Klaytn blockchain is a public blockchain based on proof of stake (PoS) BFT highly optimized that aims to meet enterprise-grade reliability.
Klaytn's goal is mass adoption of blockchain. There are many public blockchains, but the industry still cannot get the expected adoption. The reason is that blockchain technology is currently adopted by small teams, but companies are still reluctant to use this technology.
The team behind the project believes that companies will drive mass adoption of blockchain. Therefore, the project is designed for companies from the beginning and mass adoption is its main objective. Currently, there are several projects in Klaytn. Let's take a brief look at Klaytn.
What is Klaytn Blockchain?
Klaytn is a PoS blockchain developed by Ground X, a blockchain subsidiary of South Korean messaging giant Kakao. Klaytn launched its mainnet, Cypress, on June 27, 2019.
The main goal of the project is to be a business-ready, service-focused platform. To realize its vision, Klaytn provides a comprehensive set of blockchain application development environments to equip enterprises with the ability to build applications that integrate key qualities conferred by Klaytn's underlying public network, including transparency, security, and resistance to censorship.
Klaytn uses a Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT), an optimized version of Istanbul BFT, to achieve the immediate purpose. According to Ground X, the platform combines the best features of both public and private blockchain and enables large-scale real-world applications to be produced immediately so that our end users can make full use of the services without much experience in blockchain or cryptocurrency. .
Klaytn Overview
According to the documentation, to address business needs, the Klaytn Cypress backbone has a commit and block build time of 1 second. The network can handle 4000 transactions per second (TPS) and gas prices are almost 1/10 of Ethereum.
Additionally, Klaytn supports Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and Solidity contract execution. The current version of KLVM is derived from Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and as such is quite similar to EVM. For writing smart contracts, Klaytn currently supports Solidity as the main programming language.
To address the challenge of mass blockchain adoption, Klaytn strives to improve the experience of three different categories of users by delivering three separate packages: Developer Experience Offerings (DX), User Experience Offerings (UX), and Business Experience Offerings (EX).
In DX offerings, Ground X tries to ensure that great products are developed and made available in the Klaytn ecosystem. DX offerings provide integrated development environments, blockchain interoperability software, and a developer-friendly platform that could support reliable performance at 2500 TPS and above, immediate responsiveness targeting 1-second finality on each block, and costs. predictable operations based on a fixed transaction fee.
To deliver a better blockchain user experience (UX), Klaytn aims to provide blockchain service providers with the means to minimize user acquisition hurdles and technical challenges of ignorance, such as account creation and management, the custody of private keys and the provisioning and configuration of wallets.
Klaytn's ultimate goal is to become the first blockchain solution to bring mass blockchain adoption to the world. To address the obstacles companies face when using blockchain technology, Klaytn provides an enterprise-grade network infrastructure with built-in reliability and high-performance support that enables companies to deliver blockchain products that meet the expectations of the modern end-user experience. without sacrificing the unique values of the public blockchain of transparency, security and resistance to censorship.
To provide the most flexibility and customization required for businesses, Klaytn provides Service Chain that offers extensive customization for individual organizations. Additionally, companies can seamlessly integrate their existing assets, such as business intelligence or analytics tools, with Klaytn to reduce friction when incorporating blockchain into the operations process.
Klaytn Network Architecture
The following figure describes the architecture of the Klaytn network.
Klaytn uses a tiered network architecture with role-based node types to optimize network performance. Based on the image above, Klaytn can be divided into three logical subnets based on their roles and purposes.
- Core Cell Network (CCN): According to the documentation, “CCN consists of Core Cells (CC) that verify and execute transactions sent through Endpoint Nodes (EN). CCN is responsible for creating and propagating blocks throughout the network.
- Endpoint Node Network (ENN): ENN, it consists only of connected ENs and also a series of proxy nodes (PN). ENs serve as endpoints for the Klaytn network, handling API RPC requests and processing data sent to and from service chains. Core Cell Network (CNN) and Endpoint Node Network (ENN) form a main chain or mainnet of Klaytn.
- Service chain network (SCN): SCNs are Klaytn subnets made up of auxiliary blockchains operated independently by blockchain applications (BApps). The service chains are connected to the main chain through EN. Blockchain applications can run on the main Klaytn chain or operate on their own blockchains called Service Chains.
Klaytn Backbone Architecture
The above is the network is the Klaytn network architecture. Core Cell Network and Endpoint Node Network form a Klaytn backbone or mainnet. The following image explains the architecture of the Klaytn backbone.
As we know, Klaytn's backbone consists of CCN and ENN. Core Cells Network (CCN) can be divided into Consensus Node Network (CNN) and Proxy Node Network (PNN).
Each CNN CC consists of a consensus node (CN) and two proxy nodes (PN). The CNs form a complete mesh network between them called CNNs. CNN applies the PBFT algorithm to reach consensus and the PNs relay the transaction requests to the consensus nodes and propagate the blocks to the endpoint nodes.
ENN consists of endpoint nodes (ENs) that primarily create transactions, handle RPC API requests, and process service chain data requests.
Boot nodes are special type nodes operated by Klaytn to help newly joining nodes register on the network and discover other nodes to connect to.
Klaytn consensus mechanism
Klaytn achieves a quick goal by adopting and improving Istanbul BFT.
In Klaytn, there are four types of nodes, CN (consensus node), PN (proxy node), EN (endpoint node), and boot nodes. Bootnodes has nothing to do with the Klaytn consensus mechanism.
The CNs are managed by CCOs (Core Cell Operators) and are in charge of generating blocks. A 'round' is a block generation cycle in Klaytn and lasts approximately one second. The NCs collectively form a Council called the Klaytn Governance Council and in each block generation, part of them are selected as members of the Committee using a VRF (Verifiable Random Function). In each round, a CN is selected as a proposed block.
The proponent then transmits a cryptographic proof of selection for the round to all NCs. The committee responds with its own selection tests. The proponent then selects a set of transactions from their transaction pool and creates a block by sorting them. The proponent then executes a consensus with the committee to agree and finalize the newly created block.
More than two-thirds of the committee's signatures are required to complete a block. When the proponent and the committee reach a consensus, the new block is propagated to all NCs (it also includes other non-committee nodes) and the consensus round ends. The information in this new block is sent to all network participants by delivering the block header and body data to ENN via PNN.
For each round, a block reward, which is the sum of the newly minted KLAY and transaction fees, is distributed to the block proponent. The proponent of the newly created block receives 100% of the reward to be awarded to NCs, while the committee receives none. The chances of being selected as a proponent depend on the number of KLAY tokens wagered by the CN.
Klaytn Coin (KLAY)
KLAY is the native currency of Klaytn and Klaytn's internal transferable cryptocurrency and is used to pay transaction fees when creating or executing smart contracts or when transferring KLAY.
According to Klaytn's position paper:
“KLAY is a necessary element – in essence, the fuel – to operate the Klaytn network. It is a form of payment that the users of the platform make to the consensus nodes (CNs) that execute the requested operations. To put it another way, KLAY is an incentive; it ensures that developers write high-quality applications (because wasteful code costs more money) and that the network remains healthy (Klaytn nodes are compensated for the resources they contribute) ”.
Consensus Nodes (NCs) bet on KLAY to join the Klaytn Governing Council and propose blocks. Block proponents receive block rewards which are the sum of the newly minted KLAY coins and the transaction fees charged in the form of KLAY. According to CoinMarketCap, KLAY's total supply is over 10 billion at the time of writing.
Klaytn Governance Council
The Klaytn blockchain is governed by the Klaytn Governance Council, which includes crypto industry giants such as Binance and Huobi and big names in their respective fields. In other words, the Klaytn Governance Council is an alliance of multinational companies and organizations, responsible for operating the network of consensus nodes and driving the growth of the ecosystem.
Board members participate in key decisions related to the technical updates of the platform, including the basic structures for the new main functions, as well as the updates of the economic policy and the resolution of expenses, including the financing structure, the policy of transaction fees and contribution evaluation metrics.
