Sukhavati X Moonwalker AMA-Record
As you may be aware, the tehmoonwalker has hosted an AMA with Sukhavati CEO — Mindaugas Savickas last Monday! In the event, Mindaugas has officially introduced the Sukhavati Network in terms of the company’s roadmap, technicality, partnerships and so on. This is a great opportunity for you to gain a better understanding of the Sukhavati Network and how it could drive the blockchain industry forward.
Do you want to know more about the Sukhavati Network but have missed the event? We have included below the full transcript of the AMA!
-
Host: Moonwalker
Guest: Mindaugas Savickas — Sukhavati CEO
Date: 1st of June at 9 am EST
Moonwalker: Please introduce yourself and your role in the project
Mindaugas: Hello everyone, I am Mindaugas, CEO and Co-founder of Sukhavati. I was very fascinated by the core characteristics of Blockchain and decentralized web3 solutions, so I jumped into Crypto completely many years ago.
I have recently graduated from Harvard Business School, have 11+ years of management & marketing leadership experience: A number of strategic and hands-on marketing solutions executed for global brands, tech start-ups. Built and scaled product and marketing teams up to 40+ worldwide.
Before joining Sukhavati, I was CMO & Co-founder of Rokkex (crypto exchange by cybersecurity professionals) since 2018. I was also Head of Marketing of FAST INVEST (a P2P alternative investment platform) and Head of Marketing of OXYGEN (a next-gen digital healthcare solutions).
I believe in Sukhavati because I agree with its mission for the implementation of the Web3.0 as a decentralized cloud service network focused on storage. And I believe that through our continuous efforts, its version will finally come true.
-
Moonwalker: Question 1: Please give us a brief introduction about Sukhavati by using several keywords or sentences to describe the characteristics and features of your project. Could you talk about the background that Sukhavati was born in?
Mindaugas: Ok, let me tell you the easiest way to answer this.
Sukhavati is a decentralized cloud service network focused on storage with 3 basic layers of consensus layer, storage layer, and application layer.
The consensus layer is based on the POS ( Proof of Space) /PoC(Proof-of-Capacity ) mechanism, which can directly reuse the computing capability of some existing POS/POC protocols.
At the storage layer, it makes full use of the advantages of the hardware-based Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) technology and designs a new decentralized storage verification mechanism: Efficient Proof-of-Spacetime (EPoSt), which enables a significant number of small network storage devices to participate in the network and provide trusted computing resources.
I know it sounds very complicated and cool at the same time. But… at the end of the day, we want more miners to be part of the community because we use the technology that allows us to scale.
Moonwalker: Wow that’s quite the technical stuff, can you explain this in words a no coiner would understand? just in case there lurks someone in here?
Mindaugas: Basically, if you want to become a miner…and you want to build a relevant PC…it might cost you up to 20k USD which is expensive, right. So…by using this technology, we are allowing more miners to join our network — they have a lower level of entry > so let’s say you have a mid-spec PC -> you would be more than welcome to join our network.
Whereas at other players you would need a very high spec PC > that costs a lot of money. So in a nutshell > Sukhavati > makes a more affordable entry into the mining market <- that’s my favorite value proposition so far.
Moonwalker: With Sukhavati…What would be the cost then..🧐
Mindaugas: We believe 10x less! So if you would take 2k USD PC — you might be joining Sukhavati, but again, It’s only part of the story. There are many issues to be addressed while decentralized storage is moving toward practical use. In the future scenario of Web3.0 and IoT ( Internet of Things), a large amount of data will be generated.
Moonwalker: very impressive, I have seen this concept a lot since 2017 and so far none of them succeeded, what makes Sukhavati different?
Mindaugas: Good question.
Sukhavati aims to build a decentralized data access gateway covering both Web3.0 storage ecosystem and Web2.0 storage services, connect the existing storage protocol islands, and provide unified data storage, retrieval, and management services for Web3.0 dApps.
Another thing that I like to point out during interviews/calls with investors is the ability to do co-mining, so let’s say you are mining for another player, like Filecoin — and you are forced to be with filecoin, BUT…what if you could do both and use your storage for the absolute maximum ROI? 🙂
Well, we are working on that… in the future, you will be able to do both on different platforms.
-
Moonwalker: Question 2: Sukhavati consists of three basic layers — the consensus layer, the storage layer, and the application layer. Would you please give us a brief introduction of the 3 layers respectively? And what do they set out to resolve?
Mindaugas: Ok, good question — let’s dive into technicalities a bit
At the consensus layer, Sukhavati uses Proof of Space (PoS)/Proof of Capacity (PoC) as the consensus mechanism….
After the initialization operation, the PoS/PoC consensus mechanism requires only a small amount of computing and IO resource consumption to maintain high-security consensus, allowing most resources to be used for other meaningful work.
This is where I have mentioned that I don’t need high-end computers!
Also, to be able to quickly establish a strong consensus, Sukhavati can make use of the computing capacity of some existing PoS/PoC consensus protocols and use them as a basis for launching.
Do you want me to go into details?
Moonwalker: Yeah sure. Okay, so we covered the consensus layer..now the storage layer…
At the storage layer, Sukhavati designs a new decentralized storage verification mechanism: Efficient Proof-of-Spacetime (EPoSt) based on the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) technology. EPoSt consists of two challenges: LivingPoSt and WinningPoSt.
A storage miner must complete the challenges and publish the result to the blockchain to obtain the incentives. EPoSt makes full use of the advantages of the hardware-based TEE technology…Again ^ focus on, efficiency!
Compared to purely cryptographic ZKP-based methods, it is 100+ times faster in terms of verification speed.
As a consequence, a significant number of small devices (such as NAS servers) at the network edge can participate in Sukhavati’s storage mining and provide trusted computing resources as long as its CPU supports TEE, giving full play to their advantages of low cost, P2P network transmission and being close to the source of data. This is the most important part ^again, I might be repeating myself, but small devices …even Raspberry PI ones can be part of the network.
Last but not least, we have the application layer…
At the application layer, Sukhavati will build a decentralized data access gateway covering both Web3.0 and Web2.0 storage services based on the local trusted computing capability of network nodes and using the storage layer as a medium.
The gateway will ultimately provide unified data storage, retrieval, and management services that can meet various local compliance requirements for Web3.0 applications.
So… in a nutshell…
These three basic layers correspond to different functions, and each layer builds on the foundation of the previous layer. The development of Sukhavati network is divided into three stages, starting from the most basic consensus layer and gradually realizing the vision of the ultimate decentralized cloud service network.
Moonwalker: How will you maintain the fast speed of transmission without compromising efficiency?
Mindaugas: it’s all about TEE technology
Moonwalker: Can you please explain it a bit?
Mindaugas: Yeah, so in a nutshell — TEE stands for trusted execution Environment
A trusted execution environment (TEE) is a secure area of the main processor. It guarantees that code and data loaded inside are protected with respect to confidentiality and integrity.
We have a really nice explanation in our Whitepaper, make sure to check it after the AMA. It’s on page 6, on chapter 4 on our Whitepaper. Can I use the link here?
Moonwalker: Yes
Mindaugas: https://sukhavati.io/Sukhavati_Network_Whitepaper.pdf
For more digestible information, I would always suggest referring to our 3-pager: https://sukhavati.io/Sukhavati_3-Pager.pdf
Moonwalker: Community members. Be sure to have a dive into this. Are you ready for the 3rd question?
-
Question 3: What do you think about the current development in storage track which is also one of the core functions of Sukhavati? Why did Sukhavati choose to participate in the storage track？Compared with other storage projects, what are Sukhavati’s different positioning and advantages?
Mindaugas: Hmm, good question. There are really good projects. For example, on Contract-based Storage track, there is Filecoin which is based on zero-knowledge proof, and Crust which is based on TEE; On the permanent storage track, there is Arweave. They are very good and hot projects, especially in Asia. On the distributed object storage track, there is Storj and so on. At present, most of these storage projects are still in the early stage, and there are still many areas to be improved.
The thing is with web 3.0… No matter in ecological completeness, real application cost, or the real realization of Web3.0 concept, there is still a lot of work to do in the actual application and real business. Don’t get me wrong, we want to be the best. BUT at the same time, we want to contribute.
Realizing the current status of the storage track, as well as its problems and role gaps, we decided to build Sukhavati Network with the goal of improving the storage infrastructure of Web3.0, and join the construction of this ecosystem. So, how we are different…
Different from the projects mentioned above, Sukhavati aims to build a decentralized data access gateway covering both Web3.0 storage ecosystem and Web2.0 storage services, connect the existing storage protocol islands, and provide unified data storage, retrieval, and management services for Web3.0 dApps. The question is how we can do this…
In order to achieve this goal, Sukhavati needs a broad and solid consensus layer. After research, we decided to start from the PoS/PoC protocols which mine with hard disks, and quickly establish a solid consensus layer by reusing the existing PoS/PoC computing capability, while simultaneously covering the largest hard disk storage space market in the world.
Based on this, Sukhavati will take full advantage of the high efficiency of PoS/PoC consensus and hardware-based TEE technology to build a storage layer that can provide hot storage.
Thanks to the overall design of Sukhavati, any device that supports TEE technology can be added to the storage network, creating a truly decentralized network.
Since Filecoin is more suited for cold storage scenarios and Arweave is designed to store high-value density permanent data, Sukhavati’s hot storage layer can act as a storage middleware in the Web3.0 ecosystem, routing contents to different storage networks based on different needs of dApps.
So…we all have a role to play in this big and hot ecosystem
Moonwalker: So, It will be coordinated work.
Mindaugas: I think all projects have their strengths as I mentioned — they focus on the areas they can tackle.
Moonwalker: How will you overcome the problems in coordination of PoS/PoC with hardware. How will you tackle the bugs?
Mindaugas: Like every startup, we have an amazing team of hard-working engineers that are focusing on these types of problems. These are dedicated people to work with PoS/PoC hardware.
-
Moonwalker: Question 4: Talking about the storage mining boom recently, featured by popular projects from Filecoin to Chia, caused the price of miners and hardware equipment to shoot up. What do you think about this market phenomenon?
Mindaugas: Oh..yeah! These are the trends now!
Moonwalker: For now, the barrier to entry for Filecoin mining is so high that complex cluster mining solutions and customized hardware are no longer available to the average miners directly.
The more likely way to participate in Filecoin mining is to purchase storage mining capabilities hosted by professional miners. So this is what I was talking about at the beginning. It’s just too much regarding the price.
Relatively, the bar for Chia’s participation is much lower. The price spike of hard disks brought by Chia’s mainnet launch was actually an extremely rare market situation, and it was an irrational behavior to overhype the price of hard disks.
Unlike other commercial hardware, the capacity of hard disks is relatively flexible. For Sukhavati, it is more about accommodating more miners and hardware in the market to participate in the network, rather than an excessive waste of resources.
Looking back at history, we can see the trend of decentralization sweeping from computing to storage, from BTC to ETH to now Filecoin and Chia, that will eventually change every part of the computing system, as well as the production relations and organization on it.
From the perspective of historical evolution, we are more convinced that hard disk-based mining will play a greater role in the future. Sukhavati hopes to take up its historical mission and make efforts for the realization and maturity of a decentralized storage ecosystem.
Moonwalker: Indeed. High hopes. How would you directly benefit from an increased number of miners, the more miners — the more mining rewards. Bigger network, bigger possibilities.
-
Question 5: How do users participate in Sukhavati’s mining? Are there mandatory requirements for hardware, miners, and equipment?
Mindaugas: Great practical question.
Before the launch of the testnet, there will be liquidity mining using our erc-20 SKT token. Detailed rules and rewards will be announced in the near future. Storage mining will start as soon as the testnet is released, and detailed rules will be announced when it’s ready. As I have mentioned many times already, the requirements of hardware for Sukhavati mining are much lower than Filecoin, especially in the cluster threshold.
Sukhavati’s original intention is to allow more hardware devices such as PoS/PoC miners and home servers to participate in the network’s construction.
Moonwalker: A boon for them. Shall we proceed?
-
Question 6: What are other application scenarios that Sukhavati could support aside from storage and mining?
Mindaugas: Very good question — we get this a lot from the community.
In the early stages of Sukhavati, PoS/PoC mining in the consensus layer and storage mining in the storage layer will be key to establish its solid foundation.
But in addition to these two functions, in the early stage, it can also provide content distribution for the existing huge Internet CDN business based on the hot storage layer; in the later stage, it provides a bridge for Web2.0 applications to migrate to Web3.0 based on the local trusted computing capacity of nodes and Serverless cloud computing services similar to AWS Lambda.
These are all application scenarios that Sukhavati can serve. In the further future, we hope that the nodes of Sukhavati network can participate in the 5G network and edge computing, and become reliable support nodes with its efficient consensus and storage verification mechanism. So, the sky’s the limit.
Moonwalker: Wow, Visionary thoughts. How do you compare your project with AWS Lamda? What are the similarities?
Mindaugas: AWS is part of amazon, it’s still centralized, we are aiming for decentralized, so from the very beginning, we might be different rather than similar. But yes, serverless lambda is.
Users only need to upload code snippets to application nodes to execute the corresponding logic. The difference is just that our processing is in TEE so in a nutshell regarding being serverless we are the same.
Moonwalker: Both provides storage facility. Now, Here’s the next question
-
Question 7: In terms of the public blockchain, will Sukhavati build its own public blockchain as other distributed storage projects like Filecoin, Arweave, and Sia have done before？
Mindaugas: Though interpreted by the market as “storage middleware”, Sukhavati has its own blockchain from the very beginning.
Similar to other distributed storage projects, Sukhavati’s blockchain itself provides storage services to the market. After all the contents to be stored are uploaded to the Sukhavati network, the network can provide the basic functions of storage and retrieval.
At the same time, it can distribute the content to other storage networks (such as Filecoin and Arweave) according to the different requirements of the order, to meet the diverse requirements of Web3.0 dApps for data storage.
However, the consensus layer of Sukhavati’s blockchain is different from most other blockchains. As it can directly reuse the computing capability of existing PoS/PoC protocols, the consensus layer of Sukhavati is very efficient and environmentally friendly.
It only consumes a very small amount of energy to provide a quite secure consensus. So Sukhavati’s computing capability can be greatly expanded at the beginning of the launch, while it can also bring additional value and imagination to these PoS/PoC miners.
-
Moonwalker: Question 8: From the storage perspective, will there be any concerns for regulation and compliance for Sukhavati?
Sukhavati was designed from the outset to take into account the local laws and regulations. Its local trusted computing technology can actively meet the regulatory requirements so that the relevant laws and regulations in various places can be translated and converted into codes and executed safely. Thus Sukhavati will not only implement the regulation but also can extend its capabilities to more fine-grained compliance management.
Moonwalker: We move to the final question of our AMA session. Should we proceed?
-
Question 9: How’s Sukhavati going so far? What stage in the road map has Sukhavati entered? How soon will we see the launch of mining?
Mindaugas: The development of Sukhavati mainnet phase 1 has been completed and currently in alpha testing. If everything goes well, we expect that the testnet can be launched before September.
In addition, the current ERC-20 SKT token’s liquidity incentive program will be launched in near future, you can pay attention to updates of this part on official channels:
Moonwalker: Thanks so much for your time today 🙂
-
About Sukhavati
Sukhavati Network is a decentralized cloud network service that is focused on storage. The network is built on hardware-based Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and the Substrate framework to inspire and incentivize improvements on distributed storage ecosystems.
Sukhavati creates a decentralized gateway that covers both Web 3.0 and Web2.0 storage services. It allows unified data storage, retrieval, and management on Web 3.0 applications.
Contact us:
Official website：https://sukhavati.io
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sukhavati_N
Telegram Channel: https://t.me/SukhavatiNetwork
Telegram Announcement Channel: https://t.me/SukhavatiN
Medium: https://medium.com/@Sukhavati
Reddit：https://www.reddit.com/r/SukhavatiNetwork/
Discord：https://discord.com/invite/nhTd23PMSA
