Timechains

Introduction

Timechains are a unique piece of cryptocurrency history dating back to before Satoshi Nakamoto mined Bitcoin’s genesis block. In the original code, Nakamoto references a protocol where participants provide proof of work and add blocks to a “timechain.” But almost nowhere does this word get used or referenced after 2013 until early 2015 when two coders, Elías Snær Einarsson and Matthew Roberts decided to make it a proper noun and give their cryptocurrency project aimed at changing the relationship between on-chain transfers and key storage and authentication requirements the name Timechain. (Read Timechain discussion on Reddit.)

Commentary

In 2018 and 2019, a number of top Bitcoin enthusiasts (e.g. Francis Pouliot, Tuur Demeester) rediscovered the long lost idea of a timechain and decided to review old BitcoinTalk forums and share their excited commentary on Twitter. Kiara Robles also explains, "The idea of the timechain is not as clear a visual as a blockchain, but it highlights the more specific function of the Bitcoin system. To keep time."

But not everyone in crypto is excited about resurrecting the word “timechain."

Bitcoin developer Peter Todd flatly called it "a bad term." And even though timechain is the original, vintage name for crypto data structures, Sonya Mann is pretty sure the industry is stuck with the newer word: blockchain. (For a succint answer to the question "What is a blockchain?", Peter Todd offers a definition here.) It's worth nothing, however, that when comparing blockchains vs timechains, some timechain fans (e.g. Nic Carter) entertain the possibility that long months of endless “blockchain hype” could have been avoided if crypto stuck to Satoshi’s original timechain vocabulary.

Continued Reading

(1) June 2018: Bloomberg lists top excerpts from Satoshi Nakamoto’s early writings about Bitcoin, noting his reference to a “timechain”.
(2) October 2018: Nic Carter writes about the overuse and meaninglessness of “blockchain,” mentioning Nakamoto’s original use of timechain.
(3) October 2018: Gaurav Rana writes about the history of timechains and critiques the term for failing to "accurately capture the core characteristics of decentralized byzantine fault tolerant systems."
(4) March 2019: In this Crypto Insider article, journalist Vlad Costea reviews the forgotten history of timechains, the change to “blockchains,” and answers the question: What is a timechain?

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