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The era of IPv6 is upon us, with several governments targeting complete migration to the new Internet protocol within the next ten years. Coupled with blockchain, this new protocol is pioneering the next digital revolution, says Latif Ladid and Ralph Wallace.
The two were among the speakers at this year’s London Blockchain Conference, and in a follow-up interview with CoinGeek Backstage, they delved into why the two technologies are a perfect match.
While IPv6 development dates back to 1998, it only became a ratified global standard in 2017. Since then, it has been searching for a killer application, and according to Ladid, blockchain fits the bill perfectly.
“Blockchain empowers every single person on the planet. This empowerment of the single user allows him to transact directly without having somebody in between, which was the original design of the Internet,” stated Ladid, founder and president of the IPv6 Forum.
Ladid noted that blockchain’s significance has risen significantly in recent years as the need to protect and authenticate data has shot up. Today, our lives rely on digital applications, which entirely depend on data. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has only made the need for data verification greater, and blockchain has no peer in this sector.
Ladid revealed that the most significant challenge in pushing for the adoption of IPv6 and blockchain is a lack of awareness. In his capacity at the IPv6 Forum and as one of the world’s leading experts, he regularly educates government officials and corporate leaders about the need for both technologies, but he believes more can be done.
Blockchain empowers peer-to-peer communication and transfers, and this can only happen if there are enough IP addresses. The current IPv4 has hit its cap, and only IPv6 can enable blockchain to reach its full potential, he added.
Global IPv6 adoption will take time, Ladid acknowledged. Most people still haven’t appreciated the value of an IP address, but as privacy, security and data ownership become more important in the digital era, the value of the new Internet protocol will become apparent to all.
A global multicast
Ralph Wallace, the CEO of Cyberspatiale Inc., was on stage with Ladid and other experts at the London Blockchain Conference to discuss scaling blockchain with IPv6. He joined CoinGeek Backstage reporter Becky Liggero to discuss the new opportunities that result from the intersection of blockchain and IPv6.
One of the big changes is the transition from unicasting to multicasting.
“Point-to-point communication on the old Internet was unicast, that’s from one to one. With multicast, it’s one to many. If you send out one element of a data packet, it goes to everyone at this one time.”
Wallace, whose company develops cyber defense software, added that multicasting is critical to any blockchain network that seeks to scale massively.
“I heard that they are talking about doing terabytes of data within seconds. That’s a non-trivial amount of data.”
BSV undergoes the Teranode upgrade later this year, which will enable it to process over 1.1 million transactions per second (TPS) and equip it with the capacity to handle enterprise data needs.
Wallace echoed Ladid’s sentiment on the pressing need for education on IPv6 and blockchain. In his experience, the private sector is more open to integrating both technologies to maintain a competitive edge.
“In the old IPv4 days, there were blockages and obstructs. Sometimes you had to exclude some networks because people thought it was a cybersecurity issue. With IPv6, you don’t need that. It’s point-to-point, peer-to-peer,” he said.
Watch: Blockchain, IPv6, AI & 5G will pave the way for the new Internet
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