Bitcoin Q&A: MimbleWimble and Dandelion

What is the story behind MimbleWimble? What is Grin? What is a Dandelion transaction relay, as described in BIP156, and how does it improve the anonymity of the Bitcoin network?

CLARIFICATION/ CORRECTION: At 1:14, I talk the origins of MimbleWimble. The PDF was submitted to the Bitcoin research IRC channel on August 2nd, 2016. The pseudonymous author used the name "Tom Elvis Jedusor," which is the French version of Voldemort's real name. I also say that the name "MimbleWimble" was referencing the name of a spell from Harry Potter, which is the Tongue-Tying Curse and prevents someone from speaking about (not "seeing") something: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Tongue-Tying_Curse

At 6:08, I was unable to list the names of the team members behind the Dandelion proposal. They are Giulia Fanti, Shaileshh Bojja Venkatakrishnan, Surya Bakshi, Bradley Denby, Shruti Bhargava, Andrew Miller and Pramod Viswanath (researchers at Carnegie Mellon, MIT, and the University of Illinois).

Read the MimbleWimble paper here: https://scalingbitcoin.org/papers/mimblewimble.pdf

Andrew Poelstra's MimbleWimble presentation: https://youtu.be/aHTRlbCaUyM

More information on BIP-156: https://github.com/gfanti/bips/blob/master/bip-dandelion.mediawiki

The BIP-156 pull request: https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/13947

NOTE: As usual, this video is intended as an educational resource on topics such as blockchain protocols (i.e. MimbleWimble) and not as an endorsement of specific implementations (e.g. Grin).

These questions were part of the July and (late) August monthly live Patreon Q&A sessions, which took place on July 28th and September 1st 2018 respectively. If you want early-access to talks and a chance to participate in the monthly live Q&As with Andreas, become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/aantonop

RELATED:
Worse than Useless: Financial Surveillance - https://youtu.be/n4F-h4xuXMk
Money as a System-of-Control - https://youtu.be/FyK4P7ZdOK8
The Stories We Tell About Money - https://youtu.be/ONvg9SbauMg
Bitcoin: Privacy, Identity, Surveillance and Money - https://youtu.be/Vcvl5piGlYg
ADISummit: Self-Sovereign Identity Panel - https://youtu.be/DZbyiJqKT8c
How is fungibility tied to privacy? - https://youtu.be/VuI-8EwqIS8
Public keys versus addresses - https://youtu.be/8es3qQWkEiU
Re-using addresses - https://youtu.be/4A3urPFkx8g
Coin selection and privacy - https://youtu.be/3Ck683CQGAQ
Airdrop coins and privacy implications - https://youtu.be/JHRnqJJ0rhc
Wallet design and mass adoption - https://youtu.be/WbZX6BDZJHc
How do I choose a wallet? - https://youtu.be/tN6b62sEpsY
Using paper wallets - https://youtu.be/cKehFazo8Pw
Exchanges, identity, and surveillance - https://youtu.be/TVFy8xXfxAA
The price of losing privacy - https://youtu.be/2G8IgiLbT_4
Layered scaling and privacy - https://youtu.be/4w-bjUhpf_Q
Lightning and onion routing - https://youtu.be/D-nKuInDq6g
What is the roadmap? - https://youtu.be/5Eoj_sKyC90
SegWit and fork research - https://youtu.be/OorLoi01KEE
MimbleWimble and Schnorr signatures - https://youtu.be/qloq75ekxv0
Schnorr signatures and the privacy roadmap - https://youtu.be/JeJzwZgxF50
Block capacity and embedded data - https://youtu.be/JXt0v54nojI
Mixing services - https://youtu.be/rKoMvOH4zoY
Borderless money - https://youtu.be/EZh1-ZqffOw

Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and respected figures in bitcoin.

Follow on Twitter: @aantonop https://twitter.com/aantonop
Website: https://antonopoulos.com/

He is the author of two books: “Mastering Bitcoin,” published by O’Reilly Media and considered the best technical guide to bitcoin; “The Internet of Money,” a book about why bitcoin matters.

THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Internet-Money-collection-Andreas-Antonopoulos/dp/1537000454/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

[NEW] THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v2: https://www.amazon.com/Internet-Money-Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/dp/194791006X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

MASTERING BITCOIN: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Bitcoin-Unlocking-Digital-Cryptoc