Town Crier - An Authenticated Data Feed for Smart Contracts

Explore a conference talk from CCS 2016 that introduces Town Crier, an authenticated data feed system for smart contracts. Delve into the concept of decentralized smart contracts and their need for trustworthy data. Learn about the proposed data-delivery approaches and the basic idea behind Town Crier. Discover the key features of Intel SGX, including isolation, remote attestation, and secure channels. Examine the tripartite trust model and address challenges such as gas depletion and confidentiality. Gain insights into a practical application through a self-enforcing flight delay insurance example, demonstrating how enclave confidentiality can be leveraged in smart contract implementations.

Town Crier: An Authenticated Data Feed for Smart Contracts
What's a (decentralized) smart contract?
Virtual Trusted Third Party
Interesting smart contracts need trustworthy data
Proposed data-delivery approaches
Town Crier (TC): Basic Idea
Intel SGX: Isolation
Intel SGX: Remote attestation
Intel SGX: Secure Channel
Tripartite trust model
Another problem: Gas depletion
Gas sustainability
Challenge of Confidentiality
Running example: Self-enforcing flight delay insurance
Idea: Leverage enclave confidentiality