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In March 2023 I was hired by Dr. Orion Lawlor, professor of robotics in the Computer Science Department at the University of Alaska – Fairbanks. I am one of several student research assistants. Our project is to build a robot that is capable of mining ice on the moon. This ice will then be transformed… Continue reading Arctic Miner – Part 1

The following content is a collection of API or RPC documentation I wrote for Komodo Platform and their spinoff project, AtomicDEX. The markdown formatting for this document was intricate in nature and it does not transfer to the WordPress blog post format. If you would like to see the raw markdown documentation, please view this… Continue reading AtomicDEX RPC Commands

Introduction Komodo’s decentralized exchange, AtomicDEX, allows people to trade cryptocurrency coins without a counterparty risk. The protocol is open source and trading is available for any coin that any developers choose to connect to AtomicDEX. Our service fully realizes decentralized order matching and trade clearing. The order-matching aspect relies on a peer-to-peer network to build… Continue reading An Introduction to Atomic Swaps and AtomicDEX

The “Double Spend” Problem The creation of blockchain technology stems from the early mathematical studies of encryption using computer technology. One such example is related to the information-encoding device, “Enigma,” invented by the Germans at the end of World War I. Alan Turing, a British Intelligence agent, famously beat the Enigma device by inventing the… Continue reading What is a Consensus Mechanism?

Zero-knowledge transactions rely on the Zcash parameters as put forth by the Zcash team. The Zcash parameters are a “zero-knowledge” form of technology. This is a powerful form of privacy, and arguably superior to other forms as it is effectively permanent. Relying on the Zcash parameters allows us to turn our creative resources to other… Continue reading A Word on Risks Inherent in zk-SNARK Technology

All Bitcoin-based software relies heavily on a technology called the “utxo,” short for Unspent Transaction. This technology was invented in the original Bitcoin protocol. Yet despite the technology’s age, even the most active of cryptocurrency users rarely know what utxos are or why they exist. To better understand utxos, let us first examine the language… Continue reading The UTXO: An Elusive, yet Fundamental Concept

Author’s Note—April 2023 In late 2017, I was hired by the Komodo Platform, a startup company that uses Bitcoin-based technology for various consumer-oriented products. Within a few weeks of my hiring date, I received the task to map out the entire company project in written form. The goal was to create a master narrative, as… Continue reading The Komodo Whitepaper

A More Detailed History Abstract: This document is intended for researchers, analysts, and other interested parties who wish to learn more about the history of atomic swaps. This research and commentary is assembled by members of the Komodo team. The commentary is intended to be an informative launching point into one’s own investigation. A Brief… Continue reading Komodo and the Early Pioneers of Atomic Swaps