I have been following the progress of Kadena for some time so thought it time to do a post on it. Kadena is a proof-of-work L1 platform that combines with L2 for high through put.
In this post I will break down some of the key components and have sourced https://kadena-io.github.io/kadena-docs/what-is-kadena so go check them out.
Ill keep doing some research into this project so watch this space and follow me on twitter,
Why Kadena Matters
The purpose of Kadena is to be a single source for the resources needed to build blockchain applications. In doing so, Kadena solves many of the problems that have impeded widespread blockchain adoption to date including scalability, security, and ease-of-use.
1. Scalability
The public blockchain is a Proof of Work protocol that has solved layer-1 scalability. This is achieved by braiding together several Bitcoin-like chains. As transaction volume increases, the network can expand to larger configurations (eg. from 10 chains to 20 chains) and deliver higher throughput capacity.
Why is this important well it tackles one of the 3 V’s, Volume. Which is very important in big data infrastructure. The volume of transactions achievable by the network. Imagine 1000 people trying to go down a staircase at once. You are going to get a backlog in this case transactions slowing down the blockchain. Now imagine 20 staircases in parallel. Which one is going to be faster? Then if you notice an increase in volume you can just add 10 more staircases.
2. Security
The smart contract language, Pact, is Turing Incomplete and offers Formal Verification. Turing Incompleteness reduces the language’s attack surface without compromising domain-specific functionality. Formal Verification allows smart contract authors to mathematically prove that their code does not contain bugs.
3. Ease-of-use
Kadena was developed in part to be integrated into traditional business workflows and understood by non-technical users. Accordingly, Pact code is executed directly on the ledger and is stored in a human-readable format. Pact code has error messages and Pact contracts are upgradable allowing developers to fix errors or adapt logic as business needs evolve.
Kadena is among the first blockchain projects to deliver such a comprehensive feature-set.
Further, users are able to enjoy these features across Kadena’s hybrid blockchain platform, a public-private interoperable network. This hybrid solution allows users to take advantage of the benefits from both public and private blockchains without compromise, thus enabling use cases that were previously not possible.
Components of the Kadena Platform
Kadena is a hybrid blockchain platform consisting of a public chain protocol called Chainweb and a private chain protocol called Kuro. The public and private networks are interoperable through the smart contract language Pact.
1. Chainweb, Kadena’s public blockchain protocol
Chainweb is a braided, parallelized proof-of-work consensus mechanism that improves throughput and scalability while maintaining the security and integrity found in Bitcoin.
Informational Resources
- Article: Kadena’s Public Blockchain 101
- Whitepaper: Chainweb
Resources for interacting with Kadena’s public blockchain are available at the Public chain interaction page.
2. Kuro, Kadena’s private blockchain
Kuro has been proven to support up to 8,000 transactions per second across 500 nodes, and is available for evaluation on AWS and Azure.
Informational Resources
- Article: Kadena’s Private Blockchain 101
- Whitepaper: Private Blockchain
Resources for deploying Kuro are available at the Private chain deployment page.
3. Pact, Kadena’s smart contract language
Pact is a human readable and Turing Incomplete smart contract language purpose-built for blockchains with powerful security features including full Formal Verification of user code, error messages, contract upgradability, support for interoperability, and strong permission and access control.
Why is it important, well it enables a safe platform for NFTs and Smart Contracts and enables the bedrock for such projects as MintItOnKadena. Giving a platform for creativity and platform to secure the advancement of the technology. Not just pictures but attaching to real world assets to solve real world problems.
Informational Resources
- Article: Safer, Smarter Contracts with Pact
- Whitepaper: Pact Smart Contract Language
- Documentation: Pact GitHub
- Documentation: Pact Language Reference
Resources for using Pact are available at the Public chain interaction page.
Hybrid Blockchain
Kadena’s hybrid blockchain allows users to interact between public and private networks, gaining the decentralization of public and the security controls of private, to make a more secure digital marketplace.
Informational Resources
- Article: Hybrid Blockchain 101
- Article: Smart Contract Sharing Economy
Thanks for reading and to keep in touch follow me on twitter.