Can blockchain technology support near real-time networking speeds? Can that be achieved, while also scaling in user base size, supporting large networking intensive applications such as MMO video games? More interestingly, can blockchain technology scale by their user base, rather than be throttled by it? I believe this all can be achieved, and plan to solve this portion of the blockchain scalability problem. As I finish my technology degree in computer systems, I am required to embark on a year long research project. My proposal has been approved, and so this journey has officially begun.
The problem I want to solve is as follows. Can a decentralized blockchain application achieve high demand, large, near real-time networking requirements by approaching the blockchain validation problem through a cooperative proof-of-play approach, rather than the traditional, competitive proof-of-work/proof-of-stake approaches? Basically, can software run on the users validating each other through play?
Seed is the project I am creating to solve this problem. Seed is a blockchain protocol for decentralized applications, where the users power the system, validating each other through play, creating a directed acyclic graph (DAG) of transactions, rather than a traditional list, to be stored in blocks. The system will allow for simple Modules to be created, which define the lightweight logic of each applications networking module. When a user uses the system and transacts with the network, they simulate and validate previous recent transactions in the DAG as their proof-of-play.
Seed will also be known as the default cryptocurrency of the Seed network, which will act as the shared currency of applications.
I am excited to pursue this journey, and will be documenting it here along the way. The project is past the initial design phase, and entering the development stage shortly. As the design goes through more iterations, I will document the progress, challenges, lessons learned and takeaways. Along this journey, my partner Jaegar Sarauer (@jaegar) will be developing a separate research project alongside this one, which will be the first released applications on the Seed network. @jaegar is my fellow classmate, blockchain enthusiast, and video game developer. We will both be developing the two projects together, however I will be the project manager of Seed, while he is in charge of the first application. I'm excited to share the progress we made, challenges we encounter and triumphs we conquer.
It is important to note that, with any project being shown so early in development, nearly everything mentioned in this blog is subject to change. This is not a project at the Whitepaper stage, this blog is a behind-the-scenes look at the designing, testing, research and development of this project.