One hour
Blockchain in 60 minutes.
Six stops. Each one names a mechanism and a paper. Skip any stop you already know. Do not skip the failure at the end.
The hour
- Shared state: Bitcoin's paper is a payment ledger without a bank. Read it as a timestamp server, not as a culture.
- Programmable state: Ethereum's paper adds a general machine. A contract is code the ledger will run, not a legal document the ledger understands.
- Agreement: Ouroboros, Algorand, Tendermint and Avalanche answer different questions. Stake, a sampled committee, a known validator set, or repeated sampling.
- Hiding: CryptoNote, Zerocash and Mimblewimble hide different things. Say which: the link, the amount, or the history.
- Scaling: Lightning, Plasma, Arbitrum and LazyLedger move different work off the base chain. Watch the data, the challenge window, or the proof.
- Failure: Terra's paper is an arbitrage against its own token. Maker names collateral and a shutdown. Read them together.
How to read this page
Research status is named on the page. Primary sources are linked. This is a mechanism and operating note, not investment suitability, legal advice, a security guarantee or an implementation certificate.
- OuroborosStake, slots, and a snapshot
- ZerocashConservation without seeing the amount
- LightningThe chain as a court, not a till
- TerraA failure case, kept on purpose
- All papersThe library
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