- IOTA has continued to lead innovation in DLT space through research.
- The protocol is pushing to improve its Quality of Service (QoS) to drive adoption.
IOTA recently issued a pioneering research paper addressing the usability of distributed ledgers and offering creative techniques to streamline user-node interaction.
The evolution of blockchain technology has laid the foundation for Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), promising secure, transparent, and decentralized transactions. However, for these technologies to achieve mainstream adoption, usability remains a critical obstacle.
Remarkably, IOTA’s research paper addresses the usability of DLT and proposes innovative solutions to streamline user-node interaction, paving the way for their mainstream adoption.
📣New research paper is out! Usability of distributed ledgers is crucial to their mainstream adoption – the problem: user-node interaction. Read this paper to learn about a possible solution for leaderless DAG-based Distributed Ledgers like #IOTA👇https://t.co/WjgRngFADh
— IOTA (@iota) July 20, 2023
Challenges in DLT Usability
One of the key challenges hindering widespread adoption is the user-node interaction problem, which refers to the complexities users face when interacting with the underlying network of nodes. Additionally, users frequently notice significant variances in the time it takes for transactions to complete. This unpredictability impedes a consistent user experience, particularly in time-sensitive applications.
In the realm of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), powerful block producers can engage in censorship and frontrunning, impacting the fairness and trust in financial interactions on DLT platforms. Also, transaction costs in many DLTs can be variable and difficult to predict ahead of time. This makes it difficult for users to efficiently plan their financial dealings.
The primary focus of the released paper is to address the pressing need for improving Quality of Service (QoS) in DLT networks. By enhancing usability and reducing transaction times and fees, DLTs can become more appealing to end-users seeking efficient, reliable, and user-friendly alternatives to traditional systems.
The paper highlighted that achieving this will be crucial for unlocking the true potential of DLTs across a broad range of applications.
Proposed IOTA User-Node Interaction Mechanism
As DLTs become more common and interoperable, consumers will gravitate toward the most dependable and user-friendly option. As a result, enhancing QoS across different DLT platforms is critical for driving wider use.
Therefore, the research paper proposes a user-node interaction mechanism tailored to Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs)-based DLTs. The mechanism aims to improve usability and empower users to interact with the network effectively. By leveraging Quality of Service (QoS) metrics calculated by nodes, users can make informed decisions and select nodes that best suit their needs.
To validate the effectiveness of the proposed user-node interaction mechanism, IOTA conducted experiments. The results demonstrated that the combination of fees and expected delay measurements allows for fair QoS provision to users, promoting equitable demand allocation among nodes. Furthermore, each successive proposed policy showed performance improvement compared to the previous one.
While the proposed policies showcase significant improvements, they also come with increasing complexity. Implementing these policies in practice may require careful consideration, especially in large networks.
For example, the Reduced Basic Node Selection (RBNS) policy performed reasonably well in less congested circumstances without the need for QoS signals, making it a viable option for some use cases.
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