What is R3 Corda ?? Is Corda a Blockchain ?? An In-Depth Look at features & Implementation.

What is R3 Corda ??

R3 corda is a permissioned Blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform designed to work with today’s financial services industry. R3’s Corda is trusted by regulated institutions to enable tokenization of digital assets and currencies, faster settlement, and automation of complex business processes. Battle-tested by regulated networks operating at scale, Corda is the leading DLT platform for financial services. As Corda is a permissioned blockchain it shares data only with the parties involved in the transaction. With Corda, security is never an issue. Each entity must be tied to a legal entity and granted access to join the network. Corda gets such capabilities as privacy, security, scalability, and ease of integration with existing systems.

Corda is written in the Kotlin programming language and it supports development in both Java and Kotlin.

Corda is mainly available in two editions one is Corda Community & Open source and the second is Corda Enterprise, Where Corda Community is an open source and this is free for both personal and commercial use. It is a free-to-use, open-source version of Corda, with added optional support, whereas Corda Enterprise is a paid, commercial edition of the Corda platform, specifically optimized to meet the privacy, security, and throughput demands of modern-day business. Corda Enterprise is interoperable and compatible with Corda Community Edition and is designed for organizations with exacting requirements around quality of service and the network infrastructure in which they operate.

How Its Work?

A Corda Network is a peer-to-peer network of nodes, each representing a party on the network. These nodes run Corda applications (CorDapps) and transact between nodes using public or confidential identities.

When one or more nodes are involved in a transaction, the transaction must be notarized. Notaries are a specialized type of node that provides unique consensus by attesting that, for a given transaction, it has not already signed other transactions that consume any of the proposed transaction’s input states.

Is Corda a Blockchain?

The two terms “blockchain” and “DLT” are often used interchangeably and to understand blockchain, it’s important to understand Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) — the framework that underpins it. So before checking whether Corda is a Blockchain or not let's first check about the “DLT”.

What is Distributed Ledger Technology?

DLT is a decentralized database managed by multiple participants, across multiple nodes and a digital system of records. Blockchain is a type of DLT where transactions are recorded with an immutable cryptographic signature called a hash. The transactions are then grouped in blocks and each new block includes a hash of the previous one, chaining them together, hence why distributed ledgers are often called blockchains.

In DLT Instead of a single computer, it involves multiple computers (often known as nodes) that record, share, and synchronize transactions in their respective electronic ledgers (instead of keeping them centralized as in a traditional ledger).

The key features of DLT technology can be summed up as below:

No administration facility or central storage

It leverages cryptography for stronger security and transparency. Allows secure transactions in competing environments, without the need for trusted third parties. The participants hosting the nodes don’t need to trust one another, i.e. DLT facilitates a shared ledger to exist in a trustless environment.

To summarize, “Distributed ledgers are systems that enable parties who don’t fully trust each other to form and maintain consensus about the existence, status, and evolution of a set of shared facts”. These shared facts are often referred to as “states”.

Nodes: Nodes form the infrastructure of the network. Multiple nodes have come together to form a blockchain network. Nodes can be any kind of device (mostly computers, laptops, or even bigger servers). Each node runs the protocol software and stores the digital records of transactions.

● Anonymous/ Well-known identities

● Save and store the transactions.

Transactions: An event to update the state/data of the ledger. They could represent a transfer of the currency of the network or an update to the data of the ledger.

Network Consensus: The procedure through which the network participants reach a common agreement about the current state of the ledger.

Blockchain: It is a property of the network that represents how these digital records are stored. It is a property of the network which represents how these digital records are getting stored. Thus, blockchain is a type of DLT with a specific set of features. As in the case of the DLT, it also has a shared database a log of records but in this case, the records are in the form of a chain of blocks.

Now let's come to our main point is Corda a Blockchain or not?

Corda is both a blockchain and not a blockchain

The transactions are recorded with an immutable cryptographic signature called a hash. The transactions are then grouped in blocks and each new block includes a hash of the previous one, chaining them together, hence why distributed ledgers are often called blockchains. So, by definition, Corda is a blockchain with one key differentiator.

Corda does not periodically batch up transactions needing confirmation into a block and confirm them in one go. Instead, Corda confirms each transaction in real time. With Corda, there is no need to wait for other transactions to come along or a “block interval”. Transactions are confirmed immediately. This means that your transaction is not dependent on any others, increasing both privacy and scalability.

R3 Corda Features

Privacy: Corda has designed privacy as the main feature, Unlike conventional blockchain structures, in which all transaction information is seen by all participants! Corda guarantees that only the parties that are directly involved transaction, have access to the relevant details.

Smart Contracts: Corda has the feature of Smart contracts as all other Blockchains have, and it is a part of the “CorDaaps” (Corda Distributed Applications). These smart contracts are used to meet some conditions, constraints, and validations, while executing certain transactions; and written in programming languages like Java and Kotlin also. They are designed to automate and enforce the terms of an agreement between parties, and if those agreements are not met any transactions between parties will not happen.

Scalability: Corda is designed in such a way, as to handle high transaction volumes while maintaining performance and scalability respectively. This is achieved by using a unique approach to consensus, where only the known or relevant parties, are involved in the validation of transactions; rather than the entire network.

Interoperability: Corda is, of course, interoperable with different structures and platforms, taking into consideration and importance of seamless integration with current infrastructure and applications.

Permissioned Network: Corda is a permissioned network!!! There is no place for anonymous actors in enterprise networks, entrusted with sensitive information. Anonymous also and likelyunaccountable, users pose a security threat to networks, either by compromising confidentiality or by interfering in the correct operation of the system. If such users have no business being there, then they should not be there. Further, regulated enterprises are subject to strict security requirements, so anonymous users must not be there at all. In Corda, there is now a precise network admission process, which is quite interesting as well. An actor on a Corda network is represented by a node; even though nodes are known to each other, and the system is designed to reject unauthorized nodes which is quite thrilling to know. Consequently, there is an expectation of accountability rather than anonymity...!!!

Security: Corda provides robust security features also, including cryptographic techniques such as digital signatures and hash functions; to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of transactions and data.

Implementation of R3 Corda

Setting Up the Network: The first step for the implementation of the R3 Corda network is to set up the Corda network infrastructure. Including first configuring network parameters, deploying nodes, and setting up communication channels between nodes.

Developing CorDaaps: Developers can really create custom Corda Distributed Applications (CorDapps) using programming languages like Java and Kotlin. These CorDapps define the business logic and smart contracts that govern interactions between parties on the network.

Deploying CorDapps: Once developed, CorDapps are deployed onto the Corda network actually, in which they are executed and enforced by participating nodes.

Network Governance: Network governance involves defining roles and permissions for participants, managing access control, and establishing rules and protocols for interaction on the network as well.

Integration and Interoperability: Corda can be well-integrated with existing systems and platforms!!!, allowing for interoperability and seamless data exchange between Corda and other systems alike.

Diverse Use Cases of R3 Corda

Trade Finance: Corda is used in trade finance to streamline and automate processes such as letter of credit issuance, invoice financing, and supply chain finance. It facilitates secure and transparent trade transactions between parties while reducing paperwork and administrative overhead as well.

Supply Chain Management: Corda is applied in supply chain management to enhance transparency, traceability, and efficiency in the movement of goods and materials across the supply chain, most importantly actually. It enables real-time tracking and traceability of products, reduces delays and disputes; and definitely improves overall supply chain resilience too.

Insurance: Corda is used in the insurance industry, actually, to automate and streamline processes such as policy issuance, claims processing, and risk management for sure. It enables secure and transparent interactions between insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and policyholders, leading to faster and more efficient insurance operations altogether.

Healthcare: Corda is employed in healthcare to facilitate secure and interoperable sharing of patient health records and other sensitive healthcare data among healthcare providers, insurers, research institutions, and regulatory bodies generally. It ensures privacy, security, and compliance with regulatory requirements while enabling seamless data exchange and collaboration in healthcare as well.

Capital Markets: Corda is utilized in capital markets to digitize and streamline processes such as securities trading, settlement, and post-trade processing, especially for the sake of accuracy. It enables secure and efficient transactions between financial institutions, reducing counterparty risks, and improving transparency and auditability in capital markets!!!.

Conclusion

R3 Corda is a prominent permissioned Blockchain and Distributed ledger technology(DLT) platform, famous for its efficiency within the financial service industry. Its offering trust to managed institutions, Corda provides an instant settlement, tokenization of digital assets, and automation of complex business processes. Its architecture, privacy, and security, ensure that transaction details remain private and confidential among involved parties, It provides a belief in data integrity. Corda’s versatility is indicated by its deployment in various sectors, like trade finance, supply chain management, insurance, healthcare, and capital markets. Where implementations range from open-source community editions to enterprise solutions, Corda provides a wide range of requirements, providing a flawless and reliable platform for modern distributed ledger technology applications.

Reference:

https://r3.com/

https://corda.net/