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# Lighthouse: a (future) Ethereum 2.0 client
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# Lighthouse: an Ethereum 2.0 client
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[](https://travis-ci.org/sigp/lighthouse) [](https://gitter.im/sigp/lighthouse?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=badge&utm_campaign=pr-badge)
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A **work-in-progress** implementation of the Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain in Rust.
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A work-in-progress, open-source implementation of the Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain, maintained
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by Sigma Prime.
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It is an implementation of the [Full PoS Casper chain
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v2](https://notes.ethereum.org/SCIg8AH5SA-O4C1G1LYZHQ?view) spec and is also
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largely based upon the
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[ethereum/beacon_chain](https://github.com/ethereum/beacon_chain) repo.
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## Introduction
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**NOTE: the cryptography libraries used in this implementation are very
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Lighthouse is an open-source Ethereum 2.0 client, in development. Designed as
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an Ethereum 2.0-only client, Lighthouse will not re-implement the existing
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proof-of-work protocol. Maintaining a forward-focus on Ethereum 2.0 ensures
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that Lighthouse will avoid reproducing the high-quality work already undertaken
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by existing clients. For present-Ethereum functionality, Lighthouse will
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connect to existing clients like
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[Geth](https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum) or
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[Parity-Ethereum](https://github.com/paritytech/parity-ethereum) via RPC.
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This readme is split into two major sections:
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- [Lighthouse Client](#lighthouse-client): information about this
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implementation.
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- [What is Ethereum 2.0](#what-is-ethereum-20): an introduction to Ethereum 2.0.
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If you'd like some background on Sigma Prime, please see the [Lighthouse Update
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\#00](https://lighthouse.sigmaprime.io/update-00.html) blog post or our
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[website](https://sigmaprime.io).
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## Lighthouse Client
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### Goals
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We aim to contribute to the research and development of a secure, efficient and
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decentralised Ethereum protocol through the development of an open-source
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Ethereum 2.0 client.
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In addition to building an implementation, we seek to help maintain and improve
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the protocol wherever possible.
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### Components
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The following list describes some of the components actively under development
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by the team:
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- **BLS cryptography**: we presently use the [Apache
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Milagro](https://milagro.apache.org/) cryptography library to create and
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verify BLS aggregate signatures. BLS signatures are core to Eth 2.0 as they
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allow the signatures of many validators to be compressed into a constant 96
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bytes and verified efficiently.. We're presently maintaining our own [BLS
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aggregates library](https://github.com/sigp/signature-schemes), gratefully
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forked from @lovesh.
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- **DoS-resistant block pre-processing**: processing blocks in proof-of-stake
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is more resource intensive than proof-of-work. As such, clients need to
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ensure that bad blocks can be rejected as efficiently as possible. We can
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presently process a block with 10 million ETH staked in 0.006 seconds and
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reject invalid blocks even quicker. See the
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[issue](https://github.com/ethereum/beacon_chain/issues/103) on
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[ethereum/beacon_chain](https://github.com/ethereum/beacon_chain)
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.
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- **P2P networking**: Eth 2.0 will likely use the [libp2p
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framework](https://libp2p.io/). Lighthouse aims to work alongside
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[Parity](https://www.parity.io/) to get
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[libp2p-rust](https://github.com/libp2p/rust-libp2p) fit-for-purpose.
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- **Validator duties** : the project involves the development of "validator"
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services for users who wish to stake ETH. To fulfil their duties, validators
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require a consistent view of the chain and the ability to vote upon both shard
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and beacon chain blocks..
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- **New serialization formats**: lighthouse is working alongside EF researchers
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to develop "simpleserialize" a purpose-built serialization format for sending
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information across the network. Check out our [SSZ
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implementation](https://github.com/sigp/lighthouse/tree/master/beacon_chain/utils/ssz)
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and our
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[research](https://github.com/sigp/serialization_sandbox/blob/report/report/serialization_report.md)
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on serialization formats.
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- **Casper FFG fork-choice**: the [Casper
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FFG](https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.09437) fork-choice rules allow the chain to
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select a canonical chain in the case of a fork.
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- **Efficient state transition logic**: "state transition" logic governs
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updates to the validator set as validators log in/out, penalises/rewards
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validators, rotates validators across shards, and implements other core tasks.
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- **Fuzzing and testing environments**: we are preparing to implement lab
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environments with CI work-flows to provide automated security analysis..
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In addition to these components we're also working on database schemas, RPC
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frameworks, specification development, database optimizations (e.g.,
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bloom-filters) and tons of other interesting stuff (at least we think so).
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### Contributing
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**Lighthouse welcomes contributors with open-arms.**
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Layer-1 infrastructure is a critical component of the ecosystem and relies
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heavily on community contribution. Building Ethereum 2.0 is a huge task and we
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refuse to conduct an inappropriate ICO or charge licensing fees. Instead, we
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fund development through grants and support from Sigma Prime.
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If you would like to learn more about Ethereum 2.0 and/or
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[Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/), we would be more than happy to on-board you
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and assign you to some tasks. We aim to be as accepting and understanding as
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possible; we are more than happy to up-skill contributors in exchange for their
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help on the project.
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Alternatively, if you an ETH/Rust veteran we'd love to have your input. We're
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always looking for the best way to implement things and will consider any
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respectful criticism.
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If you'd like to contribute, try having a look through the [open
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issues](https://github.com/sigp/lighthouse/issues) (tip: look for the [good
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first
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issue](https://github.com/sigp/lighthouse/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3A%22good+first+issue%22)
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tag) and ping us on the [gitter](https://gitter.im/sigp/lighthouse). We need
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your support!
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### Running
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**NOTE: the cryptography libraries used in this implementation are
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experimental and as such all cryptography should be assumed to be insecure.**
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## Motivation
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The code-base is still under-development and does not provide any user-facing
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functionality. For developers and researchers, there are tests and benchmarks
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which could be of interest.
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The objective of this project is to build a purely Ethereum 2.0 client from
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the ground up.
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As such, the early days of Lighthouse will be very much a research effort -- it
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will be evolving on the bleeding-edge of specification without requiring to
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maintain prod-grade stability or backwards-compatibility for the existing PoW
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chain.
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Whilst the Beacon Chain relies upon the PoW chain for block hashes, Lighthouse
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will need to run alongside an existing client (e.g., Geth, Parity Ethereum),
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only being able to stand by itself once the PoW chain has been deprecated.
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Lighthouse aims to assist in advancing the progress of the following Ethereum
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technologies:
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- Proof-of-Stake
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- Sharding
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- EVM alternatives (e.g., WASM)
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- Scalable, topic-based P2P networks (e.g., libp2p-gossipsub)
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- Scalable signature schemes (e.g, BLS aggregates)
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## Progress
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As of 02/08/2018, there is a basic libp2p implementation alongside a series of
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state objects and state transition functions. There are no syncing capabilities.
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## Usage
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You can run the tests like this:
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To run tests, use
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```
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$ git clone <url>
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$ cd rust_beacon_chain
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$ cargo test
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$ cargo test --all
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```
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To run benchmarks, use
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```
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$ cargo bench --all
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```
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Lighthouse presently runs on Rust `stable`, however, benchmarks require the
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`nightly` version.
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### Engineering Ethos
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Lighthouse aims to produce many small, easily-tested components, each separated
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into individual crates wherever possible.
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Generally, tests can be kept in the same file, as is typical in Rust.
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Integration tests should be placed in the `tests` directory in the crates root.
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Particularity large (line-count) tests should be separated into another file.
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A function is not complete until it is tested. We produce tests to protect
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against regression (accidentally breaking things) and to help those who read
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our code to understand how the function should (or shouldn't) be used.
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Each PR is to be reviewed by at-least one "core developer" (i.e., someone with
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write-access to the repository). This helps to detect bugs, improve consistency
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and relieves any one individual of the responsibility of an error.
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Discussion should be respectful and intellectual. Have fun, make jokes but
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respect other people's limits.
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### Directory Structure
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Here we provide an overview of the directory structure:
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- `\beacon_chain`: contains logic derived directly from the specification.
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E.g., shuffling algorithms, state transition logic and structs, block
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validation, BLS crypto, etc.
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- `\lighthouse`: contains logic specific to this client implementation. E.g.,
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CLI parsing, RPC end-points, databases, etc.
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- `\network-libp2p`: contains a proof-of-concept libp2p implementation. Will be
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replaced once research around p2p has been finalized.
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## Contact
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This repo is presently authored by Paul Hauner as a
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[Sigma Prime](https://github.com/sigp) project.
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The best place for discussion is the [sigp/lighthouse](https://gitter.im/sigp/lighthouse) gitter.
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Ping @paulhauner or @AgeManning to get the quickest response.
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The best place for discussion is probably the [ethereum/sharding
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gitter](https://gitter.im/ethereum/sharding).
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# What is Ethereum 2.0
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Ethereum 2.0 refers to a new blockchain currently under development
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by the Ethereum Foundation and the Ethereum community. The Ethereum 2.0 blockchain
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consists of 1,025 proof-of-stake blockchains; the "beacon chain" and 1,024
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"shard chains".
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## Beacon Chain
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The Beacon Chain differs from existing blockchains such as Bitcoin and
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Ethereum, in that it doesn't process "transactions", per say. Instead, it
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maintains a set of bonded (staked) validators and co-ordinates these to provide
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services to a static set of "sub-blockchains" (shards). These shards process
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normal transactions, such as "5 ETH from A to B", in parallel whilst deferring
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consensus to the Beacon Chain.
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Major services provided by the beacon chain to its shards include the following:
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- A source of entropy, likely using a [RANDAO + VDF
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scheme](https://ethresear.ch/t/minimal-vdf-randomness-beacon/3566).
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- Validator management, including:
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- Inducting and ejecting validators.
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- Delegating randomly-shuffled subsets of validators to validate shards.
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- Penalising and rewarding validators.
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- Proof-of-stake consensus for shard chain blocks.
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## Shard Chains
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Shards can be thought of like CPU cores - they're a lane where transactions can
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execute in series (one-after-another). Presently, Ethereum is single-core and
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can only _fully_ process one transaction at a time. Sharding allows multiple
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transactions to happen in parallel, greatly increasing the per-second
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transaction capacity of Ethereum.
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Each shard uses proof-of-stake and shares its validators (stakers) with the other
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shards as the beacon chain rotates validators pseudo-randomly across shards.
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Shards will likely be the basis of very interesting layer-2 transaction
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processing schemes, however, we won't get into that here.
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## The Proof-of-Work Chain
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The proof-of-work chain will hold a contract that allows accounts to deposit 32
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ETH, a BLS public key and some [other
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parameters](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-specs/blob/master/specs/casper_sharding_v2.1.md#pow-chain-changes)
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to allow them to become Beacon Chain validators. Each Beacon Chain will
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reference a PoW block hash allowing PoW clients to use the Beacon Chain as a
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source of [Casper FFG finality](https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.09437), if desired.
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It is a requirement that ETH can move freely between shard chains and between
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Eth 2.0 and present-Ethereum. The exact mechanics of these transfers are still
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a topic of research and their details are yet to be confirmed.
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## Ethereum 2.0 Progress
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Ethereum 2.0 is not fully specified and there's no working implementation. Some
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teams have demos available which indicate progress, but not a complete product.
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We look forward to providing user functionality once we are ready to provide a
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minimum-viable user experience.
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The work-in-progress specification lives
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[here](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-specs/blob/master/specs/casper_sharding_v2.1.md)
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in the [ethereum/eth2.0-specs](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-specs)
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repository. The spec is still in a draft phase, however there are several teams
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already implementing it whilst the Ethereum Foundation research team fill in
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the gaps. There is active discussion about the spec in the
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[ethereum/sharding](https://gitter.im/ethereum/sharding) gitter channel. A
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proof-of-concept implementation in Python is available at
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[ethereum/beacon_chain](https://github.com/ethereum/beacon_chain).
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Presently, the spec almost exclusively defines the Beacon Chain as it
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is the focus of present development efforts. Progress on shard chain
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specification will soon follow.
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