BSV AMA Recap
Judy_Host of EncryptClub: Good evening everyone, It is my pleasure to spend this meaningful evening with you guys, because our AMA guest is Mr. Lin Zheming, co-founder and CEO of Mempool and DotWallet, as well as a Bitcoin Association Ambassador to China. Mr. Lin Zheming is an early preacher of Bitcoin and has played an important role in the promotion and implementation of blockchain technology in China. Tonight, he is going to talk about how Bitcoin SV has changed the industry with its beliefs on behalf of Bitcoin SV miners and the community.
Thanks for coming, Mr. Lin Zheming, could you briefly introduce yourself to the EncryptlClub community?
Mr. Lin Zheming: Hi everyone, thank you Judy for your invitation and introduction. I am Lin Zheming, Bitcoin Association Ambassador to China. I came to know Bitcoin in early 2011 and paid close attention on it afterwards. Along with my continuous study and understanding on Bitcoin technology, I found it is very fascinating, so in 2016, I devoted myself to the exploration, research and development of Bitcoin-related applications. I also founded Dotwallet and Mempool, and innovatively adopted a manner called tokenless blockchain’s Bitcoin as a Service to help enterprises use Bitcoin ledger at ultra-low costs without touching cryptocurrencies.
Thanks for your self-introduction, Mr. Lin. Here comes the 1st question of our AMA.
Q1: We can find a lot of articles and content of Mr. Lin Zheming’s sermon on blockchain technology when searched online. As a newcomer who has been in the industry for less than a year, I really want to know why you can concentrate on preaching the blockchain industry and exploring the potential of each hot spot in depth. What does the future of this industry look like in your eyes?
Mr. Lin Zheming: Bitcoin blockchain technology is the underlying technology that is very likely to change the entire Internet and even human society in the future. With its ledger characteristic of the world’s only source of tamper-proof truth, it enables low-cost mass scaling, form a strong-enough network effect, and allow all participating parties to enjoy the cost reduction and infrastructure construction brought by the scaling of the Bitcoin network.
I can imagine a future where all our data can be stored and exchanged in a relevant form of Bitcoin ledger due to Bitcoin blockchain ledger’s true record and ultra-low cost characteristics.
Please note that it is not “make all data on-chain”, but using a relevant form of Bitcoin ledger. Bitcoin transactions, of course, have the ability to carry huge amounts of data, but it is unnecessary to do so. Without solving the problem, a larger amount of data means a higher cost. What I value more is the smartness and high efficiency of the Bitcoin ledger in terms of transaction processing capability.
Blockchain technology aims to reduce the transaction complexity between entities by reducing transaction costs, so as to enable subtle trust to accumulate and be audited and proved through a “trust and verify” model, which reduces the requirements for enterprise size, propels full competition and lowers the complexity of contracts.
We will no longer be entangled in “go onchain”. Instead, by reducing the market transaction cost (including search costs / information costs / bargaining costs / decision-making costs/monitoring costs/default costs, etc.), a higher level of underlying interoperation and collaboration between different entities is formed through trusted ledger, allowing market to allocate resources in a more efficient way for enterprises. Under a more marketized and competition-encouraging environment, we can improve the efficiency of the whole honest cooperative entities.
Because the ledger here is organized through each transaction. The ultra-low transaction cost allows an originally large process to be broken down into different but co-ordinate small steps where competition can be introduced in. For example, in a parking lot management system, we can have blockchain photo equipment, and the photo/shooting equipment also has recognition equipment to process the input image information, and user points calculating system, etc.
Above content can be communicated and combined with each other through the blockchain, while a unified “organization” is not required.
Naturally organized and chosen, these subtle services can be provided by different service entities, making a large and comprehensive IT support system unnecessary. In our opinion, specialized division of labor can bring about cost reduction and efficiency improvement, making the division of labor more specific and market-oriented. Competitions between different financial software, payment channels, AIs, and insurance companies will ultimately present users a more efficient and credible user experience.
Q2: I have heard many wonderful stories about BSV but can’t figure out what used to happen on it. Could you introduce BSV briefly for us?
Mr. Lin Zheming: First of all, let’s talk about Bitcoin SV, a Bitcoin implementation adherent to the original Bitcoin white paper with exchange symbol BSV. Bitcoin SV is the very Bitcoin described in the original Bitcoin white paper and a digital signature chain. The signature information on this chain was destroyed by Segregated Witness and Layer 2 network, and the simple payment verification model was destroyed by the implementation of Segregated Witness, these protocol forks severely hindered the development of Bitcoin and produced the first fork coin BTC Core. The second protocol change destroyed the lexicographical order of Bitcoin transactions sequence and the information value it brought, introduced new operators and refused to lock the protocol, resulting in the second fork coin BCH.
The core of Bitcoin SV lies in four aspects: 1. Large-scale expansion; 2. Stable protocol; 3. Security; 4. Safe and instant payment.
- Large-scale expansion.Driven by competition pressure between accounting nodes, BSV implements ultra-large-scale expansion through infinite block capacity and throughput. Based on the solid theoretical basis of the UTXO model and the SPV model, this expansion is practically achievable.
- The stability of the protocol enables our businesses and enterprises to build their own applications in a correct way on an unchanging basis, without worrying that their designs will need adjustment due to changes in the protocol. This can also facilitate commercial enterprises.
- Security is time-tested and built by twelve years of Bitcoin underlying protocol as well as code construction and efforts from a professional engineering team. Only by restoring the Satoshi Nakamoto’s original protocol design in a professional way can we provide sufficient foundation for business.
- Secure instant payment has ultra-low cost and is application improvement based on the existing Bitcoin protocol. By using accounting nodes-provided services in an appropriate security model, we can deal with transaction by approving or denying, and avoid double spending problems. What we we need here is to improve the secure transaction model. Instead of ensuring the transactions we see can be packaged as many people misunderstand, we need to ensure that no double-spending is found before all accounting nodes receive the transaction. Once a double-spending transaction is found, we can be simply reject it and ask for new payment. This is quite like receiving a payment in fake money, you won’t go to bank for identification but return it to the payer immediately and ask for another payment method. By observing the honest bookkeeping behavior, we ensure that fraudulent activities of covering double-spending by workload will be exposed.
These four aspects constitute the core pillar of Bitcoin SV, the implementation of original Bitcoin design. I think the original Bitcoin protocol is good enough already, we can carry out various construction work around system and application on the basis of stable protocol, make good use of the value of the Bitcoin ledger, the world’s only source of tamper-proof truth.
Q3: What are the technical and ecological advancements of BSV at present? Do they aim to enhance the BSV ecosystem or to lead the direction of technological development in the blockchain industry?
Mr. Lin Zheming: I think currently the technology and the ecology of Bitcoin SV evolve comprehensively.
This includes the continuous progress in node technology, like the TB block-supporting Teranode project which is anticipated to launch in 2021, as well as the mAPI and the Miner ID service for nodes, which can provide the upper application system with a low-cost but secure and robust access to the Bitcoin SV underlying ledger under Mandela Network Topology.
It also includes the continuous progress in the infrastructure of application system, such as Dotwallet’s public and private key management infrastructure and open platform, our partner Satoplay’s blockchain game platform, and our partner Crypt’s smart contract programming platform, Fabriik’s development tool chain, business partner’s metasv service and metaid protocol, etc. The tools available to developers are much various than a year ago.
There are larger progress in the application side with the shinning ones like Twetch which stored all of Trump’s twitters on the blockchain, Satoplay’s game Overshoot, decentralized exchange TDXP, VISA-supporting Relay, and EHRData for health data management, etc.
All of these are attempts by excellent entrepreneurs who have discovered the value brought by the Bitcoin ledger. I also hope that there are smart entrepreneurs in the audience who can discover the opportunities behind it.
I think the innovations we have seen in the past 1–2 years shows me the explosion of various Bitcoin applications from 2013 to 2015. The progress is obvious to all, but I also think that the key point is to allow developers to really make money from the ledger application instead of relying on the passive price rise. We will continue to study this aspect, and Dot open platform also hopes to explore it together with developers.
Q4: Do you think BSV has inherited the original development vision of BTC?
Mr. Lin Zheming: Simply, I need to emphasize that Bitcoin SV is the implementation inherited the Bitcoin white paper, while BTC has broken away from the scope of the electronic cash system and is no longer in line with the Bitcoin white paper in terms of ideals and implementation. So I think that at present, Bitcoin SV is the only blockchain system following the design of the Bitcoin white paper.
To talk about why Bitcoin SV has met with the original design of the Bitcoin white paper, obviously we have to go back to the white paper and Satoshi Nakamoto’s statement. Bitcoin is an electronic cash system which must have traceability. The traceability ensures citizen’s privacy and the tracing of criminal activities, therefore, Bitcoin must retain the digital signature chain defined in the white paper. By retaining Bitcoin’s peer-to-peer behaviour of signing transactions and exchanging information exchange as well as simple payment verification, we can ensure the security of Bitcoin transaction with a low transaction cost. Direct peer-to-peer transaction which is not sent through financial institutions should not go through the miner network, instead, it is signature and exchange of peer-to-peer transaction. Satoshi Nakamoto stated that Bitcoin has never reached the upper limit. Only when the cost of each transaction is low can we reduce the cost of Bitcoin’s information-value exchange, making the benefits of such exchange ledger records exceed the cost, and creating a large amount of transaction demand.
We think that the implementation of Bitcoin has received lots of attacks, intentional or unintentional. They hope to change the protocol design of Bitcoin with various purposes. Some changes are irrelevant, while some have made fundamental changes to Bitcoin’s incentive mechanism and will affect the usage way of Bitcoin profoundly. Therefore, we believe that Bitcoin SV which retains the original Bitcoin protocol is the true Bitcoin. You can’t claim your are still Bitcoin while modifying the definition of its white paper.
Here leaves an interesting question. If Bitcoin was an enterprise-operated network with infinite scalability and ultra-low transaction costs from the beginning, then someone said this was not decentralized enough and it’s necessary to limit its block size to make it accessible by Bitcoin enthusiasts, and then used this method to push up transaction fees and make it uneconomical to use Bitcoin, and introduced new operation symbols to create new transactions forms and disrupted the inherent Bitcoin transaction sequence by changing the transaction ordering rules.
Which one do you think is the real Bitcoin? As for whether Bitcoin SV inherited the original vision of Bitcoin development, you can judge it by yourself. (BTC is no longer Bitcoin).
Q5: Mr. Lin Zheming has led the research and development of the Dot platform which is a BSV wallet-based shortcut for developer, and he’s a leading preacher in the BSV ecosystem. I explored your platform days ago and immediately realized that I was unable to understand what Dotwallet can do. Can you tell us what services the Dot development platform can provide for developers and users?
Mr. Lin Zheming: The reason we build Dotwallet is to provide a simple and easy-to-use product that will become an important infrastructure to help users make better use of Bitcoin.
The Dotwallet in the earliest stage can be logged in via WeChat directly and created good conditions for accumulating our initial batch of users. Of course, Dot now covers PC, mobile and APPs, meeting the needs of different users. Besides supporting the creation of multiple currency wallets, it also allows red packets and fund transfer like WeChat. Through simplified payment verification (SPV) technology, Dot can carry out faster peer-to-peer transactions and does not set upper limit for chain transaction upper in the system.
Of course, with the advancement of Bitcoin node software, we have successfully changed the ordering code added by the Core developers. We have also improved efficiency by increasing the upper limit of chain transactions from 25 to 1000, and aim to completely remove this restriction in future. In addition, with a Dot account, you can experience popular BSV applications on the market (because most of them have joined the Dot Application Center). Compared with the BSV wallets on the market, Dotwallet has prominent lightweight and social attributes as well as rich application experience.
Q6: Is Dotwallet associated with Polkadot? How will Dotwallet support users using Dotwallet and developers of Dotwallet? Could you display it by cases?
Mr. Lin Zheming: We founded Dot platform for developers and traditional enterprises. Based on Dotwallet and with most of its interfaces completely free, Dot platform aims to provide low-cost, comprehensive and stable services for major development teams, and even certain publicity and promotion services for partners of Dot platform.
Recently, Dot open platform launched a brand new Badge service. Simply put, Badge service provides developers with the freedom to create tokenized currencies which can be used to exploit greater business opportunities by Bitcoin SV developers such as creating various cards and coupons, distributing rewards in tokens. Adopting this technology in the points system allows people to break the barriers between offline consumption scenarios and online platforms without a particularly large cost.
We are sure that, with the vigorous development of the Bitcoin SV, it will garner more and more attention.
For example, by using Badge service provided by the Dot open platform, users can use infrastructure provided by Dot in various ledgers whose value’s placed by tokens,like community points, access to door lock, train certification, identity certification, visit records, etc. Our combining of the low-cost and high-scalability of the Bitcoin ledgert brings possibilities for many business activities.
Q7：Here comes the most concerned question of the project value and token price. Due to the absence of a standard valuation model, the actual value of a project mismatches its price in many cases. As a Bitcoin Association Ambassador, you must have seen countless projects, so do you think whether the value of the current BSV project matches the price of BSV token or not?
Mr. Lin Zheming: Here comes the most concerned question of the project value and token price. Due to the absence of a standard valuation model, the actual value of a project mismatches its price in many cases. As a Bitcoin Association Ambassador, you must have seen countless projects, so do you think whether the value of the current BSV project matches the price of BSV token or not?
First of all, I do not provide trading advice nor comment on BSV price fluctuations.
However, people are prone to overestimate the short-term impact and underestimate the long-term impact of a new technology. As an old netter, I saw in the .com bubble era, any concept and website can make a lot of money, and we all thought that people’s lives had been changed forever by those companies.
When I first came into contact with the Internet, Sina was called Sitong Lifang and we only had Yahoo Yellow Pages instead of search engine then, a device called “modem” making strange noises was required if you wanted to surf on the Internet. In fact, it is impossible to understand how the information and these websites had a disruptive impact on our lives in the short term.
Regarding token prices, people can trade freely with the proper investment products / risk levels they think. This is an inevitable fact. People exchange based on their own knowledge and cognition.
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin SV ecosystem focuses on building a technologically brilliant blockchain system, which will create real utility and more true value as time goes on.
We do hope the price of Bitcoin SV will rise, but the rise should come from a correct reason that real utility and value have been set up gradually by digital assets and their blockchain ecosystem over time.
Ultimately, value and demand-supply relationship are the most direct leading factors. But we all know that “we are all dead in the long run”, so we should think prudently when evaluating the true value and the price of Bitcoin.
I hope above information could be helpful to everyone in the group.
Here comes Free QA session, we will choose 1 lucky question for guest to reply.
User: Mr. Lin, could you tell us the reason why developers choose to develop on BSV instead of other chains?
Mr. Lin Zheming: I think they choose to develop on BSV mainly because:
1. With a more stable infrastructure, your business will not die because of developers’ whimsical or higher transaction fees pushed by other applications.
2. With better developers and communities, you can meet many productive companions obsessed with Bitcoin technology.
3. A lower usage cost. The cost of the chain is always a kind of friction, less friction can can lower the cost for everyone.
4. More various usage scenarios. Bitcoin is a honesty-encouraging system which encourages honest participants to collaborate with each other and share the advantage of improved infrastructure.
Judy_Host of EncryptClub：Thanks Mr. Lin Zheming for joining our AMA and sharing so much valuable information with us. Thank you all for watching this AMA. EncryptClub will work hard and bring more wonderful content for you in future
