Cybersecurity, blockchain, and DeFi are burning topics in the technology world right now.
In this interview, Benjamin Diggles, the co-founder and CRO of Constellation Network, sheds light on the various aspects of these topics and explains how Constellation Network is working to improve the current scenario in these respective technological sectors.
Q1: Being in the blockchain and crypto space is not yet a common thing. There’s a story for how each one of us landed here. What’s your story and how did the idea of Constellation Network come into being?
20 years… that’s how long I’ve been in tech. For the last 10, my focus is on enterprise and big data. Prior to partnering with the other co-founders on Constellation, I was with Oracle and took an interest in what is called “Adaptive Intelligence” — which is really just a fancy way of saying system automation for a seamless user experience.
It was during this time I met Ben Jorgensen while working on a personal project that required blockchain. Ben told me that “once you take the red pill, you will only see the world through decentralization.” Turns out, he was right.
My personal intention of being an early pioneer in this industry is to give people a choice and bring them into the value exchange of markets that are largely being orchestrated by middle-aged institutions of control. Constellation came about by Wyatt, our CTO, recognizing the early limitations of popular blockchain projects and set forth to build a base layer solution that was open, scalable, and not laden with high transaction constraints.
That said, it is more than just a focus on technology. Constellation is a response and acknowledgment of the power that is inherent in information and data. Our mission is to build a technological world where truth is apparent, power is fairly distributed, and reputation matters. We are building an ecosystem that expands the abilities of engineers and enterprises to invent and refine next-generation technologies by orders of magnitude.
Q2: Constellation Network has its focus on data security for industries from healthcare to energy and beyond. How do the existing systems fail us, and how does blockchain fit in the picture?
Answer: It’s pretty obvious that existing systems are failing us based on the growing number of security breaches and data leaks happening on a global scale. No matter how advanced a new technology is, if it is built on top of old, legacy architecture, it is at risk. And while it may seem like an almost impossible demand, we need a new internet or at least infrastructure that will offload mission-critical security activities to something more resilient.
Centralized systems are too expensive and not fast enough to process, validate and manage the volumes of data required for advancing new solutions such as Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning. An example would be self-driving cars that need to make quick decisions in the moment and don’t have the luxury of sending sensor data to a cloud server for validation. We need validation in the moment using edge computing which is an entirely new approach that Constellation solves for.
Q3: There are multiple projects democratizing and securing data and decentralizing governance. Constellation Network is said to take a unique approach by implementing, directed acyclic graph, Hypergraph Transfer Protocol, and proof of reputable observations. For an average person’s understanding, how does this all tie together and work in the background?
Constellation is a framework that allows everyone to build and conduct business on a blockchain. Existing blockchain technology does not support the speed, scalability, and economic incentive needed to build applications with robust business logic. Constellation is its own network and blockchain infrastructure. With Constellation’s L_0 state channel standard, you can define the rules of your business while tapping into Constellation’s Network, powered by rewards.
Entrepreneurs building applications in any industry can add blockchain-like functionality and attach incentives to real-world business metrics and outcomes. Like WordPress, we provide an open-source framework with robust developer tools that anyone can build on. Constellation’s state channels are built on our L_0 standard. We provide data assurance tools and incentives while tapping into the unique capabilities of blockchain technology, providing immutability, security, auditability, and traceability. Constellation’s decentralized value-based network, called Hypergraph, is built for speed and scalability and leverages a reward layer that is used to maintain the network. Currently, Hypergraph supports millions of transactions a month and enables a feeless peer-to-peer network that is used to transport our cryptocurrency $DAG, which is validated by a reputation-based consensus. As a microservices framework on a network powered by rewards, advanced business logic and data can be connected to our feeless and scalable network, governed and optimized by mathematical proofs.
Constellation is forging blockchain entrepreneurship through an ecosystem of businesses and state channels powered by $DAG utility. Constellation’s L_0 state channels are an evolution of smart contracts but provide robust business logic to create a new cryptocurrency standard, data assurance, traceability, and accountability to stakeholders.
Q4: Currently, DeFi is a major part of the “decentralizing governance” movement. And so far, DeFi’s progress looks extraordinary. Where do you see DeFi headed next and how is it impact the entire decentralization of governance models?
DeFi is heading towards transactional scalability and cross-chain interoperability. Lattice is a prime example where we will provide those bridges and functionalities. Additionally, new products will emerge stronger in this cycle like collateralized lending against crypto assets. In the future, people don’t really need to exit crypto to transact in the fiat world. This will usher in tremendous growth and liquidity beyond anything we have seen. With those new products, we will see legacy financial players move into the DeFi ecosystem bridging fiat on-and off-ramps to Defi. This will be an interesting yet challenging part as the existing governance models must withstand the forces of centralization when legacy money and power move into the ecosystem. Therefore, we anticipate these developments and adjust our governance to be agile and value based.
Q5: Constellation Network also puts great emphasis on network scalability and near-zero fee transactions. On that note, what is your opinion on the speed of Ethereum and its rising gas fees? Where do you see things headed next for Ethereum?
Godbless Ethereum for all that it has done for the blockchain industry. I feel it will always exist in some fashion but migrating out of technical debt on something foundational such as a base layer network is the kiss of death in technology. I believe Ethereum did a great job of capturing people’s imagination but there is no room in commercial use cases for high gas fees.
Ethereum will continue to be a great sandbox for testing blockchain concepts and new crypto solutions but it’s a stepping stone. When people are complaining that it costs 3x more to trade an NFT than it’s valued, you can bet they have a competitive target on their backs. No matter how amazing the promise of a technology is, if it can’t scale, it can’t scale.
Q6: Lastly, how do you see Constellation Network improving the DeFi space and making it more acceptable for the common people who today rely on our existing financial system?
The Constellation Hypergraph delivers what no other crypto ecosystem can deliver:
Speed and scalability while maintaining true decentralized consensus and governance.
This means we will solve liquidity traps in case of black swan events making DeFi faster and safer. Right now your average user is priced out of DeFi due to tx fees. It’s an insider play that is only accessible to people who already accumulated considerable wealth. We are talking hundreds of USD to send a single transaction within the DeFi ecosystem. The Hypergraph thereby solves for end-user adoption by being a feeless and fast infrastructure. We also protect users against front-running and massive arbitrages currently being the norm in DeFi.
Even more, the Hypergraph is the first true Layer 0 protocol in the industry making atomic swaps and cross-chain data and value transactions not a dream but a reality. The L_0 standard on the Hypergrgaph will connect all native blockchain ecosystems securely with each other.
Constellation will be launching several products that will make it easy for people to interact with our holistic ecosystem. For example, Stargazer wallet is a chrome extension that allows users to store multiple native assets in one place. Stargazer will allow the purchasing of DAG with a credit card as well as swapping cross-chain assets through our Lattice exchange.
Lattice exchange will open up the full suite of blockchain (financial) products to users: APY, lending/borrowing, NFTs, L_0 tokens, cross-chain liquidity, business incubation. Additionally, users will have access to our partners and their yield-generating products in one place.
Disclaimer: The sole purpose of Unhashed is to unhash (decode) information about projects innovating using blockchain and cryptocurrencies and share it with the community. The writer does not have any vested interest in any of the projects covered herein. Not that this article shares any, but still, taking investment advice from strangers on the internet is not a wise thing to do.