So now we've built Ethereum, WTF is it?

Ethereum

So now we’ve built it, WTF is it?

Dr. Gavin Woodco-founder and lead developer, ethereum project

@gavofyork

What, then why. Not how.

Break it down

Important Things to Forget

Coin

Crypto

Currency

Bit

Ledger

ChainBlock

Transaction

Hash

Proof of work

Proof of stake

Consensus

Fork

Miner

Sign

ASIC

Curve

Contract

What is Ethereum?

It’s a Computer, Silly!

SlowCode runs 5-100x slower that natively compiled

Expensive to useBasic computation, memory and storage costs are ~1950s levels

Not always immediately decisiveActions of last 60s may be reorganised

Sounds. Awesome.

Actually, it is.

Truly Global SingletonOne computer for the entire planet now and forever

Cannot Fail, be Stopped, be CensoredNo authority, government or corporation behind it, resistant to attack

UbiquitousWhere ever there’s Internet, there’s Ethereum

Natively Multi-UserHas as many accounts as is needed

Natively Object-OrientedEncapsulation enforced in “virtual silicon”

AccessibleWhere ever there’s Javascript, there’s Ethereum

Verifyable & AuditableAll code honoured now and forever

External account

Object (code)

message

Storage

The World Computer

The WorldComputer

Guarantees

AtomicityEntire operation runs or nothing does

SynchronyNo two operations can interfere with each other

ProvenanceAll messages (method calls) can be inspected to determine caller address

Guarantees

PermanenceObject’s data are permanent

ImmortalityObject can never be externally deleted - can only voluntarily commit suicide

ImmutabilityObject’s code can never be changed

Why?

World Computer

Compared to the walled garden of the server

Ethereum is anInnovation Commons

Servers are Walled Gardens

Interoperability DifficultReliability, standards, trust, security collude to make it a nightmare

Increased BarriersNaturally supportive of monopolies;

try integrating trade or payment without a third party

CumbersomeServers are expensive to set up and maintain;

Ethereum is always-on, always ready

Not to mention Privacy

PrivacyLess siloing of user-data; less intermediation; more privacy

SecuritySecurity through nihilism; there’s no server to hack!

AuthenticityAll interactions with the Global Computer are cryptographically signed:

Unauthorised Interactions are Impossible

Ubiquitous and ethereal

Ethereum is the FirstDecentralised Computer

Centralisation & Central Authorities

Single point of controlSingle point of failure

Single bottleneck

Software Development

Individual coders

Strict hierarchy “cathedral”

Open-source hackers “bazaar”

Clones and forks (Github-style)

Computing

Isolated (no network)

Mainframe

Server/client

Peer-to-peer

(Rough) Progression of Governance

Anarchy

Monarchy/Empire/Fiefdoms

Plutocracy/Aristocracy

Bureaucracy/“Democracy”

Distance salesBack-of-magazine (close to zero)

AmazonOne Matchmaker, One Merchant

eBay/Amazon MarketplaceOne Matchmaker, Many Merchants

…No Matchmakers, Many Merchants

Communication

Word-of-Mouth (close to zero)

Press/Radio/Television

Internet

Mobile Mesh?

General Theme

Nothing

...strong individual imposes order; progress to...

Centralisation

...order enables cooperation; progress towards...

Decentralisation

Efficient

Resilient

Scalable

...or natural order?

A bridge across trust boundaries

Ethereum Commoditises Trust

Ethereum

Platform for Zero-trust Computingfor

autonomous tradingsmart contracts

interoperable infrastructurepermissions management

trust webs ...

Underpins, specifies and enforces dealings

Ethereum as the Court of the Internet

Ethereum & Crypto-law

Uses blockchain to implement arbitrary social contracts without a central server

Pivotal in the (re-)decentralisation of the Internet

Ethereum and the Serverless Internet

Ethereum & Web3

Infrastructure for the ITC revolution

Ethereum Zero-trust computingWhisper Private asynchronous bulletins

Telehash Private realtime commsIPFS/Swarm Decentralised data distribution

EthereumThe world computer

Dr. Gavin Wood@gavofyork

Questions?