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Crypto Education - Federated Byzantine Agreement Explained | Animation | Cryptomatics - YouTube
Channel: Cryptomatics
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Hello and welcome to a new Cryptomatics episode!
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In this video, we will explain what the Federated聽
Byzantine Agreement is and how it works.
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We will also briefly cover its pros and cons.
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to find out when we publish a new video,聽聽
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don鈥檛 forget to subscribe聽
and turn on notifications.
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For the latest news and聽
reviews of the crypto space,聽聽
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you can also find us on our other聽
YouTube channel, CryptoRobin.
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Understanding Byzantine Agreement
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To understand the Federated Byzantine Agreement聽聽
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(FBA), we must first take a look聽
at Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT).
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Fault Tolerance is the feature that allows聽
a system to continue to function correctly聽聽
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in the event of one or more failures聽
occurring, within some of its components.
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The quality of the way the system聽
operates may not decrease at all,聽聽
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or the decrease may be proportional聽
to the severity of the failure.
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In comparison, in a system聽
designed without this feature,聽聽
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even a minor failure can cause a total collapse.
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When it comes to Blockchain, this聽
refers to a network鈥檚 ability to聽聽
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protect itself from failures聽
that derive from the Byzantine聽聽
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General鈥檚 problem and make it more聽
challenging to achieve a consensus.
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For example, such failures聽
could be network congestion聽聽
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or disconnection, malicious attacks,聽
or incorrect request processing.
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A Byzantine Fault Tolerant system is聽
able to continue operating even if some聽聽
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of the nodes fail to communicate聽
or engage in malicious behavior.
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There are several ways to build聽
a Byzantine-tolerant blockchain,聽聽
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and they are related to the different聽
types of consensus algorithms,聽聽
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that is, the mechanisms through聽
which a blockchain reaches consensus.
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For example, Bitcoin鈥檚 solution聽
for Byzantine fault tolerance聽聽
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includes atomic broadcasting聽
and public-key cryptography.
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Many blockchains have聽
implemented some sort of BFT.聽聽
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The traditional Byzantine聽
agreement is a good example.
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In this case, the agreement is reached聽
when a certain minimum number of nodes,聽聽
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known as a quorum, agree on the聽
solution to a given problem.
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While such a consensus is fast and efficient,聽
it sacrifices decentralization to achieve聽聽
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these characteristics as membership in Byzantine聽
agreement systems is set by a central authority.
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Here is where the Federated聽
Byzantine Agreement (FBA) comes in,聽聽
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which is a decentralized alternative to BFT.
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So let鈥檚 dive deeper into what FBA entails.
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What Is FBA and How Does It Work?
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In a BFT system, there must be a聽
list of recommended validators,聽聽
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which is defined by a central authority,聽
typically the company behind the protocol.
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Even if anyone can spin up a validator,聽聽
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only those the authority adds to that聽
list can participate in consensus.
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So, such a system features a聽
centralized, closed membership.
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In FBA, there is no such list聽
chosen by a central authority.
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Instead, the nodes (validators) choose聽
the other validators they trust,聽聽
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and their list of trusted nodes聽
is known as their quorum slice.
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In a system of this type, several quorum聽
slices will overlap and thus form a quorum,聽聽
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which is the number of nodes required聽
to reach an agreement within the system.
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The system-wide agreement聽
is reached when overlapping聽聽
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quorum slices communicate the transactions.
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Without a central authority to decide聽
on the recommended validator list,聽聽
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FBA creates an open membership network.
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This means anyone can run a validator and聽
participate in the network鈥檚 consensus聽聽
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as long as any other participating聽
validator adds them to their quorum slice.
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This further allows for decentralization聽
as more and more nodes can be added to聽聽
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the network, promoting organic network growth.
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The Ripple blockchain pioneered the FBA consensus聽
mechanism, but the Stellar blockchain refined it聽聽
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and successfully implemented聽
the first safe and secure FBA.
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Pros and Cons of FBA
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Some of the advantages of聽
FBA include the following:
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FBA ensures an open membership.
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Since there is no central authority,聽聽
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individual nodes choose the validators they聽
trust, and they can have several quorum slices.
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Anyone can join and leave at any time,聽
so there is a low barrier to entry.
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Robustness in the face of failure聽
- even if a node goes down,聽聽
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the rest of the system will keep聽
operating and will stay intact.
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Low latency as transactions can聽
be closed in just a few seconds,聽聽
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which leads to high throughput聽
and network scalability.
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However, a disadvantage is that聽
trust among participants is required.
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Then, some experts consider that quorum聽
slices can actually lead to centralization,聽聽
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which is the opposite of what聽
an FBA system tries to achieve.
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Conclusions
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To sum up, the Federated Byzantine Agreement聽聽
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is a decentralized alternative to聽
the traditional Byzantine agreement.
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An FBA ledger can be accurate as well as聽
up-to-date even if not all nodes agree.
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The quorum formed from the choices of聽聽
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each node is the one that convinces聽
the entire system of agreement.
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Given that there is no central authority,聽
anyone is free to join the network.
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Examples of well-known cryptocurrencies聽
that use the FBA include Stellar and Ripple.
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I hope you enjoyed today鈥檚 video, and if聽
you have other questions about Federated聽聽
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Byzantine Agreement, don't hesitate聽
to tell us in the comment section.
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So much for today, don't forget to聽
subscribe to the Cryptomatics channel,聽聽
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if you want to stay up to date with the聽
latest concepts in the crypto sector.
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