BlockClock — Giving the power of “Time” back to the people

Introduction

Time is the most democratic resource in the world. It has been at the core of everything we do, whether today or in the distant past. It belongs equally to all of us — no amount of power or wealth can grant anyone more time than another.

Yet, paradoxically, the instruments that measure and manage time, forming the foundation of modern technologies, are controlled by providers of time. We grant these providers a degree of power and control, rooted in our collective trust. But is this trust truly based on merit, or merely on the convenience they offer?

These time values, fetched and used in our everyday applications, form the foundation of crucial decision-making. For example, in financial trading platforms, if a centralized time source provides inaccurate or delayed timestamps, it can result in suboptimal outcomes, such as incorrect order execution or discrepancies in price feeds, ultimately disadvantaging the end user.

With the advent of Web3, we are increasingly focused on achieving trustlessness across industries and use cases. However, we have yet to fully address an element that impacts nearly everything we build — time. Today, we rely on Local Machine Time, Oracles like Chainlink, or the block.time defined by miners. Yet, none of these mechanisms embody the democratic ideals that the instrument of time should hold.

What are we doing about it?

At STXN, since our inception, we have been dedicated to expanding the scope of Web3 use cases, researching, and developing ideas that push the boundaries of decentralization. We are also committed to creating opportunities for people worldwide to join the decentralized ecosystem — especially those who have been excluded due to a lack of resources.

Our solution to these challenges is embodied in a single product: the BlockClock.

The BlockClock provides a decentralized time, no longer controlled by any single company or source, but sourced from the millions of individual users of BlockClock. We call these individuals who use BlockClock on their devices as the “TimeKeepers.”

Why would anyone want to become a TimeKeeper?

1. The Pride of Stewardship
   TimeKeepers hold the honor of being custodians of time for applications worldwide, contributing to a more decentralized and equitable future.
2. Time Rewards
   TimeKeepers earn rewards for their participation, providing an accessible entry point into the crypto space — a world driven by incentives and opportunities.

With BlockClock, we are not just redefining how time is managed; we are creating a decentralized movement where anyone, anywhere, can be a part of this revolutionary change.

How does it work?

The BlockClock architecture is split into three main components:

1. Mobile Applications (iOS & Android)
2. Solvers
3. Smart Contracts

Smart Phone Application

The goal of the BlockClock application is to be have large global adoption with network peers distributed far and wide. To achieve this, we have designed a lightweight mobile application, drawing inspiration from the success of our in-house product, CleanApp.

Upon installation, the BlockClock app seamlessly sets up a new Ethereum address (EOA / “wallet”) for each user in the background, ensuring a frictionless experience. This wallet will be used for accumulating Time Token rewards earned by users and for verifying locally that the decentralized time is accurate.

When users open the app, they are greeted with an intuitive interface that invites them to provide their device’s time to a network of time relayers. Relayers are responsible for a very specific task of receiving and hosting all the collected signed time data. To maximize security any relayer can check other relayer for fraud and censorship. To remove the burden of transaction costs, the local time — that is submitted by the user/app — is signed locally using the wallet. This ensures that the source of the data is verifiable as an authenticated TimeKeeper.

All collected and signed data from devices around the globe will be hosted on all of the relayers having public facing interfaces. This open-access approach allows anyone to verify or utilize these time inputs for their respective purposes, fostering transparency and trustlessness. In the initial version, we are making relayers and solvers part of the same binary, but in the future, we may separate them into two separate entities to add more modularity.

Time tokens are earned by users for every data point they provide. To avoid exploitation and to promote diverse inputs, we will be limiting the daily feed limit for each Time Keeper, also ensuring not more than one Time Token is minted for an address in an hour.

For the first version of the BlockClock we have this interface. On the bottom right notice that the earth time or the consensus time is 18:32:43, but with the user presses the very intuitive button on the screen to provide the local time of their device to the global consensus, and subsequently updating the Earth Time. Also, note the increase in TimeToken balance of the user.

Solvers

For the BlockClock use case, we harness the power of on-chain scheduling and MEVTime values to:

1. Create a cron job for BlockClock time updates.
2. Provide proof of time during MEVTime events.

How Solvers Work for BlockClock

Anyone can create a BlockClock solver by staking a predefined amount into the system. This staking mechanism ensures accountability, as solvers can be slashed if they provide malicious inputs or incorrect proofs of time.

The solvers perform the following key functions:

1. Data Processing: Solvers scan the pool of collected time signatures submitted via the BlockClock mobile application.
2. Data Filtering: They identify time values that are:
   a. Fresh (i.e., later than the current time displayed on the BlockClock contract).
   b. Authenticated (i.e., signed by verified TimeKeepers).
3. Consensus Building: Based on the filtered inputs, solvers calculate the new time value for the BlockClock.
4. On-Chain Update: Solvers make a call to update the BlockClock contract with the newly calculated time value.

Integration with STXN Infrastructure

The update to the BlockClock contract is executed through a CallBreaker contract, a core component of the STXN infrastructure. CallBreaker is the general entry point of execution for all solvers making contract calls across all STXN-enabled applications. While the details of CallBreaker can be skipped here, more information is available in the STXN Documentation.

Thanks to the STXN infrastructure, every update to the BlockClock automatically schedules a new on-chain call for the next update. This scheduled call allows solvers to provide fresh time values and proofs for subsequent updates, ensuring a seamless and trustless process.

Smart Contracts

The BlockClock application leverages an on-chain contract called the BlockTime, which serves as the single source of truth for time across any conceivable use case. This contract maintains a consensus of time, derived from the collective inputs of all TimeKeepers.

Upon deployment, the BlockTime also deploys an ERC-20 contract called the Time Token. This token represents the value of the work contributed by the TimeKeepers.

With every time update in the BlockTime contract, the signers of the newly provided time data are rewarded with Time Tokens. These rewards are distributed within the same transaction that updates the clock, ensuring efficiency and seamless incentivization for the TimeKeepers.

In the provided sequence diagram, the entities Solver, CallBreaker, and LaminatedProxy form the backbone of the STXN infrastructure. Together, they enable critical functionalities, including:

1. Copying and Rescheduling Jobs: The infrastructure seamlessly replicates and reschedules the time update job on-chain, ensuring continuous and automated updates.
2. MEVTime Integration: It facilitates the inclusion of signatures as MEVTime inputs to the updateTime function, enhancing the reliability and utility of the time updates.

After every successful time update, the BlockTime contract executes a call to batchMint Time Tokens. This operation distributes the tokens to all the signers who contributed valid time data, rewarding them for their participation and ensuring a fair incentive structure.

The Revolution will be Live

True change is not driven by agencies or corporations — it comes from people. People who challenge the concentration of power, who are willing to take control into their own hands. Revolutions are born on the ground, fueled by people who want to see change.

At STXN, we aspire for our work to be the catalyst for change in the Web3 space, bridging the gap between those excluded from this movement and those ready to take charge, starting with the most democratic resource of all.

The BlockClock represents something far greater. It is poetic, powerful, and revolutionary. By embracing open-source principles, we invite collective insights and celebrate the transformative potential of the people. At our core, we are one with the people we serve, and they are one with us.

Together, let’s ignite this revolution. The revolution is live, and it is onchain.