Blockchain is a basic technology for all the cryptocurrencies in the wild, and the interest in them does not weaken over the last decade. Although most projects still attempt to build a decentralized financial system with no external control, the accent is gradually shifting towards constructing much more complicated systems with blockchain used to build a decentralized infrastructure for existing business-processes. Many projects are based on currently functioning cryptocurrencies — among examples are Ethereum and
Cardano. Some use fundamentally different structure and embed distributed ledgers into sustained business infrastructure which is being developed for several decades — for instance, Hyperledger Fabric or Corda. The others are oriented at building end-products aimed at changing some sphere of life by
automating and simplifying applications which seemed to be centralized by default. ALEHUB is a project like this — it is a platform for freelance and project management.
Blockchain is a variant of decentralized database consisted of block sequence (the naming looks evident now). Main features are high availability of information due to copying it multiple times and integrity provided by structure based on cryptographic hash-sum algorithms. Such advantages are equilibrated by amounts of memory required from every node to store blockchain and by necessity to use quite ineffective (by multiple criteria) integrity mechanisms. For example, in Bitcoin network the parties solve
computationally difficult task of finding appropriate block structure to construct the chain. Multiple attempts have been made to solve this issue — for instance, Cardano is using Proof of Stake algorithm, which is much more efficient in terms of computation but has own shortcomings. Solutions like
Hyperledger Fabric reject anonymity at all in favor of structuring roles in the system.
An important issue is confidentiality of information in the blockchain. As replication (copying) data is performed within the whole system, encryption should be used to protect information. But in this case nodes which keep track of the blockchain cannot verify contents of uploaded information and are
powerless against flooding with enormous amounts of dummy information generated by potential intruder. Although protecting against this type of attacks can be performed with payments for storing information, such approach is not perfect. Either it implies preliminary charging for space in use, or charges are gradual — but then there is a real risk of losing data in case of untimely paying. Besides, the amount of information for storing might be too large which harms projects dealing, for instance, with Big Data.
ALEHUB while building its infrastructure follows principles created by developers of Corda system. It implies storing project data only by nodes which are actually related to it. Corda stores transaction information that way. In ALEHUB the matter of concern is the project management process. All the
private data is stored in special structures which remind of blockchain and are shared only by parties of concrete project. There are several blockchains of this “type”:
- Chat — contains correspondence of project parties;
- Version control system — contains source code of the project and versions of it;
- Issue tracker — used to track and fix issues related to the project;
- Documenting system — stores project documentation and can reference version control system;
- Treaty control system — used to manage legally effective business correspondence, i.e. it stores electronic versions of treaties made by interacting parties.
Later the list of nested blockchains might be extended as it is easy to observe that actually any information significant enough for any party can be stored inside of them.
Nested blockchains allow to achieve maximum confidentiality of stored data. Third parties are able to acquire it if only some party with granted access hands it over. Technically such leakage cannot be prevented by any freelance system. Thus the client’s interests should be protected with organizational
measures — treaties, not to mention copyright legislation.
Nesting blockchains for version control system, issue tracker and documenting system are used to achieve several goals. Firstly, embedding such solutions into freelance platform allows to significantly increase the effectiveness of interactions: creation of tasks and contracts, formalization process, testing (quality assurance) and verification of project fulfillment are performed with just one resource. Secondly, the blockchain provides integrity (immutability over time) of the information. Thirdly, using digital signatures allows to organize protection against potential disclaimer. This is a situation when some party of dealing denies its existence. In such case all the other participants of interaction possess enough information to confirm or refute the fact of making a deal and in case of ALEHUB — the fact of transmitting a message, making a deal, creating a version of software, etc.
Basic blockchain supported by all nodes in the network is used to perform financial operations. While building financial model, developers of ALEHUB followed perennial banking experience embodied in one of the most popular cryptocurrencies of the present — Ripple. This system is not exactly a cryptocurrency: it is rather a stock exchange based on blockchain which has an internal token (XRP) traded at crypto exchanges. ALEHUB borrows the concept of promissory notes and liquidity providers. The providers of
liquidity are those users who take on debt obligations to participants. They create specialized tokens which represent some real resource — gold, dollars, rubles or anything else. These tokens express the obligation to pay debt in future. In the system tokens serve as a complete analogue of fiat money and are used as means of paying for labor of all parties participating in project and to make deductions in favor of platform developers and security-token holders. The developers of ALEHUB serve as the first provider of liquidity, but actually anyone can participate in the system playing the same role.
Security-token holders have a special meaning in the system. Firstly, they act as shareholders and thus have a right to acquire a share of the revenue when ALEHUB project starts to make money. Secondly, as repeatedly mentioned before, shareholders are those who are most interested in sustainable development and prosperity of the platform. Thus ALEHUB has an internal voting subsystem for shareholders to define core principles of project development. This subsystem is embedded to avoid the split of community
which happened to some cryptocurrencies in the past due to controversial decisions concerning the development process and core principles.
In whole, ALEHUB combines the advantages of distributed ledgers and perennial achievements of recruiting systems. The proposed solution is remarkable for high level of confidentiality provided. Besides, the parties are required to store much less data as the basic blockchain stores only general
information — contracts, ratings and financial operations.
More information about ALEHUB.IO project you can get on our web-site.
