Bloq is a true believer in the idea of a multi-chain, multi-token, multi-network future. This means that developers who imagine new crypto-concepts should be focused on building the next great decentralized network, and shouldn’t have to worry about whether a 51% attack will smother their nascent project from the get go.
This is why we are proud to have VeriBlock as part of the BloqLabs family. VeriBlock uses a novel Proof-of-Proof (PoP) consensus protocol which allows blockchains to secure their own ledgers using Bitcoin’s full proof-of-work (PoW) hashing power.
But how does that work? Glad you asked, as this is really important tech…
Smaller blockchains — really any blockchains not called “Bitcoin” — do not enjoy the same levels of security-providing computing power that Bitcoin does. This leaves them more vulnerable to 51% attacks and double-spends, which call into question the legitimacy of any transaction that took place during that attack. VeriBlock’s PoP system essentially takes snapshots of a given blockchain and embeds them to Bitcoin blocks. As a result, one can simply compare a VeriBlock snapshot to disputed events with full assurance that the new chain has inherited Bitcoin’s level of security. In many ways this is a gamified approach: just as Bitcoin PoW miners earn rewards for making the next block, VeriBlock PoP miners are rewarded for being in the next block.
Additionally, blockchains that employ VeriBlock security produce “Early Attack Detection” metrics, which exchanges, merchants, and regular users can view. These statistics present the current security level of each transaction on a given network. Transactions that have been indirectly recorded by VeriBlock on the Bitcoin network are therefore as secure as any Bitcoin transaction after a short settlement period, since an attacker would have to perform a 51% attack the Bitcoin network itself. Undertaking such an attack is famously expensive.
The VeriBlock project boasts impressive numbers. To date, VeriBlock’s PoP miners (using software built on top of another BloqLabs supported initiative, BitcoinJ) have performed over 6,000,000 transactions on the Bitcoin mainnet to secure other blockchains.
The VeriBlock project is led by our partners and dear friends Justin Fisher (CEO) and Max Sanchez (CTO). In an industry full of brilliant people, Max vibrates with the kind of rare frequency that many might associate with figures like Vitalik Buterin — and I say this having known Vitalik before Ethereum. I have been wildly impressed and proud of his work and contributions to crypto, and beyond. Max has an exciting journey ahead of him with VeriBlock, along with tons of new doors that will open up along the way.
Bloq is proud to have been part of the journey with VeriBlock over the past two years — and especially with a technology that helps any blockchain project thrive and benefit from the security that Bitcoin provides. As the multi-chain, multi-network, multi-token world emerges, we are confident that VeriBlock will continue to play a vital role as a security root for this new frontier.
Matthew Roszak is co-founder and chairman of Bloq.
(Disclosure: Bloq is a shareholder in VeriBlock and tokenholder of VBK coins.)