Public Crypto BLOG: ArcBlock - New Blockchain 3.0 Generation

A blockchain is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography. Each block typically contains a hash pointer as a link to a previous block, a timestamp and transaction data. By design, a blockchain is inherently resistant to modification of the data. Blockchain is the advanced technologies that has many advantages, but still have problems on it.

The current Problems in Blockchain :

POOR PERFORMANCE
Performance is one of the main challenges facing current blockchain technology. The blockchain that Bitcoin uses is designed to handle seven transactions per second, and Ethereum can only handle a few more. As of December 2017, a simple CryptoKitties1 application can slow Ethereum and increase transaction fees dramatically.

NOT CONSUMER FRIENDLY
Today’s blockchain applications are built for the few tech whizzes who know how to use them, rather than mainstream consumers. Nearly all blockchain applications require users to either run a blockchain node or install a “light node.” The learning curve and effort involved has delayed adoption among the general public.

COST
The extremely high cost of using blockchain technology is a major barrier to mainstream adoption. It also limits developers who need the flexibility to build free services. Just like today’s web and mobile apps, users shouldn’t have to pay for every minor action. Similar to the Internet, blockchain technology should be able to support free applications.

PLATFORM LOCK-IN
As with the early days of any computing technology, blockchains have critical “platform lock-in” problems. Developers have to decide which blockchain to support, then implement platform-specific code that makes it very difficult to switch an application to a different blockchain later on.

LACK OF FEATURES
People have high expectations for blockchain—the news media, evangelists, and journalists paint a bright future for decentralized applications for the public, especially with the increasingly high prices of cryptocurrencies. In reality, however, blockchain technology is still in its infancy. Most blockchain services lack rich features and don’t have a mechanism to encourage the community to contribute to the feature stacks.

ArcBlock solves these problems through its revolutionary new design. Unlike its predecessors, ArcBlock is a platform service, rather than a standalone software package or set of APIs. ArcBlock is a comprehensive solution that combines blockchain technology with Cloud Computing.

ArcBlock is a platform and an ecosystem for building and deploying decentralized blockchain applications. The platform goes beyond providing the necessary foundational components for using blockchain to power complex business rules. It connects your existing system to blockchain networks, enabling you to automate business processes using the data and identities associated with existing systems.

ArcBlock GOAL

ArcBlock’s primary goal is to remove the barriers that have slowed blockchain adoption among the
general public. We’re also passionate about developing unique approaches that will significantly
advance blockchain development.

Blockchain technology is still in its infancy. There are many issues preventing developers and businesses from creating widespread, decentralized blockchain applications.

OPEN CHAIN ACCESS PROTOCOL
Our open source protocol provides an abstract layer for accessing underlying blockchains. Similar to an ODBC or JDBC interface to a set of databases, our Open Chain Access Protocol enables your application to work on different blockchains. There’s no need to alter your business logic or work with multiple chain technologies. Chain Adapters can be built by the community and encouraged by the incentive mechanism. This will enable ArcBlock to support many blockchain protocols and continue to improve.

BLOCKLET
Blocklet is a serverless computing architecture component for running various types of applications. Use Blocklet for smart contracts, oracle, resource and asset handling, and off-chain business logic. Blocklet communicates with blockchains through ArcBlock’s Open Chain Access Protocol, and can be orchestrated with our Algorand-based consensus algorithm.

ARCBLOCK’S ADVANTAGES

BUILT FOR THE NEW TOKEN ECONOMY
ArcBlock is a self-evolving ecosystem not just a software platform built by one centralized organization. We at ArcBlock Foundation Limited and the ArcBlock Foundation are only jump starting the project; the platform will continue to develop and grow on its own.

OPTIMIZED FOR THE BEST EXPERIENCE
We built the ArcBlock platform using a “top-down” strategy that centers on the user experience. In contrast, many existing solutions focus on the blockchain technology itself at the expense of user friendliness.

BUILT FOR THE CLOUD
ArcBlock is designed to run natively in the cloud. It can also run on a single computer for testing and development.

BUILT WITH AN OPEN STANDARD
ArcBlock is built with an open standard. We’re trying our best not to reinvent the wheel and to build for the application developer’s wants and needs. In addition to open sourcing our core components, we will also actively contribute to a variety of blockchain technology communities.

CLOUD NODES

While using a group of cloud services as a node may seem like an unusual approach, a physical computer is simply a group of hardware components that work together (CPU, memory, external storage, bus, network interfaces) in one box. Aside from how the components are distributed and communicate with each other, they’re essentially the same. ArcBlock is the first blockchain platform to treat cloud services as nodes, achieving a much higher level of abstraction, enhanced performance, and even better security. We believe this approach will likely become the de facto standard for future blockchain platform design, and we as a pioneer will lead the trend as technology evolves.

ArcBlock ARCHITECTURE

ArcBlock aims to build a scalable, extensible, and easy-to-use platform for building and deploying decentralized blockchain applications.

ArcBlock’s design is based on following core principles:

- The user experience comes first.
- Performance matters.
- The system will be built on an open standard.
- The system will build upon an Incentive-driven economy

API GATEWAY
An API gateway is essential in microservice architecture. An API gateway is a façade that provides a simple API interface to a complex subsystem. It essentially decouples the interface that clients see (in our case API consumers, which could be mobile apps, web clients, or thin clients) from the underlying implementations. In ArcBlock, all features are implemented with Blocklets. Rather than communicating directly with clients, Blocklets communicate through the API Gateway. The gateway supports various network protocols by default, including WebSocket, DDP, HTTPS, and MQTT. Advanced developers can extend the gateway with new network protocols to fit their needs.

What makes ArcBlock unique is that it’s not just a set of APIs or libraries—it’s a robust platform with a full set of features. In addition, the service runs on top of its own native token system, which is driven by latest blockchain technology.

THE ARCBLOCK TOKEN (ABT)
The ArcBlock Token (ABT) is native to the ArcBlock platform. To achieve high-performance transactions, we built an optimized blockchain dedicated to ArcBlock’s own token services and the public ledger. The design goal is to achieve >100,000 Tx/s, which is more than adequate for a wide range of applications. In the future this blockchain could be improved for broader purposes. The ARC is designed as a general purpose token that can be used in different scenarios. Within ArcBlock, the ABT’s basic utility value is to pay for the cost of using the ArcBlock system. Like a cloud computing service, the ABT is a utility token for paying the cost associated with using the service.

THE MINERS

ArcBlock allow contributors (“miners”) to run ArcBlock platform services and join the overall service network. The role of miners within the ArcBlock community is significantly different from that of Bitcoin and Ethereum contributors, however.

RESOURCE MINERS
Resource Miners contribute computing resources to the system. They might provide cloud computing resources and run as a cloud node, or contribute self-hosted computing resources.

COMPONENT MINERS
Component Miners contribute software components to the system, such as new Chain Adapters, Blocklet Components, or ready-to-deploy applications.