Proof of Work!

6:30 - 7:00pm Meet and Greet

7:00 - 7:15pm Intro of Nervos CKB by Matt Quinn

The Nervos CKB (Common Knowledge Base) is the layer 1, proof of work public blockchain protocol of the Nervos Network and allows any crypto-asset to be stored with the security, immutability and permissionless nature of Bitcoin while enabling smart contracts and layer 2 scaling.

7:15 - 7:45pm Explore designing a new hash function (Eaglesong) and talk PoW by Alan Szepieniec

For blockchains, hash functions are the basis of many proof of work algorithms. Mining nodes continuously try to solve a puzzle enabling them to propose the next block, and rewrites of history are prevented as long as more than 50% of the network's power follows the protocol.

For a new cryptocurrency, it makes sense to utilize a proof-of-work function that has not yet been used by other cryptocurrencies. For Nervos CKB, we accomplished this through creation of a new hash function called Eaglesong.

Eaglesong is designed to be a small scientific step forward, while remaining close enough to existing designs to make a strong security argument. Eaglesong makes use of a sponge construction (as used in Keccak/SHA3), as well as ARX operations (addition, rotation, and XOR; as used in BLAKE). It uses the wide trail strategy as the foundation from which to derive a security argument (like AES)

Please join us as Alan Szepieniec, Cryptography researcher, Ph.D. from KU Leuven and co-designer of the Eaglesong function, walks through the design of this new hash function and provides rare insights into creation of hash functions.

Eaglesong is designed to be novel, simple and secure. It is an innovation that will support the secure launch and operation of the Nervos Network without initial threats from dedicated mining hardware, while at the same time facilitating widespread development of mining hardware in the future.

About the speaker:

Alan Szepieniec, cryptography researcher at Nervos. PhD in cryptography from COSIC at the KU Leuven, Belgium. Alan’s research interests include post-quantum cryptography, especially multivariate quadratic cryptosystems; zero-knowledge proofs; quantum algorithms and quantum cryptanalysis; theory of cryptography and provable security; mathematics of public-key cryptography; and complexity theory.

About Nervos:
The Nervos Network is an open source public blockchain ecosystem and collection of protocols solving the biggest challenges facing blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum today.

The Nervos CKB (Common Knowledge Base) is the layer 1, proof of work public blockchain protocol of the Nervos Network and allows any crypto-asset to be stored with the security, immutability and permissionless nature of Bitcoin while enabling smart contracts and layer 2 scaling.