What’s the Tangle? – Blokkx Ltd.
Blokkx Ltd. 2019
Most cryptocurrencies are based on blockchain technology: transactions are bundled in blocks and attached to a memory chain. The confirmation of the transactions is the responsibility of the so-called miners, who receive a reward in the form of coins.
Tangle is an alternative distributed ledger system, which forms the basis of the cryptocurrency IOTA. It regulates transactions without blockchain and promises to be more scalable. It will be used primarily on the Internet of Things.
Blockchain: Differences and similarities of the Tangle
With the blockchain, individual participants must confirm the transactions (full nodes) and attach blocks to the chain (miners). IOTAs Tangle, on the other hand, turns all participants of the network into fully-fledged actors.
For a transaction to take place, the sender must confirm two previous transactions. Participants compare transactions with each other. A minimum number of confirmations is required for final execution. Usually, these are two.
The more participants approve a transaction, the higher the probability that it is genuine. In this process, the Tangle resembles the blockchain: the validation is based on a hash system. The actors solve cryptographic confirmation tasks according to the Proof of Work System. However, no miners are involved. Those who send the transactions also perform the proof of work.
The technology underlying the Tangle is called a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG).
Directed Acyclic Graph
The nodes of the Tangle are not participants, but transactions. Through mutual confirmation, they form an acyclic, i.e. linear structure. The “arrows” that appear between nodes point in one direction. The visual representation is therefore called “Directed Acyclic Graph”. In this field, the term tangle stands for the “tangle” of nodes.
Advantages of the Tangle
The new technology offers many benefits. No miners are required to operate the system. This fact eliminates the power game that characterizes many cryptocurrencies. All participants use and confirm. They can do this even if they are not connected to the Tangle.
There are no fees for transactions. The system is fast and easily scalable. Even micro-payments are possible without any problems.
And finally, the Tangle also promises increased security, since attackers must be “omnipresent”. It means that they would have to be present in many different places within the network to compromise a large part of the Tangle.
Disadvantages of the Tangle
Currently, the functionality of the tangles as a blockchain alternative has not yet been fully proven or is in a kind of “beta phase”. The IOTA Foundation is currently working with a central “coordinator” to check the validity of the transactions in the Tangle. The Tangle is primarily based on transactions that have been confirmed by the coordinator in so-called milestones.
Published at Thu, 26 Sep 2019 15:46:27 +0000
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