The BFA model
No cryptocurrency
Blockchain Federal Argentina is designed specifically without a cryptocurrency. The incentive to participate is to favor the development of services and initiatives based on technological innovation and horizontal work among diverse actors.
Given this, it is not necessary to implement a virtual coin to take advantage of the benefits that blockchain provides. When the objective of strengthening the initiative is not the accumulation of tokens, a path characterized by collaboration instead of competition appears.
Lightweight model
When there's no need for cryptocurrency, there’s no need to deploy a large number of computers to solve the complex algorithms involved in the mining process.
Therefore, we can enable the implementation of efficient consensus mechanisms, both in terms of the number of transactions per unit of time and in electricity consumption. In this sense, BFA needs far fewer resources than a traditional blockchain based on Proof of Work.
Permissioned
All of this translates into a permissioned blockchain that functions under a Proof of Authority protocol: the network structure is based on a reliable group of sealing nodes selected through the consensus of the BFA parties, and supported by each of the institutions, companies or organizations that deploy them. So, the processing is not based on a set of anonymous miners competing for the creation of a block, but on the cooperation between those representing different sectors.
Free transactions
All of the transactions made on Blockchain Federal Argentina are free.
By not having an associated cryptocurrency, and structuring the network under the Proof of Authority model, transactions in BFA can be carried out without cost. The “gas" needed to send them out will be provided, without any associated cost, by the organization.
Off-chain storage
We do not store documents in BFA, we store the hashes of those documents. The users are responsible for protecting them in the way they consider most appropriate. But with the cryptographic digests sealed in the blockchain, they find a way to demonstrate that those documents were not modified after that hash has been obtained and uploaded.
Free software
BFA uses open software. The network is based on Ethereum and all the developments that run on it are also open source and published so that the entire community can audit and reuse them.
So, the transparency inherent in the BFA model is also guaranteed in the code.