Project description
Second-layer protocols for scalability and confidentiality of blockchains
In the world of blockchain technologies, decentralised systems should be able to compete with centralised platforms. Since blockchain technologies promise major benefits in the realms of security, freedom and efficiency, it is important to address their shortcomings and overcome their challenges. In this context, the ERC-funded CRYPTOLAYER project will build off-chain technologies that form a secure second protocol layer on top of the underlying blockchain. Specifically, a family of secure protocols for off-chain transaction systems will move massive amounts of transactions to a second layer, offering nearly unlimited scalability and instantaneous transaction processing. The solution supports smart contracts and offers strong privacy guarantees by relying on tools from cryptography. An additional function is leveraging second-layer protocols for improved confidentiality and functionality of blockchain systems.
Objective
Blockchain technologies offer an exciting new alternative for centralized platform providers. They distribute trust over a large number of parties, thereby promising major benefits in terms of security, freedom and efficiency. Unfortunately, due to their inherent distributed nature, state of the art blockchains suffer from a multitude of shortcomings. In contrast to centralized platforms, they are restricted in terms of scalability, confidentiality and functionality, and thus cannot power large scale applications. The ambitious goal of CRYPTOLAYER is to overcome this situation by building decentralized systems that can compete with centralized platforms. We will achieve this goal via building off-chain technologies that form a secure second protocol layer on top of the underlying blockchain.
The first component of CRYPTOLAYER builds a family of secure protocols for off-chain transaction systems. These protocols move the massive amount of transactions to a second layer, thereby offering nearly unlimited scalability and instantaneous transaction processing. Our solutions will support smart contracts - complex programs that can handle money - and offer strong privacy guarantees by relying on tools from cryptography. The second component of CRYPTOLAYER leverages advanced cryptographic building blocks to construct secure off-chain services for confidentiality and access to real-world data. This will enable rich classes of applications to run over decentralized infrastructures. Finally, since secure protocol design is highly involved and error-prone, we will build upon the formal framework of theoretical cryptography. We will develop formal security models using the universal composability framework, and carry out a rigorous security analysis using mathematical proofs. With our overarching treatment of off-chain technologies, our vision is to establish this field as a central part of the rapidly evolving research on blockchain technologies.
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-AG - HORIZON Action Grant Budget-BasedHost institution
64289 Darmstadt
Germany