Summary of the Settlement Terms

• Tierion will pay a $250,000 civil fine
• The TNT token will not be registered as a security
• The TNT smart contract has been permanently paused
• Tierion will administer a claims process to those who participated in the TNT token sale or currently hold TNT, as further specified in the SEC Settlement.

Link: TNT Claims Instructions & Claim Form

First Network Iteration

The original software that utilized the TNT token was first used in July 2017 and version 1.0 was released on September 15, 2017. This software went through several iterations over an 18 month period and was ultimately deprecated. This software is archived on Github at https://github.com/tnt-legacy

Second Network Iteration

On January 8, 2019, we began a new project to achieve the goals outlined in our 2019 Roadmap:

1. Make Chainpoint Core simple to administer and affordable to run for multiple third-party operators

2. Enable an efficient token economy that is maximally independent of a central authority

3. Improve the reliability and performance of Chainpoint Nodes while maintaining low operating costs

In March 2019 we announced the launch of a new testnet. In July 2019, we tested the new software with a network size of approximately 6,000 nodes and 300 Cores, and it met or exceeded our engineering requirements. The launch of this project would have involved a token migration, which we would learn was frowned upon by US regulators. Due to regulatory uncertainty and concerns, the launch of the new software was delayed. Work on this project stalled as it became clearer that regulators would strongly object to a token migration. This software is archived on Github at https://github.com/chp-project.

Third Network Iteration

In February 2020, we launched a new network based entirely on Bitcoin. This new Chainpoint Network uses Lightning for micropayments and authentication. The creation of this new Chainpoint Network involved the development and launch of several new open source technologies.

• LSATs — Lightning Service Authentication Tokens
• Drand — a Distributed Randomness Beacon
• BHN — Bitcoin Header Node

Developers can learn more about Chainpoint by visiting the Chainpoint GitHub.

What’s Next

Developers can continue to use Chainpoint in their applications. Once the process outlined in the settlement is complete, we’ll move forward with the next stage of deploying the Chainpoint Network. We’d like to thank everyone that has used Chainpoint and contributed to its development since it launched in 2015. Our team looks forward to completing the settlement so we can continue to develop innovative technologies on top of Bitcoin.

Tierion SEC Settlement & Waiver was originally published in Tierion on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Austin, TX., December 23, 2020 — Tierion has reached a civil settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with the company’s sale of an ERC-20 token between July 22, 2017 and July 28, 2017. Under the settlement, Tierion will pay a one-time fine of $250,000 to resolve this matter, whilst neither admitting nor denying the SEC’s claims.

The settlement relates specifically to the TNT ERC-20 token which is no longer in use, and will not require the token to be registered as a security with the SEC. The SEC has simultaneously granted Tierion an important waiver so that Tierion is not subject to certain ongoing restrictions that otherwise would apply as a result of such a settlement. Tierion believes the SEC’s granting of this waiver evidences Tierion’s cooperation with the SEC and its continuing commitment to compliance. This settlement resolves all matters between Tierion and the SEC.

In accordance with the settlement terms, the TNT token smart contract has been permanently paused, and the Company will administer a claims process to those who participated in the aforementioned token sale or currently hold TNT, as further specified in the Order. Those who elect to participate must submit a completed claims form along with certain required supporting documentation to be eligible to receive a payment.

The company issued the following statement regarding the announcement:

“We are pleased to reach this agreement with the SEC. This settlement completes the retirement of the TNT token and enables Tierion to move forward without a heavy regulatory burden.”

Media Contact:
media@tierion.com

Tierion Announces Settlement with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was originally published in Tierion on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Tierion has joined the League of Entropy, along with other industry leaders such as Cloudflare and Protocol Labs, to run drand, a distributed randomness beacon. On July 9th, 2020 Chainpoint became the first live system to utilize drand, when the NIST Randomness Beacon was replaced with drand in Chainpoint proofs.

What is Drand?

Drand is a distributed network that generates a random number every thirty seconds. From the drand web site:

Servers running drand can be linked with each other to produce collective, publicly verifiable, unbiased, unpredictable random values at fixed intervals using bilinear pairings and threshold cryptography.

How Does Chainpoint Use Randomness Beacons?

In May 2017, Tierion announced our collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to use the NIST Randomness Beacon to prove a timestamp proof was created between two points in time. Once per minute, the NIST Randomness Beacon publishes a random value. This value is injected into each Chainpoint Proof. Since NIST’s random values can’t be known before they are published, we can assert that each Chainpoint proof was created after the timestamp of the NIST value. This was the first time publicly verifiable data was used to measure when a blockchain timestamp proof was created.

Why Switch From NIST to Drand?

Over time, development on the NIST Randomness Beacon slowed down and NIST experienced intermittent reliability issues. We began searching for a replacement and decided drand was the best option. Since July 9th, 2020 each Chainpoint Proof has a drand value instead of a NIST Randomness Beacon Value. Switching to drand provides two major benefits:

1. Drand is run by multiple operators whereas the NIST Randomness Beacon is run by a single operator. This should make drand more reliable.
2. Drand publishes a random value every thirty seconds whereas the NIST Randomness Beacon publishes a random value every minute. Drand offers double the time accuracy of the NIST Randomness Beacon.

What is Different for Developers?

Most developers don’t need to do anything differently when verifying Chainpoint proofs. Those that previously verified the NIST Randomness Beacon time will instead need to verify the drand time by the following steps:

1. Look up the drand value and block height in the Chainpoint proof
2. Use a drand server to confirm the drand value for the given block height
3. Calculate the time of the drand value using the genesis time of May 25, 2020 10:19 pm (UTC) + (drand block height * 30 seconds)

About Chainpoint

Chainpoint lets software developers link data to the Bitcoin blockchain and create a timestamp proof, which can be used to prove the data is linked to a point on the chain — hence the name Chainpoint. Stay up to date with progress by following Chainpoint on Twitter. Developers can learn more about Chainpoint by visiting the Chainpoint GitHub.

Tierion Joins the League of Entropy — Replaces NIST Randomness Beacon with Drand in Chainpoint… was originally published in Tierion on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Xero

Xero’s API team has developed a project that uses Chainpoint to prove the existence and integrity of accounting data by anchoring it to the Bitcoin blockchain.

Read the full Xero blog post.

Dell

Dell has integrated Chainpoint with Boomi, a unified platform for cloud-based integration, API management and Master Data Management.

Read full Dell article.

Ultimus

Ultimus has integrated with Tierion to create proof of business processes in banking, healthcare, law, medical technology, government, compliance, and other industries. Ultimus recently won a 2018 IT Innovation Award for their blockchain-enabled BPM product and use of Chainpoint.

This video demonstrates how Ultimus and Tierion are used to process a loan application. It includes a live demonstration of Ultimus’ BPM software.

Liaison

Liaison is using Chainpoint to improve data security in healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, financial services, and other industries.

Read full article.

EVRYTHNG

EVRYTHNG customers can use Chainpoint to verify data in their supply chain transactions. EVRYTHNG has created a detailed tutorial that explains how Chainpoint proofs are used in their application.

Read the full EVRYTHNG announcement.

These examples represent a fraction of the real-world applications we’ve seen for Chainpoint.

What is Chainpoint?

Chainpoint lets software developers link data to the blockchain. This process generates a Chainpoint proof, which can be used to prove the data is linked to a point on the chain — hence the name Chainpoint.

Blockchains are notoriously slow. Bitcoin can process about four transactions per second. Ethereum can process approximately fifteen transactions per second. Chainpoint overcomes these scalability limitations by linking thousands or even millions of Chainpoint proofs to a single transaction.

Software developers can learn more by visiting the Chainpoint web site or GitHub.

If you liked this post, please share it! Follow me on Twitter.

Mainstream Adoption of Blockchain Technology is Happening was originally published in Tierion on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Version 1.2.2 of the Chainpoint Node software was released this week.

Communication between Nodes and Core has been substantially improved. Updating and retrieving Chainpoint proofs much faster. Proof verification is also significantly faster, with some tests showing a 15x speed increase when verifying large sets of proofs.

Upgrades to Core’s infrastructure have improved the performance an reliability of writing data to the calendar. Follow development on Github.

Upgrade Nodes

Node operators should upgrade to version 1.2.2. The process takes about 15 seconds.

Additional Registered Nodes

On November 6th at 9:00am PT an additional three hundred nodes registered on the network. Depending on the results of testing, it may be possible to add additional registered nodes next week.

The number of registered nodes will increase throughout the launch phase During this time, we’ll be making updates to the software, network, and node requirements.

Our team thanks everyone helping improve the Tierion Network. Follow Tierion on Twitter to keep up with news and announcements.

Tierion Network Update — November 10th was originally published in Tierion on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Node registration will open on November 6th at 9:00am PT (17:00 UTC). An additional three hundred nodes will be able to register.

The registration process is simple. Node operators should upgrade to version 1.2.2. The process takes about 15 seconds. Nodes will automatically attempt to register when started.

IMPORTANT: Version 1.2.2 of the Chainpoint Node software will be released moments before registration opens.

Our team is continuing to test the network. Node operators will see periods of traffic. This is normal. Testing will continue for several days. Registration of additional nodes will open when this round of testing has been completed.

The registered node count will increase throughout the launch phase, which we expect to last several weeks. During this time, we’ll be making updates to the software, network, and node requirements.

Our team thanks everyone helping improve the Tierion Network. Follow Tierion on Twitter to keep up with news and announcements.

Tierion Network Update — November 3rd was originally published in Tierion on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Tierion Network Update — October 27th

Our team is conducting a new round of network testing.

Node operators will see periods of traffic. This is normal. Testing will continue for several days. Registration of additional nodes will open when testing has been completed.

Chainpoint Node version 1.2.1 is the latest release. It includes a firewall, NTPD service, and security and performance optimizations. Node operators should upgrade to version 1.2.1. The process takes about 15 seconds.

Additional Registered Nodes

On October 18th at 7:00pm PT an additional three hundred nodes registered on the network. Depending on the results of testing, it may be possible to add additional registered nodes next week.

The number of registered nodes will increase throughout the launch phase, which we expect to last several weeks. During this time, we’ll be making updates to the software, network, and node requirements.

Use Cases

Accredible announced they have issued thousands of digital credentials using Tierion. Learn more about their software.

Accredible on Twitter

Accredible is the first industry platform to issue #digitalcredentials using the #blockchain. #EdTech - https://t.co/OUnYjJGB6r

IDEO is a leading global design firm. IDEO announced that Tierion is one of top blockchain tools. The post features a project from a major car manufacturer that uses Tierion to “track auto parts, preventing the installation and use of counterfeit parts.”

IDEO CoLab on Twitter

Having the right tools can greatly improve the prototyping experience. These are 25 of our favorites to start with: https://t.co/71pepLSQi3

Our team thanks everyone helping us improve the Tierion Network. Follow Tierion on Twitter to keep up with news and announcements.

Tierion Network Update — October 27th was originally published in Tierion on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Tierion Network Update — October 20th

Chainpoint Node version 1.2.1 was released on Wednesday. This release includes a firewall, NTPD service, and security and performance optimizations. Node operators should upgrade to version 1.2.1. The process takes about 15 seconds.

Additional Registered Nodes

On October 18th at 7:00pm PT an additional three hundred nodes registered on the network.

Testing

Our team is starting a new round of testing the network. Node operators may see periods of traffic to their nodes. This is normal. We anticipate testing will continue for several days. Once testing has been completed, registration will be open to additional nodes.

The number of registered nodes will increase throughout the launch phase, which we expect to last several weeks. During this period, we’ll be making updates to the software, network, and node requirements.

Our team would like to thank everyone helping us improve the Tierion Network. Follow Tierion on Twitter to keep up with news and announcements.

Tierion Network Update — October 20th was originally published in Tierion on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The registration process is simple. Node operators should upgrade to version 1.2.1. The process takes about 15 seconds. Nodes will automatically attempt to register when started.

IMPORTANT: Version 1.2.1 of the Chainpoint Node software will be released moments before registration opens.

Requirements:

• Upgrade to version 1.2.1 of the Chainpoint Node software
• The minimum required TNT balance per node is 5,000 TNT

The node registration limit will be periodically increased to allow additional nodes to register. This process will repeat until three hundred nodes have registered.

When this registration event is complete, there will be approximately five hundred registered nodes. Once testing with five hundred nodes has been completed, registration will be open to an additional fixed number of nodes.

We aim to have a diverse set of nodes from a wide variety of node operators. For those wishing to participate, we recommend preparing one or two nodes that meet the new registration requirements.

We plan on scaling the number of nodes throughout the launch phase, which we expect to last several weeks. During this period, there will be regular updates to the software, network, and node requirements.

Our team thanks everyone that has helped us improve the Tierion Network. Follow Tierion on Twitter to keep up with news and announcements.

Tierion Node Registration — October 18th was originally published in Tierion on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Tierion Network Update — October 13th

Chainpoint Node version 1.2.0 will be released today. This release includes log improvements, and security and performance optimizations. All node operators are encouraged to upgrade.

Rewards & Node Registration

Node registration will reset today at approximately 1pm PT. The registration process is simple. Node operators should upgrade to version 1.2.0. The Node will automatically attempt to register.

Requirements:

• Upgrade to version 1.2.0 of the Chainpoint Node software
• The minimum required TNT balance per node is 5,000 TNT

All nodes must upgrade to 1.2.0 to register with Core. Registration will initially be open to ten nodes. The node registration limit will be periodically increased to allow additional nodes to register. This process will repeat until two hundred nodes have registered.

Rewards:

Nodes are audited every thirty minutes. Nodes that are eligible for rewards must have passed all audit checks for the previous two hours. For each thirty minute period, one Node is randomly chosen to receive 500 TNT.

We aim to have a diverse set of nodes from a wide variety of node operators. For those wishing to participate, we recommend preparing one or two nodes that meet the new registration requirements.

Once testing with two hundred nodes has been completed, registration will be open to an additional fixed number of nodes.

We plan on scaling the number of nodes throughout the launch phase, which we expect to last several weeks. During this period, we’ll be making updates to the software, network, and node requirements.

Update: Node registration opened at October 13th at 1:00pm PT. Two hundred nodes successfully registered over the next two hours. The first 500 TNT reward was issued at 3:00pm PT.

Our team would like to thank everyone that has helped us improve the Tierion Network. Follow Tierion on Twitter to keep up with news and announcements.

Tierion Network Update — October 13th was originally published in Tierion on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.