-to-peer networking?
Individual users connect their computers together forming a network without a central server.
What is a Turing complete VM?
A virtual machine that exists as software than has full programming features.
What does a consensus formulation algorithm do?
Allows users of blockchain to reach consensus about the current state (of all the data in the network) every ~15 seconds.
What are Smart Contracts?
Computer protocols
What do Smart Contracts do?
Facilitate, verify or enforce the performance of any sort of contract that can be codified. They often emulate the logic of contractual clauses.
Name some advantages of Smart Contracts
- Reduce friction between parties
- Eliminate middlemen
- Reduce costs
- Empower individuals and smaller organisations
What is decentralisation?
Removing power and control from a single central authority and giving it to members themselves. Self-sovereign, power is shared between users.
What are the tangible benefits for P2P networked systems?
Systems are less likely to fail based on redundant components
Harder to attract as the network is decentralised and users aren’t all in one place
Nodes can go down but the system is big enough to remain resilient
