Category: Crypto Education

This Educational Library will cover every subject related to the cryptocurrency sector. Bitcoin will have its unique place as the leading digital currency.

We will take a particular interest in themes associated with the top ten coins and tokens; also, articles covering new digital technologies and advancements in DLT technologies.

All aspects of the technology such as security, anonymity, wallets, buy, sell, and transfer cryptocurrencies will also be covered.cryptocurrencies will also be covered.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What is Mona Coin? Here’s All

Cryptocurrency is a radical idea. From the decentralization and autonomy beliefs that underpin it, to its revolutionary technology that enables permanent, transparent, and employs ultra-modern cryptography to safeguard transactions. It makes sense, therefore, that thousands of cryptocurrencies have been created to actualize these beliefs in countless industries.

Cryptocurrency is a radical idea. From the decentralization and autonomy beliefs that underpin it, to its revolutionary technology that enables permanent, transparent, and employs ultra-modern cryptography to safeguard transactions. It makes sense, therefore, that thousands of cryptocurrencies have been created to actualize these beliefs in countless industries.

Cryptocurrency is a radical idea. From the decentralization and autonomy beliefs that underpin it, to its revolutionary technology that enables permanent, transparent, and employs ultra-modern cryptography to safeguard transactions. It makes sense, therefore, that thousands of cryptocurrencies have been created to actualize these beliefs in countless industries.

Even countries are now adopting national cryptocurrencies in order to derive the massive value they have to offer. 

MonaCoin, which calls itself “The first Japanese Cryptocurrency,” is one such cryptocurrency. And though it’s not exactly an official national cryptocurrency, i.e., it’s not government-sponsored or affiliated in any way, it’s one that has been created with the notion in mind. 

The cryptocurrency is quite popular there, being featured on Tokyo TV. Someone even famously bought land with it back in 2014. 

So, what’s Mona Coin all about? Read on to discover more about this interesting project. 

Understanding MonaCoin

Launched in 2013, MonaCoin is a cryptocurrency predominantly used in Japan. The name is inspired by “Mona” or “Monā,” a popular internet meme based on a cat-like character created with ASCII characters. The existence and work on the currency were announced on 2channel, an anonymous and the most popular online community in Japan. It was created by “Mr.Watanabe” – whose real identity has remained a mystery just like Bitcoin’s Satoshi Nakamoto. 

MonaCoin was created as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, just like Bitcoin, and it’s targeted to Japanese citizens. The coin has found a degree of acceptance in the country, being accepted for payment in several stores. The coin is approved by Japan’s Financial Services Agency and is traded in several exchanges. 

MonaCoin: An History

MonaCoin’s development began in 2013, officially being born on January 1, 2014. The coin was not pre-mined.

At block height 937440, the MonaCoin blockchain executed a soft fork to implement Segwit, a technology meant to improve scalability on blockchains. The team also has the Lightning Network, another scalability solution for payment-focused cryptocurrencies. 

It’s theorized that MonaCoin’s creation reflects a Japanese culture to have a native version of popular things from around the globe. It’s a desire for the Japanese to have their own version of popular products and services that they can take pride in both as being homemade and also one that’s expressed in the Japanese language. 

Who’s on the MonaCoin Team?

This is not an easy question to answer, given the founder of the project has remained pseudonymous, perhaps in homage to Satoshi Nakamoto. The creator only identifies by “Mr. Watanabe,” and the rest of the team is also anonymous. However, many people speculate that the creators are Japanese.

Additionally, the project doesn’t have a publicly available roadmap. However, its implementation of technologies such as Segwit and the Lightning Network reveals that the team clearly likes to stay on top of things. Follow MonaCoin’s development here. 

MonaCoin Economics

Here’s a breakdown of MonaCoin as of June 15, 2020. The coin was trading at $1.67, with a #62 market rank. It has a market cap of $110, 072, 984, as well as a 24-hour volume of $7,736,469 and a circulating and total supply of 65,729,675. MonaCoin’s all-time high was $20.23 (Dec 06, 2017) , and its all-time low was $.0.019599 (Jan 14,2015). 

Buying and Storing MonaCoin 

As you would expect, Japan-based exchanges, like Bitbank and Zaif, are the ones with the majority of MonaCoin’s trading volume. However, you can also find the coin in exchanges like Upbit and Bittrex. 

MonaCoin has its own wallets that are available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It also supports its own Electrum Wallet as a Coinomi wallet for Android. 

Final Words

MonaCoin is a cryptocurrency made by the Japanese for Japan. It’s popular in the country and is enjoying quite a bit of acceptance there. And while the project’s creators remain tight-lipped about their identities, the important thing is that they have delivered, and continue to deliver, a cryptocurrency that the Japanese and the entire blockchain and crypto community can be proud about. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What’s Waves All About?

Blockchain empowers people, organizations, and other entities to realize faster, more transparent, and trustless processes. But this is not just what the tech can accomplish. In fact, the tech was brought to life so it could support cryptocurrencies, which, in a nutshell, is internet-based, cryptographically-secured, and decentralized money. Thousands of blockchain-based currencies exist today. 

Blockchain empowers people, organizations, and other entities to realize faster, more transparent, and trustless processes. But this is not just what the tech can accomplish. In fact, the tech was brought to life so it could support cryptocurrencies, which, in a nutshell, is internet-based, cryptographically-secured, and decentralized money. Thousands of blockchain-based currencies exist today. 

Blockchain empowers people, organizations, and other entities to realize faster, more transparent, and trustless processes. But this is not just what the tech can accomplish. In fact, the tech was brought to life so it could support cryptocurrencies, which, in a nutshell, is internet-based, cryptographically-secured, and decentralized money. Thousands of blockchain-based currencies exist today. 

But away from ‘mainstream,’ full-blown cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, the blockchain can support tokens for more humble purposes such as loyalty tokens for businesses, small-scale ICOs, and even crowdfunding. 

Waves is a platform that’s harnessing the power of blockchain to do just this. And it’s already successful in this niche, with a few high-profile applications. One of these is Burger King, Russia. The fast-food chain has created a loyalty token known as Whoopercoin based on Waves. Another is American politician Larry Sharpe who created a WAVES token – Sharpecoin for his 2018 campaign. 

What’s Waves? This guide tackles that question and more. 

Understanding Waves

Waves is a blockchain-based platform that allows anyone anywhere to create their own token. Whether you want a community-centered token, loyalty program, an in-game currency, there are no limits on the type of tokens you can create on Waves. 

Waves was created in 2016 by Sasha Ivanov with the goal of bringing blockchain-powered tokens closer to the people’s reach. The platform is equipped with token-building kits that are highly functional and easy-to-use. With the platform, Ivanov envisioned a world where anyone, individuals and organizations alike, can access and interact with the blockchain.

How Does Waves Work? 

Waves operates based on three core pieces of software:

  • Custom application tokens 
  • A decentralized exchange
  • Smart contracts 
#1.Custom Application Tokens (CATs)

The Waves platform exists mainly to facilitate the creation of tokens. CATs allow you to do this. You can create a token on the web or through a mobile app available for both iOS and Android.

You can buy, sell, trade, exchange, and transact with Waves-based tokens. Tokens created via the platform may not have as much applicability as tokens created on a more ‘sophisticated’ platform such as Ethereum, but they are infinitely easier to create, and besides, you don’t have to have any developing knowledge. This simple to use quality of  Waves makes it ideal for purposes such as in-app tokens, simple Initial Coin Offerings, and loyalty reward schemes.  

#2. Decentralized Exchange (DEX)

Decentralized exchanges are ones that are not overseen or controlled by any particular authority, with transactions being peer-to-peer. DEXs thus eliminate most of the shortcomings associated with centralized exchanges. 

Not only are DEXs more secure, but they are also more private as you’re not required to provide any personally-identifying information – as it is with centralized exchanges. Also, the exchange cannot arbitrarily freeze your funds or limit how many trades or withdrawals you can make.

Waves’ DEX utilizes an automated mechanism to pair buy and sell requests, streamlining the process for everyone involved. In February 2020, Waves announced the launch of a Fiat gateway that will enable users to purchase crypto with debit and credit cards.

#3. Smart Contracts

The Waves platform added a smart contract functionality to the platform in September 2018. The functionality enables users to create multisig addresses, freeze tokens, carry out atomic swaps, and create customized voting mechanisms. The smart contracts use a proprietary coding language known as RIDE. Unlike the Ethereum platform that requires gas for smart contract transactions, Waves charges a minimal fee -which is more upfront. 

Waves’ Two-tier Architecture

Unlike, say, on Bitcoin, nodes maintaining the Waves network do not need to download the whole blockchain. Instead, full nodes update the rest of the nodes (also known as lightweight nodes) on transaction verifications. 

To ensure trust between the two types of nodes, Waves utilizes the Scorex platform, a modular blockchain framework through which lightweight nodes use the current network state achieved by full nodes. 

A Leased Proof-of-Stake (LPoS)

LPoS is a modified version of the traditional proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. In LPoS, token holders lease their balance to full nodes, who create new blocks and receive rewards. They can then share these rewards with leasing nodes, who are rewarded according to their amount of stake – which is the total amount of tokens they leased. 

Leasing costs 0.002 waves. To run a full node, you need at least 1,000 WAVES. This requirement is a downward adjustment from the former minimum requirement of at least 10,000 WAVES. If you wish to become a full node but do not have 1000 WAVES, you can lease coins from other participants in the network. 

Miner Reward Token (MRT)

As a block creation full node, you earn miner reward tokens (MRTs) along with your WAVES rewards. For the first 70 blocks that you create in a day, you earn 60 MRT, and 30 MRT for every block you produce after that. MRT is a token created for the Waves platform. You can also exchange it for other tokens in the in-house exchange.

What’s the Market Look Like for WAVES?

As of June 14, 2020, WAVES is going for $1.20, and it ranks at #59. It has a market cap of $122, 385, 397, a 24-hour volume of $35, 098, 740, a circulating and total supply of 102, 199, 780. The token had an all-time high of $18.07 (Dec 19, 2017), and an all-time low of $0.122684. 

Buying and Storing WAVES

You have two ways to acquire WAVES. One is by purchasing it from exchanges such as Binance, Bittrex, YoBit, BitMart, LATOKEN, P2PB2B, BitHumb, Huobi, Kraken, IndoEx, Paribu, and YoBit. While you can do so using Fiat in some of the exchanges, others require you to first purchase a proxy token and swap it for WAVES. The other way is to use the in-house DEX to exchange any of the supported tokens for WAVES. 

For storage, you can use the WAVES’  lite wallet supported on the web, iOS, and Android. It is strongly recommended not to store your funds in an exchange since not only are they in the danger of being hacked, but also you do not have full control over your funds, as it should be. Other options include Trust Wallet, Atomic Wallet, Guarda, and Ledger. 

Final Words

Waves brings the power of the blockchain to the people, providing infinitely easy ways to create your own tokens. Whether you’re looking to create a crowdfund, a simple voting mechanism to decide where to go for a holiday, or a loyalty token for your customers, anything goes. 

Its addition of a smart contract functionality puts it right up with the likes of Ethereum, NEO, and other popular platforms. Individuals can also exchange crypto on Waves in a safer and uncensorable way, all while maintaining their anonymity. If Waves continues adding more value to users this way, the platform will continue to grow in popularity. 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

Why Tokenization is The Future of Real Estate

The real estate market is one of the oldest markets characterized by slow, paper-dependent processes causing significant delays in the change of property ownership. The transactional friction can be blamed on the complex architecture of the market that involves multiple stakeholders, large amounts of money, and numerous regulations that are dependent on jurisdiction. On top of it all, each transaction has to go through myriad middlemen, from the listing agent to banks and everything in between – resulting in unprecedented transaction costs. 

The real estate market is one of the oldest markets characterized by slow, paper-dependent processes causing significant delays in the change of property ownership. The transactional friction can be blamed on the complex architecture of the market that involves multiple stakeholders, large amounts of money, and numerous regulations that are dependent on jurisdiction. On top of it all, each transaction has to go through myriad middlemen, from the listing agent to banks and everything in between – resulting in unprecedented transaction costs. 

The real estate market is one of the oldest markets characterized by slow, paper-dependent processes causing significant delays in the change of property ownership. The transactional friction can be blamed on the complex architecture of the market that involves multiple stakeholders, large amounts of money, and numerous regulations that are dependent on jurisdiction. On top of it all, each transaction has to go through myriad middlemen, from the listing agent to banks and everything in between – resulting in unprecedented transaction costs. 

Although the structure of the real estate market alone isn’t much of a big deal as every stakeholder has a vital role to play, the resultant dysfunctions it creates needs to be solved as the market keeps on growing. As blockchain technology finds use in almost every industry, the real estate market can also make use of this technology to solve the derailing dysfunctions. This can be done through asset tokenization. 

What is real estate tokenization? 

Tokenization is the conversion of a physical asset into its digital form, which in turn derives/acquires its value from the underlying asset. Once the assets are tokenized, they can easily be divided into smaller pieces and made accessible to a wider pool of investors as a way of raising capital. As such, depending on their investment amount, an investor gets a share of the larger token to act as a representation of ownership. Also, investors can trade their token shares freely on a secondary market based on the current value of the property. 

The issuing, management, and exchange of these tokens is done on a blockchain network, thereby promoting immutable documentation processes, transparency, and traceability. Most importantly, the token investors will have undisputed control over the asset since they own the private keys of the tokens – much in the same way virtual currencies allow users to take control over their finances. 

Benefits of real estate tokenization 

Like in most industries where blockchain has found use, the real estate market is also set to benefit immensely from this technology once realtors warm up to the idea of tokenizing property. Let’s explore some of these benefits: 

I) Improved liquidity

Despite being a safe investment, the real estate market is highly illiquid majorly due to the large amounts of money transacted between the buyer and sellers, as well as the third-parties such as lawyers and banks involved in the transaction. Moreover, due to the large initial investment amount required, potential property buyers are locked out from investing in real estate. 

Property tokenization injects liquidity into the real estate market by allowing assets to be divided into smaller units representing fractional ownership. For instance, a condo going for $1 million can be divided into tokens worth $200 or less, lowering the minimum investment for investors. The tokens can be traded at secondary markets at any time of the day, allowing investors to readily change their assets to cash when they need to. Higher liquidity can also positively influence the value of the asset by removing intermediaries such as the listing agent, bringing an asset’s price closer to its true value. 

The newfound liquidity has the potential to inspire monetization of other aspects of real estate, such as leasing, spurring further development of the entire market. 

II) Automated Processing 

To facilitate the buying and selling of tokenized property, smart contracts can be introduced in the transactions for a seamless and efficient exchange of property ownership. This means less paperwork and almost no intermediaries, which in turn lowers the additional transactional costs. This also speeds up settlements as the tokens contain built-in terms of the contract. 

Smart contracts can also be used to ensure compliance with the laws is maintained. This is especially true for the Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) policies that must be observed in every transaction. Smart contracts will reduce the paperwork involved in these procedures, saving realtors time and money. 

III) Improved market security and transparency 

Property tokens transacted on the blockchain networks are cryptographically secured on the ledger system. Access to these tokens is only limited to the investors who are entrusted with the private keys. This goes a long way into ensuring that property is held only by the rightful owner, minimizing fraud. 

In a similar vein, the distributed ledger system maintains records of all transactions in an immutable and transparent manner, further eliminating the possibility of fraudulent activities. As such, before buying tokens, an investor can review all the past transactions to ascertain the true owner of the property token, whether or not the asking price is realistic or not. This way, there won’t be instances of double-selling nor room for under/overpaying. 

Also, smart contracts further enhance the transparency and traceability of token transactions. In addition to eliminating fraud, the increased transparency brought by smart contracts opens an opportunity for overseas investors to invest in the property market. This translates to more money being channeled into the market, boosting its liquidity. 

IV) Fractional Ownership

In addition to improving liquidity, fractional ownership of property introduces a new investment vehicle through which risk-averse investors can earn passive income. Similar to equities in a security market, tokens can represent multiple owners of a rental property who earn a portion of the rent as passive income. The smart investors can diversify their token portfolio to include land and commercial properties, reducing the overall risk while maximizing returns. 

In theory, tokenization of property offers a myriad of benefits to real estate investors while scaling up the entire market with respect to exponential growth. On the downside, however, tokenization won’t be as easy as many would wish – mainly due to the regulatory hurdles facing blockchain. For starters, many governments across the globe don’t have clear laws governing the issuance of blockchain tokens. Even for those that have already set up laws regulating digital assets view tokens as a type of security or a traditional investment vehicle. This brings in the complex aspect of digital asset taxation, which may scare away investors. 

The issuers of these tokens will also have to invest a substantial amount of time and money in maintaining regulatory compliance with the stringent policies governing digital assets. Even in jurisdictions where the regulations are lenient, marketing property tokens in another jurisdiction where there are different policies will be an uphill task requiring close scrutiny. 

Conclusion

The real estate market has a history of being slow to adapt to emerging technologies. But if the market is determined to do away with long paper processes and slow turnaround time, it has to invest in blockchain technology for the tokenization of property. This will not only solve its long-time problems but also give the market a driver’s seat in the face of modernity and dynamic technological advances. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Beginner’s Guide to Bytom (BTM) 

Blockchain has advanced rapidly in recent years, enabling previously impossible things to become a reality. One of these possibilities is the ability to tokenize real-world assets in order to increase their security and liquidity. But when it comes to a seamless way to incorporate physical assets into the digital world, traditional blockchains have yet to crack it. 

Blockchain has advanced rapidly in recent years, enabling previously impossible things to become a reality. One of these possibilities is the ability to tokenize real-world assets in order to increase their security and liquidity. But when it comes to a seamless way to incorporate physical assets into the digital world, traditional blockchains have yet to crack it. 

Blockchain has advanced rapidly in recent years, enabling previously impossible things to become a reality. One of these possibilities is the ability to tokenize real-world assets in order to increase their security and liquidity. But when it comes to a seamless way to incorporate physical assets into the digital world, traditional blockchains have yet to crack it. 

Bytom is a blockchain and cryptocurrency project designed to fill this very gap. As an asset management platform, Bytom aims to build a decentralized network where individuals, enterprises, and institutions can trade and exchange all manner of digital and physical assets. 

Understanding Bytom

Launched in 2017, Bytom is a blockchain framework designed for bridging the real and virtual world by providing a secure and decentralized environment for financial and digital assets. On the Bytom platform, anyone – including individuals and organizations, can register and start trading both real-world assets, e.g., securities, real estate, bonds and so on, as well digital assets such as cryptocurrency. 

Bytom wants to be the bridge between the digital and physical worlds, creating a cohesive manner in which the physical assets can be mapped to the digital world. By utilizing the Bytom protocol, entities should be able to register, buy,  sell, and exchange both types of assets in an interoperable and streamlined environment. Hopefully, this will steer the world’s economy to be truly “tokenized.” 

In Bytom’s own words: “Bytom is an interactive protocol of multiple byte assets. Heterogeneous byte-assets (indigenous digital currency, digital assets) that operate in different forms on the Bytom Blockchain and atomic assets (warrants, securities, bonds, intelligence information, forecasting information and other information that exists in the physical world) can be registered, exchanged, gambled, and engaged in other more complicated and contract-based interoperations via Bytom”.

How Does Bytom Work? 

Bytom works by providing a decentralized network where various assets can be freely exchanged and traded in a peer-to-peer manner. 

There are three types of access on the Bytom platform: 

#1. Income Assets: These are assets such as filmmaking, local government investments, home-stay property and so on

#2. Equity Assets: These are assets such as equity of non-listed companies, shares of private internet investments, private equity funds, and so on. The transfer of these assets requires investor verification.

#3. Securitized Assets: These assets include debts, car loans, and other asset-backed securities that have a predictable cash flow.

You can buy, sell, and exchange, all these assets on the Bytom blockchain. Being able to do this in a decentralized and secure system has many advantages. First of all, it eliminates the swell-up associated with intermediaries. Plus, not having intermediaries dramatically reduces costs and saves up on much-needed time. 

It also grants you, the asset owner, absolute control over your assets. Thanks to the publicly available and immutable ledger, you don’t have to rely on third parties to maintain accurate records of your assets. Also, a bad actor cannot attack and manipulate the data since records are kept on a distributed worldwide network secured by thousands of nodes. 

The Bytom platform also supports cross-chain transactions via side chain technology. If you want to do this as a developer, all you need to do is create a smaller version of the Bytom blockchain and, using application programming interface software, create smart contracts that will enable you to monitor/follow main chain activity. In this way, you can transfer assets across chains.

Bytom’s Architecture

Bytom operates atop three architecture layers: the application, contract, and ledger layer. 

The Application Layer is what you as a user interacts with. It allows you to interact and manage your assets on mobile and other web terminals. 

The Contract Layer, which uses two types of contracts, the Genesis contract, and General contract. The Genesis Contract issues smart contracts and ensures on the platform adheres to standardization protocols. The General Contract facilitates assets’ exchange between platform users, in addition to verifying the distribution of dividends. 

The Ledger Layer, which is the foundation of the whole architecture and where the protocol connects to the blockchain, is permissionless and utilizes the proof of work consensus algorithm to verify transactions. 

Who’s on the Bytom Team? 

The Bytom team is headquartered in China, and it includes some of the most influential figures in the blockchain space. Founder Chang Jia is also the founder of 8BTC.com, one of the largest crypto websites in China. Jia has been a long-time advocate and campaigner for blockchain tech in China. Also an award-winning science fiction author, he co-authored one of the first books in Chinese about Bitcoin: Bitcoin, A Real Yet Virtual Financial World. 

The other co-founder is Duan Finding, former Vice President of OKCoin, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. He’s also been the Executive President of 8BTC.com. 

Bytom Token (BTM) 

BTM is the native currency of the Bytom blockchain. The Token plays three main roles in the ecosystem: 

  • Payment for assets trading
  • Dividends of income assets
  • As a deposit for issuance of assets

Currently, there are 1.08 billion BTM tokens in circulation out of the total supply of 2.1 billion. The Token’s distribution was as follows: 

  • 7% for private equity investors
  • 30% for the ICO distribution
  • 20% for the Bytom Foundation
  • 10% for business development
  • 33% for mining 

Tokenomics of Bytom

As of June 14, 2020, BTM is trading at $0.069876, with a #83 market ranking. It has a market cap of $75, 214, 070, a 24-hour volume of $11, 412, 286, a circulating supply of 1, 076, 386, 694, a total supply of 1, 597, 671, 525 and a maximum supply of 2.1 billion. The Token’s all-time high was $1.17 (April 24, 2018), and its all-time low was $0.031290 (March 13, 2020). 

Where to Purchase BTM 

BTM is listed on some of the big hitter exchanges, but also on some of the lesser-known ones. You’ll find the Token on OKEx, Gate.io, Binance JEX, HBTC, HitBTC, CoinEx, Huobi, DragonEx, and Bibox. The Token is paired with proxy coins such as ETH, BTC, and USDT. 

For storage, Bytom provides an official Wallet available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Great third-party options include Coinomi, Exodus, Trezor, Ledger Nano, and Ledger Blue.

Final Words

Bytom is creating a decentralized, interoperable, and safe and secure protocol for anyone anywhere to register from CFA and exchange physical and digital assets. Platform users do not have to deal with expensive and time-consuming intermediaries, and they can log in anytime and monitor their assets in the immutable and public blockchain. 

The team is led by a couple of blockchain and crypto heavy hitters, and based on the milestones they have achieved so far, the future looks bright for the project. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What’s DigiByte (DGB)?

In the loud and showy world of cryptocurrency, it’s rare to find a low-key, yet successful project. DigiByte, a cryptocurrency launched in 2014, is a quiet coin, but one often described with superlatives such as the longest blockchain in the space, most decentralized, and one of the fastest.

In the loud and showy world of cryptocurrency, it’s rare to find a low-key, yet successful project. DigiByte, a cryptocurrency launched in 2014, is a quiet coin, but one often described with superlatives such as the longest blockchain in the space, most decentralized, and one of the fastest.

In the loud and showy world of cryptocurrency, it’s rare to find a low-key, yet successful project. DigiByte, a cryptocurrency launched in 2014, is a quiet coin, but one often described with superlatives such as the longest blockchain in the space, most decentralized, and one of the fastest.

The crypto was launched by a group of volunteers without an ICO or any fanfare whatsoever. Yet the project has gone from strength to strength, rising to the top 40 cryptocurrencies by market cap as at the time of writing. 

What’s this ‘sleeping giant’ crypto all about? In this guide, we tackle the project’s beginning, its achievements over the years, and why it’s considered one of the most decentralized cryptos. 

What’s Digibyte?

Launched in 2014, DigiByte is an open-source, blockchain, and cryptocurrency project that aims to achieve unprecedented speed, high-level security, and nominal to no fees. It is built on three layers that enable it to achieve this: a smart contract layer, a public ledger, and a core part featuring decentralized nodes. 

DigiByte: A Timeline

Despite its low-laying reputation, DigiByte is one of the oldest blockchain projects. Founder Jared Tate conceptualized and started working on the project since 2013. Below is a brief history that shows the evolving of the project: 

  • January 2014 – DigiByte is launched 
  • April 2017 – DigiByte activates the Segwit software, one of the earliest to do so
  • May 2019 – digibyte launches DigiAssets, a second layer technology that allows people to issue tokens, create smart contracts, manage digital identities and so on

Digibyte: Mining, Block Time and Hashing Algorithm

DigiByte mined its genesis block on January 10, 2014. The network initially used proof of work algorithm. However, it later underwent a hard fork and switched to 5 consensus algorithms, namely, Scrypt, SHA256, Groestl and Skein, and Qubit. This move was meant to attain decentralization and increased security.

The network provides a new block every 15 to 18 seconds, which is 40x than Bitcoin’s. This first block time has made DigiByte the longest blockchain in the world currently. Digibyte was also the first-ever cryptocurrency to implement scaling solution Segregated Witness (SegWit), helping it scale even farther. 

SegWit helps increase the block size by separating transaction signatures from transactions. This allows more transactions to fit into a block, thus making for faster transactions and lower fees. Moreover, it allows for off-chain possibilities such as cross atomic swaps and single confirmation transactions. This underlines DigiByte’s potential future avenues. 

DigiByte’s Security Approach

DigiByte touts its more superior security compared to other cryptocurrencies. And in keeping with its true decentralization goal, the project’s team has sort of left the direction and development of the project to the community.  

However, the team has impressively decentralized its mining. One way they have achieved this is by utilizing five mining algorithms. These mining algorithms means that its mining community and power is split into equal and smaller groups. This allows each group an equal share of the process. The digibyte network already has 280,000 plus nodes spread across the globe, as at the time of writing. 

DigiByte also employs ‘MultiShield,’ a rebalancing technology to ensure that one hashing algorithm does not dominate the process. Multishield is a more advanced prototype of  DigiShield, a technology that the network employed earlier on to prevent miners with more processing power from phasing out those with less. 

DigiByte’s Layered Infrastructure

Like we’ve previously mentioned, DigiByte runs its protocol on top of three pieces of technology. Let’s get a closer look: 

#1. Bottom Layer (Communications): This is a layer that connects all the network nodes. It facilitates communication between nodes and lays a framework for the rest of the layers. 

#2. Middle Layer (Public Ledger): This is a high-level security storage layer for the network’s data. It’s also where mining-related activities are managed, including incentivizing miners. 

#3. Top Layer (Applications): This is the layer where users can interact with the blockchain. It features the user interface, application program interface (API) for developers, and customizable tokens.

DigiByte: Coin Supply

DigiByte has a fixed coin supply, as well as release schedule. 21 billion digibyte coins will be emitted within 21 years. Digibyte never held an initial coin offering (ICO), or any sort of pre-mining distribution. From the get-go, the coin was mined and will be until there are no more coins for release. The first coin was mined in 2014 and the last, 2035. In short, the DigiByte blockchain will release 21 billion DGB in a 31-year duration. At the time of writing, 13.2 billion coins are in circulation. 

DigiByte: The Current Market Picture

As of July 13, 2020, DGB is trading at $. 0.023256, and it’s ranking at position #34 in market cap. In terms of market cap, DGB stands at $307, 858, 681. DGB  has a circulating supply of 13, 237, 575, 421, a total supply of the same value, and a maximum supply of 21 billion. The coin’s all-time high was $0.142889 (Jan 07, 2018) while it’s all-time low was $0.000020 (Dec 20, 2014). 

Buying and Storing DGB

You can buy DGB from any of several exchanges, including Bittrex, poloniex, Huobi, KuCoin, HitBTC, Sistemkoin, YoBit, CoinEx, Upbit, and Bitfinex. 

If you prefer to mine DGB, the token supports five algorithms for both ASIC and GPU mining. 

For storage, you can use DigiByte’s proprietary wallet. Just download it from the website. Alternative options include Coinomi, Exodus, Atomic Wallet, Guarda, Jaxx Liberty, ZelCore, Flare, and trusted offline solutions such as Trezor and Ledger Nano.

Final Thoughts

DigiByte has registered impressive growth since its launch over six years ago. And all this without a dedicated, full-time team working behind it. This is one of the delightfully quirky aspects of the project, right alongside its unique approach to true decentralization by using five different hashing algorithms. Given its track record of firsts, it’s not a stretch to say to definitely expect more from this project in the future.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

What’s iExec (RLC)? 

Blockchain offers a ton of promises: the ability to create decentralized applications (a new kind of applications that are self-governing and uncensorable) and smart contracts (self-executing, intermediary-free, and low-cost contracts). This presents an opportunity for positive disruption of almost all types of industries: from social media to finance to insurance to prediction markets to online gambling, and many more. 

Blockchain offers a ton of promises: the ability to create decentralized applications (a new kind of applications that are self-governing and uncensorable) and smart contracts (self-executing, intermediary-free, and low-cost contracts). This presents an opportunity for positive disruption of almost all types of industries: from social media to finance to insurance to prediction markets to online gambling, and many more. 

Blockchain offers a ton of promises: the ability to create decentralized applications (a new kind of applications that are self-governing and uncensorable) and smart contracts (self-executing, intermediary-free, and low-cost contracts). This presents an opportunity for positive disruption of almost all types of industries: from social media to finance to insurance to prediction markets to online gambling, and many more. 

But this potential is one thing, and reality is quite another. The current blockchain model is beset by issues such as limited block space, long delay times, and so on. While solutions for these problems are in the works, it might be a long way until the blockchain can truly reap its full potential. In the meantime, there is an ever-growing demand for centralized computing solutions that can handle fast turnaround times and high volumes of data.

This gap is being filled by solutions such as Amazon’s Web Service. But such solutions are not only expensive, but they also need a massive amount of resources to keep running.

What we need is a cloud hosting solution that exploits blockchain’s potential, while rectifying its problems. iExec is a blockchain framework that proposes this solution. Not only that, but it enables individuals with extra computing power to rent it and earn money. 

What’s not to like? Let’s dive into iExec’s platform and see its offerings. 

What’s iExec? 

iExec is a blockchain project that wants to decentralize cloud computing. The current computing environment is dominated by powerful and centralized companies that control our Data. iExec wants to create a decentralized application marketplace that makes cloud computing accessible for everyone at a faster and cheaper rate compared to traditional cloud services providers.

The Problem with Cloud Centralization

To begin with, centralized cloud hosting has a single point of attack. Just one security breach can put the entire network and people’s data at risk. 

A decentralized cloud service is more secure in the sense that even if one node is compromised, the rest will continue providing services and securing the network. A decentralized service is also immune to a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack that would cripple a single network. 

How Does iExec RLC Work?

The iExec platform utilizes a Desktop Grid Software, XtremWeb-HEP, to take processing-intensive calculations of the main chain in a bid to reduce congestion and streamline processes on the blockchain.

Desktop Grid computing (Volunteer Computing) harnesses extra or idle computing resources so that they can be used by other applications. According to iExec, XtremWeb-HEP “implements all the needed features” to real-life based on a worldwide scale, including “fault tolerance, multi-applications, multi-users, hybrid public/private infrastructure, deployment of virtual images, data management, security and accountability, and many more.” 

With XtremWeb-HEP, decentralized applications on the iExec network have access to a large pool of computing power with which to run their programs. This means that developers and users can utilize computing resources from a wide range of devices, from personal computers to mobile devices to massive data centers. The idea is to have flexible and scalable options for finding just the right processing power for applications.

The platform achieves this via smart contracts. For instance, it has a ‘Matchmaking algorithm’ that matches processing power requesters and providers. iExec also utilizes a ‘Proof of Contribution’ protocol that sees to it that a provider offers the right amount of processing power needed by the requester. Providers are awarded which platforms native token – RLC. 

iExec’s Components

The iExec platform comprises three core platforms: the marketplace, app store, and data marketplace. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

#1. Marketplace

This is where providers provision computing resources for use by the requesters. Requesters pay for these resources with RLC tokens. Requesters, who are the users, can shop around for resources that best match their application’s needs. The Matchmaking algorithm ensures that providers can indeed afford to commit a certain amount of computing power. 

The marketplace also features a reputation system that showcases a provider’s reliability. This system allows requesters to choose any level of reliability in a provider. The more reliable a host is, the more their service costs, with the reverse being true. Thus, the iExec marketplace is a free-market environment. 

#2. Decentralized Applications (DApps) Store

This is a store very much like traditional application stores such as Apple or Google Play, except decentralized this time. Here, you can purchase DApps that have been developed on iExec. Also, developers can submit their apps to be sold on the platform. 

#3. Data Marketplace

This is where individuals can sell all kinds of data. As long as you can find someone willing to purchase it, iExec let’s that happen. What’s more, data providers can choose who accesses their data, and they can revoke access rights at any time.

What’s RLC? 

RLC is the crypto token for the iExec network. RLC stands for “Run on Lots of Computers.” The token runs on the Ethereum blockchain, and as such, it’s ERC20 compliant. This means that developers on the platform can rely on already existing architecture, which saves time. As we’ve mentioned before, RLC is the token through which computing resources are exchanged between providers and  DApp developers.

Who’s on the iExec Team?

iExec was built by Gilles Fedak, Haiwu He, Oleg Lodygensky, and Mircea Moca, all of whom have more than a decade of experience in cloud computing. Thanks to Ethereum’s enabling of DApps and smart contracts, the team found the perfect platform on which to actualize an idea they’d been harboring since 2012: creating a decentralized cloud system. 

The team members have a ton of Desktop Grid computing experience between them, having worked for the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (INRIA) and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) research institutes since 2000. 

RLC: Tokenomics

As of June 13, 2020, RLC traded at $0.498063, while ranking at position #119 in the overall crypto market. It has a market capitalization of $39, 880, 329, a 24-hour volume of $678, 632, a circulating supply of 80, 070, 793, and a total supply of 86, 999, 785. The token has an all-time high of $5.40 (Jan 12, 2018), and its all-time low was $0.148783 (Dec 15, 2018). 

Buying and Storing iExec RLC 

Several popular exchanges have listed RLC, so you should have no trouble grabbing yourself some tokens. Find RLC at Binance, Bittrex, Gate.io, Bitfinex, Bancor, HitBTC, and Upbit. 

As an ERC20 token, it means you can store RLC at any Ethereum wallet. You have choices like MyEtherWallet, Mist, MetaMask, Ledger Nano, imToken, Parity, Trust Wallet, Guarda, Trezor, and Exodus. Of all these options, Trezor and Ledger Nano are the most popular among users, thanks to being reliable, hardware wallets. 

Final Thoughts

iExec provides a timely solution to a gaping need in the cloud computing space. It has a competent team with a demonstrable track record, so in terms of expertise, the project is in perfectly safe hands. If the project catches on, it could provide scalable solutions that the blockchain has not been as successful in doing. iExec’s product is also an environmentally-friendly alternative to legacy cloud computing setups. That and its free-market-driven approach and low cost make it the cloud computing model the industry needs.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What’s ICON (ICX)

Blockchain tech made the concepts of peer-to-peer relationships and decentralization more practical than they had ever been. It has challenged us to see social, financial, and political systems in a new way. Thanks to blockchain, even the concept of a global village is now something that more people can experience. Through blockchain-powered decentralized finance, a farmer in Nigeria and a high-flying Manhattan venture capitalist can both access the same financial services, with internet connectivity being the only requirement. 

Blockchain tech made the concepts of peer-to-peer relationships and decentralization more practical than they had ever been. It has challenged us to see social, financial, and political systems in a new way. Thanks to blockchain, even the concept of a global village is now something that more people can experience. Through blockchain-powered decentralized finance, a farmer in Nigeria and a high-flying Manhattan venture capitalist can both access the same financial services, with internet connectivity being the only requirement. 

Blockchain tech made the concepts of peer-to-peer relationships and decentralization more practical than they had ever been. It has challenged us to see social, financial, and political systems in a new way. Thanks to blockchain, even the concept of a global village is now something that more people can experience. Through blockchain-powered decentralized finance, a farmer in Nigeria and a high-flying Manhattan venture capitalist can both access the same financial services, with internet connectivity being the only requirement. 

But even with all these possibilities, blockchain is a still relatively young technology limited in regards to performance, accessibility, and ease of use. Every new blockchain project emphasizes how decentralized it is, but few really have evidence of real-world use. 

ICON is a blockchain project that’s of the idea that blockchain communities do not have to exist in isolation, which it believes has contributed to its lack of mainstream adoption. It places emphasis on “we,” “our”, and “us” in order to harness the collective potential of blockchain communities and achieve true world hyper-connectivity. 

What’s ICON?

ICON is a South Korean-based blockchain framework that aims to “Hyperconnect the world” by “building one of the largest decentralized networks in the world.” To achieve this, ICON plans to create a massive platform that will allow independent blockchains to converge and interact with each other to form the “ICON Republic.” 

The goal is to realize a platform where players across all kinds of industries, from finance to academia to commerce to security to healthcare to insurance and more – multiple industries can exist alongside each other on a single network.

In ICON’s words, the grand idea is to “introduce the new era of decentralization by redefining the meaning of communities and creating a new world by connecting such communities. Communities today are commonly defined by their social and political functions and limited to the economic boundaries set forth by world nations. Through ICON, communities can go beyond and be free from the traditional economic system and promote frictionless value exchanges with other communities, eventually resulting in maximum total utility of society.” 

ICON is powered by a native cryptocurrency – ICX. 

How Does ICON Work?

ICON utilizes a concept known as ‘loopchain’ to bring together an ecosystem of blockchain communities via what it calls the ICON Republic. The ICON Republic links together different and independent blockchain communities. This is done through Community Representatives (C-Reps). The ICON Republic blockchain is known as “Nexus.” C-Reps are like portals through which communities interact with the “nexus”. There is a set of rules, ‘Blockchain Transmission Protocol (BTP),’ that dictates how each blockchain community interacts with the Nexus. 

ICON Communities

On the ICON network, a  community is an independent network of nodes that blockchain that has its own governance system. For instance, cryptocurrency networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are considered communities, as are schools, governments, financial institutions, healthcare organizations, and so on. Each community can have their own governance structures, network participants, and characteristics unique to them.

Also, every community has its own approach to decision making. “Community Nodes” oversee the approach. For instance, the Bitcoin community follows a consensus-driven approach, while a bank would use a hierarchical approach. 

Decision-makers are known as “Community Representatives.” These representatives also make their voices heard in their communities’ interaction with the larger ICON Republic. The ICON Republic, however, does not in any way interfere with the governance of the communities. However, it allows ICX tokens to be issued. Participants that are not community representatives can participate in the icon Republic but do not have a say on its governance.

Use Cases of ICON

There are many possible use cases for ICON, as is with any smart contract-enabled network. Let’s get a closer look at some of the potential uses: 

  • Blockchain-powered identification system with a high level of security. Members of one community can use the ID system to verify the identities of other community members. Also, it will save individuals a lot of resources when applying for new services
  • Payments, in which an organization in one community can transact with another in a different community in a safe, secure, and peer-to-peer manner
  • Blockchain-backed assets, in which a community creates a community stablecoin, or tokenize an asset

Who is On The ICON Team?

ICON was co-founded by KJ Eee, who is also the founder of Nomad Connection. Eee holds a Degree in Computer science and Engineering from the Pohang University of Science and Technology. 

Jonghyup Kim is the other co-founder. He’s also a graduate of Pohang University, and he’s the former assistant manager at Jang Media Interactive, as well as co-founder of BTWorks. 

Other team members are individuals with experience cutting across business, Artificial Intelligence, engineering, blockchain, and marketing. 

ICON has also awarded notable advisers such as Don Tapscott, blockchain author, and the founder and CEO of Blockchain Research Institute. There’s also Jason Best, recognized by Forbes as a top 10 most influential business crowdfunding organizer.

Tokenomics of ICX

As of July 13, ICON traded at $0.337 547, while ranking at #45. It has a market cap of $184, 853, 883, a 24-hour volume of $30, 760, 397, a circulating supply of 547, 638, 769, and a total supply of 842, 761, 908. ICX’s highest price ever was $12.64 (Jan 09, 2018) while it’s all-time low was $0.106937 (Jan 03, 2020). 

Buying and Storing ICX

ICX is available in several popular exchanges, including Binance, Huobi, Bittrex, OKEx, WazirX, Bithumb, Kraken, HitBTC, Bitrue, Upbit, and Gate.io. On some of the exchanges, you’ll get the coin with Fiat currency, while in others, you’ll need to hold some Bitcoin or Ethereum.

For wallets, ICON has its own web, software, and Android wallet. Other options include Trust Wallet, CoolWallet S, Eidoo, and Ledger Nano.

Final Words

ICON believes that blockchain has the potential to bring the world together. If the project could translate its on-paper promise into the real world, it could very well be the key that finally unlocks global blockchain interoperability and, hopefully, mainstream adoption of the tech. And with it, blockchain benefits such as decentralization, high-level security, and fraud-free interactions across industries and society as a whole. 

Conclusion

If this project can function as well in the real world as it does on paper, this network may very well be the skeleton key that unlocks blockchain interoperability and connects these services to existing industries. The project’s whitepaper hashes out how ICON would fit into established industries, including healthcare, education, business, insurance, capital markets, and so on. The blockchain and crypto community is betting on the project to take us there. 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

Is Sharding the Future of Blockchain Systems?

For the past few years, there has been a lot of hype surrounding blockchain – a technology believed to be one of the pillars that will support the 4th industrial revolution. Well, the craze around this revolutionary technology is justified, given the immense benefits it offers to every major industry. To be more specific, data immutability, decentralization, and security; are just some of blockchain’s fundamental properties fuelling the interest in this new technology. 

For the past few years, there has been a lot of hype surrounding blockchain – a technology believed to be one of the pillars that will support the 4th industrial revolution. Well, the craze around this revolutionary technology is justified, given the immense benefits it offers to every major industry. To be more specific, data immutability, decentralization, and security; are just some of blockchain’s fundamental properties fuelling the interest in this new technology. 

For the past few years, there has been a lot of hype surrounding blockchain – a technology believed to be one of the pillars that will support the 4th industrial revolution. Well, the craze around this revolutionary technology is justified, given the immense benefits it offers to every major industry. To be more specific, data immutability, decentralization, and security; are just some of blockchain’s fundamental properties fuelling the interest in this new technology. 

However, there is a general sentiment that blockchain has failed to live up to its hype due to the scalability problem. This explains the slow adoption of blockchain technology, even in industries such as the financial sector, where it’s well suited for use. 

The scalability problem is evident in Ethereum blockchain, which currently only processes less than 20 transactions per second. This leads to high gas prices and hence the cost of executing a transaction, as well as latency problems. Fortunately, sharding and its various iterations have proven to be a viable solution to the persistent scalability problem inhibiting blockchain adoption. 

What is Sharding? 

Sharding can simply be described as database partitioning. The concept isn’t unique to blockchain. In fact, It has been in use since the late 90s as a way of splitting large databases into smaller and manageable datasets. A good example of sharding is in a business where customers’ databases are grouped into geographical locations or age groups for efficient data management. 

Similarly, this concept is extended in blockchain. Essentially, the blockchain network is a large database with numerous nodes/validators that verify data stored in the network. Through sharding, the blockchain network is broken into smaller chunks, commonly known as shards. A set of nodes is then tasked with verifying data on an individual shard instead of verifying every data on the entire network. This way, the computational and storage workload is spread out across nodes, leading to increased throughput of transactions and lower latency. This helps to overcome the scalability problem. As such, the ledger entries are public, only that they are not processed and stored by every node. 

Types of Sharding 

There are several iterations of blockchain sharding, which are often classified in terms of the level of functionality. Below is a review of each type of sharding:

I) Network Sharding 

Network sharding is the most common type of sharding. It involves dividing the entire blockchain network into several subnetworks, with each consisting of one shard. All shards within the network process transactions in parallel, consequently increasing the performance of the entire network. 

However, this type of sharding poses a risk of one node gaining control over a majority of shards, which can lead to attacks or manipulation of the network. A possible solution for this problem would be to use a randomness mechanism to help assign nodes to a particular shard. Merkle tree root of transactions, in this case, can be used to facilitate public randomness to keep a node securely on one shard.  

II) Transaction Sharding 

Transaction sharding is an improvement of network sharding, whereby besides splitting the network into subnetworks, it goes further to divide transactions into groups which are later routed to different shards for authentication. 

III) State Sharding 

On state sharding, the entire ledger information is divided and stored in different shards. This is similar to dividing the state of blockchain into multiple states where each can process transactions independently and interact with others. 

Risks of Blockchain Sharding 

Sharding sounds great in theory, but its implementation is not as straightforward. There are several concerns that arise.

First, sharding can only be implemented on the Proof of Stake algorithm since it has active validators which can be randomly assigned to different shards. Proof of Work (PoW), on the other hand, relies on hash power to validate a block. Therefore, it’d be expensive in terms of hardware and electric power to alter any block.  

If sharding was to be done on the PoW algorithm, it would be feasible for a bad actor to accumulate enough hash power in a particular shard to manipulate the network. This is because by splitting the network – sharding – the hash power is also divided in the process. Therefore, it’ll be easier for bad actors to collude their hash power on a single shard and take control of that particular shard. 

Even when using sharding on Proof-of-Stake algorithms, there still exist challenges. One of these is maintaining inter-shard communication. Often, when nodes are assigned to a specific shard, all the associates of that particular node view the shard as an independent blockchain system, yet it’s just a segment of the larger network. In such a case, establishing inter-shard communication has proven to be difficult, requiring special efforts to develop communication systems. Even with the few inter-shard communication systems, most of which are yet to be rolled out into the market, they all have to sacrifice one of the key properties of blockchain – decentralization, and security – to achieve efficient communication. 

Also, as stated earlier, there are different forms of sharding, with each approach featuring its own pros and cons. This has led to a conundrum among industry players in terms of deciding which approach to take. 

The Future of Sharding 

Sharding has its own share of challenges slowing down its effective implementation, but it still presents an opportunity for solving the wider scalability problem facing blockchain technology. As Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin once said, it’s impossible to maintain the two fundamental properties of blockchain – security and decentralization – when trying to solve scalability using sharding. His sentiments can be extrapolated to mean that, for now, the blockchain space has to rely on sharding for the maturation of the technology, and maybe with time, new approaches will be designed such that they don’t compromise on blockchain’s fundamental properties. 

In fact, social media giant Facebook under its Libra coin project recently acquired Chainspace – a blockchain start-up focused on sharding. Probably this suggests that Facebook’s Libra coin project may be considering using blockchain sharding to increase the coin’s throughput. It’s further predicted that with Facebook’s interest in blockchain sharding, new complementary technologies will be designed to solve some problems such as cross-sharding communication, to deliver the necessary scalability. 

Conclusion 

Scalability is one of the roadblocks hindering blockchain’s mainstream adoption. With the borrowed concept of sharding, technology has a better chance of finally replacing the traditional data infrastructures. However, the blockchain sharding still struggles with a few bottlenecks that need to be ironed before this happens. With big data companies such as Facebook showing interest in the technology, we can anticipate that the solutions to challenges facing it will materialize soon. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What is Holochain (HOT)? Here is Your Complete Guide

Blockchain has been hailed as the technology of the moment, one that will disrupt industries with its groundbreaking decentralized, immutable, and transparency features. That’s fine and dandy, or at least it would be if the current blockchain systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum did not have massive scalability issues or required excessive amounts of energy just to run. Blockchain holds incredible potential, but these problems are holding it back. 

Blockchain has been hailed as the technology of the moment, one that will disrupt industries with its groundbreaking decentralized, immutable, and transparency features. That’s fine and dandy, or at least it would be if the current blockchain systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum did not have massive scalability issues or required excessive amounts of energy just to run. Blockchain holds incredible potential, but these problems are holding it back. 

Blockchain has been hailed as the technology of the moment, one that will disrupt industries with its groundbreaking decentralized, immutable, and transparency features. That’s fine and dandy, or at least it would be if the current blockchain systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum did not have massive scalability issues or required excessive amounts of energy just to run. Blockchain holds incredible potential, but these problems are holding it back. 

Enter Holochain, a new distributed ledger protocol and decentralized application platform that relies on an agent-centric consensus system. On Holochain, every network participant runs their own ledger and can function independently of other nodes on the network. This means faster processing times as well as environmentally friendly technology. 

In this guide, we’ll get into a more detailed overview of the Holochain project, as well as the exciting and unique solutions it brings to the distributed ledger space.

What’s Holochain?              

Holochain is a distributed ledger technology that allows developers to build distributed data structures and wants to change the data-centric approach of traditional blockchains to an agent-centric paradigm. It also aims to offer a more scalable and customizable distributed ledger solution that’s way more superior to the conventional blockchain.

In the current blockchain setup, information is stored and secured with cryptographic hashes on a distributed network. Each node/computer/participant takes part in securing the network and implementing a global consensus. This makes it a decentralized system, which is advantageous since it eliminates a single point of attack. This is one of the reasons why blockchain has been a hit in the tech space. 

However, it’s also the basis for some of the biggest blockchain’s weaknesses. Since every single participant must verify transactions, it also makes it slow and unscalable. This is partly why some cryptocurrencies have transaction confirmation times of up to hours, and fees are so high. 

Holochain: Agent-centric

Holochain implements what it calls an agent-centric structure. In this architecture, each node runs their own copy of the blockchain that connects to the larger network via a cryptographic key. 

This approach differs from the traditional blockchain in that, in a blockchain, all participants must come to a common consensus, and each must maintain the entire blockchain, which raises serious scalability issues. With Holochain, a participant only needs to maintain their individual ‘copy’ of the network and the unique key that connects them to the larger chain. 

Holochain describes this unique data storage like this: ” Where is the English language stored? Every speaker carries it. People have different areas of expertise or exposure to different slang or specialized vocabularies. Nobody has a complete copy, nor is anyone’s version exactly the same as anyone else’s. If you disappeared half of the English speakers, it would not degrade the language much.”

How Many Transactions Per Second Can Holochain Handle? 

Unlike traditional blockchains, the answer isn’t as simple or straightforward. But for clarity’s sake, we can say an unlimited number. Basically, transactions per second have no much meaning on Holochain due to how the technology is structured. 

Holochain maintains a distributed hash table (DHT) of the data represented by each individual blockchain. The team wants you to look at this protocol like you would a dance style. By looking over a dance floor, you can tell who is dancing to hip hop and who is dancing salsa. How many people can dance at the same time? The answer is simple: as many as the dance floor can handle. There’s no need for a global consensus system to keep track of every single individual/dance move.

The developers explain: “So, Holochain as an app framework does not pose any limit of transactions per second because there is no place where all transactions have to go through. It is like asking, ‘How many words can humanity speak per second?’ Well, with every human being born, that number increases. Same for Holochain.”

What Kind of Applications can Holochain Support? 

Holochain is a good fit for systems that need a lot of individual input – with every participant having a limited copy. Holochain would lend itself perfectly to social media platforms, supply chain, peer-to-peer platforms, intelligence communities, reputational cryptocurrencies, and cooperatives. 

However, Holochain’s protocol may not be suitable for anonymous data sets, since everyone on the network maintains a component of the whole system. As well, Holochain may be unfit for hosting large files or supporting positivist-oriented applications, like the vast majority of cryptocurrencies.

What Programming Languages Does Holochain Support?

Holochain itself is written in the Go language. However, it supports decentralized applications written in JavaScript or Lisp. It also supports CSS, HTML, and JavaScript front-end frameworks.

The Holochain team states that the platform is flexible in terms of supporting new languages, so there are more possibilities in that front in the future.

Holochain and the Environment

Holochain bills itself as an environmentally friendly distributed ledger system, which is the opposite of traditional blockchains. Since there is no need for every node to maintain and validate the entire network, Holochain consumes a fraction of the bandwidth that runs traditional chains. 

Also, Holochain does not rely on mining to verify transactions. Hence, there is no power-hungry use of electricity.

HOT Token & Holo Fuel 

Holochain is yet to launch it’s mainnet. As such, the team developed a placeholder token so as to raise funding. This token is known as HOT, and it’s based on Ethereum. The team hopes to replace it with Holochain’s own native currency known as Holo fuel. Once Holochain goes live, HOT tokens will be exchanged for Holo Fuel. 

Who’s on the Holochain Team?

Holochain is the brainchild of Arthur Brock and Eric Harris, who began work on the project in December 2016. Brock has 10+ years of experience in systems architecture, while Harris holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Yale. Harris is also a successful entrepreneur.

A further core team of 12 is working on the project, and it comprises developers, software architects, and UX/UI experts. 

HOT’s Tokenomics

HOT’s statistics are as follows, as of June 12, 2020. The token trades at $0.000596, and it’s occupying position #66 in market rank, with a market cap of $98, 417, 992. The token’s circulating supply is 165, 218, 400, 919, while its total supply is 177, 619, 433, 541. Its all-time high was $0.002538 (May 29, 2019), and its all-time low is $0. 000219, (March 13, 2020). 

Where to Buy and Store HOT

You can get some HOT from Binance, Bitrue, and WazirX. You will need to exchange BTC, ETH, or BNB for the token. 

As an Ethereum-based token, HOT can be stored in any wallet that supports Ethereum. Popular choices include MyEtherWallet, Mist, Parity, Trust Wallet, Atomic Wallet, Trezor, and Ledger Nano. 

Final Words

Holochain is an ambitious alternative to the blockchain tech we know about. It’s completely turning over our ideas about how distributed systems can function. If an agent-centric, rather than a data-centric protocol, is what’s needed to achieve much-needed scalability for distributed structures, then Holochain is on it’s way to major success. The blockchain community will be keeping a close eye to see future developments.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What’s Status (SNT)? Everything You’ll Ever Need to Know

Today social media networks are characterized by centralized, powerful owners that control every aspect of the platform, denying users any say or contribution to how things are run. This is despite the networks existing courtesy of the users. 

Today social media networks are characterized by centralized, powerful owners that control every aspect of the platform, denying users any say or contribution to how things are run. This is despite the networks existing courtesy of the users. 

Today social media networks are characterized by centralized, powerful owners that control every aspect of the platform, denying users any say or contribution to how things are run. This is despite the networks existing courtesy of the users. 

Then there’s the prevalent issue of bots, which are automated software fronting control by actual humans. What these bots do is to sway public opinion and give false credibility to messages. 

Status is a decentralized platform that gives users power and influence over the evolvement and development of the network. It also doubles as an Ethereum client that allows smartphone users all over the world to interact with the Ethereum network. In this guide, we’ll embark on the Status network and discover what it’s all about. We’ll also get a look at SNT, the network’s native token, its use, and where you can get it today.

What’s Status? 

Status is a mobile operating system that seeks to grant mobile users more accessibility to the Ethereum network. The aim of the network is to allow people to interact with Ethereum on a decentralized platform. Status also features a secure and peer-to-peer messaging platform. 

Through Status, you can get access to Ethereum-based applications right via an app on your phone. The idea is to promote the adoption of Ethereum decentralized applications by one of the largest demographic of tech users in the world – smartphone users. 

How Status Aims to Reinvent Social Networks 

Status aims to change the skewed set up of current social media platforms – which are designed to give nearly all control to platform owners and advertisers, leaving users with little to no power. On top of that, users have almost no say over how such platforms evolve, despite being their main drivers for success. 

How Current Social Networks are Designed

Social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube comprise three parties: owners, advertiser (s), and users. Each of these parties contributes to the growth and continuation of the platforms in their unique ways, and with it, different goals that often clash with each other. As such, the current social media model lacks a formula in which different parties’ motivations can be aligned. 

#1. The Owner

The owner is usually the creator of the platform, and their goal is to get users to sign up on the platform. Traditionally, owners aim to retain users on the platform and extract value from them. They don’t necessarily have the interest of users in mind.

#2. The  Advertiser

Also referred to as ‘data broker’ by Status, the advertiser facilitates the owner’s extraction of value from users and the network. They do this by buying user data, as well as ads for products and services. They also buy user data profiled by the owner for more effective and targeted advertising (cue Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica fiasco). 

#3. The User

The user exists on the platform to connect with and maintain engagement with their communities by sharing interests. Users have no control over what information is fed into the network, or the direction of the platform.

How Status Brings Change

Status aims to change the model where only the owner and the advertiser exercises power in the network. Via the use of Status Network Tokens (SNT), Status empowers users to be stakeholders, as opposed to powerless spectators. 

Status is designed so that the behavior of all participants align with each other’s incentives. As a user on the Status platform, you’re in control over what information you consume, and you get to have a say on the future direction of the network.

The Status Network Token (SNT)

The network’s native token, SNT, powers the network. Users need the token to interact with some features of the Ethereum network. Holding SNT also grants you the right to contribute to key decisions on the development of the platform. 

Similarly, holding SNT allows you to upvote or downvote content, just like on Reddit or Steemit. The bigger your SNT stake, the more influential your voting power.  

Status and Usernames 

The Status Network allows only SNT token holders to have usernames. This is so as to reduce spam (e.g., the bots or fake accounts on Twitter) on the network. The same way Twitter adds a badge on accounts with a large following to verify ownership, the same way status uses badges to add trust. 

These badges are given to individuals who deposit a certain amount of SNT against their username. The badges will then display the number of tokens that are a bond of sorts for that particular account. 

Governance

In traditional social platforms, users have little say on the development of their network. Status goes against the grain by granting SNT holders a direct say on network decisions. Whatever your stake in Status, you have a voice on the network, and you can even propose changes.

Network participants’ voting protocol is as follows: 

  • A user’s tokens are cloned into ‘decision’ tokens for any decisions that are to be made.
  • A user’s SNT stake is directly proportional to their decision tokens.
  • You don’t have to hold SNTs to vote on proposals.

Still, on governance, the status network has what they call community creation and “attention-based signaling.” This essentially means that users can upvote or downvote content, like on Reddit. This approval and disapproval process is what is called ‘signaling.’

However, unlike on Reddit, where a user has one equal vote for every post, Status users are granted more voting strength depending on their number of STN tokens. 

Ethereum DApps on the Status Network

Some of the most popular Ethereum apps are on Status. Check them out: 

uPort – a self-sovereign identity management application that allows users to declare digital independence.

Gnosis – a prediction market that harnesses crowd-sourced wisdom

Oasis Exchange – a decentralized crypto asset exchange through which individuals can directly trade ERC20 tokens

Ethlance – a job market platform where people can hire and be hired, with cryptocurrency as the only mode of payment

Aragon – a platform where businesses from all over the world can create decentralized autonomous organizations

Etherisc – An insurance platform that makes insurance transactions more efficient and facilitates lower costs and more transparency. 

Ujo – A platform where artists can create content and share it with the world on their terms

The Status Team 

Status is the brainchild of Carl Bennetts and Jarrad Hope. The two have a long history working together, including in a software distribution company. 

Status has also boarded former Google executive Nabil Nahdy to serve as Chief Operating Officer. He brings his experience as a former lead for Google Maps and Google Flights, where he acquired experience for developing products for millions of users.

Altogether, the status team features 40 plus full-time members with experience cutting across business, marketing, law, and community management.

Status Token’s Economics

This is a breakdown of the statistics of SNT as of June 13, 2020. The token is trading at $0.025 911 while ranking at #69 in the market. Its market cap is $899 22459, while its 24-hour volume is $2124 2329. SNT has a circulating supply of 3, 470, 483, 788, while its total supply is 6, 804, 870, 174. Its all-time high was $0.675945 (January 04, 2018), while it’s all-time low is $0.006196 (March 13, 2020). 

Where to Buy and Store SNT Tokens 

You can grab some SNT from Swyftx, Binance, Cointree, Bitfinex, Coinswitch, YoBitNet, KuCoin, Huobi, Indacoin, Bithumb, Poloniex, OKEx, IDEX, Bittrex and ShapeShift. You will need to purchase a currency such as BTC, ETH, or USDT and exchange it for the token. 

As an Ethereum-based token, SNT can be stored in any Ethereum wallet. Popular choices include MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, Guarda, ethaddress, Parity, Trust, and hardware outlets Ledger Nano and Trezor. 

Final Words

As a social network, Status hands back the power to the users. There are no powerful strings being pulled from behind to control the user experience, and participants actually have decision-making power over the direction of the network.

And with the platform, the Ethereum network – the world’s second most popular blockchain platform, is not far out of reach any longer. Smartphone users can interact with the most popular DApps on the platform and derive value from them. Status’s proposal is unique and timely, and both Ethereum fans and proponents of decentralized messaging platforms will be watching to see the direction of the project.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What’s FunFair (FUN) All About?

The traditional online casino and gaming industry is rife with problems. From lack of trust among players, to slow gaming, to centralized systems that are unfavorable to players. 

The traditional online casino and gaming industry is rife with problems. From lack of trust among players, to slow gaming, to centralized systems that are unfavorable to players. 

The traditional online casino and gaming industry is rife with problems. From lack of trust among players, to slow gaming, to centralized systems that are unfavorable to players. 

FunFair is a platform that seeks to revolutionize online gaming, making it more accessible for all participants. Anyone from anywhere can run a casino – with high-level transparency and unrivaled player protection. With blockchain technology, its native FUN token, and Fate Channels, FunFair is set to disrupt the traditional casino industry. 

What’s FunFair? In this review, we’ll answer this question, as well as look into the unique propositions that the platform is offering online gaming. We’ll also look at its native token  – FUN, and what it’s all about.

What’s FunFair? 

FunFair is an Ethereum-based, online casino platform. FunFair itself is not a casino, but a gaming technology that is licensed to casinos and other online gaming platforms.

FunFair seeks to solve some of the biggest problems that online gambling platforms face, like downtimes, slow performance, high costs of operation, and diminished trust among users. 

The FunFair team hopes to achieve this by applying blockchain technology and utilizing ‘Fate Channels’, – their customized version of state channels.

How Does FunFair Work? 

FunFair works by licensing technology to casinos and other online gambling sites. If you’re the operator of such a site, you only need to license the technology and get to using it in just two clicks. You can then customize the platform to best match your site goals and how it can upgrade your customers’ experience.

Whatever you want goes. Whether it’s incorporating a VIP room for top clients, creating a loyalty scheme, casting a special light on certain games, you can totally do anything. 

FunFair: Eliminating User Friction

FunFair aims to remove the friction that is usually associated with onboarding and retaining players. There are reasons why some people would opt not to use an online casino.

#1. A Lengthy Onboarding Process

Joining a casino platform can be a demanding exercise. First of all, users have to download an app that takes up a lot of storage space. Then there is a tedious KYC (Know Your Customer) process that gambling sites have to comply with. 

On the other hand, FunFair games are based on HTML5 and thus run on the web, removing the need to download an app. FunFair also features an identity verification solution, FunPass, that provides a simple, safe, and one-click registration process for players. 

After registration, the network recognizes your Ethereum wallet as an approved player. And all this takes place within just seconds. 

#2. Poor Gameplay

Out there, we have several blockchain-based gambling platforms. However, they still grapple with user adoption. Blockchain issues such as the mining process, slow network speeds (due to lack of scalability) lead to games being insufferably slow, especially when the networks are facing significant congestion.

Also, transaction fees needed to make bets can be unbearably high, which only gets worse when the network’s cryptocurrencies increase in prices. 

To deal with such issues, FunFair has incorporated state channels known as Fate Channels (as we’ll see in a moment)  into the platform. 

#3. Lack of Trust

This is one of the most persistent problems in the online gaming industry. When playing at an online casino, it’s hard to know if the advertised game odds are genuine, after all. Compounding this issue is the fact that casinos traditionally operate in a legally gray area. The lack of surefire regulation can lead to a laissez-faire environment where casinos get away with anything. FunFair utilizes smart contracts to ensure transparency and fairness in the process. 

FunFair: Technology and Solutions

FunFair changes the game by incorporating blockchain and other solutions to create an environment that is conducive for both operators and players. Here are more features provided by the platform.

1. Serverless Ethereum Smart Contracts

FunFair operates on a serverless basis, dramatically reducing overhead costs for operators and increasing security for layers. Smart contracts power a decentralized experience, and users can play without interference of overzealous operators. 

2. Low-cost Gaming

FunFair does not rely on any bank or financial institution to conduct transactions. This helps keep transaction fees at a minimum.

3. A  Fast Experience

FunFair features a design that allows for instantaneous response to commands. Also, its use of HTML5 makes for a high-quality graphical display. 

4. Fate Channels

Fate Channels are customized state channels for the FunFair network. They combat the problems associated with operating atop Ethereum. Gaming sessions happen on a Fate  Channel, which enables first communication between the casino and the player as well as facilitating quick and fair smart contracts settlements for bets. 

5. Innovative 3D Games

The FunFair team has a combined 40 years of experience in game design – with some of them being gaming industry heavyweights. On FunFair, players will have access to varied and high-quality games in all categories, including blackjack, roulette, slots, and many more, and this without having to download anything. 

Fun Tokens

FUN is an ERC20 token that is used to do everything on FunFair, from purchasing in-game credits, to how game creators receive payment, to how casinos pay the licensing fee, and so on.

FUN has a fixed total supply of 11 billion tokens. The reason for this is to keep the token deflationary. FunFair requires casinos that offer high payouts to first stake enough FUN tokens to cover the payout. 

Tokenomics of FUN 

Below is a breakdown of FUN token statistics as of June 12, 2020.

FUN is trading at $0.03648, and it’s ranking at #159 with a market cap of $23, 887,223. The token’s 24-hour volume is $1, 591, 426, its total supply is 10, 999, 873, 621. FUN’s all-time high was $0.337854 (July 1, 2017), and its all-time low was $0.001051 (March 13, 2020).

Where to Buy and Store FUN

You can grab some FUN at any of several exchanges such as Binance, Bittrex, EtherDelta, HitBTC, EtherScan, Ethfinex, Nova Exchange, and more. While you can use Fiat currency, most of the exchanges require you to exchange BTC, ETH, and USDT for the token.

Since FUN is based on Ethereum, it can be stored on any Ethereum wallet. You have such choices as MyEtherWallet, Mist, MetaMask, Guarda, Coinomi, Trust Wallet, Atomic Wallet, and of course, user favorites such as Ledger Nano and Trezor.

Final Words

FunFair is providing a solution to most of the persistent problems confronting the online gambling industry. Of note is the decades-worth experience of the team, which should increase confidence for both players and gaming companies that the team knows what they are doing. With a verifiably fair system, hi-tech security, amazing speeds, and reliability, FunFair could conceivably become the future of online gaming.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

What is Civic (CVC)? The Definitive Guide

The world has advanced in so many ways, but somehow, we constantly have to prove our Identity every other time we need to interact with a new service provider. And on top of that, centralized entities such as governments own our personal identification information. There’s also the issue, in underdeveloped countries, of people lacking basic services because they can’t prove their Identity. 

The world has advanced in so many ways, but somehow, we constantly have to prove our Identity every other time we need to interact with a new service provider. And on top of that, centralized entities such as governments own our personal identification information. There’s also the issue, in underdeveloped countries, of people lacking basic services because they can’t prove their Identity. 

The world has advanced in so many ways, but somehow, we constantly have to prove our Identity every other time we need to interact with a new service provider. And on top of that, centralized entities such as governments own our personal identification information. There’s also the issue, in underdeveloped countries, of people lacking basic services because they can’t prove their Identity. 

In an ideal world, people should be able to own their own identifying information, and they should be able to grant and withdraw the rights to that information at will. That’s what Civic, a blockchain identity management system, is trying to do. 

Civic offers a decentralized, open, and encrypted identity verification platform that grants identity information owners absolute control over their own Identity. And with this, to eliminate the redundant, resource-consuming process, both for you and service providers, of having to identify yourself every time.

And all this in a cryptographically-secured platform that deters unauthorized access, preventing hackers and other malicious parties from stealing or tampering with your identity records in any way. 

In this article, we go into a detailed overview of what Civic is all about. Let’s dive in.

Breaking Down Civic 

Civic is a blockchain project that aims to manage the Identity of persons in a safer and decentralized manner. As opposed to centralized identity management systems, Civic wants to provide more secure, cheaper, and faster verification for individuals around the world. 

Imagine the number of times you’ve had to undergo a KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure. Whether it’s a new job you’re applying, opening a bank account, registering as a voter, participating in an ICO, you have to show proof of Identity and wait for days or weeks as the organization authenticates this information.

Civic proposes to solve this problem via a blockchain-based and decentralized solution. With just the click of a button entering just a single detail of your personal identity information, any organization can cross-check this on the blockchain. And this is within seconds, rather than hours, or days, using outdated methods.

How Does Civic work? 

The Civic network has three separate but interdependent entities: users, validators, and service providers. Users are individuals who utilize the protocol to register the Identity. (An easy process using Civic’s Secure Identity app).

Validators are tasked with verifying the authenticity of identities. They can then sell this info to service providers on the Civic marketplace. Service providers are organizations/entities that need to verify the identity of candidates, customers, and so on. They are incentivized by the Civic token (CVC) to do so. 

Thanks to the Civic marketplace, service providers can save a lot of resources that would have been spent verifying the Identity of people. Now, all they need to do is purchase ‘access rights’ to users’ ID information.

Civic runs atop the Ethereum blockchain and utilizes smart contracts to oversee the verification of data and the network’s reward system.

Secure Identity App

Secure Identity App is Civic’s mobile and web platform where users can get started with Civic. When setting up, you need to enter various personal details such as name, address, driver’s license, social security number, ID number, tax ID number, passport number, and so on. You don’t have to enter your username or password so as to save the information. Instead, users use biometrics such as fingerprints. 

Also, a private key to encrypt users’ personal information is used. With this key, it’s only you that can access your personal identity details. While Civic will store the data, not even they will be able to access your info. 

As a matter of fact, Civic does not actually store identities on the blockchain directly. What it has are attestations of personal information for reference. This is Civic’s other way to preserve the integrity of their identity management process. Users can be absolutely certain that they are in full control of their sensitive identity information.

The Civic Token and Civic Marketplace

When a validator cross-checks identity information, other service providers can buy access rights to the information. Validators can also sell the rights on the Civic Marketplace (rebranded as Identity) with the users’ permission. Both validators and users receive CVC tokens. The validators for verifying the info and the users for providing it. A validator can be a bank, an insurance company, real estate, utility companies, and even governments.

Who’s on the Civic Team?

South African entrepreneur and member of the Bitcoin Foundation Vinny Lingham is the co-founder and CEO, and he brings over ten years of e-commerce experience. 

Jonathan Smith is Chief Technology Officer and co-founder. He has over 15 years of experience in banking and technical analytics and has previously worked for companies like Deloitte and RBS. 

Chris Hart is Chief Operating Officer, and he has over 20 years in senior finance and IT, having worked for companies like Guidebook, Inc., and Nextag. 

Tokenomics of CVC

As of June 11, CVC token is trading at $0.029230, while ranking at #181 in the market. It has a market cap of $19, 584, 374, a 24-hour volume of $8, 085, 656, a circulating supply of 670, 000, 000, and a total supply of 1 billion. The token’s highest-ever price was $1.66 (December 25, 2017), with its lowest-ever being $0.010823 (March 13, 2020). 

Where to Buy CVC

CVC is available in quite a number of exchanges. Find CVC at Binance, Bittrex, and Huobi, Cointree, Coinswitch, KuCoin, Huobi, ShapeShift, Poloniex, IDEX, and BitIt. 

CVC is an ERC20 token, meaning it can be stored in any Ethereum wallet. Some options include MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, Atomic Wallet, Most, Edge, Trust Wallet, Guarda, Ledger Nano S, and Trezor. 

Final Words

Civic helps individuals to not only have complete control over their identities but also earn doing so. This is a welcome contrast to the age-old process of having to recommit the same info to every new entity. And organizations can save a ton of resources that would have gone into verifying user identities. All they need to do is pay a small fee and obtain access rights within no time. 

And this, with the promise of high-level encryption security and biometric security that grants users utter control over their identities. The Civic platform is game-changing, and believers in sovereign Identity, as well as blockchain enthusiasts, are watching the project keenly. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Your Guide to Nano Cryptocurrency 

Bitcoin brought to us the idea of money that could upset traditional finance through decentralization, faster speeds, and uncensorability. However, as the cryptocurrency gained wide adoption, it couldn’t handle the demand that followed, leading to disenchantment among users. 

Bitcoin brought to us the idea of money that could upset traditional finance through decentralization, faster speeds, and uncensorability. However, as the cryptocurrency gained wide adoption, it couldn’t handle the demand that followed, leading to disenchantment among users. 

Bitcoin brought to us the idea of money that could upset traditional finance through decentralization, faster speeds, and uncensorability. However, as the cryptocurrency gained wide adoption, it couldn’t handle the demand that followed, leading to disenchantment among users. 

Nano is a cryptocurrency that takes the idea of Bitcoin and makes it better. With its new tech known as block-lattice, it tackles the problem of scalability and high transaction fees associated with Bitcoin. 

Understanding Nano

Initially released in 2015, Nano is a cryptocurrency that aims to provide a fast, scalable, and low-latency payment solution. Nano aims to solve some of the critical problems with Bitcoin, which have prohibited the latter from adoption for many uses.  Nano outlines these problems as follows: 

  • Poor scalability caused by limited block size, making for high transaction fees
  • High latency making for an average confirmation time of 164 minutes
  • Power inefficiency, causing the Bitcoin network to consume and estimated 27.28Twh annually, with 260Kwh for every transaction

By utilizing its proprietary scalability technology known as block-lattice, Nano aims to solve these problems and provide feeless, split-second transactions. And this without Bitcoin’s work-intensive overhead and power-hungry verification mechanism. 

Nano Rebrand

Nano is formerly known as RaiBlocks. The project rebranded in January 2018 to remove the confusion over how the name was pronounced, as well as to attain a name that better resonated with fans. The project announced the rebrand in a January 21, 2018 blog post.

“(“Is it, ray or rye?,” “Ditch the Blocks!,” “Just call it Rai!”). Feedback from the community suggested that improvements could be made to better resonate with the public and a mainstream audience. Because of this, our team made the decision to rebrand.”

How Nano Works

Instead of using a blockchain, Nano uses a directed acyclic graph (DAG) algorithm, together with a technology called block-lattice. 

Block lattice architecture works like the blockchain in some ways, but it also deviates quite significantly in others. With a block-lattice, every account has its own blockchain, known as an account-chain. Only an account-chain owner can make changes to their individual chain, which means they can update their ledger asynchronously (at a different time) to the rest of the network. 

This means a node doesn’t have to rely on confirmation from the rest of the network. For this to be possible, funds sent through the Nano network must have two transactions: a sender transaction and a receiver transaction. For a transaction to be confirmed, the recipient must sign a block confirming receipt. If it’s only the sender’s block that is signed, the transaction can not be settled. Transactions take place via ‘User Datagram Protocol’ (UDP) packets, which is a communication protocol that minimizes computing costs and allows for transactions to be sent even when the recipient is offline.

Benefits of Block-Lattice 

By utilizing a block-lattice architecture, the Nano network is able to reap these benefits: 

#1. Low latency

Thanks to every account having its own chain, they can update at their own time to the larger network. Also, the dual transaction model removes the need for miners, enabling fast and zero-fees transactions.

#2. Scalability 

Transactions on the Nano take place outside of the main chain and via UDP packets. This eliminates block capacity issues since nodes do not maintain a comprehensive copy of all transactions on the network. This also makes for a lightweight network and hence faster transactions, unlike with a Bitcoin ledger where every new block has to be stored on the blockchain, causing sluggish transactions.

Nano’s Consensus Mechanism and Energy Efficiency

Nano secures its network via a delegated proof of stake (DPoS) model. If any conflict arises in regards to transactions, the network relies on the delegates who vote on which transaction is valid. This model is more advantageous than Bitcoin’s proof-of-work mechanism in several ways.

First, without miners, Nano doesn’t have to deal with potential mining attacks and the centralization issue that arises when some mining communities dominate the network. Also, Nano delegates hold a stake in a network, which in itself is an incentive to protect the network. Anything less would mean compromising Nano’s legitimacy and their (delegates’) assets while at it.

Additionally, the block-lattice infrastructure means that delegates only need to intervene when there is a discrepancy. This means running a node on Nano is way less energy-consuming. 

Who’s on the Nano Team?

Nano was conceived by Colin LeMahieu, who went ahead to create the project. LeMahieu holds a degree in Computer Science and has experience in software engineering, having worked for companies such as Dell, AMD, and Qualcomm. 

George Coxon is Chief Operating Officer, who has years of experience in asset trading and is a former intern at Saxo bank. Coxon holds a degree in evolutionary anthropology from the University of Liverpool.

Nano Tokenomics

As of June 14, 2020, Nano is trading at $1.09, while ranking at #53. The coin has a market cap of $145, 639, 985, with a 24-hour volume of $8, 099, 884, and a circulating, total, and maximum supply of 133, 248, 297. The coin’s all-time high was $37.62 (January 02, 2018), while its all-time low was $0.006658 (March 10, 2017). 

Where to Buy and Store Nano

You can find Nano in a variety of exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, Huobi, OKEx, DigiFinex, CoinBene, Bitvavo, Coindeal, HitBTC, and WazirX. On these exchanges, you’ll find Nano paired with proxy coins such as BTC, ETH, USDT, and also Fiat currencies like USS and the Euro.

Nano provides two online wallets known as NanoWallet and NanoVault, and also options for mobile (NanoWalletCompany, Canoe, and NanoBlocks). 

Great third-party wallets include Ledger Nano S, Ledger Nano X, and Natrium.

Final Thoughts

In a market saturated with cryptocurrencies, all seeking to improve on Bitcoin’s shortcomings, Nano has managed to come up with a unique and working product. It facilitates feeless, instant transactions, which makes it a very welcome idea in a fast and dynamic world. Its environmentally friendly consensus mechanism is also eyebrow-raising – in the best way. If cryptocurrency ever hopes to achieve mainstream adoption, Bitcoin’s myriad issues have first to be dispensed with. Nano does a great job of this. 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

What are Airdrops? The Definitive Guide

Cryptocurrency was always a disruptor. It’s about disrupting centralized financial systems and handing back the power of money to the people. For this reason, it’s hardly a surprise when the space shows the world how to do other things in entirely new ways. 

Cryptocurrency was always a disruptor. It’s about disrupting centralized financial systems and handing back the power of money to the people. For this reason, it’s hardly a surprise when the space shows the world how to do other things in entirely new ways. 

Cryptocurrency was always a disruptor. It’s about disrupting centralized financial systems and handing back the power of money to the people. For this reason, it’s hardly a surprise when the space shows the world how to do other things in entirely new ways. 

The crypto market is changing the way we view marketing. While the average traditional startup will create a compelling advertising campaign, its counterpart in the crypto world will give away free money – in a process called airdropping – in a bid to get people talking about it. And clearly, it works, since for the past few years now, airdrops have become a mainstay in the crypto world. 

In this guide, we tackle everything you need to know about airdrops, including the scams you should stay on the lookout for. 

What’s an Airdrop?

An airdrop, in the crypto sphere, is a marketing/promotional technique that involves sending free coins/tokens to community members in a bid to promote a new currency. These coins are sent either for free or in exchange for a favor such as posting about the new project, writing a blog post, retweeting a post by the project, and so on. 

An airdrop’s end goal is to spread awareness about their project and hopefully get lifelong fans, as well as more traders, during the initial coin offering.

History of Airdrops

Tracking the history of airdrops leads you to Auroracoin (AUR), a crypto that was designated for the country of Iceland. The word ‘airdrop’ started featuring in cryptoverse when the project’s team announced an issuance period starting on March 25, 2014. Citizens of Iceland that had a permanent resident ID could register on Auroracoin’s official website and receive 31.8 AUR. At the time,  AUR was worth $385 (compared to today’s $0. 037180). 

After Auroracoin, many other upcoming crypto projects followed the airdrop approach, distributing crypto for free. Even already established projects occasionally use this approach so as to increase or revamp community engagement. For instance, Decred airdropped 258000 DCR in 2016 to community members, while Stellar (XLM) distributed freely 19% of their total coin supply to Bitcoin holders.

How to Participate in Airdrops

You can take part in airdrops whenever you want. To get started, you’ll need the following: 

  • A cryptocurrency wallet
  • Base Tokens 
  • Access to Information
#1. Cryptocurrency Wallet 

A cryptocurrency wallet is a device, software program, or app that lets you store, send, and receive cryptocurrencies. A crypto wallet is not one in the traditional sense. Instead, it holds your public and private keys through which you can conduct crypto transactions. Trezor and Ledger are some of the most popular crypto wallets. 

#2. Base Tokens

Base tokens are so-called because they are the ‘base’ of many cryptocurrencies out there, either by being built on top of them or by forking off of them. 

Examples of base tokens include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and EOS. If you’re looking to participate in an airdrop, you need to have at least two or all of these cryptos. Base tokens naturally have high liquidity, so you’ll have no trouble laying your hands on them in most major exchanges. Bear in mind that the amount of free coins you will receive will depend on the number of your base tokens (the more you have, the bigger the airdrop, with the reverse being true). 

#3. Access to Information

Not long ago, the only way you could stay on top of upcoming airdrops was to religiously follow chats on crypto forums. Thankfully, you can keep track of them way easier now. 

These days, we have sites and social media forums dedicated to just airdrops. To take advantage of them, start with the following: 

  • Follow relevant Twitter and Facebook accounts
  • Join relevant Telegram channels
  • Join online social forums that talk about airdrops
  • Follow relevant Twitter accounts
  • Utilize services such as Airdropaddict or Icodrops – which will keep you updated on all upcoming giveaways

Types of Airdrops

Airdrops do not follow alike or uniform protocols. There are different types of airdrops, each requiring its unique approach. Some of the common ones include: 

  • Standard airdrop
  • Bounty airdrop
  • Holder airdrop
  • Hardfork airdrop
  • Exclusive airdrop 
#1. Standard Airdrops

To qualify for a standard AirDrops, you need to sign up for a newsletter and start receiving updates on the project. All you need to do is enter your name and email address. 

#.2 Bounty Airdrop

These are airdrops that require you to perform a certain activity in order to qualify. The activity could be writing a blog post, tweeting/retweeting about the project, and so on. 

#3. Holder Airdrop

These are airdrops for individuals who hold a particular cryptocurrency. E.g., an Ethereum-based project will airdrop Ethereum coins to your Ethereum-holding wallet. 

#4. Hardfork Airdrop

These are airdrops targeted towards the original coin holders of a coin’s hard fork. E.g., an Ethereum airdrop on Ethereum Classic holders. 

#5. Exclusive Airdrops 

These are airdrops on the loyal/VIP club for a particular project. Such members may qualify for an airdrop that the rest of the crypto community is not privy to. 

How to Prevent Getting Scammed

Just like with anything concerning money, airdrops have attracted scammers looking to exploit innocent investors. If you’re looking to participate in an airdrop, then you need to watch out for these kinds of scams:

  • Private key scams
  • Information trolling
  • Bait and switch
#1. Private Key Scams 

Your wallet’s private key is like your bank PIN for traditional finance. You wouldn’t give away your PIN number, would you? It’s the same with your private key. If an “airdrop” asks you for your private key, then you know straight away it’s a scam. For anyone to send you crypto, they need your public/key address only. Avoid like the plague anyone asking you for your private key.

#2. Information Trolling

Obviously, airdrops have some of your personal information like email address, Twitter/Telegram handle, and so on. Scammy airdrops will accumulate this information and sell it to marketers – without your consent. The result is these marketers will spam you with endless content. In a worst-case scenario, the airdrops will try phishing you. To prevent such scenarios, do thorough research on any potential airdrop to establish its legitimacy.

#3. Bait and Switch

This is an airdrop scam in which, when signing up for an airdrop (usually fake), the party will try to get you to sign up for another one. The objective of the scammer is to profit from that other airdrop. Such a scammer may even try to get you to sign up for scammy, pump, and dumpsites. These kinds of scams may not cost you money, but they are a massive waste of time. If an airdrop asks you to do any of the above, know that it’s fake. 

Final Words

Airdrops are a win-win formula for all the parties involved. Upcoming crypto projects can give away tokens for free and publicize their product this way. They can also cultivate a loyal base. And community members who receive airdrops get to walk away with a pretty penny for free. Of course, beware of scammers who are looking to take advantage of unsuspecting investors in the guise of an airdrop.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Beginner’s Guide to Storm: The Comprehensive Guide

How many minutes or hours do you spend on your phone every day? What if you could earn extra cash while doing so? It turns out you can, at least on Storm Market.

How many minutes or hours do you spend on your phone every day? What if you could earn extra cash while doing so? It turns out you can, at least on Storm Market.

How many minutes or hours do you spend on your phone every day? What if you could earn extra cash while doing so? It turns out you can, at least on Storm Market.

Storm Market is a blockchain-powered platform that allows millions of people from all over the world to perform small tasks and earn cryptocurrency. All you need to do is sign on the platform, identify tasks you like, and get working. 

In this article, we’ll delve deeper into what the Storm project is all about, including how you can start earning tokens!

What is Storm?

Storm is the native currency of StormX, a blockchain project that aims to change how we view work by decentralizing the gig economy. Storm’s platform allows freelancers from all over the world to perform certain ‘microtasks’ and earn cryptocurrency in return through blockchain-based smart contracts. Such microtasks may include watching videos, completing surveys, and trying new products. 

The StormX team believes that the opportunity to earn to get by in life and advance ourselves along with our communities is a need that’s common to us all. It aims to challenge the current freelance industry (e.g., the likes of Upwork, Guru, and Fiverr) that’s not only centralized but also takes a huge cut from freelancers’ earnings. 

Storm Market is the place where Storm wants to take the first step to change this problem. Ultimately, users can take part in ‘gamified’ microtasks that allow anyone anywhere to earn money at any time, as long as they’re connected to the internet – no matter what device they are using. And it’s just not about money. Community participants can interact and engage with each other, fostering active participation and a feeling of belonging. 

The Storm Market will enable this for users: 

  • Allow them to find new opportunities easier.
  • Make it easier to advance.
  • Make it easier to engage with others, no matter their role in a community.

The Principles of StormX

StormX believes in and is guided by these three principles: 

  1. Effective global inclusion is possible if all participants can negotiate and reach an understanding.
  2. The opportunity to earn and improve one’s condition is a basic human right.
  3. Efficiency is about respecting time – the most valuable resource.

How can you earn STORM Tokens? 

There are three main ways through which users can earn STORM tokens on the Storm Market. 

STORM PLAY lets users “play to earn.” They can do this through the Storm Play application on both Android and iOS. ‘Playing’ involves playing videos, filling out surveys, or trying new products and services. Players can earn crypto in the form of Storm Bolts, Bitcoin or Ethereum. 

STORM SHOP lets users “shop to earn.” Via this platform, users are rewarded for purchasing certain products and services. 

STORM GIGS lets users “perform to earn.” Participants are given the opportunity to earn STORM tokens for performing various micro-tasks such as freelance tasks, quality assurance testing, machine learning tasks, and so on. 

Who Can Use the Storm Market?

Anyone from around the world can use the Storm Market. However, the platform is also created with certain categories in mind, and the team has labeled these categories to make it easier for participants to interact with each other. 

People who use the platform to make money/take advantage of available opportunities are called Storm Players. Advertisers, gaming platforms, companies, and recruiters and anyone else who can offer opportunities are known as Storm Makers.

Other participants on the platform are: 

  • Achievers- individuals who like to learn and master new skills, and want to succeed at whatever they do
  • Disruptors – individuals who like to challenge existing systems and are inclined towards tasks such as testing, rearranging existing elements and so on
  • Explorers – these are free-spirited individuals who like tasks with an exploration and creative element, and are likely to find and complete tasks on the fly
  • Socializers – these are people who like interacting and forming connections with others and are likely to check on and complete referral tasks.
  • Philanthropists  – these are people who like tasks that are inclined towards contributing to the greater good, and are more likely to seek Storm Makers whose tasks involve acts of altruism
  • Players  – a general term encompassing all the above, these are individuals who carry out tasks so as to clinch awards and prizes.

How Does Storm Market Use the Blockchain? 

The blockchain is a crucial and central part of the Storm Market platform. It facilitates the efficient matching of Storm Makers and Storm Players. 

Storm market also utilizes blockchain smart contracts – ‘Storm Contracts’ to automatically enforce the terms of engagement between Players and Makers. The automation and the elimination of human intervention lead to faster processes, high efficiency, and lower fees. 

Storm Tokenomics

As of June 10, the price for STORM token was $0.003401. The token held a market position of #154, with a market cap of $26, 644, 398, a 24-hour volume of 8, 856, 343, a circulating supply of 7, 833, 646, 881 and a total supply of 9, 967, 745, 869. STORM’s all-time high was $0.246579 (Jan 09, 2018), while its all-time low was $. 0.000572 (March 13, 2020). 

Where to Buy and Store STORM 

You can acquire Storm tokens by participating in the Storm Market platform, where you will earn in the form of a currency known as Bolts. You can then convert these into Storm tokens. Additionally, you can get STORM tokens for any of these exchanges: Bittrex, HitBTC, and BitSwap. 

STORM token is based on Ethereum’s blockchain, and thus, you can store it on any ERC20/Ethereum-compatible wallets. Popular options include MyEtherWallet, Mist, MetaMask, Jaxx.io, Trust Wallet, Atomic Wallet, Ledger, and Trezor.

Who’s on the Storm Team?

Storm is the brainchild of CEO and Founder Simon Yu, who is a graduate of the Foster School of Business. 

Sean Zhong is the Chief Technology Officer, and he has experience working in data warehousing and software engineering. 

Tara Nygaard is the chief operating officer, and she has experience in cybersecurity and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Storm also features a strong suit of advisers such as Bancor CEO Guy Benartzi, Bittrex founder and CEO Bill Shihara, as well as Ethereum’s co-founder Anthony Do Iorio. 

Final Words

Storm provides a platform for everyone around the world to earn anytime, whether on their mobile devices, tablets, laptops, and so on. With just a click of a button, you can earn extra money by sparing just a few minutes a day. It is a safe and secure platform for people who want to promote products, get small tasks taken care of, and so on. On Storm, individuals can also engage, interact, and be part of a larger community. Storm is a game-changer, and it will be interesting to see how it evolves. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What’s Storj (STORJ)? Here is All You Need to Know

The future of online storage is decentralized. With idle space on your hard drive, and with a reliable internet connection, you can store files for someone from the other end of the world and get paid for it. This is possible because of blockchain, the tech that was brought to life by Satoshi Nakamoto, and one that powers thousands of cryptocurrencies. 

The future of online storage is decentralized. With idle space on your hard drive, and with a reliable internet connection, you can store files for someone from the other end of the world and get paid for it. This is possible because of blockchain, the tech that was brought to life by Satoshi Nakamoto, and one that powers thousands of cryptocurrencies. 

The future of online storage is decentralized. With idle space on your hard drive, and with a reliable internet connection, you can store files for someone from the other end of the world and get paid for it. This is possible because of blockchain, the tech that was brought to life by Satoshi Nakamoto, and one that powers thousands of cryptocurrencies. 

With blockchain, it’s now possible to create a decentralized, peer-to-peer, and cryptographically secured storage platform that incentivizes users with crypto.

Storj, a product of Storj Labs, is one such project. And it has received a stamp of approval from Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin, who has praised the project, saying, “Distributed file storage systems like Storj have the potential to eliminate high mark up costs and market inefficiencies and provide a much higher level of privacy reliability and quality of service than we see today.”

What is Storj all About?

Storj is a decentralized and peer-to-peer, file storage that uses encrypted shards and blockchain-powered hash tables to secure and store files. Storj aims to make cloud file storage more accessible and secure. 

Current file storage solutions such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and so on have limitations. Events such as internet connectivity outages mean that you cannot access your files. Also, the service is centralized, meaning the companies have access and control over your data. 

Storj proposes to solve these problems via a blockchain-based, peer-to-peer, private, and distributed file storage solution. 

Storj and Torrents

Before we dive into Storj, we need to do a refresher on torrents. At the start of the last decade, torrents became the go-to way for internet users to download content – from movies to TV shows to videos. Torrents operate on a peer-to-peer fashion, as detailed below: 

  • Many users store copies of a particular file in the peer-to-peer network 
  • When you want a copy of the file, you send a request to the network
  • Users who have a copy of the file (these users are known as seeds) send you fragments of the file
  • You (the requester) receives many fragments from many different copyholders, and the torrent software rearranges the fragments to form a complete file

The advantage of using a torrent to download content is you can receive fragments of the file from multiple sources simultaneously. This means you get the file quicker than you would if you were downloading the whole thing at once from just one source. 

Now, these torrents were (and still are) an illegal way to acquire content. But since they are operating on a decentralized model, no one can shut them down. 

Storj works the same way, except not in an illegal way, or for pirated videos. With that, let’s look at how Storj works. 

Functionalities of Storj 

#1. File Sharding

Storj’s shard-based storage is much like the fragments of torrents. When a user wants to store a file on Storj, they first divide it into many smaller chunks (sharding). The benefit of this is when you want to download the file, you can do it in parallel, which makes the process quicker. Also, it’s only you who knows where the pieces are located, meaning it’s a completely private affair with you in total control. 

The location of shards is one of the major differentiators between Storj and torrents. With torrents, anyone can access the shards. On the other hand, Storj, as a cloud storage service provider, prioritizes user privacy. And it does this by utilizing blockchain and cryptography. 

To achieve utter privacy, Storj implements a distributed hash table (DHT) through which a user locates all the shards of the original file. To access the shards, you need a private key. Without the key, it’s next to impossible to track down the locations of the various shards. Storj’s hash table is known as Kademlia, and it’s one of the network’s core technologies. 

#2. Parity Shards and Erasure Coding

On Storj, shards are distributed across computers all over the network. But what would happen if one of the computers went down or stopped running the network? What would happen to the shards on that particular computer?

Such a scenario necessitates that Storj implements some sort of redundancy. (In computer science, redundancy is the duplication of components so that there will be a backup in case of system failure). Storj achieves redundancy via ‘parity shards.’ When a user uploads a file, they can choose how much redundancy they want for the file. With enough parity shards, you can significantly reduce the chances of losing pieces of your data. 

However, with time, the likelihood of losing shards increases. To counter this, Storj performs regular audits. But as a user of the platform, the best practice would be periodically recalling and then reuploading your files.

At the same time, too much redundancy would slow down the network. Storj combats this by implementing coding rules that reduce redundancy by erasing shards that have been overly duplicated. Through this process, Storj also identifies data whose redundancy should be increased.

#3. End-to-end encryption

Apart from sharding, Storj ensures high-level privacy by implementing end-to-end encryption. Sharding already ensures that no one, not even data hosts (called farmers), can access the whole file. But this is not enough since even for one to be able to access and read a shard would be problematic.

To prevent this, Storj facilitates data owners (known as tenants) to encrypt their files before sharding. The encrypted file has only one key that you keep on your computer (or in the bridge – more of that in a moment). 

As the only owner of a private key, you’re the only person who can read the file. Therefore, farmers store not just encrypted files, but ones that are a part of a whole original file. This makes your data secure since the data kept by a farmer is useless as just a shard – and an encrypted one at that – that’s part of a larger file. 

For an entity to hack the Storj network and locate a file, they would first need to find all the shards that make the whole of the file. This is next to impossible without the private key. Again, they would need to convince farmers to send them the shards. And lastly, they would need to access the encryption key (either by guessing (impossible) or stealing). As you can see, for one to access data stored on Storj, they’d need to jump through so many hoops, but even those wouldn’t get them very far. 

#4. File Verification

Anyone entrusting their data with Storj would naturally ask themselves the following questions from time to time: “How can I know my files are still there?” “What if a farmer has deleted them or turned their computer off?” 

Storj deals with this concern by carrying out hourly audits,  together with other verification processes. For farmers to receive their payments, they must first provide proof of having the shards they’ve been assigned. For this to happen, farmers receive a request from Storj. If they have changed or deleted the shard, it will not be possible for them to respond to the request. But if they currently have the file, they are able to respond to the request correctly. 

They will then receive a reward for storing and maintaining the file. As you can see, farmers have an incentive to store and protect files accurately. 

#5. Bridge

Bridge is the name of the server or protocol that allows you to access your encryption keys across a range of multiple devices. Initially, tenants could only store their keys locally on their computer. However, this was limiting because it meant you could not switch devices.

Bridge decentralizes your access – all you need to do is to verify your identity and access your files from any device.

Storj’s Token (STORJ)

STORJ is the Storj network’s native token. It acts as a means of payment on the network. Tenants pay fees for having their files stored on the network, while farmers are compensated for sharing their storage space and bandwidth. 

The token runs on top of Ethereum’s blockchain, and it uses a proof-of-work consensus mechanism. Storj has a maximum supply of 500 million. 

What’s the Market Look Like for STORJ?

As of June 11, 2020, STORJ’s price was $0.160915, and it ranked at #158, with a market cap of $26, 082, 246, the 24-hour volume of $114, 759, 728, a circulating supply of 162, 086, 753, and a total supply of 424, 999, 998. The token’s all-time high was $3.13 (Jan 09, 2018), while its all-time low was $0.048353 (March 13, 2020). 

Where to Buy and Store STORJ

Currently, you can buy STORJ tokens from any of these exchanges: Binance, Coindirect, eToro, and  Poloniex. 

As an ERC20-compliant token, STORJ can be stored at any Ethereum-compatible wallet. Popular choices include MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Atomic Wallet, Trezor, and Ledger Nano. 

Who’s on the Storj Team? 

Storj is the brainchild of Shawn Wilkinson, who’s also the CEO of Storj Labs, the company behind the project. The rest of the team includes professionals in software engineering, business, marketing, graphic design, and more. 

Final Words

Storj provides a compelling product: decentralized, peer-to-peer, and cloud-based storage with two formidable layers of security. Its working model is robust, yet simple, file owners upload their content, and farmers secure them with their extra storage space and bandwidth resources. If Storj catches on, it could very well give traditional online storage services a run for their money. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What is Enigma: Complete Beginner Guide

One of blockchain’s persistent thorns on the side is that of privacy and scalability (or lack of them). With transparent platforms and labor-intensive verifications and consensus mechanisms (Bitcoin and Ethereum), traditional blockchains are not equipped to deal with the fast, privacy-oriented world of today. 

One of blockchain’s persistent thorns on the side is that of privacy and scalability (or lack of them). With transparent platforms and labor-intensive verifications and consensus mechanisms (Bitcoin and Ethereum), traditional blockchains are not equipped to deal with the fast, privacy-oriented world of today. 

One of blockchain’s persistent thorns on the side is that of privacy and scalability (or lack of them). With transparent platforms and labor-intensive verifications and consensus mechanisms (Bitcoin and Ethereum), traditional blockchains are not equipped to deal with the fast, privacy-oriented world of today. 

Using Bitcoin’s public addresses, for example, a dedicated person with resources can soon track who is the real-life owner of a particular transaction. For privacy-conscious users, this lack of privacy is not an option. And when it comes to scalability, the blockchain community remembers the CryptoKitties fiasco on the Ethereum blockchain, in which the uber-popular game almost brought down the network, proving it’s far from scalable for high-volume transactions. 

Enigma is a blockchain platform that aims to solve these issues for blockchains via the use of second layer technology. The platform was initially built on Ethereum but has since launched its own mainnet in Feb 2020.

Below, we explore the Enigma concept, how it works, and some applications for its privacy blockchain.

What is Enigma?

Enigma is an off-chain network that aims to complement blockchain networks via a second layer of storage and computation. It aims to make blockchains more private and scalable by providing a platform where they (blockchains) can offload data. This data will be treated with high-tech security, and the process will also help to decongest the main chain. 

Enigma sees and hopes to solve the following problems with the current blockchain setup. 

i) Data Privacy

Blockchains have transparent transactions by nature. As you can imagine, they don’t go hand-in-hand with privacy. This limits the scope of decentralized applications (DApps) that can be built. For instance, healthcare, finance, and manufacturing all need “a privacy” that cannot be afforded by current blockchains.

ii) Usability

Decentralized applications are already not exactly easy to use. Added to the issue of privacy, interactions with such apps become more complicated.

iii) Scalability

The limited block size, e.g., 1MB for Bitcoin’s transactions, plus difficult computations that need to be carried out before transactions are verified, leads to uncompetitive scalability levels. 

iv) Data Silos

Current data sharing solutions are centralized and characterized by silos, restricting the sharing of crucial information and creating single points of attack. 

Enigma seeks to solve these problems, as we’ll see below.

How Does Enigma Work?

#1. Off-chain Ecosystem: MPCs and DHT

Enigma will utilize multi-party computations (MPCs) and distributed hash tables (DHT) to achieve data privacy. The MPCs will be responsible for distributing data between network nodes, splitting info into small separate chunks to make it more secure. The DHT then stores this data in an off-chain database. Essentially, MPCs and DHTs are two parts of a whole, with both playing a crucial role in achieving top-notch privacy for network data. 

Network nodes receive fees for securing and maintaining the network, as well as being incentivized through the network’s token, ENG. After the February move to their own mainnet, the network will adopt a new native coin, ‘Secret’ (SCRT) through which users can claim a stake in the network, as well as pay transaction fees.

The Enigma network ensures that node operators act with honesty and integrity via the use of the security deposit that they lose in the event of misconduct. 

The Enigma white paper explains: “To participate in the network, store data, perform computations, and receive fees, every full-node must first submit a security deposit to a private contract. After each computation is completed, a private contract verifies if correctness and fairness were maintained. If a node is found to lie about their outcome or aborts the computation prematurely, it loses the deposit, which is split between the other honest nodes. The computation is continued without the malicious node (e.g., by setting its share of the data to 0).”

 #2. Catalyst and Data Marketplace

Enigma utilizes secret contracts through which developers can create privacy-focused DApps. Some use cases for the secret contracts include election/voting, financial audits, healthcare, identity management, and so on. 

Another use case is the trading data marketplace. One such use case is Catalyst, the first-ever DApp on the Enigma platform. Catalyst provides an environment where users create, share, and exchange data to create the best crypto investment strategies. 

The Catalyst whitepaper puts it this way: “The main goal of Catalyst is to serve as a one-stop-shop for developers (or quantitative traders) who are interested in developing trading strategies that operate in the expanding domain of crypto markets. Developers can utilize the myriad of data sources that will be made available through our platform and will be served through Enigma’s peer-to-peer data marketplace protocol, to build their models, backtest them according to historical data, as well as put their strategies to the test in a simulated or real trading environment.”

What are Some of Enigma’s applications?

The Enigma product can be utilized in a raft of many disparate industries. Let’s take a look at some of those: 

1. Data protection

Companies can use Enigma to ensure high-level protection for their data and thwart off corporate espionage. This would also extend to employees, who can still access and use data but cannot steal it. This would help organizations save up on security costs. 

2. N-Factor Authentication

Biological identifiers such as voice, face, and fingerprints recognition can be stored on the Enigma blockchain. Only the right owner of such identifications can be allowed to access the data. 

3. Identity Authentication and Secure Storage

This would involve authenticating identities in a provably correct, anonymous, and trustless manner. All that is needed is for the user to share their personal information secretly. When they log in, an authenticating private contract is implemented, thus giving the user a pass-through to the account. 

4. IoT

Manage and utilize highly sensitive data handled by IoT devices in a decentralized and trustless cloud computing system

5. Distributed Personal Data Store

On the Enigma platform, individuals can store and share personal data with third parties while still maintaining total control and ownership of the data.  The decision to share the data is reversible, and third parties can only perform computations on the data – they do not have access to it.

Who is on the Enigma Team?

The Enigma core team is a duo that’s also MIT graduates with a ton of experience in software engineering between them. 

Guy Zyskind is the CEO and co-founder. He has an M.S. from MIT and 10 + years of experience in software development. Zyskind is also a former MIT Media Lab research assistant and the tutor of the first-ever class on blockchain at MIT. 

Can Kisagun is the project CPO and co-founder. He’s a graduate of MIT’s Sloan School of Management and has experience with tech startups. He formerly worked at McKinsey and company as a business analyst.

Several notable investors have also given a thumbs up to the project, including Floodgate, Flybridge Capital Partners, the Digital Currency Group, and MIT. 

Enigma (ENG) Tokenomics

As of June 8, 2020, Enigma is trading at $0. 321533, world ranking at #166. The token’s market cap is $24, 062, 307, and its 24-hour volume is $1, 380, 629. The current circulating supply is $74, 836, 171 out of a total supply of 150, 000, 000. ENG’s all-time high was $8.30 (Jan 10, 2018), while its all-time low was $0.070056 (March 13, 2020). 

Where to Buy and Store Enigma 

Enigma is available on markets such as Binance, Huobi, Coinswitch, Cointree, and Bittrex. In some of the exchanges, you will need to first purchase another crypto such as BTC and ETH before converting it to ENG. 

ENG is an Ethereum-based token (for now – see the statement by the team on the issue), meaning you can store your ENG tokens in any Ethereum-compatible wallet. Some of the best options include MyEtherWallet, Parity, MetaMask, Guarda, Trust, Bread, as well as user favorites Ledger Nano S and Trezor.

Final Words

Enigma promises two robust solutions for the current blockchain setup: security and scalability. Secret contracts provided by the platform will afford users a high-level verification of data, while still taking advantage of the network’s watertight privacy. Developers can offload blockchain data onto the off-chain Enigma, which will facilitate scalable and safe storage. 

Enigma’s first-ever DApp, Catalyst, is a must-see for new and experienced traders. Here, they get unfettered access to a raft of tools to optimize their trading and investment decisions, all in an autonomous, trustless environment. Enigma’s unique offerings separate it from the crypto herd, and the community is keenly watching to see how it evolves.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What is DragonChain: Here is The Comprehensive Guide

By now, nearly every industry is aware of the game-changing attributes of blockchain and how it can help them optimize their processes in an unprecedented fashion. 

By now, nearly every industry is aware of the game-changing attributes of blockchain and how it can help them optimize their processes in an unprecedented fashion. 

By now, nearly every industry is aware of the game-changing attributes of blockchain and how it can help them optimize their processes in an unprecedented fashion. 

In an ideal world, every business would incorporate blockchain in a heartbeat. However, it’s not as simple. First of all, the current blockchain setup is largely public, rendering it unfit for the private and sensitive nature of business processes. 

The other issue is how expensive blockchain is. It would cost an incredible amount of resources to set up blockchain from the ground up. 

DragonChain is a privacy-oriented blockchain designed for businesses. On the platform, businesses can get access to cryptographically secured, fast, and transparent features of blockchain and parlay them to improved efficiency and profitability. 

What is DragonChain? 

DragonChain is a hybrid (public/private) blockchain ecosystem developed by the Walt Disney Company in 2014. Originally the “Disney Private Blockchain Platform,” Dragonchain was subsequently made open source in 2016 after experimenting with more than 20 applications and proving its value as a blockchain platform. 

The platform was designed with enterprises in mind, and it aims to simplify the integration of businesses on the blockchain. It offers features such as data protection, currency agnosticism, and multi-currency support, interoperability with other blockchains, short block time, simple architecture, adoption of standards, and simplified development. 

The Dragonchain Foundation is a non-profit that was formed in January of 2017 to maintain responsibility for the open-source code. 

The DragonChain Team

The DragonChain team is made up of a core team of eight, with founder, CEO, and Chief Architect Joe Retz at the helm. Retz has worked for Disney before committing full-time to the DragonChain project. 

The rest of the team comprises four developers and three others with experience in business, marketing, and law. 

The project has also onboarded a strong suit of advisors, including popular blockchain figure and Bloq founder Jeff Garzik, who also serves on the advisory board of other blockchain projects such as BitFury, BitPay, Netki and more. Another advisor is Vice President of game publishing at Microsoft and Xbox co-founder Ed Fries. 

What Does DragonChain Do? 

DragonChain aims to help businesses incorporate blockchain solutions in a fast, private, and secure fashion. Businesses might find this an attractive proposition due to the many benefits it heralds, such as improved efficiency and security, reduction of costs, transparency, and the possibility for eliminating fraud.

DragonChain aims to do this by providing a “turnkey” blockchain product that’s compatible with the existing language development stacks such as Java, Python, C++, and Go. This makes it possible for companies to build smart contracts on the DragonChain blockchain with already available programming languages. With this, the project hopes to avail these benefits to businesses, according to its white paper: 

  • Lower development costs utilizing existing development languages
  • Faster speed to market
  • Increased levels of security
  • Higher scalability

How Does DragonChain Work? 

The dragon ecosystem is built upon three core components: 

#1. The DragonChain Platform

The platform is the backend zone for DragonChain. Here, developers can create smart contracts in already widely available programming languages. The platform also features advanced currency implementations, accessibility to Amazon Web Services and Google deployments, smart contract libraries, and so on. 

#2. Dragon Incubator

DragonChain also features an incubator that allows companies to develop their own blocks and projects by following DragonChain’s standardized procedures. Other services will include: 

  • A community dashboard for projects to compare and monitor progress
  • Access to legal, technical, marketing and economic professionals for advice and support
  • A platform team to model economic trends that go hand-in-hand with the top model in terms of business design, lifetime value, monetization models, data strategy and more 
  • Accelerated project launches
  • Sustainable token marketplaces

Projects that have previously been under this incubator include: Look Lateral, Liquid Art, Seed2You, LifeID, IDPay, and ClevX. 

#3. DragonChain Marketplace

The DragonChain marketplace is where companies can get support and access to subject matter experts in cryptocurrency, software development, and other topics. 

These three components (platform, incubator marketplace) make up the DragonChain ecosystem. The ecosystem is powered by Dragochain’s token, the Dragon Coin (DRGN). 

How Does DragonChain Stand Out?

DragonChain has several attributes that make it stand out from other blockchains. First of all, as a hybrid blockchain, businesses can enjoy all the benefits of blockchain in a private and secure manner that allows them to safeguard sensitive company data. 

Also, the hybrid DragonChain supports a multi-currency system, as well as a serverless commercial platform that supports powerful, yet simple scaling.

DragonChain also provides a high-level blockchain with a five-tier consensus and trust level. These levels include the following: 

  • Verification
  • Enterprise Validation Verification
  • Network Diversity Verification
  • External Partner (Notary) Verification 
  • Public Checkpoint Verification

Which Industries Does DragonChain Target?

Blockchain tech helps provide more secure processes and eliminate fraud. Any company that wishes to achieve these might find the DragonChain product well worth looking into. 

Gaming companies could also profit from the DragonChain platform. DragonChain tokens could enable gamers to purchase virtual items in a safe and secure manner, effectively creating a trustless marketplace for virtual goods.

Other use cases of DragonChain include auditing, election/polling/voting systems, bookings and reservations, and so on. 

DragonChain’s Slumber Score

DragonChain has a reward system for holders of the Dragon token. This reward is in the form of a ‘slumber score.’ With the score, the more DRGN tokens you hold, and the longer you do so, the higher your slumber score.

A higher score entitles individuals to bonuses on ICOs, while business owners are rewarded with discounts on smart contracts and other tech products that DragonChain rolls out in the future. 

DragonChain Statistics

As of June 10, 2020, DRGN traded at $0.104516, and it held position #130 in the market. Its market cap was $35, 451, 979, and it had a 24-hour volume of $151, 363, a circulating supply of 339, 202, 417 88, and a total supply of 433, 494, 437. DRGN has an all-time high of $5.27 (Jan 09, 2018) and an all-time low of 0.020523 ( April 16, 2020). 

Where can I buy and store DRGN? 

You can grab some DRGN tokens from KuCoin, EtherDelta, Gate.io, IDEX, YoBitNet, Tidex, the Bancor Network, CoinSwitch, and so on. 

Despite DragonChain having its own, independent blockchain, the project decided to base it’s token on Ethereum. As such, the DRGN token is compatible with any ERC20/Ethereum wallet. Some options include MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, ethaddress, Parity, and so on. If you’re looking for something more secure, consider hardware wallets such as Trezor and Ledger Nano S.

Final Words

DragonChain offers a conduit for businesses to incorporate blockchain solutions and achieve more streamlined processes, improved security, and deficiency. Its five-layer consensus and trust model is testament to how seriously they take security, and companies can trust that their data and processes will remain ultra-secure at all times. Developers and businesses get the features of the traditional blockchain, plus enterprise-specific caterings. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Beginner’s Guide to Bancor (BNT) 

In the stiff competition of cryptoverse, it’s easy for big-name cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to hog nearly all the limelight and market activity, leaving lesser-known projects scrambling for half the attention. 

In the stiff competition of cryptoverse, it’s easy for big-name cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to hog nearly all the limelight and market activity, leaving lesser-known projects scrambling for half the attention. 

In the stiff competition of cryptoverse, it’s easy for big-name cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to hog nearly all the limelight and market activity, leaving lesser-known projects scrambling for half the attention. 

That also means the projects’ intended purpose might get lost in the peripheries – to the detriment of the blockchain and crypto sphere. 

Bancor is a blockchain project that seeks to provide liquidity for illiquid cryptos by providing an instant conversion platform where users can obtain their desired tokens at little or no fees. Also, the conversion needs no second party, eliminating counterparty risk. 

This piece is an in-depth exploration of the Bancor platform, as well as its native token, BNT. 

What is Bancor? 

Bancor is a blockchain-powered protocol that facilitates the direct and instant exchange between different cryptocurrencies. This kind of exchange would remove the need for centralized exchanges such as Coinbase. 

Bancor aims to solve the problem of illiquidity that characterizes the current cryptocurrency market. With popular coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum, illiquidity is not an issue since there’s always a ready market looking to acquire or exchange them. However, for thousands of other coins and tokens that are yet to attract as much attention –  a market is definitely an issue. 

A cryptocurrency’s liquidity is determined by the lack of or the presence of a ready market. A crypto with high liquidity is one that you can easily buy or sell at any time, and the reverse is true for one with low liquidity. 

The Bancor team believes that the vast majority of cryptos that have low liquidity are being excluded from the internet of value. As such, it has created a protocol that can integrate those tokens and make them more accessible. It envisages a future where millions of cryptocurrencies are effective – and readily tradable. 

How Does Bancor Work? 

#1. Smart Tokens and the Bancor Protocol

Bancor employs smart contracts to create ‘Smart Tokens’ to achieve an alternative to the usual way of trading. A standard paper transaction involves two parties exchanging tokens. By contrast, the Bancor protocol utilizes a trading mechanism based on smart tokens, and a transaction does not have to involve a second party. 

Bancor’s protocol is designed to convert directly between different ERC20 tokens – without the need or involvement of a second party or third-party vendors like crypto exchanges. 

This is how it works: smart tokens are linked to smart contracts that act as the reserves of other ERC20 tokens. The smart tokens then process conversions internally, depending on currently held reserves and the volume of exchange requests. 

You can think of smart tokens as coins that hold the monetary value of other tokens. On the Bancor network, they play much the same role as that of a Central Bank that holds foreign currency reserves and oversees conversions between them as and when required.

The Bancor protocol supports all cryptos that are Ethereum/ERC-20 compatible. Any single token created on Bancor is ERC20 compliant, and hence it is compatible with all other tokens on the network. 

#2. Bancor’s Liquidity 

Bancor enables liquidity for tokens by eliminating the need for transacting parties to match so that an exchange can take place. Instead, you can make conversions at any time on the network. 

The network utilizes a Constant Reserve Ratio (CRR) in smart contracts to ensure liquidity. CRR is a mechanism that makes sure the smart tokens are holding reserves at any time. 

As tokens go through various smart contracts (from a user request to conversion, to receiving), transactions are calculated through a complex mix of algorithms. These algorithms are designed to oversee conversion between different currencies without depleting the reserves.

#3. Converting Tokens 

Users can access Bancor and convert between available tokens through the network’s web application. 

A standard token conversion would follow more or less of this process: After selecting the tokens, you want to exchange, click “convert.” The protocol will kick off a series of requests to various smart contracts. The first request converts the token you’re holding to a smart token that holds reserves for that token. The smart token is then dated for another that holds reserves for the token that you want to acquire. When these conversions are through, you receive your desired token.

The Bancor Network Token 

Bancor has its own native currency called the Bancor Network Token (BNT). BNT is the default reserve currency held as a reserve by all smart tokens. As such, BNT reduces the number of conversions that are needed to arrive at the end token. 

What Are Some Use Cases for the Bancor Protocol?

The Bancor team provides several use cases of the protocol. Let’s take a look at some of them. 

  • The smart tokens can improve the functionality for any cryptocurrency 
  • Community tokens get a chance to thrive, allowing the group, institution, city, etc. to use it for collaborations
  • Businesses can create high-liquidity tokens to power loyalty systems

The Bancor Team

The Bancor Team comprises a core team of five based in Zug, Switzerland: Bernard Lietaer, Eyal Hertzog, Guy Benartzi, Guido Schmitz-Krummacher, and Tim Draper. 

Bernard Lietaer is an economist and civil engineer who believes that communities should be able to create and possess their own local currencies. 

Eyal Hertzog is the lead architect of the project and co-founder of video-sharing company Metacafe, as well as Appcoin, a project that utilizes user-generated marketplaces and community currencies. 

Guy Benartzi is the founder of the gaming company Mytopia and co-founder of Israel-based development studio Particle Code. 

Guido Schmitz-Krummacher is a notable figure in the crypto space and is a member of the executive board of the crypto project Tezos (XTZ). 

Tim Draper is a venture capitalist and founder of venture capital firm Draper Associates. 

What’s the Market Look Like for Bancor (BNT)? 

As of June 10, 2020, Bancor is trading at $0.769842, while ranking at #106 in the crypto market. It has a market cap of $53, 233, 437, a 24-hour volume of $26, 330, 312, a circulating supply of 69, 148, 554 add a total supply of the same volume. It has an all-time high $10.00 (January 10, 2018) at an all-time low of $0.117415 (March 13, 2020).

Where to Buy and Store BNT

You can acquire Bancor tokens directly by converting it from another supported token on the Bancor web app. If not, you can obtain it from a BNT-supporting exchange such as OKEx, Binance, HitBTC, Bittrex, Liqui, Upbit, AEX, and Tidex. 

You can store BNT on any ERC20/Ethereum compatible wallet, including MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, ethaddress, Parity, Guarda, Trust Wallet, imToken and others. 

Final Words

Bancor is about bringing utility to thousands of cryptos so they can carve out a place in the global crypto market. With Bancor, users have a secure, trustless platform where they can obtain and liquidate relatively illiquid tokens. With this novel and crucial purpose, the Bancor network is only set to expand on the future. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Beginner’s Guide to Decentraland (Mana)

Virtual reality gaming has exploded in recent years. But it’s not often that you’ll stand to make money from a game. Or play in a completely decentralized environment on your terms. Blockchain, the tech that’s been touted to have the potential to revolutionize industries, is making this possible. 

Virtual reality gaming has exploded in recent years. But it’s not often that you’ll stand to make money from a game. Or play in a completely decentralized environment on your terms. Blockchain, the tech that’s been touted to have the potential to revolutionize industries, is making this possible. 

Virtual reality gaming has exploded in recent years. But it’s not often that you’ll stand to make money from a game. Or play in a completely decentralized environment on your terms. Blockchain, the tech that’s been touted to have the potential to revolutionize industries, is making this possible. 

Decentraland is a virtual universe in which you can purchase land. And you can do whatever you want with that land just like you would with real land. Whether it’s to sit on it and sell it when it appreciates in value, or build a business and sell services, you can do whatever you desire. And since it’s blockchain-based, once you own land, it’s irrefutably yours. And when you sell land, all the money is yours – no intermediary is taking a cut. Also, there’s no central/regulatory authority dictating how you run things. As Decentraland says in this YouTube video, “your land, your rules.”

What’s Decentraland? 

Decentraland is an Ethereum-based virtual reality platform where people can purchase and own land that they can put into all kinds of uses. It can be described as virtual real estate, that you completely and permanently own once you purchase. Once you own land, you can hold onto it and wait for it to appreciate in value, just like with physical land. You can also build on it, build a business, sell chunks of it – the possibilities are limitless. 

Being blockchain-based, your stake in Decentraland is yours forever. You have total control over it, and no one can take it away from you. As stated in the project’s white paper: “Unlike other virtual worlds and social networks, Decentraland is not controlled by a centralized organization. There is no single agent with the power to modify the rules of the software, contents of land, the economics of the currency, or prevent others from accessing the world.”

Who is Behind Decentraland? 

The Decentraland team comprises project lead Ari Meilich, and Esteban Ordano as the technical lead. Ordano has experience working as a software engineer for BitPay and is the founder of Smart Contract Solutions, Inc. Both also have experience creating Stremium and Bitcore.  

The project’s advisory board includes INBlockchain founder Xiaolai Li, CoinFund founder Jake Brukhman, Aragon project Luis Cuende, and ex-CTO of Ning Diego Duval. 

How Does Decentraland Work? 

Decentraland is a fully immersive VR world. Here, we’ll look at how things work on the platform. 

What is LAND? 

In Decentraland, you can buy and own non-fungible, digital plots of land, stylized as ‘LAND.’ Once you own LAND, there is no limit to what you can do with it. You can create games, go to live concerts, visit underwater resorts, provide gambling services, try your luck at casinos, attend workshops, traverse the land, test drive cars, and pretty much everything you want. Everything happens in a virtual universe with a 360-degree view that immerses you via your web browser or a VR headset. 

The number of LAND is capped (and hence scarce), and each plot of LAND is 33 square feet, although there is no limit to its height. There is a feature called LAND Estates that allows you to more easily manage and develop adjacent pieces of land that you own. To qualify as Estates, the plots must be directly adjacent – with no road, plaza, or plot between them. 

Similar groupings of LAND are known as Districts. Districts are basically community areas that have their own theme. For instance, there may be a district for Vegas-style gambling, another for cryptocurrency enthusiasts, and another for video games. Each district is self-governing and has its own rules. Districts are overseen by a district leader(s) whose job is to coordinate their community. 

You can make your voice heard on district issues through the platform’s voting decentralized application (DApp), Agora. The amount of LAND you possess correlates to the weight of your vote. The more LAND you own, the more your vote is worth. Through the DApp, you have more control over what happens in your district, and you can also give feedback about the platform in general. 

What Is MANA?

MANA is the Ethereum-based native token of Decentraland. You can use MANA to buy parcels of LAND as well as to conduct in-world transactions. MANA will gain more usefulness as Decentraland continues to develop.

When you buy LAND, Decentraland burns a portion of the MANA and permanently removes it from circulation. The idea is to reduce the total supply of the token – preventing inflation and increasing demand. In the beginning, a piece of LAND went for 1000 MANA. However, as the market evolves and changes, prices now vary. The highest record for a sold plot was $175, 578 (March 2018). 

Decentraland’s Technology Architecture

The Decentraland protocol features three layers: 

  • Consensus Layer: tracks land ownership and its content through Ethereum-based smart contracts
  • Land content layer: uses a decentralized distribution system to download assets in the virtual world
  • Real-time layer: facilitates peer-to-peer connections and interactions among users

History and Future Plans

Decentraland traces its beginnings to June 2015 – what the team calls “Stone Age.” In this stage, land was represented in simple grades and pixels which were allocated to individuals through a proof-of-work algorithm like that for Bitcoin. Each pixel contained the owner’s information and the pixel’s color. 

In March 2017, the project entered the “Bronze Age.” This time, land was modeled in 3-D, and landowners could associate it with a hash reference using the Bitcoin blockchain. They could also explore Decentraland using a Distributed Hash Table and BitTorrent to download files containing the parcel’s content. 

Next will be the Iron Age, which will allow developers to create applications on the Decentraland and make money off of them. The platform will also employ a peer-to-peer network communication layer that will allow users to voice chat and more. It will also feature a payment system with low fees. 

MANA Statistics

As of June 03, 2020, MANA is trading at $0. 041073, and it ranks at #97 in the crypto market. It has a market capitalization of $56, 260, 673, and a 24-hour volume of $21, 332, 526. The token has a circulating supply of 1, 369, 781, 409, as well as a total supply of 2, 197, 526, 019. It has an all-time high of  $0.288857 (January 09, 2018) as well as an all-time low of $0.007883 (October 13, 2017). 

Where to Buy and Store MANA

You can purchase MANA from any of several popular exchanges such as Binance, OKEx, CoinbasePro, HitBTC, Huobi, and HitBTC. 

As MANA is an ERC-20 token, you can choose from a raft of wallets that support Ethereum. From MyEtherWallet to MetaMask, to Guarda Wallet, to Atomic Wallet, to hardware wallet favorites Ledger and Trezor. 

Final Words

Decentraland takes the concept of virtual gaming and integrates blockchain. This means your interactions in this virtual universe are uncensorable by any entity, and you own and control any proceeds from the game. It also means developers can unleash their creativity and provide greater value to platform users. Decentraland could prove a force to reckon with as it evolves, especially after the Iron Age update that packs new and exciting features. It will be interesting to watch where the project goes from here.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

What is Aragon (ANT)? Here is The Definitive Guide

Since time immemorial, the world has run on centralized systems. But centralization has proven to have its own challenges, such as bureaucracy, slow decision-making processes, and single points of failure. On the other hand, a decentralized model offers room for more timely decisions. And it eliminates a single point of attack. 

Since time immemorial, the world has run on centralized systems. But centralization has proven to have its own challenges, such as bureaucracy, slow decision-making processes, and single points of failure. On the other hand, a decentralized model offers room for more timely decisions. And it eliminates a single point of attack. 

Since time immemorial, the world has run on centralized systems. But centralization has proven to have its own challenges, such as bureaucracy, slow decision-making processes, and single points of failure. On the other hand, a decentralized model offers room for more timely decisions. And it eliminates a single point of attack. 

With blockchain, the concept of decentralization is even better. The technology brought to life by Bitcoin’s creator – Satoshi Nakamoto – can facilitate unprecedented speeds, transparency, and security in the way we do things. 

Thanks to blockchain, we are now talking about decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) – organizations that (can) run on decentralized platforms and without the need for human input. Such an organization model not only saves money, but it also saves time and packs a ton when it comes to efficiency. 

Aragon Network is a platform that aims to empower organizations anywhere to achieve this. Powered by its native token, ANT, Aragon is leading the way towards a decentralized economy. 

What is Aragon? 

Launched in February 2017, Aragon is an Ethereum-based, open-source project that aims to empower anyone to create their own decentralized applications (DApp). It features a native token, ANT, that gives network participants the right to vote on the future direction of the platform. The ultimate goal for the project is for it to become a decentralized autonomous organization and DApp that’s free for anyone to create their own on the Aragon blockchain. 

The project’s Rationale

Traditional organizations spend a ton of money on overhead and administrative costs. And in their interactions with other organizations, there is the undesirable mix of fees, delays, and intermediaries that lead to overall friction and inefficiencies. Aragon seeks to remedy this by providing a platform where organizations can operate in a decentralized model on a shared platform.

Most organizations share what can be called standard functions. Whether it’s providing equity to investors, allowing shareholders to vote on key decisions, fundraising, compensating employees, implementing security access, almost all organizations have similar administrative functions. These functions make up part of the Aragon DApp solution for any organization that’s on-boarded on the network. Aragon hopes to simplify the process of setting up and running these operations on the blockchain. 

The Technology Behind Aragon

The Aragon platform is made of Aragon Core, a Solidity decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) framework, and online-based DApps. Aragon focuses on two key principles: 

  • A decentralized court/jurisdiction for solving disputes on the network and enforcing contracts on the platform
  • An upgrade system

Aragon Core, which supports organizational and management logic, is made of four components: 

  • Bylaws defining user permissions
  • A decision-making governance system
  • Capital system for token issuance
  • A finance accounting system 

Aragon’s interface is designed to be friendly and intuitive for non-technical users, yet provides an environment for developers to create applications and contribute to the network. 

Also, Aragon’s incorporation of DAO principles is intended to eventually allow the network to give control to users who will govern the system through a voting mechanism incentivized by the ANT token.

In addition, the network hopes to eventually be financially self-reliant by aggregating fees collected from users. The funds will be allocated to maintaining the network and paying service providers such as core contract developers, the jurisdiction of courts, and a bug bounty program. 

Modular Custom Features

Organizations will be able to edit existing modules, incorporate more functionalities, or develop completely new ones as they wish. The Aragon team envisions the Aragon core technology finding users that extend beyond operating traditional businesses. Among others, the following use cases could emerge: 

  • Political elections and national polls: smart contracts could be employed to create a prediction model that holds elected officials to their promises
  • Contractor payment module: on-boarding subcontractors and compensating them based on milestones or whichever model they prefer
  • Enhanced analytics and accounting: employ advanced visualization techniques to accounting and auditing data for your organization

The ANT Token

The ANT token is the native cryptocurrency of the Aragon network. The token is critical to the governing system and incentivizing mechanism of the platform. The token was sold in a successful initial coin offering (ICO) in May 2017, raising $24 million. 

The token is at the center of the running of the platform. Individuals with a stake in ANT can vote on key decisions, participate in the decentralized court system, play a role in the Aragon Foundation and contribute to research and development for the network through the Aragon Nest program. 

Who is Behind Aragon? 

The Aragon team comprises diverse talents with diverse backgrounds, both geographically and experience-wise. 

Luis Cuende is the founder and project lead and holder of accolades, including “The Best Underage European Programmer” in  2011 and “Forbes 30 Under 30” and “MIT Innovators Under 35”. He has also been an advisor to the Vice President of the European Commission in charge of the EU’s  Digital Agenda. 

Jorge Izquierdo is the Tech Lead. He has several projects under his belt and is also a recipient of the Thiel Fellowship and Apple’s WWDC scholarship. 

The ultimate goal of the project, however, is for Aragon to no longer need a team. The developers hope community involvement and support will drive future initiatives, with the Foundation only playing a minor role in coordinating contributions.

What’s the Market Look Like for ANT? 

At the time of writing, ANT is trading at $1.12 while ranking at #126 in the crypto market. It has a market cap of $35, 983, 594, a 24-hour volume of $259, 021, a circulating supply of 32,100, 881, and a total supply of 39, 609,534. The token’s highest price ever was $7.76( Jan 07, 2018), while it’s lowest was $0.285450 (No 25, 2018). 

Where to Buy and Store ANT

ANT is available on several popular exchanges, including Bittrex, Liqui, Changelly, Livecoin, IDEX, EtherDelta, Novaexchange, HitBTC, and ShapeShift. You will need to first purchase BTC or ETH, then exchange it for ANT. 

ANT is Ethereum-based, meaning you can store it on any Ethereum-compatible wallet. Some options include MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, ethaddress, Atomic Wallet, Guarda Wallet, Ledger Nano, and Trezor. Ledger and Trezor are particularly superior options in terms of security.

Final Words

Aragon can help usher in a radical shift in the structure and operations of organizations. By helping them integrate blockchain technology, we can start seeing the revolutionary features of transparency, immutability, and decentralization – taking form in actual day-to-day functions in organizations. 

Aragon has created a friendly and intuitive interface so that both non-technical and developers can derive and create value, optimize processes, and participate in the blockchain revolution. Aragon could very well be the next-gen solution for a decentralized economy. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Introducing MaidSafeCoin: What is This Network All About?

We live in a world where we entrust our data to huge corporations who cannot be trusted to keep it safe. Take, for instance, the Facebook and Equifax debacles where data for millions of users suffered a massive breach of privacy. On the other side, governments have been accused of conducting mass surveillance on citizens. 

We live in a world where we entrust our data to huge corporations who cannot be trusted to keep it safe. Take, for instance, the Facebook and Equifax debacles where data for millions of users suffered a massive breach of privacy. On the other side, governments have been accused of conducting mass surveillance on citizens. 

We live in a world where we entrust our data to huge corporations who cannot be trusted to keep it safe. Take, for instance, the Facebook and Equifax debacles where data for millions of users suffered a massive breach of privacy. On the other side, governments have been accused of conducting mass surveillance on citizens. 

Events like these prove that your data is not safe in the hands of centralized systems. Data that you use to sign up for online services such as email, Know Your Customer (KYC), social media sites, etc. is not safe. Even information that you leave on such sites is not safe. 

Enter SAFE Network. This is a project that seeks to change how we interact with the internet by the use of high-level encryption, distributed technology, and an incentivizing system to protect users.

This article is an in-depth guide into the SAFE network project and its associated tokens, MaidSafeCoin, and Safecoin.

What is MaidSafeCoin?

MaidSafeCoin (MAID for “Massive Array of Internet Disks) is a token for the Safecoin network, a decentralized and privacy-focused network. Safecoin will be the currency for the SAFE network. The SAFE (Secure Access For Everyone) network is made of a contribution of users’ extra computing space and power as well as bandwidth. The idea behind SAFE is to provide decentralized storage for users all over the world. 

The SAFE network promises 20 things to users once it’s launched. It calls them “the fundamental principles.” Among others, it promises the following things: a serverless network, digital signing of all transactions, anonymized data, permanent data storage, and creation of multiple identities. 

The SAFE network itself is not blockchain-based, which allows it to scale faster than the traditional blockchain.

What is the Safe Network?

The SAFE Network is a way for people to access apps that put their data security above all else. Through the SAFE software, you can message, email, participate in social networks, store data, and video calls in a safe and secure manner. 

SAFE  employs advanced peer-to-peer technology that combines the spare computing power and data connection of network users, creating a large, global network. Users are incentivized to share their computing resources by being rewarded with the network’s built-in token known as Safecoin.

The SAFE network has been a work in progress since 2016. It is a project of MAIDSafe, a technology company based in Ayr, Scotland. The SAFE team is led by founder David Irvine, with a team that’s distributed across the globe. 

Why should I Use theSAFE Network?

Existing applications and programs cannot be trusted to protect your data, from selling your data to advertisers to controlling your data. On SAFE, your data remains completely under your control, as the network utilizes distributed resources, eliminating a single point of failure that would render your data vulnerable to hackers and other malicious parties. And by contributing your idle computing resources, you get compensated with cryptocurrency.

How Does Safe Network Work? 

Below, we’ll take a look at the functionalities of the SAFE Network. 

#1. Encrypted Data

When you upload your data on the SAFE network, it’s broken into chunks, hashed with a 256-bit hash algorithm, and encrypted. It is then randomly distributed across the network. The network also makes copies of the data so that even if a device storing it goes offline or down, you can still access it. 

Also, the SAFE network intuitively creates more copies of data that is in high demand. This means popular websites will have more copies of their data created, making them faster, as opposed to the current system where more copies would slow them down.

#2. Vaults

The SAFE Network is made of interconnected computers known as Vaults. A Vault is a software that connects/plugs a device to the Network. Collectively, Vaults oversee all the data on the network by managing encrypted user data distributed across the network. A farmer (more on that below) does not have the capacity to decrypt data that their Vault receives. This ensures the ultimate safety of user data on the SAFE network. 

Farmers on the network start their Vault level at 1, and their responsibility is to safeguard data in a random group as they move from group to group, their Vault level increases – a process known as node aging. Farmers are also subjected to a test known as ‘Proof of Resource.’ 

The test involves the network storing random pieces of data on your computer. If you look after them properly, you’re regarded as a valuable and trusted resource to be network, and your level is increased. If you don’t, your level is reduced. As nodes/vaults increase in age, so does the network gain more trust in them and consequently become ripe candidates for being assigned decision-making power in the network.

What is Farming? 

Users who provide their excess computing resources to the network (running a vault) are rewarded with Safecoin. The resources could be any of the following: storage, CPU, data connection, and time that allows the encrypted data to be stored and retrieved from their devices. 

Safecoin is given as an incentive for users to provide their resources to the network. These resources are storage space, CPU, bandwidth, and online time that enable the encrypted chunks of network data to be stored and retrieved from their computer. 

This process of operating a Vault and getting paid with Safecoin is called ‘Farming.’ 

The process of providing resources and receiving Safecoin in return is called ‘Farming.’ Each chunk of encrypted data is kept in a Farmer’s Vault, a data storage and management software on the device that not even they can read or access. 

What is Proof of Resource? 

Proof of Resource is the process by which the network determines a Vault’s ability to reliably store data and retrieve it as and when necessary. This ability is measured by the CPU speed, data connectivity, storage space, and time online.   

The proof of resource mechanism uses a model similar to a zero-knowledge proof. This means the network does not need to know the content of the data, but only if the data is being stored appropriately. 

What is Safecoin?

Safecoin is a token that’s automatically generated by the SAFE network. Unlike crypto networks that need miners, the SAFE network automatically confirms transactions. The token is transferred using the digital signature of its last owner. This process is ‘network atomic’ – meaning the network updates all copies to reflect the new transaction.

What is the MaidSafe token?

MaidSafeCoin is a proxy token that presides on the Omni network on the Bitcoin blockchain. It was sold in a pre-sale to raise funds for the SAFE network project. The token will be swapped for Safecoin on a 1:1 basis when Safecoin is launched. 

MAIDSafe’s Economics

As of Jun 03, 2020, MaidSafeCoin is trading at $0.137611, while ranking at #89. It has a market cap of $62, 276, 246, and a 24-hour volume of $145, 272. Its circulating and total supply is 452, 552, 412. MAID’s all-time high was $1.20 (Jan 02, 2018), while it’s all-time low was $0.004059 (Mar 08, 2015). 

Where to buy MAID 

In the early days, your options for acquiring MAID tokens were slim. Fortunately, the coin has now been listed on several popular exchanges, including Coinswitch, Changelly, HitBTC, Poloniex, and Bittrex. You will need to first buy a proxy coin such as Bitcoin or Ethereum and then exchange it for MAID. 

Safecoin currently offers a client wallet for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, as well as a web wallet, paper wallet, and Android wallet. You can also use Omnicore, an offline wallet. 

Final Words

The SAFE network is yet to take full form, but once it does, it will be a total game-changer in the online storage, internet use, and personal data management space. People will no longer have their data stored and controlled by corporate machines and centralized government systems. Nor will they communicate in the fear that unauthorized third parties are watching their correspondences. SAFE will essentially hand back the power of the internet to the people.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What is Streamr (DATA): Everything You Need to Know

The concept of real-time data is becoming huge. In the very near future, such data will become a hot commodity. Already, massive volumes of real-time data are being generated across industries and supply chains. And this is in a time when the Internet of Things (IoT) is catching up, and we have connected devices everywhere. 

The concept of real-time data is becoming huge. In the very near future, such data will become a hot commodity. Already, massive volumes of real-time data are being generated across industries and supply chains. And this is in a time when the Internet of Things (IoT) is catching up, and we have connected devices everywhere. 

The concept of real-time data is becoming huge. In the very near future, such data will become a hot commodity. Already, massive volumes of real-time data are being generated across industries and supply chains. And this is in a time when the Internet of Things (IoT) is catching up, and we have connected devices everywhere. 

This data is valuable. It can be harnessed to optimize business processes, track assets with improved accuracy, target customers for better results, and tap into an endless possibility of new business models. 

However, there is a bottleneck preventing this. Currently, data storage and distribution is a centralized affair, which means a concentration of power in a few hands, lack of innovation, and a single point of failure. And while some projects such as IPFS, Swarm, and BigChainDB are providing decentralized storage services, they fall short when it comes to high-volume, real-time data. 

Streamr is a blockchain-based project that aims to provide the real-time data missing link. It hopes to achieve this through a global and peer-to-peer network and an incentivization mechanism that will “keep the data flowing.” 

In this article, we look at the Streamr project and its native token, DATA coin. 

What is Streamr?

Streamr is an off-chain network built on Ethereum blockchain that employs smart contracts to allow individuals, companies, and machines to trade and monetize data. The Streamr platform will create a marketplace that enables anyone to tokenize data on a decentralized, peer-to-peer network.

This marketplace could potentially offer a lot of data to a wide array of uses. Decentralized application (DApps) developers can obtain data for running their apps from Streamr’s data streams. Internet of things (IoT) machines can swap data amongst each other from different sides of the world. Or,  a person can input their health/statistics metrics into their workout app, and scientists/researchers could use this data in their study. And on and on. The possibilities are endless. 

In Streamr’s words: “Streamr is a decentralized network for scalable, low-latency, untamperable data delivery, and persistence, operated by the DATAcoin token. Anyone – or anything – can publish new data to data streams,  and others can subscribe to these streams to power DApps, smart contracts, microservices, and intelligent data pipelines.” 

How Does Streamr Work? 

The Streamr network has three groups of people: publishers, consumers, and brokers (broker nodes).  

Publishers submit data to Streamr’s data streams – a process called an ‘event.’ Some of the time, data is free, while at others, consumers must purchase it using the network’s native token DATAcoin. For their part, brokers publish events, manage storage, manage communications between nodes, subscribe to data streams, and so on. 

Streamr uses a scaling technology known as sharding. (Sharding is a database partitioning technique that enables a blockchain to scale, allowing for the processing of more transactions). Due to this, a node on the network is not responsible for all the traffic. Instead, each node is responsible for its partition or share of the traffic. Nodes are paid in DATACoin tokens for distributing data to consumers.

The network also utilizes checksums in a view to maintaining honesty in the network. A broker node has to present checksums of their work for peer review by other nodes. The white paper states that “If a node reports deviant checksums, none at all, or the checksums are not coherent, no reward is obtained and offending nodes become less likely to be assigned responsibility for a partition in the future.”

Data transmission is facilitated by smart contracts, which are responsible for holding information and maintaining the registry of data streams, allocating responsibility to broker nodes, and okaying contracts for data buying and selling. 

Streamr’s Technology Stack

Streamr’s real-time data conduit is powered by three pieces of technology: 

  • The Stream Editor – which features a usability layer and a set of tools that facilitate the quick development of data-driven apps
  • Steamr Engine – an off-chain event processing, analysis, and refining engine 
  • Streamr Data Market – a hub for shared datastreams where anyone can contribute, subscribe, or purchase data.
  • Streamr  Network – the data transportation layer that supports events, holds stream meta-data, handle messaging, integrity checking, and data transmission.

Smart Contracts on Streamr

Streamr utilizes smart contracts to achieve and maintain integrity in the network. The Streamr white paper says: “A number of Ethereum smart contracts support the operation of the Streamr Network and the Data Market. The stream network uses smart contracts for incentivization, coordination, permissioning, and integrity checking. The Data Market builds upon features provided by the Network for data licensing and monetization. DATAcoin, an ERC20 token, is used by both layers for incentivization, as a reputation metric and as the means of payment.”

The Streamr Team

The Streamr team is led by Henri Phikala, Risto Karjalainen, Nikke Nylund, and Michael Malka. Phikala is a software engineer, entrepreneur, an algorithmic trader. He has designed the streamer cloud analytics platform.

Karjalainen is a data and finance expert with a Ph.D. from the Wharton School of Business. He’s a quantitative analyst with years of experience in systematic trading and asset management. 

Nikke Nylund has a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the Helsinki School of Economics. He has founded or invested in several successful ICT and tech companies and has years of experience as an algorithmic trading strategist. 

Michael Malka is an entrepreneur and tech enthusiast with 20 years of software development experience working in startups to banks to telecommunications. He has a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Helsinki. 

The DATA Token 

Streamr’s native token is used to compensate data publishers, and consumers pay for data via the token. Here is a more detailed breakdown of the token’s functions. 

  • Incentivizing nodes to participate and a peer-to-peer network by lending their time, power, computing and bandwidth resources
  • Incentivizing data producers to contribute the data and helping the network grow for everyone’s benefit
  • Serving as the basis for karma – the Streamr community’s reputation metric

DATAcoin operates atop the Ethereum blockchain. Thus, Ethereum-based smart contracts maintain tokens balances and oversee trustless and secure transactions. As an ERC20 token, DATA coin is interoperable with a wide range of wallets as well as tokens.

Streamr (DATA) Economics

As of June 08, 2020, DATA coin is trading at $.0.061719, while ranking at #115. It has a market cap of $41, 927, 535, a 24-hour volume of $574, 230, a circulating supply of 679, 327, 435, a total supply of 987, 154, 514. DATA has an all-time high of  $0.374587 (January 07, 2018) and an all-time low of $0.004854 (March 13 2020). 

Where to Buy and Store Streamr

DATA is sold/exchanged in a variety of exchanges such as Ethfinex,  Binance, HitBTC, Gate.io, EtherDelta, HitBit, and eToro. You can exchange several cryptos for DATA, such as BTC, ETH, or USDT. 

Being an ERC20 token, DATA can be held in any ERC20/Ethereum compatible wallet. Popular options include MyEtherWallet, Guarda Ledger, Trezor, MetaMask Parity, InWe Wallet, Infinito Wallet, Trust Wallet, and others. 

Final Words

Streamr is taking the idea of decentralized data and elevating it to a higher, more timely level. The world’s economy is currently in a megatrend motion towards real-time data, and Streamr is preparing to meet this need in a global, peer-to-peer, and blockchain-backed system. 

Streamr’s decision to operate on top of Ethereum’s blockchain instead of building its own from scratch blockchain affords more time and concentration to research and development of the concept, meaning it can achieve its goals faster. If the project catches on, we could see a real-time, decentralized data model that could forever change the way we interact with data. The project is one to keep an eye on. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What is Horizen (ZEN) All About?

The development of the internet was a turning point for humanity. Thanks to the internet, we’re in what’s called the ‘information age’ – where information is quickly and widely disseminated to all corners of the globe. But while this is positive, it also means the privacy of persons is not a 100% guarantee. This is especially true with governments that keep their citizens on watch – for one reason or another. 

The development of the internet was a turning point for humanity. Thanks to the internet, we’re in what’s called the ‘information age’ – where information is quickly and widely disseminated to all corners of the globe. But while this is positive, it also means the privacy of persons is not a 100% guarantee. This is especially true with governments that keep their citizens on watch – for one reason or another. 

The development of the internet was a turning point for humanity. Thanks to the internet, we’re in what’s called the ‘information age’ – where information is quickly and widely disseminated to all corners of the globe. But while this is positive, it also means the privacy of persons is not a 100% guarantee. This is especially true with governments that keep their citizens on watch – for one reason or another. 

There’s also the problem of millions of people lacking rights to property, trapping them in cycles of poverty. 

Blockchain has been touted as a technology that can solve a myriad of today’s problems, thanks to its ground-breaking features of decentralization, immutability, and state-of-the-art security. 

Horizen is a project that seeks to solve the above problems with blockchain-powered solutions.  This piece is an in-depth look at the exciting ways it proposes to do this. We’ll also share with you where you can purchase the ZEN token. 

What is Horizen? 

Zen is the native token for the Horizen blockchain ecosystem. Horizen is an end-to-end, blockchain-based, and zero-knowledge platform that allows users to send, exchange and release communications, data, and value in a safe, private, and peer-to-peer manner.

Horizen seeks to be a blockchain destination for private messaging, confidential publication of communications, and a decentralized property management platform. The Zen team believes privacy, owning property, and expressing oneself privately are rights – and ones people have been denied. For this reason, it seeks to restore these rights through blockchain solutions.

In Horizen’s words: “We live in a hyper-regulated and surveilled world where billions of individuals are deprived of basic human rights such as property ownership, privacy, free association, and access to information. The technology exists to solve some of these problems, and Zen’s early implementation will do exactly that.” 

About Horizen

Formerly known as ZenCash, the Horizen project launched in May 2017 after forking from ZClassic – a fork from privacy coin ZCash. ZClassic was merely a privacy coin, but ZenCash wanted to create an entire ecosystem that offered more than private transactions. 

As they state in the white paper: “Our team realized that Zclassic could be further extended as a fully encrypted network with an innovative economic and governance model that better aligns with Satoshi’s original vision for a decentralized global community. We view ZClassic as a fundamentally pure open source, all-volunteer cryptocurrency project, while Zen extends into a platform with internal funding to facilitate a broader set of communications, file sharing, and economic activities.”

How Does Horizen Work? 

To understand how Horizen works, let’s get a refresher of how ZCash, its grandparent blockchain, so to speak, works. ZCash accomplishes transactions through either shielded and transparent transactions. Users can choose completely private transactions through anonymous ‘z’ addresses, or transparent ‘t’ addresses. 

Horizen employs a secure messaging function and shielded transactions, providing complete anonymity for users. It accomplishes this through three main technologies: 

#1. ZenChat – a communications network that facilitates encrypted messages through industry-trusted algorithms. These texts have a 1024 character limit but are an ultra-secure way to pass messages.

#2. ZenPub – an anonymous content publishing platform that uses GNUnet or IPFS. Publishers can release such content anonymously. Horizen believes this functionality is an important extension of privacy. 

#3. ZenHide – the ability to circumvent crypto bans by domain fronting. This involves concealing the endpoints of communication. As Horizen explains, “A censor, unable to distinguish fronted and non-fronted traffic to a domain, must choose between allowing circumferential traffic and blocking the domain entirely, which results in expensive collateral damage.” This protects crypto users from hostile jurisdictions. 

Below are more functionalities of the Zen network: 

  • Governors as a Service (GaaS) – which will entail opening up access of its governance model so other initiatives can use it
  • A decentralized crypto exchange (DEX) – a platform where crypto holders can trade tokens amongst each other in a peer-to-peer, decentralized and uncensorable environment
  • Selective proof of title for a property – securing individuals’ property by providing a secure and trustless property management platform
  • Decentralized banking services – the ability to secure instant loans in a safe secure and decentralized environment
  • Peer-to-peer (P2P) insurance – a system where participants can pull their resources for various types of insurance covers

Horizen’s Secure Nodes and Standard Nodes 

Network nodes for any blockchain have the responsibility of cushioning the network against attacks. They facilitate instant and untraceable payments. In addition, they support a decentralized model of governance where nodes can make their voice heard on key issues. 

One criticism leveled against this ‘traditional’ system is that miners can switch from one coin to another in response to a coin’s changing fortunes. There’s nothing keeping miners ‘loyal’ to any particular cryptocurrency, except profits. 

To address this problem, Secure nodes on the Zen platform are required to deposit a set amount of collateral before operating a node. This is so to keep miners loyal to the network. The following are the key functions of Secure nodes:

  • Ensure all communications relied on the network are encrypted
  • Maintaining the full Zen blockchain
  • Protecting Zen wallet applications via certificate-based encryption techniques

For a node to become a Secure Node, they need to meet two major requirements:

  • Have a software that meets the provided infrastructure requirements
  • Have a memory of 4GB+

The Zen platform also features ‘standard nodes.’ These are nodes that can be operated on any Linux server Mac or PC. The standard node plays the role of both node and wallet. Standard nodes do not possess the high-level encryption of Secure Nodes, but they help to decentralize the network, help the system run optimally, and boost its resilience. 

The Horizen Team 

Horizen is engineered by a core team of three, who are Joshua Yabut, Rob Viglione, and Rolf Versluis. Yabut is an experienced scientist with a background in cryptocurrency (part of the Zclassic team) aerospace engineering and computer science. 

Viglione is a former physicist, military officer, and a mathematician. He was also a member of the Zclassic team. He is a libertarian who believes peace and freedom are an essential part of life. 

Versluis has an extensive background in IT – having worked for Cisco and is a nuclear-trained officer in the US Submarine Force. 

What’s the Market Look Like for Zen?

As of June 2nd, 2020, Horizen is trading at $6.53, at the market rank of #95. Its total market capitalization is $60, 089,955, and it has a  24-hour volume of $4, 942, 379. ZEN has a circulating and total supply of 9, 197, 938, and a maximum supply of 21, 000, 000. The token’s all-time high was $67.29 (Jan 10, 2018), and its all-time low was $3.09 (July 31, 2017). 

Where to Buy Zen

You can purchase Zen from a variety of popular exchanges such as Bittrex, Cryptopia, OKEx, Binance, HitBTC, Huobi, Sistemkoin, and CoinEX. You need to purchase cryptos such as BTC, ETH, BNB, and USDT and exchange it for Zen. You can also attempt to mine Zen here.

For storage, Zen provides the following options: 

  • Sphere, Swing and Arizen wallets for desktop
  • Horizen Core – A Command Line Interface (CLI) for the more tech-minded
  • MyZen wallet for web, and
  • Zen wallet for mobile 

Third-party options include DDT Wallet, CoolWallet, Ledger, Coinomi, Paytomat, Guarda, Magnum, Cointigo, and Ownbit. 

Final Thoughts

Zen takes the idea of privacy and expands it, creating a suite of functions that the crypto community can realize real value in. While it may not have the name recognition of Monero or ZCash, it may emerge as the dark horse of privacy coins as more and more people start treating privacy as a must-have commodity. The project is worth keeping in your sight.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Komodo Project: Everything you’ll need to know about this Privacy Coin

One of the pain points of the pioneering blockchain – Bitcoin, is its pseudonymity of transactions that make it possible (although hard) for an interested third party to track down the real-world identities of individuals. In an era when privacy is more valuable than ever, such a state of affairs is doomed to be unsatisfactory to many. 

One of the pain points of the pioneering blockchain – Bitcoin, is its pseudonymity of transactions that make it possible (although hard) for an interested third party to track down the real-world identities of individuals. In an era when privacy is more valuable than ever, such a state of affairs is doomed to be unsatisfactory to many. 

One of the pain points of the pioneering blockchain – Bitcoin, is its pseudonymity of transactions that make it possible (although hard) for an interested third party to track down the real-world identities of individuals. In an era when privacy is more valuable than ever, such a state of affairs is doomed to be unsatisfactory to many. 

This is why many succeeding blockchains have attempted to provide a bit more privacy. One of those is the Komodo blockchain, which is a fork of the ZCash blockchain – itself a privacy blockchain. 

Komodo aims to be a blockchain powerhouse of sorts. It’s a decentralized exchange, an atomic swap, and a decentralized ICO platform. 

In this guide, we discover more about what Komodo is all about, along with the platform’s token.

What is Komodo? 

Komodo is a privacy coin and blockchain project that aims to be a faster, more secure alternative to the traditional blockchain. It’s a platform that allows crypto developers to launch ICOs as well as their blockchains. Besides, the Komodo platform hosts a decentralized exchange as well as an anonymizer that keeps transactions private. 

Komodo is built off of ZCash, another privacy coin, and inherits some of its privacy features such as the ZK-SNARK technology. These privacy features enable users to spend, send, and receive funds without leaving a trackable trail. This, when combined with Komodo’s anonymization tool Jumblr, provides the utmost privacy for users. 

Who is the Team Behind Komodo? 

In keeping with the privacy theme of the Komodo ecosystem, the project’s architects have chosen to remain pseudonymous. The project’s lead identifies by “jl777” Lee, and the  chief technology officer as “ca333.”

How Does the Komodo Platform Work? 

The Komodo platform encompasses several components that make up its entire ecosystem. The team would like you to know that they call “features” what others call “revolutionary.” With that, let’s look at Komodo’s features. 

#1. BarterDEX

BarterDEX is a decentralized, atomic swap-enabled exchange. Atomic swaps mean directly exchanging one token for another instead of relying on proxy tokens like on centralized exchanges. This reduces counterparty risk. 

BarterDEX also deals with the problem of low liquidity that is common with decentralized exchanges. It does this by utilizing ‘liquidity provider nodes’ (LP nodes), which stabilize the market by making it easier for traders to conduct trades. 

#2. Jumblr

Komodo utilizes an open-source and decentralized anonymizer known as Jumblr to obscure transactions’ trail. This renders it impossible for third parties to track down your identity. 

The process works as follows. The anonymizer redirects your Komodo (KMD) tokens from all non-private addresses into several (private) zk-SNARK addresses. These obscured addresses remove any trail from the transactions. Then, the tokens are rerouted towards a new address that you have chosen. Jumblr is also connected to BarterDEX. This means you can also add an extra layer of privacy to your trades. 

#3. Delayed Proof-of-Work (dPoW)

Komodo uses a hybrid consensus mechanism known as Delayed Proof-of-Work (dPoW) to maintain the network. In a ‘Komodo twist,’ the dPoW relies on an original consensus algorithm with no specification on what it could be. Such an algorithm can either be Proof-of-Work or Proof-of-Stake. This hybrid mechanism allows the Komodo platform to capitalize on the security provided by the hashing power of another blockchain. 

The dPoW mechanism uses two nodes: notary and normal nodes. Just like in a delegated Proof-of-Stake mechanism, stakeholders are responsible for choosing notary nodes who will determine the validity of transactions. In Komodo, 64 notary spots can be filled at any given time, but 13 of those are enough to secure the network. These nodes are tasked with the responsibility to notarize blocks from the dPoW chain onto the secondary blockchain. 

Like we noted earlier, a dPoW network can be built on top of a secondary algorithm. Komodo’s dPoW is built on Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work algorithm for the latter’s strong hash rate, which enables a robust, secure network. And transactions taking place using dPoW do not have to pay transaction fees for using the secondary blockchain. 

#4. Decentralized Initial Coin Offerings (dICOs)

Komodo also supports decentralized Initial Coin offerings (dICOs). A dICO is in many ways similar to the traditional ICO, but avoids much of the pitfalls associated with a centralized system. By just a few Komodo commands, you can get started on your own blockchain and kickstart an ICO. 

Below are the advantages of a dICO: 

  • You can distribute your new coins among community members without them being scooped up by whales.
  • The benefits of the entire Komodo platform, including the BarterDEX
  • Removal of a single point of failure which is prone to attack and could jeopardize the initiative
  • Users can participate anonymously, thanks to the Jumblr anonymizer.

What’s the Komodo (KMD) Token?

The KMD token is the native currency of the Komodo platform. It powers transactions on the Komodo platform; and will gain more usefulness as more functionalities are built upon it. 

As of May 31, 2020, KMD is trading at $.0633420, while ranking at #78 in the market. It has a market cap of $76, 012, 370, a 24-hour volume of &6, 207, 821, a circulating and total supply of 120, 003, 181, and a maximum supply of 200, 000, 000. It has an all-time high of $10.00 (Dec 21, 2017) and an all-time low of $0.002143 (March 13, 2017).

Where to Buy and Store KMD

You can purchase KMD directly or trade another cryptocurrency for it on a variety of reputable exchanges such as Bittrex, Binance, Cointree, Changelly, Huobi, HitBTC, Shapeshift and Bitit. 

When it comes to storage, you have numerous options. You can opt for Komodo’s own Agama wallet, Komodo OceanQT, or paper wallet. If you’re more tech-savvy, you can also go for the Komodo CLI (Command Line Interface). Other options include third-party wallets such as Zerus wallet, Guarda Wallet, and Ledger. 

Conclusion

Komodo is a project that’s flipping the script on what a blockchain system can be all about. From being a decentralized ICO platform to featuring an anonymizer to hosting a decentralized exchange. The platform’s Jumblr technology combined with ZCash’s ZK-SNARK ensures utter privacy for users, and you can easily kickstart your blockchain project by executing a few commands on the platform.  As the platform continues to evolve, fans of the project can expect more exciting things. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What is Lisk (LSK)? 

Bitcoin was about taking power from centralized finance systems. Thanks to the vision of Satoshi Nakamoto, individuals can own a currency that cannot be censored, controlled, or frozen by anyone. And now, ten plus years after their groundbreaking currency, Satoshi would be gratified to know that their idea is coming true in other facets of our society.

Bitcoin was about taking power from centralized finance systems. Thanks to the vision of Satoshi Nakamoto, individuals can own a currency that cannot be censored, controlled, or frozen by anyone. And now, ten plus years after their groundbreaking currency, Satoshi would be gratified to know that their idea is coming true in other facets of our society.

Bitcoin was about taking power from centralized finance systems. Thanks to the vision of Satoshi Nakamoto, individuals can own a currency that cannot be censored, controlled, or frozen by anyone. And now, ten plus years after their groundbreaking currency, Satoshi would be gratified to know that their idea is coming true in other facets of our society.

Bitcoin’s driving technology, blockchain, is being harnessed for a raft of industries. But one area that’s not so obvious is the one for decentralized applications (DApps). DApps are a new kind of apps not controlled or regulated by any single entity.

They are the polar opposite of traditional applications whose developers are at the whims of centralized entities.

Lisk is hoping to change this by empowering developers all over the world with the means to earn from their work. Let’s get a closer look at how it plans to make this happen.

What is LISK? 

Launched in May 2016, Lisk is an open-source and blockchain-based platform that aims to make blockchain technology more accessible for developers to build decentralized applications (DApps). It does this by employing side chain technology.

Lisk aims to address the problem developers face when creating applications using blockchain. Developers work so hard but are usually under the mercy of centralized entities (such as Google Play and Apple’s App Store), which get the largest share of revenues.

Lisk aims to correct this by creating a decentralized platform that will allow developers to deservedly earn from their work. Also, instead of using a proprietary coding language, Lisk utilizes JavaScript, the most well-known, so as to accelerate development to make it easier for developers to join the platform.

How Does Lisk Work 

Lisk is a platform that lets developers create decentralized applications ((just like Ethereum or NEO). However, Lisk distinguishes itself in several ways.

For instance, Ethereum uses Solidity, a language unique to it, thus requiring developers who wish to use the platform to learn a new language. Also, the platform is majorly dedicated to smart contracts. This ingrained code means third parties have to operate as front-end applications.

Lisk utilizes sidechain technology and a software development kit (SDK) to empower developers to produce high-quality DApps.

Sidechains

Sidechains are independent blockchains that connect to the main blockchain without interfering with its performance. This creates interoperability that enables users to perform previously impossible tasks such as transferring your tokens directly between chains. For developers, sidechain tech allows them to customize things like consensus algorithms, testnets, and asset tracking.

Many side chains feature just one blockchain (e.g., Bitcoin) or are developed for private blockchains. Lisk wants to combine these to create the best solution: maintain security with side-chain flexibility. Developers can create their own blockchain – which will function as a sidechain, while Lisk maintains the mainchain – which is secured by 101 delegates. As such, were a side chain to go down, the network and the main chain would not be affected.

How is Lisk Different?

Lisk seeks to make blockchain tech more accessible to developers. To this end, they’ve created a set of blockchain developing tools based on JavaScript. The platform wants to achieve a high-level user experience and offer unprecedented developer support.

Lisk’s SDK comprises three core parts:

  • Consensus Algorithm – which is Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)
  • Sidechain – which lets developers create independent blockchains linked to the main chain
  • Back-end – a fully customizable code that allows developers to create decentralized applications autonomously
  • Front-end – friendly user interface (UI) where the public can interact with the chains

By bringing together the capacity of the main chain with open-source blockchain development kits, developers have the free rein to create exciting, convenient, and accessible digital apps. They can then make the apps available as a package in a decentralized app repository. The LSK token is used to power transactions and services on the Lisk blockchain.

Delegated Proof of Stake 

Lisk uses a delegated proof of stake mechanism that works as follows. Anyone can become a delegate by registering an account on the network. With this account, you can easily collect votes from any LSK holder. 1 LSK token is equal to 1 vote, and an LSK holder can vote with their current LSK holdings.

The 101 delegates with the most votes get to add new blocks on a blockchain and, by so doing, secure the network. These delegates are said to be on an “active” mode. The rest of the delegates are on “standby.” Also, the order of the active and the standby delegates is constantly changing.

The Lisk Team 

Lisk is led by a vibrant team led by Max Kordek and Oliver Beddows. Kordek is President/CEO and co-founder. He has been an avid follower of blockchain,  and he gathered a lot of insights on the technology for years before creating Lisk. He’s also an ardent fan of science fiction.

Beddows is Vice President/CTO and Founder. He has 12 years of development experience under his belt, and he believes blockchain is a powerful tech that can change the world for the better.

What’s the Market Look Like for LSK? 

As of June 4, 2020, Lisk is trading at $1.25, while ranking at #51 in market capitalization. It has a market cap of $154, 891, 635,  a 24-hour volume of $5, 295, 614, a circulating supply of 123, 957, 448, and a total supply of 140, 012, 060. LSK’s all-time high was $39.31 (Jan 7, 2018), and its all-time low was $0.095652 (Mar 02, 2017).

Where to Buy and Store LSK 

You can find Lisk in a variety of exchanges, including Binance, Poloniex, Bittrex, HitBTC, Coinswitch, Kraken, Cointree, KuCoin, YoBitNet and Huobi. For the majority of the exchanges, you’ll need to first purchase BTC or ETH and then exchange it for Lisk.

Lisk has a Wallet available for both desktop and mobile. The desktop version allows you to vote for delegates as well as monitor the Lisk blockchain: inspect delegates, monitor transactions and blocks, and so on. Lisk also recommends these third-party wallets: Trezor One, Trezor Model T, Ledger Nano S, and Ledger Nano X.

Final Words

Lisk is a blockchain project that’s actualizing the Bitcoin dream – taking power from centralized systems and handing it back to the people. For too long, talented and hard-working developers have had to cede to corporate machines, which take the lion’s share of the revenue from their hard work.

Lisk is about to change this by creating a decentralized platform where developers can utilize a set of powerful tools to create decentralized apps and take back their earning power. Also, its use of JavaScript will help it cultivate a user base of millions of already trained developers, and has the potential to thrust it to the forefront of the blockchain space. It’s certainly one to watch.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

Coinbase in a Deal to Sell Crypto Surveillance Tools to US Feds

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, has offered to procure Coinbase Analytics, its analytics platform, to US agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The Block broke the story on June 5th. 

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, has offered to procure Coinbase Analytics, its analytics platform, to US agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The Block broke the story on June 5th. 

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, has offered to procure Coinbase Analytics, its analytics platform, to US agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The Block broke the story on June 5th. 

Records seen by the publication indicate the DEA and the IRS have entered into licensing agreements with Coinbase for an analytics tool called Coinbase Analytics. Documents relating to the deal were publicly published in April and May for the IRS and the DEA, respectively.

Coinbase Analytics is closely tied to the company’s entire ecosystem. According to a publicly available job posting, the Senior Product Manager for Coinbase Analytics “collaborates” with the “Coinbase Consumer, Coinbase Pro, and Coinbase Custody” plus Coinbase’s payments and cryptocurrency division. 

However, Coinbase has denied any relationship between Coinbase Analytics and its internal customer records. In an email to CoinDesk, a spokesperson for the exchange wrote:” Coinbase Analytics data is fully sourced from online publicly-available data, and does not include any personally identifiable information for anyone, regardless of whether or not they use Coinbase.” 

Coinbase and Neutrino

Worth noting is the IRS announcement that mentions the connection between Coinbase Analytics and Neutrino, an intelligence company controversially acquired by Coinbase in 2019. The purchase evoked controversy because Neutrino’s founders were linked to an Italian spyware entity known as the Hacking Team. 

The IRS document notes: “As law enforcement techniques evolve and other cryptocurrencies gain acceptance, criminals are using other types of cryptocurrencies, not just Bitcoin, to facilitate their crimes. In addition to the Bitcoin Blockchain, Coinbase Analytics (fka Neutrino) allows for the analysis and tracking of cryptocurrency flows across multiple blockchains that criminals are currently using. Coinbase Analytics also provides some enhanced law enforcement sensitive capabilities that are not currently found in other tools on the market. This action will result in a Firm Fix Priced purchase order, Period of Performance: One base year from date of award with one 12-month option.”

Public records show that Coinbase is yet to be granted the awards, neither does the company appear in USASpending.gov, a government directory for contract awards.

Coinbase confirmed to The Block that it indeed developed the product with the assistance of Neutrino. It added that it’s willing to offer Analytics to financial and regulatory agencies and that the tool can also be used for internal investigations. “It’s an important tool to meet our regulatory requirements and protect our customers’ funds,” said the company.

DEA’s interest in this technology seems to be informed by Coinbase Analytics’s high-level accuracy. The federal organization states that the tool has “some of the most conservative heuristics used in commercial blockchain tracing tools,” a “critical” component that can avoid false positives.

Backlash From the Crypto Community

The backlash from the crypto community and the exchange’s users was swift. Indeed, users are walking away in droves and looking for alternatives. Data from Glassnode indicates that the walkout was further compounded by recent outages on Coinbase during Bitcoin’s spike. Users on the platform withdrew 22, 000 more Bitcoin than they deposited two days earlier before the Coinbase Analytics story broke.

Crypto Twitter Chimes In

Crypto Twitter is weighing heavily on the matter. Influential crypto trader Matt Odell scathingly tweeted, “if you use Coinbase, you should delete your account.” Odell’s sentiments were echoed by many others who expressed concern on whether exchange could be trusted to keep user data private. 

Another crypto entrepreneur Josh Rager conducted a Twitter poll of 5,000 people that revealed  2/3 of Coinbase users were willing to ditch the exchange. Amplifying the thoughts and feelings of many, Rager opined that “Millions of dollars seem to be leaving Coinbase as we speak. Investors and traders are no longer limited to Coinbase or  Bitmex. If you screw over customers, take part in shady deals, or don’t improve the product, customers can now go elsewhere to trade/invest.”

Jameson Loop, another notable crypto personality, expressed his displeasure, saying: “This is no surprise, our distrust in you is strengthened, we will make your analytics software obsolete.” 

Many users chimed in to decry the decision, adding queen bees uses to delete the exchange. The hashtag #DeleteCoinbase was appearing on the top 10 Twitter trends. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What is Theta All About? 

Current video sharing platforms face a ton of issues, ranging from downtimes to high-maintenance costs to a poor reach in less developed countries. There is also the issue of centralization, meaning they are owned, controlled, and regulated by their owners. This means only ‘agreeable’ content, by their (owners) standards, is allowed.

Current video sharing platforms face a ton of issues, ranging from downtimes to high-maintenance costs to a poor reach in less developed countries. There is also the issue of centralization, meaning they are owned, controlled, and regulated by their owners. This means only ‘agreeable’ content, by their (owners) standards, is allowed.

Current video sharing platforms face a ton of issues, ranging from downtimes to high-maintenance costs to a poor reach in less developed countries. There is also the issue of centralization, meaning they are owned, controlled, and regulated by their owners. This means only ‘agreeable’ content, by their (owners) standards, is allowed.

Blockchain was invented to democratize and decentralize finance. But we don’t have to stop there. We can tap into the power of blockchain to achieve decentralization in other areas of society.

Theta is a blockchain and cryptocurrency project that seeks to provide a blockchain-powered video sharing experience. The token has been making headlines lately, with its raging rally of nearly 1300% since the crypto market’s downturn in mid-March precipitated by the Corona pandemic. Its inking of partnerships with big-time companies such as Android TV, Samsung, and Google is making the news.

What is Theta all about? This piece dives into that question, and more.

What is Theta?

Theta is a blockchain-powered platform that supports decentralized video streaming and delivery.  It aims to solve issues in current video sharing networks such as poor rich to developing countries, high costs of setting up, maintenance and bandwidth, and centralization.

These factors mean that video-sharing platforms lose out on revenue and that content can be censored. Furthermore, the current infrastructure is mostly unprepared for the changes that will be occasioned by upcoming developments such as 4K, 8K, 360° virtual reality streaming, and others such as light field technology.

The platform aims to solve these issues with the transformative blockchain. The tech will incentivize users through the Theta token, while also enabling a high-performance environment.

In Theta’s words, the company’s mission is to “leverage blockchain technology to create the first Decentralized Video Streaming and Delivery Network whereby video viewers are incentivized to share redundant computing and bandwidth resources to address today’s video streaming challenges.”

Who is Behind Theta?

Theta is the brainchild of Mitch Liu and Jieyi Long. Liu is the co-founder of Gameview Studios and a co-founder of Tapjoy. He holds a degree in Computer Science and Engineering from MIT and an MBA from Stanford. Long has a degree in Microelectronics from Peking University as well as a PhD in Computer Engineering from Northwestern University. He’s also the patent owner of various technologies in virtual reality and video game replays.

There is also a long list of engineers and architects, as well as advisors such as YouTube co-founder Steven Chen. Theta has also partnered with former members of media companies such as Twitch, Verizon Plays.tv, and others. Other partners at various stages include Samsung VR and NBN, one of the biggest media companies in Korea.

How Does Theta Work?

We will explore various functionalities of Theta and how it achieves its mission.

#1. Caching Nodes

The current content delivery networks comprise huge data centers in various parts of the globe. Due to their vast geographical distances from viewers, data streaming is often low quality. Theta proposes to solve this by creating a peer-to-peer network of users who share their network bandwidth. The end goal is to have a global network that can supplant or supplement existing content delivery networks.

This will be achieved by users from across the globe, lending their devices as “caching nodes.” The caching nodes will then form a robust mesh network that will be capable of delivering quality video streams to viewers across the globe. The network will reward caching nodes with Theta tokens, incentivizing users to continue contributing their spare bandwidth resources –  and thus strengthening the Theta network.

According to Theta, this will not just improve video reach and quality, but massively reduce costs. And this will be made possible by the eliminated need to maintain the current enormous data centers.

#2. Improved Resilience

Theta is also set to enhance the resilience of the whole infrastructure. As of now, the video streaming industry relies on a few data centers scattered across the globe. This is risky since if some of them were to go down for any reason, global streaming would be adversely affected. By distributing (and decentralizing) the caching and relay points to thousands of nodes, the Theta network can realize a sturdier network far more than the current systems can support.

#3. Quality Variance

Two problems present with the caching nodes. One is the difference in the quality of different nodes. The other is the possibility of nodes dropping off. To counter these problems, Theta has built a mechanism that will allow nodes to identify the geographically closest nodes to them, allowing them to connect with their nearest peers rather than random nodes situated in any corner of the world. This enables nodes to pull streams in a more consistent fashion.

What is Theta Token? 

The Theta network incentivizes viewers with Theta tokens to share their computing and bandwidth resources. Caching nodes are rewarded with tokens for relaying video streams to other network users. This, in effect, also increases streaming market efficiency by streamlining the delivery process.

Video publishers/advertisers can also directly reach viewers at a much-reduced cost, while viewers earn tokens for watching/interacting with content. Also, streaming platforms can realize new avenues for content sharing and revenue-generating with Theta. Below is a more detailed Theta token structure.

  • Caching nodes rewarded with tokens for streaming videos to other users
  • Caching nodes rewarded for engaging with content and in turn gifting (optionally) their favorite content creators
  • Streaming sites can leverage new content sharing avenues and engage better with users.
  • Advertisers funding campaigns with tokens
  • Streaming platforms can save up to 80% of content network costs.

What is Theta’s Consensus Mechanism? 

Theta utilizes a ‘Multi-level BFT’ consensus mechanism that allows thousands of nodes to take part in the consensus process. At the same time, the mechanism supports throughput of 1000+ transactions per second (TPS).

This mechanism utilizes a small set of nodes that acts as the ‘validator committee.’ This validator committee can produce new blocks super fast. Just 10 to 20 validators can do this – while still maintaining a high degree of difficulty to cushion against attacks on the blockchain. Then the rest of the network participants, also called ‘guardians,’ can finalize the process initiated by the validators. Finalization here refers to convincing each honest guardian that more than two-thirds of the guardians see the same chain of blocks.

Tokenomics of Theta

As of May 30, 2020, Theta traded at $0. 298066, while ranking at #35 in the crypto market. It has a market cap of $259, 466, 860, with a 24-hour volume of $66, 056, 366. Its circulating supply is 870, 502, 690, with a total supply of 1 billion. Its all-time high was $0. 555652 (May 27, 2020) while its all-time low was $0. 039771, (March 13, 2020).

Where to Buy and Store Theta Token

You can purchase Theta from any of several popular exchanges such as Coinbit, Bithumb, Upbit, Binance, Huobi, DigiFinex, Bkex, Biki, OKex, Hotbit, Gate.io, and WazirX. Coinbase, a popular exchange, does not yet support Theta. In the majority of the exchanges, Theta is available as a trading pair with Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, Binance Coin, and so on.

Likewise, you can store Theta tokens at any of trusted wallets such as Ledger, Trezor, Keep Key, MyEtherWallet, Exodus, and Coinomi.

Final Words

Theta provides incredible solutions to the current issues faced by video delivery networks. Its peer-to-peer mesh network, incentivized and powered by the blockchain, is certainly exciting and with a lot of potential. The only challenge for Theta is to maintain the quality of the platform as well as the decentralized nature of the network. Fans and network users will be relying on this.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What is Ontology?

After blockchain’s introduction to the world, the tech space was quick to notice how technology could be used for a lot more than cryptocurrency. Blockchain is a technology that is distributed, transparent (hence automating trust), uses cryptography to achieve high-level security, and supports immutable records. With these groundbreaking features, it would be crazy for the technology not to be tapped to streamline and optimize functions in industries.

After blockchain’s introduction to the world, the tech space was quick to notice how technology could be used for a lot more than cryptocurrency. Blockchain is a technology that is distributed, transparent (hence automating trust), uses cryptography to achieve high-level security, and supports immutable records. With these groundbreaking features, it would be crazy for the technology not to be tapped to streamline and optimize functions in industries.

After blockchain’s introduction to the world, the tech space was quick to notice how technology could be used for a lot more than cryptocurrency. Blockchain is a technology that is distributed, transparent (hence automating trust), uses cryptography to achieve high-level security, and supports immutable records. With these groundbreaking features, it would be crazy for the technology not to be tapped to streamline and optimize functions in industries.

The problem is, there have been a few barriers preventing this realization. One is the complex nature of blockchain. The other is, blockchain is not cheap. If an organization were to integrate blockchain into their infrastructure, they would either a.) build a blockchain solution from the ground up or b.) utilize the services of an established blockchain service.

Option A is incredibly costly since you’d have to dedicate enormous time and financial resources. Option B, however, would be more convenient and resource-saving.

Ontology is an organization that aims to provide enterprises with affordable and customized blockchain solutions. It also seeks to change the old way of giving and receiving trust – through blockchain.

What is Ontology?

Ontology is a Chinese blockchain-based company launched in 2017. The project’s founders envisioned an open platform that provides blockchain solutions to businesses across multiple industries in a collaborative and trustless environment. It will hopefully be a start in breaking down barriers between blockchain and businesses.

The Ontology platform is forward-thinking in the sense that it allows businesses without prior interaction with blockchain to utilize the technology. The blockchain concept can be complicated, and there is currently no easy way for businesses to incorporate the tech. Additionally, legacy trust networks have several inefficiencies, such as poor data security, untapped data assets, monopolization of data, and poor identity management. All these create avenues for blockchain to provide trustless, consensus-based, and fraud-proof solutions.

Via Ontology’s tools, organizations from anywhere can create collaborative trust mechanisms and customize them according to their specific needs. And all this without going through an expensive and time-consuming learning curve.

In Ontology’s words: “Ontology is a blockchain/distributed ledger network which combines a distributed identity system, distributed data exchange, distributed data collaboration, distributed procedure protocols, distributed communities, distributed attestation, and various industry-specific modules. Together this builds the infrastructure for a peer-to-peer trust network, which is cross-chain, cross-system, cross-industry, cross-application, and cross-device.” (source coincentral.com)

What’s the Deal with Ontology and Neo?

The Ontology project is so closely associated with Neo that it’s so easy to conflate the two. And understandably so, since it was created by June Li, under a company known as OnChain, which is headed by Da Hongfei, who is also the creator of Neo.

During Ontology’s launch, Hongfei said this about the two projects: “Ontology and Neo will build a broad ecosystem using blockchain and other new technologies to serve the real economy.” But Hongfei wants you to know that NEO and OnChain are two very separate entities and neither owns the other.

In a YouTube video, Hongfei clarified as follows: “First, I need to clarify that NEO and OnChain are separate entities, so OnChain doesn’t own NEO, or NEO, OnChain. They are separately funded – NEO is funded by the community, and OnChain is funded by a very famous financial group in China, Fosun… So they are separate. Second, OnChain benefits from the NEO ecosystem. The product, called DNA (Distributed Networks Architecture), is very similar to NEO, but it is written in the Go language. OnChain is helping other blockchains and financial institutions to build the blockchains with DNA. It’s basically very similar to NEO, and in the future, with NEOx (the cross-chain protocol), everything can be linked together.”

Ontology’s Trust Framework

The Ontology blockchain offers four service layers:

  1. An application for end-users
  2. A trusted data transmission solution for optimizing data distribution
  3. A layer for streamlining the industrial chain and building a healthy ecosystem that thrives on collaboration rather than competition
  4. A legally compliant arbitration system

The trust framework relies on these core elements:

  • A trust system featuring decentralized supervision, a distributed collaboration, and a centralized “strong trust anchor.”
  • The Ontology decentralized identification (ONT ID)  that connects people, assets, things, data, affairs, and services.
  • A blockchain-based framework that caters to different businesses security needs while balancing features and performance

Ontology’s Tokens

Ontology utilizes a dual token model. One token – ONT is used for staking in consensus while ONG gives users the right to use the network. ONG is issued periodically.

20 million ONT was distributed to NEO holders in March 2018, after initial distribution of 1000 ONT tokens to people who had signed up to their newsletter. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the token’s distribution:

  • 12 went to Ontology’s early supporters
  • 28% went to project partners
  • 10% went to the NEO council
  • 25% was reserved for future development of the Ontology ecosystem
  • 10% went to the project’s technical community
  • 15% was awarded to the Ontology core team

Tokenomics of Ontology

As of May 30, 2020, ONT was trading at $0. 521271 at position #29 in the overall crypto market, with a total market capitalization of $361, 890, 441, and a 24-hour volume of $74, 832, 588. It has a circulating supply of 694, 246, 573, while its total supply is 1, 000, 000, 000. ONT’s all-time high was $10.00 (May 03, 2018), while it’s all-time low was $0. 224974, (March 13, 2020).

Where to Buy and Store ONT 

You can get ONT from any of several reputable exchanges, including Coinswitch, CEX.io, Cointree, Changelly, KuCoin, Binance, gate.io, Huobi, and Binance.

Once you purchase your tokens, it’s highly recommended that you do not store them in the exchange – as exchanges are highly prone to hacks. Instead, store them in a secure wallet. Options such as Ledger, Trezor, Atomic Wallet, Coinomi, and Guarda Wallet are some of the best choices.

Final Words

Ontology is changing the way we gain trust by automating the process through blockchain. Working together with NEO, the company is hoping to bridge the chasm between blockchain and the business sector.

The team behind Ontology is reputable in the blockchain space with a history of success, and it’s set to steer the project to great heights. Businesses can leverage the Ontology product and achieve streamlined, more effective, and trustless processes.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Electroneum – “The World’s First Common Cryptocurrency”

Some of the buzz around cryptocurrency is for it being a currency that wrests back the power of money from governments and centralized bodies and hands it back to the people. But it’s not as simple as it sounds.

Some of the buzz around cryptocurrency is for it being a currency that wrests back the power of money from governments and centralized bodies and hands it back to the people. But it’s not as simple as it sounds.

Some of the buzz around cryptocurrency is for it being a currency that wrests back the power of money from governments and centralized bodies and hands it back to the people. But it’s not as simple as it sounds.

Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, intended for anybody to be able to mine bitcoin from the comfort of their computer. But as the crypto increased in popularity and thousands more flooded the scene, it became harder to do so.

Electroneum is a crypto and blockchain project that hopes to revive the original dream of cryptocurrency – making the revolutionary power of blockchain accessible to anyone anywhere. As long as you have a smartphone and internet connectivity, you can start mining Electroneum coins right in your phone.

This has not gone unnoticed by the “founding father of blockchain” – Scott Stornetta – the most quoted person in Satoshi’s Bitcoin whitepaper. He has described the project as having “a long-term goal that is more than profit-maximizing, but that is actually a collective better” while praising it for being a real solution to “people that have yet to experience the benefits of cryptocurrency.”

This article is an in-depth exploration of this groundbreaking cryptocurrency.

What is Electroneum?

Electroneum is a mobile-oriented cryptocurrency designed for mass adoption, and one of the few to emerge out of the UK. The Electroneum team believes cryptocurrency is a great idea, but the actual acquiring of it is incredibly hard. As such, they want to enable cryptocurrency to be accessible to the average person with as little hassle as possible.

A lot of people want to possess cryptocurrency, but they are not exactly ecstatic about surrendering their personal information to some random websites they know next to nothing about. There’s also the issue of having to link to the bank account and having to shell out extremely high fees for transactions. In short, Electroneum wants to break down the barriers that countless people encounter while trying to access cryptocurrency.

In its words: “Current cryptocurrencies are new (relatively!) and exciting but beyond the reach of your everyday person. To access cryptocurrencies, you have to make or buy a GPU mining rig or send copies of your passport and personal documents to a website that you have probably never heard of. Electroneum has all the great security and anonymity of leading crypto coins, but it’s controlled by a free, easy to install, app, which gives instant access to Electroneum with no card details or ID.”

History of Electroneum

Electroneum was conceived by Richard Ells, whose interest in cryptocurrency started in 2015 while he was building  GPU mining rigs. While Bitcoin was not even yet profitable, Ells knew that the underlying technology was transformative, and he wanted to make it easy for more people to benefit from it.

In August 2015, he enlisted members of his Retortal company to start working on a  cryptocurrency. In July 2017, Ells raised the necessary initial capital to launch the cryptocurrency. These efforts led to the creation of Electroneum Ltd in July 2017. In September 2017, Electroneum conducted an ICO – which drew in 115k+ investors. In the end, the sale raised $40 million worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

How Does Electroneum Work?

Private Transactions

Electroneum (ETN) is built off the code for Monero, a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency. Like Monero, Electroneum also has privacy features. One of the criticisms with Bitcoin is its totally transparent transactions whose public addresses can be used to track down the real-life identity of a transacting party. Electroneum solves this with the use of stealth addresses and a one-time public key that prevents any connection between the funds and the wallet.

As well, a one-time private key is created once funds are detected and received by the wallet. The use of stealth addresses means that only the recipient can spend the funds with the single-use private spent key.

Mobile App

The use of a mobile app to get more people to use the currency is one of Electroneum’s biggest differentiator from other cryptocurrencies. The app is currently available for Android and iOS. The app allows you to have access to a wallet where you can store as well as be able to send and receive coins. As a further security measure, you also have the option to generate a paper wallet. At the time of writing, the app has been downloaded 2, 555, 518 times, according to Electroneum’s website.

Mobile Mining

Through the app, users can also generate new Electroneum coins. Once you install the app, it will allow your phone to start simulated mining. And this will happen without your phone overheating or gobbling up huge amounts of data. It also won’t make your phone lose significant battery life. Though the mining will not add new blocks on the blockchain, you’ll still be up for mining rewards for contributing to the computing power of the network.

Online Gaming

Another of Electroneum’s goals is to replace in-game currencies, such as Linden Dollars for the Second Game, Project Entropia Dollars for Entropia Universe, or WoW gold for the World of Warcraft, with ETN.

This would change the gaming landscape in several good ways. For instance, players would have an even better reason to play, thanks to the ability to actually cash out on their completed quests and sold items. Gaming platforms could also gain from the transactions that are taking place in its ecosystem. Also, for gaming companies, using ETN as the in-game currency would be a marketing tool on its own.

Gambling

Again, the Electroneum team hopes to promote the adoption of ETN in gambling. While many sites are accepting Bitcoin and other cryptos, it’s still a complicated and time-consuming process to obtain it. In the majority of countries where gambling takes place, local exchanges charge exorbitant fees. Electroneum wants to make it easy for players and gambling platforms to interact with cryptocurrency in a more frictionless fashion.

The Electroneum Team

The Electroneum team is led by founder and CEO Richard Ells. Else is the founder of two other successful digital companies; SiteWizard and Retortal.

Nick Cook is the head of operations. Cook has more than 20 years working for automobile companies such as Aston Martin, Bentley, and Land Rover.

Barry Last is the head of tech development. He has 15 years of experience as a solutions architect.

The team has also onboarded David Bull, CEO of UNICEF UK. Bull has 32 years in the charity sector. Bull’s experience is fitting with Electroneum’s mission to bring cryptocurrency to the people.

Coin Supply

During the ICO, 4.4 billion of ETN went to investors. Another 20 million went to individuals who shared news about the ICO and explained things to the crypto community. A further 20 million went to the project’s core team. Currently, the coin has a circulating supply of 10 billion out of the maximum supply of 21 billion.

The supply of 21 billion coins was done for psychological reasons. The team figured that it would be more satisfying for users to generate full coins as opposed to decimal points associated with other cryptos such as Bitcoin.

Tokenomics of ETN

As of May 30, 2020, ETN traded at $0.009053, while ranking at #67 and with a market cap of $91, 587, 678. The coin has a 24-hour volume of $1, 015, 774, a circulating supply of 10, 116, 967, 882, a total supply of the same value, and a maximum supply of 21, 000, 000, 000. ETN’s all-time high was $.0 236234 (Nov 02,  2017) while it’s all-time low was 0.001428 (March 13, 2020).

Where to Buy and Store Electroneum

If mining the coin is not exactly your speed, you can grab it from an exchange. Some of the popular exchanges offering ETN include TraderONE, KuCoin, Liquid, Coin Bene, Biki, Huobi, SistemKoin, HitBtc, bitbns, Coin Deal, Trade Ogre, Simple Swap, and more.

For storage, Electroneum strongly recommends keeping your ETN in its app wallet or its generatable paper wallet. At this time, the crypto is most compatible with user favorites Trezor and Ledger.

Final Words

Electroneum is a bold leap towards mass accessibility of cryptocurrencies. It’s truly a way for more people to access, interact, and benefit from the technology – and all in a safe and hassle-free way. People who are fans of blockchain and crypto but feel it’s too complicated or not for them can start seeing it in a better way. Electroneum is an exciting and promising project and one that the crypto community will be watching closely.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

How Blockchain is Writing a New Era for Accounting and Auditing Industry

Blockchain is best known as the underlying technology that supports cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, in particular, is credited as the first cryptocurrency to bring blockchain into the mainstream. But supporting cryptocurrencies is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of this disruptive technology.

Blockchain is best known as the underlying technology that supports cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, in particular, is credited as the first cryptocurrency to bring blockchain into the mainstream. But supporting cryptocurrencies is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of this disruptive technology.

Blockchain is best known as the underlying technology that supports cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, in particular, is credited as the first cryptocurrency to bring blockchain into the mainstream. But supporting cryptocurrencies is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of this disruptive technology.

By definition, blockchain technology is an incorruptible distributed ledger that offers a new way of recording, storing, and sharing data. As such, claiming that this technology seamlessly aligns itself with accountancy wouldn’t be much of a stretch.

However, its entry into accounting raises both excitement and concern for the industry’s players. On the one hand, blockchain is set to improve accounting efficiency. On the other hand, accountants and auditors fear that technology might force them to seek new lines of work.

But one thing is certain, blockchain is a game-changer that cannot be ignored, particularly by the accounting industry. This explains why the Big Four accounting firms, KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, and Ernst and Young, are working towards incorporating blockchain into their operations.

The Current State of Accounting And Blockchain’s Potential 

Much of the accounting work is paper-based. Auditors use these paper trails when reviewing records to ensure data integrity. This method of record-keeping is highly flawed, given the sheer amount of paperwork involved and the time and money resources that go into maintaining these records.

Modern accounting solutions, particularly cloud-based software, are now being employed to help organizations save money and time by introducing efficiency in record keeping. However, these solutions are much like centralized databases, and this renders them vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. Also, being a double-entry system, only the organization and the in-house accountants have direct access to the centralized ledger. This means that regulators and independent public auditors have to request for access to the database, which eventually slows down compliance processes.

Now enters the blockchain, a decentralized ledger system that employs a triple-entry record keeping model. Unlike conventional accounting, blockchain allows accountants to record, retrieve, and avail data to authorized third-parties. The clients, auditors, as well as regulators, will each possess private and public keys to verify their access. With these fundamental properties, blockchain promises the following advantages for accounting firms and auditors;

I) Reduced Fraud 

Data recorded on the blockchain network is said to be immutable, meaning it can’t be corrupted. Once the data is in the chain, smart contracts can be employed to automate accounting functions, reducing the likelihood of human errors.

II) Eases Auditing 

Usually, auditors have to regularly review records to ensure the validity of the data. Depending on the size of the organization and the data, the auditing process can take several days resulting in a company’s downtime.

Using smart contracts, the auditing procedure can be automated, reducing the time an auditor spends verifying records. In fact, auditing and reporting will be done in real-time, unburdening the auditors and CFOs to concentrate on other important administrative operations.

III) Reduces Costs 

Thanks to smart contracts, most of the accounting and auditing processes will be automated. This translates to increased efficiency, saving institutions time and money spent on traditional accounting systems. Also, with cryptographic-hash-based security, organizations will spend less on maintaining the cybersecurity of their cloud-based infrastructure.

V) Improved Regulatory Compliance 

Blockchain solutions for the accounting industry introduce a new concept of triple data entry, whereby the authorized third-parties can access the data. In this case, organizations will be able to share their Know Your Customer (KYC) data with the authorities in regard to the regulations on the same. Additionally, as more blockchain technologies mature, the use of distributed ledger systems might become mandatory in certain financial sectors.

Will Bitcoin Replace Accountants and Auditors? 

Unlike other professionals in other industries, accountants and auditors are pessimistic about the entry of blockchain in the financial sector. Their fear is that this revolutionary technology will replace them in their workplaces, forcing them to seek other lines of work. Luckily, it’s almost impossible to replace human accountants and auditors.

While blockchain will undoubtedly disrupt the financial sector, the role of professional accountants will remain intact as they need to interpret and categorize the data on the blockchain. Most importantly, their expertise will be highly sought after when integrating blockchain into the current accounting infrastructure. Auditors, as well, will still be needed to oversee transactions and track income and outflows.

Although their roles won’t change, there is a need for both accountants and auditors to learn as much as they can about blockchain technology since it’s set to become the standard tool of their everyday job. This way, they position themselves as forward thinkers in the face of a game-changing technology. As a matter of fact, a recent report showed that several universities are now offering blockchain courses to meet the high demand for engineers fluent in this technology. So, it’s not a leap to speculate that future auditors and accountants will basically be blockchain experts trained to identify and report ways in which blockchain can be used in record keeping.

Currently, the biggest challenge hindering the use of blockchain in the accounting industry is that there are few readily available blockchain solutions as yet. This explains why the industry is taking too long to embrace the technology despite the benefits that come with it. Hopefully, this problem will end soon as innovators and investors move in to support this emerging technology. But first, there needs to be preparation procedures to build awareness of what blockchain is all about, and how the technology is evolving.

Takeaway: Embrace and Win 

As various industries continue to warm up to blockchain technology, one thing becomes clear – blockchain isn’t going to disappear any time soon. As it’s application increases, it becomes necessary for industry stakeholders to stay abreast of developments of the technology. Besides, it is common for early adopters of any new technology to benefit more than those who embrace the technology much later.

In this case, organizations and businesses that will deploy blockchain accounting solutions early enough will gain a competitive advantage, which will be manifested in improved customers’ experience. The late adopters will eventually be forced to join the bandwagon lest they risk going out of business.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What is Aelf (ELF) And How Is It Solving Blockchain Scalability Challenge?

Blockchain technology has been around for more than ten years now. It has powered thousands of cryptocurrencies, which have grown into a force to be reckoned with. Today, industries are scrambling for a share of this revolutionary network premised on a belief that blockchain can effect faster, trustless, and fraud-free processes. 

AELF Logo | Forex Academy

Blockchain technology has been around for more than ten years now. It has powered thousands of cryptocurrencies, which have grown into a force to be reckoned with. Today, industries are scrambling for a share of this revolutionary network premised on a belief that blockchain can effect faster, trustless, and fraud-free processes. 

Blockchain technology has been around for more than ten years now. It has powered thousands of cryptocurrencies, which have grown into a force to be reckoned with. Today, industries are scrambling for a share of this revolutionary network premised on a belief that blockchain can effect faster, trustless, and fraud-free processes. 

The integration of blockchain into the business sector has, however, proven an uphill battle. This is due to the issue of scalability that’s inherent in the current iteration of blockchain. 

Take the example of Ethereum and Bitcoin that handle an average of 15 and 7 transactions per second, respectively. Such a scale doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the scalability/speed needed for the business world. The other two significant problems with the tech are the possibility for interference while executing smart contracts and the lack of clear protocols for onboarding new technology/updates (due the highly contentious Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash’s hard forks). 

So where do we go from here? Blockchain is a revolutionary tech that could fundamentally change how we do a lot of things. For industries, it could help optimize processes at an unprecedented level. There needs to be a way to bridge the gap between the tech and the enterprise space. 

Aelf is a project that proposes to help accomplish this. This guide is an exploration of that promise, plus an in-depth look into how it works and everything in between. But first, we look at what Aelf entails.

What is Aelf? 

Initially launched as a testnet in August 2018, Aelf is a blockchain-based, customizable platform operating system (OS) intended to serve as the central hub for blockchains. The Aelf team designed the platform to act as the “Linux system” of blockchains. Since the introduction of Bitcoin, blockchain technology has evolved in profound ways. 

Bitcoin made the concept of a decentralized and peer-to-peer currency mainstream and disrupted the finance industry forever. Then came Ethereum, which expanded on that idea with the introduction of ‘smart contracts’ and ‘decentralized applications (DApps), unleashing the potential of blockchain beyond internet money. Dozens of industries are now experimenting with blockchain and looking to optimize their processes. 

But there remains a chasm between blockchain and the business world that is not easy to bridge. The Aelf team believes that the next face of blockchain should be an integration of these two worlds. For that to happen, however, there has to be an operating system designed for blockchains that will allow them to meet commercial needs. And for that to happen, blockchain needs to deal with three main challenges: 

  • The scalability challenge – the current blockchains are not equipped to handle enterprise-level transactions.
  • Lack of resources segregation – the current blockchains do not segregate resources for various smart contracts, resulting in interference in their execution.
  • Lack of a predefined consensus protocol allowing for the smooth integration of updates or the adoption of new technology

Aelf proposes to solve these problems.

The Aelf Team

Aelf is the brainchild of Ma Haobo, who is also the founder/CEO of blockchain as a service company Hoopox, and the CTO of GemPay and AllCoin. Founder and CEO of TechCrunch with Michael Arrington and FGB Capital Zhou Shouji, serving as advisors. 

It’s worth noting the venture capital support that the project received. Companies like Draper Dragon, Bitmain, Huobi Global, DHVC, Blockchain Ventures, Chain Funder, FGB Capital, and other notable investment firms participated in the ICO. Indeed, the project proved so popular that they had to turn down interested investors after hitting their 55, 000 goal just two weeks after the sale began. This testifies to the potential of Aelf.

How Does Aelf Work?

To address the three problems we previously mentioned, Aelf employs two major innovations: 

  • Sidechains
  • A unique governance system

The platform utilizes sidechain technology to segregate resources among various smart contracts, and a Delegated proof-of-stake consensus algorithm to achieve a more dynamic system of governance. 

Side Chains

Aelf features one main chain and a multitude of side chains to handle various commercial tasks. The main chain is responsible for distributing different tasks to the multilayer side chains, improving efficiency. Sidechains communicate with the main chain via a ‘sidechain index system.’ The index system categorizes the chains as follows: 

  • External blockchain systems to expand the boundary of Aelf, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum 
  • Internal side chains on the Aelf ecosystem, which contribute economically to it using the ELF token

The side chains can branch off further into subchains. Dividing the ecosystem into side chains ensures that downtime or failure in one part does not affect the entire network.

Aelf’s Token Ecosystem

The Aelf token (ELF) incentivizes honest behavior within the ecosystem. All side chains accept ELF as a store of value and as a means of transferring value. Hence, the token can be transferred across any chain that recognizes it is as such. When a side chain receives transaction fees, it has to give a fraction of this revenue to the miners on the main chain.

If the main chain finds that indexing a side chain is not economically favorable, it (main chain) is entitled to terminate the indexing or allow two side chains to offer the same services to compete. Sidechains can also charge fees to their sub-chains. 

What is the Aelf Consensus Protocol?

The running and maintenance of Aelf are more complicated than that of Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains because Aelf’s involves recording information from various side chains on the main chain. Plus, miners must update information from all the parallel side chains. As such, proof-of-work and basic proof-of-stake consensus algorithms will not suffice. 

Instead, Aelf employs delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) to run the network more efficiently and ensure the predictability of block formation, which enhances user experience. 

The process is as follows:- holders of the ELF token vote on who will become the mining nodes. Then the elected nodes decide how to distribute mining rewards among the rest of the nodes, plus stakeholders. This equation determines the number of miners: 

Miners = 2N+ 1, with N starting at eight and increasing by one every year. Just like in other blockchains, mining nodes are responsible for relaying and verifying transactions, packaging blocks, and transferring information. 

How are ELF Tokens Distributed?

Aelf held its pre-sale in December 2017. The distribution of the 1 billion tokens was as follows. 

  • 25% (250 million) went to investors
  • 25% went to the Aelf foundation, a 3-year vesting period
  • 16% went to the Aelf team, a 2-year vesting period
  • 12% went to the marketing and airdrops
  • 12% went to mining over a 100-year period 
  • 10% went to advisors and partnerships, a 2-year vesting period

What is ELF’s Market Standing?

As of May 30, 2020, Aelf is trading at $0.092932, while ranking at #105. It has a market cap of $50, 599, 793, a 24-hour volume of $24, 971, 816, a circulating supply of 544, 480, 200, a total supply of 880, 000, 000, and a maximum supply of 1, 000, 000, 000. ELF’s all-time high was $2. 77 (January 07, 2018), and its all-time low was $0.035013 (March 13, 2020). 

Where to buy ELF

ELF is traded on several major exchanges, including Huobi, Binance, Coinswitch, Cointree, KuCoin, YoBitNet, and IDEX. Most of the platforms require you to exchange such cryptos as BTC, ETH, or USDT for ELF. This means you will have first to purchase any of the proxy coins with Fiat.

Aelf also has a reward system known as Candy. Through this system, you get to earn points that you can convert for ELF by carrying out simple tasks such as interacting with Aelf tweets, inviting more users into the Aelf Telegram channel, among other promotional activities. However, a quick check online reveals the Candy program does not seem to be active currently.

Aelf supports a web wallet but recently introduced beta versions of both Android and iOS wallet apps. However, you can use a third-party compatible wallet such as Ledger, KeepKey, Exodus, Coinomi, Trezor, and MyEtherWallet. 

Conclusion

Aelf is a relatively young project, but still holds a ton of potential. The enthusiasm displayed by big-time venture financiers is a testament to how big it could become, and its implications for the blockchain and business spaces. Its strategy to separate resources through side chains and a unique governance model should help propel it to significant heights, both as a blockchain project and as a business model. 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

What are oracles in smart contracts

Ethereum brought to life the idea of smart contracts – which were initially proposed by Nick Szabo in the early 90s. After the introduction of blockchain, smart contracts were designed to run on this new technology, where they autonomously and transparently execute a function when specific conditions are met. Thanks to their fundamental trust-less feature, smart contracts have eliminated the need for third-parties, making transactions frictionless and more affordable.

Smart Contracts | Forex Academy

Ethereum brought to life the idea of smart contracts – which were initially proposed by Nick Szabo in the early 90s. After the introduction of blockchain, smart contracts were designed to run on this new technology, where they autonomously and transparently execute a function when specific conditions are met. Thanks to their fundamental trust-less feature, smart contracts have eliminated the need for third-parties, making transactions frictionless and more affordable.

Ethereum brought to life the idea of smart contracts – which were initially proposed by Nick Szabo in the early 90s. After the introduction of blockchain, smart contracts were designed to run on this new technology, where they autonomously and transparently execute a function when specific conditions are met. Thanks to their fundamental trust-less feature, smart contracts have eliminated the need for third-parties, making transactions frictionless and more affordable.

Even though they work automatically, smart contracts have to be fed an input so as to generate the desired output. This is where the concept of oracle comes into play. Essentially, an oracle in this context is a data feeder that provides smart contracts with inputs, consequently determining the output.

How it works

Think of a gamble between two people; Brad and Sam. Suppose they both place their wagers on the outcome of a basketball game. Brad bets on team A while Sam bets on team B. Both Sam and Brad agree on terms of the bet and lock their funds in a smart contract agreement.

For the bet to be settled and the funds released to the winner, the smart contract has to depend on a trusted oracle to feed it the necessary data – in this case, the results of the basketball game. At the end of the game, the oracle queries a reliable data source to find out the winning team, after which the data is relayed to the smart contract. The funds are then sent to either Brad or Sam, depending on the game’s outcome.

The Oracle Problem

From the cited instance above, smart contracts must have access to off-chain data – data that is stored outside the network – for them to be used in real-world cases. To bridge the gap between off-chain data and smart contracts, centralized oracles have been tasked with verifying and authenticating the external data, or rather the input that guides the execution of smart contracts agreements.

However, centralized oracles betray the decentralized tenet of the blockchain revolution. Even worse, they are vulnerable to manipulation, which ends up compromising the entire contract. This problem has incentivized blockchain developers to come up with decentralized oracle solutions in the spirit of maintaining data integrity. As such, decentralized oracles leverage the abilities of blockchain by acting as a layer that queries, authenticates, and protects external data from manipulation before it’s fed as input into a smart contracts agreement.

Types of Blockchain Oracles

Blockchain oracles come in various forms which include:

Software Oracles

Blockchain software oracles are the most common type of data authenticators. They verify information from such online sources as websites, online public databases, or any other data source connected to the internet.

These oracles are considered to be the most powerful type of blockchain oracle due to their inherent interconnectedness with the internet. This is especially true considering the proliferation of the internet in almost all spheres of life.

As such, software oracles are relied on to provide the most up-to-date information to smart contracts. Software oracles are, therefore, best suited for use in verifying asset exchange rates, digital asset prices, and flight information in real-time.

Hardware Oracles

Hardware oracles are tasked with translating real-world data into a digital form that can be interpreted by smart contracts. For this reason, hardware oracles rely on electronic data readers like barcode scanners, that translate information into verified digital values before being loaded as input into a smart contract.

A good example of their use is in the supply chain industry, particularly the tracking of goods. When sending goods to a certain location, they are tagged with an RFID tag whose data is read by a scanner and fed into the smart contract agreement.

Inbound and Outbound Oracles

Inbound oracles transmit information from external sources to a smart contract, whereby upon receiving the data, the contract initiates the path of execution. From the example above on the basketball game, the source of information providing the final results of the game can be classified as an inbound oracle.

Once the information is loaded into the smart contract, the terms of the bet are executed. As such, inbound oracles can be termed as “contract execution triggers.” They can be used in asset trading whereby if an asset reaches a specific price, the contract will then execute the buying or selling of the asset.

Outbound oracles are the direct opposite of inbound oracles in that they relay information to external sources. A good use case scenario of an outbound oracle can be found in a smart lock that is opened by depositing funds. Once it’s verified that the funds have been deposited in the designated address, the smart contract sends this information through an outbound oracle, which then relays the data to an external mechanism that eventually unlocks the smart lock.

Consensus-based Oracles

As the name suggests, consensus-based oracles work by collaborating data from multiple sources. For example, in the basketball game example cited above, a consensus-based oracle would work by verifying the game results from several sources. If all the sources provide the same data, it ascertains the accuracy and, therefore, the terms of the smart contract can be executed.

As far as data integrity is concerned, consensus-based oracles stand as a viable solution to data manipulation. Think of a smart contract agreement that relies on a single data source. Counterparties could alter the information – resulting in unfair settlement of the contract. However, when using consensus-based oracles, any discrepancies in the data due to manipulation can be noted and resolved.

For instance, if the compromised data source provides different information from the other verified sources, the smart contract can be programmed to the agreement based on the data from the other sources whose information is in sync and correct.

Conclusion

Oracles, whether centralized or decentralized, play a vital role in bringing blockchain into the real world. They widen the scope of blockchain’s access to information, bringing its capabilities to various use cases. Decentralized oracles, in particular, safeguard data integrity, eliminating the systematic risk from the blockchain ecosystem. This ensures contracts are executed securely and in a trust-less manner, facilitating the adoption and maturation of blockchain technology.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

VeChain Blockchain Review: What is VeChain, Where to Buy, and How Does it Work?

Most cryptocurrency projects come with a lot of pomp, revolutionary white papers, and a ton of promises about changing the industry. But if you’ve been in the crypto world long enough, you’ve probably realized that a majority of these crypto projects don’t live long enough to actualize these promises. Most of these fade away because their value proposition was not strong enough to weather the competition. There, nonetheless, have been several crypto projects that dazzled us with their ambition and went on to actualize their product.

VeChain Blockchain review - Forex Academy

Most cryptocurrency projects come with a lot of pomp, revolutionary white papers, and a ton of promises about changing the industry. But if you’ve been in the crypto world long enough, you’ve probably realized that a majority of these crypto projects don’t live long enough to actualize these promises. Most of these fade away because their value proposition was not strong enough to weather the competition. There, nonetheless, have been several crypto projects that dazzled us with their ambition and went on to actualize their product.

Most cryptocurrency projects come with a lot of pomp, revolutionary white papers, and a ton of promises about changing the industry. But if you’ve been in the crypto world long enough, you’ve probably realized that a majority of these crypto projects don’t live long enough to actualize these promises. Most of these fade away because their value proposition was not strong enough to weather the competition. There, nonetheless, have been several crypto projects that dazzled us with their ambition and went on to actualize their product.

VeChain is one such project. VeChain was one of the earliest blockchain industry players. It not only has a substantial customer base but has also inked several lucrative deals with several big-name brands that align with its growth and expansion plans. Headquartered in Singapore, the project has also branched out into China, France, the US, Hong Kong, and Japan.

This VeChain review explores what you need to know about VeChain: its product, team, working model, tokens, and everything in between. 

What’s VeChain?

VeChain is a blockchain platform that seeks to inject more transparency, efficiency, and speed into supply chains. As stated in the VeChain white paper, its goal is “to build a trust-free and distributed business ecosystem platform to enable transparent information flow, efficient collaborations, and high-speed value transfers.”

VeChain Token (VET) - Forex Academy

The current supply chain data management process is done in silos when various departments are unable to share information for speedy and informed decision-making. Yet, effective data sharing processes are the lifeblood of any business. Impaired information-sharing interferes with innovation, leads to weak collaboration, reduces supply visibility, and undermines a business’s potential.

VeChain believes blockchain can end the “asymmetric information problem and allow ownership of data to return to and empower its owner.” It proposes to enable utter transparency in business processes such as storage, transport, and supply.

For instance, the platform can help to monitor quality, source, mode of transportation, and the authenticity of a bottle of wine right from the manufacturer to the end-user (customer). It can also help automobile owners regain control over their data and use it to negotiate for better and fairer insurance policies.

History of VeChain

VeChain was launched in 2015 by Sunny Lu, former Chief Information Officer of Louis Vuitton China. It began as a subsidiary of Bitse, Shanghai-based blockchain company. The VeChain product is being used across real industries, unlike many crypto projects that are still stuck in the development (beta) phase. From fashion to agriculture, to wine, to food safety, to carbon emission reduction, to governments, VeChain’s blockchain technology has already found multiple use cases.

The VeChain network was formerly hosted on the Ethereum blockchain. In 2018, it launched its mainnet and rebranded into ‘VeChainThor’ (VET) blockchain.

VeChain has notably secured strategic partnerships in a bid to realize its goals of disrupting the current supply chain. VeChain also aspires to be a decentralized applications (DApps) and initial coin offerings (ICO) destination. To achieve this, VeChain has entered into business with several high-profile financial companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Chinese electronics company Jiangsu Electronics, and automobile company Renault.

VeChain’s Team

Sunny Lu is the leader of the team. Lu has been the lead of IT and information system departments for various companies, including Louis Vuitton China.

Other team leaders include Chief Financial Officer Jie Zhang, who has a wealth of history in IT, as well as the founder of Bo Shen, founder of Chinese venture capital company Fenbushi Capital.

VeChain’s VET and VTHO

VeChainThor blockchain features two tokens that are “the blood” of the VeChain body: VET and VTHO. VET is used by companies to facilitate “smart contracts.” It is also available to the public as a store of value and for speculative investment.

Here, owning more VET grants a company more rights on the VET blockchain.

The VTHO token – VeChainThor Energy in full and also known as VeThor Energy, is much like gas for Ethereum or NEO blockchains. It is used to power transactions on VeChain and as payment for running applications.

According to VeChain’s white paper, the two-token system is designed to achieve effective governance and to provide a simplified economic model for developers.

Proof of Authority

The VET blockchain utilizes Proof of Authority to achieve consensus. According to this protocol, voting rights are granted based on one’s stake in VET and disclosure of identity. VET holders without Know Your Customer (KYC) info are, for instance, assigned 20% while holders with KYC with the same amount of tokens are allocated 30% voting rights.

101 ‘Masternodes’ are tasked with the responsibility of reaching a consensus about the validity of transactions within the VeChain blockchain. This mechanism is different from Bitcoin’s blockchain – in which all nodes in the network must approve a transaction before a consensus is achieved.

On VeChain, anonymous nodes cannot take part in transactions’ validation, and disclosure of one’s real identity is a precondition for becoming an Authority Masternode. VeChain states that this system consumes far less energy compared to Blockchain 1.0.

There also are economic masternodes within the VeChain blockchain. These nodes do not approve transactions or blockchain entries. Instead, they serve as a check on the power of voters. Here, power is allocated by granting a specific number of votes to each economic masternode based on the size of VET staked where 10,000 VET = 1 single vote.

This voting rights distribution mechanism centralizes what should be a completely democratic and decentralized system. VeChain acknowledges this, arguing that the protocol is meant to strike a balance between centralization and decentralization.

The VeChain Foundation

Launched in 2017, VeChain Foundation is a centralized organization by the VeChain community that’s responsible for “developing and maintaining the VeChainThor Blockchain, community building, and management, business engagement, technical research, and design.” According to VeChain’s whitepaper, the foundation is responsible for “organizing and representing the entire VeChain community and for setting up the Steering Committee with seven seats, which could expand depending on the stage of development, to lead the core team of VeChain.”

Tokenomics of VET

On May 30, 2020, VeChain was trading at $0.005620, at position #31 and with a market cap of $311, 667, 818. Its 24-hour volume was $186, 888, 250. VET has a circulating supply of 55, 454, 734, 800, with a total supply of 86, 712, 634, 466. The token’s all-time high was $0.019 775 (Sept 4, 2018) while its all-time low was $0. 0.001 678 (March 13, 2020).

Where to Buy VET

You can purchase VET from several exchanges, either directly with Fiat or in exchange for cryptos such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. Some popular exchanges include Gemini, Binance, Coinswitch, Huobi, KuCoin, Changelly, and Bitit.

You can store the VET tokens in the VeChainThor wallet that’s available on iOS and Android app. Other great options include Ledger, Nano, Guarda Wallet, and Atomic Wallet.

Final Words

VeChain is one of the most successful players in the blockchain space. It identified problems in the supply chain and proposed to solve them with blockchain-based solutions. Its partnerships with companies such as PwC, Renault, and Jiangsu will help expand and solidify its client base.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

How Can Blockchain Help Combat the Spread of Fake News?

We are currently living in the information age, thanks to the proliferation of IT in all spheres of everyday life. From a simple walk down the street, a visit to the nearby grocery store, to the time you curl up on your couch at the end of a long day, you are bombarded with numerous sources of information. Think of billboards, unending newsfeed on your social media account, and round the clock news from the mainstream media. 

Fake News With BlockchaIn | Forex Academy

We are currently living in the information age, thanks to the proliferation of IT in all spheres of everyday life. From a simple walk down the street, a visit to the nearby grocery store, to the time you curl up on your couch at the end of a long day, you are bombarded with numerous sources of information. Think of billboards, unending newsfeed on your social media account, and round the clock news from the mainstream media. 

We are currently living in the information age, thanks to the proliferation of IT in all spheres of everyday life. From a simple walk down the street, a visit to the nearby grocery store, to the time you curl up on your couch at the end of a long day, you are bombarded with numerous sources of information. Think of billboards, unending newsfeed on your social media account, and round the clock news from the mainstream media. 

While these information sources keep you up to date with the current global trends, the rise of fake news within the broader media industry can negatively shape your perception, prompting you to make a wrong decision. For instance, financial markets’ fake news has the power to sway market trends by influencing investors’ decisions. Judging by this magnitude, it’s easy to see why fake news is not only a threat to businesses but also the democracy of any given country. 

Despite their numerous efforts, big data companies like Google and Facebook have not succeeded in fighting against the spread of fake news. But with the invention of Blockchain as part of the web 3.0 revolution, the media industry has a better chance of countering the propagation of fake news.

How Blockchain can help

There has been much hype around Blockchain with expectations that it will drive new societal and business models. Even though most of the novel applications of this technology are still in the experimental stage, blockchain technology has shown its potential by disrupting the supply chain and financial industry. 

Blockchain | Forex Adacemy - hitesh-choudhary-JNxTZzpHmsI-unsplash

In equal measure, by deploying the fundamental properties of blockchain technology – enforcing trust between parties – it becomes easy to whitelist news and other web content. But first, let’s look at the two main types of mediums of spreading fake news. 

I) Edited pictures and videos

With the plethora of image and video editing software, it is easy for anyone to alter imagery content to suit a particular narrative. See, it’s one thing to color correct or improve an image’s lighting, but it’s another thing to add or remove from an image. Of course, the latter being the most common way in which fake video/imagery is designed. 

II) Fabricated text

Unlike edited images, it’s quite hard to notice whether or not a written text has been fabricated or altered in any way. Most media houses focus their efforts on countering deep fake videos and images since they are easier to notice than fabricated text. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning that support text writing has led to the creation of unbelievable fake content, further blurring the line between fake and real news. 

Here’s how Blockchain can help mitigate these problems: 

  • Consensus content management 

By leveraging Blockchain’s native consensus algorithm, all content, whether written or image-based, can be stored in a consortium blockchain, reserving all editing rights to trusted authors and news outlets only. More so, the content will be cryptographically signed, rendering it immutable and free of third-party manipulation.  

In this single content management system, every news piece will have a unique digital ID, much like how each block in the chain ledger is unique. Ideally, the ID will appear as a header that is legible to computer devices only and will be used to verify the origin and validity of the content. 

  • Traceability 

In most cases, when a fabricated post or video goes viral, its source or author can’t be traced. By using blockchain-connected applications such as electronic identification and trust services, anyone creating content, posting an ad, or writing a review will be required to prove their identity and credibility to demonstrate that they are who they claim to be.

Electronic signatures and video verification could be used in the process to bring to an end to the many fake accounts and bots creating fake news. This will also increase the accountability of people who share information. 

Once news agencies and editors create and verify their profile, their address is hashed and stored in the Blockchain. This way, it will be easier for content consumers to trace the source of the content and ascertain the credibility of the publisher. 

  • Decentralization

In this context, decentralization implies the ability to involve multiple parties in the news circulation network. Think of a community-owned news agency that runs on a cryptocurrency token to promote transparency. This gives any member of the community power to challenge any source of news that is suspected of delivering fake news. Plus, other members can vote for or against the contested source of news. If found guilty, the source is banned from the community. 

Real-world Applications of Blockchain in Journalism 

There have been several attempts to bring blockchain solutions into journalism. 

News Provenance Project_Forex Academy

Mid last year, the New York Times launched an ambitious blockchain project dubbed The News Provenance Project, which is aimed at combating misinformation in the news media. Designed in collaboration with IBM, the project began with verifying images since they require a simpler form of algorithm to discern whether an image has been modified or not.

Although it’s still in its developmental phase, the project works via proof-of-concept to record metadata of video images published by news outlets. Once the project gains traction, it will certainly propel widespread application of blockchain solutions in the media industry. 

Additionally, Forbes partnership with Civil – a journalism blockchain network – is working to become the first media house to publish content on blockchain technology. The goal of this venture is to move all of Forbes’ future content to the Civil’s proprietary content management system, known as Bertie. If the project succeeds, Forbes’ journalists will be able to upload their content metadata to the content management system, while publishing to their own website at the same time. 

Besides Forbes, Civil has teamed up with several journalists from different media houses to create a decentralized content vetting companies. The project will use Civil’s own digital currency, CVL, which will enable newsrooms to be part of the vetting process. As such, a newsroom can challenge a suspicious publisher by wagering their tokens in order to have their claims evaluated. 

Conclusion

Beyond supporting cryptocurrencies, Blockchain has proven to be also useful in solving real-world problems, as evidenced by its potential to revolutionize multiple industries. With its newfound application in journalism, it’s certain that the technology will not only help solve the fake news menace. It will also address the copyright infringement issues ailing the media industry. 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

How Can Capital Markets Benefit From Blockchain Technology?

Ever since cryptocurrency and blockchain first captured mainstream attention, the entire space has been met with a lot of skepticism and hostility. Much of the distrust has come from governments and central bank regulators who are afraid of losing influence over their economies, particularly the financial sector. 

Capital Martket_Forex Academy

Ever since cryptocurrency and blockchain first captured mainstream attention, the entire space has been met with a lot of skepticism and hostility. Much of the distrust has come from governments and central bank regulators who are afraid of losing influence over their economies, particularly the financial sector. 

Ever since cryptocurrency and blockchain first captured mainstream attention, the entire space has been met with a lot of skepticism and hostility. Much of the distrust has come from governments and central bank regulators who are afraid of losing influence over their economies, particularly the financial sector. 

They have, therefore, moved to exert regulations on the sector. Despite the cold reception, blockchain’s numerous benefits and decentralized nature have made it hard to censor for the government.

Capital markets, being a complex system where transactions involve buyers, sellers, brokers, and additional third parties such as liquidity providers, can benefit immensely from the blockchain as a distributed ledger system. Besides securing data, the technology also supports smart contracts that allow for the automation of processes such as payments and moving of collateral. 

Benefits of blockchain solutions in the Capital Markets Trade Cycle 

Capital Markets | Financial Markets - pascal-bernardon-zt0HWquGXlQ-unsplash

Financial institutions are the direct beneficiaries of blockchain solutions in the capital market since they are the most significant players in the industry. At the same time, these benefits have a ripple effect on the entire capital markets ecosystem, and so does the improved efficiency it brings along.

Here are some of the most significant benefits: 

I) Streamlined Trade Settlements

Trade settlement in the current capital markets’ ecosystem is considerably technical, as evidenced by the swap contract transactions between banks in international trader settlements. 

Blockchain-based smart contracts can help to automate trades by releasing settlements only on the condition that the financial details of the banks involved match. Its adoption will help reduce costly errors from the manual processing of settlement instructions. 

In the case of transferring securities from seller to buyer, smart contracts act as a more advanced ‘if-then’ statement from Excel. As such, the transaction will only be completed if certain conditions within the agreed-upon contract are satisfied. Blockchain not only eliminates the broker fees involved in the process but also protects the two parties from fraud risks. Moreover, the sheer accuracy of smart contracts eliminates reconcilement issues that often arise when transactions aren’t properly executed. 

II) Reduce Trade Limit Violations

Trade between financial institutions, also known as swaps, consists of trading limits placed by the government mainly for taxation purposes. A limit can also be placed on trades involving other assets such as derivatives, options, and debt capital markets transactions. 

Violation of these trading limits often results in costly fines, as was the case with JP Morgan Chase Bank in the infamous London whale trade. The bank was fined $920 million, which caused its stock to fall from $45 to $31 before eventually recovering. 

While the bank didn’t intentionally violate the trade limit, lack of effective internal risk and accounting controls allowed traders to take larger trade positions without the consent of senior managers. 

With a distributed ledger and a series of smart contracts, the bank could have maintained compliance with the trade limit laws. Trades over the pre-determined limit could be reversed or blocked if and when they threaten to violate the terms of the smart contracts. The trade infringements could then be detected and reported early enough – saving the bank the subsequent fines and reputation damage. 

III) Credit Risk Management

Assessing a clients’ creditworthiness is essential in ascertaining whether or not they can be approved to trade the capital markets with a financial institution. The same applies to loan issuance processes where an individual’s credit rating determines such aspects as their eligibility and interest rates. 

The use of blockchain in this niche could help create a shared ledger that acts as a central database that is accessible to authorized institutions. Blockchain could facilitate a near real-time communication system, allowing involved parties to take appropriate actions. 

For instance, if the credit rating of a client deteriorated while having an open financial contract with a capital markets trading desk, an instant notification will be communicated between the trading desk team and credit risk officers. As a result, the shared ledger would eliminate the current inefficiencies associated with traditional credit risk assessments – improving the overall business processes. Additionally, the combination of blockchain as an immutable database and machine learning for automated risk assessment would greatly improve the accuracy of credit score ratings. 

IV) Improve Trading Integrity

Trade malpractices, especially in the securities market, can sabotage the growth of the entire market if left unchecked. Currently, the traditional measures put in place by security exchanges to curb illegal trades such as insider trading are not effective and cannot detect these illegal activities before they happen.

The use of blockchain solutions brings in transparency in equity trading. As such, it makes it easier for market regulators to detect irregularities such as artificial pattern trading, thus safeguarding the integrity of the entire equity market. 

V) Maintain KYC and AML Compliance

All financial institutions are required by law to have an in-depth knowledge of their customers’ personal details before offering any services to them. This concept is known as know your customer (KYC) and is closely related to anti-money laundering (AML) – with both designed to curb financial crimes such as tax evasion. 

The cumbersome paperwork and long durations involved in the process could be reduced or eliminated using a decentralized and immutable database. Additionally, this ledger system can help tie investors’ real-world identity to an on-chain wallet address, which in turn can help institutions restrict security/IPO trading to investors who have not been properly vetted. 

  • Asset tokenization

Asset tokenization is the creation of decentralized digital assets that can later be traded. Both tangible assets, such as property, automobiles, and paintings, as well as less tangible assets such as bonds and securities, can be tokenized on a blockchain network to maintain an immutable record of ownership.

Tokenized assets are faster to trade at more affordable transaction costs thanks to the automation process of smart contracts. Moreover, assets in a tokenized form are more accessible and liquid, making it easier for financial service providers to facilitate efficient asset trading. 

Takeaway

It’s evident that blockchain has a lot in store for the capital markets and the financial sector as a whole. Of course, the adoption and implementation of this technology will be a gradual process owing to the intricate nature of capital markets. It will require financial service providers to define the technology’s entry point based on adoption feasibility and cost-benefit analysis. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What’s Steemit (and Steem) All About?

In this age of ubiquitous internet and social media, we’re constantly sharing ideas and content with our fellow internet users. But has it ever occurred to you that you could be paid for that? Thanks to blockchain technology, it’s now possible. 

In this age of ubiquitous internet and social media, we’re constantly sharing ideas and content with our fellow internet users. But has it ever occurred to you that you could be paid for that? Thanks to blockchain technology, it’s now possible. 

In this age of ubiquitous internet and social media, we’re constantly sharing ideas and content with our fellow internet users. But has it ever occurred to you that you could be paid for that? Thanks to blockchain technology, it’s now possible. 

For long, giant social media companies have profited off user-generated content, while the actual creators of the content, who are the ones that keep the wheels rolling, get little or no share of the pie. And content creators often have to leverage several means to get paid. And emerging tools like ad blockers make it difficult for advertisements to reach targeted audiences. 

Steemit is a platform that’s leveraging blockchain to change the way we view and use social media by rewarding active users with cryptocurrency. It was founded in 2016 by Dan Larimer – who is also the founder of popular blockchain projects BitShares and EOS, together with financial analyst Ned Scott. 

The Steemit model incentivizes both content creators and people who interact with it. This way, an ecosystem is created where content owners are rewarded, as are people who engage with it. 

This piece delves deeper into the Steemit platform as we discover how it works, what is the Steem token, and everything in between. 

What is Steem 

Steem is a token based on the content-focused, blockchain-based and decentralized platform Steemit. Steem enables content makers and publishers to earn money from their content. It works the same as other social content platforms like Reddit and Facebook; only this time, contributors get rewarded for their content, as do individuals who upvote other people’s content.

Owners and shareholders of content platforms such as Reddit and Facebook have made billions of dollars worth of value from user-generated content – with the content makers themselves not gaining at all. Steemit hopes to change this. 

As it says on the white paper:” Steemit aims to support social media and online communities by returning much of its value to the people who provide valuable contributions by rewarding them with cryptocurrency, and through this process create a currency that is able to reach a broad market including people who have yet to participate in any cryptocurrency economy.” 

How Does Steem Work? 

To discover what the Steem token is all about, we first need to understand the Steemit network. 

First, the Steemit network generates and distributes Steem tokens every day. Users can then hodl these tokens, exchange them for other cryptos, or sell them for Fiat currency. Steem has become uber-popular in the crypto and content community since it allows virtually anyone who can curate interesting content to earn money. 

Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Steem does not rely on mining or network consensus for new coins to be released. Instead, the network automatically generates new Steem units and distributes them to users who are actively engaging with the platform. The amount of tokens you get is proportional to the number of upvotes you get and how much you engage with content on the site (upcoming and commenting). 

What Problem is Steem Solving?

Steem is helping to solve a persistent problem in the content world. The content economy is currently incredibly fractured. 

Content makers work hard to curate great content, yet their only hope to earn off of it is via advertisement (which in itself is not guaranteed), affiliate marketing, and other uncertain ways. Other times, content creators have to give up control or direction of their work, which ends up corrupting or watering down the original spirit of the content.

Compounding this issue is the fact that even the current routes for monetization are becoming less effective. Content consumers are not exactly willing and enthusiastic about having to pay for online content. This is due to the huge amount of content that is readily available online. People would rather go elsewhere for content rather than pay for it. 

Consider ad blocking, which has considerably stalled digital advertising. In 2019, for instance, 47% of internet users were using some form of ad blocking, and this figure is set to continue growing. This is something that affects content creators because advertised messages never reach their intended audiences. And for content makers who instead opt to put up a paywall, it mostly just serves to send readers away. 

Steemit aims to change this status of things. On the platform, content creators can post their amazing content and get paid. And content consumers have an incentive to interact with that content. 

Who can Benefit from Steem?

Steem was built to empower regular people from all walks of life by rewarding them for their contribution to online communities. The Steemit platform processes actions (publishing of content, upvoting, commenting, etc.), super-fast, and payouts are made seven days after the fact. Below are the groups of people who can benefit from Steem: 

  • Content creators
  • Content curators
  • Remitters 
  • Market-makers
  • Bloggers
  • Commenters
  • Internet readers
  • Referrers
  • Sign up party hosts

The Three Crypto Tokens of Steemit

Steemit actually has three kinds of tokens. These tokens interact in various ways to bring value to platform users. They include Steem, Steem Power, and Steem Dollars. 

#1. Steem

Steem is the ‘main’ token of the Steemit platform. Network users get paid in Steem for their contribution to the network. Steem can be sold on the open market, just like any other token. It’s not advisable to hang onto Steem for too long. Since the token is released every day, hanging onto it for too long risks dilution.

#2. Steem Power

Steem Power (SP) tokens enable you to have proportionate ownership in the Steemit platform. It’s a measure of how much influence you have as a user. As the network grows, so does your influence. Part of your earnings as a contributor to the network are in Steem Power. The more SP you have, the more your upvotes will be worth. In this way, the Steemit network allows users to build their influence over time. You also receive more rewards when you upvote someone’s work, and they receive a higher payout from your upvotes compared to the upvotes of a relatively new user. 

#3. Steem Dollars 

Steem Dollars are meant to be a stablecoin and are thus pegged to the US dollar. Content makers are paid partly in Steem Power units upon posting the content on the platform. Steem Dollars actually offer three options to users: 

  1. Convert them to Steem and cash out, HODL, or exchange them for other cryptos
  2. Hold onto them and earn 10% interest
  3. Exchange them for Steem Power

How does the Market Look Like?

As of May 30, 2020, Steem was trading at $0.213665, world ranking at #76 in the crypto market. It has a market cap of $78, 497, 841, a 24-hour volume of $3, 476, 286, a circulating supply of 367, 387, 538, and a  total supply of 384, 361, 632. Steem’s all-time high price was $8.57 (Jan 03, 2018), with an all-time low of $0.069192 (March 10, 2017), according to Coinmarketcap. 

Where Can you Buy and Store Steem? 

Apart from being a participant in the steemit platform, you can also acquire Steem tokens from any of several reputable exchanges. Great options include Poloniex, Bittrex, Cointree, Huobi, Bitit, and Coinsquare. 

Storage options for Steem include CLI  (Command Line Interface) wallet, eSteem, a mobile app-based wallet, Vessel – a desktop wallet, as well as a paper wallet. 

Final Thoughts

Steemit is an amazing platform that rightfully rewards content makers for their contribution to the content world. It provides a solution that’s way overdue, and yet timely. By incentivizing content creation, Steemit facilitates a thriving content community that could start changing the way content sharing is done in the future. The platform is one to keep an eye out for. 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

How to Find and Profit from Arbitrage Opportunities in Crypto-Trading

Arbitrage trading is a widespread concept in the stock market that entails capitalizing price imbalances between markets. Essentially, an investor buys an asset in one market at a lower price and proceeds to sell it in another market where the same asset is priced slightly higher.

Arbitrage_Forex Academy

Arbitrage trading is a widespread concept in the stock market that entails capitalizing price imbalances between markets. Essentially, an investor buys an asset in one market at a lower price and proceeds to sell it in another market where the same asset is priced slightly higher.

Arbitrage trading is a widespread concept in the stock market that entails capitalizing price imbalances between markets. Essentially, an investor buys an asset in one market at a lower price and proceeds to sell it in another market where the same asset is priced slightly higher.

For instance, say a particular international equity trades at $54 per share in one stock exchange. The same equity trades at $54.20 in another market. A smart investor will speedily bulk-buy the equities at the lower price and sell them at a higher price to realize a tidy profit. 

This trading concept can also be replicated in the cryptocurrency market, especially by day-traders who actively monitor the market trends. 

Cryptocurrency Arbitrage Trading 

Arbitrage trading in the digital currency market is somewhat more efficient than the stock market. This is because there exist numerous marketplaces/crypto exchanges, unlike security trading, which is limited to one major exchange in a given geographical area. Moreover, the crypto market is relatively young, which means that most exchanges work independently and do not share information. This has led to price disparities and profitable arbitrage opportunities. 

There are two major arbitrage trading strategies traders can use to make a profit. 

  • Simple Arbitrage 

Simple arbitrage is the most common strategy that is also used in forex trading and sports betting. In cryptocurrency, the strategy involves buying and selling the same digital asset on different exchanges and pocketing the price difference. 

Now, assume that in one of the exchanges, Bitcoin is priced at $6,000 while trading at $8,500 on the other exchange. To efficiently take advantage of this price difference, you need to open a trading account in both exchanges. Then, you will buy Bitcoin at $6,000, transfer the coins to the other exchange and sell them for $8,500. 

Unfortunately, this approach has two major flaws. First, you’ll have to incur transactional costs associated with transferring cryptos from one exchange to the other. Also, transfers between exchanges can take days. Given the volatility of digital currencies, your profits may diminish during this extended transfer period.

To morph up tangible profits, it is recommended to trade large volumes of crypto. This way, your returns are magnified to cover the transfer and delays. 

  • Triangular arbitrage 

Unlike simple arbitrage, triangular arbitrage is more complex as it involves leveraging the price differences among three different cryptocurrencies within one or multiple exchanges. The strategy can be termed as a cycle where you’ll be exchanging your initial crypto for a second and a third one before finally buying back your initial currency within a limited amount of time. So, the first trading action is required if you were to make any profits. 

Here’s how it is done. There are three different assets on one exchange: BTC, ETH, and LTC. Deposit funds in your trading account and buy BTC as your initial crypto. Next, exchange your BTC for the low-priced LTC. Proceed to sell the LTC for ETH and finally trade the ETH back to BTC. Due to the price differences, your initial BTC holdings will have increased to reasonable amounts, which you can sell for fiat currency.

Even without owning BTC as your initial crypto, you can still make a profit by starting with a low priced crypto. In this case, you already hold some USDT in your account and want to buy 1 Bitcoin, which is currently trading at 6527.06 USDT. Instead of buying Bitcoin directly, you can trade your USDT for another currency, say ETH. Now assume that you end up buying ETH for 302.15 USDT for 1 ETH.

Your last step will be to exchange the ETH for at a rate of 1 ETH = 0.04643 BTC, which means that 1 BTC is trading at 21.5378 ETH. At the end of your trade, you’ll have bought 1 BTC for an equivalent of  6507.64USDT ( 21.5378 * 302.15). As such, you’ll have saved about 19.41 USDT, which wouldn’t be the case if you were to buy BTC directly with your USDT. If you cash out the final holdings immediately, you will make 0.3% profit, without considering the withdrawal fees. 

What to Consider before using Arbitrage Trading strategy 

In theory, cryptocurrency arbitrage sounds pretty straightforward to execute successfully. However, as with all trading strategies,  arbitrage trading isn’t immune to risks. So, here are a couple of things to consider doing to mitigate some of the risks: 

  • Make use of Trading bots.

Although manual arbitrage trading is possible, it’s advisable to make use of trading bots to execute trades. This way, you can be sure that you won’t miss any opportunity, especially considering that cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and prices may move against you if you are not fast enough to execute orders.

Besides, arbitrage trading requires constant monitoring of market movements, which can be tedious. A trading bot, on the other hand, can be configured to run for long hours and execute trades when an opportunity arises. 

  • Keep an Eye on the Fees

There are many costs associated with arbitrage trading that may eventually eat into your profits. Although some expenses such as transaction and withdrawal fees are unavoidable, it helps to review several exchanges and choose one whose costs are more affordable.

Also, be sure to factor in the taxes based on your jurisdiction. In countries where the law recognizes cryptocurrencies as assets, a trader will have to pay tax on every transaction. In this case, you should limit your transaction or rather use simple arbitrage instead of triangular arbitrage to minimize tax charges. 

  • Limit Your Exposure 

As mentioned earlier, arbitrage trading requires making large volumes of trades to realize reasonable profits, especially when the price difference between assets is narrowly spread. However, it’s prudent to only risk the amount you can afford to lose based on your risk tolerance.  

Conclusion

When done correctly, arbitrage trading is an ideal trading strategy for earning quick profits by leveraging the constant price swings of the cryptocurrency market. But remember to take into account the risks involved and ways to mitigate them to increase your returns. 

Categories
Blockchain and DLT

Is it Game-over for Ethereum as we usher in Radix smart contracts?

Imagine a utopian world without lawyers. A world where two people can enter into an agreement with absolutely no worries that one party may breach it and get away with it. A world run by digital contracts written in computer code. Yes, it is possible, and it is already happening, thanks to the invention of smart contracts.

Imagine a utopian world without lawyers. A world where two people can enter into an agreement with absolutely no worries that one party may breach it and get away with it. A world run by digital contracts written in computer code. Yes, it is possible, and it is already happening, thanks to the invention of smart contracts.

Imagine a utopian world without lawyers. A world where two people can enter into an agreement with absolutely no worries that one party may breach it and get away with it. A world run by digital contracts written in computer code. Yes, it is possible, and it is already happening, thanks to the invention of smart contracts.

What is a smart contract?

A smart contract is a piece of technology that may eventually do away with intermediaries. This is because it is a trusted agreement between two people written in computer code. It does not need a third-party to ‘witness’ or even enforce.

The smart contracts you have heard of are probably those that run on Ethereum’s blockchain platform. After all, the platform that was developed especially for developers to write smart contracts on and run on them. While it is not the only decentralized ledger to implement a general-purpose smart contracts feature, it was among the first.

Some experts argue that new decentralized ledger platforms, in particular Radix, have come up with better ways to implement smart contracts. Smart contracts on such platforms offer both the developers and users more than the blockchain platforms have to offer.

History of smart contracts

The idea of a smart contract was first conceptualized by legal scholar and cryptographer Nick Szabo back in 1994. He discovered that a self-executing contract was a possibility if there was a way to implement a decentralized ledger. This idea was way ahead of its time, and the invention of blockchain, the first kind of distributed ledger technology or DLT, is what made its implementation possible. 

A smart contract is an agreement converted into computer code, run and stored on a distributed system, and supervised by a network of computers, also referred to as nodes. Such a contract is ‘smart’ for two main reasons:

☑️It contains ledger feedback that makes it practical for use in transferring funds and receiving products and services.

☑️The contract is trusted by both parties that enter into it. It is therefore executed transparently and without the need for a middleman to oversee it.

The problem with current smart contracts

Smart contracts are one of the most utilized applications of decentralized ledger technology. Bitcoin was the first DLT to support smart contracts. It used them in payment channels, time locks, multisig accounts, and escrows. However, the limitations of the underlying blockchain technology greatly hinder its application.

Ethereum was developed with smart contracts in mind. The developers understood the limitations of the Bitcoin platform and chose to design a new platform that replaces the restrictive Bitcoin’s script with another that is more versatile. This would allow developers to build their own applications that use the platform’s smart contracts capability.

Ethereum’s smart contracts application platform may be the most popular today, but it has glaring weaknesses that it may never be able to overcome. This is because of the limiting factors of the blockchain platform and not the platform design or development. The most notable are:

☑️Blockchain does not scale very well. The concept of a ‘chain of blocks’ is a very powerful one, not only because it guarantees data integrity and necessitates trust between parties in the contract, but also because it has proven to have the capability to disrupt industries.

However, blockchain-based systems are slow and get even more sluggish as the chain grows longer with more blocks of transactions added to the chain.

☑️The consensus protocols used by blockchain systems are at a high risk of centralization.  Blockchains use either Proof-of-Work (PoW) or Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus protocols which carry certain degrees of different potential dangers.

It would be justifiable to say that even today, no blockchain system is absolutely decentralized.

☑️Blockchain-based smart contracts place a lot of burden on the developer. Creating an app on the Ethereum platform, for instance, involves creating the basic rules for how the app should behave and implementing its security features in the code. Even building a simple token system on Ethereum is still a very complicated affair.

For a technology that is intended for transactional systems, blockchain-based smart contract platforms are very unappealing to developers.

The future of smart contracts

The world has had a taste of the benefits of smart contracts built and run on decentralized systems, and there is no going back. Since blockchain, and its consensus protocols will never allow for global scalability and 100% decentralization, the world will have to adopt something better for smart contracts. The good news is that it is already here!

The ideal decentralized ledger (DLT) would have all the benefits that blockchain has to offer, and without scalability and consensus problems plaguing blockchain. Radix is such a platform. It is highly efficient and fast, but most importantly, it is scalable.

Radix is designed to have two layers: the Radix Ledger, the base platform that implements DLT, and the Radix Engine, which is the application layer on which transactional rules of the DLT are enforced. The Radix Ledger combines a distributed database ledger (which rakes in all the benefits of blockchain) and a one-of-a-kind consensus called Tempo.

Unlike blockchain, Radix leverages the causal relationships of events in the distributed ledger to create an absolute order of events using logical clocks to partially order events and vector clocks. This design ensures that the distributed system is faster and more efficient than any other DLT in existence. It also detects and prevents protocol violations with greater accuracy.

Why is Radix the future of smart contracts?

Bitcoin was a huge success as digital cash for the simple reason that it was modeled after real-world money, and it enforces its contracts the way cash works. The developers of Radix, not wanting to reinvent the wheel, modeled their revolutionary DLT after real-world business assets and transactions to make it easier for developers to work on, but without compromising its two primary features: trust and security.

The Radix smart contract platform makes it easy for a developer to map out business assets on the already-built Radix components. The platform will offer a wide range of easily customizable components that developers can use to define the assets to meet their applications’ transactional requirements.

Since development is greatly simplified on Radix, the developer will get to invest more effort in modeling the behavior of the business processes to be enforced rather than wasting time creating it from scratch using a different language. This is so because Radix Engine Library comes with a ton of models to create almost any common asset transactional system. It also takes a shorter time and less effort even for new developers to learn and create smart contracts on the platform

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

How to use Cryptocurrency Trading Pairs as an Investment Strategy

Trading crypto-assets is a tad different from trading such other assets as commodities and stocks. Even though they almost share the same trading platform and trading tools, there is a striking difference in how the operations are executed in each market. 

Trading crypto-assets is a tad different from trading such other assets as commodities and stocks. Even though they almost share the same trading platform and trading tools, there is a striking difference in how the operations are executed in each market. 

Trading crypto-assets is a tad different from trading such other assets as commodities and stocks. Even though they almost share the same trading platform and trading tools, there is a striking difference in how the operations are executed in each market. 

In the securities market, for instance, you can easily buy equities directly for fiat currency through your broker account. While the same can be done in the crypto-market, buying cryptocurrencies directly for fiat currency is limited only to a few cryptos. Unless you plan on limiting your trading to these few digital currencies, you’ll have to exchange one crypto for acquiring another one. 

As such, most digital currencies aren’t traded in isolation – or rather can’t be traded against fiat currency, as is the case with stocks and commodities. This is where the cryptocurrency pair trading concept comes into play. 

How Does Cryptocurrency Pair Trading work? 

Well, pair trading isn’t unique to the cryptocurrency market. It’s a trading strategy borrowed from the stock market, where traders pick two highly correlated equities and go long on one while shorting the other when the pair’s price diverges. 

BTC/ETH crypto pair - Forex Academy

In the crypto-market, pair trading is less complicated. All you have to do is buy crypto using fiat currency. Once you’ve acquired the crypto, you can exchange it for or trade it against other cryptocurrencies. In this case, the cryptocurrency which you bought for fiat currency is referred to as the base currency. In most exchanges, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin are the most preferred base currencies as they can easily be bought using domestic currencies. Litecoin is primarily preferred because of its fast transactions and affordable fees. 

Dogecoin is also used as a base currency, especially when trading low market cap coins where it might be burdensome to trade them with large-cap coins like Bitcoin. Dogecoin is also preferred due to its relatively stable value, minimizing the volatility risk. Nonetheless, the rule of thumb when choosing a base currency is to go for one that has the highest number of trading pairs. For this reason, it’s recommended to stick to BTC and ETH as your go-to base currencies since most cryptos have pegged their value on these two currencies. Besides, both BTC and ETH are listed in virtually every exchange. 

Tether (USDT) is also among the most used base currencies. It’s questionable management; notwithstanding, the currency is one of the most stable digital assets since its value is pegged to the United States dollar. This makes Tether not only ideal for pair trading but also a store of value for investors to safeguard funds they don’t want to subject to the crypto market’s aggressive price swings. 

Trading Cryptocurrency Pairs 

Cryptocurrency pairs are usually denoted as one against the other. For instance, ETH/LTC pair means that you’re buying Ethereum and selling Litecoin (LTC) at the same time. Selling the pair means that you are selling Ethereum and buying Litecoin simultaneously. Note that some exchanges may have different cryptocurrency pair listings, so be sure to check if the pair you intend to trade is on offer/listed.  

Additionally, some cryptocurrencies cannot be exchanged directly for others. You may have to execute a few pairs of trades before getting hold of the cryptocurrency you desire. This creates an opportunity for complex arbitrage trading, where you can exchange multiple currencies and pocket price differences. This strategy may, however, be considered too risky, especially for new traders. In such a case, consider using third-party apps for seamless trading across a multitude of crypto pairs. 

Does Liquidity Affect Crypto Pair Trading?

Much like any other crypto trading strategy, liquidity influences crypto pair-trading. Essentially, liquidity means the ability of a currency pair to be sold or bought on demand. A currency on high demand has high liquidity, meaning more opportunities on the market. You can buy/sell in significant amounts without much variances in its exchange rate. Even on a bearish market, crypto on high demand will always have buyers. So, you won’t have to settle for the exchange rate too low to attract buyers. 

Note that not all currency pairs are liquid. Their liquidity depends on whether they are paired with cryptos that are on high demand. This is why BTC, ETH, USDT, and LTC are the ideal base currencies due to their constant demand. It’s also why exchanges with a limited number of trades tie their liquidity to one of these major base currencies.  

Risks of Crypto Pair Trading

The best thing about crypto pair trading is that it is market-neutral or non-directional. This means that by pair trading, you generate profits regardless of whether the market is rallying or correcting. Yet, there are several risks and drawbacks investors need to be aware of when using this strategy, including:

I) Execution risk 

While it’s easy to use the pair trading strategy, you may fail to execute the trade at an optimal price value. This is especially true when trading crypto pairs with a small market cap, whose valuation is more dynamic and unstable. 

II) Correlation Breakdown 

Similar to the stock market, pair trading in the crypto-market has to be between two correlated digital assets. Correlation is usually determined arithmetically on a scale of -1 to +1, whereby +1 indicates a perfect positive correlation, while -1 indicates a perfect negative correlation. If the value is 0, it means there isn’t a correlation between the two assets. 

Considering the crypto market’s volatility, the correlation between assets can unexpectedly break down, and the trade may turn sour as assets move in different directions. 

III) Security Risk 

The security aspect of pair trading has more to do with the trading platform rather than the strategy itself. If you are an avid follower of the digital assets market, you probably know that holding your crypto funds in an exchange is a bad idea. Plus, when using a crypto exchange to execute this trading strategy, you risk losing your assets to hackers.

The safest platform for executing this strategy is a Contract for Difference (CFD) broker platform. With this platform, you enter a trade without owning the underlying asset (cryptocurrency). It’s ideally a bet between the seller and trader to trade the underlying asset at prices stipulated in the contract. With CFD trading, you never have to worry about storing the asset or losing it to hackers.

Conclusion 

Pair trading, being a market-neutral strategy, is well poised for application in the volatile crypto market. On the downside, however, if you are planning on making bank on the next bull run, you should probably avoid pair trading since you won’t earn higher profits in a rally than you would during a bearish market. 

Additionally, the strategy is best suited for intermediate and experienced traders who are already familiar with analyzing prices and market fundamentals. If you are looking to earn regular returns regardless of market trends, you too should consider using the pair trading strategy. Note, however, that even though pair trading is relatively safe, only invest what you can afford to lose and operate within tolerable risk levels. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency Tax Guide – How to File and Pay Taxes on Crypto Earnings

The longest-held sentiment among crypto enthusiasts is that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will one day be recognized as a medium of exchange by governments. If that were to happen, it would not only accelerate the maturation of the cryptocurrency market but also promote world-wide adoption of virtual currencies. 

Crypto Tax | Finance Academy

The longest-held sentiment among crypto enthusiasts is that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will one day be recognized as a medium of exchange by governments. If that were to happen, it would not only accelerate the maturation of the cryptocurrency market but also promote world-wide adoption of virtual currencies. 

The longest-held sentiment among crypto enthusiasts is that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will one day be recognized as a medium of exchange by governments. If that were to happen, it would not only accelerate the maturation of the cryptocurrency market but also promote world-wide adoption of virtual currencies. 

Unfortunately, tax authorities, particularly Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States and Australian Taxation Office (ATO), regard cryptocurrencies as assets or intangible properties and not a currency since it’s not issued by a central bank. The asset classification of cryptos means that all gains and transactions made using cryptocurrencies are subject to property taxation principles. 

How are Cryptocurrencies Taxed? 

Crypto tax_Forex Academy

To avoid landing in the bad books of the law as a cryptocurrency user/investor, it’s necessary to understand the very instances in which crypto taxation laws take effect. This way, you’ll be in a position to report income and pay the resulting tax correctly. 

For starters, tax authorities have made it mandatory for users to report all their cryptocurrency transactions no matter how negligible they seem. These transactions include the purchase, selling of, investing in, or paying for goods and services using any digital currency.

Merchants or businesses that accept payments in the form of cryptocurrencies are required by the law to report the value of the received cryptos. The value should be expressed as their fiat currency equivalent at the time the payment was received. In these cases, as a cryptocurrency user, you’ll incur capital gains, either long-term or short-term.

For the investors, taxable gains apply if the digital currency’s market value increases from the time of investment up to the time of tax filing. A taxable loss, on the other hand, applies when the fair market value is lower than the adjusted basis of the virtual currency. 

Additionally, cryptocurrency miners are subject to cryptocurrency taxation. For instance, after successfully mining Bitcoins, you ought to include the fair market value of the mined coins in your annual gross income. Wages paid in cryptocurrency are also taxed based on the fair market value on the coins on the date of receipt. 

Note that failing to comply with the tax laws can result in penalties, high interests, or even criminal prosecution. As such, it’s advisable to maintain an accurate record of all your crypto transactions. 

Special Considerations

It is important to acknowledge that in some countries, cryptocurrencies aren’t classified as property. This, however, doesn’t mean that they aren’t taxed. On the contrary, they are subjected to a different type of taxation policies. Let’s take a quick look at how various countries approach digital assets: 

  • The European Union 

A few years ago, the European Court of Justice ruled that Bitcoin can be exchanged without VAT in the European Union. Although this judgment doesn’t mean Bitcoin is recognized as a legal tender in any of the EU countries, it places Bitcoin on a level playing field with other traditional currencies.

While the VAT exemption applies to all countries in the European Union, cryptocurrency transactions are still subject to other forms of taxes, such as capital gains. For instance, in France, crypto-to-crypto transactions aren’t taxed, but when exchanged for fiat currency, the income tax law applies. Also, if a cryptocurrency is used to acquire an asset or service, VAT is applied. 

  • The United Kingdom 

In the UK, the law isn’t quite clear about cryptocurrency taxation. One thing is certain, though, all virtual currencies are treated as foreign currencies, and as such, they’re subject to tax gains and losses. The UK tax authority, Her Majesty’s Revenue, and Customs states that each crypto transaction will be judged based on its own individual facts and circumstances. So, users may be subjected to a variety of tax policies depending on how they use the crypto. 

What to Consider When Planning Your Cryptocurrency Taxes 

As far as crypto taxation is concerned, there are several measures you can take if you hope to remain on the good side of the law. These include:

  • Make use of Tax Tools 

Maintaining cryptocurrency tax compliance requires accurate record-keeping of all transactions. This may not be a big deal to casual traders and investors who engage in minimal crypto transactions. But, for active cryptocurrency traders and miners, it makes sense to invest in software programs to help you track and record the numerous transactions. Some of these tools can calculate your tax liabilities, prepare, and even file your tax returns. 

  • Donate Your Cryptos 

Donating a percentage of your crypto investment reduces your tax liability. Once you have donated your digital assets, the charitable fund sells them to an exchange for fiat cash. Consequently, you enjoy tax relief in that particular year of donation. 

  • Be Mindful of the Holding Period 

Short term gains taxes apply when you hold your cryptocurrency investment for less than a year, while long term gains taxes apply when you hold your investment for more than a year. Depending on your investment goals, these two periods can work for or against you.

Cashing out your cryptos too soon subjects you to frequent short term gain taxes that may eat into your profits. At the same time, holding your investments for too long results in accumulation of long term gain taxes, which might also take a massive chunk off your returns. 

Ideally, you should aim to strike a balance between holding for the short term and the long term. If the earned returns are enough to cover the taxes, then you may consider cashing out. If the returns aren’t enough, then consider holding your investments for a bit longer. 

  • Record Your Loss Too

Just like any other investment, the crypto market doesn’t always offer high returns all-year-round. Luckily, tax authorities are aware of this fact, which is why they allow investors to file tax losses to offset gains. So, be sure to record any losses incurred as a result of market trends.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrency taxation is a rather intricate affair given that the regulatory framework governing the taxation process differs significantly depending on the jurisdiction. As such, consulting a cryptocurrency tax advisor when planning for your taxation is highly recommended. It’s also a good idea to keep tabs on the taxation authority to stay updated on any change of policies or new rules. 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

SOLANA COIN: Solving the Scalability Problem with Proof of History

Bitcoin and Ethereum are widely lauded for pioneering the blockchain and smart contract technologies, respectively. While this has paved the way for a litany of similar technologies, the scalability challenge inherent to blockchains remains the most significant hindrance preventing decentralized blockchains from replacing centralized data systems. 

Solana Coin - Forex Academy

Bitcoin and Ethereum are widely lauded for pioneering the blockchain and smart contract technologies, respectively. While this has paved the way for a litany of similar technologies, the scalability challenge inherent to blockchains remains the most significant hindrance preventing decentralized blockchains from replacing centralized data systems. 

Bitcoin and Ethereum are widely lauded for pioneering the blockchain and smart contract technologies, respectively. While this has paved the way for a litany of similar technologies, the scalability challenge inherent to blockchains remains the most significant hindrance preventing decentralized blockchains from replacing centralized data systems. 

There have been a few noteworthy attempts to solve the problem, but often the newfound solutions come at the expense of blockchain’s fundamental features. For example, the EOS blockchain can process more than 1,000 transactions per second, but at the expense of decentralization.

Other blockchain iterations have resorted to using off-chain solutions as a way to reduce the influx of transactions on the main chain. Although they may have made a substantial improvement to the traditional linear blockchain, the complexity of their computations results in inevitable technical challenges. 

Solana is a new blockchain project that aims to solve the scalability dilemma by using a cutting-edge protocol known as Proof of History. The protocol can handle up to 60,000 transactions per second (TPS), which is way more than the 3,000 TPS that Ethereum’s Istanbul fork can process. Before we can examine how the Proof of History protocol solves the scalability problem, let’s first understand how the scalability problem comes about.

Scalability – It’s all About Time 

To develop a high throughput ( transactions per second), the computers in a network need to synchronize the time between transactions. This means that each computer node will need its own ‘internal clock’ to ensure that they all coordinate properly. It’s only when they are in coordination that transactions will take less time to be verified, meaning more transactions can be processed within a short time. 

Blockchain Scalability - Forex Academy

Think of Google Spanner, a scalable database that relies on atomic clocks that are synchronized with each other and the network’s data centers. To maintain this coordination, Google spends an enormous amount of resources to act as the “central clock” from which all nodes take the information. 

While Google Spanner has worked for centralized systems, it can’t work for blockchains since they are trustless systems. Blockchain’s network nodes can’t rely on a “central clock” for consensus timestamps since doing so means sacrificing the decentralized nature of blockchain. 

Besides, as far as increasing the overall throughput is concerned, there is one fairly successful technique. It is referred to as sharding and works by partitioning transactions. Although it works almost perfectly, it introduces vulnerabilities such as double spending and the risk of fraudulent transactions due to a lack of communication between different shards (partitions). 

Solana’s Proof of History protocol seeks to enable time coordination, thereby increasing blockchain throughput while reducing the average cost. 

How Proof of History Works 

Proof of History (PoH) enables network participants to reach a consensus on time. Instead of network nodes confirming transactions, as is the case with Bitcoin and Ethereum, they are only required to agree that one event took place before the subsequent event. 

Let’s say you capture a photo of a popular magazine using your camera. In this case, the photo is proof that the magazine was first published before the photo was taken. Proof of History employs the same concept by encoding the passage of time into the blockchain, creating a record that shows a certain event occurred at a specific time before or after another event. 

To do this, the Proof of History protocol uses a new cryptographic concept known as Verifiable Delay Function (VDF). The function records the passage of time by cryptographically verifying that real-time has passed in the process of generating output. It should be noted that the VDF requires several sequential events to produce a unique and reliable output, which is then made public.

The VDF being a cryptographic hash function means that it’s impossible to predict the final output without executing the whole function from the beginning, using the original input. And after running a hash function from an initial input, the resultant output is used as an input of the next function. This cycle of feeding output as input is then recorded as time passage.

The output of one operation becomes the input of the next operation, in which the current count, status, and output are periodically recorded as a passage of time, creating a sequential thread of time, which we may call History. 

Solana also employs other innovative protocols to achieve superior throughput. These protocols include:

i) Tower Byzantine Fault Tolerance Consensus

In the tower Byzantine Fault Tolerance (Tower BFT), all nodes act in the interest of the network. It works in harmony with Proof of Stake to help determine who can participate as a block validator. As such, the ecosystem created allows participants to stake tokens so they can vote on the validity of a PoH hash function. Bad actors are penalized if they vote in favor of a fork that doesn’t match the PoH records. 

The PoH hash, in this case, can be compared to a block as in a typical blockchain. Once a validator votes for a block, they cannot vote another block in parallel. They must wait for the next block by which the PoH VDF will have verified the passage of time. 

ii) Avalanche

Avalanche is Solana’s solution for reducing congestion in a network. This architecture works by splitting block data into two amongst peers. By sharing only half of the block data, avalanche greatly reduces bandwidth and data usage. 

iii) The Honest Approach

The honest approach aims at maintaining integrity between nodes and verifiers by randomly sending an invalid hash intentionally, through the proof of History. 

Conclusion

Solana’s ambitious goal to solve the scalability problem in blockchain could prove to be what the industry needs as a replacement for traditional data systems. Besides being an effective solution for scalability, the project has managed to remove sharding from its design, making network-wide validation faster and secure while reducing the overhead costs.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Decentralized Vs. Centralized Exchanges: Which One Should You Trust?

What comes to your mind when you hear the word cryptocurrency? 

Centralised Vs Decentralised_Forex Academy (1) (1)

What comes to your mind when you hear the word cryptocurrency? 

What comes to your mind when you hear the word cryptocurrency? 

Probably it’s the distributed and consensus ledger technology that forms the basis of the whole crypto universe. 

As such, it would seem counter-intuitive if other solutions built around this ledger technology end up diluting its decentralized aspect. Yet, the ratio of centralized exchanges’ trading volume to that of decentralized exchanges suggests that traders prefer the former to the latter. 

Well, there are many halftones between the two concepts – decentralized and centralized – with an arguable belief that not everything is always black and white. Besides, if the power of decentralization was to transverse all aspects of our everyday life, wouldn’t it send us into disarray? So, the real question here should be, to what extent should an exchange be decentralized? 

Decentralized Exchanges Explained 

Much like cryptocurrencies, decentralized crypto exchanges (DEXs), seek to create a trustless environment where buyers and sellers can transact freely. Instead of using matching buy and sell orders in a central book, DEXs utilize smart contracts to link traders directly to each other, eliminating the need for a third-party. In this way, these types of exchanges don’t hold users’ assets or any other personal data. They only serve as a matching and routing layer for trade orders. 

Decentralised_Forex Academy

Generally, there are two types of decentralized crypto exchanges: currency-centric and currency-neutral. Currency-centric exchanges are tied down to one specific blockchain network escrowing its native currency, e.g., Ethereum, Waves, Tron, and any other blockchain that has smart contract capabilities. Currency-neutral exchanges, on the other hand, tend to be more versatile. This means that they can be built on various blockchain networks and are therefore not tied to one specific digital coin ecosystem. 

How Decentralized Exchanges Work

Regardless of their differences, all decentralized exchanges work pretty much the same way. A client brings their funds like ETH, which are stored in the exchange’s network in the form of proxy tokens, in this case, DEX-ETH. Ideally, these tokens serve as collateral for the actual coins stored by the exchange. 

To execute a trade, the client sends an order to sell their tokens in exchange for, say DEX-BTC tokens, which also represent the actual BTC owned by the other party. The smart contract then matches and processes the orders, after which the proxy tokens are exchanged between the two parties. The seller gets the DEX-BTC while the buyer receives the DEX-ETH tokens. After receiving tokens, both parties can convert them to the actual currency, ETH and BTC, using the same trading channel or a different one.

Advantages and disadvantages of Decentralized Exchanges 

Given their architecture, one of the biggest advantages that rises to the forefront is security. The exchanges don’t hold customers’ funds in a central reserve and are thus not vulnerable to hacks or theft. At the same time, decentralized exchanges don’t require a user’s personal information, which also goes a long way in improving security and anonymity in line with the purpose of crypto.

A DEX eliminates the need for a middleman between traders, helping reduce the trading fees. Additionally, traders who like keeping up with crypto market trends, you might consider using decentralized exchanges. This is especially true if you invest in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). Often, ICOs find their way into DEXs prior to centralized exchanges. 

Despite their numerous advantages, decentralized exchanges have their shortcomings. To start with, they require a higher degree of technical know-how to use efficiently. They also lack essential trading features, which makes them intimidating to new crypto traders. 

Due to the small number of users on DEXs, they have a relatively low trading volume. This translates to limited liquidity in addition to difficulties in finding a matching order since there’s a limited number of traders on the platform.

Decentralized exchanges also suffer from slow transactions. The slow speed of transactions may not be a big deal to small-scale traders, but it can be detrimental to trading giants with high-volume transactions. 

Also, by their very nature, DEXs have no physical location or proof of existence. Therefore it would be difficult to launch a complaint should an issue arise. 

Centralized Exchanges Explained 

Unlike their counterparts, centralized exchanges, also known as CEXs, function similarly to traditional stock exchanges. Essentially, they act as a middle-party between crypto traders and, in exchange, collect a small fee on every successful trade. 

Centralised_orex Academy

These exchanges are structured in such a way that they own their users’ private keys (or wallets), meaning that all transactions have to be executed in the mechanisms laid out by the central authority. Their having access to users’ wallets is a double-edged sword.

First, in case of a lost password, a user can easily recover their funds by simply contacting the exchange’s support team. At the same time, centralized exchanges are prone to hacks and thefts since they store client funds in a centralized database. But even with this downside, CEXs continue to attract a higher number of users than decentralized exchanges. 

Such popularity can be attributed to the seamless fiat to cryptocurrency trades carried out on the centralized exchanges. As such, it is easier for a new crypto trader to enter the market. Moreover, centralized exchanges boast of useful trading features like the stop losses, margin trading, and lending, which are not available on decentralized exchanges. 

Thanks to their high number of users, centralized exchanges have higher liquidity than DEXs. The liquidity is further enhanced by the fact that most CEXs accept fiat currencies and can even be linked to debit cards or bank accounts. 

To Centralize or Not to Centralize? 

Currently, centralized exchanges control the lion’s share of the global cryptocurrency trading volume. Although they deserve it due to the convenience they offer, they have watered down the idea of decentralization in the blockchain and crypto industry. Perhaps as decentralized exchanges continue to grow, there will be a major shift to these platforms since they maintain users’ privacy and security, which is becoming increasingly important as more centralized exchanges fall victim to hacks. 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

Blockchain and Big Data: A Match Made in Heaven? 

The rise of the technological revolution has given birth to data-driven businesses. Organizations now collect large volumes of consumers’ data that is analyzed to make strategic business decisions that help drive profitability. The collection of massive consumers’ datasets, which is commonly known as Big Data, has become an established industry on its own with its revenue projected to grow to $103 billion by the year 2027. 

Big Data and Blockchain - Forex Academy (Photo by Science in HD on Unsplash)

The rise of the technological revolution has given birth to data-driven businesses. Organizations now collect large volumes of consumers’ data that is analyzed to make strategic business decisions that help drive profitability. The collection of massive consumers’ datasets, which is commonly known as Big Data, has become an established industry on its own with its revenue projected to grow to $103 billion by the year 2027. 

The rise of the technological revolution has given birth to data-driven businesses. Organizations now collect large volumes of consumers’ data that is analyzed to make strategic business decisions that help drive profitability. The collection of massive consumers’ datasets, which is commonly known as Big Data, has become an established industry on its own with its revenue projected to grow to $103 billion by the year 2027. 

As Big Data continues to become more prevalent in modern-day businesses, it presents a slew of analytical problems to businesses looking to derive valuable insights from the data. Additionally, with the advent of the web of connected devices, consumers are also at the risk of privacy violations due to the increased probability of security breaches. 

But blockchain, a relatively new technology focused on data integrity and management, has the potential to transform the Big Data industry. And although the two technologies, blockchain and Big Data, may seem mutually exclusive on the surface, they complement each other to create powerful solutions for tech-driven enterprises. 

Where can Blockchain Help Big Data

Some of the biggest challenges facing the Big Data industry stem from poor data management. This is despite the numerous efforts by data scientists to come up with different data management systems. Even with the dynamic technological advancements, it’s becoming quite clear that the most modern tech-infrastructure can’t keep up the growing volume of data. 

As a result, poor data management breeds such other problems as data insecurity as well as inaccurate and incomplete records, also known as dirty data. Analysts and organizations have, therefore, been forced to spend a huge deal of their time and resources on data management that, in an ideal situation, would be spent on other core areas of the organization.

But with the advent of blockchain technology, data management is about to get a lot easier for both the data collectors and its consumers.  

By leveraging the fundamental properties of this novel technology, traditional data-processing infrastructure could be upgraded to manage data adequately. Below are some of the potentialities that the integration of Big Data and blockchain offers:

I) Enhance Data Security

The Big data industry struggles with the lack of adequate security to keep from malicious hackers and their advanced tools at bay. The current data management infrastructures cannot, therefore, be relied upon to keep consumers’ data secure. 

As a distributed ledger system, blockchain technology can be integrated into these data management infrastructures to improve their security. The fact that it uses cryptographic principles to record data in the network makes it almost impossible to breach.

In addition to the high-security standards, blockchain solutions for big data eliminate the need for a central infrastructure where data is stored. Instead, data is stored in a distributed network, making it impossible for a single party to generate enough computational power to alter the data in any way. 

II) Ensuring Data Integrity

Besides, drawing insights from the data, data scientists spend a great deal of their time verifying the data in their care and ensuring it is accurate and consistent.

Blockchain can relieve analysts of this tedious task by vetting this data before it’s recorded in the extensive data chain network. It, therefore, solves the persistent cases of inaccurate, repeated, and incomplete data and makes it easier to draw credible insights from the data. While verifying each dataset, blockchain technology also enhances transparency, given that any data recorded within the network can be traced.  

III) Allow Individuals to Monetize their Data

In today’s information age, data is the single most valuable commodity traded by giant tech companies as well as small enterprises. However, the owners of the data rarely benefit from this trade. They are reduced to mere data sources, while enterprises pocket all the profit from selling their data.  

This practice is about to change with the introduction of blockchain to Big Data. The technology is set to democratize data ownership, allowing consumers to regain absolute control of their data. Data monetization can be supported through a token-based economy or discount on products in exchange for personal data. 

Eventually, blockchain will create marketplaces where individuals can trade data directly with businesses. Unlike the current data market, blockchain marketplaces will be more transparent, allowing individuals to see how their data is being used even after the transaction has taken place. 

IV) Manage Data Sharing

As a decentralized ledger system, blockchain allows parties within a network to share data without the security risk factor. As such, it’ll be easier for, say, banks and hospitals to share an individual’s data effectively, improving service delivery. Additionally, the coordinated data sharing eliminates the cumbersome Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, saving institutions money and time. 

Even within an organization, data sharing will be seamless with the use of blockchain solutions that eliminate data silos. As a result, departments within an organization will collaborate efficiently to improve productivity. 

V) Real-Time Data Analysis

Blockchain in payment systems is used to facilitate real-time transactions. Today, there are several fintech innovations that use blockchain to process fast and real-time settlements of huge sums, irrespective of geographical barriers.

In the same way, blockchain-enabled systems can be used by organizations that require real-time analysis of large scale data to improve their services. For instance, if banks were to use these systems, it would enable them to observe changes in data in real-time and make quick decisions, such as block fraudulent transaction attempts or track irregular activities. 

VI) Predictive Analysis

Data stored on a blockchain network can be analyzed to give valuable insights, much like any other form of data. Considering the accuracy and security of blockchain data, the analyses derived from this type of data are more accurate than those from traditional data management systems. 

Additionally, owing to the distributed nature of blockchain and the huge computational power it offers, data analysts, even those in small organizations, can engage in extensive data analysis tasks. By leveraging the accuracy of the data stored therein, the computational power of the blockchain, and its resourcefulness, data analysts can predict and forecast different aspects of the business with utmost accuracy. 

Conclusion

Blockchain and Big Data technologies are set to radically transform the way businesses process and manage large volumes of data. As such, the integration of the two technologies to form a single solution will not only help businesses step up their data infrastructures, but also solve some of the inherent problems that come with managing large databases.

You must, however, appreciate that blockchain solutions in the Big Data industry may not be realized anytime soon due to the growing concern that blockchain application in Big Data is overly expensive. Most tech companies believe it is cheaper to store data on the traditional infrastructures than a blockchain network. This is because blocks can only store and process a limited amount of data, which is smaller compared to the large volumes of data collected per second by current Big Data systems. But blockchain is an ever-evolving technology, and hopefully, it will mature fast enough to address these concerns, allowing for its full implementation in Big Data management. 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

Should you Use a VPN for Cryptocurrency Transactions? 

With the growing number of cybersecurity threats, online privacy is becoming a huge concern for most internet users. As such, privacy-conscious users will likely prefer using cryptocurrencies to fiat or debit cards for financial transactions. 

Crypto_VPN | Forex Acdemy

With the growing number of cybersecurity threats, online privacy is becoming a huge concern for most internet users. As such, privacy-conscious users will likely prefer using cryptocurrencies to fiat or debit cards for financial transactions. 

With the growing number of cybersecurity threats, online privacy is becoming a huge concern for most internet users. As such, privacy-conscious users will likely prefer using cryptocurrencies to fiat or debit cards for financial transactions. 

Sure enough, all financial transactions done using digital currencies are cryptographically secured, protecting user privacy and anonymity. Recipients won’t know your identity or any other personal information unless you buy physical goods and have them shipped to your physical address. 

But the security of your transactions is just one part of the whole online privacy equation. As long as your crypto transactions are done over the internet, you still face the risk of being hacked, falling victim to identity theft, and other cybercrimes. Now, this is where a VPN comes in. 

But first, let’s understand how a VPN works. 

What is a VPN? 

A virtual private network (VPN) service is a programmed security tool that encrypts data being transmitted over the internet. The tool secures your privacy by routing your internet traffic through an encrypted channel, making it hard for third-parties, the government, and even your internet service provider (ISP) to intercept or read your online data.

In other words, the sources and destination of your data are masked when using a VPN. This is especially important if you are using public WiFi to access the internet. At this time, you are highly vulnerable to third-party traffic interceptions who may exploit your personal data. 

Vpn Forex Academy

On a regular network, all your online activities can be traced back to you using your computer/smartphone IP address. The address functions pretty the same way as a home address in that it helps identify your exact location. However, when using a VPN, your real IP address is concealed then you’re assigned a new mock IP address enabling you to bypass geo-restrictions. This means your online activities can’t be traced to your exact physical location. 

Why You Should use a VPN for Cryptocurrency Transactions

Now that we understand how a VPN works, it’s easy to see how it adds an extra layer of security when using cryptocurrencies. Let’s break down why you need to use a VPN when transacting in cryptos over the internet. 

I) Sending Cryptos to other Hot wallets

One of the easiest ways for a hacker to steal your cryptocurrency is by exploiting security loopholes in your hot wallet. Whether you’re sending digital currencies to an exchange site or to another party that you are in business with, your wallet and public key address can easily be identified. With this information, all your transactions can be monitored and even intercepted to gain access to your hot wallet. 

The security loopholes stem from the fact that hot wallets and most cryptocurrency transactions are done over the internet. As such, hackers can leverage their expertise to prey on your activities online and even steal your personal information.

Using a VPN, in this case, can help encrypt your online transactions by encrypting data on both ends. That is to say, transactional data between your device as the sender, and that of the receiver cannot be intercepted in any way. Even when using a public WiFi network to carry out the transaction, your activities are hidden from third-parties’ preying eyes. 

II) Using Decentralised Apps

On the bright side, decentralized apps such as decentralized exchanges and DeFi tools, do not request users to provide identifying Know Your Customer (KYC) information. From a privacy and security front, users are protected from hacks and personal data theft. But even with this security advantage, users’ activities can still be monitored by identifying their unprotected IP address. You can keep your actual location under wraps by leveraging the ability of a VPN to conceal your real IP address. This way, your activities will be completely invisible, making you less of a target of cybercriminals. 

III) Bypassing Internet Firewalls

In the few countries where cryptocurrencies are completely illegal, the government places a geo-restriction, barring any cryptocurrency transactions within the country’s borders. Even those using digital currencies within the country can easily be traced by the government and charged for violating the crypto ban. 

However, using a VPN, your connection is routed to a remote server that virtually puts you in a different geographical location. As such, your new location won’t be under the geo-restriction even when you’re actually located in a country that has imposed the geo-block. This way, you can freely transact in cryptocurrencies without detection. 

In a good number of countries, using cryptocurrencies is legal. But this doesn’t mean that the government is friendly to the idea of blockchain and cryptocurrencies altogether. As such, the regulators have been known to keep tabs or monitor the transactions of those using digital currencies. If you are concerned about your privacy, the idea of the government monitoring your transactions won’t sit right with you. 

Which VPN should you Use

The VPN market is flooded with numerous providers touting their services to be the best in the market. While indeed some offer superior privacy protection, a good number of them should be avoided.  

For starters, steer clear of free VPN services for the simple reason that these providers tend to fund themselves by selling users’ private data to governments and advertisement agencies. On the other hand, paid VPN fund their services and infrastructure from the subscription fees paid by the users and have no reason to sell personal data. 

Additionally, the headquarter of a VPN service determines its commitment to protecting users’ data. A VPN operating from one of the 14-Eyes Alliance countries can be forced by the law to provide a user’s data since these countries often conduct mass surveillance programs. A VPN service provider based in privacy-friendly countries such as the British Virgin Islands, Panama, and Switzerland can be trusted to keep their client’s data private. In fact, these privacy-friendly countries have imposed laws restricting companies from recording any personal data of the users. 

Other useful features you should consider when choosing a VPN include a kill-switch function that terminates your internet connection if you encounter any problem connecting to the VPN. The provider should also have a transparent no-logs policy, meaning that they won’t record any of your online activities. Also, be sure to check if the VPN provider accepts cryptocurrency payments, just to add a little more security and privacy. 

Conclusion 

There’s no doubt that cryptocurrencies are an ideal way to protect your online financial transactions. While they offer a certain degree of anonymity, users can still fall victim to cybersecurity attacks from the fact that they are connected to the internet when transacting cryptos. So, be sure to use a VPN service to keep your transactions under wraps while at the same time protecting your devices from malware. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Nexo Crypto Review: Nexo Tokens, Nexo Lending Platform & How It Works

The advent of blockchain and cryptocurrencies brought with it a ton of possibilities for the global finance industry. Gone are the days when banks and other financial institutions dominated the finance lending space. Thanks to blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi) is now possible, and virtually anyone from all around the world can take part in the global financial system – and all they need is an internet connection. 

The advent of blockchain and cryptocurrencies brought with it a ton of possibilities for the global finance industry. Gone are the days when banks and other financial institutions dominated the finance lending space. Thanks to blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi) is now possible, and virtually anyone from all around the world can take part in the global financial system – and all they need is an internet connection. 

The advent of blockchain and cryptocurrencies brought with it a ton of possibilities for the global finance industry. Gone are the days when banks and other financial institutions dominated the finance lending space. Thanks to blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi) is now possible, and virtually anyone from all around the world can take part in the global financial system – and all they need is an internet connection. 

Nexo is a blockchain-based project that is fulfilling this promise by making it possible for individuals to access such financial services as loans while using their crypto assets as collateral. Individuals from over 200 countries can use their cryptocurrency to receive loans in 45 Fiat currencies – and all this in a transparent, automated, and tax-free process. 

But what is Nexo, and how does this lending platform work? We review this blockchain project to answer these questions and tell you everything else you need to know about the Nexo crypto-lending platform.

What is Nexo? 

Nexo is a blockchain-based lending platform that advances loans and financial assistance to different crypto holders. For the longest time, the crypto market was underexploited, and the only viable method of gaining from one’s crypto assets was by speculating their prices on the market. Nexo, however, seeks to change this by providing crypto investors with a platform where they can issue and borrow crypto loan services while using different crypto assets as collateral. 

Nexo is a product of Credissimo, a Europe-based fintech company launched in 2007. The company is one of the most well established and trusted brands in the online lending space. On their website, they claim to have 73% customer return rate, disbursed over 102, 800 loans in 2019, and maintains a portfolio of 370, 000 unique customers. 

How Does Nexo Work? 

Nexo leverages the blockchain network by providing users with instant lending solutions. With Nexo, crypto holders can get Fiat loans and set up their crypto assets as collateral. It makes it possible to monetize your crypto assets and remain liquid without losing ownership of the investment. The loans are forwarded to the borrower’s bank or debit card.

Nexo How it works - Forex Academy

Nexo is a wholly automated and highly versatile platform with a straightforward lending system.

All you need to do is deposit your crypto assets, access your Fiat loan, and repay it at your convenience. You can repay this loan with fiat, crypto, or a combination of both currencies. There are no minimum repayments with fiat. However, if you are paying back in crypto, the minimum repayment deposits are 0.0025 for Bitcoin, 0.025 for Ether, 32.00 for Ripple, 5.00 for TrueUSD, and 5.00 for USDC. See here the full list for minimum crypto repayments. 

In addition to loans, Nexo also offers its clients with a savings account with an ROI of 8% for stablecoins and fiat currencies. The platform has partnered with BitGo, a digital asset trust to secure all crypto funds. Currently, Nexo supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Pax Gold, Ripple, Litecoin, Binance, Stellar, NEXO, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, and various stablecoins. 

The Nexo product is available globally – except for a few countries like Bulgaria, Cote d’Ivoire, Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, Syria, and Zimbabwe.

More importantly, Nexo enables you to avoid capital gains taxes even if you live in countries with crypto tax legislation. On their website, Nexo argues that “when you take a crypto loan and spend that loan, you avoid paying any capital gains taxes, which otherwise in many countries you have to pay when you sell your crypto.”

Who Can Use Nexo? 

The NEXO platform is a pretty open platform. Any of the following individuals/entities can utilize NEXO services. 

  • Investors who desire to make profits off their crypto assets, while still maintaining ownership of those assets
  • Businesses of all sizes
  • Crypto miners
  • Hedge funds
  • Pension funds

The Nexo Oracle 

The Nexo Oracle is the technology that drives almost all of Nexo’s functionalities. Some of its core strengths include:

I) Developing loan contracts

The Oracle picks up and automates all the processes after a credit line application is initiated. This includes disbursement of funds, asset monitoring, notifications, and the overall administrative procedures of the loan. 

II)  Developing and maintaining real-time data

The Oracle aggregates data from at least six independent exchanges to perform accurate, real-time data aggregation to minimize the risk for both the platform and users. It also detects market moves and readjusts loan limits accordingly. If an asset increases in price, the Oracle automatically increases the loan limit. 

III) Maintaining an analytics module

The Oracle automatically records and manages all interactions with clients – including loans, repayments, outstanding balances, and accounts. 

IV) Conducting auto-notifications

All of Nexo’s processes are automatically executed, and this includes sending notifications to clients. 

V) Developing prediction modeling and algorithms

Nexo utilizes big-data analysis, automated algorithms, and predictive modeling techniques to realize the smooth running of the system. This helps ensure that information aggregated from outside sources is used appropriately and promptly. 

The Nexo Team

Nexo involves a core team of 14, who hold influential positions in Credissimo. Chief managing partner Kosta Kantchev is the co-founder of both Nexo and Credissimo. 

Antoni Trenchev is the managing partner and also co-founder of Nexo. Trenchev is a former member of the National Assembly of Bulgaria and has a background in e-commerce development, strategy, and processes.

Georgi Shulev is also a managing partner and co-founder of Nexo. Shulev has long-running experience in investment banking and is the co-founder of Consestimate – a financial estimate platform where investors share ideas and forecasts with peers and identify the “fundamental value of public companies.”

The NEXO Token 

Nexo token - Forex Academy

The NEXO token is the native token of the Nexo platform. And the Nexo project creators define the token as a security instrument that’s compliant with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. The Nexo platform incentivizes users to hold the NEXO token by paying out dividends derived from loan returns. Here, 30% of loan returns are channeled to a dividend pool and distributed to the coin holders. 

At the time of writing, the coin is trading at $0.122583, ranking at #81 in the market. It has a market cap of $68,646,212, and a 24-hour volume of $4,089,490. The coin has a circulating supply of 560,000,011, with a total supply of 1,000,000,000 Nexo Tokens. The coin’s all-time high was $0.539466 (May 07, 2018), with an all-time low of 0.043333 (Sep 12, 2018). 

Where to Buy and Store NEXO

You can purchase NEXO from several reputable exchanges, including IDEX, Huobi, Coinswitch, YoBit.Net, Huobi, Binance, HotBit, and Changelly. The majority of these will require you to trade other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and Bitcoin, to get  NEXO. 

NEXO is an Ethereum-based token, meaning it can be stored in any Ethereum-compatible wallet such as MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, Ledger, Trezor, or Atomic Wallet.

Final Thoughts

Nexo brings real value and utility to crypto users and the crypto space. Users can leverage their crypto holdings to gain access to Fiat loans without the plethora of the terms and conditions of traditional finance. Nexo users can also earn passively by keeping their money on Nexo and letting it work for them. It will be interesting to see how Nexo advances as a platform and how its offerings will continue to evolve. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Enjin Coin: How is Blockchain Impacting the Gaming Industry?

Blockchain was ideally developed to facilitate a rather simple purpose: to power a decentralized, peer-to-peer, and ultra-secure digital currency – Bitcoin. In the beginning, no one could have conceived the sheer power that the technology wielded, or predicted the technological revolution it would inspire a decade or two later. From healthcare to the food industry, banking finance to gaming, blockchain is impacting virtually every industry. 

Blockchain was ideally developed to facilitate a rather simple purpose: to power a decentralized, peer-to-peer, and ultra-secure digital currency – Bitcoin. In the beginning, no one could have conceived the sheer power that the technology wielded, or predicted the technological revolution it would inspire a decade or two later. From healthcare to the food industry, banking finance to gaming, blockchain is impacting virtually every industry. 

Blockchain was ideally developed to facilitate a rather simple purpose: to power a decentralized, peer-to-peer, and ultra-secure digital currency – Bitcoin. In the beginning, no one could have conceived the sheer power that the technology wielded, or predicted the technological revolution it would inspire a decade or two later. From healthcare to the food industry, banking finance to gaming, blockchain is impacting virtually every industry. 

Enjin Coin is a cryptocurrency project that is taking advantage of blockchain to offer gamers, developers, publishers, and other stakeholders in the gaming industry a fast and safe solution to manage virtual goods and realize real value.

In this piece, we’ll shine more light on this exciting project and discover its offerings to gaming communities.

What is Enjin Coin? 

Launched in November 2017, Enjin Coin (ENJ) is a cryptocurrency and Ethereum-based blockchain platform that allows game developers to integrate crypto features into games and apps without necessarily having blockchain skills. As stated in the project’s white paper, ENK is “a cryptocurrency (ERC20 Token) and smart contract platform that gives game developers, content creators, and gaming communities the required crypto-backed value and tools for implementing and managing virtual goods.”

Wat is ENJIN coin - Forex Academy

Enjin company was established in 2009 and has, for the past decade, been empowering game lovers to derive more value from the game industry. It is committed to helping game companies increase revenue and maintain a competitive edge in the industry. 

With ENJ, Enjin hopes to be an industry leader in what it sees as an inevitable transition into a blockchain way of doing things in the long run. The Enjin coin platform comprises a suite of software development kits (SDKs) that game developers can use to integrate blockchain-based solutions into gaming. The blockchain initiative will go a long way in reducing the high fees and reducing the lack of transparency that is so rife in the gaming industry.

The coin had its pre-sale in August and September 2017 and raised over $12 million worth of Ether (38,800 ETH). The pre-sale was closely followed by the public sale, in October 2017, where the project raised an additional $23 million. 

How Does Enjin Coin Work?

Enjin Coin is an ERC20 token that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. This makes the platform a cryptocurrency and a smart contract platform. The project is also looking to adopt the Raiden network – Ethereum’s version of the Lightning Network. Its key operational features include:

1. Virtual Goods

Thanks to Enjin Coin, game developers will be able to create tokens for different game communities – using Enjin Coin as the parent currency. This lends the tokens the benefits of crypto (speed, safety, security, and low fees) while maintaining the uniqueness of their respective platforms. These tokens can be exchanged for ENJ at any time. 

Virtual goods can be pretty much anything used in the gaming world, including entire planets, swords, guns, spaceships, cosmetic upgrades, castles, and gaming characters. These virtual goods have real-life value, thanks to Enjin Coin serving as their parent currency. The process by which users create virtual goods via Enjin Coin is referred to as minting. Users can mint goods with whichever quantity of ENJ. The more coins you use to mint an item, the more value it will possess. 

Gamers can acquire these virtual goods either by purchasing or during giveaways, promotions, or rewards. They can also trade/exchange them in a safe, secure, and fraud-free environment. For instance, you can exchange a gun for a planet, sell a spaceship for ENJ, buy a character with ENJ, etc. 

These goods are safely kept in a decentralized and uncensorable environment – and are thus not controlled by anyone. This means you get to own and control your virtual goods, as well as have the ability to prove ownership. This is important, especially if the game or server suffers a malfunction or your account gets hacked.

2. Payment Gateway

The Enjin Coin platform also features a payment gateway that allows users to create customized shopping carts, manage invoices, refunds, emails, and text notifications. It also includes a widget through which you can accept ENJ and any other type of coin payments. Transactions cost is low, and there are no hidden charges.

The platform’s Smart Wallet (more on that below) allows you to execute automatic payments for games from websites that you have listed as ‘Trusted Platforms.’ This feature injects more speed and trust in transactions.

3. Smart Wallet

Enjin Coin’s ‘Smart Wallet’ provides support for a lot of the platform’s functions. First off, it facilitates payments via Trusted Platforms and allows you to exchange currencies and virtual goods outside of your gaming account to any other Smart Wallet user. You can also initiate transactions through the ‘Transaction User,’ as well as create settings and thresholds that can automatically block illegitimate transactions.

Smart Wallet features a “top-of-the-line” security infrastructure complete with a 12-word recovery phrase that enables you to recover your funds in case you forget the password for your Wallet. Additionally, the Wallet has its own proprietary virtual keyboard that further guards against data sniffing. It also deletes any and all sensitive info after transactions, rendering it safe even if it were to be hacked.

4. Efinity

Enjin Coin plans to unveil Efinity – a technology like Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, which features multiple game channels that will allow games to handle infinite volumes of transactions blazingly-fast and with near-zero transaction fees. These transactions will be trustless, blockchain-verified, and support millions of players at any time. Other functionalities will be:

  • Token transfers and approvals
  • Melting tokens
  • Escrow capability
  • Metadata for game items
  • Token bundles
  • Non-fungible tokens
  • Whitelist feature for bound tokens

Can Enjin be Integrated with the Actual Game? 

Yes. The Enjin Content Management System supports plugins that can integrate with the majority of players’ favorite games. Some of the popular games supported today include Dissolution, Forgotten Artifacts, Shield of Shalwend, Age of Rust, Forest Knight, War of Crypto, Battlefield 1, World of Warcraft, Cats in Mech, Afterverse, The Six Dragons, Space Misfits, and Minecraft.

What’s Enjin Coin’s Future Prospects? 

Enjin Coin may be relatively new to the gaming industry, but several factors point to its future success as a cryptocurrency project.

These include:

  • An already existing marketplace trusted by millions of gamers across the globe.
  • ENJ is an ERC-20 token that enjoys multi-exchange and multi-wallet support. Apart from ERC-20, Enjin also supports ERC-1155 smart contracts that enable the tokenization of both fungible and non-fungible gaming industry assets.
  • It has secured a partnership with industry heavyweights such as Samsung, Unity, PC Gamer, Ubisoft, NRG, and other trusted sports brands. 

Tokenomics of Enjin Coin

As of May 26, 2020, Enjin Coin is trading at $0.194120, with a market cap of $159, 133, 893, while ranking at #44 in the overall crypto market, according to Coinmarketcap. It has a 24-hour volume of $36,370, 221 and a total supply of 1, 000, 000, 000 ENJ. The coin’s all-time high was $0.493384 ( Jan 07, 2018), with an all-time low of $0.015620 (Nov 02, 2017).

Where to Buy and Store Enjin Coin

ENJ is listed on several exchanges, including Binance, Coinswitch, Cointree, Changelly, and KuCoin. Popular exchange Coinbase does not list ENJ.

Being an ERC-20 token, you can store ENJ in any Ethereum-compatible wallet like MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, Mist, and Geth. You could also opt for hardware wallets like Ledger Nano and Trezor. 

Final Thoughts

Enjin Coin provides gamers from all around the world with the blockchain benefits of speed, security, and decentralization. It’s helping inject more transparency in the gaming industry and provide gamers with true and absolute ownership of their virtual goods.

The project already has a solid background of Enjin – a company that is trusted by millions of users across the world. Only time will tell if the project can continue with its streak of success.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

Cryptocurrency and Crime: How is The International Community Fighting Crypto Crime

Cryptocurrencies were specially designed to give individuals power and control over their finances. But this big vision has been marred by cryptocurrencies’ association with crime. Such a negative perception threatens to derail cryptos from achieving their intended mission as it attracts the attention of governments and other regulatory agencies. 

Blockchain - Forex Academy

Cryptocurrencies were specially designed to give individuals power and control over their finances. But this big vision has been marred by cryptocurrencies’ association with crime. Such a negative perception threatens to derail cryptos from achieving their intended mission as it attracts the attention of governments and other regulatory agencies. 

Cryptocurrencies were specially designed to give individuals power and control over their finances. But this big vision has been marred by cryptocurrencies’ association with crime. Such a negative perception threatens to derail cryptos from achieving their intended mission as it attracts the attention of governments and other regulatory agencies. 

By hiding behind the decentralized, peer-to-peer, and anonymous nature of Blockchain, many cybercriminals have latched on digital currencies to engage in illegal activities online.

In this article, we explore the parallels between blockchain/cryptocurrencies and crime and how to deal with crypto-crime:

What is the Blockchain?

First popularised by Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, Blockchain is a digital ledger that allows for the creation of immutable, peer-to-peer, and distributed records.

Blockchain-Forex academy

One of the critical features of blockchains is ‘decentralization’ – which makes them autonomous and independent of third-party control and intervention. Decentralization makes Blockchain not just uncensorable but also eliminates the costs associated with third-party intermediaries. 

Cryptocurrencies were the first and are still the most popular application of Blockchain. And thanks to the highly decentralized nature of Blockchain, crypto transactions are not regulated or audited by government authorities. Blockchain also employs the use of private and public keys, as opposed to real-world identities. This makes it challenging to identify the true identity of the individual behind a particular crypto transaction. 

It’s this anonymity/pseudonymity that makes cryptocurrencies highly attractive to cybercriminals. 

The Rise of Crypto Crime

The rise of crypto crime can be traced back to the early days of Bitcoin and to the infamous Silk Road saga. The now-defunct dark web marketplace hosted all manner of criminals and encouraged such criminal activities as money laundering, illegal sale of drugs and firearms, contract hacking, sale of other contrabands, with transactions being carried out in Bitcoin.

silk road - forex academy

The site was eventually shut down by the FBI, and its creator – Ross Ulbricht, sentenced to life in prison. Note that while Silk Road employed numerous anonymization techniques, especially the Tor network. But it was the use of Bitcoin for transactions that highlighted how cryptocurrency could be used to fuel illegal online activities. 

Crypto crimes do not always involve a shady website on the dark web. As crypto becomes more popular, the more crypto crime becomes more brazen and high-tech. Today, Most crypto crimes revolve around ICO scams, cryptojacking, ransomware, money laundering, sim-swaps, and Pyramid/Ponzi schemes. While the majority of these incidents prove to be a new normal that the cryptoverse has become used to, others continue to make the headlines.

Crypto Ponzi schemes are best exemplified by the case of OneCoin, a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors across the globe around $4 billion. The scheme director Dr. Ruja Ignatova is still on the run, but several other conspirators have since been convicted. 

Another high-profile case of SIM swapping involved AT&T and $24 million worth of cryptocurrency. The telecommunications conglomerate is still embroiled in a legal case with Michael Terpin, a Bitcoin investor, who lost $24 million worth of Bitcoin. Terpin said that an AT&T employee at a Connecticut store transferred his phone number to a new SIM card. The action, he says, made it possible for a hacker to transfer crypto funds to a different account.

Not all crypto crimes are cleverly engineered Ponzi schemes or hid behind the veil of technology. Occasionally, you’ll hear of brazen attacks such as the case in Thailand where attackers kidnapped a tourist and forced him to transfer $100, 000 worth of Bitcoin. In Ukraine, the Exmo crypto exchange’s Finance executive was also kidnapped and forced to transfer $1 million in Bitcoin. In New York City, a man lost $1.8 million of Ether after his “friend” organized for him to be kidnapped with the assailant forcing him to reveal his private key. Yet another case occurred in Instanbul when a businessman was taken hostage by armed assailants who forced him to transfer $2.83 million in crypto.

Fighting Back 

The irreversibility and anonymity of blockchain transactions imply that crypto criminals have almost always gotten away with their loot.

But different institutions are continually coming up with mechanisms aimed at pushing back and helping crypto crime victims. And one such company is Chainalysis that has taken up the role of tracking crypto crimes. 

They achieve this by tracking every public address tied to a particular transaction in the Blockchain. Next, they follow the trail of the funds in the particular address and identify whether they’re moving them across other addresses in crypto exchanges or liquidating them for fiat currency. They compare these transactions with the information provided by fraud victims and work with the authorities to track down perpetrators. 

Other companies have created software that gives authorities the upper hand while investigating crypto fraud. This is the approach taken by blockchain company BitFury, whose software enables law enforcement to track down blockchain addresses that have a high inclination for cybercrime. The software is also capable of producing crypto-crime-specific legal reports. 

These companies are fighting back and debunking the myth that crypto crime is permissible just because of the unhackable and anonymous nature of Blockchain.

Renewed Crackdown

As crypto crime persists, countries have put in place stringent measures aimed at clipping its wings. The U.S. is, for instance, planning to crack even harder on the crypto sector. According to the federal budget proposal for 2021, the United States Secret Service will fall back to the jurisdiction of the Treasury. According to the proposal, this move will, among other goals, address the Trump administration’s intention to “address emerging threats such as the use of cryptocurrencies in money laundering and terrorist financing.”

hacking - crypto - crime - forex academy (Photo by Nahel Abdul Hadi on Unsplash)

The proposal states that “technological advancements in recent decades such as cryptocurrencies and the increasing interconnectedness of the international financial market place have resulted in more complex criminal organizations and revealed stronger links between financial and electronic crimes.”

This move is not unprecedented when you consider the comments of high-profile figures with regards to cryptocurrency. Steve Mnuchin, Treasury Secretary, called Bitcoin a “national security issue,” which has been “exploited to support billions of dollars of illicit activity like cybercrime, tax evasion, extortion, ransomware, illicit drugs, and human trafficking.”

Last year, President Trump tweeted that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies “can facilitate unlawful behavior including drug trade and other illegal activity…” 

Switzerland also plans to exact stricter measures on the crypto market through the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The organ plans to inject more transparency into crypto dealings by requiring transactions valued at over 1,000 francs to be accompanied by Know Your Customer (KYC) info. This is a drastic adjustment to an existing regulation that only required KYC requirements for transactions valued over 5000 francs. FINMA argues that this move is set to check the “heightened” risk of crypto-enabled money laundering.

The shift came about a few days after the European Union implemented its fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which requires all crypto companies in Europe to conduct KYC and AML procedures on all their prospective clients. The directive explicitly states that crypto-related businesses must prove that the owners and senior management are “fit and proper.” 

Final Thoughts

While criminals have been inclined to use cryptocurrency due to its ‘untraceable’ nature, this reality is fast changing. Advancing technology plus new ways of looking at blockchain transactions will help crypto shed its reputation as money for criminals. This, combined with austere regulatory policies, will probably be the beginning in restoring the glory that cryptocurrency deserves. 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

The Bart Simpson Phenomenon and Tuesday’s Baffling Bitcoin Drop

On Tuesday, Bitcoin looked like it would finally surge past the hotly-anticipated $10,500. However, the coin ended up plummeting by more than $800 in under only 5 minutes. The sell-off started at 9:45 a.m. ET, when the cryptocurrency was changing hands for$10,137. By 9.49 a.m., the price had dipped to $9,298. At the time of writing, the currency is trading at $9,643.51.

On Tuesday, Bitcoin looked like it would finally surge past the hotly-anticipated $10,500. However, the coin ended up plummeting by more than $800 in under only 5 minutes. The sell-off started at 9:45 a.m. ET, when the cryptocurrency was changing hands for$10,137. By 9.49 a.m., the price had dipped to $9,298. At the time of writing, the currency is trading at $9,643.51.

On Tuesday, Bitcoin looked like it would finally surge past the hotly-anticipated $10,500. However, the coin ended up plummeting by more than $800 in under only 5 minutes. The sell-off started at 9:45 a.m. ET, when the cryptocurrency was changing hands for$10,137. By 9.49 a.m., the price had dipped to $9,298. At the time of writing, the currency is trading at $9,643.51.

Price Manipulation? 

The 4-hour chart, during the period leading up to the drop, as well as the hourly, had formed what’s called the ”Bart Simpson” pattern. This pattern usually indicates probable manipulation caused by whales and institutional players. The pattern occurs when an asset rapidly shoots up or down,  followed by a sideways movement, then a violent move in the opposite direction.

What’s the Bart Simpson Pattern? 

This price action resembles the famous cartoon character Bart Simpson’s head. The name is one of many eccentric memes created by the crypto community. 

The Bart Simpson pattern phenomenon made its debut in 2018 when the Bitcoin market became a bit subdued. Volume and liquidity began to decrease due to declining interest in the cryptocurrency. 

Due to the current uncertain Bitcoin market (more on that later), the low liquidity and low volume trading environment create the perfect recipe for Bart Simpson charts to start appearing again. 

The Bart patterns also sometimes appear in the inverse, with the zig-zag formation occurring at the bottom of a sudden price move before reversing back upward.

Bart Simpson patterns are somehow unique to the Bitcoin and crypto market. And although hilarious, they are a bad sign for the market. Ordinary investors and traders mostly get burned, while big players such as whales and institutional investors go home with huge profits.

What leads to the Bart Simpson Pattern?

There’s consensus in some quarters that the pattern occurs due to a lack of liquidity in the Bitcoin market.

After the 2017 bull run, big investors liquidated their positions, with the majority of them not returning to the market. This led to the price crashing from 5 digits to 4 digits. Pump-and-dump schemes also became commonplace, and whales could sway prices with big enough orders. Add this to the sometimes artificial prices caused by trading bots – which have become popular more than ever.

Do Bart Simpson Patterns Appear in the Traditional Finance Market? 

The answer is yes, and no. Since early 2018, the cryptocurrency market started a downward trend. In January, the total crypto market capitalization was at an all-time peak of $800 billion. Through the following months, this steadily decreased. On October 23, 2018, 54% of the total market cap of the entire crypto market was Bitcoin’s. This is comparable to the market cap of companies such as McDonald’s and IBM. As you can see, it’s difficult to compare the traditional market with the crypto market, especially due to the mostly poor participants and emerging factors like regulation of the crypto market. 

Also, a market where participants can make massive orders provides a fertile playground for price manipulation. In the crypto market, investors can enter such orders due to the lack of regulation. Also, there are looser thresholds for entering the crypto market. Plus, the execution of trades in the traditional markets is more rational and controlled. For instance, there are ‘circuit breakers’ and other mechanisms that put a halt to trading as soon as certain thresholds have been reached.

There’s also the existence, in the traditional market, of financial intermediaries that help traders achieve optimized trading that does not affect prices, avoiding Bart Simpson patterns.

How Bart Simpson patterns Affect The Market

Bitcoin ETFs: Events like these, together with similar ones, are partly why the Securities Exchange Commission refuses to approve Bitcoin ETFs. The truth is that the total market is still unstable and can be easily manipulated. In a way, the crypto market is the whales’ playground. They can send the prices up or down whenever they so wish.

Miners: Price manipulation that results in Bart Simpson patterns affects miners. When prices go down, profitability does too. The money they make might not be enough to cover their costs.

Tips to Survive Bart Simpson Patterns

  • If your goal is to go long in the medium-term or long-term, these patterns will affect you less
  • If you are a short-term trader, you may consider having stop-loss orders
  • If you notice a sudden move followed by a consolidation, know that the price can quickly move the other direction

Difference on BitMEX

BitMex recorded the lowest drop, with the currency dropping to $8600. Bitstamp hit a low of  $9135. The majority of the lows were between $9350 – $9100. The dramatic difference in Bitmex could have been due to slippage and cascading liquidations. The crash caused $100 million long liquidations on the exchange.

Bitcoin’s $10,500 Surge Is Rejected Again 

This was the third time in recent months when buyers failed to take the price past the $10,500 mark. The crypto has struggled to break past the resistance level three times the past eight months. 

The number one cryptocurrency hit $10, 500 in October 2019. In 4 weeks, it had dropped to $6, 400. In February this year, the crypto attempted to surpass the level again. But it took a violent dip to $8,400, before falling even further to $3,600 in the following four weeks. 

After its failure to cross the same level for three consecutive times, Bitcoin’s investors and enthusiasts are asking themselves if the coin will break anytime soon. Many are wondering if BTC will initiate a bull trend and test even higher resistance levels of $11,500 and above. The question is even more pertinent when you consider the intensity of the falls, and how the market has shaped up generally in recent months. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Synthetix: How Does this DeFi Platform Work?

Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision for Bitcoin was money that could not be controlled by governments and regulators. Little did he know, though, that the underlying technology of Bitcoin – blockchain, wielded so much potential for the realization of this goal in a way that Bitcoin itself (alone) could never accomplish. 

Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision for Bitcoin was money that could not be controlled by governments and regulators. Little did he know, though, that the underlying technology of Bitcoin – blockchain, wielded so much potential for the realization of this goal in a way that Bitcoin itself (alone) could never accomplish. 

Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision for Bitcoin was money that could not be controlled by governments and regulators. Little did he know, though, that the underlying technology of Bitcoin – blockchain, wielded so much potential for the realization of this goal in a way that Bitcoin itself (alone) could never accomplish. 

Thanks to the blockchain network, we are now experimenting with the idea of a decentralized finance industry – whose vision is to empower all economically – regardless of race, origin, or social status. 

Synthetix is a decentralized finance platform that makes it possible for anyone with an internet connection to access a wide variety of financial assets: from Fiat currency to gold, Bitcoin, commodities, and precious metals – without the need for costly brokers or intermediaries. 

But what is Synthetix, and how does this decentralized platform work? We answer these questions and everything else you need to know about Synthetix here. 

What is Synthetix? 

Synthetix is a decentralized finance platform built on the Ethereum blockchain. It hosts tokens, commonly referred to as Synths, that are tied to the value of liquid assets like stocks, real-world currencies, cryptocurrencies, commodities, indices, and precious metals. These assets are held in the form of ERC-20 tokens. 

Synthetix started as ‘Havven,’ a stablecoin project, before rebranding to the current name. The platform’s native currency is known as the ‘SNX’ token. SNX powers the creation of Synths, as explained by the platform’s creators: “The platform uses a token called SNX (the Synthetix Network Token), and holding this token allows you to create Synths. You do this by locking SNX into a smart contract and minting Synths against this value. To ensure Synths are fully booked, the system will only allow you to issue a fraction of the SNX value you lock.”

The question you’d ask is: “Why would I hold a synthetic asset instead of the real-life asset?” Well, the main reason an individual would hold a synthetic asset is to receive a benefit that the asset itself would not provide. This could range from getting access, e.g., to gold – without the real-world implications of custody, or wanting to gain liquidity for an asset that will be hard to sell quickly enough in the real world. Synthetix users do not only get this, but they get to do so on a decentralized, peer-to-peer, and transparent platform. 

How Does Synthetix Work?

The Synthetix platform utilizes two types of tokens: the main token known as Synthetix (SNX), and a second token known as Synth. Synthetix works in a pretty straightforward manner. 

Users purchase and lock SNX in their wallets. They can then create Synths, which will track the real-life price of the assets. The price of a Synth is arrived at via oracles provided by the Chainlink network. Users can also trade Synths via the Synthetix Exchange. This allows them to convert these tokens into a form whose price they can track in different ways. For instance, there is ‘sBTC,’ which allows individuals to track Bitcoin prices, as well as iBTC, whose price moves contrarily to that of Bitcoin. 

By virtue of holding Synth tokens, Synthetix users have access to endless possibilities in trading, hedging, remittance of funds, making payments, and building a portfolio.

Whose Idea is Synthetix? 

Synthetix is the brainchild of crypto payment company blueshyft CEO Kain Warwick. Warwick conceived the idea of Havven in 2016 when looking for a solution to solve the issue of arbitrage in crypto prices in smaller crypto markets like Australia and Korea.

How Does Synthetix Remain Collateralized?

The primary concern on the same platform is what will happen if Synths began moving inversely with the underlying SNX tokens. How would the system stay collateralized if, say, the price of SNX is falling, while that of Synths rising? 

Thankfully, the platform is designed to have infinite liquidity, which, when combined with various features baked into the system, maintains the collateralization of the platform. Below, we’ll take an in-depth look into each of these features.

#1. The Requirement of 750% Collateralization

For the Synthetix system to issue new Synths, it needs to have collateralization of at least 750%. The collateral cushions the Synths in circulation from unexpected price swings.

#2. Debt-driven

Synthetix is designed in a manner that when a user mints Synth, their SNX collateral is locked up – with the Synths acting as outstanding debt. If you want to unlock your Synths, you first need to offset your debt by burning Synths that are equivalent to the value of the Synths they had issued earlier.

The minimum of 750% in collateral ensures that users can easily buy back and sell their own debt if they so wish.

#3. Debt Pools

On the Synthetix platform, there is personal debt for users who have created Synths. But there is also a universal debt underlying all the Synths in circulation. 

A user’s personal debt is calculated as an ever-in-flux percentage of the total Synths issued, together with the exchange rates of the underlying asset and that of the issued Synths. 

This means Synth issuers do not need to pay back their debt with the exact type of Synth that they minted. An individual who issued a Synth can repay the debt with any other type of Synth, provided it’s equal in market value to the Synths they wish to burn.

This mechanism lends the system ‘infinite’ liquidity, which also enables endless shifts between Synths – without upsetting the system’s balance. 

The Synthetix Exchange

Synthetix blockcian logo | Forex Academy

The Synthetix decentralized exchange allows users to buy and sell Synths via smart contracts, removing the need for counterparties or third parties. Anyone can access via a web3 wallet, allowing them to easily and quickly buy or sell Synths and SNX tokens. 

All exchanges have a fee of 0.30%. The fees are given to SNX holders as a reward for providing collateral for the Synths in circulation. 

Synthetix’s Monetary Policy

The Synthetix system also has a monetary inflation policy for SNX embedded in the code, with the total supply of SNX in circulation increasing in a five-year span – from 2019 to 2024 –  from 100 million to 250 million. 

This monetary policy was not originally part of the system. It was added when it became apparent that the exchange fees from Synth transactions were too low to incentivize SNX token holders to hold up SNX as collateral.

The additional SNX will be distributed among SNX holders who have held their SNX as collateral. This will incentivize users to contribute to the system and support the network before it’s robust and independent enough for everything to run as intended. 

Another benefit of the inflation policy is that it will make the network more secure by automatically adjusting that collateralization ratio by the adding of extra collateral to SNX holders.

Synthetix’s Exchange Fees and Staking Rewards

Anyone can buy SNX, mint Synth, and take on its debt. This qualifies one to become a staker in the Synthetix ecosystem and start collecting staking rewards  – which are a percentage of the exchange fees – set at 0.3% for every transaction.  

All exchange fees are transferred to a collective pool, after which they are distributed to SNX token holders in proportion to their outstanding debt. In this way, users can increase their staking rewards by simply increasing their SNX issuance. 

However, users can only claim to stake rewards if their collateralization ratio is above 750%. This is meant to incentivize users to actively maintain a personal collateralization ratio of 750% or above, which helps to maintain liquidity of the network.

Tokenomics of Synthetix 

SNX is currently ranking at #49, with a market cap of $146, 971, 014, and a circulating supply of 181, 454, 898. It has a total supply of 182, 701, 142, with a 24-hour volume of $995, 620. The token has an all-time high of $1.57 (24th Nov 2019) and an all-time low of $0. 032420 (5th Jan 2019). 

Where to Buy and Store Synthetix

You can purchase or exchange cryptocurrency for SNX in any of several popular exchanges, including Coinbase, Bittrex, gate.io, Liquid, and Kucoin. 

As an Ethereum-based token, SNX and Synths can be stored in any Ethereum-compatible wallet. Popular options include MyEtherWallet, MetaMask wallet, Ethaddress Wallet, Ledger Nano, Guarda Wallet, Atomic Wallet, Trezor, Sugi, Keep Key, and Jaxx Liberty. 

Conclusion

The Synthetix platform offers a decentralized, peer-to-peer, accessible-for-all platform where users get exposure to all kinds of real-world assets without the burden of acquiring ownership and other barriers. The platform has the potential to create a powerful tokenized asset platform that can shake the whole financial market. The success of this platform will be a part of Satoshi’s grand vision, even if not in the way that they envisaged it.