In April when the Bitcoin community began preparing for Australian Craig Wright’s “Satoshi Nakamoto reveal,” at that topographic point was only about other annunciation from Down Under that was overlooked.
On Apr 14, Standards Australia, a non-government, not-for-profit standards arrangement announced that “Australia proposes International Blockchain Standards” together with included a proposal for a “new land of technical activity.”
This proposal was registered amongst the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the world's largest developer of voluntary international standards, together with on Apr 19, The American National Standards Institute announced that “ANSI Seeks Comments on New ISO Field of Activity on Blockchain together with Electronic Distributed Ledger Technologies.” The United States of America has access to the ISO standards evolution processes through ANSI.
Standards Commonwealth of Australia every bit good released an explainer fact canvass called “Blockchain & Electronic Distributed Ledger Technologies New Field of Technical Activity.” It ponders “Why practice nosotros demand blockchain standards?” together with postulates that:
“[...] Blockchain is even so an emerging technology scientific discipline together with issues such every bit information sovereignty, privacy, together with lack of consensus are causing headaches for policy makers, regulators together with manufacture alike. Notwithstanding, Australian stakeholders together with authorities desire this technology scientific discipline to endure sustainable inwards the long-term. ISO together with its members receive got an of import purpose to play inwards making this a reality. ...The proposed international standards for blockchain volition focus on technical solutions that promote interoperability, together with compatibility betwixt existing systems. This volition let the technology scientific discipline to endure to a greater extent than widely used together with deployed.”
Bitcoin Is a Standard
As the “invisible ships” lore (or myth) goes: Native Americans could non perceive the fleet of ships virtually to invade their homeland because the armada was so alien to their collective experiences that they were unable to come across their aggressors. One could brand a similar comparing amongst groups seeking to standardize blockchains. Public blockchains such every bit Bitcoin or Ethereum are inwards together with of themselves protocols or standards. Institutions that are trying to (re)define what a blockchain is inwards the call of standardization are trying to co-opt the technology scientific discipline together with may non fifty-fifty realize that they are staring at a standard. A blockchain with(in) a layer of standards is a paradox. This governance creates a needless metalayer of friction together with complexity. However, patch Bitcoin is a standard, its decentralized nature agency that it has no formal structure. That said, Bitcoin utilizes a BIP or Bitcoin Improvement Proposal every bit the de facto trend of introducing features (via Github).
In fact, BIP 123, or “BIP Classification” created past times Bitcoin Core Developer Eric Lombrozo explains that:
“Bitcoin is a scheme involving a number of dissimilar standards. Some standards are absolute requirements for interoperability patch others tin endure considered optional, giving implementors a pick of whether to back upwardly them. In lodge to receive got a BIP procedure which to a greater extent than closely reflects the interoperability requirements, it is necessary to categorize BIPs. …”
A Chip Off the Old Blockchain?
Bitcoin is no stranger to ISO or standardization for that matter. Back inwards 2014, Jon Matonis, so the executive manager of the Bitcoin Foundation, penned an article for CoinDesk “Why Bitcoin Needs an ISO-Certified Currency Code.” The Bitcoin Foundation for its business office was founded amongst standardization inwards its vision. According to its words at the time, “[The]Bitcoin Foundation standardizes, protects together with promotes the occupation of Bitcoin cryptographic money for the practice goodness of users worldwide.”
Bitcoin Magazine spoke amongst Manu Sporny, chairman of the W3C Web Payments Community Group together with CEO of Digital Bazaar. The W3C or The WWW Consortium is the international standards arrangement for the World Wide Web. When calling Bitcoin a touchstone Sporny said:
“It depends on if y'all are talking virtually ‘de jure’ standards or ‘de facto’ standards. Bitcoin could endure argued to endure a ‘de facto’ standard, but fifty-fifty that declaration is a fleck weak since systems similar Ethereum exist. When y'all receive got a standard, you're looking for truthful interoperability. That is, multiple companies tin follow the touchstone together with come upwardly up amongst systems that interoperate. The Web is a proficient event of a ready of interoperable standards. Bitcoin hasn't hitting that signal yet, every bit much of the command over the heart of Bitcoin is inwards the hands of real few developers together with 1 major reference implementation. I call back it's shaky to telephone phone Bitcoin a standard. It's a actually interesting experiment.”
Meanwhile, Sporny notes that W3C has a Blockchain standardization workshop, Blockchains together with the Web: H5N1 W3C Workshop on Distributed Ledgers on the Web scheduled on June 29–30 at MIT Media Lab.
Down Under
The Australian proposal mentions leveraging pre-existing standards such every bit SWIFT ISO 20022 which “defines the fields together with controls inside messages together with transaction betwixt entities hence allowing interoperability.” However, this was on the heels of Reuters' news story that hackers compromised the SWIFT software of People's Republic of Bangladesh Bank.
While Standards Commonwealth of Australia notes that, “The run volition exclude legal obligations together with regulatory matters addressed past times authorities jurisdictions,”it every bit good proposes to “Embed compliance to money laundering together with Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements.”
Stakeholders
The proposal is only 1 of many blockchain solid reason grabs past times legacy actors trying to remain relevant inwards a basis of Bitcoin governance. This proposal aims to “position ISO every bit a leading contributor to prepare global solutions to facilitate information movement together with information flows hence enabling to a greater extent than efficient together with timely transactions” past times establishing blockchain standards.
According to Standards Commonwealth of Australia it is consulting amongst stakeholders on this proposal together with intends to spearhead the ISO run if approved. For to a greater extent than information or to brand a submission, contact Varant Meguerditchian (varant.meguerditchian@standards.org.au) past times June 19.
ANSI asks that comments are submitted to Steve Cornish (scornish@ansi.org), ANSI senior manager of international policy, past times June 3. Based on this feedback, the ANSI ISO Council volition create upwardly one's hear ANSI’s position, together with comments should endure submitted to ISO earlier its July xiv voting deadline.
Editor's Note: This is an persuasion slice past times Brian Cohen together with the opinions represented are those of the author.
The postal service ISO May Propose Certified Standards for Blockchains together with Distributed Ledgers appeared kickoff on Bitcoin Magazine.
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