Research

  • Milestone 1: Understanding Data Availability (DA) Problem
  • High-level exploration and discussion on data availability problems in a collaborative offsite meeting in Paris.
  • Explored the necessity and key challenges associated with DA.
  • In-depth study of Verifiable Information Dispersal (VID) as it relates to data availability.
  • Blocker: The experimental tests for our specific EC scheme are pending, which is blocking progress to make final decision on KZG + commitments for our architecture.
  • Milestone 2: Privacy for Proof of Stake (PoS)
  • Analyzed the capabilities and limitations of mixnets, specifically within the context of timing attacks in private PoS.
  • Invested time in understanding timing attacks and how Nym mixnet caters to these challenges.
  • Reviewed the Crypsinous paper to understand its privacy vulnerabilities, notably the issue with probabilistic leader election and the vulnerability of anonymous broadcast channels to timing attacks.

Development

  • Milestone 1: Mixnet and Networking
  • Initiated integration of libp2p to be used as the full node’s backend, planning to complete in the next phase.
  • Begun planning for the next steps for mixnet integration, with a focus on understanding the components of the Nym mixnet, its problem-solving mechanisms, and the potential for integrating some of its components into our codebase.
  • Milestone 2: Simulation Application
  • Completed pseudocode for Carnot Simulator, created a test pseudocode, and provided a detailed description of the simulation. The relevant resources can be found at the following links:
  • Implemented simulation network fixes and warding improvements, and increased the run duration of integration tests. The corresponding pull requests can be accessed here:
    • Simulation network fix (262)
    • Vote tally fix (268)
    • Increased run duration of integration tests (263)
    • Warding improvements (269)