Topic: World’s first offline system for transacting cryptocurrencies! - page 2. (Read 367 times)

 It obviously involves offline syncing somehow, maybe an alternative way to sync using phones or some other network of sorts? Possibly a universal ledger that syncs with other chains somehow? Sounds pretty interesting and I can't wait till they unveil exactly how it works. I'm guessing if a startup has figured it out, there are certainly other who are working on similar projects.

This unfortunately is the big game stopper. "a few hardware" might be receiving data. but sending? This is an order of magnitude more complex, AND expensive, even if they let random people send data as well (which i doubt). And checking their site, there is zero mention of data upload (via antenna), you can send them some text file from the internet for them to broadcast, but that's about it. It IS unidirectional...

I would have tried it if they had chosen a different satellite for South America, instead of something Mexico centered, perhaps something more Brazil centered...

This might be a paid press release, though there's no disclosure on the Globes article.

It sounds like a variant of a typical offline signing model: Create a secure offline environment where transactions are signed, transfer the signed transaction using non-internet means, then securely push a signed transaction:


I'm very skeptical of these claims being thrown around. It sounds like they're using a fairly standard setup -- just like a hardware wallet -- and are throwing patents all over it. This sounds like a load of crap:

I am thinking along the lines of telemetry software system for this "unidirectional" transfer system that they are trying to advertise or convey to the public. I'm a fan of such, if we're still in the 1960s-1970s but right now, that's just too slow in today's standards. But if this was embedded in an offline wallet, it could work knowing that there are only a few bytes of data included in sending and receiving transaction data. I'm somewhat confused along the lines of "hot wallet functionalities." If the system is capable of doing such, I'm assuming that they achieved offline transmissions on a long-range at high speeds, but I doubt it--or perhaps I'm getting rusty on my tech knowledge.

That's never a good idea, regardless of how 'proven' certain ways of transferring private keys through the air actually are.

Currently we have various mesh networks, where GoTenna even has partnered with BlockStream to utilize their satellites. I put much more confidence in these entities to provide the technology that will allow people to transact without the internet, because they are well funded and pretty far in development already. But then again, more competition is always a good thing.

Another way to transact offline is to use physical coins (e.g. Casascius, BTCC mint, Denarium, Satori). It works just as convenient as physical cash and nothing will ever move on-chain.

Pretty sure you could just transfer private keys, that's a simple ways to transmit value without using the internet.

There are also direct line communications that can use laser to transmit information without ever touching the internet. There are certainly dozens of different ways to transfer BTC without using the internet.

However, if this occurs through a transaction, it will eventually need to be settled on chain.

The article sounds like a bunch of words that sound smart but don't make much sense. I know that it's possible to perform transactions offline, there was another project that made it possible to access blockchain through space (with the help of the satellites), for instance. Another thing that could make is not offline, but an off-chain solution, something like the Lightning Network. I think we'll learn soon enough what this is really about, I think the satellite solution is a likely answer, but we'll see. For now, it's just words without particular meaning.

Yeah its a little bit technical but I found it confusing that they are using the term "offline" when recording transactions to a blockchain which is quite contradictory to the very nature of blockchains which for me is a distributed computing system that are connected via the internet. I think you have a good analogy on using a hardware wallet's "unidirectional connection" feature which "uses only one direction for data communication" and I thought they  associate it with being "offline" maybe just to create hype.

the whole article looks like a very vague advertisement of a service and it seems to me like they were paid to publish this!
and to be honest it all seems like over-usage of buzzwords and technobabble to make it look "special" while it looks like (at least to me) that it is what any other hardware wallet does: a "unidirectional connection" where it signs transactions internally then broadcasts the signed result online!

I wonder how can they transfer data?  Without a means of communication or connection, isn't it impossible to relay data especially on the other part of the world?  Offline means being out in the network.  So how can they transmit data to other country or other places if they are disconnected from others?

Recently, I was reading this news that Israeli cybersecurity startup GK8 has developed the first system that enable the blockchain transactions without the need for an Internet!! How can this be Possible?

Well the new system uses GK8’s proprietary cryptographic techniques that enables the transactions to get executed without Internet. The company raised $4 million in a funding round led by Discount Capital, a venture arm of one of Israel’s three largest banks, Discount Bank, and Marius Nacht, a co-founder of cybersecurity giant Checkpoint.

As reported by Globes, GK8’s new cryptographic techniques allowed the company to develop a cold wallet with “hot wallet functionalities,” securing user funds from hackers and cyberattacks.

GK8 is currently targeting financial institutions, custodians, exchanges and hedge funds which hold cryptocurrencies. GK8's custodian technology is already operational and helps to securely manage digital assets for clients such as eToro, a global multi-asset trading and investment platform.

Current custodian solutions used by financial institutions and state-owned enterprises do not meet institutional scale security standards. In addition to existing security protocols, digital assets based on blockchain technology need a higher security standard since signed transactions are irreversible. To meet this challenge, GK8 experts have developed this technique to provide a secure environment to sign blockchain transactions and execute automatic reconciliation confidently.

The company’s techniques, protected by five registered patents, can bypass core assumptions related to cryptocurrency transfers and eliminate attack vectors to any asset transfer.


>> My question here - Is this technique is really secure than the current solutions? Is our funds are safe from hackers and cyberattacks?


Edit:

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Source:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/israeli-startup-that-allows-offline-crypto-transactions-secures-4m
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-blockchain-deals-without-internet-co-gk8-raises-4m-1001301213
https://www.coindesk.com/gk8-blockchain-wallet-offline
https://www.cryptonewsz.com/israeli-start-up-gk8-develops-offline-wallet-for-cryptocurrency-holds-online-transaction-capability/43398/