What is Mina

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About Mina

Key Points

  • Mina Protocol is a minimal “succinct blockchain” designed to reduce computational requirements for efficient DApp operation.
  • Mina’s size remains constant at 22 KB, unlike Bitcoin’s 300 GB blockchain.
  • The protocol uses Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Arguments of Knowledge (zk-SNARKs) for authentication.
  • Mina’s native currency is MINA, functioning as a utility coin and medium of exchange.
  • The protocol employs the Ouroboros Samasika, a type of PoS mechanism, and a parallel scan state to optimize transaction processing speed.
  • Three major roles in Mina include verifiers, block producers, and snarkers.</

About Mina Protocol

Introducing Mina Protocol: A Revolutionary Blockchain Solution

Mina Protocol is a pioneering “succinct blockchain” designed to significantly reduce computational requirements, thereby enabling the seamless and efficient operation of decentralized applications (DApps). Notably, Mina has earned the distinction of being the world’s lightest blockchain, as its size remains deliberately constant, impervious to the growth in usage. Moreover, it strikes a delicate balance between security and decentralization. Following a rebranding effort in October 2020, the project formerly known as Coda Protocol was reborn as Mina.

Delve into the intricacies of Mina Protocol by exploring our comprehensive overview of this innovative project.

The Mina network boasts a remarkably compact size of merely 22 KB, a stark contrast to Bitcoin’s behemoth 300 GB blockchain.

Mina Protocol’s Primary Objective: A Succinct Overview

Mina is striving to establish an efficient distributed payment system, empowering users to natively verify the platform from its inception, starting with the genesis block. According to its technical whitepaper, this innovative approach is referred to as a “succinct blockchain.”

The protocol leverages Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Arguments of Knowledge (zk-SNARKs), a cryptographic proof that empowers individuals to authenticate information without divulging the underlying details. However, tracing the platform back to its genesis block can become impractical in a large network. To address this, Mina employs an incremental computation of SNARKs, focusing solely on the last few blocks — thereby enabling end-users to verify the zk-SNARK-compressed proof, rather than scrutinizing a block’s entire transaction history.

At the core of the Mina protocol lies MINA, its indigenous cryptocurrency, which serves a dual purpose as a utility coin and a medium of exchange.

Unlocking the Power of Mina Protocol: A Technical Overview

Mina parallels Bitcoin in many ways, with a notable exception in its transaction handling, while also adopting the account model reminiscent of Ethereum.

In this regard, a notable distinction between Bitcoin and Ethereum lies in the composition of their respective blockchain states: whereas Bitcoin’s state encompasses a comprehensive list of unspent coins, Ethereum’s state is primarily comprised of account balances.

Conversely, Mina employs a prover (also referred to as a snarker), a counterpart to a miner, which ensures that each block is committed to the state.

Mina leverages the Ouroboros Samasika, a bespoke proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism meticulously crafted for succinct decentralized networks, offering seamless bootstrapping from a genesis block.

Concise blockchains encompass two primary functions: verification and update. The verification process involves consensus, blockchain synopsis, and blocks, whereas the update function interfaces with consensus and chain synopsis.

Beyond the aforementioned implementations, the project leverages a parallel scan state to significantly enhance transaction processing speed, achieving this by aggregating unverified blocks and delegating the processing task to multiple parallel provers.

Prominent Stakeholders in the Mina Protocol Ecosystem

Mina is poised to revolutionize the prevailing blockchain landscape, where the majority of platforms rely on intermediaries, including miners, stakers, and light clients, to facilitate transaction verification.

Mina adopts a distinctive approach, wherein multiple participants collaborate, each assuming a specialized role within the decentralized network.

The ecosystem is comprised of three pivotal roles: verifiers, block producers, and snarkers, each playing a vital part in the network’s functioning.

  • Verifiers
  • In the Mina protocol, verifiers engage with zk-SNARKs to validate consensus information. Notably, every user of the Mina protocol is considered a verifier, assuming their devices can accommodate a 22 KB chain and withstand a brief processing time of a few milliseconds.

Block Producers: The Guardians of the Blockchain

Block producers, comprising stakers and miners, are incentivized through block rewards and transaction fee payments. Notably, the protocol refrains from slashing the incentives allocated to these producers. This category of participants enables Mina users to delegate their coins to them, fostering a collaborative ecosystem.

Besides aggregating transactions into blocks, block producers are also responsible for generating an equivalent number of SNARKs for previously committed trades. Failure to do so during block production would result in incomplete blocks, which would subsequently be rejected by other nodes as invalid.

If a block producer intends to incorporate 10 transactions into the blockchain, they are also required to validate trades from the front of the queue using zk-SNARKs. However, they have the flexibility to either generate these SNARKs themselves or utilize those provided by a specialized group of participants, known as snarkers.

‍## Connoisseurs of Sarcasm

Snarkers, also referred to as provers, are responsible for generating zk-SNARKs, which play a pivotal role in the verification of transactions.

Block producers compensate snarkers from the aggregate transaction fees they receive in exchange for adding new blocks. However, to qualify for these fees, they must submit bids. Notably, a snarker’s zk-SNARK must be utilized in a block, while the block producer who leverages it is responsible for incentivizing the snarker.

This gives rise to a business economy where multiple snarkers can submit bids tied to the same transaction, thereby fostering a competitive environment. Meanwhile, block producers, driven by profit motives, will naturally opt for the bid with the lowest fees. As a result, snarkers are incentivized to generate low-cost SNARKs.

The Transactional Dynamics of Mina: A Step-by-Step Exploration

The process commences when a user initiates a transaction, which is then routed to the mempool, a repository of valid yet unconfirmed transactions awaiting verification.

Subsequently, succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge (SNARKs) are generated by the snarkers. The process unfolds with the selection of a block producer (BP), who aggregates transactions into a block. Notably, the BP meticulously sifts through the mempool to identify profitable transactions.

Subsequently, the Block Producer (BP) selects a suitable zk-SNARK in accordance with the predefined rules outlined in the consensus mechanism.

It is worth noting that a block producer meticulously reviews the bids to identify the lowest-priced SNARK. Furthermore, the recently added transactions have triggered an update to the SNARKS order book.

Next, it’s time to integrate the SNARKS into a block, and subsequently, append the block to the chain, thereby updating the network. In a deliberate effort to maintain a constant protocol size, snarked transactions are judiciously removed from the chain.

Subsequently, the block producer initiates a protocol upgrade, incorporating advanced zk-SNARKS technology.

Ultimately, the newly minted block is indelibly etched into the blockchain, forever becoming an integral and immutable component of the chain.

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