What Jack Dorsey said @ Consensus 2018

“Why can’t I delete my tweets? “ that was Paul Cigna’s rant ...when he couldn’t get this interview with Jack Dorsey :), thats the way this conversation started at #Consensus2018, a close of day Keynote I had bookmarked for a guaranteed attendance.
I wanted to see what the 140 characters (now 280) guy had to speak beyond the limits :)

Pre-Bitcoin era: “the Old Testament”

How square started ?

People Couldn’t sell : coz no credit card :(

A Month Jack promised : a platform that could accept credit card just to make a sale in the most raw conditions (garage sale, apple picking , mall 5$ ride on’s) 

Mantra: don’t build a Credit card reader make it available/possible to execute a sale just anywhere anyhow. Roughly Right is better than a perfect #epicfail

JackZ Initial reactions on Bitcoin: 

• Respect for cryptography and cryptographers.
• Couldn’t be the best myself so follow the gods.
• Totally blown with Satoshi’s white paper and the way it was introduced to the world with its guiding principles and adoption.
• Enabling on the twitter and square platform a network effect for Bitcoin. From candles to bikes sale pragmatics weren’t easy.

What changed bw 2014 and 2017

• Community engagement changed things twitter made it vocal and real.
• Can twitter or square work on Bitcoin : the goal set was to set the cash card and use Bitcoin buy a Cappuccino across the street? It worked after a weeks tether struggle with square cash to make the point of sale with Crypto 

Jacks Pointers on UX & how SQUARE will democratize the “financial industry”

• Adding a UX and adhering to Squares speed and reliability a great approach was developed on the sell side of affairs 
• Ultimately a platform to bring both techs together in a way it’s compliant fast replicable and acts as a Store of Value on Square platform. 
• Goal was to make a easy WYSIWYG app wrt simplicity 

Jacks Store of Value examples eludes that crypto needs some form of being backed by a Store of Value 

Unbanked ?

Reaching the un-banked in a fun geeky , secure and altruistic way made it easy for people to show their intent to use the new fast platform to move money from A to B.

Square as the first Public company to allow Bitcoin as a Payment gateway ?

• mindset of making it happen
• First mover advantage 
• Educate regulators like the SEC to be convinced on “how this can help set the level playing field mindset.”.

What will be “the single Reserved currency of the Internet”

• The internet deserves a native currency even if it’s not Bitcoin 
• Nothing from a corporate standpoint must intimidate the open source nature of the community supporting DLT, Crypto to help live with the Open native Decentralized approach to the concept.
• Has to make it a fair world of economy of prosperity for all. If the tech is not available to all, that will stifle innovation.

Jack stresses 

“A Centralized company will always benefit from Decentralization”

• A location agnostic company will be able to bolster such initiatives of Decentralization 
• The company has to break into the current concept of centralized to move towards Decentralized to help make trust(twitter) and transactional(Square) aspect fully Decentralized.

Where is Square heading retrospectively with the financial markets ?

• Build a easy honest global network to work to compliment all the first principles.
• Work towards building or supporting a native currency of the internet 
• That currency must drive more access and adoption ( like buy a coffee :))

“The Desire to solve the financial Independence that solves the fundamental aspect of freedom and the electricity of energy that the community has to keep the hats on will keep this channel always foreword facing  to transact digitally will a native currency”

“Democratized Decentralized Open collaborative platforms will be the platforms of the future, it’s a “too soon” pledge but it is the mantra of this paradigm shifting technology.”

Jack: on how can this be made a “everyday currency”?

• merge perspectives.
• Make it more open than it is.
• Move it from a 10 year to 5 year timeframe for echoing adoption.

How does jack handle skeptics?

• regulator narrative on establishing the belief system on the first principles and defining the native currency for the intent
• Generate a lot of positive debates on focal points to channelize focused efforts for the platform.
• Narrative of moving money around easily as the central theme of the Company. 

I think we can close this out with the following nuances from Jack Dorsey

• Transparency 
• Preach and Practice and adopt Decentralization.
• Make the adoption and UX so simple that it becomes the front and center for network effect.
• Work aggressively towards getting to a “Native Currency for the Internet” 
• Wait for book : “My first Bitcoin”

I was 15 feet away from Jack for the first time I focused on asking him a couple Qs or just sink in his aura than rushing for a #SelfieMomentwithJackDorsey

Happy reading !!!!!! Let me know what you decoded form Jacks interview that I missed :)

Blockchain needs IoT for a fully Trusted SupplyChain

I was holding onto this post until I attended the Consensus 2018 NYC Blockchain summit to get more dope, reference and “Finality” to my thinking around the adoption of IOT for Blockchain to make Blockchain real....The Microsoft session and the eye opening session from the Ports and Shipping hubs spilled 2 important aspects to throttle up some chain of thought on embracing IoT on the SupplyChain Blockchain use-case

Image Courtesy: hackernoon
https://hackernoon.com/when-iot-meets-blockchain-%EF%B8%8F-892fecdaf00c
(This hackernoon post, thank you for addressing something that will be my follow-up posts where the Blockchain will help the IOT, in my current post I'm trying to emphasize how IOT is an enabler for a perfect supplychain ledger...

Moving on...

1. Even if your data is on the chain it could be fake at the source, it’s like having an immutable ledger of garbage/fake attribution.
2. IoT could seem expensive during ROI manifestation, however to make the ledger concrete, digitization of the physical Asset with IoT framework will provide the real pulse of “Tamper resistant”(imagine a Cryptographically enabled lock for a trailer Refrigerator carrying meat being both digitized and IoT moderated) will serve digital read and sensor protection from Shenanigans.
3. Stripping out the current backend systems or legacy processes to embrace new is not the norm, there has to be interoperability and application rationalization twined into the discovery phase of any project or prototype.

All these pointers coming from Anil John at the DHS were extremely eye opening to help curate the proposition of Blockchaining current state to help participate in the hype oriented rat race....

Whether it’s a farm to fork use case or a global trade use case or any supplychain use case, IoT makes the deal “Real”.

...having stated that I’ll broadly pie out SupplyChain into major areas in the enterprise where a “Transfer of Value or a Transfer of Asset” occurs from point to point in the process moving forward.

• Forecasting & Planning
• Ordering , Receiving , Quality Management and PutAway
• Picking and Packing
• Distribution & Logistics
• Transportation & Freight Management
• Asset & Inventory Management
• Returns

The whole mix of trade compliance kicks in for cross-border SupplyChain attribution.

Each of these areas are so complex and transaction heavy that systems of record fail to keep up with all kind of needs, needs can be scalability, Security, trust between parties, digitization, regulation, Reporting , Auditing and anything that requires constant scrubbing of the IT strategy that helps keep the SupplyChain cranking to help Run “Business as Usual”.

With the spin of “how Blockchain can help SupplyChain boost potential” has made it easy to talk but a difficult task to accomplish off late with every one trying to lobby in use cases 40-50% of them don’t even sound convincing.

Most customers say they are ok to live with the current framework of enterprise software and third party help to maintain operations, some customers understand that there could be value with the Blockchain “tech disruption” and the rest of the herd falls under the “Let’s wait and watch and embrace if successful and when it gets to mainstream adoption”.

Being a customer today I also identify into a hybrid one on these quadrants.

But I fully agree that If Blockchain can deliver value over the existing framework it has to differentiate itself substantially to go mainstream, there has to be a trust in the model and a bigger trust in the use-case itself.

Most times in the Blockchain space the Solution is trying to derive the problem. That’s the worst way of solving any problem statement. However since it’s an emerging concept not that easy to understand and digest , the reverse engineering approach doesn’t hurt if it leads to an appropriate use case.

The digress from the topics core relay ....was to give a pulse of the customer sentiment and creates a Segway into enablers, IoT being a very important one...

Unless there are Devices that can scan ,record, tape and manifest proof on-chain about ,what’s happening at the source, there cannot be any differentiation to looking at the same data that’s everyone is used to.

Ex we can still track Provenance indirectly if we used a BPM based tool centrally with all process touch-points looking forward or backward without a Blockchain , but that’s missing key concepts related to the “Trust Model”.

That data can be manipulated if required to prove a point or influence a Material Impact to the Manufacturer or the Supplier, proving anomalies can be very difficult or close to impossible due to centralization and a close looped process even though they are digitally integrated between the parties via a Business Network or a point to point system...

Blockchain with IoT makes it REAL

And how is that ?

• Instead of a Centralized Database there will be a Decentralized Distributed Database or a ledger as we call it and all the transactions will be recorded there.
• That Chain will hold all data coming from sensors and connected smart devices , enterprise software, business network with curated attribution that will benefit all parties with different visualization and interaction modes with the Blockchain ....it will provide “a real feel of tracking what’s happening at the source and how” and provide a sense of belief with all possible attribution and visual feeds.
• All Parties will have a copy of the ledger which is immutable once Finality of a block holding transactions is hashed and signed using cryptography.
• Identified parties will be selected to provide Finality based on what is at stake for whom and how much from a “stake” standpoint.
• Most people are confused if mining is mandatory & in the process happens to be the only way to verify proof of work on-chain, its not and it took sometime for me to get that understanding as well.
• Currency and Mining can be decoupled from the chain, its not mutually exclusive !
• An IoT enablement coupled with a smart sensors recording and attributing process, constantly feeding the chain will deliver a “metadata with meaning” that’s cryptographically secure.

And finally the IoT will be the only way we can enable a virtual tracking mechanism that can feed the chain

Feed from “sensors” can be

• an image
• a video
• a graph of performance
• a Certificate of inspection
• a Chain of Custody artifact
• a simulation of proofs
• a cryptographically hashed QR code directly on an Asset
• a Cryptographically etched asset
• An RFID tag with the hash and a reference to the block

These are the ways it will be able to differentiate itself from the core enterprise software delivered processes.

Also note that using IoT we can define a new end to end Blockchain governance process that can now connect and make responsible selected parties available on-chain that were never integrated earlier, sharing an immutable ledger running on their nodes will craft a very neat data set that can be relayed to the same parties in a way that data and reporting becomes useful to them to help accelerate or help achieve efficiency with the Blockchain enablement.

Before I installed the NEST thermostat, I would keep a track of how long did I use the heater or a cooler and I would change the air filter when I thought it was time

NEST IoT report now allows me to review stats visually on energy consumption and sends me reminders and also a plan on how I should be more energy efficient and environmentally responsible.

I’m sure in the days to come the analytics of IoT will be top notch putting current enterprise analytics software reporting to shame.

Enterprise use cases 

(A) IBMs Watson IoT is changing by the world and with the Maersk collaboration will save billions of dollars on cross border container tracking and all sorts of line of credit related vetting and transaction recording and monitoring on chain making that ledger available to all parties in the SupplyChain.

IBM Maersk approach looks not just to alienate the use case to Maersk but open the idea to the ocean carriers creating a consortium to help get cargo on the blockchain mainly looking at the Letter of Credit and other natural barriers improving global GDP by 5-6%

(B) Everledger has revolutionized the diamond industry and the more I de-code their success it leads me to their adoption and embracing the element of RFID , IoT in the process making it REAL.

Conclusion:

We don’t want an “immutable ledger of garbage” if we are serious about embracing a distributed ledger technology into the SupplyChain, only IoT can make this real and compliment the real “Trust” aspect.

We need to work hard securing these devices from bad actors and that’s why we need Blockchain in retrospect to make this happen.

Next Post: Why Blockchain is required to secure IOT a converse of today's narrative
Follow me on twitter @tridipchakra

PS: Please read the hackernoon post on 

When IoT meets Blockchain

https://hackernoon.com/when-iot-meets-blockchain-%EF%B8%8F-892fecdaf00c

Consensus 2018 #NYC ..The #Blockchain has you

I am excited to be attending Consensus 2018 It’s my first #Blockchain conference.....very different from the usual....in my past life conferences....I had a edge over agenda de-coding curating and making the most off the topics trends and work-stream specific manifestation and articulation. 

In short every conference gave a renewal to the incremental skill dimensions....and what I could bring back to the workplace, in the capacity of forward looking projects...

....this time the Topic is Blockchain and a wide variety of topics surrounding Cryptocurrency, Cryptography, Consensus protocols , interoperability movement in the Smart Contract Space of solutions and platforms, use cases already developed and use cases in the making, industry specific Blockchain governance , Regulatory aspects around Blockchain and Crypto.

I’m definitely looking forward to the fireside chat where Don Tapscott will light the fire and am hoping he will delve a little into the paper that he wrote for the WeF where he described how the Tapscott foundation joined hands with several folks and consortium's are defining the governance avatars on the Blockchain. 

I also hope I get to meet Vitalik, Vlad, Prof Gun Sirer, Prof Ben Goertzel, Laura Shin & Erik Voorhees ....it will be all my heroes in one place....

I have curated my strategy to attend most of the Supply chain for blockchain sessions. My primary focus would be to hear how the blockchain can demonstrate tangible benefits to SupplyChain, Procurement, Distribution and Asset Management, Trade Compliance , Provenance, and then do a few tracks on my favorite topics surrounding consensus protocols upgrade , cryptography& next big steps in the areas of enterprise adoption of Blockchain and also the whole sustainability aspects of mining/crypto-economics protocols.

Some of the stand-out SupplyChain agenda items are highlighted in blue :

1) Decentralized Electric Infrastructure

2) Layer 2 Blockchain Innovations

3) From Crypto Fiat to RegTech: Government Use of Blockchain Technology

4) Real Property

5) The Race Towards Technology Interoperability

6) Decentralized Networks: Strategies and Innovations

7) Compliance and Enforcement Strategies

8) Innovations in Cryptography I and II

9) Ports and Shipping Hubs

10) The Integration of Machines into Contracts

11) Jurisdiction Shopping

12) Investment I and II

....there are more, but these are more Blockchain specific, the rest are CryptoCurrency, CryptoRegulation, CryptoTrading, CryptoConsensus and several Fireside Chat format discussions with a Opening and a Closing Keynote.

So #Consensus2018 hoping my thirst for #Blockchain and crypto know-how quadruples after this conference.

Thank you #Coinbase 🤘

The Bizzabo app allows us to connect, so if you live supplychain in the blockchain realm of things let’s catch up at the conference and exchange ideas.....

Last year's playback is here and this one specifically "From Capital Markets to Supply Chain https://youtu.be/M2GOVr_CFKA https://www.coindesk.com/events/consensus-2017/video/day1/

Smart Contract Security , everybody needs a escape hatch

I’m a huge fan of Prof Emin Gun Sirer and what best could it be.... when your favorite #blockchain host Haseeb Qureshi is on the opposite site interviewing Professor Sirer. ....the output is a manifest of great content and a dope of continuous learning.

Thank you software engineering daily’s Blockchain podcast for this wonderful subject covered in depth.

This blog has been inspired by the discussion.

Prof Sirer (Cornell University) runs the IC3 and has been very instrumental and vocal about the whole Smart Contract space focusing a lot on its security aspects follow his blogs here http://www.initc3.org/

This blog discusses about an important topic of discussion around “Smart Contract Security, in the days of our lives”

The cryptocurrency and the blockchain world is currently the wild Wild West ....and the wild Wild West attracts cowboys 🤓.

Info graphic courtesy = me

Background

We will understand what a smart contract is and the nuances around it’s security.

What is a Smart Contract?

A program that can programmatically manage money flows or asset flows which is triggered by an event Or a condition to invoke the Smart Contract.

Machines decide what next steps to take based on event conditions 

All conditions have to agree on same sequence of “actions” and further act on the execution and then self execute the next logical programmed steps.

It can also be defined as a series of state transitions based on executed commands and their result sets published based on a consensus to deem Finality.

Quote Prof Sirer 

“Bitcoin was not meant to handle complex smart contracts vs Ethereum which is turing complete and can handle complicated smart contracts.”

Unquote 

Each platform is meant to do what is expected off it, for example a Decentralized Distributed Database must be used to send triggers to a smart contract and not load the platform with data and attribution.

Likewise Bitcoin network was supposed to only solve a peer to peer money transfer smart contract in a trusted Decentralized model.

It doesn’t have to be over engineered to attribute it to drive complex self executing exit criteria.

What can these Smart Contracts solve?

- bring economic parity in money flows and money distribution 

- insurance and other condition driven business use cases like a simple example that Prof Seirer uses is an insurance payout ...where parties A and B pay into the insurance node and if A meets with a bad event “a trigger is invoked to the payout smart contract” No questions asked “the system pays out without the involvement of the intermediary.”

Why Risk with smart contracts? 

What to mitigate?

Since these Smart contracts hold money primarily, its the dart board for the hacker, people just want to break it and exit with the money, in most cases anonymity doesn’t even allow to track down the hacker.

Let’s understand what those security issues are, which when compromised leaks a contract financially from irreversible losses at most times, leading to the founders of the platform having to Hardfork the chain at times to recover or stop the draining of funds from these Smart Contracts.

Security Issues with Smart contracts

- the Smart Contract language is a New Domain and is not very well tested and quirky and hence the platforms nacensy makes it hard to believe that it can be bullet proof.

- Biggest Problem: 

Cannot be modified once they are deployed/issued...unless the developer has put some mechanisms that can shield attacks against potential bugs or loose end entry /hack points.

- Can only do what it’s programmed to do(Atleast for the way the protocol is defined today)

"Security is often always an afterthought, but because of the foundational basis of the technology, there needs to be a depth of defense and building controls in every layer of the application." Quoted from IBM’s article on how the Blockchain needs to be protected from compromise even though it’s Decentralized.

Understanding the DAO hack

In the DAO hack there was a address that was draining funds out of the Smart Contract and the owner of the contract did not have any kill or shut off or escape hatch sequence of contract transitions.

I won’t go too much into the DAO hack you can read professor Sirers blog on hacking distributed.

So....the contract developers need to do it right the first time to safeguard the contract with different armour or escape techniques.

What are some of these different techniques 

Multi-timed contacts

Create mutiple contacts, by this ...the payout happens only when all the contracts agree to the state transition.

Let’s say there is a payout defined on a multi timed smart contract based on consensus trigger from all contracts and If there is an exploit or attack to the implementation of contract 1, the other 2 contracts execute a state transition that will shut off payout sequences or operative sequences that are vulnerable to attacks

However if the same group of people develop all 3 parts there will still be vulnerabilities to hack the sequence.

Escape hatches

Core concept resonates around the fact that when you detect Byzantine behavior the smart contract goes into a escape hatch, just like a tortoise going back into its shell to prevent a predator attack 🦊.

And the only way to return back to a operative state is by the owners trigger function switch for the escape hatch that’s protected by techniques like unique key or Throttling

Throttling examples :

Balance drop beyond acceptable limits triggers alerts.

If desired correspondence between tokens outstanding and balance goes below acceptable norms , stop payout transactions and freeze the throttle of funds.

Several encryption techniques can be used to secure smart contracts. This will lead us to understand how can data encryption be handled on a blockchain, if privacy leakage can be stopped.

Escape hatches, zero knowledge proofs, homomorphic encryption, public key encryption and many more

Conclusion

We can discuss these in more detail in another blog, but to summarize this post, all I’d like to say is that if you are writing a smart contract that holds money, try to make it like a Level 1 software intellect (a typical Level 1 sofrmteare used in Aircrafts that can bring a flight down if compromised) its money at stake...

Follow me on Twitter @tridipchakra

Further references 

Software engineering daily podcast 

https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/2017/10/20/smart-contract-security-with-emin-gun-sirer/

Hacking Distributed (Dr Seirer) http://hackingdistributed.com/