OriginTrail V8
The 8th iteration of OriginTrail in 2024
Last updated
The 8th iteration of OriginTrail in 2024
Last updated
OriginTrail is an open, blockchain agnostic protocol initially designed for trusted data sharing within supply chains, ensuring interoperability through the use of global standards. It offers a decentralized, peer-to-peer network for secure, serverless data storage and exchange with built-in fault tolerance, resistance to DDoS attacks, and tamper-proof safeguards. The network incentivizes participation through the Trace token (TRAC), with the first testnet launch in June 2018.
The protocol categorizes network participants into Data Providers, Data Creator Nodes, Data Holder Nodes, and Data Viewers, each playing a vital role in the ecosystem. Data Providers supply chain data, Data Creator Nodes import and manage this data, Data Holder Nodes store and make it accessible, and Data Viewers request and utilize the data. The system encourages fairness and mitigates collusion through a detailed incentive model, bidding mechanism, and staking system. The introduction of the ERC-725 identity standard enhances node identity verification and interoperability, while updates to the data layer and node resilience optimize performance and reliability.
The bidding mechanism is a core feature, facilitating agreements between nodes for data storage and access, with compensation in TRAC tokens. This process includes a unique replication strategy and staking requirements to secure and incentivize the network's operations. The TRAC token underpins the network's economics, driving demand through data exchange and processing tasks. This incentivization mechanism drives the network's serverless operation, including data storage, validation, and serving with built-in fault tolerance, DDoS resistance, and tamper-proof capabilities
The Vostok Mainnet in late 2018, named after Yuri Gagarin's space mission, marked a significant step towards real-market application of the OriginTrail protocol. It introduces litigation mechanisms and stages for network development, from Vostok (OriginTrail V2) to Freedom (OriginTrail V3) and beyond, indicating a strategic roadmap for implementing supply chain transparency and efficiency. Key updates included an overhaul of the bidding mechanism to reduce costs and enhance scalability, the implementation of the ERC-725 identity standard for simplified key management and improved interoperability, and enhancements to node resilience and the data layer. The development is supported by the Houston app, offering a user-friendly interface for node management, and the network's design to self-adjust through market forces, ensuring longevity and scalability.
OriginTrail has launched version 3 of its protocol in Q1 2019, a significant upgrade introducing litigation mechanisms, marking the commencement of the Freedom stage. This major update enhances reliability through complex cryptography and economic incentives, enabling Data Creators to test and potentially litigate Data Holders to ensure data integrity. The introduction of the litigation mechanism, alongside the continued improvement of node connectivity with Ethereum and the enhancement of the auto-update feature for Docker installations, aims to reduce dependence on external RPC services and streamline node updates.
The OriginTrail Decentralized Network has released the Gemini update ( OriginTrail V4) for its node client on the mainnet in Q4 2019, introducing significant enhancements in data integrity, connectivity, and interoperability. This update marks a substantial progression for decentralized networks, enabling scalable enterprise-grade data exchanges, facilitating the integration of diverse IT legacy systems, and ensuring data interoperability through adherence to global standards such as GS1 EPCIS, GS1 CBV, and W3C WoT. With this upgrade, OriginTrail nodes can handle datasets exceeding 100 MBs efficiently without requiring more hardware resources.
Key features of the Gemini update include the implementation of litigation and reputation mechanisms to safeguard data longevity, the removal of the node registration mechanism to promote a truly permissionless network, and a new, more capable data layer to support larger datasets and enhanced use cases. Additionally, the update brings improved security in node communication via an updated Kademlia implementation and introduces a simplified compensation management setting, Lambda, for node operators to adjust their return on investment easily.
The OriginTrail protocol launched its fifth major version (OriginTrail V5) in Q1 2021, incorporating significant advancements through collaboration with teams from Parity and Gnosis. This update introduces multi-blockchain support, starting with Ethereum and xDai, and plans for future integration with Polygon and Polkadot, aligning with the vision of blockchain agnosticism outlined in its original white paper. Additionally, v5 brings high-availability node implementations for enhanced resilience, performance updates, and bug fixes.
Key highlights of OriginTrail V5 include:
Multi-blockchain implementation for increased flexibility and broader applicability.
High-availability node implementation for improved network resilience.
Performance enhancements and bug fixes to optimize the network’s functionality.
This next phase also introduced knowledge economy tools such as a Uniswap-like mechanism for tokenized knowledge exchange. These advancements are anticipated to broaden the network's utility, involve new participant groups in the ecosystem, and support the sustainable and trusted exchange of knowledge, thus contributing significantly to the data economy’s transformation towards a more decentralized and user-empowered paradigm.
The OriginTrail project has significantly evolved, introducing the Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG) as a foundational component for Web3, organizing essential assets for discoverability, verifiability, and value. With the V6 update in mid 2022, OriginTrail continued to enhance its multichain strategy, integrating with multiple blockchains such as Ethereum, Gnosis, and specifically focusing on its own Parachain development on Polkadot. This strategy underscores the ecosystem's principles of neutrality, inclusiveness, and usability, expanding the DKG's capabilities to support AI-grade Knowledge Assets. These assets, anchored in ownership through NFTs and verifiable via cryptographic proof, promise to drive network effects and value generation across the Internet, embodying the principle known as Metcalfe's Law.
OriginTrail V6 introduces Universal Asset Locators (UALs) for organizing Web3 assets, mirroring the impact of URLs in Web2, and emphasizes improved discoverability and semantic capabilities. This update positions the DKG as a "Knowledge Graph of Knowledge Graphs," facilitating a transition from isolated Web2 knowledge graphs, like Google, Amazon and Facebook, into a more interconnected Semantic Web3, enabling queries across both domains. DKG V6 enables queries across both Web2 and Web3, supporting technologies like RDF, OWL, SPARQL, and more, significantly enhancing scalability and developer experience.
OriginTrail V8 is the ultimate growth phase of the DKG with over 3 million Knowledge Assets published on the network, and new partners joining to foster real-world adoption and address misinformation across sectors.
The knowledge economy represents a paradigm shift towards valuing information and expertise as primary economic resources, where the creation, dissemination, and utilization of knowledge underpin economic growth and development. Central to this economy is the concept of knowledge mining, a process that involves the generation of knowledge assets which serve as the foundational data layer of the Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG). These knowledge assets, meticulously structured and interconnected, facilitate a dynamic ecosystem where new insights, discoveries, and innovations can be built upon the existing data. By leveraging technologies such as blockchain to ensure the verifiability, ownership, and trustworthiness of these assets, the DKG becomes a critical infrastructure for the knowledge economy. It not only democratizes access to information but also accelerates the collaborative creation of value across various sectors. In this context, knowledge mining does not merely catalog information but actively contributes to the expansion of human understanding, driving forward the knowledge economy by transforming raw data into actionable, AI-grade knowledge assets that are discoverable, interoperable, and valuable.
This phase is marked by the establishment of three impact bases inspired by Isaac Asimov's works, aimed at pioneering a future where knowledge and innovation merge:
Trantor (Q1 2024): Highlights the Library of Trantor, focusing on indexing human knowledge. The beta launch of Knowledge Mining introduces a process for creating high-quality, blockchain-tracked knowledge. This initiative utilizes both NeuroWeb AI (OriginTrail Parachain on Polkadot) and Gnosis blockchains, aiming to evolve knowledge creation across various fields.
Terminus (Q2 2024): With a founding population focused on publishing the Encyclopedia Galactica, this base emphasizes technological advancements and high-efficiency tech due to limited natural resources. Key developments include a random sampling module for increased Knowledge Asset throughput and a multichain growth strategy to enhance the DKG's scalability and integration with various blockchains.
Gaia (H2 2024): This base explores the evolution of a telepathic group consciousness extending to the entire planet, symbolizing the integration of AI-powered Autonomous Knowledge Mining. This initiative aims to enable a range of autonomous activities, such as discovering inferences and mining new knowledge, through AI-native capabilities.
These impact bases form the V8 Foundation, focusing on core areas to achieve an effective DKG V8 launch. The post emphasizes the importance of these developments in enhancing the DKG's functionality and adoption, without delving into specific technological integrations, governmental support, or other adoption updates. The overall goal is to stay on TRAC(k) with the OriginTrail ecosystem's expansion and innovation trajectory.
