STORE compares its "privacy first" design with @blockstack's decentralized computing network and app ecosystem.

1/ This thread compares @storecoin with @blockstack. The request for this comparison came from here — https://t.co/WboUHs8NFc

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

2/ The comparison is based on the following resources on @blockstack -- a) their website — https://t.co/JIy18SBLVP, b) their white paper — https://t.co/bLvMDE3JkN, and c) Gaia storage system —https://t.co/pHCliE5LQ4.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

3/ Similarities:
3.a/ Both address the need for a "Decentralized computing network and app ecosystem".
3.b/ Both propose a "privacy-first" design.
3.c/ Both address real world apps, not just smart contract-based dApps, for developing secure, privacy-focused apps.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

4/ On differences, let's start with the "privacy-first" design. In Blockstack, a user gets an universal ID and a "data locker" to securely store their data. All the data they create is theirs. We can call this model as "bring your own storage" (BYOS) model.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

5/ In Storecoin, users have app-specific IDs as desired by respective apps; there is no universal ID across the network. For the same reason, there is no user-specific data locker. Sensitive information is stored encrypted on Storecoin's decentralized storage network.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

6/ Blockstack's Gaia storage system allows users to run/select their own Gaia hubs or storage backends, because of the BYOS model. Users download the apps and plug-in their "private data lockers".

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

7/ In Storecoin, the Messagenodes (a.k.a "storage engines") provide the storage for users of all apps. Storecoin miners in their "Cloud Markets" are responsible for finding cheapest options to store user data. Apps are zero-fee for users, so they never pay or rent any resources.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

8/ In Blockstack, user data is encrypted in the client using user's keys and stored in user's own private data locker. In Storecoin, any sensitive information is automatically categorized and stored encrypted on Messagenodes.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

9/ The encryption on Storecoin varies from app to app. User data can be encrypted purely with user's keys (as in Blockstack) or a combination of user's and app's keys ("M of N secret sharing"). In Storecoin, privacy is a "spectrum" allowing different use cases to exist.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

10/ In Storecoin, all access to sensitive information goes through a customizable, context-sensitive, anonymization engine. So, data breaches (because of encryption) and leaks (because of anonymization) cannot happen.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

11/ In Blockstack, users must give explicit permission to apps to use their data. This ensures strong privacy as long as users don't share their data. It is not clear what happens to the user data once they grant access.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

12/ Because privacy is a spectrum, Storecoin must ensure transparency for all data accesses. It does so by recording all accesses to user data on the Storecoin blockchain. Even though user data is anonymized before allowing access, the access is still recorded.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

13/ The primary design philosophy of Blockstack is to "protect user's digital rights". The primary focus of Storecoin is to allow "data trading" while preserving data privacy and security.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

14/ In Blockstack, best apps get paid by the network (https://t.co/NV2DP5ZJHG). The core premise of Storecoin is that data can become an open and programmable cryptocurrency. Apps on Storecoin emit data-backed tokens called "datacoins".

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

15/ These datacoins are the foundation for a truly open computing platform where developers, governments, miners, and end users can all get paid when data is traded with datacoins. Revenue in datacoins is the underlying incentive model with Storecoin.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

16/ We didn't find any information on how/if data is tradable on Blockstack. Storecoin is designed to trade valuable data with datacoins, while preserving data privacy and security.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

17/ Storecoin creates an ecosystem where data creators (users), data curators (app developers), and data storage providers (Storecoin miners) all benefit from trading data without sacrificing user's privacy or data security.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

18/ On consensus, Blockstack uses Proof-of-Burn based leader election process to manage the blockchain. Storecoin's BlockfinBFT (https://t.co/LWKEWY0lGM) consensus algorithm is leaderless. All nodes participate in the consensus process for equitable block rewards.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

19/ Blockstack supports a smart contract language called Clarity, which is a LISP variant, interpreted language. In Storecoin, smart contracts are used selectively for revenue sharing contracts between developers, miners, and users and to manage access to data with data buyers.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

20/ Storecoin exposes smart contracts as signed JSON objects, which are interpreted by the protocol at runtime to execute the contracts.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

21/ There are other differences in the network architecture and other areas, but they can be characterized mostly as implementation details for efficiency and scalability. Each project achieves these goals differently.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

22/ Storecoin believes that ad-supported/data-trading economy is here to stay, so enables it with a "privacy-first" design that automatically encrypts any sensitive information and anonymizes it upon request. This preserves data privacy and security even when data is traded.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

23/ Storecoin's privacy and de-identification spec is available at https://t.co/tTxU5GecQQ. The spec discusses design motivations and real world use cases borrowed from referenced publications.

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019

24/ Here's a previous comparison of practical security implications of Algorand's BFT consensus algorithm with @storecoin's BlockfinBFT consensus algorithm. https://t.co/uUtYtcM8qg

— $STORE Engineering (@STOREdevs) July 16, 2019