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Babylon
EVERSTAKE validator address
About Babylon
Babylon is a project within the Cosmos ecosystem that aims to enhance security for decentralized networks, mainly focusing on the Cosmos zones and other Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains. In order to make that happen, it utilizes the security features of Bitcoin:
- Bitcoin as an asset
- Bitcoin as a Proof-of-Work (PoW) secured timestamping server
- Bitcoin as the most censorship-resistant blockspace in the world
By employing innovative protocols, Babylon seeks to create a more secure decentralized environment with Bitcoin at its core. It aims to scale Bitcoin's security protocols to protect various decentralized networks within the Cosmos ecosystem and beyond.
The architecture of the Babylon protocol is designed to enhance the security of various blockchains by leveraging Bitcoin as a timestamping service.
I. Bitcoin as the Timestamping Service:
- Originating from Nakamoto's whitepaper, Bitcoin is a timestamping server powered by Proof-of-Work (PoW).
- Bitcoin provides an irreversible time-ordering to events, primarily the execution of transactions on its ledger.
- In the Babylon protocol, Bitcoin is utilized to timestamp events occurring in other blockchains besides its native application. Each event triggers a transaction sent to miners, who insert it into the Bitcoin ledger, thus timestamping the event.
- These timestamps on Bitcoin help resolve various security issues within blockchains.
II. The Babylon Chain is a middle layer in Babylon's architecture. It functions as follows:
- Aggregating checkpoint streams from multiple consumer zones. The Babylon chain consolidates checkpoint streams from various consumer zones into a single stream, simplifying the process of inserting checkpoints into Bitcoin.
- Compacting checkpoint insertion into Bitcoin. The system utilizes cryptographic techniques like aggregate signatures to condense checkpoints before insertion into the Bitcoin ledger, optimizing Bitcoin's limited capacity.
- Receiving checkpoints from consumer zones via Inter Blockchain Communication (IBC). The system uses IBC to receive checkpoints from consumer zones securely.
- Validating data availability. Babylon ensures data availability behind consumer zone checkpoints, preventing attackers from timestamping unavailable data.
III. Other Cosmos Zones (Consumers of Security):
- These decentralized networks or zones benefit from enhanced security provided by the Babylon protocol.
- They rely on the Babylon chain to timestamp their events securely onto the Bitcoin blockchain.
Overall, the Babylon protocol architecture employs Bitcoin as a timestamping service, the Babylon chain as an intermediary layer for optimizing checkpoint insertion, and other Cosmos zones as recipients of enhanced security provided by timestamping events on the Bitcoin blockchain.
About Everstake
Everstake is a responsible validator trusted by 735K+ users across 70+ blockchain networks. Created by engineers for the entire community in 2018.
Everstake's mission is to make financial empowerment through staking accessible to everyone. With profound expertise and unwavering dedication to decentralization, we pave the way for our users to cultivate lasting economic growth and empower them to make informed staking decisions through our extensive knowledge base.
Everstake is not only a staking provider but a trusted advisor and developer of innovative staking solutions and beyond. Our pursuit of continuous improvement and world-class practices ensure that our individual and corporate customers remain ahead of the game.
Delegating Step-By-Step
The Babylon Bitcoin Staking Protocol Phase-1 was successfully launched on August 22, 2024. Cap-1 was initially limited to 1000 BTC and will increase its capacity in a few weeks. Please monitor Babylon's official announcement channels.
Phase-2 will see the launch of the Babylon PoS chain so that the BTC locked in Phase-1 would provide crypto-economic security. Finality providers with enough delegations will participate in this new PoS chain's consensus. On top of that, a Bitcoin timestamping protocol will be introduced for secure cross-chain synchronization.
In Phase-3, the protocol will become a multi-staking marketplace. This means that BTC holders will be able to stake the same BTC across various PoS systems simultaneously and get rewards from multiple platforms. The Babylon PoS chain will function as a control mechanism for this shared security system.
Learn more about Babylon's phased schedule from the official source.
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faq
What are the use cases of Babylon’s Bitcoin Staking Protocol?
+The Babylon's Bitcoin staking protocol offers the following critical use cases:
- Fast Stake Unbonding: Reduces unbonding periods from 21 days to 5 hours, thus enhancing liquidity for stakers.
- Bootstrapping New Zones: Provides robust security for new zones with low token valuation, which encourages growth.
- Protecting Important Transactions: Ensures security for critical transactions while maintaining fast finality for regular transactions.
- Censorship Resistance: Acts as a backup for transactions facing censorship, ensuring their inclusion in the ledger.
Is Babylon launched on Mainnet?
+Yes, the Babylon Bitcoin Staking Protocol was already launched on Mainnet on August 22, 2024.
Can I participate in Babylon’s Bitcoin Staking Protocol Testnet?
+Currently, all the Babylon Bitcoin Staking Testnets are closed.
What is the Bitcoin Pioneer Pass NFT?
+The Bitcoin Pioneer Pass digital collectible is a commemorative NFT for participating in Babylon Chain’s first trustless Bitcoin staking protocol testnet.
What is the staking dashboard URL?
+What are the Babylon Explorers?
+You can check your transactions on the mempool explorer.
Other explorers:
- Babylon Devnet
- Babylonscan - designed for Babylon Bitcoin Staking Testnet 3
- Babylon Explorer (Testnet) by Nodes.Guru
Will my bitcoins be bridged to other blockchains?
+No, Babylon enables bitcoin holders to stake their bitcoins directly on the chain without the need for bridging to other blockchains, all while ensuring the blockchain’s security with comprehensive slashable security guarantees.
Do I have to run a validator by myself as a Bitcoin staker?
+With the Bitcoin staking protocol, you don't have to run a validator as a staker. Like many other PoS systems, you can delegate voting power to a trustworthy validator. Remember, however, that validators typically charge a commission on your staking rewards. Moreover, your stake will be slashed if the delegated validator behaves maliciously or dishonestly. Opting to run your validator eliminates the need for trust and commission, granting you complete control over your stake and rewards, yet it requires capital investment into infrastructure and its maintenance.
Is there slashing in Babylon? What will happen to my Bitcoin tokens?
+If a PoS system is attacked, at least 1/3 of the stake will be held accountable and identified as malicious. The protocol supports partial slashing, so only a portion of the staked bitcoins will be slashed, with the percentage being adjustable based on the protocol's settings.
In general, Babylon's Bitcoin Staking Protocol ensures robust security with these key guarantees:
- Slashing: At least 1/3 of the Bitcoin stake will be held accountable and a certain portion of the staked bitcoins will be slashed in case of a safety violation.
- Staker Security: staked bitcoins remain safe and withdrawable if protocols are followed honestly.
- Staker Liquidity: Unbonding is secure and swift without needing social consensus.
What is the Babylon Ecosystem?
+The Babylon Ecosystem is diverse as it connects different ecosystems of the PoS networks. Check here to learn more about it. Note that the list isn’t exhaustive, and other projects will be added over time.
