ZEUS — Partisia Blockchain’s Complete Layer 1+2 Solution Explained
There are 7 main features and proprietary innovations that deliver Partisia Blockchain’s complete Layer 1+2 Blockchain. We call it, ZEUS.
In this post, we provide a brief introduction to the 7 main features that define Partisia Blockchain at the launch of mainnet and we will gradually extend and improve on these features as we work our way through the roadmap towards ZEUS 6.0. Each feature will have its own unique post which we will release leading up to mainnet launch.
Poseidon — Provable Fast Track Consensus
Hermes — Collateralized Token Bridging
In this blog post, we provide a brief description of the 7 innovative features that sets Partisia Blockchain apart as a new standard in the blockchain ecosystem.
Poseidon — Provable Fast Track Consensus
Partisia Blockchain involves all available nodes in the consensus through an innovative provable fast track consensus model. Transactions are eagerly added to blocks, validated and executed. Cryptographic measures ensure that validation is based on properly constructed blocks prior to signing transactions. The fast consensus model is based on ⅔ of all nodes validating the transactions and finalization is created quickly after block creation and in sub seconds. If the consensus is not properly validated, a proper Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) style consensus is triggered. We call it the Poseidon Consensus Model and claim that this is the fastest consensus model without the security compromises typically seen in the industry.
Iris — Complete Sharding
Partisia Blockchain comes with sharding built into layer 1. The governance shard keeps track of all shards and allocates blocks to the different independent block producing shards to maximize throughput in terms of validated transactions. Each shard runs the Poseidon Consensus Model independently, which means that any issues such as a BFT style reset on one shard does not impact the other shards. Sharding is gradually developed to dynamically adjust for throughput by spinning up new shards on demand. All nodes are involved across all shards hence scalability does not compromise consensus and the basic security of the entire blockchain. We call it Iris Sharding and claim that this is the most scalable blockchain without the security compromises typically seen in the industry.
Hermes — Collateralized Token Bridging
Cross-chain interoperability is native to Partisia Blockchain with Bring Your Own Coin (BYOC) and token bridges. BYOC brings external liquid tokens as payment to Partisia Blockchain, which economically aligns Partisia Blockchain with partner chains. The entire token bridge is another core innovation. A combined use of a double bookkeeping method, staking as collateral and large scale MPC based selection of Oracle nodes, forms the bridge. The token bridge limits accumulation of financial risk through frequently expiring epochs and MPC tokens as collateral staking. We call it Hermes Bridging and claim that this is the most secure token bridging in the industry.
Athena — Zero-Knowledge Layer
The most revolutionary and long run contribution by the Partisia Blockchain is the ability to run any privacy-preserving computation in combination with computation on public information. The privacy-preserving computation is provided by zero-knowledge (ZK) computation operated by accredited ZK nodes in known jurisdictions. This enables any mix of public and private applications to be developed on the Partisia Blockchain and it enables any Dapps to be regulatory compliant — even with somewhat conflicting regulation on transparency and data protection. We call this the Athena Zero-Knowledge Layer and claim that we set a new standard for the blockchain ecosystem.
Demeter — MPC-as-a-Service
The entire Partisia Blockchain is designed for secure and efficient orchestration of MPC-as-a-Service. The team behind the project has pioneered MPC and delivered commercial grade MPC since 2008. Partisia Blockchain is probably the most ambitious MPC platform and it comes with an extensive set of tools and a new set of MPC protocols called REAL. A core feature is efficient preprocessing that utilizes all the blockchain orchestration of many ZK nodes to the fullest extent to speed up realtime use of MPC. We call this Demeter MPC-as-a-Service and claim that we set a new standard for how to conduct any type of privacy-preserving computations within and beyond the blockchain ecosystem.
Apollo — Unified Public and Private Smart Contracts
Partisia Blockchain is a complete infrastructure that enables decentralized coordination of public as well as private computations. However MPC is a very advanced technology that requires a lot of knowhow to ensure efficient execution and to avoid security breaches. A very significant innovation are the Private Smart Contracts that makes it simple for any developer to tap into MPC-as-a-Service without prior knowledge nor cryptographic experts involved. The expertise and know-how of the Partisia expert team will be gradually built into the smart contract language to move blockchain technologies to an entirely new field of use. We call this Apollo Smart Contracts and set a new standard for how to simply setup highly advanced privacy-preserving computation within and beyond the blockchain ecosystem.
Mithra — Market For Trust
Partisia Blockchain is all about replacing not just the “Coordinator” of information as middleman but also the “Trustee” as a single point of trust and middleman. As any decentralized network, Partisia Blockchain relies on efficient node operators and no dominating numbers of malicious nodes. To grow a strong network of highly trusted efficient nodes, the Partisia Blockchain will gradually evolve into a market for trust — a market that rewards nodes that efficiently validate and propagate information and run MPC-as-a-Service and Token Bridges trusted by the users. Advanced truth-telling and incentive provision has been designed and will gradually be introduced to the network. We call this Mithra Market for Trust and set a new standard for incentive provision in P2P networks.
