MIT and Ripple collaborate to test four-node blockchain

MIT and technology startup Ripple are collaborating to bring blockchain research to a practical level. MIT has been committed to Bitcoin and blockchain industry research for many years, and the goal of this collaboration with Ripple is to develop blockchain, financial services and enterprise data projects.

David Shrier, director of MIT's Connected Science and Engineering Program, said he hopes the collaboration with Ripple will attract more researchers. He said: "It's one thing to develop a blockchain with four nodes for testing, and it's another to connect to a larger global network of nodes."

The research was conducted by seven students and professors. As part of the study, MIT tested a validator for Ripple's permissioned ledger system, Consensus Ledger. The validator is a server that confirms transactions on the network where the digital asset XRP is located.

MIT has been directly involved in blockchain research since early 2015, supporting Bitcoin development through its Digital Currency Initiative. Last month, MIT's Digital Currency Initiative raised $900,000 to support the work of Bitcoin developers. Investors include venture capitalist Fred Wilson and LinkedIn founder and executive chairman Reid Hoffman.

MIT’s decision to use Ripple over other options was partly because Shrier believes Ripple is very good at leveraging funds, adding that MIT is very interested in “other flavors” of bitcoin development.

Laying the foundation

In fact, MIT's research on blockchain stems from its long-term support for open source projects.

Since 2007, MIT's Internet Trust Consortium, whose members include UBS and NTT, has been developing open-source projects to help people better manage data. Last year, the consortium began publishing blockchain research results in collaboration with MIT's Connected Science and Engineering.

In June, members of the association released the results of their research project "Enigma", which focuses on how developers can use blockchain to build a decentralized cloud system. The project, co-led by Pentland, uses an external blockchain to manage visitor data and identities. Currently, the project is in the testing phase.

In January, Pentland and Ripple project leader Thomas Hardjono published preliminary results of a study on ChainAnchor. While the final results of the study are not yet available online, the early results suggest that ChainAnchor can protect user privacy within a permissioned blockchain.

A paper and website investigating the final results of ChainAnchor will be forthcoming.

The Ripple project is led by MIT professor Alex Pentland, program director of connected science and engineering David Shrier, and chief technology officer Thomas Hardjono. Shrier said that more researchers will join the project in the next six months.

Future research

Overall, there are now about 36 blockchain research projects at MIT, with 50 to 70 researchers involved in them, Shrier said.

“I am confident that the number of these research projects and researchers will only grow,” he said.

As part of his research on blockchain, Shrier will teach his first online course in June, titled Future Business. Previously, he taught in a traditional way, with 50 students creating 19 projects, five of whom are now creating their own startups.

So far, 500 students have signed up for the 12-week course, which costs $2,300, and Shrier said he expects to have 1,000 students by the time the course starts.