Wrocław University of Science and Technology is one of the founders of the Consortium Association for the Development of Science and Blockchain Technology – bloxberg. It is the first international organization of this type that brings together scientific units dealing with research on blockchain technologies.
The consortium was established during a meeting of representatives of scientific institutions, which was organized in Cyprus at the end of October. Except Wrocław University of Science and Technology, represented by Prof. Radoslaw Michalski, Ph.D., D.Sc. from the Department of Artificial Intelligence at our Faculty, its founders included eleven research institutions, including Max Planck Society, University College London, University of Geneva and IT University of Copenhagen.

New, safe technology

Blockchain, or in other words a chain of blocks, is a technology used to store and send information about concluded transactions. This information is arranged in the form of successive blocks of data. One block contains information about a certain number of transactions, and then, after its saturation, another block of data is created, followed by another, thus creating a sort of a block chain – hence the name blockchain.

– We must remember that blockchain as a technology can be considered relatively young, because it dates back to 2008. This is why at this stage it is being developed rapidly in many aspects – says Prof. Radoslaw Michalski. – Starting from making it more reliable, an important research direction is to increase the network capacity, i.e. the speed of transactions. In addition, some blockchain implementations include the so-called smart contracts, i.e. programs that can be embedded in the transaction register and which you can interact with – this area is also currently being dynamically developed – he adds.

Currently, such solutions are most often used to handle various transactions in the areas of trade, currency exchange, electricity market or supply chains. However, it is possible that in the future it will be possible to use them in such areas as public administration or bank accounting.

– Blockchain is an example of the so-called distributed ledger technology (DLT), in which the transaction register is built and maintained by many network nodes. As a result, model DLT implementations have no central supervisor, and instead each node of the network takes responsibility for the integrity of the register. In addition, the mechanisms for building this type of distributed registers use advanced cryptographic algorithms. Both of these features make DLT solutions resistant to many types of manipulation – emphasizes Prof. Radoslaw Michalski.

As part of the BERG group, which is led by our scientist and which brings together WUST researchers and students interested in DLT, research is conducted on the reliability of the blockchain network and on its applications. The group developed the Dru platform for the monitoring of transaction records and their analysis using network science techniques. In addition, some proof-of-concept projects are developed together with students. These use blockchain for various applications, e.g. for concluding remote contracts, bidding or placing orders with various service providers.

Joint research and projects

The bloxberg consortium was established as a network of scientific institutions to connect researchers who deal with blockchain.

– We decided to join our forces and use the synergy effect in scientific research in this area. This will allow not only more valuable research effects, but also additional opportunities, such as joint grants, or exchanges of scientists or students interested in this subject – explains Prof. Radoslaw Michalski. – In addition, an important objective for the consortium is to provide services for science. That is why we have developed and maintain a public blockchain which facilitates the implementation of prototype services for universities, e.g. confirming graduation – he adds.

Members of the consortium want to provide universities with secure and stable blockchain technology, which can aid centrally maintained systems at universities. The safety of DLT is due to its very nature, and its stability is guaranteed as the transactions are authorized by members of the association, i.e. universities.