Welcome to Coin Platform 2, a minimalist cryptocurrency platform designed to explore and demonstrate the core concepts of blockchain technology. This project aims to provide a simplified yet functional implementation of a blockchain network, including consensus mechanisms, networking, cryptography, and storage systems.

• Coin Platform 2
  • Table of Contents
  • Introduction
  • Motivation
  • Project Structure
    • Overview
    • Components
  • Building the Project
    • Prerequisites
    • Setup Instructions
  • Detailed Component Descriptions
    • Common Utilities
    • Cryptography Module
    • Networking Module
    • Storage Module
    • Time Chain
    • Value Chain
    • Consensus Mechanisms
    • Node Implementation
    • Configuration
    • Tools
  • Running the Node
  • Contributing
  • License

Coin Platform 2 is a simplified blockchain platform that implements a dual-chain architecture:

• Time Chain: A chain that keeps track of time and provides a global time reference for the network.
• Value Chain: A chain that handles transactions and maintains the ledger of account balances.

By separating time tracking from transaction processing, the platform aims to simplify consensus mechanisms and improve scalability.

The primary motivation behind Coin Platform 2 is educational. It serves as a learning tool for developers interested in understanding how blockchain systems work under the hood. By providing a clean and straightforward codebase, the project allows developers to:

• Explore the implementation of consensus algorithms.
• Understand networking between nodes in a decentralized network.
• Learn about cryptographic operations essential to blockchain technology.
• Experiment with storage solutions for blockchain data.
• Build and run their own minimal cryptocurrency network.

The project is organized into several modules, each responsible for a specific aspect of the platform's functionality. Here's a high-level view of the directory structure:

coin_platform2/
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── build/
├── cmake/
├── config/
├── src/
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   ├── common/
│   ├── config/
│   ├── consensus/
│   ├── cryptography/
│   ├── main.cpp
│   ├── networking/
│   ├── node/
│   ├── storage/
│   ├── time_chain/
│   └── value_chain/
├── tests/
├── third_party/
└── tools/

• common: Contains utility functions and type definitions used throughout the project.
• config: Handles configuration parsing and management.
• consensus: Implements consensus mechanisms for both Time Chain and Value Chain.
• cryptography: Provides cryptographic functionalities like key generation, hashing, and signing.
• networking: Manages peer-to-peer networking, including connection handling and data transmission.
• node: Represents the node implementation that ties all components together.
• storage: Deals with data persistence for blockchain data.
• time_chain: Implements the Time Chain, which tracks time blocks.
• value_chain: Implements the Value Chain, which processes transactions.
• tools: Contains utility tools like key generators and genesis block creators.

Ensure you have the following installed on your system:

• C++17 Compiler: GCC or Clang with C++17 support.
• CMake (>=3.10): For building the project.
• OpenSSL: Required for cryptographic functions.
• Git: To clone the repository and manage submodules.

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/brakmic/coin-platform-2.git
   cd coin-platform-2

2. Initialize and Update Submodules

   The project relies on some third-party libraries included as submodules.

   git submodule update --init --recursive

3. Build the Project

   Create a build directory and compile the source code using CMake.

   mkdir build
   cd build
   cmake ..
   make

   This will compile the main executable coin_platform2 along with necessary libraries.

4. Generate Genesis Blocks

   Before running the node, you need to generate the genesis blocks.

   • Generate a Private Key

     ./tools/keygen/keygen

     Save the generated private key securely; you'll need it in the next step.

   • Generate Genesis Blocks

     ./tools/genesis_generator/genesis_generator <private_key_hex>

     Replace <private_key_hex> with the private key obtained from the previous step. This will create genesis_blocks.hpp in src/common/.

5. Rebuild with Genesis Blocks

   After generating the genesis blocks, recompile the project to include them.

   cd build
   make clean
   make

Located in src/common/, this module includes:

• types.hpp: Defines common types like Hash, PublicKey, PrivateKey, etc.
• utilities.hpp/cpp: Provides utility functions for logging, time retrieval, and byte manipulation.
• genesis_blocks.hpp: Contains the serialized genesis blocks and their hashes.

Located in src/cryptography/, this module handles cryptographic operations:

• cryptography.hpp/cpp: Implements hashing functions and key derivation.
• schnorr_signature.hpp/cpp: Provides functions for Schnorr signature creation and verification.

The module uses secp256k1 library for elliptic curve operations.

Located in src/networking/, this module manages network communications:

• network_manager.hpp/cpp: Handles peer connections, data transmission, and message handling.
• Uses Asio for asynchronous networking.

Located in src/storage/, this module is responsible for data persistence:

• storage_interface.hpp: Defines the interface for storage operations.
• file_storage.hpp/cpp: Implements file-based storage for blockchain data.

Blocks are stored on disk in a simple format, making it easy to inspect and debug.

Located in src/time_chain/, this module implements the Time Chain:

• time_block.hpp/cpp: Defines the structure and serialization of a time block.
• time_chain.hpp/cpp: Manages the chain of time blocks.

The Time Chain provides a global time reference, which is essential for synchronizing events across the network.

Located in src/value_chain/, this module implements the Value Chain:

• transaction.hpp/cpp: Defines the structure and verification of transactions.
• value_block.hpp/cpp: Defines the structure and serialization of a value block.
• value_chain.hpp/cpp: Manages the chain of value blocks.

The Value Chain handles transaction processing and maintains the ledger of account balances.

Located in src/consensus/, this module implements consensus algorithms for both chains:

• consensus_interface.hpp: Defines a generic interface for consensus mechanisms.
• time_chain_consensus.hpp/cpp: Implements consensus logic for the Time Chain.
• value_chain_consensus.hpp/cpp: Implements consensus logic for the Value Chain.

Consensus is achieved through a simplified stochastic process, determining which node is eligible to produce the next block.

Located in src/node/, this module brings all components together:

• node.hpp/cpp: Implements the node logic, including initialization, event handling, and main loops.

The node manages both the Time Chain and Value Chain, handling incoming messages, producing blocks, and broadcasting transactions.

Located in src/config/, this module handles application configuration:

• config.hpp/cpp: Parses command-line arguments and provides configuration settings to other components.

Located in tools/, this directory contains utility programs:

• keygen: Generates a new private key.
• genesis_generator: Creates the genesis blocks using a provided private key.

After building the project and generating the genesis blocks, you can run the node:

./coin_platform2 --port 8001 --role dual

Command-line options:

• --port <port_number>: Specifies the port on which the node listens.
• --role <time|value|dual>: Specifies the node's role in the network.

Example of running two nodes on the same machine for testing:

# Terminal 1
./coin_platform2 --port 8001 --role dual

# Terminal 2
./coin_platform2 --port 8002 --role dual

The nodes will attempt to connect to each other based on predefined logic in the main.cpp file.

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit issues or pull requests to improve the project.

When contributing, please:

• Follow the existing code style.
• Write clear commit messages.
• Ensure that the project builds without errors.

This project is open-source and available under the MIT License.