A brief introduction about Unicorn Ultra's hybrid consensus

Bitcoin's rapid rise to fame represents an exciting breakthrough: This pioneer blockchain empirically demonstrated that by leveraging assumptions such as proofs-of-work, non-trivial secure applications can be built on top of a fully decentralized network where nodes join and leave freely and dynamically. There is no pre-established trust between participants. 

This short way of saying vividly describes how a consensus protocol like PoW works. However, blockchain networks increasingly reveal fatal flaws, affecting the core infrastructure of many projects. As a result, more and more consensus protocols are being improved to overcome vulnerabilities such as the "trilemma" of the blockchain. But all possible solutions seem to be a temporary patch while there is no real solution.

That's why the Unicorn Ultra development team decided to take advantage of both consensus protocols to cancel each other's limitations. Thereby forming a unique and powerful core to solve the existing difficulties that are common in blockchain networks.

What's hybrid consensus?

Within the definition of Unicorn Ultra, hybrid consensus involves two more consensus protocols. Hybrid consensus mechanisms utilize elements of the consensus models when determining transaction validation rights. When doing so, hybrid aims to leverage superiority while mitigating the weaknesses of each consensus mechanism.

Hybrid consensus is used not to agree on transactions but to agree on rotating committees, which execute permission consensus protocols to agree on transactions. The superiority of this combination is to create a network environment in which problems such as "blockchain trilemma" do not exist. Therefore, any ecosystem project that uses a hybrid consensus mechanism will outperform in aspects such as transaction processing speed, privacy security, and decentralization.

Unicorn Ultra's hybrid consensus components

The hybrid consensus model of Unicorn Ultra combines the Helios consensus algorithm and Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs). 

Helios

Helios consensus algorithm positioned as the backbone of U2U Chain - core infrastructure for Unicorn Ultra's groundbreaking distributed ledger platform. Helios includes Virtual Voting and Gossip Protocol is used in conjunction with Direct Acrylic Graph. This algorithm is designed to prevent the consolidation of power over consensus by encouraging the emergence of a decentralized network with millions of nodes. 

To achieve this while also maintaining high scalability, Helios inhibits collusion by weighing the votes within the algorithm of a particular node based on the node's stake of coins. The consensus starts on a permission basis, with all nodes initially operated by Council members. As network use grows, the Council allows new nodes to join the network. 

The Helios consensus algorithm uses Byzantine agreement to decide whether each witness in a given round is famous or not. Every round is guaranteed to have at least one witness who is famous. The algorithm is completely asynchronous and does not make assumptions about how fast transactions will be communicated.

Developed further from adapting the hashgraph technology (based on Golang instead of Java), Helios applies two more mechanisms:

• Proof of Elapsed Time (PoET): PoET is a consensus algorithm that proposes the next block creator based on the shortest wait time. It's designed to be a low-energy alternative to Proof of Work (PoW).
• Proof of Reputation (PoR): PoR is a consensus algorithm that assigns a reputation score to each node based on its past behavior. Nodes with higher reputation scores are more likely to be selected to validate transactions and create new blocks.

Within its technical features, Helios allows for controlled variability of the network state. One advantage of this is the opt-in feature, enabling users to connect additional data, such as identity, to transactions. This meets both KYC and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements and improves the capacity of projects built on the Helios platform regarding legal compliance and legitimacy.

The "gossip about gossip" and "virtual voting" protocols help ensure decentralization, up to 500,000 TPS throughput, and ultimately unlimited scalability, making Helios the solution that makes the industry doesn't need the presence of blockchain.

Zero-Knowledge Proof

ZKPs is a method for one party to cryptographically prove to another that they possess knowledge about a piece of information without revealing the actual underlying information. In blockchain networks, the only information displayed on-chain by a ZKP is that some hidden information is valid and known by the prover with a high degree of certainty.

At a high level, a Zero-Knowledge Proof works by having the verifier ask the prover to perform a series of actions that can only be performed accurately if the prover knows the underlying information. If the prover is only guessing the result of these actions, then they will eventually be proven wrong by the verifier's test with high probability.

The three fundamental characteristics that define a ZKP include:

• Completeness: If a statement is true, an honest verifier can be convinced by an honest prover that they possess knowledge about the correct input.
• Soundness: If a statement is false, then no dishonest prover can unilaterally convince an honest verifier that they possess knowledge about the correct input.
• Zero-knowledge: If the state is true, then the verifier learns nothing more from the prover other than the statement is true.

Zero-Knowledge Proofs' benefit is leveraging privacy-preserving datasets within transparent systems such as public blockchain networks. The addition of ZKP technology allows users and businesses alike to leverage their private datasets in the execution of smart contracts without revealing the underlying data.

ZKPs allow institutions to securely interact with public blockchain networks—which often benefit from an extensive network effect of users worldwide—without giving up control of sensitive and proprietary datasets. As a result, ZKP technology is successfully opening up a wide range of institutional use cases for public blockchain networks that were previously inaccessible, incentivizing innovation and creating a more efficient global economy. 

Why is Unicorn Ultra combining Helios with ZKPs for its hybrid consensus?

Unicorn Ultra is an ecosystem project based on the Venture Builder model, which means constructing a digital cradle for startups as a support hub. In that hub, Unicorn Ultra not only incubates, accelerates, and funding but also provide an initial tool while distributing other resources like human, business strategies, branding, and marketing campaign. 

The core of Unicorn Ultra is U2U Chain - a groundbreaking distributed ledger platform constructed by combining the security and privacy features of the Helios consensus algorithm and Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs). It leverages the Interledger Protocol to provide cross-chain support, ensuring seamless interoperability between various blockchain networks. With a strong focus on performance, low costs, high transactions per second (TPS) speed, and expandability, U2U Chain sets a new standard for distributed ledger technology.

Unicorn Ultra is designed to provide a public distributed ledger that can support a vast array of applications, aiming to become the mass-adopted public distributed ledger. Unicorn Ultra's use cases span across multiple industries. For instance, it can be used for securities trading between regulated industries, where a private network based on Hyperledger Fabric could issue a token representing fractional ownership in a specific property where only permission investors can purchase or trade the asset.

As a startup hub, Unicorn Ultra is expected to attract many builders to develop their projects on the U2U Chain. Therefore, by taking advantage of leverage technology with the combination of Helios and ZKPs, U2U Chain will meet requirements such as:

• Fast transaction processing speed, superior to traditional blockchain networks. For detail, it can achieve up to 500,000 TPS throughput. 
• Unlimited scalability to provide infrastructure for more and more projects to be built.
• Decentralization while ensuring democracy and fairness based on a multi-community governance council.

Conclusion

Technology is constantly innovating every day, so any project needs to stay up to date with new developments in the industry to ensure its products are unique in the market. Combining the Helios consensus algorithm and Zero-Knowledge Proof as a hybrid consensus model, Unicorn Ultra is the core key that ensures differentiation for the entire ecosystem.