What is the Mina Protocol?
Mina is a Layer 1 blockchain attempting to be the lightest chain in the world. The size of the Mina blockchain is a consistent 22kb. Mina accomplishes this by using recursive zkSNARKS, enabling users to verify the chain in resource-constrained environments such as smartphones or browsers.
Background
Mina Protocol is a project initiated by O(1) Labs in 2017. Currently stewarded by the Mina Foundation, it has grown its community and ecosystem worldwide and was launched on Mainnet in March 2021
How it Works
Mina offers an elegant solution to these issues – replacing the blockchain with a consistently sized, quickly verifiable cryptographic proof. It dramatically reduces the data users need to download using recursive zero-knowledge proofs, or zk-SNARKs. These proofs capture the state of the entire blockchain as a lightweight snapshot, which is then circulated instead of the chain itself. The snapshot remains the same size regardless of the amount of information it contains, ensuring Mina’s accessibility as it scales. With Mina, all participants act as full nodes, and anyone can take part in consensus, secure the blockchain, and hold Mina accountable.
Mina Protocol was designed to tackle the issues faced by legacy blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum. These older blockchains require users to verify every transaction since the network’s inception, resulting in hundreds of gigabytes of data. This process is not feasible for most people, leading to increased reliance on powerful intermediaries, reducing decentralization, and making the network more susceptible to censorship.
Key Takeaways
- Mina Protocol is a Layer 1 blockchain designed to be the lightest chain in the world, with a consistent size of 22kb.
- It uses recursive zkSNARKS, enabling users to verify the chain in resource-constrained environments like smartphones or browsers.
- The project was initiated by O(1) Labs in 2017 and is now stewarded by the Mina Foundation.
- Using recursive zero-knowledge proofs, Mina replaces the blockchain with a consistently sized, quickly verifiable cryptographic proof.
- Mina Protocol was designed to address the issues faced by legacy blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which require users to verify every transaction since the network’s inception.
