Chapter 0 Introduction In the BCH community, Dr. CSW’s call to stabilize the protocol was shared and opposed, with opponents arguing that BCH should work to improve the user experience. Now the two factions are fighting for divorce.
Chapter 1 Phone Networks and Internet Telephony If you’ve used an old Nokia feature phone, don’t worry. Your current phone is similar. Your phone plan usually includes features like: 1) How many minutes of talk time you’ll be charged for more than that. 2) How many text messages, beyond which you will be charged extra. 3) Ring back tone. This feature allows someone to call your phone when you haven’t answered the phone before this other person can hear some singing. This is unicom and mobile operators control, charging, generally 2 yuan a month. This is the called customer opened, let the calling user happy a service. (Note that this is not the same as a ringtone, which is a local MP3 file that plays on your own phone when a call comes in.) 4) Caller ID. This feature allows you to receive a call and have the phone or landline display the number you are calling from, and generally the area, and so on. This is also controlled by the carrier, but it is also charged. In the past, it used to be 10 yuan a month, but now all kinds of mobile phone plans are free. 5) Family number. This feature allows you to use your mobile phone number to talk to your family number for free or at a low cost. This is also controlled by the carrier.
The phone network is a rich network, and the functions that we subscribe to in our mobile plans are provided by this network, which controls almost all user experience. This network knows the numbers, names, addresses, and so on of all the users who access it. It is an authorized network. The network knows who is talking to whom and can even eavesdrop on everyone’s calls. The telephone network is a very intelligent network. Feature phones and phone terminals are clunky devices that have no function of their own. They are nothing more than speakers and microphones. Any innovation needs to be done by the phone network, any new functionality that the user needs needs to be authorized by the phone network, and if the phone network doesn’t have that functionality, it doesn’t have that capability.
Nowadays, we seldom make traditional phone calls, but more use Internet phone, such as wechat voice chat and wechat video call.
The network that provides Internet calls is our Internet, and the Internet itself is actually very stupid. All it can do is send packets from one terminal to another. The Internet itself does not know what data it transmits, let alone what terminal equipment is. The Internet only knows the IP address, not who is using the network. The Internet is a stupid network.
We use the Internet for any function of communication, including voice, video (which phone networks don’t offer), pictures (called MMS on phone networks), text messaging, location services… “Are all functions provided by terminal devices that the Internet itself doesn’t care about.
Internet and telephone network, is completely different design, Internet design is very “stupid”, extreme single function, can count on your fingers; The telephone network is very “smart” and controls a lot of functions. On the contrary, the terminal equipment of the Internet has infinite functions; The end of the telephone network is very boring. In a telephone network, any new functionality you want to add requires protocol updates and technical changes on the network itself, that is, its innovation is the innovation of the network itself.
But in the Internet, innovation comes from terminal equipment, as long as your mobile phone is smart enough, what tricks to play out for you, and even your terminal equipment can be a variety of intelligent hardware, what air conditioning, rice cookers, sweeping robots, intelligent switches, air conditioning… Can provide a mess of features and innovations. All of these features and innovations do not require protocol updates and technological improvements on the Internet itself.
We call the telephone network “smart protocol + dumb terminal”; And call Internet “stupid protocol + intelligent terminal”. Bitcoin (BTC and BCH) is actually a stupid protocol. Its function can be summed up almost in one sentence, using a simple script and remarks message, bitcoin (UTXO) from one address to another. The bitcoin network doesn’t care about the people behind the transactions, what the transactions are being used for, or even the amount of money. Bitcoin scripts are very simple, almost all transactions are now standard transactions, and scripts can construct a few financial instruments such as multiple signatures, secured transactions, joint and several liability, and nothing else. The bitcoin protocol itself is very difficult to update because of its decentralized nature.
More functions of Bitcoin require innovation in the “terminal”, which mainly refers to the hardware and software used by users, such as wallets and applications. For example, bitcoin timestamps can be used to build proof of existence businesses; Like creating a stablecoin. Memo. Cash, for example, is a decentralized twitter based on the BCH network. For example, in theory, the wormhole protocol does anything innovative on BCH.
Ethereum is a very smart protocol because the Ethereum protocol has a virtual machine of its own, and endless innovations can be built on the virtual machine. And interestingly, ethereum-based terminals can also offer endless innovation. The only snag is that the Ethereum main chain is overwhelmed.
Chapter 3 Protocol thinking and Product Thinking Designing a protocol and designing a product are two different methodologies.
An agreement is generally a set of agreements that all members of a system must abide by. As big as a country is also a kind of agreement, as small as a contract, can also be called an agreement. On the Internet, the most typical protocol is the network protocol, which generally defines how terminals establish connections and identify each other. Terminals can communicate with each other only when they comply with this agreement. Network protocols are particularly akin to defining the syntax of a language.
A product is anything on the market that can be noticed, acquired, used, or can satisfy a consumer need or desire. That’s easy to understand.
Protocol design needs to be more predictable, designers need to anticipate various potential requirements in advance, after the design as much as possible unchanged. Because protocols require everyone involved in the system to follow them.
The design of products is more iterative, to track the needs of users, get feedback from users, through rapid iteration to update the product to meet the needs and desires of users.
The protocol is more oriented to the business, or to the B end, and then the B end designs the product according to the protocol and provides the product to the ordinary users. The protocol does not provide services directly to the C end.
And the product is user-driven, what the user wants, the product should be designed. Protocols are generally generic and do not differentiate users or design different protocols based on different cultural and geographic backgrounds of users.
Products are often limited by region, because the needs of users are often different due to their different cultural and geographical backgrounds, so products need to be customized.
Agreements tend to have network effects, in which competing agreements eventually lead to the emergence of a leader in the market and the death of the others. Although the product market competition is also fierce, but it is difficult to have a dominant situation, other dead family situation.
The user can often choose the product, but the user cannot choose the protocol. The Internet is a product of protocol thinking, and the telephone network is a product of product thinking.
Should Bitcoin Cash now be a protocol or a product?
Chapter 4 Money is an Agreement According to the contrast of Chapter 3, money is an agreement in commerce, money is definitely not a product. First of all, money needs to be stable. You can’t change the design of paper money. Once a version of money is designed, it will take ten years to work. Let alone gold, a currency that has worked for thousands of years.
Alipay and wechat Pay, two payment products, are designed based on the underlying protocol of renminbi.
Currencies are universal, and users often can’t actively choose them. You use RMB in China, you use FUCKING US dollars, arrest.
Currencies have network effects. In business, it’s hard to have a jumble of currencies to compete, and everyone will emerge to use one currency, like the dollar internationally. Use your own currency at home, even if you know the dollar is better.
Bitcoin Cash is a currency, currency is a protocol, and Bitcoin Cash is a protocol. Bitcoin Cash needs to be stable and can’t be changed, even if a certain user wants a certain feature, not at the expense of breaking the stability of the protocol. Which Bitcoin Cash is a protocol that will prevent Bitcoin Cash from gaining more users? What about smart contracts? What we need is a “dumb protocol + smart terminal” design. Bitcoin Cash was designed as a “dumb protocol” that supported “smart terminals”.
Chapter 5 Bitcoin Cash is a stupid protocol. BCH ecology is an intelligent terminal that designs the underlying Bitcoin Cash as a stable “stupid protocol”. The protocol itself only carries stable limited (innovative) transaction functions. At the same time, it is designed as a system where the interface is open and transactions can be interpreted creatively.
The most typical is that OP_Return is a perfect interface, which can be used to design products with rich functions, such as wormhole protocol. The perfect financial instrument can be creatively designed with multiple signature transaction and guarantee transaction.
BCH ecological use of the underlying stability, can be in the secondary network free innovation and play. The subject of this innovation is a whole ecosystem of people and companies. There is no need to change it at the bottom unless it is well argued.
How to design this system, and does it currently have such “stupid protocol” properties? This is a very challenging question, and I hope I can answer it completely in the next week. I have already boasted to many people offline, and I hope I can fill in the complete logical chain with words.
Let’s turn Bitcoin Cash into a “stupid protocol”, a great cause that will change the world and push forward human civilization.
Source: Lightning HSL