(IJCH) "Blockchain, IT IS NOT!" (or Four Reasons Why DAGs may supplant Blockchains)
IJCH - Inside JaiChai's Head (Meaning: My Warped, Personal Opinions and Musings)
From the Author:
Salutations.
I am JaiChai.
And if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance now.
I invite you to interact with everyone, learn, and have as much fun as possible!
For my returning online friends, "It's always great to see you again!"
DAGs - Path Towards Mass Adoption
This article discusses four reasons why DAGs may overtake traditional blockchains and become the de facto consensus mechanism for both private and public distributed ledgers.
But before we can discuss the advantages of the DAG, it's important to have a basic understanding of what a DAG is and how it works.
So, for those new to DAGs, here's a quick, short hyper-lesson...
What is a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG)? - The Shortest Tutorial Ever!
A DAG and a Blockchain do exactly the same thing; that is, they are both mechanisms for reaching consensus within a network.
However, a DAG's structure and consensus method are very different than that of a traditional blockchain.
Miners verify each transaction on a blockchain.
In a DAG network, the users themselves are the ones who verify those transactions; meaning: "Good Bye Miners!".
How does this happen?
When a user makes a transaction, in order for the transaction to go through, he needs to verify two other transactions first.
This is a seamless, under the hood process requiring no manual tinkering by the user.
The DAG has a branching out structure, while the Blockchain has a tree-like shape.
Consequently, blockchains have to do things in a serial fashion; marching on one by one.
Contrastingly, a DAG does things differently, in a parallel way, where a group of tasks can be done at the same time.
That's it!
Congratulations!
You've just passed "DAG 101: An Overview". Now you know more about the DAG than 99% of the world's population!
Four Reasons Why DAGs may supplant Blockchains
1. Speed - Transactions Per Second (tps)
Currently, Bitcoin and Ethereum barely accomplish 7-12 tps (in the most optimum conditions).
Because of their structure and consensus mechanism, DAG based currencies routinely achieve tps in the hundred thousands per second range!
For example, a DAG based crypto called IOTA can perform 500,000 tps!
2. Scalability
Traditional blockchain architecture is inherently weak at scaling up to the demands of current workloads - much less the onslaught of users when mass adoption occurs!
Basically, in regards to scalability, DAG networks function like a torrent network, the more users, the more robust and responsive it becomes.
In other words, the more people/machines using the DAG network, the more efficient and quicker it becomes!
3. No Miners, No Fees
Say good bye to miners and their mining fees.
About the only costs a user has in a DAG network incurs is the minuscule, seconds long verification of two transactions before his transaction is processed.
4. Drastically Less Electricity Needed
The electricity consumed by Bitcoin Mining exceeds that of many small countries!
DAG based cryptos and platforms' electricity requirements are microscopic compared to traditional blockchains.
And for those who are concerned about the Earth's welfare, the giant carbon footprint of traditional blockchains is an abomination!
A Few Popular DAG Based Cryptocurrencies
Conclusion
The traditional blockchain will not be able to handle the forthcoming demands of the Internet of Things (IoT).
The DAG is the only structure (thus far) that has the speed, scalability, low cost, and low energy requirements needed for the billions of future Iot Devices and their accompanying transaction loads.
IMHO, DAGs will be the de facto structure for the backbone of the IoT.
Parting Shots
By JaiChai
Mighty Kind of You for stopping by.
Truly hope to see you again!
About the Author
Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an AA, BS and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic.
In spite of a fear of heights and deep water, he performed high altitude, free-fall parachute jumps and hazardous diving ops in deep, open ocean water.
After 24 years of active duty, he retired in Asia.
Since then, he's been a full-time, single papa and actively pursuing his varied passions (Writing, Disruptive Technology, Computer Science and Cryptocurrency - plus more hobbies too boring or bizarre for most folk).
He lives on an island paradise with his teenage daughter, longtime girlfriend and three dogs.
