The BSV Association is a non-profit association (Verein) in Switzerland, created to bring together enterprises, start-up ventures, developers, merchants, exchanges, service providers, blockchain transaction processors (miners), and others in the BSV Blockchain ecosystem.
But what exactly does it do daily and how does it assist those who are actively working with the technology? These and other questions were answered by Martin Coxall (Director of Growth at BSV Association) who was speaking at the recent Digital Acceleration and Transformation Expo (DATE) in India.
Creating a better world
Coxall began his presentation by noting that one of the ultimate goals of the Association is to create a better world for all by using the BSV blockchain to make it more:
- Free;
- Fair;
- Profitable;
- Sustainable;
- Trustworthy.
He added that the volume of data and information created, captured, copied and consumed worldwide has grown exponentially over the last decade, with the big data industry expected to be valued at $229 billion by 2025. This is set to grow even further as the market increasingly pushes for more digitalisation, IoT and AI development.
While this monumental growth is impressive, Coxall notes that much of this is being done on the old Internet and ageing Web2 technology, leading to ‘pain and risk’ at every point of the value chain. By comparison, a new Web3-based Internet built on blockchain offers ease and security at every point of the value chain, he said.
‘Just as there can be only one Internet, there can be only one blockchain. BSV blockchain is the only protocol that ensures control, provenance, and accuracy of all the world’s data.
Timestamping and records of truth
The BSV blockchain is an immutable ledger of transactions and data, with each block timestamped. In mathematical terms, blockchain records permanent evidence that an event ‘e’ occurred in time ‘t’. BSV relies on two concepts to achieve immutability, one is a distributed timestamp server and the other is proof-of-work.
As a distributed timestamp server, the BSV blockchain hashes the transactions of the block and associates it in the block header along with a Unix time value of the formation of the block. This hash is unique to the block and since it is generated from the contents of the block, changing the contents would invalidate the hash stored in the block header at the time of block creation.
Generation of this hash requires miners to invest in CAPEX and spend considerable OPEX in the form of recurring electricity bills. For a miner to prove that it mined the block, it needs to exhibit proof-of-work, which is easily verifiable by other miners in the network.
Coxall explained that this timestamping system creates a universal source of truth. By design, it also empowers individuals (not big tech) and opens the door for all economies.
‘BSV Blockchain is the only protocol that enables a universal exchange of value by building a robust and sustainable record of truth for everyone and everything. Truth is the only way, he said.