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15 consensus network entries
D

1 / 15   Decentralization: Most Important Aspect Of Blockchain


Four tiers. C, B, A and S. Let’s start with C-Tier, the most centralized blockchains, and go through to A-Tier and S-Tier the most decentralized blockchains.

C-Tier - Blockchains with Terrible or No Decentralization
  1. NEO, which is only run by 7 nodes of which 5 are owned by NEO, and it is permissioned and non-trustless
  2. Icon, which is run by 6 nodes and it is permissioned and non-trustless
  3. WTC, which is run by 6 nodes and it is permissioned and non-trustless
  4. EOS, which is run by 21 nodes and is permissioned and non-trustless
  5. Tron, originally a PoS blockchain, became the worst version of itself. If they simply stayed a classic PoS where around 100 entities hold 51% of the voting power and would have been happy with 1,500 TPS that a classic PoS blockchain can do, then it would be a top 10 blockchain in terms of decentralization and scalability. However, no they had to make the mistake that all the not so intelligent blockchain leader make. Sacrificing all of their decentralization for some more scalability. Tron is governed by 27 super representatives, which opens a myriad of attack vectors including social engineering, phising, blackmail, coercion and cartel formation, just like in EOS. Also, all super representatives have to identify themselves, this makes it extremely easy to attack them with all the above mentioned attack vectors. Furthermore, more than 51% of the token supply are within 3 entities. The first 3 entities here TRON BlockChain Explorer already have 20% and then the Tron foundation has locked up 33% of the token supply in 1,000 addresses that they control, adding up to 53% of the tokens controlled by 4 entities. These attacks are already starting to happen. Tron is already riddled with vote buying. Read more here: The Trials of Tron
  6. Ark, which is run by 51 nodes and is permissioned and non-trustless
  7. Lisk, which is run by 101 nodes and is permissioned and non-trustless
  8. VeChain with their Proof of Authority algorithm, which is heavily permissioned and non-trustless
  9. Nuls with their Proof of Credits algorithm, which is permissioned and non-trustless
B-Tier - Blockchains with Mediocre Decentralization
  1. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Monero, Verge because 51% of their hashing power is controlled by 2 entities, Bitmain and another pool. However, this provides a bit more decentralization than Masternodes, since it is not completely centralized with mining pools. However, they are permissionless and trustless.
  2. Dash, which is controlled by 3 mining pools, though with its 5,000 Masternodes, it’s slightly better than generic PoW coins.
  3. Digibyte is a PoW blockchain that is controlled by 5 mining pools. Additionally, it has several mining algorithms, which is better than just one. This puts it slightly ahead of all other PoW coins. However, it still suffers from mining pool centralization and doesn’t seem to offer any solution for that.
  4. Hashgraph, which is trustless, but also permissioned, because its governance is dictated by a board of 39 people and they decide what dapps and structures will be allowed or not based on their interest.
  5. Stellar, which is permissionless, though non-trustless, and 80% of the supply is owned by Stellar, which puts 1 entity in control while it has 60 known nodes and 250 total nodes. However, those nodes are put into quorum slices, so there are probably only around 10 quorum slices that vote. If anyone has information on that let me know, I didn’t find more info on that.
  6. XRP, which is run by 120 validating nodes and which is permissionless, but not trustless. Furthermore, 52% of the supply is locked up by Ripple, which puts 1 entity in control. Finally, only only 6 accounts own more than 51% of the circulating supply again. However, with XRP holding funds doesn’t add to control, so it’s not that important. XRP gets overstated as a decentralized blockchain, often because of this scam article, The Inherently Decentralized Nature of XRP Ledger | Ripple, but be wary: XRP is in fact the 4th most centralized blockchain.
A-Tier - Blockchains with OK Decentralization
  1. Nano, which is controlled by 6 entities, which have more than 51% Nanode · Representatives, but which is trustless and permissionless. Another flaw with Nano is that it doesn’t have dapps or smart contracts.
  2. Cardano, which is controlled by 70 nodes and possibly 20 entities. Rich List - Cardano Block Explorer. Cardano is also permissionless and trustless
  3. Decred with their hybrid PoW/PoS consensus algorithm that is also permissionless and trustless
S-Tier - Blockchains with Excellent Decentralization All of the S-Tier Blockchains are permissionless and trustless.
  1. Tezos, which has liquid dPoS and constantly changes voting nodes
  2. IOTA, which is controlled by millions of entities, but only at scale. Any new users will add a new node and vote and infinitely increase decentralization for each new node.
  3. Holochain, which is built to be controlled by millions of entities. Any new users will add a new node and vote and infinitely increase decentralization for each new node.
  4. Quarkchain, which uses Sharding for consensus, which is excellent decentralization, excellent scalability and also permissionless and trustless.
  5. Zilliqa, which uses Sharding for consensus, which is excellent decentralization, excellent scalability and also permissionless and trustless.
  6. Elastos, which is built to be controlled to by millions of entities, depending on the number of side-chains and number of nodes in those chains and infinitely increase decentralization for each new node.
Conclusion The C-Tier blockchains are pretty much worthless, because they suffer from the worst centralization. There is no point to use their blockchain and they could also use a server for their transaction with no difference in security. Tron, Stellar and XRP top the tier as they have one entity in control. The B-Tier blockchains are mediocre. Definitely not truly decentralized. The A-Tier blockchains have decent decentralization, but they still have only 50 entities that control them. What makes them A-Tier is that they are permissionless and trustless. If you are permissioned or non-trustless, you can never be A-Tier. The S-Tier blockchains have outstanding decentralization. They are designed to be controlled by at least millions of nodes and they are obviously also completely permissionless and trustless. If you are permissioned or non-trustless, you can never be S-Tier. Tezos, IOTA (at scale), Holochain, Elastos are the current surveyed blockchains with outstanding decentralization. However, Tezos completely missed also focusing on scalability. That’s why they can only do 300 TPS, while IOTA, Holochain and Elastos can do millions to billions of TPS.
consensus networks

2 / 15   Decentralized Social Media: Blockchain - Chat - Audio - Video


consensus networks
M

3 / 15   Matrix: Secure Decentralized Network Ecosystem


  • MATRIX: An Open Network for Secure, Decentralized Communication
  • Matrix: Decentralisation Ecosystem Review (2021)
  • matrix.io | Dendrite | Synapse
  • Element Mobile Guide
  • Matrix Docs: Feedbot
  • ActivityPub and Matrix for Vircadia (11-Aug-2020)
  • What Is the Matrix Protocol and How Does It Work? (27-Oct-2021)
  • Element | {GitHub:element-web} | Secure Communities | [Wikipedia]
    • matrix.org | dendrite synapse discourse commune construct t2bot.io halfshot conduit
  • Matrix: latest specification on matrix.org
  • Discourse: Discourse - Open-Source Discussion Platform (Matrix protocol)
  • Commune: communications suite built on top of matrix. Commune aims to bring together chat, discussions, email and other interactive apps into a single matrix client
  • Conduit: simple, fast and reliable chat server powered by Matrix
  • Dendrite: second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go! (not active)
  • Reddit: Synapse vs dendrite for personal matrix server?
  • Synapse: Matrix homeserver written in Python 3 | Synapse Docs | Synapse Install Docs
  • HalfShot: Matrix - Discord Bridge
  • t2bot.io: Discord Matrix Bridge bot
  • Matrix-Discord Puppet bot
  • Construct: Matrix Bridge
  • Erlend Sogge Heggen: @erlend_sh - Discourse and Commune Developer | Matrix Live YouTube: What if Discord and Discourse merged on Matrix?
  • Is MATRIX a useful Protocol for Messengers? (17-May-2020)
  • Open Source: Bundeswehr testet Chat-App auf Basis von Matrix
  • Matrix and Riot Confirmed As Basis For France Secure Instant Messenger App (26-Apr-2018)
  • Element, an open-source privacy friendly E2E discord replacement (2020)

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    consensus networks
    N

    4 / 15   Network Protocols: Distributions and Syndication


    consensus networks

    5 / 15   Networks: Fediverse


  • Lemmy: Link Aggregator for Fediverse (Dec 2020) | Apps (iOS, Android, Linux, OSX, Windows) | {GitHub:lemmy}
  • Reddit: Developers Behind Lemmi.ML - AMA (2020)
    1. YouTube ➝ Invidious
    2. Google ➝ Searx
    3. Reddit ➝ Libreddit
    4. Office ➝ HedgeDoc
    5. Twitter ➝ Nitter
    6. Instagram ➝ Bibliogram
    7. Facebook ➝ Mastodon
    8. Live ➝ Proton Mail
    9. Mail ➝ Tutanota
    10. Wikipedia ➝ Wikiless
    11. PasteBin ➝ PrivateBin
    12. MediaFire ➝ FileBin
    13. Google Translate ➝ Lingva Translate
    14. DeepL Translate ➝ Libre Translate
    15. SpeedTest ➝ LibreSpeed
    16. Mega ➝ Crypt
    17. Play Market ➝ F-Droid
    18. Zoom ➝ Jisti
    19. Microsoft ➝ FSF
    20. RedHat ➝ NOsystemd
    21. Debian ➝ Devuan
    22. Arch Linux ➝ Artix Linux
    consensus networks
    P

    6 / 15   Protocols: ActivityPub


    consensus networks

    7 / 15   Protocols: Messaging - ICMP


    consensus networks

    8 / 15   Protocols: TCP/IP Model - F2F


    consensus networks
    S

    9 / 15   Security: Privacy Surveillance Anonymity


  • Wikileaks - Julian Assange Speaker (2011)
  • Cory Doctorow: How To Destroy Surveillance Capitalism
  • How does Tor maintain anonymity when a source and destination are required at the end? (StackExchange, 13-Mar-2020)
  • Smashing Windows with Windows: Transparency Design, Wikileaks, Openleaks, Metahaven (Jeff Khonsary, 2011)
  • GCHQ JTRIG Intel Primer: Document from an internal GCHQ wiki lists tools and techniques developed by the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group [JTRIG] (British Intelligence)
  • JTRIG Tools and Techniques (14-Jul-2014)
  • The Safe Network Primer: world's first fully autonomous data and communications network (safenetwork.org, last update Aug-2020)
  • SecureDrop: free software platform for secure communication between journalists and sources (whistleblowers) (Aaron Swartz, Kevin Poulsen, James Dolan)
  • Forward Secrecy | Consensus
    • consensus networks

    10 / 15   Social Media: Minds


    consensus networks
    T

    11 / 15   Tor Network: Articles


    consensus networks

    12 / 15   Tor Network: Onion Routing


  • Tor Network | Tor Project: History

    • "Tor works by bouncing connections from your computer to destinations (such as google.com) through a series of intermediate computers, or relays; and back to you in the same way. Tor network understands these addresses by looking up their corresponding public keys and introduction points from a distributed hash table within the network. It can route data to and from Onion services, even those hosted behind firewalls or network address translators (NAT), while preserving the anonymity of both parties. Tor is necessary to access these Onion services.

  • Onion Router Spec | History | Challenges | Onion Tor Model PDF
    • consensus networks

    13 / 15   Tor Network: Overview


    Tor Relays: Entry - Middle - Exit
    1. Entry/Guard Relay - This is the entry point to the Tor network. Relays are selected to serve as guard relays after being around for a while, as well as having shown to be stable and having high bandwidth.
    2. Middle Relay - Middle relays are exactly that - middle nodes used to transport traffic from the guard relay to the exit relay. This prevents the guard and exit relay from knowing each other.
    3. Exit Relay - These relays are the exit point at the edge of the Tor network. These relays send traffic to the final destination intended by the client.
    Tor Network: Bridges

    Two vulnerabilities in the Tor Network are at entry and exit. Entry by user into Tor and exit from Tor at exit node to destination site/peer. Bad guy could download the list of Tor exit nodes then force a destination site to block all traffic from those nodes. Worse, the bad guy could download the list of entry nodes and force them to block a user, thereby blocking all sites by blocking entry into Tor Network at source. The current solution to these issues is BRIDGES.

  • BRIDGES are simply unpublished frequently changing ENTRY RELAYS
  • Users on censored networks use BRIDGES to access the Tor network bypassing targeted restrictions
  • All users accessing Tor receive a small list of bridges (via BridgeDB) to connect to the rest of Tor Network unrestricted
    • Tor Network: Consensus
    Tor Relays: Directory Authority (DA)

    TEN authoritative nodes on Tor are run by long-time trusted volunteers distributed around the world. These nodes are Directory Authorities (DA) and they maintain the status of the entire Tor network. DA nodes distribute an ever-updated master list of all known active relays.

    Directory Authorities (DAs) update Consensus every hour by a vote:

    1. Each DA compiles a list of all known relays
    2. Each DA then computes the other needed data, such as relay flags, bandwidth weights, and more
    3. DA then submits this data as a “status-vote” to all the other authorities
    4. DA next will go get any other votes it is missing from the other authorities
    5. All the parameters, relay information, etc. from each vote are combined or computed and then signed by each DA
    6. Signature is then posted to the other DA’s
    7. There should be a majority of the DA’s that agree on the data, validating the new consensus
    8. The consensus is then published by each DA
  • What Happens If Tor Directory Authorities Are Seized? (19-Dec-2014)
    • Tor Relays: List of DA Nodes

    NINE of the DA nodes maintain the master list of active relays, while ONE DA (Tonga) maintains the list of bridges

  • Status of all the Tor relays is maintained in a living document called the CONSENSUS
    • Tor DA Relay Distribution Map
    Tor Relays: Secure Trust
  • How do we know we can actually trust relays? We don’t have to! Tor is designed to put as little trust in relays as possible. Onion Routing is used as a secure (encrypted) way of routing what you send and receive - and what a destination peer/site receives and sends - using layers of encryption that protect both of you AND the relays in between:
    1. You encrypt the original sent data so only exit relay can decrypt
    2. Your "1" encrypted data is then encrypted again so only middle relay(s) can decrypt
    3. The "2" encrypted data of "1" is encrypted again so only guard relay can decrypt"
    consensus networks

    14 / 15   Tor Network: Web2 Web3 DApps


    consensus networks
    V

    15 / 15   Vitalik Buterin


  • Vitalik Buterin Blog | VitaDAO | Ethereum DAO
  • Verkle (18-Jun-2021) | Sharding (7-Apr-2021) | Endgame (6-Dec-2021)
    • consensus networks

     

     

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