New zero-energy storage technology could lead to immortal blockchains.
Recent advances in the field of long-term storage could be the basis for developing immutable digital ledgers that can store data for millions of years without power. In other words: immortal blockchains.
Basically, blockchain technology works on the simple premise that data is more secure in a decentralized ledger than it is on a centralized server.
In the event of an environmental outage, such as a power grid failure, the ledger is safe as long as there are still working nodes. A centralized server can only store and serve data as long as power is available.
Total destruction
We don't have to worry about the power going out and, for example, losing our banking information. Modern computer systems typically operate with battery backups that can ensure availability for months or even years if needed.
However, just as quantum computing looms over modern cryptography, there are potential future threats to both decentralized and centralized data storage systems.
One such theoretical threat is a global blackout. Even with a robust battery backup system, a natural disaster that disrupts the Earth's magnetic field or some external electromagnetic pulse can cause the planet's electronics to stop working.
That might sound like Hollywood fodder, but it's unlikely that Earth's poles will flip (unlikely) or that aliens will have emergency plans for secondary non-critical systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum with an EMP ray (also likely). Unlikely).
This begs the question: What would happen to blockchains if power was lost at every node? Assuming that when the power comes back on and everything goes back to normal, the average blockchain will continue to record more transactions. But what if the power is lost forever?
Immortal blockchains
When people disappear – for whatever reason – most of our information dies with us. Over the ages, fragile storage such as books and magnetic tapes will be reduced to the point of meaninglessness. A thousand years from now, much of our digital store may be irretrievable. If we can imagine that the Earth was spinning cold and lonely before it rose again and began to seed life again (or aliens showed up), there would still only be data stored in high-end long-term storage solutions.
Fortunately for those future humans and/or aliens, we have the technology to retain data for extremely long periods of time. Two examples are DNA storage, which involves the creation of information-encrypted artificial fossils, and “Ceramic Nano Memory”, a method for storing information on glass that, theoretically, allows it to remain in code forever without the possibility of degradation.
While neither was designed to function as part of a blockchain network, both have been used to store valuable information for generations.
In this way, it would make sense to store the Bitcoin white paper and other important documents in artificial fossil and/or ceramic nano memory. At the very least, this will provide clues about our technology to future creatures.
However, it should also be possible to use zero energy storage to build a working blockchain snapshot. While the logistics of such an endeavor are governed by the limitations of media, in theory, it should be possible to code instructions for the resurrection of the blockchain network as it was on a given day.
Related: Nvidia claims progress on path to GPU-based quantum computing
