Nov. 5 Gordian Meeting - HackMD

<style> .reveal { font-size: 24px; } .reveal h1, .reveal h2 { font-family: "League Gothic", Impact, sans-serif; color: #eee8d5; line-height: 0.9em; letter-spacing: 0.02em; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: none; } .reveal ul { font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 1.2em; } .reveal pre code { font-size: 0.7em; margin: 0px 60px 0px 60px; } .reveal p { line-height: 1em; } .reveal blockquote { font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.2em; } </style> <img src="https://www.Blockchaincommons.com/images/bcc-card.jpg" width=1024> <font size="5">Blockchain Commons #Gordian Meeting 2025-11-05</font> --- ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width="192" height="192"></br> What is Blockchain Commons? <font size=6> * We are a community interested in self-sovereign control of digital assets. * We bring together stakeholders to collaboratively develop interoperable infrastructure. * We design decentralized solutions where everyone wins. * We are a neutral "not-for-profit" that enables people to control their own digital destiny. </font> --- Thank you to our Sponsors! <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HkL6BW5hge.png" style="border: 1px white solid;"> Become a sponsor! Mail us at team@blockchaincommons.com --- ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>Today's Topics <font size=6> - Exodus Protocols - Hubert Dead-Drop Hub </font> --- ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>Clubs: A Prelude <font size=6> - We introed this last month! - ***Clubs*** are Autonomous Cryptographic Objects. - They allow transmission of information without infrastructure. - They support coordination, collaboration. - Clubs was our first example of an Exodus Protocol For more: <u>https://developer.blockchaincommons.com/clubs/</u> </font> --- <font size=8> **Exodus Protocol.** _Noun Phrase._ Infrastructure that can’t be revoked and that survives when platforms disappear, built on mathematics instead of permission. </font> --- ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>We're Fighting Against<br>Infrastructure that Disappears! <font size=6> - Email, Photos, MP3s - Link Services (del.icio.us, mag.nol.ia, Pocket) - Google+ Circles - Internet Radio Sometimes the "disappearance" is purposeful: - Financial Censorship (WikiLeaks, Canadian Truckers) Everyone has their own story of loss by this point! </font> --- ## <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/rJIfQzeybl.png" width=128 height="128"><br/>Another Example of an Exodus Protocol:<br>Bitcoin! <font size=6> * Miners Come and Go * Spin Up Your Own Node! * Create Transactions Offline * Transmit via QR Codes! * Send When and Where You Want! </font> --- ## <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/rJIfQzeybl.png" width=128 height="128"><br/>Bitcoin Proved Something Profound <font size=6> Fundamental capabilities can exist as mathematical rights rather than centralized privileges. When your ability to transact depends on a bank's approval, it's not a right—it's permission. <u>***Bitcoin made value transfer a right***</u> For fifteen years it has demonstrated autonomous infrastructure that works. No servers to shut down, no administrators to pressure, no companies whose failure matters. </font> --- ## <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/rJIfQzeybl.png" width=128 height="128"><br/>But ... Bitcoin is a Single Use Case <font size=6> * Bitcoin supports Value Transfer on the internet * We need to support Coordination, Collaboration, Identity * Clubs is just a first step * We will need many Exodus Protocols * Not for all use cases * Sometimes centralization is required! * But as a strong foundation! </font> --- ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>Five Patterns for Exodus Protocols <font size=6> 1. Operate without external dependencies 2. Encode rules in mathematics, not policy 3. Make constraints load-bearing 4. Preserve exit through portability 5. Work offline and across time </font> ---  ### Pattern 1: Operate Without External Dependencies <font size=6> * **The principle:** If it requires permission to operate, it's not autonomous. * **The pattern:** Self-contained cryptographic objects that work without asking permission. * **Bitcoin's approach:** Distributed verification across thousands of independent nodes. No central server, no phone home behaviors. </font> <p/> ### We need <u>coercion-resistant</u> architecture. ---  ### Pattern 2: Encode Rules in Mathematics, Not Policy <font size=6> * **The principle:** Math doesn't discriminate, doesn't take sides, doesn't change its mind under pressure. * **The pattern:** Cryptographic proof replaces administrative decision-making. Verification is deterministic. * **Bitcoin's approach:** Consensus rules in protocol code, not administrator decisions. <p/> ### Code can be coerced; <u>mathematics cannot</u>. ---  ### Pattern 3: Make Constraints Load-Bearing <font size=6> * **The principle:** What can't be changed can't be weaponized. * **The pattern:** What appears as limitation is actually freedom. * _Can't expire = works forever_ * _Can't phone home = perfect privacy_ * **Bitcoin's approach:** Each "limitation" protects against capture. * _Can't reverse transactions = can't seize funds by fiat._ </font> <p/> ### This is <u>coercion-resistant</u> design. ---  ### Pattern 4: Preserve Exit Through Portability <font size=6> * **The principle:** Lock-in is the opposite of sovereignty. **Exit is not escape, it's leverage.** * **The pattern:** Interoperability and open standards. No proprietary formats that trap users. * **Bitcoin's approach:** Your keys work in any wallet. Open protocol means freedom to switch implementations. </font> <p/> ### Without the ability to walk away, <u>consent collapses into coercion</u>. ---  ### Pattern 5: Work Offline and Across Time <font size=6> * **The principle:** Infrastructure that requires connectivity can be denied connectivity. * **The pattern:** Asynchronous operation. Works during outages. Survives across decades. * **Bitcoin's approach:** Sign transactions offline, broadcast later. The protocol doesn't care about connectivity. </font> <p/> ### True autonomy works when <br/>coercion's attempts to deny — <u>fail</u> --- ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>But ... <font size=6.5> Autonomous systems like Clubs implement these patterns. **But they still need to coordinate.** <font size=6> * Threshold signature ceremonies (FROST) * Governance decisions * Access updates * Capability delegation </font> Traditional coordination requires servers.<br>Servers create centralization. How do we enable communication without breaking the patterns? <br/> **The Answer:** Hubert, a Dead-Drop Protocol<br/> \~ Coordination via dead-drops \~ </font> ---  ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>Meet Hubert:<br/>The Dead-Drop Hub <font size=6> **Hubert = Hub of Berts** * Distributed infrastructure for secure multiparty transactions * Enables coordination without servers or intermediaries * Complete opacity to network observers * Built on write-once distributed storage + cryptographic addressing </font> ---  ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>Hubert's Technical Foundation <font size=6> **Two Gordian Stack Technologies:** * **Gordian Envelope** - Smart documents with encryption & progressive disclosure * Structured data format supporting elision (reveal in layers) * Self-contained cryptographic proofs * **ARIDs** - Apparently Random Identifiers become capabilities * Cryptographic addresses for write-once storage * Derived to storage keys via HKDF * Never exposed publicly (shared via secure channels) * Possession = read access, creation = write access **Result:** Messages opaque to networks, transparent to recipients </font> ---  ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>Hubert's Coordination Protocol <font size=6> That's all that's _required_ for Hubert, but another Gordian Stack Technology supports coordination, with authentication & encryption of messages: * **GSTP** - Gordian Sealed Transaction Protocol built on Envelopes * Sender authentication + receiver encryption * Multi-recipient capable with encrypted state continuations * Network sees only encrypted envelopes * Complete metadata protection </font> ---  ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>Hubert Implements<br/>Exodus Patterns <font size=6> 1. **No external dependencies:** Distributed storage (DHT, IPFS) 2. **Mathematics, not policy:** Cryptographic addressing (ARIDs) 3. **Constraints are load-bearing:** Write-once = immutability 4. **Portability preserves exit:** Open protocols, no lock-in 5. **Works offline/across time:** Asynchronous coordination </font> ---  ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>Example: FROST Ceremony <font size=5.5> **Scenario:** 3-of-5 threshold signature 1. Coordinator publishes encrypted signing request with response ARIDs 2. Participants retrieve request from distributed storage 3. Each generates signature share 4. Participants publish encrypted shares at coordinator's ARIDs 5. Coordinator retrieves shares and completes signature **Network observers see:** Only encrypted envelopes **No server coordinated this ceremony!** </font> ---  ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>Real-World Coordination Needs <font size=6> **What Hubert enables beyond FROST:** * **Journalists** protecting sources with distributed storage * **Activists** coordinating during network disruption * **Immigrants** with credentials that don't "phone home" * **Disaster response** teams working without infrastructure * **Privacy-focused communities** organizing without metadata exposure **All without servers. All without surveillance.** </font> ---  ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>Storage Backends <font size=6> **Four options:** * **BitTorrent Mainline DHT** - Fast, lightweight (≤1 KB) * **IPFS** - Large capacity (≤10 MB) * **Hybrid** - Automatic size optimization * **Server** - Testing/controlled deployments **All use write-once semantics** * Eliminates race conditions * Ensures message immutability * No one can modify or delete published messages </font> ---  <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/BkV3kxMhxe.png" width=75> ## The Xanadu Lineage <font size=6> * **Ted Nelson's Xanadu:** * Basic object = **bert** (Bertrand Russell) * Club System (early capability-security) * Vision of decentralized coordination * **Mark S. Miller's Evolution:** * Refined capability security model * Object capabilities in E language * **Hubert = Hub of Berts** * Where autonomous objects coordinate * Cryptography finishes what Xanadu started </font> ---  ## <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width=192 height="192"><br/>Now the Technical Deep-Dive <font size=6> **Wolf will demonstrate:** * ARID generation and derivation * Storage backend operations * Bidirectional coordination flows * CLI and API usage **Let's see the code!** <font size=5> **Status:** Hubert v0.1.0 - Community Review Phase <u>https://github.com/BlockchainCommons/hubert-rust</u> </font> </font> --- <img src="https://i.imgur.com/QyDl5nK.png" width="128" height="128"></br> www.BlockchainCommons.com <img src="https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/ChristopherA?s=195"> Christopher Allen (@ChristopherA)