After leaving Honey, I will start my own entrepreneurial journey, I chose the direction of blockchain database, let me do some simple questions here.
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is the technology behind Bitcoin,
- In terms of data structure, each node has a signed linked list, and each node is history.
- In layman's terms, it is a ledger, each transaction is recorded and signed and certified.
The blockchain is characterized by tamper-proof, and if any transaction in history is modified, the signature certification of all transaction records behind the historical node is invalid. As long as the user of the blockchain writes down the signature authentication code of any transaction, as long as the code still exists in the blockchain, You can be confident that any transaction that occurred before you wrote down the transaction was unmodified.
What is a blockchain database?
A database is where information systems store data in a unified manner. The blockchain database is a database that uses blockchain technology to ensure that all data changes are recorded and is extremely difficult to tamper with.
For senior leaders, information systems developed using traditional databases run the risk of being altered by front-line database managers. With a blockchain database, any change must leave a history, and that history is extremely difficult to modify.
What is Blockchain Finance?
One is a series of electronic money systems represented by Bitcoin, the essence of which is a ledger that is extremely difficult to be tampered with, and even a set of systems that will seriously harm the interests of the tamperer after being tampered with. The biggest difference from the blockchain database is that it has a confidence value similar to that of currency. Its market circulation price will show huge fluctuations compared to fiat currencies (such as the renminbi) due to changes in the confidence of people involved.
The other is a private financial blockchain based on the Bitcoin system architecture, which differs from Bitcoin in that the blockchain can only be accessed within a limited range. It is used to solve trust problems within the enterprise, such as the closing audit of multiple nodes of the bank. The biggest difference from blockchain databases is that It is based on the financial system, the basic transaction is designed as a digital transfer record, and the database-type basic transaction is designed as a database change method record.
Why do blockchain database instead of blockchain finance?
It is true that the hottest at present is blockchain finance, but my personal understanding of finance is not deep, so I do not plan to go deeper in this direction, and there are several reasons for preparing to deepen in the direction of blockchain database:
- Blockchain is the current hot technology, and the success rate of entrepreneurship on the cusp will still be higher;
- Blockchain database is a general infrastructure that can support various information systems, and is bound to be an indispensable part of future information systems;
- At present, the hottest is blockchain finance, and a large number of financial companies have spent a lot of money to encircle relevant talents. There are fewer people willing to spend less effort on databases that are less financially beneficial than financial, and there is less competition;
- The current blockchain database market has not been cultivated, and the degree of recognition is low. But I think from experience alone, the trend of blockchain databases replacing traditional databases as important information storage is unstoppable. Therefore, there is at least a window of one to two years from now to maturity, which is enough time for my blockchain database to become mature and form competitiveness in the market;
What knowledge do I need to make a blockchain database?
Here are the key technical points I identified and my accumulation in that direction.
- P2P network: I have been working as a network underlying communication protocol for many years, and I really want to find an opportunity to try to implement P2P network myself, this is a good opportunity;
- Authentication linked list: basic data structure, no difficulty in learning software development;
- Smart contract execution environment: have done a relatively basic compiler and interpreter, and are still familiar with the concept, it is time to implement a commercial execution environment;
- Consensus mechanism: a lot of game theory things, quite interesting, but indeed there is no accumulation in this aspect at all; Database state construction: although only SQLServer and memcached have been used in depth. However, since these two databases represent relational databases and key-value pair databases respectively, I believe that the understanding of databases is still in place;
- Information encryption and authentication: because of interest, I studied the "Cryptography" textbook more than ten years ago;
In fact, there are many technical points, because the details are more (and I have not accumulated ^o^ in that area anyway) I will not list them all.
Is there any timeline?
As the saying goes, plans can't catch up with changes, changes must exist, but without a plan, there is no basis for change, here is my basic plan:
- First half year (i.e. until the end of 2017):
- Implement the blockchain database and adapt it to the products of partners;
- Find a partner;
- Find partners to help them onboard our blockchain database in their products;
- Second half year (i.e. until mid-2018):
- Recruitment: 1 development + 1~2 testing;
- Make the blockchain database more mature and make it more widely applicable;
- Continue to look for partners, while helping them integrate, complete the construction of enterprise development platform;
- Third half-year (i.e. until the end of 2018):
- Carry out a certain amount of marketing to ensure a certain amount of revenue or orders;
- Find capital, find money;
- Improve the throughput capacity and performance of the blockchain database;
Will you take on outsourcing projects?
Yes, but there are two requirements:
- Projects must use our blockchain database;
- We can write the customer's name in the customer list on the official website;
Risks and countermeasures?
- Risk 1: A year and a half has passed, the market demand for blockchain databases is not as expected, no one cares, and the income cannot cover the salaries of personnel.
- Solution: Lead the team to take over the outsourcing work, on the one hand, promote the blockchain database through the project, and maintain survival on the other hand.
- Risk 2: The outlet effect intensifies, the number of blockchain database-related startups has increased significantly, and even large enterprises have participated in the competition, and the market has rapidly changed from a blue ocean to a red ocean.
- Solution: Quickly close the business scope, from providing a general-purpose blockchain database platform to a vertical industry blockchain database service provider, specializing in serving an industry that has formed an accumulation.
- Risk 3: The idea is beautiful, but difficulties occur in implementation, including but not limited to 1) the function cannot be implemented; 2) Implementing a function requires more resources than expected.
- Solution: Small steps and fast running, not to create a perfect product at one time as the goal, but continuous iteration, the goal of the first generation of products is to complete the main function, can lack some corner functions or enhancements, can quickly prove ideas and trial and error, and correct.
How to contact me?
At present, a small space has been opened up at home as my studio, next to Tongji University in Yangpu District, acquaintances and friends, you still use the usual channels to contact me, new friends recommend using email to contact me: liangshuangde@163.com.