Microsoft deploys solution on Bitcoin, calls it the most secure network

Reynaldo Marquez

4 years ago

2 mins read

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Senior Product Manager for Decentralized Identity at Microsoft, Daniel Buchner, has confirmed the release of ION. Deployed on the Bitcoin mainnet, this solution is a permissionless public network for Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs).

Implemented on Bitcoin’s blockchain, it operates as a second-layer solution to support a DIDs/DPKI (Decentralized Public Key Infrastructure) at scale, according to its Github repository.

This project began four years ago, its purpose is to give individuals, organizations and others control over digital exchanges with DIDs. The ION uses a Sidetree protocol to anchor DID/DPKI transactions interacting on the network.

Each transaction is encoded with a hash that allows ION nodes to categorize, store, process, and fetch the transactions associated with a specific DID. Buchner stated in the official release:

We are excited to share that v1 of ION is complete and has been launched on Bitcoin mainnet. We have deployed an ION node to our production infrastructure and are working together with other companies and organizations to do so as well. ION does not rely on centralized entities, trusted validators, or special protocol tokens – ION answers to no one but you, the community. Because ION is an open, permissionless system, anyone can run an ION node, in fact the more nodes in operation, the stronger the network becomes.

Why did Microsoft decide to use Bitcoin’s blockchain?

The ION network is connected to Bitcoin with the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) and does not require an additional consensus mechanism. Its nodes can process “tens of thousands of transactions per second.” Interested users can start generating their DIDs without having to use BTC or run an ION node on their own.

In the project’s FAQ section, the ION team rates Bitcoin as the most secure blockchain on two metrics: production of a single, independent, immutable record with no way to reverse it; inexpensive cost of attacking the system. Microsoft’s ION team stated:

Bitcoin is so far beyond all other options, it isn’t even close – Bitcoin is the most secure option by an absurdly large margin.

In terms of cost, Buchner said the solution’s protocol “It’s skewed toward bandwidth and storage.” Thus, it can support 40 billion DIDs in 2 TB of memory space with a lightweight configuration for the nodes. Buchner said the following via his Twitter handle:

This is the culmination of 10 years of work, beginning in 2011 when a few of us at Mozilla set aside some of our time to explore the core concepts of Decentralized Identity. Microsoft ultimately provided the opportunity to realize this dream, and for that I am eternally grateful.

MicroStrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor welcomed the announcement and predicted that similar second-layer solutions will be released more frequently on Bitcoin. Their use cases will be broad and applied in people’s daily lives.

Layer 2 innovation atop #Bitcoin is going to accelerate, providing us with a set of open, decentralized services for identity, trust, security, license, commerce, et al. that we can build into our devices, integrate with our software, & deliver at the speed of light. https://t.co/M4nYwVKB49

— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) March 25, 2021

Bitcoin trades at $52,347 showing a slight recovery in the 1-hour chart with 1.5% gains. On the 24-hour chart, losses are at 5.6% following an 11.1% correction on the 7-day chart.

Bitcoin BTC — Bitcoin registers slight gains in the 1-hour chart. Source: BTCUSD Tradingview

Reynaldo Marquez

A literature major, Reynaldo Márquez has been deeply immersed in the crypto industry since 2017. His journey began with translating articles for various crypto news outlets, a role he took on with zeal. In 2018, amidst a challenging market, he embraced his first writing assignment, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to the nascent industry and the promise of change it bears for many people worldwide.
In March 2021, he joined the prestigious crypto news outlet NewsBTC and Bitcoinist, where he not only reported on the latest crypto news but also had the privilege of interviewing some of the industry's most influential figures. A year later, his dedication and hard work were recognized, and he was promoted to Managing Editor, a position he currently holds with pride.
He believes in honesty, good communication, hard work, and the power of cryptocurrency and its potential to transform people's lives, especially those alienated by the legacy financial system. Born in 1992 in Venezuela, Reynaldo is familiar with how governments and central banks can negatively affect people, their everyday lives, and their futures by creating inflation and erasing their hopes for a better future. Thus, like many Venezuelans, he embraced this new technology to help him and his family navigate difficult times.
In another life, Reynaldo would have pursued a career as an investigator, most likely tracking down the origins of the Cyberpunk movement with the publication of William Gibson’s ‘Neuromancer.’ The intersection between fiction and reality, with the materialization of Bitcoin in 2009, would have allowed him to dive deep into the crypto sphere as something more than a financial phenomenon but also a cultural shift in society that was brewing since the XX century, and maybe even sooner, in the XIX century with the publication of Henry David Thoreau’s ‘Civil Disobedience.’
But that’s for another life. In this one, Reynaldo has been trading to improve his trading skills. Since 2023, he has been trying to learn Python to create successful strategies and find ways to execute them. It is a difficult task, which continues to keep him busy today and will most likely continue to keep him busy in the near and long term.
In his free time, he enjoys lifting heavy objects, reading, watching movies, and listening to his favorite music. Some of his favorite authors are Walt Whitman, William Faulkner, Allen Ginsberg, James Baldwin, Raymond Carver, Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, Mario Vargas Llosa, Reinaldo Arenas, Rafael Cadenas, and many others. Lately, he has been primarily interested in reading about dystopic societies, a topic that deeply resonates with the crypto industry.
Since 2023, he has lived in Spain with his wife. He loves the weather, the food, and the people and their culture. They both expect to travel much more within the country they now call home and beyond its border. He hopes to retire with his wife, maybe in a quiet place near a beach, but most likely in a city close to a library and a university with his kids and, hopefully, grandkids.

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