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I am wondering if there is a cryptocurrency that has a goal to increase convenience and security. I think economics and money and banks and centralization can't be "solved" which if I understand correctly is the reason for many cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. I think it would be interested if there a technology that was focused on advances in security through mathematical algorithms in group theory like Edwards twisted elliptical curve algorithm and quantum lattice encryption algorithms and the SHA-3 competition by NIST in 2012 won by Keccak (pronounced Ketchup).

I would like to have a diploma in a digital format when I graduate Marshall University in May 2024, God willing, but I'm not sure the people developing cryptocurrencies are focused on electronic diplomas and other important documents such as deeds for property, houses, real estate, stocks, etc. that need to be securely stored and accessible for example in a datacenter/server with backup.

I think cryptocurrencies don't change the economic aspect of how value is created and money is increased/generated/created/expanded. I think the people working on adding new features to Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are the only currencies I know about should focus on mathematics and computer science and Internet and networking research. I think another good goal is to make cryptocurrencies have minimal environmental costs.

I am critical of Bitcoin because it has very large environmental costs.

I support Ethereum's proof of stake model over Bitcoin's proof of work model because it does saves energy.

Thanks for sharing Peter!

Money is one application in the design space of blockchain applications. It is, perhaps, the lowest hanging fruit, as what's required to create digital money is a fairly low set of requirements (though reaching broad, cultural acceptance is difficult).

Bitcoin's goal was to create peer-to-peer money... Ethereum's goal is not. Ethereum established a broader, more general idea of what could be transmitted on a blockchain protocol, namely computation. Now, experimentation is underway to see what tradeoffs from a blockchain perspective are required to create applications far beyond money; tackling identity, legal contracts, banking, property rights, etc... which will potentially rival, disrupt, and replace the current institutions delivery these solutions.

Yet to be seen, but there's a fair chance that it impacts the framework for governance systems globally. At least, that's part of the promise!

Hi Michael! Yes, the lack of standardization across the ecosystem for writing smart contracts means that each one requires a custom structure to get from WL to bespoke chain to execute. It will take time, but this is definitely a big area of interest for us at Wolfram Blockchain Labs.

On computational contracts: https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2019/05/a-world-run-with-code/

Hi Doug, I do believe there's a tiny bit more needed to manually calculate. I'm looking here, here and here for more information.

The transaction summary should be provided in the block data by using the MerkleRoot BlockchainBlockData[742266, BlockchainBase -> "Bitcoin"] ["MerkleRoot"]

Will follow up with more info!

Two questions from this week about fraud, loss of funds, or other hacks that make headlines.. anyone willing to explain their thoughts? 1. Please address the issue of why there is so much fraud when this is supposed to be decentralized trust 2. Theft of entire blockchains or huge amount of coins in the news happen frequently. At a bank. you can always go and present your ID and prove that funds belong to you.

What an anti-fragile point of view! Taking fraud and somehow benefitting from it on the other side... hmmm. I'm not sure I have heard of an example, but perhaps there's one in plain sight that I'm not thinking of. Do you think that punishment for fraud could mean... complete this verifiable proof of computation and when you've finished your punishment, you will be allowed back into the system...

Could there be verifiable cryptographic punishment if for some reason fraud does occur?

On the other hand, fraud occurs mostly at the individual level (not protecting keys or falling for a trick/scam) and at the exchange level (where private keys are stored in centralized servers). As blockchain protocols experiment with the tradeoffs of scalability (prioritize speed over security), that's where we begin to see some of the protocol level attacks.

In general, my attention is focused on Bitcoin, because so long it continues operating without going down, it continues to establish the basis for believing that these blockchain protocols CAN work (remember, it's both art like economic incentives and science like cryptography and computer science) .

Here's a good question to discuss: "How important is the accuracy of timestamps used in blockchains? Could timestamp manipulation be a vector of malicious attack? Let's discuss!

One characteristic that one might like to have for "digital money" is that its price is stable. If price is determined in market place, then that would require that its supply was elastic - meeting exactly whatever was demanded. This is what Central Banks do with fiat currencies.

I can't imagine that a diamond which is highly elastic in supply would be a good currency (volatile demand would lead to volatile prices). But it depends on what the currency is used for, and what characteristics and functions you would like the currency to have. I think that is where you must start.

I see - you are using a 'money is a commodity' model of understanding the purpose of money.

So in the case of diamonds you are effectively "backing" the production of a unit of currency (if diamonds were the currency) with work. That marginal work in mining the marginal diamond is rewarded to the miner by then being able to spend the diamond. In the long run the supply of diamonds would stop at the point where the marginal cost of mining diamonds equalled the marginal benefit of spending the diamonds. If the economy demanded more diamonds the price of diamonds would rise and more miners were come in to mine more diamonds until its price went back down again to the cost of mining diamonds. This is the same theorizing as the use of a gold standard. (p.s. while this might be an interesting model for stabilizing the diamond or gold industry despite its erratic scarcity and rush in relation to the rest of the economy - it is not at all obvious that this monetary system is beneficial or stabilizing for the rest of the economy - indeed history tells us that it is not. Diamonds and gold would destabilize our economy - indeed the only reason the gold standard worked well was because it was a gold exchange standard i.e. huge stocks of gold were held off the market by central banks and used them to stabilize its price)

Now let's flip this over to a knowledge standard unit of account. People who create knowledge should have the right to mint currency. It assumes that as a last resort people can use the currency to buy knowledge - maybe buy a patent or mathematics tutoring..? Anyway, let's say that the currency is backed by knowledge (and it could be stabilized by a central bank of knowledge that helps to ensure a demand and supply with some buffer stock stabilization method).

Now what....

Is this the labor intensity in knowledge in a market system, that you are looking for?. Clearly it would attract those who could mine the knowledge the fastest as they would get the fastest rewards.

But how do we measure knowledge, compare it, standardize it into units?

Michael, would you consider market pricing dynamics an efficient way to measure the relationship between a bitcoin's price and its negentropic information content?

Because there may be MANY reasons why a bitcoin is priced the way it is, so how would we represent that VALUE in an aggregate way across all variables besides a market pricing dynamic?

It's just a vague thought. Can a chain of sci/math discoveries (or "improvements") in a field be described a la blockchain? Say the research from Aristotle, Galileo, Newton, Einstein... Another chain is the development of combinators (see Stephen W.), or the line from Fermat through Wiles... The mining is really intense and costly, the previous steps (at least the reasonably recent) are well documented and all (usually) included in the current "block". Is it completely out of touch?

I cannot find the code for "Building a Blockchain , Mining a block " . Day 2 Bitcoin, 47 minutes into the video

I assess digital currencies based on the body behind them whether it is the United States, the European Union, or Bitcoin miners. I think it would be interesting to have less fees for transactions with digital currencies such as the Digital Dollar.

I think it would be interesting to see an equivalent of the World Wide Web develop with cryptocurrencies. I think if there was a way to combine elements of the World Wide Web, Wikipedia (free access to the sum of all human knowledge), the metric system (a unit system for all people for all time based on unchanging universal physical constants), and math, I would be interesting a currency.

The issue is cryptocurrencies are concerned with money, and I don't think that can be solved and I don't think it should be solved (for example Bitcoin solves decentralization but has massive energy impacts on the environment).

Bernard Lietaer has a theory about Monetary diversity or pluralism and the economy. You can search this online and find videos or text on this topic. It is very interesting.

Definitely an interesting area for exploration. I mentioned to Peter above, some of the larger areas of interest within Wolfram and blockchains are providing blockchains with information about the world to facilitate and unlock the full potential of smart contracts. Additionally, because most blockchain data is public, there's lots to do with data analytics. Both areas are in development! I will touch on those ideas in day 5.

Can we get the recording for yesterday (Wednesday ) , "Exploration of Blockchains" please

To watch a recording you need to sign up for the series and then you will get the link in your email.

I'm a university student and I wonder if there will be a way to get a diploma with a nonfungible token by May 2024. I am excited about this aspect of NFTs because I could lose my paper high school diploma more easily than a high school diploma with an NFT in an Internet server run by Google or a database for example.

A bespoke NFT was made during the 2021 Wolfram Summer School using Cardano blockchain. It is an area of interest for many academic and professional institutions, especially for credentials and reputation.

Wolfram does not manage its own blockchain.

Some of the larger areas of interest within Wolfram and blockchains are providing blockchains with information about the world to facilitate and unlock the full potential of smart contracts and to do analytics on blockchain data. Both areas are in development! I will touch on those ideas in day 5

I think it would interesting if there was a blockchain with a similar philosophy to the metric system and the International System of Units. For example, the United States imperial system came out of a system of hundreds of weights and measures with as much variety as the number of cryptocurrencies today. By contrast, the metric system was designed by a group of mathematicians and scientists after the French Revolution. Joseph Louis Lagrange, Pierre-Simon Laplace, Gaspard Monge, Marquis de Condorcet and Jean-Charles de Borda worked on the definition of the meter, kilogram, and second. Eventually, the metric system became the International System of Units/SI which was redefined on 20 May 2019. I am wondering if there's a mathematically based cryptocurrency that isn't about new features and making a lot of money.

This is how mining is described on one of the sites:

"What motivates miners? The network holds a lottery. Every computer on the network races to be the first to guess a 64-digit hexadecimal number known as a “hash.” The faster a computer can spit out guesses, the more likely the miner is to earn the reward. "

Could you please deliberate. What's the "lottery"? What is given about the number to be "guessed".

More generally (from another description): What kind of math problems are offered? How are they posed?
What are the "initial conditions"?

A few "toy examples" would help. Thanks.

The story of the first transatlantic cable is quite enthralling: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/transatlantic-cables D. Geere "How the first cable was laid across the Atlantic" Wired : BUSINESS 18.01.2011 It prompts some corrections to the Day 1 lecture materials. Thanks. M

Oh yes, Steph!  

1. it broke so many times! Just imagine two boats in the ocean laying it down and then pulling it out, again and again? 

2. Morse himself supervised the project!

3. Here is also a good example of learning hard way: "On 3 September, 1858, the cable failed. In an attempt to increase the speed of transmission, the voltage on the line was boosted from 600V to 2,000V, and the insulation on the cable couldn't cope. It failed over the course of a few hours, and it would be another six years before the capital was raised for another attempt. "It's still down there", John Kincey, a principal engineer from Cable & Wireless Worldwide and an expert on transatlantic undersea cables, told Wired.co.uk. "Most of them are. They're cleared near the beaches so that they don't interfere with fishing, but in most cases, they're still at the bottom of the sea."And this is a great reminder:" So next time you're reading about a transatlantic fibreoptic cable, remember the steadfast work of Frederick Gisborne and Cyrus Field back in 1858, in a pair of boats in the middle of the Atlantic".

I understand that not all of this fits the "blockchain narrative", but adding a link could be instructive and  ... inspiring. 

Thank you for pointing to this story! Best. M

• There is possibly an additional relation of the cable story to cryptocurrency. As we've learned, the cables are still there, at the bottom of the ocean. And this provides an opportunity for mining the copper :)

PS: And, btw, "by 1850, a link had been laid between Britain and France". Apparently, this one can be called "the first"

Henrick-Mario, what you ask regards a huge area of study, and my lectures next week will try to get at precisely this question, although by no means answer it. Software is ubiquitous and its code and the technology around it is directly or indirectly regulating our actions and our engagement with each other and with devices.

A discussion on the regulation of cyberspace (which I presume is what you mean by software - not just blockchain software), its pros and cons, might begin here. https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2000/01/code-is-law-html

A discussion of the affordances that blockchain software creates to incentivize and regulate our behavior in a social setting like a commons could begin here in a research topic that I am editing https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbloc.2021.577680/full

Samer (one of the authors) is at the Berkman Klein Center for the Internet and Society which is a good place to read about the use of software for addressing social issues.

So far @Dariia Porechna comment is that 'quantum encryption' is actually less the quantum encryption, but quantum key distribution and quantum-resistant digital signatures.

Here are the recommended resources from Day 1's notebook. We will talk about Lessons from the Crypto Wars briefly, and the Bitcoin White Paper in detail today in Day 2 .

Introduction to Cryptography by Dariia Porechna and Wolfram U

Lessons from the Crypto Wars by Danielle Kehl, Andi Wilson and Kevin Bankston

Bitcoin White Paper by Satoshi Nakamoto

I would also like to mention an interesting application of cryptographic mathematics for blockchains to the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search. The modern blockchain financial systems with cryptography such as RSA are based on large prime numbers. For more information I recommend https://www.mersenne.org/ https://eprint.iacr.org/2018/627.pdf

Really interesting, thanks for sharing Peter!

What do you think would need to happen to validate the provenance of these pieces? And if turned into NFTs, under what authority would people claim the "original" vs the "copy"? This would be trivial if NFTs were created at the moment of the art's inception, but going back into history is more challenging. What do you think?

Quote from article: "We were talking about provenance and ownership of the pieces. What if I was able to take them back and turn them into NFTs?"

Provenance - A record of ownership of a work of art or an antique, used as a guide to authenticity or quality.

Steph, Looking forward to our blockchain kick-off today.

Great idea to use this post as a way to collaborate and share ideas, materials and links outside of the online session. Please Reply to Steph's post above for a new thread, or reply directly in the threads below.

Blockchain is a relatively new scientific field of interest, very polemical and fascinating. Please add your questions, view points, and wisdom in this thread.

If you don't have a Wolfram Software - download the Wolfram|One 15-day trial. Then you can download the notebooks and "play along" https://account.wolfram.com/access/wolfram-one/trial

This study group is building up to the creation of a MOOC with notebooks that utilize the computational powers of the Wolfram Language (WL). You can check out courses other than blockchain on the Wolfram-U website: https://www.wolfram.com/wolfram-u/