An innovation that could solve the problem of Ethereum’s missing piece. But, what is this missing piece anyway?
Let's start at the beginning.
Blockchain technology has so far been one of the most innovative and transformative technological concepts in the world. Besides powering cryptocurrencies (which many believe to be the future of money), blockchain has also proven to be useful across multiple industries. Besides the numerous merits that blockchain holds, transparency and security are some of the most significant factors that have been the secret behind the constant growth of this technology.
All of this is well and good, but even blockchain experts understand that the technology could always use some improvements. For example, how can two people have access to one account? You simply share your private keys. Is it safe? Absolutely not; it would be a huge mistake. Your private keys, your crypto. Whoever holds the key holds the crypto. So, what now? The missing piece was found, so you never have to do this (again)!
Single user single address is the past; now multiple user single account is the new reality
The professional term for BlockBen’s CTO Andras Szabolcsi’s solution is a true and simple ‘non-interactive publicly verifiable distributed key generation and resharing’ (NPVDKG-RS) algorithm. We added not a multi-signature but a trustless key generation algorithm to a threshold signature scheme based on BLS. The proposed publicly verifiable secret share (PVSS) is very simple and uses a non-interactive zero-knowledge proof based on pairing-based cryptography.
It may seem incredibly complicated at first, but essentially it is a digital signature solution that can generate digital keys in a distributed, trustless way. It allows people to independently verify the authenticity of a given piece of information on a purely mathematical basis.
The trustless nature of the solution means that no external parties need to be trusted on the basis of a given word or promise. It is only the mathematical foundations that need to be trusted and tested. This way, we can verify that information or processes are credible and that they are up to previously set standards. Signatories do not need a central digital key distributor. Instead, they need to follow the instructions of a mathematical procedure. This is one of the solution's key features, and anyone can check the algorithm on Github.
This means that from now on, any address can be managed or controlled by multiple users in a trustless; decentralized way, whether it's about asset control or just a validation of any information. BlockBen's own hybrid blockchain NATRIX has the solution for this real-life, common problem.
1. Why have you published the algorithm?
We wanted to contribute to the open-source community! We believe in it, and we want to give something back because we've learned a lot from the community. In addition, the goal is that already existing systems, from crypto exchanges to traditional banking operators, should be able to implement the solution. That's what this interview is also all about; we want as many people as possible to know about the innovation, that a solution does exist, and that people don’t need to share their private keys anymore.
2. The Natrix blockchain was built to solve this century’s biggest financial challenges. Did that factor into your decision to build on it?
As you will see, everything is connected in our house. The concept of Natrix has evolved with the development of BlockBen and the need for innovations both in the crypto and traditional financial sector. In 2018, we were faced with the fact that there is no blockchain platform that is a legally compliant account management system. If there is none, it has to be created! So, we built Natrix, the hybrid of the two worlds. The knowledge was already available within our company, which is why we were able to create this platform. We selected the best parts of the traditional finance and the crypto world and built a "Neo core banking" platform on top of it.
2.1 Really?
Yes, we have created a neo0core banking platform on our blockchain platform to prove its power. And this is what BlockBen works on!
There was no blockchain platform that could do this! So, we built one. You can also build a supervised financial system on it, which is in progress. Auditable, and legally acceptable, and one of the National Banks from Europe has already given EMI license to a financial institution that is going to be using Natrix and our blockchain-based neo-core banking platform.
3. What do you believe is BlockBen’s most unique selling point?
Our blockchain’s (Natrix’s) platform token is a so-called value token: eBSO, available on Lbank and soon on Uniswap. It is capable of growth based on market demand and has an ever-increasing gold pool behind it. The more transactions that take place within the BlockBen ecosystem, the better it will be for the gold pool, as from every transaction, it receives remuneration. As the gold pool is increasing (currently 56.52 kg gold worth 3.06 million Euro), the base price of eBSO is also increasing, which means your token price cannot fall below this value.
4. User experience is one of the biggest problems of DeFi. Do you anticipate this to be an issue for BlockBen’s adoption hopes?
User experience is very important, so we pay special attention to it. With a major update on Natrix, our BlockBen Wallet will also get a whole new interface: a much more modern, 100% user-friendly one.
5. Have you factored looming regulations into BlockBen’s future?
We are already working in a highly regulated manner as an Estonian-registered fintech company since 2018. During this time, out of more than 2-3 thousand licensed firms, less than 100 have it now, so there has been a really high drop-out rate over the years, but our blockchain platform meets all requirements. We continuously renew our licenses, and very few companies in the sector can also claim to work with internal and external auditors. Regulations and transparency are key factors for us; we provide quarterly reports, an opportunity to connect on LinkedIn with our management team and last but not least, our roadmap tells a lot.
6. Is BlockBen the end goal? What other plans do you have for the platform’s future?
BlockBen was just the beginning with its products, services and ever-evolving ecosystem. This year, a new company will go live on Natrix, a payment service provider (EMI licence) in the European Union, to operate entirely on blockchain. As new companies emerge on Natrix, the better will be for eBSO, our unique platform token, which we like to call a value token. The gold pool behind it will keep growing, and so will the base price of eBSO. Everything is interconnected!