For outsiders, the processes surrounding cryptocurrencies are sometimes very confusing. But when it comes to changing cryptocurrency from one of many formats to another, things become difficult even for convinced users. Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology (TU) have now developed a concept that should facilitate the processing of such transactions. The approach called “Glimpse” doesn’t seem very intuitive either.
The aim of the researchers at the Christian Doppler Laboratory “Blockchain Technologies” at the Vienna University of Technology was to find a process whereby the previously common variant of exchanging virtual currencies, which were both hyped and damned, can be done through intermediaries or companies that were not consistently positively reviewed – so-called “bridges” – are bypassed. Such transactions would have repeatedly led to security vulnerabilities in the past.
“It must be efficient”
For computer scientist Zeta Avarikioti involved in the work, “It has to be efficient – it has to be possible to prove that the sum has actually been transferred with a relatively small amount of data. If this requires large parts of a blockchain, with hundreds of gigabytes of data, it would be completely impractical.In addition, the protocol should be as compatible as possible – as many cryptocurrencies as possible should be supported.
This number is, so to speak, considered a kind of verification code, which is used to create contracts according to mathematically defined standards – the so-called “smart contracts”. In the complex, publicly visible protocol (blockchain) on which, for example, the most common cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is based, a user of the online currency Ethereum can use the code to read counterfeit-proof that a Bitcoin user who has traded with him, previously agreed to meet the criteria and actually transferred its monetary units. A “smart contract” in the Ethereum world can then be booked as fulfilled and the corresponding amount can be transferred in the other cryptocurrency.
The Vienna group’s approach will be presented in August at the USENIX Security Symposium, one of the most important gatherings of researchers in the field. The work was recently published in the “Cryptology ePrint Archive”. However, for Aumayr, the new protocol’s capabilities “go far beyond exchanging one cryptocurrency for another.” The team of scientists and experts from the Vienna-based crypto platform Bitpanda is now considering how to integrate the concept into existing systems.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
