Menu
Part II of Interview with Leo Liang- GNY Sidechain And Cross-chain Technologies
Updated: Apr 24
In our previous blog post we spoke to Leo Liang, GNY’s Head of Blockchain, about the GNY’s current progress towards GNY Mainnet, and the consensus model the team is implementing. In second part of the interview we look towards the near future and ask Leo about some of the hotly anticipated technical milestones on the horizon.
Leo, once again thank you for taking time out of your blockchain development schedule to talk with us and our community about what’s next for GNY.
Question 1. We know that you were very influential in the concept and development of sidechain tech in previous projects. A lot of community members and project leaders are very interested in our upcoming sidechains, because they want to build projects on the GNY platform, and even launch their own tokens.
Can you explain what a sidechain is, and expand upon interoperability between sidechains and the mainchain?
Leo: Every GNY sidechain will be a blockchain which developers or enterprises can set up alongside the GNY main chain. They can store their data, implement their business logic and build their own branded frontends for the sidechain. As I have mentioned before, we have already launched the functionality that users can issue their own tokens.
One of our aims with sidechains is to develop many friendly development tools for the user to help them to set up a sidechain easily.
Some important points to note regarding GNY’s upcoming sidechains:
- Sidechains (sometimes referred to as child chains) allow cryptocurrencies to interact with one another when all are connected to the one parent chain or mainchain. They add flexibility and allow developers to create projects that have the ability to benefit from the ease of access to all the other services, projects and data that are connected to the parent chain. Access to be determined by each individual sidechain, of course.
- A GNY sidechain will be a separate blockchain that is connected to the GNY mainchain using a two-way peg; which enables interchangeability of assets at a predetermined rate between the GNY mainchain and the sidechain.
- The sidechain’s pegged connection to the mainchain (while still remaining as a separate chain) is a big advantage for the GNY mainchain as regards security. Should problems occur on the sidechain, they can be isolated and controlled without affecting the mainchain. Similarly, a security problem on the mainchain does not affect the sidechain.
Image directly above shows GNY sidechains as parallel blockchains to the GNY mainchain.
Question 2. Leo, can you explain how people will interact with the sidechain? Will they each need to have wallets with GNY tokens in order to upload data and receive data in and out of the sidechains? Can the wallets be implemented or designed to look like ordinary web pages?
Leo: Yes. The wallets definitely can be designed to look like ordinary web pages and we are doing that. Developers or enterprises utilising GNY’s sidechains will also be able to build their own wallet to match their unique business branding.
People will need GNY tokens if they want to upload data to the GNY mainchain of course, but it’s up to the sidechain’s developers to decide if they also want to use the GNY token or their own specific tokens to allow use of their sidechain.
Question 3. One key element of the implementation of sidechains might be that the creators of individual sidechains may wish to have the GNY project run the delegates that host the nodes of their particular sidechain. Does that mean that the delegates of the GNY Mainchain could see and have access to all of the data on the sidechain? What about encryption and decryption? Can you expand on the encryption technology that GNY is working with?
Leo: No, the delegates of the GNY Mainchain will not see or have access to all of the data on the sidechain. Even though GNY will supply the platform and development tools, we also will not be able to access the sidechain’s data, unless of course the sidechain operators are willing to share data with GNY mainchain. Sidechain operators can run a node and keep their data locally, or delegates can help to run the sidechain by hosting nodes.
We will encrypt the sidechain’s data and only the one who has the correct key can access the data. The data is encrypted using the user’s private key, and only someone who has the correct private key can decrypt the data.
Question 4. The GNY team and many of the community are well aware that a lot of long-established companies are still using legacy database systems and programming languages, for example COBOL. We are also aware that companies are not going to want to manage two different applications just so they can manage all their old records. So it is expected that sidechains will most likely be implemented with legacy database systems.
Can GNY’s sidechain tech cope with a situation where these legacy systems do not need to be ripped out and replaced; can they plug into the GNY sidechain with ease?
Leo: With the help of our developer tools, the legacy systems will easily plug into our GNY sidechain system, and our sidechain technology will support many legacy database systems.
Question 5. When sidechain interoperability is mentioned then invariably the holy grail that is flawless and secure cross-chain technology comes up in conversation. Cross-chain, where the GNY blockchain could interact with any number of various established and upcoming blockchains.
Can you explain further what Cross-chain is?
Why is it groundbreaking, and what possibilities will it open up?
Leo: Cross-chain is a method used to build a bridge between two or more blockchains. Using cross-chain technology users can move assets to another blockchain and experience the different functionalities of other blockchains. We are going to implement cross-chain functionality within the GNY mainchain. And with the help of cross-chain, many other cryptocurrency assets like BTC, ETH etc. can be moved to the GNY mainchain and GNY sidechains. I think people will be very happy to see that they can use all kinds of tokens in the sidechains created on the GNY platform.
Some important points to note regarding GNY’s upcoming cross-chain capabilities:
- GNY’s cross-chain technology is a response to the blockchain community’s realisation that individual blockchains cannot continue to exist in complete exclusivity. To take a current tech example, imagine if websites had no interoperability capabilities then we would be unable to embed a youtube video within a blog post or click through from a movie’s IMDB page to a streaming service allowing you to view that movie. To attract mainstream usage the GNY team believes no blockchain should be an “island” and that is why they strive for cross-chain interoperability.
- If blockchain technology is to become a more attractive option to enterprises for reducing day-to-day operational costs and streamlining internal processes then cross-chain interoperability should be high on a blockchain projects list of priorities. Through cross-chain technology GNY wants to be a driving force in increasing revenue, decreasing costs, and facilitating ease of blockchain use for enterprises.
- We believe that the exchange of assets and data between various decentralized networks will also have the knock-on effect of reducing the element of tribalism that blockchain projects currently face. Rather than seek superiority over their competitors we believe that blockchain projects by being interoperable will see the truth in the observation that “a rising tide lifts all boats”.
Image directly above shows the concept of of mainchain, sidechains, and cross-chain interoperability as they relate to the GNY ecosystem.
Leo, thank you for your insight into GNY’s upcoming sidechains and cross-chain technology. Exciting times ahead!
