F.A.Q.

  • Is Graphene a change to the core consensus algorithm used by my favorite blockchain?
    No. Graphene is independent of a blockchain's consensus algorithm. It is strictly a protocol that takes place betwen two peers over the network. It can be deployed without a softfork or hardfork; it's simply an option for two peers to communicate a block to one another.
  • Is Graphene patented?
    No, we've never tried to patent Graphene. We have no plans to.
  • Is it true that Graphene cannot be deployed right now because it requires that there be a network-wide canonical ordering of transactions in each block?
    No, in fact Graphene is already deployed as an experimental dev-only setup for Bitcoin Unlimited even though BCH does not have such a canonical ordering. Of course, the result is that Graphene is larger: for a block with n transactions, the extra cost is n*log(n)/8 bytes. However, even with this added cost, Graphene is still less than 40% the size of previous methods. For some specific examples, see our explanation page.
  • Does Graphene restructure the network topology?
    No, it does not change the topology at all. However, there is a reason for this confusion. We originally published Graphene as part of a larger paper (our tech report from 2016). The second part of that paper proposed a new topology for Bitcoin. We've since separated Graphene from the larger paper.
  • Does Graphene have the same number of roundtrips between sender and receiver as sending a full block, using XThin, or using Compact Blocks?
    Yes, they all have the same number of roundtrips: INV, getdata, and then the block. They differ only in the size of the messages they send.
  • Is there an official specification of Graphene for Bitcoin Cash?
    Not yet! But we have a draft up.
  • Will Graphene help reduce the size of storing the blockchain?
    No, it only helps reduce the number of bytes need to express a block when transmitting it over the network.
  • Are other blockchains considering Graphene for deployment?
    Yes, at least one is considering it. No news to announce yet though.
  • Can I donate to Graphene's development costs at UMass Amherst?
    Yes, you can donate via Bitpay (yes, any cryptocurrency that Bitpay accepts) if you contact us first to find out how to ensure the donation goes directly to our project (and not general UMass coffers). We work for UMass, and UMass is a non-profit; i.e., we are non-profit.
  • I'm a blockchain developer and I'm interested in deploying Graphene. Can you help me out?
    We are happy to answer questions and possibly help out. Please contact us.