Alphabill high-level architecture.
Abstract:
In this paper, we explain the Alphabill family of technologies that addresses both unlimited scalability and unrestricted adaptivity. We deliver a sharded blockchain tech...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
In this paper, we explain the Alphabill family of technologies that addresses both unlimited scalability and unrestricted adaptivity. We deliver a sharded blockchain technology with unlimited scalability, called KSI Cash, which is based on a new form of electronic money scheme, the bill scheme. We present performance tests of KSI Cash that we have conducted with the European Central Bank in order to assess the feasibility of a digital euro. We show the system operating with 100 million wallets and 15,000 transactions per second (under simulation of realistic usage); having an estimated carbon footprint of 0.0001g CO2 per transaction. Furthermore, we show the system operating with up to 2 million payment orders per second, an equivalent of more than 300,000 transactions per second (in a laboratory setting with the central components of KSI Cash), scaling linearly in the number of shards. We explain, in detail, the key concepts that unlock this performance (i.e., the concepts of the bill money scheme). The results provide evidence that the scalability of our technology is unlimited in both permissioned and permissionless scenarios, resulting into the Alphabill Money technology. Next, we contribute the architecture of a universal tokenization platform that allows for universal asset tokenization, transfer and exchange as a global medium of exchange, called Alphabill platform. We reveal the crucial conceptual and technical contributions of the platform’s architecture, including the data structures of KSI Cash and Alphabill Money, the dust collection solution of Alphabill Money, and the atomic swap solution of the Alphabill platform.
Alphabill high-level architecture.
Published in: IEEE Access ( Volume: 10)
Centre for Digital Forensics and Cyber Security, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Guardtime, Tallinn, Estonia
Ahto Buldas (Member, IEEE) received the degree in computer science from the Tallinn University of Technology, in 1991, and the M.Sc. degree in simulation techniques for Boolean circuits and the Ph.D. degree in computational algebraic graph theory, in 1992 and 1999, respectively. He is a Professor of cryptography with the Tallinn University of Technology. His time-stamping related research started in 1997 and he has publis...Show More
Ahto Buldas (Member, IEEE) received the degree in computer science from the Tallinn University of Technology, in 1991, and the M.Sc. degree in simulation techniques for Boolean circuits and the Ph.D. degree in computational algebraic graph theory, in 1992 and 1999, respectively. He is a Professor of cryptography with the Tallinn University of Technology. His time-stamping related research started in 1997 and he has publis...View more
Information Systems Group, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Dirk Draheim (Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree from Freie Universität Berlin and the Habilitation degree from Universität Mannheim, Germany. Currently, he is a Full Professor of information society technology with the Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, where he is the Head of the Information Systems Group. The Information Systems Group conducts research in large and ultra-large-scale IT systems. He is also ...Show More
Dirk Draheim (Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree from Freie Universität Berlin and the Habilitation degree from Universität Mannheim, Germany. Currently, he is a Full Professor of information society technology with the Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, where he is the Head of the Information Systems Group. The Information Systems Group conducts research in large and ultra-large-scale IT systems. He is also ...View more
Guardtime, Lausanne, Switzerland
Mike Gault received the Ph.D. degree from the University of Wales, in 1994. He is the CEO and the Founder of Guardtime, a company he has led for the last ten years. He started his career on a postdoctoral fellowship conducting research with the Tokyo Institute of Technology on the numerical analysis of quantum devices. He then spent ten years as a Quant and Derivatives Trader with Credit Suisse Financial Products and Barc...Show More
Mike Gault received the Ph.D. degree from the University of Wales, in 1994. He is the CEO and the Founder of Guardtime, a company he has led for the last ten years. He started his career on a postdoctoral fellowship conducting research with the Tokyo Institute of Technology on the numerical analysis of quantum devices. He then spent ten years as a Quant and Derivatives Trader with Credit Suisse Financial Products and Barc...View more
Centre for Digital Forensics and Cyber Security, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Guardtime, Tallinn, Estonia
Risto Laanoja is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree with the Tallinn University of Technology, working on provable security of hashing-based constructs and the development of “strong pre-image awareness” and “bounded pre-image awareness” concepts. He is a member of the Research and Development Team, Guardtime.
Risto Laanoja is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree with the Tallinn University of Technology, working on provable security of hashing-based constructs and the development of “strong pre-image awareness” and “bounded pre-image awareness” concepts. He is a member of the Research and Development Team, Guardtime.View more
Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Takehiko Nagumo received the M.Sc. degree in development finance from the University of London and the M.B.A. degree in strategic management from Georgetown University. He is a Senior Managing Executive Officer of Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting. He is an Adjunct Professor in strategic management with the Kyoto University Graduate School of Management. Numerous times, his research on balanced scorecard has been pub...Show More
Takehiko Nagumo received the M.Sc. degree in development finance from the University of London and the M.B.A. degree in strategic management from Georgetown University. He is a Senior Managing Executive Officer of Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting. He is an Adjunct Professor in strategic management with the Kyoto University Graduate School of Management. Numerous times, his research on balanced scorecard has been pub...View more
Märt Saarepera received the doctoral degree in real-time systems verification from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He has extraordinary experience in developing blockchain systems. Also, he is an Experienced Business Developer, having shown his leadership skills by growing small startups to strong enterprises. He was the Founder of Guardtime, in 2006, which has now grown to one of the leading industrial blockchain deve...Show More
Märt Saarepera received the doctoral degree in real-time systems verification from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He has extraordinary experience in developing blockchain systems. Also, he is an Experienced Business Developer, having shown his leadership skills by growing small startups to strong enterprises. He was the Founder of Guardtime, in 2006, which has now grown to one of the leading industrial blockchain deve...View more
School of Computing and Digital Technology, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, U.K.
Syed Attique Shah (Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Informatics, Istanbul Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey. During his Ph.D. degree, he studied as a Visiting Scholar with The University of Tokyo, Japan; the National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan; and the Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, where he completed the major content of his thesis. He has worked as an Associate Professor ...Show More
Syed Attique Shah (Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Informatics, Istanbul Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey. During his Ph.D. degree, he studied as a Visiting Scholar with The University of Tokyo, Japan; the National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan; and the Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, where he completed the major content of his thesis. He has worked as an Associate Professor ...View more
Guardtime, Tallinn, Estonia
Joosep Simm received the master’s degree in computer science from the Tallinn University of Technology, in 2010. He is a Software Engineer with Guardtime. One of his specializations is performance testing and tuning of computer systems. In Guardtime, he has been integrating Guardtime technology to third party systems. He was the Lead Engineer in the KSI Cash Project. He has been active in software development, since 2005.
Joosep Simm received the master’s degree in computer science from the Tallinn University of Technology, in 2010. He is a Software Engineer with Guardtime. One of his specializations is performance testing and tuning of computer systems. In Guardtime, he has been integrating Guardtime technology to third party systems. He was the Lead Engineer in the KSI Cash Project. He has been active in software development, since 2005.View more
Guardtime, Tallinn, Estonia
Jamie Steiner received the bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and the master’s degree in business administration from the NYU Stern School of Business. He has 25 years of experience in intelligence, finance, and technology. While in the U.S. Air Force, he collected and analyzed signals and imagery intelligence, and crafted the Air Force’s premier course on precise geogra...Show More
Jamie Steiner received the bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and the master’s degree in business administration from the NYU Stern School of Business. He has 25 years of experience in intelligence, finance, and technology. While in the U.S. Air Force, he collected and analyzed signals and imagery intelligence, and crafted the Air Force’s premier course on precise geogra...View more
Applied Artificial Intelligence Group, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Tanel Tammet is a Full Professor of applied artificial intelligence with the Tallinn University of Technology. He has also worked in the area of cybersecurity and has been involved in numerous large commercial and public sector IT projects. He was one of the initiators of the Estonian X-ROAD interoperability framework and has helped to develop several other core IT infrastructure systems in Estonia. His main research inte...Show More
Tanel Tammet is a Full Professor of applied artificial intelligence with the Tallinn University of Technology. He has also worked in the area of cybersecurity and has been involved in numerous large commercial and public sector IT projects. He was one of the initiators of the Estonian X-ROAD interoperability framework and has helped to develop several other core IT infrastructure systems in Estonia. His main research inte...View more
Guardtime, Tallinn, Estonia
Ahto Truu received the M.Sc. degree in computer science from Tartu University and the Ph.D. degree from the Tallinn University of Technology, where his thesis was on hash-based server-assisted digital signature solutions. He is a Software Architect and a member of the Research and Development Team, Guardtime, where he has worked on developer tools for integrating the company’s KSI technology into customer solutions, train...Show More
Ahto Truu received the M.Sc. degree in computer science from Tartu University and the Ph.D. degree from the Tallinn University of Technology, where his thesis was on hash-based server-assisted digital signature solutions. He is a Software Architect and a member of the Research and Development Team, Guardtime, where he has worked on developer tools for integrating the company’s KSI technology into customer solutions, train...View more
Contents Centre for Digital Forensics and Cyber Security, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Guardtime, Tallinn, Estonia
Ahto Buldas (Member, IEEE) received the degree in computer science from the Tallinn University of Technology, in 1991, and the M.Sc. degree in simulation techniques for Boolean circuits and the Ph.D. degree in computational algebraic graph theory, in 1992 and 1999, respectively. He is a Professor of cryptography with the Tallinn University of Technology. His time-stamping related research started in 1997 and he has published papers in the conferences Crypto, Asiacrypt, and PKC. He participated in the development of the Estonian Digital Signature Act and the Estonian eID card, from 1996 to 2002. He is the Co-Founder of Guardtime and also of Cybernetica AS. His research interest includes applied cryptography. His current research interests also include risk analysis methods, including attack-tree semantics and game-theoretical approaches to risk analysis.
Ahto Buldas (Member, IEEE) received the degree in computer science from the Tallinn University of Technology, in 1991, and the M.Sc. degree in simulation techniques for Boolean circuits and the Ph.D. degree in computational algebraic graph theory, in 1992 and 1999, respectively. He is a Professor of cryptography with the Tallinn University of Technology. His time-stamping related research started in 1997 and he has published papers in the conferences Crypto, Asiacrypt, and PKC. He participated in the development of the Estonian Digital Signature Act and the Estonian eID card, from 1996 to 2002. He is the Co-Founder of Guardtime and also of Cybernetica AS. His research interest includes applied cryptography. His current research interests also include risk analysis methods, including attack-tree semantics and game-theoretical approaches to risk analysis.View more
Information Systems Group, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Dirk Draheim (Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree from Freie Universität Berlin and the Habilitation degree from Universität Mannheim, Germany. Currently, he is a Full Professor of information society technology with the Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, where he is the Head of the Information Systems Group. The Information Systems Group conducts research in large and ultra-large-scale IT systems. He is also an Initiator and the Leader of numerous digital transformation initiatives. He is an author of the Springer books Business Process Technology, Semantics of the Probabilistic Typed Lambda Calculus, and Generalized Jeffrey Conditionalization; and a coauthor of the Springer book Form-Oriented Analysis.
Dirk Draheim (Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree from Freie Universität Berlin and the Habilitation degree from Universität Mannheim, Germany. Currently, he is a Full Professor of information society technology with the Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, where he is the Head of the Information Systems Group. The Information Systems Group conducts research in large and ultra-large-scale IT systems. He is also an Initiator and the Leader of numerous digital transformation initiatives. He is an author of the Springer books Business Process Technology, Semantics of the Probabilistic Typed Lambda Calculus, and Generalized Jeffrey Conditionalization; and a coauthor of the Springer book Form-Oriented Analysis.View more
Guardtime, Lausanne, Switzerland
Mike Gault received the Ph.D. degree from the University of Wales, in 1994. He is the CEO and the Founder of Guardtime, a company he has led for the last ten years. He started his career on a postdoctoral fellowship conducting research with the Tokyo Institute of Technology on the numerical analysis of quantum devices. He then spent ten years as a Quant and Derivatives Trader with Credit Suisse Financial Products and Barclays Capital before starting Guardtime.
Mike Gault received the Ph.D. degree from the University of Wales, in 1994. He is the CEO and the Founder of Guardtime, a company he has led for the last ten years. He started his career on a postdoctoral fellowship conducting research with the Tokyo Institute of Technology on the numerical analysis of quantum devices. He then spent ten years as a Quant and Derivatives Trader with Credit Suisse Financial Products and Barclays Capital before starting Guardtime.View more
Centre for Digital Forensics and Cyber Security, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Guardtime, Tallinn, Estonia
Risto Laanoja is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree with the Tallinn University of Technology, working on provable security of hashing-based constructs and the development of “strong pre-image awareness” and “bounded pre-image awareness” concepts. He is a member of the Research and Development Team, Guardtime.
Risto Laanoja is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree with the Tallinn University of Technology, working on provable security of hashing-based constructs and the development of “strong pre-image awareness” and “bounded pre-image awareness” concepts. He is a member of the Research and Development Team, Guardtime.View more
Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Takehiko Nagumo received the M.Sc. degree in development finance from the University of London and the M.B.A. degree in strategic management from Georgetown University. He is a Senior Managing Executive Officer of Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting. He is an Adjunct Professor in strategic management with the Kyoto University Graduate School of Management. Numerous times, his research on balanced scorecard has been published by the Harvard Business School. He is one of the thought leaders in Japan in the field of digital economy and society: he is a member of the Japanese Government’s Regulatory Reform Promotion Committee; a Research Fellow of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology; the Co-Founder and the Executive Director of the Smart City Institute Japan; and a fellow of the World Economic Forum, Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution Japan.
Takehiko Nagumo received the M.Sc. degree in development finance from the University of London and the M.B.A. degree in strategic management from Georgetown University. He is a Senior Managing Executive Officer of Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting. He is an Adjunct Professor in strategic management with the Kyoto University Graduate School of Management. Numerous times, his research on balanced scorecard has been published by the Harvard Business School. He is one of the thought leaders in Japan in the field of digital economy and society: he is a member of the Japanese Government’s Regulatory Reform Promotion Committee; a Research Fellow of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology; the Co-Founder and the Executive Director of the Smart City Institute Japan; and a fellow of the World Economic Forum, Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution Japan.View more
Märt Saarepera received the doctoral degree in real-time systems verification from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He has extraordinary experience in developing blockchain systems. Also, he is an Experienced Business Developer, having shown his leadership skills by growing small startups to strong enterprises. He was the Founder of Guardtime, in 2006, which has now grown to one of the leading industrial blockchain developing companies providing reliable data integrity assurance solutions for industry and the public sector. He has been a coauthor of several research papers on cryptography, integrity protection, and privacy.
Märt Saarepera received the doctoral degree in real-time systems verification from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He has extraordinary experience in developing blockchain systems. Also, he is an Experienced Business Developer, having shown his leadership skills by growing small startups to strong enterprises. He was the Founder of Guardtime, in 2006, which has now grown to one of the leading industrial blockchain developing companies providing reliable data integrity assurance solutions for industry and the public sector. He has been a coauthor of several research papers on cryptography, integrity protection, and privacy.View more
School of Computing and Digital Technology, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, U.K.
Syed Attique Shah (Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Informatics, Istanbul Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey. During his Ph.D. degree, he studied as a Visiting Scholar with The University of Tokyo, Japan; the National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan; and the Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, where he completed the major content of his thesis. He has worked as an Associate Professor and the Chairperson with the Department of Computer Science, BUITEMS, Quetta, Pakistan. He was also engaged as a Lecturer with the Data Systems Group, Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Estonia. Currently, he is working as a Lecturer in smart computer systems with the School of Computing and Digital Technology, Birmingham City University, U.K. His research interests include big data analytics, the Internet of Things, networks security, and information management.
Syed Attique Shah (Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Informatics, Istanbul Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey. During his Ph.D. degree, he studied as a Visiting Scholar with The University of Tokyo, Japan; the National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan; and the Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, where he completed the major content of his thesis. He has worked as an Associate Professor and the Chairperson with the Department of Computer Science, BUITEMS, Quetta, Pakistan. He was also engaged as a Lecturer with the Data Systems Group, Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Estonia. Currently, he is working as a Lecturer in smart computer systems with the School of Computing and Digital Technology, Birmingham City University, U.K. His research interests include big data analytics, the Internet of Things, networks security, and information management.View more
Guardtime, Tallinn, Estonia
Joosep Simm received the master’s degree in computer science from the Tallinn University of Technology, in 2010. He is a Software Engineer with Guardtime. One of his specializations is performance testing and tuning of computer systems. In Guardtime, he has been integrating Guardtime technology to third party systems. He was the Lead Engineer in the KSI Cash Project. He has been active in software development, since 2005.
Joosep Simm received the master’s degree in computer science from the Tallinn University of Technology, in 2010. He is a Software Engineer with Guardtime. One of his specializations is performance testing and tuning of computer systems. In Guardtime, he has been integrating Guardtime technology to third party systems. He was the Lead Engineer in the KSI Cash Project. He has been active in software development, since 2005.View more
Guardtime, Tallinn, Estonia
Jamie Steiner received the bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and the master’s degree in business administration from the NYU Stern School of Business. He has 25 years of experience in intelligence, finance, and technology. While in the U.S. Air Force, he collected and analyzed signals and imagery intelligence, and crafted the Air Force’s premier course on precise geographical positioning for targeting. His experience in finance includes making markets in inflation linked government bonds for JPMorgan Chase, overhauling the fixed income trading systems used by the JPMorgan Private Bank, and managing regulatory and compliance issues. As the Head of electronic trading with Phoenix Partners LLC, he designed, tested, and managed one of the top electronic liquidity venues for credit default swaps.
Jamie Steiner received the bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and the master’s degree in business administration from the NYU Stern School of Business. He has 25 years of experience in intelligence, finance, and technology. While in the U.S. Air Force, he collected and analyzed signals and imagery intelligence, and crafted the Air Force’s premier course on precise geographical positioning for targeting. His experience in finance includes making markets in inflation linked government bonds for JPMorgan Chase, overhauling the fixed income trading systems used by the JPMorgan Private Bank, and managing regulatory and compliance issues. As the Head of electronic trading with Phoenix Partners LLC, he designed, tested, and managed one of the top electronic liquidity venues for credit default swaps.View more
Applied Artificial Intelligence Group, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Tanel Tammet is a Full Professor of applied artificial intelligence with the Tallinn University of Technology. He has also worked in the area of cybersecurity and has been involved in numerous large commercial and public sector IT projects. He was one of the initiators of the Estonian X-ROAD interoperability framework and has helped to develop several other core IT infrastructure systems in Estonia. His main research interests include crowd-sourced knowledge bases, automated reasoning, and commonsense reasoning.
Tanel Tammet is a Full Professor of applied artificial intelligence with the Tallinn University of Technology. He has also worked in the area of cybersecurity and has been involved in numerous large commercial and public sector IT projects. He was one of the initiators of the Estonian X-ROAD interoperability framework and has helped to develop several other core IT infrastructure systems in Estonia. His main research interests include crowd-sourced knowledge bases, automated reasoning, and commonsense reasoning.View more
Guardtime, Tallinn, Estonia
Ahto Truu received the M.Sc. degree in computer science from Tartu University and the Ph.D. degree from the Tallinn University of Technology, where his thesis was on hash-based server-assisted digital signature solutions. He is a Software Architect and a member of the Research and Development Team, Guardtime, where he has worked on developer tools for integrating the company’s KSI technology into customer solutions, trained engineers both internally and externally, and was one of the inventors of the BLT digital signature scheme. Before joining Guardtime, he worked for Aprote, leading Estonia’s first integration of EMV payment card support into a point-of-sale system among other projects. He has also been teaching programming-related courses with Tartu University and the Tallinn University of Technology and coached Estonian teams for international programming competitions.
Ahto Truu received the M.Sc. degree in computer science from Tartu University and the Ph.D. degree from the Tallinn University of Technology, where his thesis was on hash-based server-assisted digital signature solutions. He is a Software Architect and a member of the Research and Development Team, Guardtime, where he has worked on developer tools for integrating the company’s KSI technology into customer solutions, trained engineers both internally and externally, and was one of the inventors of the BLT digital signature scheme. Before joining Guardtime, he worked for Aprote, leading Estonia’s first integration of EMV payment card support into a point-of-sale system among other projects. He has also been teaching programming-related courses with Tartu University and the Tallinn University of Technology and coached Estonian teams for international programming competitions.View more