Ethereum Tokens: High-Performance Computing

Abstract

In the Ethereum ecosystem, transfer of value between users is often realized by the use of tokens that represent digital assets. Ether is the default token and the de facto currency used for transactions and initializing smart contracts on the network. Ethereum also supports the creation of new kinds of tokens that can represent any commonly traded commodities as digital assets. All tokens are implemented using the standard protocol, so the tokens are compatible with any Ethereum wallet on the network. The tokens are distributed to users interested in the given specific use case through an ICO. In this chapter, we focus our attention on tokens created for a very specific use case: high-performance computing (HPC). More precisely, we discuss a model of distributed HPC where miners offer computational resources for a task and get rewarded in some form of Ethereum tokens.