Unlocking the Essentials: Exploring DHC Nodes in the Alpha Testnet
Incentives for DHC Node
10%(100M) of BOOL tokens will be distributed as incentives for Testnet Nodes, with 50 million dedicated to DHC nodes.
For the first 200 nodes, there is a daily incentive of 625 tokens, with a maximum incentive of 50,000 tokens (achievable after 80 days);
For nodes 201–300, there is a daily incentive of 500 tokens, with a maximum incentive of 40,000 tokens (achievable after 80 days);
For nodes 301–400, there is a daily incentive of 375 tokens, with a maximum incentive of 30,000 tokens (achievable after 80 days).
Tokens obtained from the testnet must be staked and locked for mining for 6 months, followed by linear release over 18 months.
Upon the launch of the mainnet, each DHC node must stake 100,000 tokens (temporary, subject to adjustment through community governance in the future). For all DHC nodes participating in the testnet, as they only have a maximum of 50,000 tokens, they can invite community users to delegate stakes or apply to the foundation to make up for the shortfall and enjoy the right to have the foundation delegate stakes for 6 months. The block rewards obtained from the foundation’s delegated staking will be used entirely for community airdrops.
DHC Node Introduction
Dynamic Hidden Committee (DHC) stands as one of the central and pivotal concepts within Bool Network, enabling it to achieve a security level equivalent to or surpassing that of Bitcoin.
DHC Nodes are a set of nodes in Bool Network that have been chosen among thousands of TEE Nodes by Ring VRF algorithm built upon ZKP and VRF.
How to Understand DHC in an Easy Manner
Let’s illustrate what “Dynamic Hidden Committees” mean with an example.
Imagine you are a general commanding 1,000 soldiers tasked with guarding 50 granaries. How would you organize your soldiers?
Assuming all granaries are equally important, the best arrangement would be to divide the 1,000 soldiers into 50 teams of 20, with each team responsible for guarding a granary.
However, dividing the soldiers brings a risk: if more than half of the soldiers in any team collude, the corresponding granary may be compromised. In other words, if 11 soldiers in a team collude, they could betray you and seize the granary.
To prevent such collusion and ensure the granaries’ safety, you can take the following measures:
Dynamic: Reorganize all soldiers into new groups and reshuffle the teams every day, so each soldier’s assigned granary and teammates become unpredictable.
Hidden: Blindfold the soldiers, preventing them from knowing which granary they are guarding or who their teammates are.
By doing this, rebellious soldiers won’t know with whom to collude. Even if some betrayal is prearranged, they won’t be able to control or know if the turncoats are in the same team.
It is assumed that a high probability of collusion success requires a majority of the 1,000 soldiers to collude. Through the “dynamic” and “hidden” approach, you ensure the reliability of each team reaches the level of the entire troop.
This is precisely the approach adopted by Bool Network.
DHC Node Functionality
DHC nodes serve the purpose of storing the distributed private keys of specific blockchains, including Bitcoin, for the verification of messaging security, while validators maintain transaction records and append new blocks to the Bool chain. DHC nodes play a critical role in ensuring the network’s security.
DHC Node Significance
As Bool Network’s verification nodes, DHC Nodes not only execute Bool Network’s core programs but also run Bitcoin full nodes, serving as the data availability layer for Bitcoin.
Bool Network provides services for Layer 2 through the original Dynamic Committee (DHC). Between Bitcoin and Layer2, Bool Network establishes payment channels based on DHC, facilitating the movement of BTC assets to Layer2.
How DHC Nodes Ensure Security of Asset Custody?
Ensuring the security of asset custody and allowing users to retrieve assets on the Bitcoin network if Layer2 come across any downtime are the two key goals of Bool Network.
Bool Network boasts thousands of nodes. Suppose a Bitcoin Layer2 project wishes to custody user assets in DHC. Here’s how DHC is created and how it ensures security:
- The project selects 21 nodes to custody Bitcoin assets, setting the threshold signature at 11, considering the thousands of nodes in Bool Network.
- Bool Network uses the Ring-VRF algorithm to randomly select 21 nodes from thousands to form a Committee.
- Asset management private keys are split into 21 key shards using MPC, and all 21 key shards are stored in nodes’ TEE environments.
- When a user needs to transfer assets, 11 nodes from the Committee can release the user’s assets by using TSS signatures.
Throughout this process, the ringVRF algorithm ensures node hiding, preventing malicious behavior in the Committee and increasing the cost of external attacks. Additionally, the nodes in the dynamic committee use MPC’s threshold signature technology to prevent single-point failures.
For example, 11–21 can continue to provide services even if 10 nodes are offline. The Committee also features a copy function, allowing the project to create multiple copies for stronger fault tolerance.
All DHC nodes run in a TEE environment. Hence, TEE node operators are unaware of the internal program operation, cannot alter the program, and cannot access private key shards. The only action TEE node operators can take is to stop the node service.
However, from the Game Theory perspective, node operators need to stake tokens. Stopping a node without gaining profits becomes an irrational action.
In addition to the feature of Hidden, the Committee also boasts Dynamic feature. Over time, the nodes forming the Committee change to another set of nodes, making it more challenging for hackers to attack.
For example, as the epoch round only lasts for 10 mins, it’s ABC nodes on this round, but it might change to be DEF nodes on the next round. This dynamic change increases the cost of hacking, as a hacker would need to find hidden nodes in thousands of nodes simultaneously and break TEE environments from a hardware level, making it nearly impossible.
Through these security designs, DHC ensures the security of asset custody and addresses cross-chain security issues. However, to inherit Bitcoin’s security, Bool Network also considers potential issues in Layer2 networks.
For regular users, after transferring assets to Layer2, they seldom move them back to Layer1. To prevent issues with Layer2 networks, Bool Network introduces the DA module, combined with DHC, and introduces the Forced Exit.
Bool Network submits the transaction data state generated by the Layer2 network to the DA layer.
In case of a Layer2 network exit, users can submit a Merkle proof proving their remaining assets in Layer2. DHC then verifies the user’s submission, Merkle proof, and DA layer data. If they are correct, DHC triggers an event, transferring the user’s assets on Bitcoin to them.
Through DHC, DA, and Forced Exit, Bool Network ensures that Layer2 built on its framework can inherit Bitcoin’s security.
How to become a DHC Node
By following the step-by-step guidance on Gitbook
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Crucial Components of Bool Stack
Bool Network envisions bringing Bitcoin’s interoperability and programmability to all blockchains. To realize this goal, Bool Network adopts a modular and open-source approach, culminating in the creation of the comprehensive developer framework known as Bool Stack.
With Bool Stack, individuals can effortlessly establish Bitcoin Layer2 leveraging Bool Network’s one-stop developer framework. This not only allows developers to quickly set up Bitcoin Layer2 but also ensures the inheritance of Bitcoin’s security and the sharing of Layer2 security.
Layer2 developed based on Bool Stack, namely Bitcoin’s execution layer, can rapidly utilize standard components like DHC, DA, Forced Exit, and Escape Hatch, seamlessly integrating them into their systems.
This framework empowers project teams to swiftly deploy Bitcoin Layer2 solutions, ensuring the inheritance of security features and facilitating the attraction of end-users.
Bool Network aspires to set the industry standard for Bitcoin Layer2 development, catering to diverse blockchains and project teams alike.
By furnishing this comprehensive developer framework, Bool Network is dedicated to fostering Layer2 development and establishing cohesive security standards across the blockchain industry.
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