Factom Genesis Block to be released soon

On January 3, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto produced the first block of the Bitcoin network through mining, which is the initial block of Bitcoin. After a period of hard work, the Factom project is also preparing to release its own initial block in the near future.

Factom is a P2P protocol that maintains a data layer on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. Network files and applications are compressed into a hash value on a Merkle tree and stored on the Bitcoin blockchain. Based on this hash value, anyone can verify the authenticity of the data in the future: just hash the file again and compare it with the original hash value stored on the Bitcoin blockchain. This process is called Proof of Existence.

Various applications can be implemented based on Factom. For example, maintaining health certificates, property records, and even other blockchain data. Different applications can establish independent Factom chains in Factom, and the Factom system regularly stores hash values ​​on the Bitcoin blockchain. The powerful computing power of the Bitcoin network maintains data security.

Building blocks

The first step for Factom was to obtain start-up funds. The pre-sale on Koinify enabled the Factom team to obtain 2,278 BTC in subscription funds, and the team also received more than $1 million in angel investment.

After a period of research and development, the first version of the Factom network is about to be launched. The Factom network is maintained by several decentralized servers. While maintaining the network, the server obtains a certain amount of tokens (Factoids) within the Factom network as a reward. Anyone who wants to use the services of the Factom network needs to exchange Factoids for a certain amount of Entry Credits. In this way, a healthy ecosystem is established.

Every blockchain needs an initial block/genesis block. It will be the starting point for subsequent data blocks. In order to ensure the smooth release of the blockchain, developers will be extra careful when generating the initial block to ensure the correctness of the data in the initial block.

The Factom project team obtained the subscription records during the pre-sale period from Konify. They also used a script to fetch the BTC transfer data from blockchain.info at the time to verify that the subscription records were correct. The corresponding Factoid addresses will store the subscribed number of Factoids, and the private keys of these Factoid addresses are held by the original subscribers.

Factom’s chief scientist Brian Deery revealed in an email to NewsBTC: The Factom project team is now verifying the Factoids addresses of early contributors to avoid man-in-the-middle attacks and writing wrong addresses into the initial block.

Research and Development

Once the Factom project team has collected all the data and prepared the initial block, it is time to launch the Factom blockchain. The launch of the Factom system is divided into 3 milestones. For each milestone reached, the project team will receive 1/3 of the pre-sale funds (2278 BTC) from Koinify.

The first milestone is to get the Factom system up and running. The first version of the Factom system is maintained by a centralized server. Factom's initial block will be broadcast online, allowing everyone to submit data to the Factom network, and the data can be hashed and stored in the Bitcoin blockchain.

In the second milestone, the project team will release a client interface that can be used for the sale of Factoids and the redemption of Entry Credits. The Factom network will be maintained by 8 selected servers. These 8 servers are jointly responsible for writing data to the Bitcoin blockchain.

The last milestone is the final version of the Factom network. The number of servers will be expanded to 16, and the server delegation will also be voted by users. By then, there will be multiple Factom blockchains and a healthy Factoid ecosystem.

We are about to reach our first milestone. We expect to reach our second milestone this winter and our third milestone next spring. Let’s look forward to the future development of the Factom system.