How Baseline Protocol will be utilized
The Baseline Protocol is a standard for keeping records and processes secured in a synchronous fashion across companies that need to collaborate. Over the last few months, ConsenSys teams have been working to implement Infura, Quorum and Codefi in a way that is compliant with the protocol, ensuring compatibility with both private and public networks. This effort combines open source components and product-ready components from ConsenSys that meet enterprise requirements.
The system will allow Codefi Assets and Payments to reduce the friction, risk and cost of financing assets, such as invoices, purchase orders, and inventory records. This baselined Codefi suite promises to usher in a new generation of financial service business networks.
The Baseline Protocol is based on an age-old approach to distributed systems used to ensure that a record on one machine remains verifiably identical to its corresponding record on another machine. This feat is accomplished by deploying a machine that acts as a traffic cop between the other machines. Traditionally, this process involves setting up expensive integration systems, which must be designed, deployed and maintained at considerable expense (and for each new partner).
The Baseline Protocol applies the approach in a way that eliminates the need to expend capital expense on such dedicated systems by using a blockchain such as Ethereum as a common frame of reference and ordering service. This technique avoids the need to risk exposing proprietary data to a shared ledger or letting anyone with access to the ledger uncover patterns that would inappropriately reveal business activities or relationships to unauthorized parties. The approach also allows a consortium to use a private blockchain network while maintaining the optionality of moving to a public network in the future.
Integration Components
ConsenSys Codefi will soon offer a baseline-compliant full stack solution for enterprises.
There are several crucial components included in ConsenSys’ usage of Baseline Protocol:
- The first is the Infura ITX integration: This integration will enable corporations to pay gas fees in dollars rather than ETH when utilizing the Baseline Protocol. It will dramatically reduce accounting overhead.
- Second is the usage of ConsenSys’ open source zero-knowledge proof library, called gnark. This will ensure that enterprise data will remain private and secure while still being verifiable.
- Third is the seamless use of Codefi Orchestrate with the Baseline Commitment Manager that enables the management of Baseline commitment and proofs on-chain with secure and Enterprise-grade key management.
- Fourth is the combination of an Organisation Registry, potentially in combination with DID (Decentralised Identity), allowing for trustless verification of identity and sharing of information.
- Fifth is that this utilization of the Baseline Protocol framework will be powered by Hyperledger Besu, the ConsenSys enterprise Ethereum client
Once the integration is complete, Codefi Workflow will run B2B business processes that will allow ConsenSys products to be baselined.
The Impact on the Enterprise Blockchain Ecosystem
ConsenSys Codefi APIs will soon allow financial institutions and large corporations to automate business processes, as well as issue and manage digital assets, CBDCs, e-money, and stablecoins. It will grant businesses the flexibility to choose which functionalities to activate based on use case requirements, thanks to the system’s modularity.
Once complete this system will meet high enterprise standards for reliability, security, and compliance. ConsenSys will also offer white glove customer service to satisfy any additional institutional requirements.
Codefi’s support for the Baseline Protocol standard will allow financial institutions and large corporations to effectively build business applications that can start by employing private blockchains networks without having to retool or evacuate sensitive data from the blockchain when it’s time to start using public networks—a first for the flourishing enterprise blockchain ecosystem.
