2024
What Logos Project Aspires to Be
16 min read

Avatar Logo

Publication date: May 04, 2024


What Logos Project Aspires to Be

To understand the project and its purpose, we need to start from the very beginning - and by that I really mean from the very beginning. The ideas and concepts that later contributed to the development of blockchain technology were explored back in the 1980s and 1990s. Some blockchain related concepts go back to the development of the cryptographic technique of the hash tree, also known as the Merkle tree, which was introduced by Ralph Merkle in 1979. The Merkle tree enables efficient and secure verification of large data structures and is an essential component of many blockchain implementations. In 1991, Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta proposed a system to timestamp documents so that they could not be manipulated. Their approach used a kind of chain structure of hash values to ensure the integrity of the timestamps. This can be considered an early form of blockchain technology as it involved the concept of chaining blocks using cryptographic methods. In the 1992, Haber and Stornetta developed their ideas further, including the introduction of the tree structure to increase the efficiency of the system. These techniques are very similar to today's blockchain techniques, although the term "blockchain" was not yet used. In 1997, Adam Back introduced Hashcash, a proof-of-work system originally developed to fight email spam and denial-of-service attacks. Despite these early developments, the breakthrough that led to the broad implementation was the combination of these techniques with a robust, decentralized consensus mechanism (proof-of-work), as described in Nakamoto's 2008 Bitcoin whitepaper. Nakamoto adapted the original concept of proof-of-work and Hashcash from Back, to the Bitcoin system to create a viable consensus mechanism. After the breakthrough of blockchain technology in 2009, it did not take long for the first significant advances to be made in this field. Blockchain technology has successfully integrated into various sectors and industries far beyond the original context of cryptocurrencies.


Blockchain history

Blockchain evolution timeline (main breakthroughs)

Bitcoin was the pioneer in implementing blockchain technology and has undoubtedly contributed to the recognition of this technology. However, it is a misconception that Bitcoin defines the possibilities of blockchain or represents its development limit. As you can see from the diagram, today there are numerous blockchain platforms and projects that go far beyond the basic functions of a cryptocurrency and open up new dimensions of technology use. Blockchain provides a transparent and immutable record of data, making it ideal, for example, for supply chain management. Companies can seamlessly track the origin of products, from production to the end consumer, ensuring authenticity and reducing counterfeiting. In the healthcare sector, blockchain helps securely store patient data and simplify exchanges among different parties. This not only improves efficiency, but also protects patient privacy and facilitates compliance with regulatory requirements. Blockchain can ensure that digital identities are tamper-proof and verifiable. This approach has potential applications in many areas, including voter registration, banking or any form of online transaction that requires a verified identity. Blockchain can also be used to improve transparency and efficiency in administration and public services. This includes everything from managing public services and processing documents to conducting elections. These were just some of the "legitimate" sectors among many others (energy, real estate, art, etc.) where blockchain technology has found use. In conclusion, we see that blockchain is also technologically much more than just "crypto". While the cryptocurrency approach continues to play a significant role in the financial sector and offers the potential to revolutionize many aspects of traditional banking, the numerous cases of fraud in the DeFi space cast a shadow over the entire blockchain technology. These fraud cases not only bring DeFi into disrepute, but also affect trust in the underlying technology and the Web3 generally.

The term "Web3" in context of the blockchain was first mentioned in 2014 by Dr. Gavin Wood, one of the co-founders of Ethereum (2014) and co-founder of Polkadot (2016). Dr. Wood envisioned a decentralized internet enabled by the use of blockchain technology. The idea of Web3 is to give users more control over their data and break the monopoly of large technology companies by having the network governed by the users themselves. The acceptance of Web3 as the new stage of the internet is still ongoing and not necessarily universally recognized. However, there is a rapidly growing community and many startups working in this area, but also many skeptics who question the feasibility and necessity of Web3.

Here we get to the first matter that is being addressed within the Logos project. The debate around Web3 and its general acceptance is complex and influenced by various factors. Although blockchain technologies have made significant progress in recent years, they are still seen as relatively new, complex and fraught with skepticism. The implementation of Web3 solutions requires specialized knowledge and understanding, which is not widely available and very difficult to find. As a result, many IT professionals are reluctant to fully embrace it. Despite well-known examples of successful blockchain implementations, there are still concerns about the security and scalability of decentralized technologies. Major scalability issues, as seen in the past with Ethereum (meanwhile improved and it continues to improve), raise general concerns about the practicality of Web3 as a universal solution. Security incidents such as the Poly Network Hack 2021 (opens in a new tab) or the Solana Wallet Drain Exploit 2022 (opens in a new tab) do not give a secure impression. These incidents are actually the result of technical failures in the design and implementation of blockchain technology and its applications. However, the problems in both incidents were solved on a technical level, which has led to the further development and improvement of security in the entire Web3 area. A look at the data from the National Vulnerability Database (opens in a new tab) clearly shows that there are a significant number of security vulnerabilities in the field of information technology generally. It is true that blockchain technology and the Web3 approach have weaknesses and security risks. To say that the Web2 sphere is more secure than the Web3 sphere, however, can't be said as a blanket statement. Although Web2 systems can be considered more stable due to their longer existence and more mature security protocols, they are not immune to security breaches. In conclusion, both the Web3 and Web2 must make continuous efforts to close security gaps and arm the systems against future threats.

Cryptocurrencies, an integral part of many Web3 ecosystems, have a turbulent history of ups and downs, ranging from spectacular price rises to drastic crashes and scams. This volatility fuels uncertainty not only among investors, but also among regulators, which can hinder the broader adoption of Web3. Many Web3 applications are currently not user-friendly and require a deep understanding of the underlying technologies in order to use them effectively. This can be a barrier to wider adoption as average internet users may not be willing or able to adapt. Some of the skepticism about Web3 may also stem from philosophical or ideological reasons. Some critics argue that decentralization, while offering many benefits, is not always the best or necessary solution for all online interactions and services. It is not necessarily wrong that not every service in the Web sphere needs to be decentralized, at least not yet. Every day, new ideas emerge that lead to improvements. However, this does not mean that we should simply wait for "the solution". Rather, it is important to become active yourself and participate in shaping it. Overall, however, it is likely that the wider acceptance of Web3 will take time, and depending on further developments in technology, business and regulation, the attitude of the IT community and the wider public may evolve. We (LogosLabs, initiator of the Logos project) also want to get involved and create an environment where others can also get involved.

As can be seen, we want to explain and clarify many things in order to bring Web3 and blockchain technology closer to the broad IT-sphere, demonstrate their applicability and increase the prospects of such technologies. This is, or should be, the first responsibility of every Web3 project: to make it clear what it actually is in order to dispel skepticism. In this way, we want to make our contribution to the general transfer of knowledge in Web3, which should encourage the use of blockchain technologies and improve the migration to Web3.

The main intention of the Logos project is to try to solve a continously growing problem in the Web3 area that contradicts the original approach of Web3. To reiterate: The idea of Web3 was to give users more control over their data and break the monopoly of big tech companies by letting users control the network themselves. We can observe that more and more blockchain nodes (validators, full nodes, archive nodes, etc.), which comprise a blockchain network, are hosted by large cloud providers. Most Web3 infrastructure services rely on resources from Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, etc. The basic idea is not wrong; there is a need to create the opportunity for non-technical end users to participate in Web3 development. This is true for the provision of a Web3 infrastructure service, but in this case it does not justify the use of resources from large technology companies if you want to stay true to the Web3 approach. It cannot really be argued that using such cloud services makes it non-decentralized or "insecure", but it can be much more decentralized and secure and, importantly, more independent, which is the basic idea of Web3.

Independence is a central aspect of the Web3 approach and plays a crucial role in its meaning and it is a subject that often comes up in discussions about the true decentralization of Web3 systems. When blockchain nodes are hosted on infrastructure from large cloud providers such as AWS or Microsoft Azure, a certain irony arises. These providers control a significant amount of the global cloud infrastructure, and their services are often centralized. This means that although the blockchain itself can ensure data integrity and security, the physical and operational control over the nodes is in the hands of a few large companies. This leads to a dependency on these providers that could potentially compromise network integrity if these services fail, are compromised or if these companies decide to enforce certain actions that violate the principles of decentralization. Overall, the discussion about the reliance on large technology companies in the implementation of blockchain networks illustrates the need to think beyond the software level and also to include the hardware and infrastructure level in order to consistently implement the principles of decentralization. Independence, in the Web3 context, is therefore not only a technological advancement, but also a political and social statement against the monopolistic tendencies of large technology corporations. It enables users to free themselves from the grip of these corporations and promotes a fairer and freer digital economy and society. This shift from centralization to decentralization marks a significant step towards a more self-determined digital future that is less dependent on large corporations. Many companies and individuals would likely prefer a decentralized, community-driven solution if it could provide the same services with comparable reliability, security and user-friendliness as large cloud services. This would represent a significant shift in the way digital services are offered and used, with far-reaching implications for the entire technology landscape.

The main goal of the Logos project is to create an enterprise-grade computational layer for Web3 that utilizes its resources for layer 0 and layer 1 blockchain nodes. The sub0layer (Web3 computational layer) is the result of what is provided by technical implementations in the Logos network. The computing infrastructure provided by the Logos network is defined, secured and executed by a blockchain. The network consists of four main components that together form the Logos network and provide the sub0layer. The DVCI (Distributed Virtual Computing Infrastructure) acts as a data center, while the Logos-chain is used to ensure the security of operations. The DVCI will consist of community-provided computing resources and dedicated root servers hosted by us (LogosLabs) with predefined virtual computing environments. The Network Gatekeeper ensures that each infrastructure component (existing and future) complies with all security protocols, handles the communication between the DVCI and the blockchain and also transfers new instructions/configurations to the underlying blockchain. The W3bI (computation distribution) will be the central "service" of the Logos network and ecosystem, providing the sub0layer for layer 0 and layer 1 blockchain infrastructures. Simply put, the Logos Network strives to create a community computer that belongs to everyone and at the same time belongs to no one; an autonomous network to provide, receive and share computing power. The community computer is intended to provide Web3 with an enterprise-grade solution that involves the use of decentralized technologies, community governance (achieving fairness principles) as a significant cost reduction for computing power and storage. If you want to know more details, have a look at our concept paper (opens in a new tab).


Logos Network

Logos Network (basic representation)

During the development and implementation of the network, we must address some of the existing problems and weaknesses of the Web3 sphere, as their solution is essential in order to make such a network possible at all. Fundamentally, the network must be based on the principles of zero trust and zero knowledge and be able to operate securely and strictly in a public environment. The three main challenges with regard to the implementation of these zero principles are the generation and verification of private transactions in a public network, the encryption and decryption of these transactions as well as the handling of private keys and the implementation of a strict access management. Another requirement for the blockchain is the ability to manage configurations of smart contracts so that they can be operated separately. In short, we want to organize the smart contract approach in a granular way to achieve more flexibility, which is an important factor in provisioning the network. An important aspect of delivering the Logos network is also the introduction of a community-oriented governance system for the entire ecosystem. The token economy must be strictly regulated, as these are enterprise-grade services and their functionality cannot depend on external factors such as the price of a coin or token. The efficiency of network communication in distributed computing environments is also crucial and must be designed accordingly. If you would like to read more about these and other fundamental requirements of the network, you can do so here: Development overview (opens in a new tab).

As can be seen, the project stretches across various technological areas and requires the development of new approaches and technical solutions. This requires a wide range of in-depth technical knowledge, which implies that the expertise of the community must be considered as an important factor. Although we (LogosLabs) are initiating the project, it will not be possible without the input of many experts from different fields. Here we come to another important approach of the Logos project: All developments in the Logos project will be published as open source under the Apache 2.0 license. I don't think I will need to explain the benefits of open source in 2024. However, this brings us to an important point in this area: community contribution and collaboration. As seen recently, this can go horribly wrong, as the case of the Backdoor in XZ Utils (opens in a new tab) in Linux demonstrates. The Logos project will depend heavily on contributions from the community, just like any other community-oriented project. Therefore a solution must be found to prevent such or similar incidents.

The Logos project is comprehensive and will continue to expand over time. The overall goal of the project is to drive the general acceptance and implementation of Web3 and to provide technological solutions for the new stage of the Internet. Our primary goal is to deliver the sub0layer, as this is the most urgent requirement from our perspective. Currently, our specific focus is on research and development in the area of private transactions and access control in public blockchain networks, as this is a fundamental requirement (privacy and security) for the provision of the Logos chain. In the coming weeks, we will publish our research results on this topic. The Logos blockchain will be developed with the Substrate framework, which means that the implementations take place in the form of modules or so-called pallets. As we plan to implement different approaches, such as Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs), a new smart contract approach, a decentralized key management system, a new access control approach using technical accounts, etc. a large segment of our work will be the further development of the Substrate framework.

There are some more aspects that cannot be covered in one article, as this would be too extensive. This article is merely intended to provide a general overview of what the Logos project is, what our goals are and what philosophy we want to establish. The project is in its initial phase, is ambitious and involves many challenges. But we have to take it step by step and, with the indispensable help of the community, we can create an enterprise-grade community computer for Web3 together.

Do you have questions or want to discuss more? Join our discussion on Discord (opens in a new tab)

References:

Role of the sub0layer in Web3's Progress