The human race has evolved over the past years with so many great inventions, the internet which happens to be one of the greatest inventions in the past two decades has given birth to so many technologies- Worthy of note is the invention of blockchain. The blockchain revolutionize the common internet transforming it from a mere internet of information to internet of value where smart contracts would be deployed involving digitization, intelligence and decentralization.
As we all know, there is no system that is 100% efficient, there would always be flaws. The internet of value currently has some challenges which bedevils the system, scalability, usability ,interoperability, functional modularity are some of the issues a common user faces on a daily basis.
This got some developers thinking , making them go back to the drawing board to find solutions to these set of problems. Like the saying “necessity is the mother of invention!!!”.
THE HOLOCHAIN SOLUTION
Holochain seems to provide some answers to the erstwhile problems mentioned. It is quite surprising to learn that the solution to a blockchain problem could come from a non-blockchain.
It is important to note that holochain is not a blockchain! This fact is to help reset your mind and remove any biases you may have against a non-blockchain solution.
If not a blockchain, then what is holochain? Well, You can think of holochain as a hosting platform to help developers build fully scalable and functional decentralized applications for use by other internet users.
Another way to look at holochain is that holochain is a framework for building of Dapps. It is also good to know that these Dapps on holochain are called Happs!
From the two definitions of holochain, it could be noted that holochain centres on developers (Agents) and not the routine data a blockchain centres on.
An agent is saddled with the responsibility of building an app and setting the rules for other agents to use. This singular act made Holochain to be regarded as an agent-centric in contrast to the data centric model of blockchain.
Holochain was built on the foundation of these philosophies
• No consensus.
• No single ledger of truth.
• An alternative to blockchain.
In Holochain, A specific node owns the data, controls the flow of data and transacts with other centralized nodes.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
Holochain makes use of three distinct technologies to form a tamper-proof platform running without any dispute.
1) HASHING
Hashing is a technology that holochain uses to convert a set of generated data into an encrypted alphanumeric finger print. This finger print still retains the original data embedded inside. Any attempt to tamper with the finger print would lead to alteration of the whole finger print. This is similar to the technology used by torrent where seeders upload torrents to the cloud for leechers to download. A leecher would only download the correct hash he wants to prevent download of a virus. Hashing ensures that data transferred is what was requested.
2) DIGITAL SIGNATURE
Holochain makes use of private keys and public keys akin to the blockchain; the private key ensures protection of personal rights of specific agents. For example, an agent creates an app with his digital signature with a unique set of rules and the app is made available on the holochain platform, if another agent (user) recognises the public key (username) of a known agent, the user can download the app without any fear. Digital signature ensures that nobody would tamper with another agent’s product.
3) DISTRIBUTED HASH TABLES
Holochain ditched the global consensus for change in the traditional blockchain ledger. The agents in holochain have their immutable owned signed hash chain as a monotonic DHT node. Even in the case of a multi-party transaction, it is signed to each party’s chain. After data is signed to a local chain, it is shared to a DHT where neighbouring nodes can validate it.
Each agent’s source chain holds the apps DNA which is the code that runs the app . This means that every single application on holochain is free to run its own holochain on its own terms and conditions at a very low overhead cost provided by the host.
THE IDEA OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.
Holochain has a type of system in place to checkmate bad agents who break the rules. This system constantly look for nodes that are breaking the rules and ostracizes them from the holochain via a special gossip protocol. This system is almost similar to real life where antibodies fight against bad antigens in order to protect the body from an impending danger.
Holochain has fulfilled part of the crypto-predictions by the good people at Weiss crypto currency ratings.
Forecast #4
A select group of cryptos will compete to build a new kind of internet.
From this forecast, it’s could be seen that coins like Holochain and EOS are currently on the verge of creating a new version of internet 3.0.
Forecast #7
New coins will rocket to the top 10.
Although this prediction is not yet fulfilled, the future is already bright for holochain as HOT is already ranked number 32 in the market with a price of $0.001171 with a market cap of $156.04 Million and Total Circulating supply of 133.21Billion with volume of $12.52M
It should be noted that holochain does not have a native token yet; The ERC-20 HOT token is just a means of rewarding agents who host their decentralized applications on the platform.The holochain consensus is called proof of service.
So far, there are not many holo apps available yet, holochat and clutter are peer to peer applications that have been built.
THE TEAM.
There is not much to talk about the team , the team has a rich blend of developers, app and software engineers , architects in addition to the holochain core team. These unique individuals transend different racial backgrounds and are working backstage to make holochain a reality .
FINAL THOUGHTS
The concepts of holochain are very new and untested and may not yet be globally adopted. But it is important to remember that the concepts of blockchain also passed through this same phase of doubt. There is always room for doubt and room for a trial.If you are interested in owning a social network company like Facebook where people can interact via post, likes etc or you want to run a peer to peer platform governed by a set of rules then holochain may be worth looking into.
• If you want to know more about this project, their website should be your first point of call.
• If interested in how holochain works and its technical details, you will find useful information in the Whitepaper.
• If you are not the voracious type of reader, this summary should come in handy for you.
• And if you want to get into contact with them, feel free to visit their Telegram, Facebook, medium, Reddit or Twitter Handle.
Please note that the above write up is not financial advice of any sort, you are advised to always do your own research about any promising coin before investing in it.
... curled from my trybe article