Cryptokernel

A toolkit to help everyone learn about blockchain technology

We need a financial system in which the rewards flow from the contribution made and the opportunity to make a contribution is widely shared. More people need to have direct influence over how the system works through the ability to build tools for themselves and others. Blockchain technology carries the potential to create this system but to get there we need to increase the number of people familiar with it.

Cryptokernel is a blockchain toolkit created at the DCI. It shares basic structural elements with Bitcoin but is intended for variation and experimentation. This is the best way to make progress - for people to pick it up and tinker with it. The rate of evolution in blockchain technology needs to increase. We want to get it into the hands of as many people as possible, to get experiments running because we know all the answers aren’t just inside MIT.

As a starting point we have used Cryptokernel to implement an experimental digital currency called K320. Its name derives from the monetary policy it uses – Milton Friedman’s K% rule at a rate of 320 basis points or 3.2% growth per year. K320 is designed to build up the initial money supply relatively quickly then switch to the K% rule for monetary growth. Running a node on the K320 network provides a simple way to get started with our technology.

Building the network

Our strategy is to build a network of people experimenting with Cryptokernel based coins to (a) test how the software works at larger scale, (b) introduce a larger number of students, teachers and academics to the platform and (c) create a way for people to learn blockchain technology using a much simpler codebase than Bitcoin. To support this, we plan to create a set of learning tools which will enable anyone to discover how blockchains work. This includes both the core technology and writing smart contracts in the Lua language.

This educational effort supports our long term strategic goal of transforming the financial system. Ultimately, the only way this will happen is by putting the tools to create the new financial system in the hands of as many people as possible. Creating great technology requires combining both familiarity with the financial services services people need alongside the technical knowledge to create them.