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Cryptocurrencies

A Definitive Guide to Stratis (STRAT)

Blockchain has proved to be a force to reckon with. Initially designed to transfer value, tech geeks soon discovered that the innovation could be used for much more. These days, blockchain is used for all manner of applications, from secure messaging to tracking seafood, to voting. Even governments are tinkering with blockchain in a bid to realize more streamlined services. 

However, blockchain still remains out of reach for most organizations – thanks to the massive expenses that go into creating one, and the limitations inherent in most public blockchains. These limitations include scalability issues and their inability to support the private nature of enterprises’ information. Operating on a Blockchain-as-a-Service model, Stratis makes deploying blockchain as easy as signing up for an account. And it’s not just the ease of deploying a blockchain. The platform also allows users to tailor-make their blockchain applications. It even supports provisioning for some of the most popular blockchains – namely Bitcoin, Ethereum, BitShares, and Lisk. 

Hence, Stratis makes for a strong contender for an affordable, customizable, and flexible Blockchain-as-a-Service solution. 

What’s Stratis? 

Stratis is a blockchain framework that allows businesses to create customized blockchain applications. The Stratis platform enables enterprises to expedite their blockchain integration processes by simplifying the procedures required to do so. Beyond providing such a platform, Stratis takes it further by offering affordable blockchain consultancy services to clients. 

How does Stratis Work? 

Stratis functions as a Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform. It supports technologies such as side chains and a suite of APIs to facilitate entities to incorporate blockchain without having to build a new blockchain from the ground up. 

#1. Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS)

Stratis offers cloud-based blockchain solutions. This means the end-user doesn’t have to maintain the entire blockchain network, saving significant resources both in time and money. 

#2. One-Click Deployment

Stratis enables entities to implement blockchain through the single click of a button. Users can deploy a side chain that has the same features as the parent chain. And for features that are not supported by Stratis, you can explore side chains to the Ethereum, Bitcoin, BitShares, and Lisk platforms. Thus, if an entity wants to experiment with any of these networks or use them in conjunction with the Stratis sidechain functionality, there’s nothing to stop them.

#3. Private Sidechains

Private side chains are one of the major selling points for Stratis. Deploying a blockchain on the Stratis platform grants you a private side chain that’s not just customizable; it also features the high-level security offered by the parent chain. 

#4. ICO Support

Stratis branches beyond offering customizable blockchains to provide an environment for ICOs. Organizations and individuals alike can launch their ICOs anytime via the Stratus blockchain. The network has partnered with identity verification company Onfido to conduct Know Your Customer (KYC) checks for ICOs, as well as with crypto exchange Changelly to give ICO holders the ability to accept over 50 different cryptocurrencies in contributions. 

#5. Stratis and Identity

Stratis also supports an identity ecosystem through which individuals can store identities on the decentralized blockchain, and service providers can verify customer identities. You can use the platform to confirm the identity of owners of potential investments, prove that someone is who they say they are, and so on. You can also use the platform to prove your identity to interested parties while maintaining absolute control over exactly how much information you let on.

The Stratis Architecture

The Stratis network runs on a Bitcoin full node platform using the C# programming language, Microsoft.NET, and the NBitcoin library. 

The blockchain’s architecture is supported by three separate components which we’ll look at below: 

  • Bitcoin Full Node
  • LibConsensus
  • NBitcoin

#1. The Bitcoin Full Node

Stratis’ full node comprises three layers: 

  • Node Policy Layer – responsible for preventing distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack
  • Infrastructure Layer – responsible for managing storage and verification of transactions
  • Interface Layer – consists of API kits to enable developers to readily investigate the state of the blockchain and user interface 

#2. LibConsensus

LibConsensus is a library system based on the Bitcoin Core version and enables networks to verify the validity of blocks. 

#3. NBitcoin

Bitcoin Core supports LibConsensus by providing part of the consensus code. NBitcoin, for its part, fills any remaining gaps. 

Stratis’ C# and .NET

In 2017, Stratis launched the Stratis Development Framework (SDF), which is a set of tools that support the development of blockchain solutions in both C# and .NET languages. The goal was to empower more developers to use the blockchain and build powerful solutions with these universally familiar coding languages. 

This is unlike, say, Ethereum, which employs its own proprietary coding language “Solidity” and one that may lock out many developers. 

Stratis’ Fiat Gateway Integration 

Unlike the majority of blockchains that only facilitate value transfer via their native tokens, Stratis supports the transfer of value in both Fiat and cryptocurrency. This is so to help businesses avoid compliance issues and wild volatilities that are associated with crypto.

As such, organizations can use the platform to transfer both types of currencies, taking advantage of the best of two worlds. It means they can navigate compliance demands in ways that favor them and rely on the stability of traditional currencies while also capitalizing off of the speed, transparency, and affordability of crypto. 

Partnership with Earth Twine

Stratis has partnered with Earth Twine to create ‘The Earth Twine-Stratis Platform,’ the first implementation of blockchain in the seafood industry. The partnership spells a new direction for the seafood industry, well cementing the potential for blockchain to transform nearly any industry.

Announcing the partnership, Stratis said: “Stratis will establish distinct, dedicated blockchains, tokens and applications to integrate Earth Twine’s global seafood tracking solution onto the blockchain. This rapid innovation and development will transform the seafood industry by introducing unprecedented levels of trust collaboration and settlement, in turn, increasing productivity and sustainability.” 

The move was in response to the Seafood Import Monitoring Program’s requirements that from Jan 2018, data for seafood imports should be sent electronically to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This was in a bid to curb the illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) exploitation of water resources that negatively impact global seafood markets. 

The Stratis Team

Stratis is the brainchild of Chris Trew, an Enterprise IT professional with ten plus years under his belt. He’s also a backend developer with years of experience in C# and ASP.NET technologies. 

Other team members include Krushang Patel, Mahesh Chand, Paul Carrington, Jordan Andrews, Rowan De Haas, Maciej Zaleski, Gustav Stieger, and more. The group has experience cutting across blockchain development, UX/UI design, communications, and technology analysis. 

The Stratis Token (STRAT)

STRAT is the native utility token of the Stratis network. It fuels network transactions and also acts as a value transfer medium in the Stratis marketplace.

Tokenomics of Stratis

On June 29, 2020, the STRAT token is trading at $0.445022, with a market rank of #111. It has a 24-hour volume of $1, 037, 998, and a circulating and total supply of 99, 856, 676. The coin has an all-time high of $22.66 (January 08, 2018), and an all-time low of $0.008483 (August 13, 2016). 

Where to Buy STRAT 

STRAT is available as a market pair with BTC, ETH, USDT, and with Fiat currencies such as the Euro and US Dollar on exchanges such as Binance, Upbit, Bittylicious, HitBTC, WazirX, Poloniex, Livecoin, Bitvavo, Bittrex, and CoinDCX. 

For storage, STRAT holders have three options provided by the team: 

  • Stratis Core Wallet – A staking wallet through which you can send and receive STRAT tokens and earn more when you stake them in the wallet
  • Breeze Wallet – A “lightweight” online-based wallet that supports STRAT and BTC. This means you can pay for things as well as receive payments via either currency. The wallet is available on Windows Mac and Unix.
  • Breeze with Privacy Protocol service – This is a variation of the Breeze wallet with added privacy features such as coin shuffling technology to add an extra layer of privacy for transactions.

Final Words 

In a crowded field of projects offering blockchain solutions, Stratis manages to stand out by offering as-simple-as-click blockchain deployment and provisioning to other side chains of popular blockchains. The company’s team is made of professionals who know what they’re doing and can be trusted to steer the project into a success. If they continue innovating and anticipating industry needs, there’s nothing to stop Stratis from being one of the dominant players in the BaaS space. 

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Crypto Daily Topic

Can Blockchain Redefine e-Commerce and Retail Business? 

It is estimated that the e-commerce space made sales worth more than $3.5 trillion in 2019 alone. It’s projected that these sales will rise to $4.9 trillion by 2021, as more online retail stores open shops. This growth comes as no surprise considering the convenience of online shopping.

With the proliferation of e-commerce sites, there also has been an increase in alternative payment methods – particularly mobile and online payment services. As such, the two markets – e-commerce and fintech payment services, have come to exist in a mutual relationship where the success of one entity is directly proportional to that of the other. While the two have succeeded in giving consumers more control of their purchases by eliminating the need for sales representatives, they both face common struggles that delay their growth.

At the core of these challenges lies data protection, which breeds a slew of other problems, especially with the increasing growth in overseas merchandise volume. For example, a popular online store recently confessed to its customers that their payment information might have been compromised after the retailer’s website was hacked. 

Blockchain, an emerging technology centered around data management, offers a superior alternative to the traditional e-commerce facets, eliminating its vulnerabilities and improving confidence in e-commerce. 

Blockchain for e-commerce – possible use cases

There are several gaps blockchain technology can fill in the e-commerce market to improve the overall experience of online shopping. Here are some of its use cases:

1. Alternative payment method

Usually, e-commerce sites rely on traditional financial settlements systems such as card and mobile wallet payments that facilitate the release of goods/services after payments have been confirmed. To the consumer, these payments seem instant since goods are delivered almost at the time of sale. But in reality, it takes days or even weeks for a merchant to receive the money. 

In this case, virtual currencies powered by blockchain can serve as an alternative payment method, eliminating the need for third-party validators when paying for goods online. A customer can, therefore, spend the accepted crypto coin directly in a transaction, reducing the cost and delays of back-end settlements. 

Also, to transact in crypto, all one requires is a wallet address, which doesn’t reveal lots of personal data, as is the case when using mobile card payments. That said, crypto payments, therefore, go a long way into protecting the customers and merchants’ personal data by cryptographically securing peer to peer payments. 

Despite the promises of cryptocurrency payments, only a few merchants are eager to accept this new form of payment. For starters, cryptos are viewed as a store of value rather than a medium of exchange, so few are willing to part with them. At the same time, the volatility of digital currencies scares away most merchants as most of them aren’t willing to brave the losses when the value dips. These are indeed legit concerns that should perhaps be solved by the introduction of pegged cryptocurrencies. This way, the pegged crypto will serve as a medium of exchange with a more stable value. 

2. Effective supply chain and inventory management

The supply chain is one of the most critical aspects of any enterprise, including e-commerce. For online retailers, it becomes even more complex as they have to track goods, not just from the supplier, but also to the customer upon purchase. On top of it all, the retailers have to keep tabs on their inventory with respect to a product’s expiry date. 

Blockchain, in conjunction with electronic tracking tags, can be deployed in the supply chain to help track goods from the supplier until they reach the intended retailer. Every time a product changes hands, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain network, creating an immutable and traceable history of the product from the manufacturer to the point of sale. As e-commerce transaction growth transcends regional borders, tracking data such as the bill of lading for cargo shipments can also be fed into the blockchain network, eliminating the need for lengthy and expensive verification processes. Once a retailer has received the goods, the payment is automatically disbursed to the supplier with the help of smart contracts. 

3. Promoting transparency in the marketplace

Transparency in the marketplace increases consumers’ confidence in a retailer. They can have peace of mind knowing that they buy the goods they purchase are up to standards and have passed all the regulatory requirements. A high level of transparency is especially important when purchasing perishable items such as agricultural products as well as fighting against counterfeit goods. 

Owing to its decentralized nature, incorporating blockchain into e-commerce transactions will bring transparency among all parties involved, where every party will be aware of even the slightest change in a transaction. In the case of agricultural products, consumers will be able to monitor a product right from the farm to the time it’s available for sale on the retailer’s website. Similarly, a consumer will also be able to ascertain the authenticity of a product, as its manufacturers’ details are recorded on the network.  

In the spirit of promoting transparency, Walmart, in partnership with IBM, is currently making use of blockchain technology to create a food traceability system based in Hyperlegder Fabric. The success of this project has incentivized food manufacturers such as Nestle and Unilever to join the retail giant in using blockchain to ensure transparency in the food system. 

4. Decentralized Monetization of Data

Every time you make a purchase over the internet, search engines and other big data companies keep information about your purchase. They analyze this data and tailor ads that match your persona. 

The introduction of blockchain into e-commerce means that you’ll have more control over whom online retailers share your data with. Now with this control over your own data, third-parties and advertisers will be willing to pay you directly in exchange for your data. Advertisers, on the other hand, will be able to design more accurate buyer’s personas that match one’s interest, instead of relying on vague data. 

Conclusion 

Blockchain technology creates a massive opportunity for the e-commerce market to iron out inefficiencies ailing the current online shopping space. As a newer technology, it also means that blockchain is positioned to solve unprecedented problems that lie on the horizon of the growing e-commerce market. Online retailers seeking an edge over the competition will, therefore, have to embrace this technology. 

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Crypto Guides

‘Howey Test’ & The Role It Plays In The Token Ecosystem Of Blockchain?

Introduction

Blockchain has led to the emergence of the token economy and, thus, new business models. With the help of the token in the business, both the customers and the owners benefit immensely. We have seen two types of token so far, utility and security tokens.

Utility tokens can be compared to loyalty points up to a certain extent while they are much more in the designated environment. Security tokens allow them to own any material/securities in a digital format in a fungible manner. Security tokens allow people to own things in a never before way.

There is a deciding factor that differentiates between security and utility tokens called the Howey test. Utility tokens don’t need any regulatory requirements since it is intended for use in its designated environment only while security tokens represent a real asset in the real-world digitally. Hence security tokens are subject to regulations.

What is the Howey Test?

Howey test is a monumental case handled by the Supreme court of the USA in 1946, which laid foundations to determine whether a particular arrangement involves an investment contract or not. The case was between the SEC and Howey. Two Florida based corporate put up real estate contracts for tracts of land with citrus groves. The defendants came up with an offer where the buyers who bought the land can lease the land back to the defendants who can grow citrus, market them, and make money.

Most of the buyers did lease the land back to the defendants as they weren’t aware of the agriculture. This was deemed illegal by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and sued the defendants. The arrangement was considered illegal as the defendants broke the law by not filing a securities registration statement with SEC. The defendant’s leaseback was indeed determined as security, and this led to a landmark judgment. Hence this was determined as a test whether a particular transaction is an investment contract or not.

A particular investment can be deemed as an investment contract if it fulfills the below criteria.

  1. It a monetary investment
  2. The investment is made in a common enterprise.
  3. There is an expectation of profit from the work of the promoters or third parties.

Even though the original Howey test used the term money later, it has been broadly classified into other investments and assets other than money. One more criterion is considered in determining a particular investment as security. If or if not, an investor has any control over the profits that come from the investor? If not, then the investment is generally considered as a security.

How the law applies to tokens generated based on blockchain technology?

SES guides that if a token clears all the criteria mentioned above, it can be deemed a security token. If it doesn’t follow, then it can be deemed as a utility token. Security tokens usually derive their value from the external, tradable asset. Hence security tokens are subjected to federal rules and regulations.

If the ICO doesn’t follow all the rules and regulations as prescribed, they are subjected to penalties. If followed, they offer a multitude of investment opportunities that were not possible before. If SEC determines any cryptocurrency as a security token, the founders are deemed to register the coin with SEC, and also, the investors should register their holdings with SEC.

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Crypto Daily Topic

Blockchain in the Aviation industry: is it Just a Fad? 

The growth of any industry is pegged on its ability to keep up with evolving technology. For the service industry, it becomes even more important to adopt emerging technologies to improve customer experience. Blockchain is one such emerging technology that is set to catalyze the growth of numerous industries in the wake of the fourth industrial revolution. 

But for the better part of its existence, Blockchain’s potential to disrupt industries only sounds good on paper, with little to no implementation in the real world. As such, it’s impending penetration into the aerospace industry may seem just like a fad with no hopes of implementation. Still, the industry features highly fragmented distribution channels, minimal business model innovations, not to mention its inability to effectively use data and analytics to improve key operations. However, all these could change if airline companies are willing to experiment with Blockchain. As a service industry, air transport stakeholders need to consider using Blockchain to improve customer experience. 

So yes, Blockchain in the aviation industry is not just a hyped craze. In fact, it could mean the difference between the leading airline company, and a less competitive one, is the one that is first to adopt the technology. 

What can Blockchain do For Airlines? 

The intrinsic characteristics of the aviation industry align impressively well with the capabilities of blockchain technology. As such, it’s poised to provide a fertile ground for innovations within the industry in the following ways: 

Efficient data management

The airline and the broader travel industry are characterized by data sharing among multiple actors, from flight booking to immigration, to hotel check-ins and everything in between – all, which creates a complex web of data reconciliation that runs behind the scenes of every touchpoint of a traveler’s trip. 

For an airline company, managing flight data and any other information entail the use of electronic aircraft maintenance records (EAMR). These record systems often operate in isolation, creating data silos that inhibit efficient data sharing. 

Case in point; it’s common for the passenger service department of an airline company to use a separate database from that of the crew management. This compromise, not only operational integrity but also puts revenue generation at stake in case something goes wrong. Since almost every department maintains its own database, it becomes time-consuming to extract data, say, in the event of an audit or investigation of an aircraft accident. Further, there may be discrepancies between data stored in different silos leading to flight delays or other unplanned expenses. 

With too many systems in play, airline companies could benefit from a decentralized database that can facilitate seamless data exchange among various departments of the same company. This way, flight operations will run smoothly with fewer resources spent on maintaining databases. Data reconciliation will also get easier with Blockchain as any update or changes of the recorded information are updated in real-time across all departments. 

Identity management 

In the air transport context, identity theft can be used to commit fraudulent activities, including terrorism, consequently putting other passengers at risk. Although the use of biometric systems has subsidized cases of identity theft, centralized identity management systems aren’t entirely safe from manipulation. Now enter Blockchain. Once an identity is recorded and validated on the network, it is secured using hash cryptographic function, rendering it immutable. The passengers will only be required to carry a unique code — similar to a private key — for verifying themselves. To further suppress the chances of identity theft, the airline authorities can liaise with the state security officials who will be added to the blockchain network to scrutinize the details of every passenger. 

Baggage tracking 

Most airlines outsource their cargo logistics to trusted handlers. Even for airline companies that have in-house cargo logistics, they are riddled with a mix of manual and automated processes creating weak links on the cargo management chain. The outsourced parties suffer from non-standardized processes as well. 

Similar to the identity management use case, every baggage will have a unique code that’s encrypted in the blockchain network. Each phase the luggage goes through, from origin to recipient, its code can be scanned and the location updated on the network in real-time. But, it’s easy to achieve such functionality using traditional technology, why to bother using blockchain technology, you ask. 

Well, if a baggage tracking system was to run on conventional technology, it would create network congestion as it struggles to synchronize data of countless passengers’ baggage and cargo in real-time. What gives Blockchain baggage tracking systems an edge is the fact that it’s decentralized. 

As such, it’s less reliant on the network bandwidth, meaning airlines won’t experience network congestion as the system synchronizes the baggage code. Further, the digital ledger tracks luggage at critical checkpoints throughout the trip; from the initial handover to when, the baggage is loaded into the plane until it’s finally delivered to the passenger. This saves airlines money spent on securing baggage and settling cases of lost goods. 

Repair and maintenance of aircrafts 

The repair and maintenance of different parts of an aircraft need to be logged to serve as a reference to the airworthiness of an aircraft. Usually, records of this maintenance are recorded in bulky manual binders before being loaded in separate databases.

Blockchain can be used to electronically store these records minimizing chances of clerical errors that would otherwise be fatal. The electronic trail will be accessible to the maintenance technicians and aviators, both of who would work harmoniously to ascertain if the aircraft is safe enough for flight.

The same functionality could be replicated on aircraft fueling processes. Using a blockchain application, real-time fuel data would be shared among concerned stakeholders; in this case, the fueling company, the airline, and the bank. In the event fuel levels drop to a certain predetermined level, the fueling company gets a notification and responds accordingly. Once refueled to an agreed limit, automatic payment from the bank to the fuel supplier is initiated via smart contracts. The goal here is to speed up the refueling process and eliminate inefficiencies experienced when handling the process manually. 

Conclusion 

Blockchain application in the aviation industry goes beyond data management. The technology can also be used to tokenize e-tickets using smart contracts, thereby eliminating paper-based tickets and electronic passes. The tokenized tickets will have their own business logic and terms such as value and time of usage, allowing passengers to sell and buy tickets from anywhere in the world. Ultimately, the use of blockchain technology in aviation will inspire innovations of sustainable business models aimed at reducing costs and improving operations. 

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Crypto Guides

‘Blockchain Coding’ – The Different Programming Languages That Are Being Used!

Introduction

In the nineties, when the internet was evolving, it sometimes used to take hours to connect to the internet. When the visionaries were betting on the internet that it would change the world, most of them wondered if it has that transforming effect? Now we cannot imagine a world without the internet. The same is going to happen with blockchain. Blockchain is going to create the internet of value. To build that work, we need developers in blockchain, and different languages used in developing the technology.

To understand which languages should be used in blockchain coding, let us see the challenges the tech offer to understand and select a language for development.

Security

If we talk about public blockchains, the code is open source and public. Anyone can check the code, find vulnerabilities, and take away millions in dollars. Hence the development is very slow in general.

Resource Management

Networks grow in size pretty soon, and hence the maintenance should be appropriate. Local queries should be addressed at the earliest.

✰ Performance

The language chosen should be extremely versatile. Blockchain has specific tasks that can be checked parallelly while some cannot. Signature verification can be checked parallelly, while transaction verification should be done to avoid double-spending.

Deterministic behavior

A smart contract should behave in the same way, no matter in which machine you run them. In the same way, a transaction should hold good at any point in time. Hence, they should operate in Isolation. Hence, we should isolate smart contracts and transactions from non-deterministic elements.

Let us see the languages which overcome these challenges below:

C++

The bitcoin blockchain is written in C++. C++ has been developed as an extension of the C language, and it is an object-oriented language (OOP). OOP means, when an object is created with functions and data, it can be called upon for use any number of times further, thus reducing coding time. Let see the features of C++ below, which aides in blockchain coding.

Memory

C++ takes complete control over CPU and memory usage. We have seen that blockchain requires effective resource management and the platform itself to integrate with lots of untrusted endpoints still giving quick service.

Threading

A thread is a set of instructions that can be executed simultaneously. C++ not only supports multithreading but also optimizes single-thread performance. As we discussed before, blockchain needs both parallel and non-parallel tasks to be performed; hence threading functionality helps in this requirement.

Move Semantics

Move Semantics helps in getting copies of particular data only when required. This reduces data redundancy and boosts performance.

Code Isolation

Code isolation is possible in C++ due to its usage of classes. The language itself is so mature that it is frequently updated, which helps use the latest features.

Solidity

The most common language used in Ethereum to write smart contracts is Solidity. Anyone interested in developing DAPPs or get into the ICO games, Solidity, is a must learn. Most of the Ethereum founders contributed to the development of Solidity. Solidity is a slimmed-down language explicitly designed to develop smart contracts with a syntax very similar to Javascript.

Python and Javascript are used as well in blockchain coding as they have the required properties as well. Go Lang, developed by Google, is used as well due to its faster speeds. The need for blockchain developers is very high, and going forward will only increase. Hence, for programmers, if they can learn what blockchain is, they have a high tide to ride and make their name in the blockchain world.

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Cryptocurrencies

Blockchain.info In-Depth Review: Features, Privacy, Pros, and Cons

If you are a crypto enthusiast, you have probably heard or even used blockchain.info. It is one of the widely used websites today. The site was launched in 2011 and is regarded as one of the best cryptocurrency platforms. Blockchain.info is more than a wallet. It shows the transactions of bitcoins and the current status value while keeping users updated with the current trend.

Among the things that have significantly contributed to its popularity is the criterion integrated into its payment structure. Even so, what are some of its top features? How does it compare to other cryptocurrency websites? Stick along as we have prepared a detailed insight into blockchain.info. However, before we get into detail, let’s first take a peek into its top features.

Blockchain.ifo Features

OS compatibility: Blockchain.info is compatible with both Android and iOS. Its app can be downloaded from play store or iTunes.

Backup Recovery Phrase: This security feature is specially designed to enable users to backup their wallets in case it is lost or stolen. The website provides users with a unique phrase of words that can be used to retrieve your wallet from another device.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Apart from the backup recovery phrase security feature, you can also set up two-factor Authentication using your verified phone number.

PIN Protection: Blockchain.info allows mobile users to set a PIN to protect their wallets from unauthorized access. Users will be required to key in the necessary PIN every time they want to access the wallet.

Multiple languages: The best thing about blockchain.info is that it supports over 25 languages for ease of communication.

QR cord support: If you want to enjoy quick transactions, the best way to conduct transactions is to use its QR code.

Multi-signature: Security is critical in blockchain.info. As a result, the website allows its users to sign in from multiple devices. That way, it makes it quite hard for a hacker to identify the original user.

Blockchain.info Privacy

Typically, the main reason why the majority of crypto users use blockchain.info is to enhance the privacy of their wallets. There are three security levels at blockchain.info. Here is how they break down:

Level One

  • Email verification– By verifying your email address, you allow the website to send you notifications about any activity on your account, send you login codes to confirm payments, and many more.
  • Backup phrase– Users are required to backup a secret phrase that will be provided during sign up. Note that due to the company’s commitment to enhancing their user’s privacy, they do not have access to passwords and, thus, cannot help users in recovering their funds if they lose the backup phrase.

Level Two

  • Link to your mobile phone– In case someone time tries to log into your account, you will receive a one-time login via mobile to reset your password.
  • 2-step verification– If this security feature is activated, users will receive a one-time password code each time the user attempts to log in.

Level Three

  • Block IP addresses from Tor Network– This option is fundamental to prevent phishing activities from hackers using the Tor network. The website’s security feature is capable of blocking any IP address from the Tor network.

Apart from the above three-tire security levels, you can also utilize the “security center” section strategically located on the left side of the website.

Supported Currencies

Unlike the majority of platforms that offer bitcoin wallet services only, Blockchain accepts both Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin Cash (BTC). Although bitcoins are the only ones you can buy directly from the platform or other linked exchanges, you can transfer both currencies in and out of your wallet. What’s more, you can exchange the coins with each other at any given time.

Guide to Opening a Blockchain.Info Wallet

Step 1: Download the app

Depending on the type of platform you are using, signing up should be the first option for registering your details at Blockchain.info wallet. Android users can download the app from Playstore, while those using iOS can get it from iTunes. Alternatively, you can also register your details from its web platform.

Step 2: Sign up

After downloading the app, click on “create wallet” to sign up. Fill in your email address and create a password. After doing so, confirm you have read the terms and conditions and continue to the next step. Hit the “request button” to start buying Ethereum or Bitcoin. Note that you will be required to confirm your email address before you can be allowed to transact with the account.

How to Add Currency to Your Account

So, what happens after clicking on the “request” button? You will be required to select your currency of choice. In this wallet, it can either be Ethereum or Bitcoin. After choosing your ideal cryptocurrency option, you will be required to enter your wallet address, which seemingly looks like a long string of letters and numbers. Anyone with your address can comfortably send you the appropriate currency with the address.

Most importantly, ensure you send Ether to the Ether address only and bitcoin to the bitcoin address only. Submitting to the wrong address might result in a permanent loss of your funds. If you don’t have either of the cryptocurrencies in another wallet, ensure you transfer the required type to your new account before making a transaction. Alternatively, you can exchange it with fiat or other platforms such as Coinbase.

How to Send Payments with Your Blockchain.Info Wallet

Making payments with your Blockchain.info wallet is quite easy. All you are required to do is click the “send” button on your dashboard and follow the prompts. You will be asked to enter the wallet address and the ideal amount you wish to send. Additionally, the website also integrates an automatic conversion feature that allows you to type in the desired value using either cryptocurrency or your local currency. It will display the total in both cases for easy comparison.

You will also have an option to enter a description or provide more details about the payment. Further, if the transaction is urgent, you can make it a “priority.” However, your sending fee might incur additional charges. You might also choose to “customize Fee” and specify a specific rate. Note that transactions with higher costs might, sometimes, prove to be faster and vice versa. Once you are done, click “Continue” to confirm the details and correct and complete the deal.

Is Blockchain.info Wallet Safe?

Yes, the Blockchain.info wallet is safe. The website had a security update back in 2016 and is, in fact, one of the best crypto wallets with advanced security features. As mentioned earlier, Blockchain.info offers a three-tier security infrastructure. You will be required to safeguard your wallet with email verification, and then use a secret phrase. Finally, secure your details with the third-tier option of blocking your IP addresses from being accessed by the Tor network.

Apart from that, every address at blockchain.info is protected with the hierarchical deterministic feature. Every user using Ethereum or Bitcoin address at Blockchain.info is guaranteed optimum safety while conducting any online transaction. It also provides an additional PIN as an added security feature. For this reason, it is, without a doubt, safe to say that Blockchain.info is indeed safe to use.

Customer Care

There are a couple of ways to contact the blockchain.info wallet. You can either use the ticket method to contact the support team directly or use email. Besides, they also feature an extensive FAQ section where users can get quick answers to the commonly asked questions. Its customer care platform is indeed some of the critical things that have significantly contributed to its fame as an old but the most trusted cryptocurrency wallet.

Pros and Cons of Blockchain.Info Wallet

Pros

  • Its services are available globally.
  • The website offers a myriad of security functions.
  • No verification is required.
  • It charges minimal transaction fees.
  • Historical and statistics information chart is provided.
  • Hierarchical deterministic is available for every transaction.
  • Its user interface is highly intuitive.

Cons

  • Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum are the only available cryptocurrencies
  • It is not possible to buy fiat currencies directly from your wallet.

Verdict: Is Blockchain.info Worth Your Money?

If you are looking for a safe method to safeguard your wallet, you should try out Blockchain.info. It is one of the best websites that integrates advanced security features. It is, no doubt, worth every penny. The criterion incorporated in its transaction methods ensures you not only get to enjoy optimum security for your funds but also enjoy seamless transactions with minimal fees.

Consequently, its registration process is quite easy. All you are required to do is follow the necessary prompts, and you will be good to go. The majority of crypto enthusiasts have tried out and experienced positive results. Try it out, and the success in securing your funds will be inevitable.

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Blockchain and DLT Crypto Daily Topic

Why Asia Pacific region is on a path to becoming a Blockchain Hub

Every revolutionary technology in the history of mankind goes through four distinct stages before achieving widespread penetration. Looking at blockchain through the lens of technological development, the technology can be said to be at its early adoption stage – more than ten years after its invention. That is to say, blockchain has begun taking root, and it’s set to spread exponentially though it’s still far from full adoption. 

The global blockchain market is expected to grow from $3.0 billion in 2020 to $39.7 billion, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 67.3%, in the next five years. While innovations in and around blockchain have been largely concentrated in the U.S and Europe, the application of the technology is quickly spreading over the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. In fact, the blockchain market in this region alone is predicted to grow to a whopping $16 billion by 2024, which represents an 87% CAGR during the forecast period. As a result, many industry experts believe the region is quickly becoming a blockchain hub that will perhaps take over the global economy sooner than expected. This accelerated growth in blockchain can be attributed to the following factors: 

Favorable regulatory environment 

Governments in the APAC region are generally blockchain-friendly with some, for example, China, explicitly advocating for the use of blockchain technology in driving economic development. Recently, the Beijing government released to the public a blockchain development plan, whose aim is to promote the growth and utilize the technology in government services and across various sectors of the economy. This comes barely a year after Xi Jinping, China’s president, gave a speech saying that the country needs to “seize the opportunities” presented by blockchain, in what appeared to be the first instance in which a significant world leader backs the technology. 

In Thailand, the government is proactively supporting the use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain by licensing exchanges and ICOs. Moreover, clear guidelines have stipulated to regulate blockchain companies in the country, which has consequently attracted foreign blockchain businesses. On its part, the government of Thailand, in partnership with a private venture firm, is working on its own central bank digital currency that will be made public as soon as it’s feasibility is ascertained. 

Singapore, the financial hub of Southeast Asia, introduced a regulatory sandbox that allows businesses to experiment with blockchain solutions while safeguarding them from the potential risks and failures of integrating blockchain. The national government of Singapore has also partnered with a consortium of banks and tech companies to explore the use of blockchain for payments with the ultimate goal of digitizing the Singapore dollar. Other governments that have shown interest in blockchain include South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, and Japan. With their simultaneous investment into the technology, the APAC governments encourage the use and development of blockchain in private and public sectors, which increases its adoption. 

Large consumer market

Asia Pacific region is widely known for its enthusiasm for cutting-edge technology, as evident from the likes of Japan and Singapore. The same can be said about China that is on a race to control the global economy hence its heavy reliance on technology. Moreover, the entire APAC region is largely made of a middle class who are tech-savvy. According to recent data, the middle class in this region has been on the rise and is even much higher compared to Europe, North America, Central, and South America, as well as the Middle East. 

The combination of these factors creates an ideal consumer market that is willing to invest in, or rather experiment with blockchain. As such, in the four stages of the technology life cycle, it can be said that the larger APAC population is primed to be the early adopters of blockchain technology, with the rest of the world expected to fall in the early and late majority adoption stages. 

Additionally, the region’s interest in the wider crypto ecosystem is evident from its firm grip on digital asset trading. Fuelled by the young and the tech curious population, Asia-based exchanges account for about 40% of all trading volume, which is the highest from a single region. Even in mainland China where the government banned domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, crypto traders have resorted to Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore-based exchanges. 

Blockchain Job boom 

A blend of blockchain-friendly laws and a ready market in the APAC region has created a fertile ground for blockchain start-ups and businesses to thrive. As a result, the region has experienced a rapid increase in blockchain-related job openings and an accompanying rise in those seeking blockchain-related positions. More so, as well-established companies looking to improve their operations by leveraging blockchain’s potential, it further increases the demand for blockchain-savvy professionals who will be tasked with integrating this new technology into an organization’s operations. 

Currently, the fact that the demand for skilled blockchain professionals is higher than the supply has delayed the success of several crypto projects in the region. For the few that have succeeded in launching and jumping from the innovation stage, they have been forced to draw talent from a wider professional background to enable the pilot projects to mature into fully-fledged businesses. 

Industry hotspots 

The Asia Pacific region is home to some of the world’s largest industries, thanks to its relatively stable economy. These industries are therefore expected to be among the first to fully integrate blockchain solutions and lead innovations in the same field. For instance, in China, where the economy is highly fragmented, the supply chain industry can leverage blockchain technology to decrease bureaucracy and enhance transparency in addition to maintaining accurate transaction records. 

In the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFS) sector, blockchain can support a wide range of applications from cross-border payments and wallets to digital identification systems. This can especially be helpful to the many individuals across APAC who are working outside their home country and are looking for efficient and affordable means to send money back home. 

As is the case with any part of the world, APAC is also actively experimenting with blockchain solutions for the healthcare industry. Usually, this industry is segmented into clinical data exchange, interoperability, supply chain management, and bills settlement. So far, the supply chain management segment and data exchange are set to benefit first from the integration of blockchain as more solutions are being developed for other segments. 

Conclusion 

For quite some time now, the APAC region has been a trendsetter in the digital innovation field. Once more, the region is positioned to play a pioneering role in the imminent age of blockchain, thanks to its vast and especially keen consumer market. Also, endorsements from the national governments and the positive job trends centered around blockchain technology have only catalyzed the adoption of this technology by businesses as well as the general public. With that in mind, if indeed blockchain is on the cusp of widespread adoption, then the Asia Pacific region is on the vanguard. 

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Crypto Daily Topic

Blockchain Meets Telecommunication Companies 

The telecommunications industry has enjoyed a front-row seat to some of the most exciting developments in the history of technology.

But, all that has changed in the current business environment where telco companies face stiff competition from newcomers in the market, particularly the internet-based communication services providers such as Whatsapp messenger, FaceTime, WeChat, Viber, and Facebook’s Messenger. 

As a result, telco enterprises have suffered revenue losses due to drop-offs in SMS users and roaming.

Currently, most of these enterprises have been reduced to just internet service providers. With this, they have managed to secure their position in the dynamic communication industry.

However, their position is at risk of being eroded further, especially given the gradual decrease in investment in the telecommunications industry after the infamous Dot-com bubble burst. 

To secure their place in the competitive market, increase revenue, and meet the new customer needs, telecommunications service providers will have to explore the disruptive potential of blockchain technology. Implementing blockchain solutions, however, isn’t as straightforward as it sounds as the telco companies run in a highly regulated industry. 

But according to a recent report, a good number of communications service providers – (CSPs) – are either considering or actively experimenting with blockchain.

So, despite the uncertainty, the pilot projects from these CSPs will lay the groundwork for others, showing them how future applications might work. 

Blockchain for communication service providers

As the industry anticipates full integration of blockchain solutions, let’s look into some of the opportunities resulting from this integration:

Inter-company collaboration

Telco enterprises are inherently complex in their architecture and demand significant amounts of investments. Case in point, billions of dollars have gone into designing and finally rolling out the 4G/LTE networks. Also, as the world anticipates the coming of the 5G network, telcos are under heavy pressure to invest in new resources, consequently intensifying the competition in the communication industry. Unfortunately, telcos aren’t guaranteed to reap returns on their investment even after moving their operations to the new generation network. 

As an alternative solution, telecom operators and service providers could come together under the decentralization of blockchain networks where they can share the cost of resources instead of doing it all alone. Decentralization would help create a sharing economy, bringing down the barriers of transparency while enhancing timely coordination among the telco stakeholders. 

Moreover, thanks to the transparency and immutability, all telecom companies, regardless of their size, can join the newfound cost-sharing economy, creating a level playing ground. This, in turn, promotes healthy competition in the industry.

Most importantly, returns on investment will be shared fairly among the participants using a consensus mechanism, which is basically a series of mathematical algorithms that reward participants according to their investment amount. 

With the cost of resources brought down to an affordable price range, telecommunications companies will be able to achieve wider network coverage and even offer high-quality services at a lower price than a single company would provide.

Additionally, smart contracts can also be introduced into the network to create new business models such as rentals and pay-as-you-go, which would increase returns to reasonable amounts. 

Roaming Fraud Prevention

Roaming fraud occurs when a subscriber uses the resources of the Home Public Mobile Network (HPMN) via the Visited Public Mobile Network (VPMN). Still, the home network can’t charge the subscriber yet is obliged to pay the VMN for the roaming service.

Usually, the fraud goes almost unnoticed, which causes the networks to take too long to respond.

The delays are majorly caused by slow data exchange between the home and visited networks.

There is also a lack of control over the systems in which the fraud has occurred, further contributing to delayed response time. 

By using a private blockchain network, roaming agreements will become more transparent. In this case, designated nodes from both telecom operators will verify each transaction broadcasted on the network.

The roaming agreement between the HPMN and the VPMN is settled by a smart contract which is generated while the transaction is broadcasted. So, anytime a subscriber is roaming, the VPMN broadcasts the transaction data to the HPMN.

In turn, the data triggers the smart contract to execute the terms of the roaming agreement. As such, the HPMN will automatically calculate the billing amount based on the cost of service provided and then send this information back to the VPMN. 

Identity management

Identity theft in the telecommunications industry is not only detrimental to the subscribers but also to the telecom companies.

When a subscriber falls victim to identity theft, the perpetrator ends up using the telecom services, yet it’s the victim who ends up paying the bill.

If well-executed, the perpetrator may go even to the extent of jeopardizing some of the services offered by the company leading to revenue losses. 

Blockchain can be used to secure subscribers’ identities and, in turn, cutting down the telecom revenue losses.

The subscriber will be required to register their device containing a carrier’s SIM card on the blockchain network, after which a private key is generated to safeguard the personal data contained in the device. Only the subscriber has the sole custody of the private keys meaning access to personal data is limited to the subscriber

Interoperability

There exist a plethora of messaging apps provided by the carrier and others by third-party communication services.

Unfortunately, these messaging apps can’t communicate directly with each other, rather a user from one app can’t send messages to another user in a different app.

This creates communication barriers, with some users resorting to downloading numerous messaging apps just to enjoy the convenience of communication with other users on different apps. 

For example, iMessenger users cannot communicate directly with Whatsapp or Viber users. As such, they’re forced to download the other messaging apps for efficient communication.

Blockchain can break communication barriers by integrating messaging apps to create a decentralized communication protocol that exists in an interoperable ecosystem. The newfound interoperability can be used to facilitate the Internet of Things (IoT), which requires seamless communication of various devices and apps.

Conclusion

The telecommunications industry is a fertile ground for blockchain technology to thrive and inspire innovative business models.

With telco giants such as Vodafone leading the way towards embracing blockchain in the industry, it is expected that new solutions will be designed, which will guide the other stakeholders in implementing blockchain solutions.

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Crypto Guides

What Should You know About Web 3.0?

Introduction

World Wide Web, as we know, today has undergone a lot of changes. To dwell on Web 3.0, we need to understand what comprises Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Web 1.0 is the first integration of the internet in the nineties. The visionary Sir Tim Berners-Lee led us to web 1.0. He wanted to decentralize the information so that there wouldn’t be any third-party intervention to access the information. Let’s look at the previous two versions briefly below:

Web 1.0

Web 1.0 comprises of mostly static information. It can be termed as a worldwide explosion of information or read the only web. Many big companies have come up with read-only websites. Many E-Commerce websites can be termed as Web 1.0 version as an example today. User interaction is very minimalistic.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 can be termed as the web we know as of today. It is also said web of social media with many video streaming platforms. With the invention of Web 2.0, all of us got access to not only download available content but also to upload the content made by us. It has started becoming two ways, which started revolutionizing many business models. Let us look into Web 3.0 now.

Web 3.0

Web 3.0 is termed as the internet of value, and it has special significance in today’s world. We have already entered web 3.0, and it is not somewhere in the distant future. We consider it as the most advanced of all because it uses Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain technologies to offer us the best suit of experience.

One of the daily examples of Web 3.0 usage is when we shop on Amazon or any eCommerce website. Under a product we are looking to buy, there is another section which says people ‘who bought this has bought’ these items or what items people bought after buying this product. This is possible because of AI/ML. The user experience is maximized because of the suggestions.

Web 3.0 allows the acceleration of decentralized finance. We have business models available for many purposes rather than the one in the previous versions, where only big companies were used to make use of them for businesses. User privacy is hampered in a big way with the advent of so many apps and their usage.

Big multi corporations, even though they say that their laws pertaining to data privacy are simple, which prevents them from collecting data is not true in reality. With the advent of DAPPS with blockchain as the underlying technology, no user information can be collected and stored without users’ consent. Web 3.0 is a whole new experience without privacy concerns anymore.

The key technology in shaping up Web 3.0 is termed as blockchain. Blockchain provides the decentralized infrastructure for the internet, which fundamentally changes how the web operates. Blockchain allows a highly secure environment to exchange data generated by billions of IoT devices across the world. The decentralization of data allows users to control data rather than the big corporations controlling them single-handedly.

Conclusion

The big companies have treated us like products by collecting the information in the form of our tastes, need to target and sell their products in return to us. We lost control of our data privacy. Web 3.0 is essentially taking back the control from the corporations to our own hands using the decentralization of data using blockchain technology

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Crypto Guides

What Are Security Tokens & What Is Their Importance?

Introduction

Security tokens provide the digital ownership of traditionally traded securities. The concept of security tokens is a genuinely revolutionary concept developed by the advent of blockchain. Tokens perform a wide variety of roles, depending on the ecosystem they are used in. Tokens may give voting rights, which may be used as a currency, to be used as a value exchange. The more roles the tokens have, the more useful it can be termed.

People often get confused with cryptocurrencies and tokens. Tokens and cryptocurrencies are fundamentally different. While cryptocurrencies can be used anywhere, I mean, depending on the people/business who accept them as a mode of payment. In contrast, tokens can only be used in the designated environment where they are intended to use. Tokenization, the issue of tokens, is a new concept that came up with the advent of blockchain and created new business models with security and utility tokens.

How are the Security tokens issued?

Security tokens are issued just like how cryptocurrencies are issued using ICO’s. ICO’s are Initial Coin Offerings offered by developers whenever a new DAPP is to be developed. The ICO will have a goal to aim for. Depending on the goal, if the people are interested, based on the platform, the DAPP is developed, they pay the local currency and take the ownership of the tokens. The token gains value depending on the functions, roles, and purposes.

Importance of Security tokens

Security tokens are essential because of the role they play in the securities. Utility tokens need not follow any rules and regulations of the real world since they are used in the intended environment only; everything works as per the rules and regulations formed by the creators. When it comes to security tokens, they are representing something that exists in the real-world in real.

The security tokens are a digital representation of real assets in blockchain so that the transfer of securities will be smooth, verifiable, and, most importantly, to eliminate paper documents. Hence Security tokens should follow all the rules and regulations even when the ICO is conducted, then only it is termed as a success. Therefore these tokens are essential in connecting the real-world assets to the blockchain. The impact of security tokens is as below:

🧾 Credibility

The ICO space is not credible enough at the moment, with a lot of failures. Since the ICO’s of security tokens follow all the existing rules and regulations, people are confident enough to invest in the ICO’s where they are interested instead of thinking about the credibility infrastructure and stuff.

🧾 Reducing the costs associated with traditional finance

In traditional finance, a lot of money is involved in the form of registration when you want to transfer money from one person to another. Lawyers are required, as well. In the case of security tokens, a lot of money can be saved. Smart contracts will even further reduce the complexity involved in the process.

🧾 Execution times

Since no third party is involved, execution times are very less compared to traditional finance.

🧾 Unlimited Market

People from different countries find it extremely difficult to invest in any foreign country. Security tokens ease out this difficult task. Because of this simple reason, investors across the globe can invest without worrying about paper documentation, rules, regulations, and stuff.

🧾 Easier Liquidation

With the available platforms, it will be easy to liquidate your token whenever and wherever required since only the internet is required to liquidate your funds.

Even though the security tokens are less popular than the utility tokens, people will start flocking towards security tokens due to its functionality. Most prominently, it follows all the rules and regulations of the governments; hence these adhere to the credibility of people which utility tokens lack in general.

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Cryptocurrencies

What’s IOST Token? How Does It Work and Where To Buy

Current online services are centralized. And this has exposed them to serious privacy violations, fraud, high fees, and regulatory interference. In an era when personal autonomy and privacy are more valued than ever, centralized service provider systems are considered obsolete.

Blockchain tech proponents consider it the ultimate solution for all modern problems, and are actively exploring in finding solutions to these issues. Ethereum, Steemit, and EOS are some of the blockchain-based projects that have taken the lead in this regard. However, the majority of them are too specialized. Steemit, for instance, aims to decentralize the ability for content creators to earn from crypto, while Ethereum wants to enable the creation of decentralized applications. 

What’s more, these blockchains are burdened by low transaction throughputs that can sometimes overwhelm the network. Ethereum’s CryptoKitties saga is a glaring example of how much the blockchain is incapable of supporting a massive volume of transactions. These two limitations – inflexibility and lack of scalability – make it impossible for the blockchain to be used for enterprise purposes. 

Internet of Services (IOS) is a blockchain project that wants to power enterprises by providing a Blockchain as a Service platform. This way, online businesses can take advantage of the properties of blockchain technology to improve service delivery for the benefit of all stakeholders. The network has two tokens: IOST and Servi, which play different but complementary roles in the platform. 

What is the Internet of Services (IOS)? 

IOS is a blockchain infrastructure designed to achieve high levels of security and scalability for online businesses. It aims to solve the problem of high fees, slow transactions, and slow throughput associated with the traditional blockchain.

The team believes that these problems are caused by the present limiting nature of the current blockchain infrastructure and its slow transaction verification protocols. The end game is to eliminate these problems so that online service providers can take advantage of blockchain in ways not possible before. 

How Does IOS Work? 

The IOS platform is powered by five pieces of technology, which we’ll take a look at below.

#1. Efficient Distributed Sharding (EDS)

Before we get into EDS, we first need to understand the concept of sharding. Sharding is a data partitioning technique in databases that breaks data chunks into smaller and more manageable pieces. Sharding is by no means a novel concept – but one that’s been used in the computing space for years. 

In a blockchain environment, sharding divides the computational workload of network nodes in a way that every individual node is not responsible for maintaining the entire blockchain, or for participating in the verification of every single transaction. Instead, nodes only maintain information and process the transactional load in their partition/shard. 

But this raises some questions. How do you assign nodes for the shards? How can the network cushion itself against potential malicious node activity? How do you choose leader nodes?

IOS utilizes a Distributed Random Protocol (DRP) to take care of these issues. In a nutshell, DRP utilizes ‘non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs (NIZKs)’ and ‘publicly verifiable secret sharing (PVSS) to create tamper-proof and truly randomized shard nodes. It also uses Algorand and Omniledger protocols to prevent the malicious activity of nodes. With these mechanisms, the network ensures that leader nodes operate the DRP protocol, and are ejected from the network if they don’t.

#2. TransEpoch

TransEpoch is a protocol that enables remaining nodes to continue working when other nodes are downloading transactions’ history data – a process known as ‘epoch.’ TransEpoch uses the Byzantine Fault Tolerance consensus mechanism to prevent malicious nodes from taking over the petition during the epoch. 

#3. Atomix

In any sharding system, the network will always need to conduct cross-shard transactions from time to time. This adds a layer of complexity on the network that renders it vulnerable to double-spend attacks. The IOS network implements the ‘Byzantine Shard Atomic Commit (Atomix)’ protocol to reduce the likelihood of this happening. 

#4. Proof of Believability (PoB)

IOS implements a new consensus mechanism known as Proof of Believability that segregates all the nodes in the network into two categories: believable and normal. This is how it works: believable nodes are in charge of processing transactions, after which normal nodes validate and verify these transactions.

For a node to be assigned into the believable category, it first has to have a satisfactory believability score. This score is calculated based on token balance, reviews by the community, and community participation.

For their part, normal nodes are tasked with ensuring that believable nodes are acting transparently. If a believable node is caught acting maliciously, the believability status is revoked, and they will lose their tokens. This is meant to incentivize good behavior among nodes. 

#5. Micro State Block (MSB)

MSBs are IOS’s way of preventing the blockchain from becoming too bulky. In the traditional blockchain, each node maintains the entire network. While this enhances its security, it also means the whole process is bound to become resource-intensive as more transactions are conducted on the network. 

IOS eliminates this problem through the use of MSBs, which is a protocol that facilitates nodes to validate just the headers of previous transaction blocks (as opposed to entire blocks) and that the entire network is proportionately distributed across shards.

Tokens of the IOS Network

IOS has two tokens: the IOS token (IOST) and the Servi token. The IOS token facilitates transactions and the payment of commission fees on the network. They are also a factor in the calculation of believability scores. Users can earn IOST by validating transactions and renting processing power and storage that will be used in smart contracts execution.  The IOS team distributed all the tokens (a total of 21 million) during the ICO. 

Here are the other uses cases of IOST:

  • Payment for products provided by merchants on the IOS platform
  • Processing transactions and running smart contracts
  • Exchanging for third-party tokens

The token’s distribution was as follows: 

  • 40% for the token sale
  • 35% for the IOS Foundation
  • 12.5% for community building
  • 10% for the IOS team
  • 2.5% for equity investors and advisors

The Servi token measures the contribution of validator nodes. Unlike IOST, the token is not tradable, and it’s automatically destroyed after the verification of a block. This allows the nodes with a high believability score to take turns with the validation process, ensuring a fair process for everyone. The Servi token is self-issuing. 

Who’s on the IOS Team? 

The IOS team comprises members with nothing but stellar credentials. The members are spread across Asia and North America, and include the following: 

  • Kevin Tan, founder of CoinLang (link), CTO of EtherCap, Forbes 30 under-30 awardee, and National Olympiad in Informatics Gold Medalist. 
  • Jimmy Zhong, founder of several startups and an early adopter of Bitcoin and Ethereum
  • Terrence Wang, who has a ton of software engineering experience having worked at Uber and Microsoft. He also develops CoinLang, a higher-level language for Bitcoin.
  • Ray Xiao, founder of several startups and  investor and advisor of several others

Other team members include Samantha Wang, Lei Li, Hao Xu,  Bosch Lee, Chung Teng, Justin Li, Ben Waters, Haifeng Li, Will Zhao, and Kaijian Gao. All these have a wealth of experience cutting across marketing, software, programming. IOS also has an advisory board consisting of names like Jumei co-founder Yusen Dai, Codecademy co-founder Ryan Bubinski, and venture capitalist Robert Neivert. Several high-profile companies have also invested in IOS, including Huobi, FBG Capital, and Sequoia Capital. 

Tokenomics of IOST

As of June 24, 2020, IOST is trading at  $0. 006719, while ranking at #70 in the crypto market. It has a market cap of $100, 849, 968, a 24-hour volume of $85, 871, 372, a circulating supply of 15, 009, 546, 992, and a total supply of 21, 938, 087, 338. IOST’s all-time high was $0.136496 (Jan 24, 2018), while it has an all-time low of $0.001562 (March 13, 2020). 

Where to Buy and Store IOST 

You can grab yourself some IOST tokens from any of several exchanges such as Binance, Huobi, BitHumb, HitBTC, Bitrue, BKEX, BitMax, Upbit, and Bitvavo. It’s available as a market pair with cryptos such as BTC, ETH, BNB, USDT, as well as with Fiat currencies such as the US Dollar and the Euro. 

IOS recommends these wallets for storing IOST: JetStream and IWallet Chrome for desktop, and TokenPocket, Cobo, Starteos, and Huobi wallet apps. 

Final Words

While IOST’s proposition is not exactly new in the blockchain space, it manages to inject something fresh with its novel technologies that guarantee top-notch scalability and security for applications. And the platform is not limited to any specific kind of application, making it flexible for all sorts of businesses. It will be interesting to see how the project evolves over time. 

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Crypto Videos

SK Telecom Thinks Blockchain Can Revolutionise Phone Insurance!

 

SK Telecom Thinks Blockchain Can Revolutionize the Phone Insurance Industry

South Korean telecommunications company, SK Telecom, made an announcement of a blockchain-based document submission process for their mobile phone insurance. This new protocol is an improvement to the company’s current antiquated paper-processing methods.
Until now, users had to visit a technical repair office in order to receive insurance benefits for their damaged phones. Successful visits would be concluded with a claim receipt, which they would then have to forward via email to the insurance company. The new protocol, which lies on the blockchain, will greatly improve how this system operates.

SK Telecom’s new system allows its customers to skip this outdated process and complete everything they wanted online, quickly and securely.

The announcement SK Telecom made states that replacing paperwork with electronic certificates will be used to help the company to safely and securely manage inquiries sent to the insurance companies. They also hope that the blockchain-powered new method will help with the prevention of document forgery.

Blockchain saving money and improving performance

SK Telecom expects this method to ensure fewer costs for mobile phone service centers as well as insurance companies, as well as to improve processing speed, allowing them to handle customer complaints in a more timely manner.
The company states that Samsung’s Galaxy series will be the first phone fully compatible with the new service.

Kim Seong-soo, SK Telecom’s sales manager, even said that the adoption of Blockchain technology will certainly expand to “various service areas in the future.”

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Crypto Guides

What Are The Different Business Models Based On Blockchain Technology?

Introduction

With the invention of bitcoin, Blockchain has become mainstream. Industry experts in almost all industries are exploring Blockchain to change their business models to make use of decentralization to achieve more transparency, thereby gaining more profits. The business model is nothing but how the business is operated to make money ultimately.

With features like immutability, transparency, and decentralization, Blockchain can create ripples in any industry that haven’t seen much change for some decades. Blockchain’s mainstream application has been in finance, which has seen rapid changes though Blockchain hasn’t been implemented to a considerable extent yet.

Implementing Blockchain isn’t an easy task. Hence, one should consider all the available technologies first and implement Blockchain only if any other current technology doesn’t make the same impact of Blockchain if implemented. The technology shouldn’t be useful not only for the business but for the end-users as well.

Let us look at some of the blockchain business models below:

Blockchain as a Service (BaaS)

The days are gone where the businesses try to host everything on their own. Investing in large servers, hiring staff to maintain them is a costly process, and no one wants to do it anymore unless they have large amounts of money to burn. Hence everyone wants to move to the cloud. When it comes to Blockchain, if one has to set up a blockchain network, they must search for blockchain experts who are rare and costly to obtain the talent, if any.

Train your existing staff, which is again time-consuming; hence BaaS plays a vital role in implementing Blockchain in any business. Blockchain as a Service is also provided by cloud providers where a lot of scary backend stuff can be set up and maintained by them while the business can only focus on their business. Large cloud providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, IBM, Oracle are already offering BaaS services.

Securities

Securities is one of the exact innovational models which didn’t exist before Blockchain. Security tokens offer ownership of an asset. A token can be classified as a security token if a profit is expected from the primary asset linked to the digital asset.

For example, a piece of gold bar say 1kg can be owned by multiple people in the form of security tokens as the price of the gold increases the value of the security token increases and vice versa. If the ICO of such tokens is adequately implemented with all the rules abided, the security tokens have immense opportunities.

Utility Tokens

Whenever we buy some material things, we look at the utility of the material to gauge our satisfaction. Utility tokens do the same thing in the businesses they use. Each utility tokens have a purpose, role, and features in the environment they are used to. In our articles, we have seen DAO’s, which can be accumulated to deserve the voting rights for the DAPPs to be developed.

DAO’s are a perfect example of Utility tokens. Ripple acts as a utility token in the banks involved with the Ripple ecosystem. The tokens can be used as a currency as well in the confined environment. The value of the utility tokens increases depending on the number of roles and purposes it has in the intended environment.

Development Platforms

Development platforms like Ethereum, Hyperledger, Tron play a vital role in the augmentation of blockchain technology. The development of DAPPs on these platforms is secure in implementing the technology as, by default, they offer Blockchain’s fundamental properties. The more DAPP’s in the network, the more influential the platform will be as more people will be using the same.

The deployment of DAPPs in the Ethereum platform needs the payment in terms of Gas, the platform’s local currency, which allows one to use it. In the same way, to use the Neo platform, users have to pay in Gas, the platform’s local currency. Even the DAPPs may collect a nominal fee in terms of Gas again to use the apps, thus improving the functionality continuously.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Best Decentralized Messaging Apps 

We live in times when personal privacy and security have never been more prized. And this is because we live in a digital age where anyone with enough resources can track your communications and whereabouts at will. Governments are particularly notorious at this. It’s not uncommon to find a government is peeping into the private communications of its citizens. It’s even worse when you’re considered a dissident in an authoritarian regime. 

There’s also the issue of cybercriminals and extortionists who are looking for loopholes or embarrassing information in private communications to blackmail people. Or they may threaten to expose your sensitive data such as credit cards, social security info, bank info, email passwords, or medical records – if you don’t pay up.

Everyone deserves privacy and the freedom to live without being spied on. Some apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, have stepped in to provide users with secure and encrypted messaging. But these apps have a centralized architecture, meaning the companies maintain control of the servers. As such, users can never really be absolutely certain whether their communications are indeed safe or not. 

This is where blockchain comes in. Blockchain enables a decentralized, cryptographically encrypted, and peer-to-peer messaging platform that’s not just safe, but also free of the whims of governments.

In this article, we’ll take a look it’s some of the best decentralized messaging apps out there today. 

#1. Dust

Co-founded by Mark Cuban, Dust is a blockchain-based texting app developed by Radical App. The app’s main attention points are privacy and security. Dust’s distinction from the rest of many privacy-focused apps is a timed self-erasure of messages which occurs after 24 hours. You can also unsend any message at any time. It even notifies you when a person on the other end screenshots your conversation. 

As is to be expected with privacy messengers, conversations on Dust are end-to-end encrypted and not accessible by anyone, including the developer team. Also, you can delete messages from another user’s phone in real-time. And once a message is gone, it’s gone. 

 #2. Sense.Chat

Sense Chat is a fast and decentralized texting app that runs on the EOS blockchain. The app has several interesting features that are traditionally lacking in messaging apps. From chat channels where users can indulge on a number of topics, to peer-to-peer video chats, to content creators (who, by the way, can be tipped by other users). 

Founder and CEO Crystal Rose Pierce said this about the app: “SENSE is building blockchain communication tools for everyone. We see Sense. Chat being integrated into any EOS dApp with a community. We’re building tools for content creators, community managers, token holders, and game players.” 

The app uses a peer-to-peer verification system that allows users to secure the system, avoid scams, and single out fake accounts. You can even earn SENSE, a cryptocurrency, by being active in the community and inviting others. 

#3. Crypviser

Crypviser is a secure messaging app that lets users send and receive messages on an automatically encrypted blockchain platform. The app seeks to eliminate man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks so that no party can sneak in into your text messages or audio or video calls. 

It’s impossible for anyone to attack your messages since encryption keys are distributed, in a truly decentralized fashion, across several nodes on the blockchain. 

On Crypviser, you can share as many files as you want without any size restrictions – something that’s common with most messaging apps, including WhatsApp and Facebook. 

Also, Crypviser features a “Screenshot and Data Forward Control feature,” which prevents anyone from screenshotting, forwarding, or copying your text messages. There is also the option of hiding your chats with particular contacts by enabling a password that will hide the conversations between you and the said contact. And lastly, users can set a time for messages to self-destruct on both ends at a determined time.

#4. Status

Status is a decentralized messaging app based on the Ethereum blockchain. On the app, you get to have complete control over your information. The app protects not only your data but also your metadata – ensuring the ultimate privacy. 

Status is also more than a messaging platform. It comes with a cryptocurrency wallet that allows you to send and receive cryptocurrency. You can even interact with Ethereum-based decentralized applications (DApps), play games, and more.

#5. Sylo 

Sylo is a decentralized messaging platform that also doubles as a cryptocurrency wallet. It allows you to “keep your assets, your contacts, and your conversations all in one place.” Sylo operates on a decentralized platform, affording you top-notch privacy and security. All communications are end-to-end encrypted, and the developers neither need nor access your data. 

The platform is also equipped with a host of DApps that you can interact with, and even unlock a whole world of premium features with the protocol’s tokens known as SYLOs. 

SYLO says there’s no ‘big brother’ watching your activities, and you don’t need to provide your email or phone number to set up an account. 

Using the platform, you can search and add any ERC20 tokens and even custom-create your own tokens. You can even check your crypto balance at any time in your preferred currency. It currently supports the following currencies: USD, NZD, EUR, JPY, AUD, CAD, KRW, SGD, INR, and GBP.

#6.  BeeChat

BeeChat is a blockchain-based messaging and DApps platform. The app saves encrypted data on the blockchain, ensuring no one can access your messages since the encryption keys are distributed across multiple nodes on the network.

The app supports a cross-chain function for both Ethereum and EOS, meaning you can selectively store your data on either blockchain. It also supports the Telegram protocol, which enables Telegram users’ contact to automatically match to BeeChat. Users can even host a chat of thousands of users using the messaging and video chat functionalities. 

#7. Tox

Tox is a free, encrypted, and open source messaging platform that allows you to have private conversations. It’s decentralized, meaning it cannot be attacked, shut down, or made to turn over data by government, regulatory, or law enforcement agencies. It also means server outages are a thing of the past. 

Tox wants you to know that it’s completely free – both in price and free as in freedom. As it says on the website, “There are no corporate interests, and no hidden agendas.” Being open-source means that you can modify, use and share it – because it’s made “by the people who use it – people fed up with the existing options that spy on us, track us, censor us, and keep us from innovating.” Tox also supports limitless file sharing, so you can share whatever size of media files with your family and friends.

Final Words

Blockchain comes to the rescue again, this time on private and secure messaging. And thanks to the ingenuity of smart developers out there, private messaging seekers now have an impressive variety of messaging platforms to choose from. And in keeping with the decentralization theme, some even come with the extremely timely feature of peer-to-peer transfer of money. What’s not to like? 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What’s Aion All About?

Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that’s immutable, decentralized, and transparent. Immutability means records that go on the blockchain can never be deleted, reducing fraud. Decentralized means that no single entity can censor operations and transparency, injecting a new level of accountability. These qualities make the blockchain a revolutionary tech that can change how organizations and even society itself does things.

This would already be possible if the current blockchain setup wasn’t so fractured – as blockchains exist and act independently. In a decentralized economy, blockchains across various sectors would be interoperable, allowing for the seamless transfer of data and value. 

Aion is a blockchain framework that wants to make this possible.

What’s Aion? 

Aion is a third-generation blockchain system whose goal is to facilitate blockchain interoperability. On the platform, both public and private blockchains can achieve three functionalities: scale, spoke, and federate. Aion is able to connect various chains but still maintain its own independent blockchain. 

The scale, spoke, and federate functions are the core offerings of the network. Below, we’ll take a look at what each means, and its implications for Aion and connected blockchains. 

What does Federate, Spoke, and Scale Mean? 

Aion envisages being “a networked, federated blockchain to integrate these separate spokes.” With these, it hopes to empower organizations to: 

#1. Federate – Aion implements a bridging mechanism to allow blockchains to send data and value amongst each other.

#2. Spoke – Provide customized solutions for blockchains

#3. Scale – Aion utilizes a high-performance virtual machine to enhance scalability.

Why is AION a Third-generation Blockchain? 

First-generation blockchains comprise the Bitcoin blockchain and others that were inspired by it. The problem with the first generation blockchains is they only allow the transfer of digital value, without the ability to put any conditions on those transfers. Also, these blockchains struggle with scalability. 

The second generation of blockchain was brought along by Ethereum, and it introduced the concept of smart contracts and decentralized applications. Smart contracts are contracts that are self-verifying and self-executing. They allow individuals to exchange value in a fraud-free, conflict-free, and publicly available manner. Since smart contracts are self-verifying and self-executing, they eliminate the bloat caused by the presence of intermediaries. Decentralized applications are a new kind of application that is free of any regulatory control or censorship.

Second generation blockchains prove to everyone that production could be used for more than transferring money. However, this generation proved to have its own problems. As interesting cases of these capabilities sprung up – with more users flocking in, this generation proved to lack the ability to handle massive transaction volumes. 

AION is a third-generation blockchain, courtesy of being a blockchain that’s part of a future where blockchains will operate in a hub and spoke model that’s a lot like the internet. 

Why Does Interoperability Matter? 

The interoperability of blockchains is incredibly important. Let’s see why. The current blockchain environment consists of blockchains acting independently of each other. It’s hard for Bitcoin to communicate with Ethereum and vice-versa. As a result, it’s hard to swap their respective cryptocurrencies directly with each other. 

This problem is currently solved by crypto exchanges. And that right there is the problem. Most of these exchanges are powerful, centralized entities that are nothing like the original idea of cryptocurrency: decentralized finance. On top of that, thanks to being centralized, these exchanges have a single point of failure, which means they have a single point of attack and are thus insecure. The countless incidents of exchanges hacking illustrate this well enough. 

Also, the current lack of interoperability means that blockchains cannot interact with traditional systems like banks. This kind of puts a damper on the dream to achieve mainstream adoption for blockchain. 

If we’re to realize a decentralized future, we’ll need to realize blockchain-powered entities that can communicate with each other. For instance, a hospital that has its medical records of patients on the blockchain will need to be interoperable with an identity system blockchain so as to automatically verify the identity of the patient. 

Who are the Participating Networks? 

A participating network is one that meets the requirements needed to be on-boarded into the Aion ecosystem. Aion-compliant blockchains meet the following conditions:

  • Are decentralized in some way and support procedures like atomic broadcasts and transactions
  • Can recognize and distinguish interchain transactions from regular transactions
  • Are aware of a consensus protocol utilized by the connecting bridge and  can store transactions that have been deemed valid
  • Can implement locktime to freeze up tokens/coins on the network if and when needed

What’s the Aion Virtual Machine? 

The Aion Virtual Machine (AVM) is a customized version of the Java Virtual Machine. AVM is designed to achieve high performance, robustness, and enable determinism. The AVM is customized to be able to execute chain logic in distributed networks. It’s also cushioned to withstand instances that are likely to arise in such scenarios. AVM’s implementation has the following properties: 

  • Performance – is able to use machine-friendly instructions to achieve a high-level performance.
  • Stability – achieved by utilizing an isolated sandbox environment, in which new features are tested before moving to the production environment
  • Determinism – which is achieved through a full-featured blockchain development kit as opposed to a regular software development kit
  • Backward compatibility – allowing for chain logic to always be executable as the machine evolves

5 Types of Users on the Aion blockchain

During the North American Bitcoin conference 2018, Aion founder Matthew Spoke talked about five kinds of users that can utilize the Aion network: 

#1. The Startup 

Many startups want to incorporate blockchain, but they have a knowledge gap when it comes to blockchain. With Aion, they can plug in and connect to blockchain-based solutions. 

#2. The Enterprise – Aion wants to connect the legacy world to the blockchain world and has dedicated massive resources to understanding what has kept these two apart.

#3. The DApp developer – these are developers who have been at the game using blockchains such as Ethereum and EOS but have been constrained to only one protocol. Aion will make it possible for them to switch across various protocols. 

#4. The Validator – these are people who take care of consensus in the Aion network.

#5. The Bridge Builders – these are people who are in charge of interchain transactions.

Who’s on the Aion Team? 

Nuco, an enterprise software company, is behind Aion. The company is involved in building secure and scalable blockchain solutions for many types of markets. The team’s led by Nuco CEO Matthew Spoke, who also sits on the board of the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance and is a fintech advisor for the Ontario Securities Commission.

CTO Jin Tu has 15+ years of experience in Enterprise Engineering and more than four years of experience in blockchain. 

The Aion Token

The Aion token is the native token for the AION network and secures the network, facilitates the creation of new blockchains, as well as monetizing bridges that connect various blockchains. The token is tradable and runs on the Ethereum blockchain. Once Aion launches its own mainnet, token holders will be able to convert them to the official Aion tokens. 

Where to Buy and Store AION

AION can be purchased from any of several exchanges – including Binance, BitHumb, Bitvavo, KuCoin, DragonEx, LATOKEN, and Bitfinex. 

As an ERC20 token, AION can be stored in any wallet that supports Ethereum. Great choices include: Parity, ethaddress, Guarda, Trust Wallet, and popular hardware wallets Ledger Nano and Trezor. 

What’s the Market Look Like for AION?

As of June 25, 2020, Aion traded at $0.101558, while ranking at #119 in the market. The token has a market cap of $43, 637, 697, and a 24-hour volume of $2, 206, 565, and a circulating supply of 429, 683, 147. Aion has an all-time high of $10.00 (Jan 07, 2018) and an all-time low of $0.040638 (Mar 13, 2029).

Final Words

If the world’s future economy is going to be decentralized, then the ability for blockchains to communicate and interact is non-negotiable. Aion is one of the initiatives leading the way in this regard, and with a brilliant team, the project should be able to register important milestones. The entire blockchain space is watching to see how it goes. 

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. 

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. 

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
Crypto Guides

‘Cryptokitties’ – The Innovative Blockchain Based Recreational System

Introduction

Cryptokitties is a first blockchain-based leisure game created for entertainment. It is developed by Vancouver based blockchain company Axiom Zen on the Ethereum platform. The game was widely recognized by the people in 2017 when it congested the entire Ethereum network due to its popularity. The game uses the concepts of Ethereum smart contracts to track the ownership of kitties on the platform.

The gaming platform allows people to purchase, collect, and breed against each other to produce new virtual kitties and sell them as per their traits. People have spent millions of dollars on virtual kitties on the gaming platform. The most expensive crypto kitty sold was for around $1,70,000, which was equivalent to 600 ETH in September 2018.

How does it work?

Cryptokitties was the first-ever commercial application to be introduced on Ethereum. The platform uses the non-fungible token (NFT) or nifty, which is unique to each kitty. NFT’s are unlike cryptocurrencies, which can be exchanged in any way. NFT’s represent the uniqueness of the product associated with it. NFT’s were used in the field of art to secure their uniqueness in the blockchain platform. No one can transfer cryptokitties from one user to another without the owners’ permission, not the creators of the game as well.

People make money by buying the virtual kitties, and as they are allowed to breed them, they breed them with other kitties to gain unique characteristics for the offspring. This is achieved because each virtual kitty carries a unique number and 256-bit distinct genome and different cattributes (attributes for cats, hence cattributes) that can be passed to the next generation, just as we humans do. Any cat has 12 cattributes, eye shape, base color, mouth shape, fur, eye color, optional wild, pattern, environment, purrstige, and secret. These are passable cattributes.

Other cattributes like cool downtime, i.e., time taken to rest after giving birth to the virtual kitty, are not passable and depend on the parents’ maximum generation time. It is generally one higher than the maximum generation time of parents. It is not that easy to breed your kitties, it requires time and patience, and hence the price of the kitty is determined by the best characters it holds.

How to buy Cryptokitties?

Well, it is pretty much straightforward. One should have a browser; chrome works better. A Metamask wallet, and since the platform is based on the Ethereum platform, we should have Ether in our wallet to adopt/buy virtual kitties.

Hence, a user should go to cryptokitties market place and search for the kitty that they may like. If they don’t like any of them that they see, they can go to the Gen0 tab and buy them. Gen0 are the kitties directly created by the smart contracts but not the offspring of any kitties available in the market place. People generally prefer the Gen0 kitties thinking they might have unique characteristics. The breeding of two Gen0 kitties will give birth to the Gen1 kitty.

Once you bought a kitty, you can go to the siring tab for choosing a mate to your kitty and start breeding your kitty to have more virtual kitties. This is how you adapt and sire your kitties.

Gas Consumption

Cryptokitties smart contracts are very gas hungry smart contracts due to the popular demand. At a certain point in time, the demand was so high that a lot of transactions in the Ethereum platform remained unverified for a more extended period due to which Ethereum forced the company to increase the gas prices to confirm the transactions quickly.

Conclusion

While cryptokitties are the first significant leisure and gaming DAPP developed not only in the Ethereum platform but also in the first time, people adopted it pretty quickly. The DAPP also pointed out a significant scalability issue in the Ethereum platform, which should be addressed by the blockchain platform for the adoption of many mainstream platforms.

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.

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. 

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
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. 

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’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. 

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
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. 

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
Crypto Guides

Brief Introduction To The Revolutionary ‘Neo’ Blockchain

Introduction

Neo is an open-source, decentralized blockchain platform founded in 2014 by Da HongFei and Erik Zhang. These are the same duo who started Shanghai-based blockchain R&D company’ OnChain.’ Neo is often known as Ethereum of China due to its similarities, but the project has its own set of goals, which we will be looking further in this article.

Neo is formerly known as Antshares, and the rebranding happened in 2017. Since the rebranding, the company’s motive is to achieve a smart economy using blockchain technology and an essential feature of blockchain smart contracts to issue and manage digitized assets.

Neo wants to achieve a smart economy by giving digital identity to digitize assets and further use automation in the management of digital assets using smart contracts and henceforth achieving a smart economy using a distributed network.

Digital Assets + Digital Identity + Smart Contracts = Smart Economy.

Let us look into the three components that make up the smart economy in detail below:

Digital Assets

Digital Assets are anything that exists in a binary format and with a right to use. The right to use property is essential for a digital asset to exist. Any asset that can be stored digitally can be said as a digital asset. Some examples of digital assets include logos, images, illustrations, presentations, spreadsheets, etc. Assets can be easily digitized on the neo platform is a transparent, trustworthy, and auditable manner. The Neo platform allows the linking of a physical asset with a digital avatar using digital identity, which is valid by law. Thus, the platform protects the assets.

Two forms of digital assets

Global Assets: These are assets that are recognized by all smart contracts and clients.

Contract Assets: These are assets that are only recognized by specific smart contracts and cannot be used in other contracts

Digital Identity

Identity can be defined as a set of attributes that relate to an entity. Neo enables the creation of identity information of individuals, organizations, and entities in an electronic form, thus making it digital. It does this by verifying identity using fingerprints, facial recognition, voice recognition, and SMS. For the smooth functioning of digital assets, digital identity is essential. Neo uses X.509 digital identity standard, which is a widely accepted digital issuance model.

Smart Contracts

Smart contracts are any piece of self-execution code when a predefined specific set of instructions are met. Smart contracts are immutable and should be able to run on multiple nodes without compromising its integrity. Neo requires three essential features for smart contracts; they are deterministic, terminable, and isolated. Smart contracts can be codes in any mainstream coding language like C#, Java, Go.

Key Characteristics of Neo

🔗 Neo uses dBFT, Delegated Byzantine Fault tolerance model for consensus mechanism. In dBFT consensus, nodes are chosen by Neo holders to generate blocks and validate the transactions. In turn, they have to hold certain Neo tokens as a threshold and maintain some performance requirements.

🔗 Neo’s transaction speeds are considered to be one of the highest among the available with 1000 TPS. High transactions per second lead to centralization by only a few users mining and validating the transactions.

🔗 The platform supports all the mainstream coding languages for smart contracts, which helps prevent developers from learning new languages to work on the platform.

Neo has two local tokens, Neo and Gas. Neo is used to create blocks and manage the network while Gas is the fuel that powers transactions in the Neo system.

Many Governments across the world are trying to incorporate blockchain functionalities into the day to day activities of the running of the government to achieve a smart economy. Neo, with its faster transaction speeds and with its core fundamentals, enable the goal to accomplish in a much quicker fashion.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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 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. 

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
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’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
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.

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
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.

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. 

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

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. 

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. 

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Cryptocurrencies

Decentralized Vs. Centralized Exchanges: Which One Should You Trust?

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. 

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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. 

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. 

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Crypto Guides

Formal Verification – A Method That Makes Smart Contracts Extra Secure!

Introduction

The smart contracts are now used extensively in the crypto and blockchain space for various use cases, especially for transactions involving a very high volume of money. Hence, it has been more critical than ever to check out smart contracts for any vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities are the reasons for hacking some of the cryptocurrency platforms, even though the blockchain network is very secure. Hence the timely audits and formal verifications are must both concerning hardware and software to ensure optimal security.

What is Formal Verification?

Formal verification is a method used to check whether the software of hardware systems matches the intended requirement. A particular type of mathematical technique is used to know the intended requirement matches or not. Using these mathematical techniques to check the level of the algorithm of correctness as per the requirement is known as formal verification.

Testing hardware or software with formal verification can be broken down into 2 phases, validation, and verification. Validation determines whether the product meets the user’s needs while verification is testing whether the product works as per the specifications provided.

While formal verification used to be done mostly for the hardware components, it is increasing the testing in software components as well. As there is no third-party involvement in vast transfers of the money, these are autonomous transfers. Hence, smart contracts should be robust enough without any faults.

Why is Formal Verification used for Smart Contracts?

Ethereum is a Turing complete machine, started utilizing the concept of smart contracts. Hence an analysis has been done on around one million smart contracts of Ethereum to check their robustness. It has been found that nearly around 32,000 contracts are faulty. The contracts are seen to be flawed because they were found to either lock the funds indefinitely or release the funds to arbitrary users, and anyone could kill the contract.

Given the nature of the immutability of smart contracts, if these problems aren’t detected before the deployment of the agreement, it will create serious issues once the code is deployed.

Platforms using formal verification

Many platforms that are using smart contracts robustly are trying to integrate formal verification into their platforms. Let us see some of them below:

Cardano

Cardano’s smart contract language is Plutus, which is based on Haskell. Cardano is basically written in Haskell. Cardano is designed with the Cardano computational layer, which by default consists of two layers while one allows formally specified languages used for checking the code of the smart contract, and the other is a defined officially virtual machine and language framework. The default layers’ goal is to check the smart contracts to avoid severe vulnerabilities in smart contracts without any additional requirements.

Ethereum

Ethereum has been trying to incorporate formal verification for a long time now since it has many smart contracts functioning on the platforms. They have even come up with a publication called “making smart contracts smarter.” This publication focuses on smart contracts bugs and mainly focuses on ways to mitigate them. This includes the change in operational semantics of Ethereum to inbuilt formal verification.

There are certain challenges in implementing formal verification in the Ethereum platform. One is gas limits, and the other one is its solidity programming language. To understand solidity, it should be compiled into bytecode. The compiler changes rapidly, so the verification tools should be in tandem with the speed of the compiler.

Conclusion

Measuring the positive impact of formal verification in the smart contracts will take some time since the adoption is slow. Many are realizing just yet the vulnerabilities of smart contracts, and given its substantial financial transactions, the weaknesses should be captured effectively and curtailed at the very beginning to restrict the losses.

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Crypto Guides

What are Sidechains & What is their Purpose?

Introduction

Sidechains are mechanisms that enable the transfer of existing tokens or digital assets from a blockchain platform to another blockchain platform. The tokens or digital assets can be transferred back to the original blockchain if required. The primary platform from which we transfer the assets is called the parent chain or main chain, while the other platform is called sidechain. Ardor blockchain calls the sidechain as childchain.

Sidechains have enormous potential to transform the existing issues of scalability in the blockchain platforms. The transfer need not be only digital assets or tokens, but we may transfer computing or for speeding purposes as well, depending on the processing requirements. We can have many sidechains for a single parent chain.

How do they work?

Sidechain is indeed a separate blockchain platform connected with the leading blockchain platform using a two-way peg. The two-way peg is a method to convert one digital token to another type of token like BTC to ETH. The two-way peg facilitates the transfer of digital assets at a predetermined rate. A user on the parent chain first sends coins to an output address so that they can be blocked.

To ensure that these coins aren’t spent elsewhere, a protocol is followed. Once the transaction is complete, the information is sent to all the chains. Some extra period is used to wait as well to increase security. Once this is done, the same number of coins are released in the sidechain for user access and spending. The same process can be repeated when the tokens are to be sent from sidechain to the main chain. Some other entities come into the picture to run the sidechains seamlessly. They are as below.

Federations

A federation can be called as a group or server which acts between the main chain and a side chain. The sidechain creators can decide federation members. They decide on when to lock the coins and release the coins for spending and vice versa.

Security

The core reason for anyone to move to the blockchain platform is security. So, one may question what about the security aspects in the sidechains. Even though they are connected, they are on their own in terms of security. Both platforms are individual blockchain platforms and are very secure individually.

Further, if there is any disturbance in one platform, the disturbance will not be carried out to the other. The sidechains use separate miners from the main chain. They are incentivized using merged mining. Merged mining refers to the mechanism of mining two or more cryptocurrencies at the same time based on the same algorithm.

Platforms using Sidechains 

Rootstock or RSK

RSK has two-way peg connectivity with the Bitcoin platform. RSK’s vision is to enable smart contracts functionality for bitcoin blockchain, increase scalability, thus faster transactions. Miners are rewarded through merged mining. As of now, the platform supports 100 TPS.

Liquid

Liquid sidechain proposes instant movement of funds between exchanges without waiting for the delay in confirmation from the bitcoin blockchain. This is the first commercial sidechain developed by Blockstream.

Advantages of Sidechains

  • Enhances the scalability of the mainchain, thus increasing the number of transactions per second.
  • Need not create a sidechain again and again; once created, they can be used for any purpose.
  • They enable the communication between two different coins, which helps in the testing of beta coins in the sidechain before the official launch.

Conclusion

The scalability issues of blockchain technology are addressed in different ways, but sidechains are very promising. The communication between two different cryptocurrencies paves ways to multiple features. Transactions costs and time will be reduced as the burden is less for the mainchain. The concept is going to create a massive change in the blockchain technology in the upcoming future.

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Crypto Guides

Applications of Blockchain In The Publication industry

Introduction

The publication industry is again an age-old industry that is struggling to find its place in the digital world. Like many industries, the industry has turned towards blockchain to figure out a solution for their woes. Many people are switching to digital for their reading purposes, say it books, newspapers, journals, or anything of that kind.

Hence the publishing industry’s revenue model, traditional distribution, is just not working anymore. Thus, many content creators are turning to digital, but with a lot of piracy and free content available digitally, it has proved robust to generate money. Using smart contracts to publish and make money using blockchain is one viable option.

Problems grappling the publication industry

When we say publishing, for a lot of people, only newspapers and books may come into mind. But publishing is not just tagged to these two, any content like software, videogames, apps, songs that can be created and shared for consumption can be said as publishing.

⚫ Intellectual Property & Copyright Management

This is the first and foremost problem the publication industry is currently facing. No one wants to publish anything without involving money. Once the content is out, anyone can make copies of it and distribute stuff for a lesser price than the original content. Blockchain can quickly solve this issue if the material is published in blockchain. If this technology can do one thing for sure, that is, its capability to store who owns the data.

⚫ Production

Once the work is completed, many people will be involved in publishing the work, like Publication company, editors, design, marketing, management, etc. These days anyone can print a book on their own if required, but high-quality books aimed at right people with proper marketing still need big publication houses. Instead of following the centralized way, if the content is published and shared using blockchains before making it to the market, many freelancers can gain if different works like design, editing, and stuff can be shared through the platform.

⚫ Revenue Generation

Digital copies will generate money based on the traffic to a particular blog or website. Ads will increase if the traffic is more. The content creators will be paid accordingly. But, in reality, we are relying on and trusting the third-party channel on the payments. This is not working out for most of the content creators. Blockchain solves this issue by generating views using transactions. Every view can make a transaction costing the consumer for the view. Even the consumers will be happy to pay the actual content creators instead of duplicate providers.

⚫ There’s More

Apart from general problems, let’s talk about education journals. Many academic researchers, Ph.D. students, professors of the best universities have to contribute their work on their field of study in the form of some papers. Only then, they can climb the ladder and earn some fame for their work. These papers are published in very high-priced journals, which in turn don’t pay anything for the job, but the authors agree to give away their work for absolutely nothing because that’s the only way to get published.

Blockchain can create a platform for these academicians and help them get paid. Orvium is such a platform founded by former CERN and NASA employees. Reviewers of the work may charge for their services using the platform, as peer review is a must for academic publications. In turn, academicians can charge for their work to be viewed by the general public or can choose to make it completely free.

There are many startups in the publishing industry on the blockchain. Publica is for book ICO’s. Many publishers depend on the publication houses for advances when they have to start a book, but this platform allows the users to pay in advance in the form of some tokens where they will get their copies once the work is completed.

Blockchain can be used in the publishing industry in different ways as per the above for much-needed respite for the industry.

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Crypto Guides

Can we Improve Our Forecasting With The Help of Blockchain?

Introduction

Blockchain forecasting is something that is picking up momentum these days. We can use Blockchain for both demand forecasting as well as general views of the public, where polling used to be the case for decades now. One of the critical factors of cryptocurrencies is its unpredictability. It’s the reason for its popularity among the retail investors, but at the same institutional investors stay away due to the very reason. Hence using Blockchain for forecasting is a bit of irony, but it has started proving its mettle in the prediction as well.

Demand Forecasting

Creating a demand forecasting is being proved to be a really tough deal because of the quality of the data. At the enterprise level, demand forecasting is done mostly based on the old data. For example, due to the COVID19 situation worldwide, demand has been slumped to almost zero other than essential goods.

If we consider this data for next year’s forecast, we will be doomed with the figures that come as a result. Hence, we need quality data when it comes to demand forecasting. Many enterprises have different sets of data internally and externally as per their requirement for forecasting. Enterprises using ERP and CRM systems have the code inbuilt, and it would be very tough to change the logic as per the recent evolutions in the market.

When we take FMCG companies, each company have their own set of data, but they won’t share the data with other FMCG companies due to various constraints. If they come together on a blockchain platform and share only essential data leaving inventory, pricing, and other confidential details, it would be beneficial for the whole industry. The data should be immutable, permissioned so that only people with access can view it.

If we combine the blockchain technology with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, we can extract more value from the data set. Using AI, we can know why the demand was deficient this time when we check the forecasting for next year. Alternately based on geographical conditions, weather, any external factors like elections period, if we input these fields demand that particular, region, or for a store can be easily predicted with these combined new technologies.

Predictive Data

Often during election times or with some programs as well, people or audiences of the program are asked questions to know the opinion of the people. Usually, a huge amount of data is received, which is a strength in numbers. One’s opinion on a given topic depends on the personal experience, prejudice, bias with the information available to them, which may be correct or wrong.

But what if the individuals have more data? With better quality and quantity of data, people might come up with more accurate predictions. Blockchains are, of course, made for collecting a large amount of data on a decentralized platform. Hence a blockchain prediction project can take multiple data points and come up with an accurate forecast on the input generally like prices would go up or down, consumption is likely to increase or decrease. Usually, precise predictions on what is going to happen next can be known.

Hence Blockchain is foraying into forecasting and gives more reliable forecasted figures when combined with AI/ML than any other forecasting model we have today.

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Crypto Guides

Importance of ‘Interoperability’ In The Blockchain Technology

What Is Interoperability?

Interoperability is the ability of software systems or two different systems to connect and exchange information. In this connected world, there are always different systems that would connect so that the required data is provided as needed. The best example of interoperability can be termed as a web page working on a web browser if they are of the same standard.

Why do we need interoperability in blockchain?

In today’s world, we use different software, which essentially integrates to provide the resultant output. In the case of varying blockchain platforms are being developed for various purposes. Often in the same industrial space, different platforms are built, and these platforms do not know another platform.

For example, the bitcoin blockchain has no information about Ethereum blockchain. This creates a lot of siloes in the industry. Often new platforms come into picture claiming there more secure, scalable, immutable competing with the rivals. This creates a wastage in terms of resources, money, and energy of different teams.

Why is it crucial for blockchain?

To make mass adoption possible for blockchain technology. Every other platform is competing with each other to increase the scalability of blockchain. The original bitcoin blockchain was capable of sending only seven transactions per second. Later new projects came up and eventually achieved around 40,000 TPS. While Visa, Mastercard achieve approximately 24,000 TPS, but in reality, they need only 1700 TPS as per the real-world stats to be viable even with the ever-present demand.

Hence 40,000 TPS is not essential at all. Instead of concentrating on scalability, it would be better to consider improving the technology as such. Even if scalability is achieved as required in case of no interoperability, one cannot use the blockchain tech wherever needed as we use a MasterCard/visa as they can be used anywhere across the world. Hence interoperability is essential for blockchain for mass adoption.

Let us see some of the examples of platforms which allows the blockchain interoperability below:

Polkadot

Polkadot was developed by Gavin Wood, a co-founder of Ethereum. Polkadot is essentially a multichain or cross-chain technology that allows different blockchain platforms to be plugged into a more extensive system. Technically, Polkadot accomplishes parachains i.e., it will enable the processing of transactions parallelly between different blockchains and relays to the main blockchain through bridges. Polkadot not only transmits transactions between blockchains but also data is transferred. Information is transferred in the form of smart contracts and the abilities that come up with them.

Cosmos

Cosmos is just like Polkadot; it also follows a cross-chain principle. The essential difference between cosmos and Polkadot is that it only concentrates on facilitating transactions between blockchains but not data across them. Cosmos doesn’t require the blockchains to forfeit their consensus algorithm when plugged into the network. It establishes inter blockchain communication (IBC) to establish blockchain interoperability. The IBC serves as a TCP/IP like messaging protocol for blockchains.

Though these startups are at a very early stage of development in their roadmap, we have to wait and watch how it plays out. Blockchain is a niche technology, but many big players are coming into the picture to incorporate blockchain to achieve more success, and the interoperability of blockchain will make that. For any technology to gain momentum, adaptability is essential where interoperability is one thing to be achieved for the mass adaptability.

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Crypto Guides

Understanding Merkle Tree & Its Importance In Blockchain

Introduction

Merkle tree is the essential component of a blockchain. Data entered into the blockchain is immutable, and this is a critical future of blockchain. Even though there are many futures, many deploy blockchain for this one significant future. This future is primarily achieved using the concept of a Merkle tree. Before dwelling into further about the idea, it is essential to understand cryptographic hash functions.

What are cryptographic hash functions?

Cryptographic hash functions are another integral part of blockchain technology. Cryptography is often used for military purposes. In war zones, the data is shared between two parties of a country at different places using cryptography.

Cryptographic hash functions are algorithms that transform any input given to the algorithm in the output of fixed length. The outputs change drastically, even if a single letter of the input is changed. At the same time, the same input gives the same output all the time. It is highly unlikely to determine the output based on the input unless one has a set of public/private keys. Any length of the input gives a fixed-length output; this feature is handy when a large amount of data sets is used. To check any set of data is modified or not, we can check the fixed-length hash.

Let us see the usage of cryptographic hash functions in the bitcoin blockchain network. Blockchain is essentially a series of blocks of transactions joined together using cryptographic hash functions. Each block has header data and transactions associated with it. Header data contains the previous hash, nonce, Merkle root, block hash.

Data of the complete block, including the header data, is hashed, and this hash is stored in the present block and also in the next block as the previous block hash. This previous block hash represents the entire state of the blockchain at any given point of time. Hence if we make any changes to the transactions in the last block, the hash of all the blocks up to the present block will be disturbed, which is why it is highly impossible to change the transactions and hence the concept of immutability.

Now how do we verify the hashes to check the data integrity? It is highly inefficient and time consuming to check the hash of every block. Hence the concept of Merkle tree is used as it is efficient to check the data integrity.

What is a Merkle tree, and how is it used?

Merkle tree developed by Ralph Merkle is also called a Binary hash tree. It is a data structure used to store hashes of individual data in an extensive data set in a way to make the verification of the date set efficient.

An example of the Merkle tree is as below.

It would be easy to understand the Merkle tree with the example above. It is essentially a tree of hashes with branches of individual hashes. These hashes come from the transactions of the blockchain platform when it comes to a cryptocurrency platform.

In the above figure, we have transactions from TA  represents a transaction, while HA represents a hash of that transaction. All the transactions are hashed to produce a hash value of its own transaction. Then adjacent transactions are hashed together to form a hash of both transactions. Like HAB is the hash of transactions A and B. If there are an odd number of transactions, then the transaction is combined by its own, and a hash value is created. The same process is repeated until the last hash value is generated, which is called the Merkle root. In this case, HABCDEFGH is the Merkle root of transactions from TA to TH. This is how a Merkle tree is formed.

Hence because of the tree, it would easy to find if any transactions are tampered with, uses very few resources to check any fraudulent behavior, and easy to add new transactions to the block.

This allows for simple payment verification, and the new nodes need not download the entire blockchain but only the block headers of the longest chain. Thus Merkle trees help to maintain the immutability and integrity of the blockchain.

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Crypto Guides

How Blockchain Can Significantly Contribute To The Agriculture Industry

Introduction

Agriculture is the backbone of many countries. Often many countries export and import agricultural products based on their requirement. But when it comes to trade concerning agriculture till day age-old methods are used. It is often said that billions of dollars’ worth of food are wasted not because there are not people who want food but because food doesn’t reach their plates at the right time.

Why do we need Blockchain in Agriculture?

📌 Provenance Tracking

Big giants like Amazon, Walmart used to struggle to pick up any product from their shelves and know the provenance of the product. It might even take days to understand sometimes. Walmart had to recall an entire batch of pork in China as it was not able to find the whereabouts of the product, and the product was not in a condition to consume. This resulted in millions of dollars of loss.

📌 Supply Chain

Given COVID 19 situation worldwide, many industries are hit very severely. Out of all the industries hit, Restaurants/Dining out would be the worst hit since even after the lockdown is lifted, people wouldn’t be willing to dine out. To gain the trust of the customers that food is treated with utmost hygiene, one would like to know the whereabouts the food served. Hence supply chain plays a crucial role in the same. Accordingly, if the information of the product is stored in blockchain right from its origin, the trust could be gained quickly.

📌 Organic/Inorganic

It is easy to pass in organic food as organic these days. Blockchain helps to trace the origin of food.

How can we leverage Blockchain technology in Agriculture?

Farmers for either organic or inorganic food can deal with big players directly without the involvement of mediators. With the help of smart contracts and IoT sensors, right from the very initial stage of sowing the seeds to harvesting to sending the crops to the warehouses of the vendors, everything can be achieved using blockchain.

This way, the vendors will have a clear picture of where their goods are coming from, payments are made on time with no loss to the farmers. With the help of IoT sensors, the adequate temperature can be maintained for the goods which will be tracked through blockchain, ensuring the crops are not spoiled during transportation.

Companies leveraging this technology

🏭 Walmart, in partnership with IBM, developed Food Trust blockchain for tracking the provenance of food from different vendors. Walmart has asked all its vendors to get into their blockchain platform to do business with them to ensure the success of the Food Trust blockchain.

🏭 Coco-Cola built a blockchain platform to ensure ethical sugar production.

🏭 Tony’s Chocolonely – The chocolate industry is labor-intensive, and a lot of child labor is employed for the same. Cocoa farmers are impoverished as the cocoa beans supply chain is extremely complicated, and hence, they cannot decide the price for their beans. Thus, Tony’s Chocolonely has agreements directly with farmers and even pay 40% more since they know the provenance of their seeds.

🏭 Unilever (HUL) is working to check the provenance of tea in Malawi.

🏭 Dreyfus used blockchain to close a deal of Soya beans with a Chinese Supplier. The deal was finalized smoothly, cutting transaction time drastically.

Implementing blockchain in the agriculture domain is not easy. The technology should be combined with IoT for precise tracking along the supply chain. Big players though actively trying to engage the technology it takes time for the farmer to be benefitted from the same. Many platforms are being built from different players, and interoperability remains a concern. Thus it takes time to evolve to the requisite level to reap maximum benefits, but it is inevitable to use the tech in agriculture widely.

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Crypto Guides

What’s Stopping Blockchain’s Mass Adoption?

Introduction

Blockchain technology came into the picture with the advent of cryptocurrencies. Since the value of cryptocurrencies is increasing exponentially day by day, people have started exploring its base technology, which is Blockchain. Blockchain has a lot of use cases in various industries say Supply chain, healthcare, agriculture, energy, data storage. In spite of all the use cases and numerous numbers of projects, consortiums in action today still the technology is considered to be nascent. Any technology takes time to reach masses, but Blockchain has certain hindrances that are stopping it from mass adoption. Let’s see some of them below.

No Universal Use Case

People often compare Blockchain as a new age internet. Just as the Internet changed the world forever, Blockchain is considered to do the same in the digital world. The Internet was created to provide information worldwide with the worldwide web. It created an industry for itself and reigned it. When it comes to Blockchain, it doesn’t have an industry of its own. It surely promises enough to revolutionize most of the existing sectors, but if there were one industry of its own, then the adoption and results would have been very promising. The combination of next-generation technologies, Artificial intelligence, machine learning, Blockchain, and the Internet of things may create an industry of its own that could be revolutionary.

Complicated Usage

The technology is quite complicated to use provided its secure nature. To perform a transaction in the bitcoin network, there should be an address with a string of numbers, wallets, transaction time, transaction fees, and a lot of stuff. All this terminology is pretty new to a novice user and finds it pretty challenging to use. Mass adoption will be possible only if we educate people enough. Most of the people know about Blockchain only through cryptocurrencies, and that notion should change. People should understand that Blockchain is much more than just cryptocurrencies.

Scalability

One of the significant issues with mass adoption is scalability, i.e., the number of transactions per second (TPS). When we take cryptocurrencies, the original bitcoin blockchain processed only 7 TPS. As the adoption of cryptocurrencies increased, processing time and transaction fees increased drastically, which will discourage people from using cryptocurrencies. Visa/Mastercard supports 24000 TPS, which is used worldwide and is very reliable. Even though some platforms are claiming 40000 TPS, we should check whether they are safe enough or not.

Standardization of Smart Contracts

Smart contracts have received popularity, and many enterprises have started using the same for their business needs. But there is no standardization, and there are a lot of vulnerabilities when it comes to smart contracts. The code is not standard. There is a scope for a lot of vulnerabilities. Hence if certain standards are established like formal verification of contracts to check vulnerabilities, the security of the system increases more.

Energy Consumption Issues

It is a well-known fact that proof of work, which is mainly used in bitcoin blockchain as of today, consumes a lot of energy. Environmentalists throughout the world are entirely against it. Hence the usage of energy friendly consensus algorithms like proof of stake should be used if mass adoption is to be made. Recently Ethereum has shifted to proof of stake from proof of work, which is a welcome move.

Regulation by Governments

Finally, governments should agree or accept the trade, registrations, or any legal matter of the sort to be done in blockchain platforms. As per the government rules, if certain transactions should be done only on paper, then it is not possible to use Blockchain. Governments across the world are at least trying to regularize cryptocurrency, considering the widespread usage. Hence, technology use in other aspects should also be considered.

These are some of the reasons that are holding back the mass adoption of this amazing technology. It is important to note that there is a lot of research and development being done in this space to overcome the above-mentioned hurdles.

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Crypto Daily Topic

Blockchain Use Case: Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering

Recent studies show that it costs about $6,000 for a financial institution to onboard a new client. Moreover, collating the data of the new customer may end up taking 2 to 4 weeks, depending on a country’s regulation.

Unfortunately, financial institutions cannot avoid these costs entirely since there are mandatory laws requiring banks to record details of all their customers. These laws are commonly known as know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) policies that are enforced by the government under the Bank Security Act. Essentially, the laws are meant to deter illegal financial activities such as financial identity theft and tax evasion. 

Maintaining compliance with these regulations usually involves tedious paperwork alongside the numerous and expensive costs involved in the process. Additionally, clerical errors when collecting customer’s personal details may lead to inefficiencies in collating the entire data. 

With the advent of blockchain technology, KYC and AML compliance can be made easier and cost-effective by leveraging the abilities of smart contracts and decentralised applications (dApps). 

But before we can look at how Blockchain can help organisations maintain compliance, let’s first understand the current state of KYC and AML laws.

Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering Policies 

Organizations, particularly those in the finance industry, are required by law to check the identity of their clients before and during doing business with them. This concept has even been extended to other business models – accelerated by the predominance of corruption, financial terrorism and tax evasion cases. Know your Customer (KYC) policy also protects customers from crimes such as financial identity theft. 

On the other hand, Anti-Money laundering (AML) law is designed to stop criminals from making money through illegal activities. It also makes it possible for banks to detect and report suspicious financial crimes. 

Currently, institutions maintain KYC and AML systems via digital accounting and hardcopy files. This creates room for errors either by the task force managing the information or technical failure of the devices being used.

It becomes even harder for multi-national corporations given the sheer amount of time required to verify and collate numerous data. When you factor in the operational costs and the time required to ensure the process flows seamlessly, it’s easy to see why blockchain technology can be of much help. 

How Blockchain can be Used to improve KYC and AML Compliance

Blockchain technology is a decentralized, immutable and distributed ledger that records transactions chronologically in near real-time.  These are characteristics the financial industry can tap into to improve KYC and AML compliance. They can do this in the following ways: 

  • Distributed Client Data Collection 

Using Blockchain, a KYC and AML registry can be created; through which only authorised banks and financial institutions will have access keys. This will help accelerate a client’s onboard process since each time an institution needs the client’s details, they’ll only have to request for the private keys to access the data. 

Simply put, the technology will simplify data gathering, processing and verification which translates into saving more time and money compared to traditional KYC systems. Reduced onboarding time through blockchain-based KYC systems also increases confidence in the financial service provider.

Additionally, the newfound interoperability in terms of sharing data means that banks and regulators will communicate efficiently, thus, improving compliance. As such, regulators will be notified of violations in real-time and respond almost immediately. 

  • Data Protection and Management 

Identity theft, being one of the most common financial crimes, can easily be mitigated by a blockchain-powered KYC system. When a customer feeds their background information into the blockchain ledger, the data is cryptographically hashed; making it impossible for anyone to corrupt or change it in any way. The security is further improved by the decentralized nature of the ledger technology, thereby eliminating the risk of cyber-attacks which are associated with having data held in a central location. 

Thanks to the improved security, data interoperability can safely be executed  unlike when using  traditional siloed KYC infrastructures. As such, banks don’t have to process data all over again every time a client uses a different product/service under the same bank. 

  • Less Paperwork 

Incorporating Blockchain into the current KYC and AML registries can digitize the existing infrastructure. This is achieved by using smart contracts that create, read, and verify client details automatically, reducing the cumbersome paperwork involved in the traditional process. 

In the current KYC and AML systems, a client’s background information is stored separately in various institutions like banks, hospitals, and motor vehicle registry servers. This means that a new customer has to fill in loads of paperwork when using services offered by these institutions. Further, in case a customer switches from one bank account to another, the new one has to conduct a KYC procedure again resulting in tiring paperwork for both the client and the bank. 

Blockchain can solve this by providing a distributed ledger where all the client’s details are stored and can be accessed by various institutions. 

  • Revamp KYC and AML Procedures

Blockchain is a relatively new technology that is still finding use in various industries. As such, it’s incorporation into KYC and AML procedures can upgrade the current systems to stay up to date with the new technology trend. This is essential for institutions considering the increasing demand to create mobile apps to allow users to access services remotely. The apps come with security flaws, e.g. vulnerability to hacks, which can be best solved by blockchain cryptography algorithms.

Besides, as institutions continue to extend their market outreach, upgrading to blockchain KYC solutions is an ideal way to step up their current infrastructure to accommodate the growing number of customers. At the same time, considering that tax fraudsters are always devising new ways to commit crimes, adopting blockchain solutions upgrades security measures to counter the new threats. 

Conclusion

Blockchain solutions bring in the much needed efficiency into the customer due diligence process, saving an institution’s money and time. Consequently, these resources can be channeled to other core administrative operations, improving the overall service delivery. Ultimately, financial crimes and compliance violations will be reduced in the long haul. 

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Crypto Daily Topic

How Blockchain can Improve Trade Finance

Blockchain technology continues to dominate headlines across the world thanks to its revolutionary solutions. In fact, an almost never-ending list of projects have been rolled out in various industries, demonstrating the benefits of this technology. 

The global trade finance market in particular is a fertile ground for blockchain solutions given the inefficiencies and fraud vulnerabilities plaguing the industry. The paper processes involved in the current trade finance framework need to be upgraded to digital operations and blockchain could play a big role in this transformation. 

How  Trade Finance Works

Basically, blockchain solutions aim at filling the gaps in an industry’s operational processes. For this reason, it helps to understand how the trade finance industry runs, so as to identify blockchain’s potential entry point. 

Trade finance refers to the financial products and companies that facilitate international trade. This means that there are several third-parties involved in a successful trade, adding cumulative costs. 

For example, imagine a local company seeks to import goods from an overseas company. The importer needs to pay for the goods but is hesitant to do so before full proof that the goods will arrive as ordered. The exporter on the other hand is also hesitant to ship the goods without proof that payments will be sent for the goods supplied. This is where intermediaries come in.

To ensure that both companies keep the end of their bargain, the importer’s bank sends a letter of credit to the exporter, promising to pay for the goods. However, the payment can only be made once the importer receives a document showing that the goods have been loaded into a cargo for shipping. 

This trade finance framework has been in place for quite a long time, with lots of paperwork being sent back and forth between the importer and exporter. It gets even more intricate with the involvement of freight forwarders, insurers and other small companies, making it prone to errors and frauds; not to mention the time and money used in the process. 

Utilizing Blockchain in Trade Finance

Blockchain, as a distributed ledger system, has the ability to streamline trade finance by creating an  end-to-end network where exporters and importers can engage directly. Here’s a quick primer on how blockchain can improve trade finance:

i) Increased Efficiency

By eliminating the need for an intermediary, blockchain can create a trade finance ecosystem where the importers and exporters share trade-related data in real-time. This would go a long way into minimizing delays and errors, thereby cutting the cost of documentation and increasing transaction speed.

ii) Maintaining compliance

A typical trade finance transaction requires the constant update of documents especially those related to regulatory and financial policies. This results in numerous paperwork and an opportunity for errors leading to expensive fines and lawsuits. 

With a blockchain-based finance trade platform, all the necessary data is stored in a decentralized ledger for relevant parties to access. As such, it becomes easier to update the documents in compliance with the relevant authorities. 

iii) Transparency 

Since blockchain is decentralized, all involved parties in trade finance transactions can view and approve the necessary documents throughout the transactional cycle. What’s better, the ledger system can keep an account of all transactions including the past and the recent ones, all in a tamper-proof record. This way, it is easier for financial institutions to conduct an audit on all transactions, further reducing the risk of fraud. 

iv) Eliminates Double Spending 

Blockchain enables traders to initiate smart contracts which ensures that all trading procedures are dutifully executed. For importers, smart contracts ensure they only pay for the right amount of goods as ordered while ensuring the exporters don’t change the number of goods. As such, there won’t be a scenario where the importer spends more than what is documented in the original bill of lading. 

v) Tracking of Goods

One of the most classic applications of blockchain is in the supply chain, where it is applied to track goods and streamline the process. Trade finance’s intricate supply chain can therefore benefit a lot from the integration of blockchain into its logistics. As such, it’ll be easier for importers to track their goods and even mitigate potential delays, which increases confidence between trading partners. 

More advanced trade finance blockchain solutions also offer special tracking options such as weather conditions, temperature and safety of the goods. Such details are essential when shipping delicate or weather-sensitive goods. 

However, before blockchain can be fully integrated into the trade finance industry, there are a couple of improvements that should be made.

  • Interoperability

Currently, it is quite difficult to implement blockchain solutions in trade finance given that the parties involved often work independently. For blockchain to penetrate the trade finance industry, the global trading partners, financial institutions, shipping companies, and other key stakeholders need to talk in the same digital language. 

Unfortunately, to some of the parties involved, trade finance isn’t necessarily their highest priority. So, they might not be interested in switching to blockchain solutions. In the case of a bank, for instance, the financial support they provide to importers and exporters is just a piece of their larger service package. 

  • Security Vulnerabilities

Blockchain by itself is a secure technology leveraging the power of cryptography to safeguard all transactions, or rather data, recorded in the system. But, the technology has to be modified to suit the trade finance market. Usually, the modification is done using additional technologies and coding languages, which end up creating loopholes in the ledger’s security. 

  • Regulatory Barriers and Costs 

Blockchain is a new technology whose concepts and functionality hasn’t been adequately addressed by existing regulations. This explains why trade finance executives have a problem adopting blockchain solutions, despite their evidential benefits. 

Blockchain developers and entrepreneurs have also been on the receiving end of harsh government regulations, crippling their efforts in developing better blockchain solutions for trade finance. 

On top of it all, upgrading from the existing trade finance infrastructure to blockchain-based solutions is overly expensive. 

Conclusion 

Trade finance has for long played a huge role in the economic growth of every country. While it’s current framework serves the purpose, the industry could benefit from upgrading to blockchain, especially in the current modern times where most activities run on technology. Nonetheless, the success of blockchain technology in the trade finance industry hinges on the wide-scale adoption of the technology. 

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Crypto Guides

Exploring The New Suite Features Of ‘CryptoNote’ Technology

Introduction

CryptoNote is an open-source protocol that essentially serves as an underlying technology for some cryptocurrency. Just like Blockchain technology, CryptoNote is also technology that is a backend for cryptocurrencies.

CryptoNote technology was primarily developed to provide extremely private features using advanced cryptography. What makes it unique is the egalitarian approach for making the network decentralized and censorship-resistance.

Origin of CryptoNote

The CryptoNote has had a history similar to that of Bitcoin, in terms of being mysterious. It emerged in 2012 and was published on Tor, and the author of the original whitepaper Nicolas Van Saberhagen is a pseudonym, which means that the identity of the author is still unknown. In fact, the identity of the author of the second edition of the whitepaper is also under the same pseudonym.

The original whitepaper discussed the privacy and flexibility that is deficient in Bitcoin. It also sheds light on the traceability and linking ability of transactions in Bitcoin’s “one-CPU-one-vote,” as explained by the creator of Bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto. On the whitepaper, they claim to present more advanced features for decentralized cryptocurrency networks that are based on complicated mathematical analysis.

Entering the CryptoNote Technology

The CryptNote technology is similar to the blockchain technology, with few key differences. This technology is built under consideration of two features that make the payment network through this system fully anonymous. They are,

                        Untraceability & Unlinkability

Untraceability – For all the incoming transactions from the network, every sender is equally probable at the origin.

Unlinkability – A property where it is not possible to verify that two outgoing transactions are sent to one particular person.

When the proposal to launch the technology was made, there were many optimizations and improvements made to keep their technology stand apart from the crowd and hold its original principles along the way. The standard features that should be embedded in such technology are implemented as well. The following are the primary features CryptoNote has to offer.

  • Untraceability of payments
  • Unlinkability of Transactions
  • No Double-Spending
  • Blockchain Analysis Resistance
  • Egalitarian PoW

Cryptocurrencies backed by CryptoNote

There are several coins that are implemented using CryptoNote technology. All of the coins have this technology in them in some or the other way. In fact, there are even optimizations made to the current features that are then added to the cryptocurrency.

Bytecoin

Bytecoin is the first cryptocurrency that was created using CryptoNote technology in 2012. Being the first one, it was quite popular back then. This coin includes the exclusive CryptoNight mining algorithm along with the typical features of CryptoNote. Bytecoin was mainly developed to facilitate instant transactions with no fee for businesses, merchants, and customers in the inclusion of security, anonymity, and fast international payments.

Monero

Monero has been one of the most popular cryptocurrency when it comes to privacy. This open-source protocol and decentralized network community are highly dedicated to making Monero a powerful anonymous payment method. And not to mention, this coin is created under the assistance of CryptoNote.

Conclusion

Over the years, people are not completely satisfied with the features provided by the blockchain. Their focus has been on finding inefficiencies in this technology and coming up with other technologies satisfying those inefficiencies. And CryptoNote is one such technology that emphasizes on anonymity in cryptocurrency networks. This is a very broad property and will remain in development for long.

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Crypto Guides

Understanding Market Speculations In The Cryptocurrency Market

Introduction

Market speculation is a term that can put you in a bad light if discussed with a casual investor. People often relate speculation to the irresponsible behavior of the banks and financial institutions. To a layman, this term is nothing but a synonym for gambling. The only difference being, in gambling, personal money is used, not investor money.

The concept of speculation is misunderstood by many. Agreed that investing is all about balancing the risk to reward ratio, but speculation is no different. It is an anticipation that the risk on the investment is going to be well worth the risk. In this article, we shall be clearly understanding the concept of market speculation and determine if it is evil to the cryptocurrency market.

What is Speculation?

Trading and investing involve the managing of risk and return. Speculation is that space that fits in the area opposite of guaranteed investors, like bonds and other safe havens. Be it any type of investment; there involves risk. The risk cannot be completely eliminated but surely be reduced. Typically, an investment with low-risk yields low returns. Similarly, investments with relatively high risk, the payout is equally high. And speculation work with the latter principle.

Myth – Speculation is Gambling

There are still a lot with the conception that speculation is no different from gambling. Gambling could involve some skill elements but certainly cannot cut off the risk on it. It is basically like a game of dice. Considering the die to be unbiased, the probability of a predicted number coming up always remains 1/6. Speculation, on the other hand, involves high research in the background, where the speculator studies and analyses all the risks involved in it, and then take actions accordingly. Also, when they bet on something involving high risk, they try making sure that the odds are in their favor.

Cryptocurrency Speculation

Cryptocurrency speculation is mostly inclined towards Bitcoin as it was the first cryptocurrency in the market. Back then, only a handful of people predicted the exponential rise of Bitcoin from a few cents to thousands of dollars. However, there was a good number of investors who made a fortune off this move. In the ocean of investors, there are the ones who anticipate a high return from a small investment, in short, the speculators.

Cryptocurrencies are those that seem like they are specifically made for speculative purposes. And these cryptocurrencies are unlike the tulip bulbs of old that would turn out to be a scam. Bitcoin, for example, is a cryptocurrency known for its security and trust as it backed up blockchain technology. Since the cryptocurrency market is fresh and new relative to others, speculators can consider it a great opportunity to bet on their chosen coins.

Conclusion

Market speculators from the very beginning have earned a bad name. This misconception is still in the air. As a trader/investor, you have to be conservative, but it does not mean you cannot be a risk-taker. Taking risks during the right times and on the right securities can turn out to be a moneymaker. And this is what successful are onto.

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Crypto Guides

A Quick Introduction to Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)

Introduction

The blockchain technology has been in the industry for quite a while. Cryptocurrencies were the first ones to experience the taste of blockchain technology. As years passed, many technologies were being prototyped using blockchain. Then came Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. Many blockchain geeks would already be aware of it, while the rest are still clueless about this concept though they’ve heard it. So, if you are still one of those who doesn’t understand DAO, then this article might help.

What is DAO?

The meaning of DAO lies in its name. DAO is an organization that is both decentralized and autonomous. Back then, it was only an idea but became practical with the assistance of blockchain.

As mentioned, DAOs are organizations that run in a decentralized and autonomous fashion. In other words, they operate without a centralized party that makes decisions. In fact, all the growth and profit are managed without any central authority. When it implemented via blockchain technology, they are bound to follow programmatic rules that are granted through consensus.

DAOs can, in fact, be related to mainstream companies, as both have predefined goals. However, the goals of mainstream companies can be altered and may not be enforced. But in the case of DAOs, the goals are digitally enforced, and hence no alteration is possible.

Let’s consider an example illustrated by Mike Hearn to visualize the concept of DAO. He objectified DAO to a driverless car that acts like a taxi. It charges the passengers as a rental. After the journey, the profits are used to fuel the car at the gas station. In the whole process, the car does not require any human effort to figure out what to do, as everything is programmed initially.

Key Features of DAO

The first feature is obviously the autonomous nature of DAO. This means that any outside forces cannot corrupt a deployed function. In addition, their open-source nature makes it transparent. This eliminates the doubt for a trusted third party. There are tokens of all transactions, which are used for rewarding. With the non-hierarchical structure of DAO, all the funding takes place only during development and is distributed equally.

The Reason of Existence

Apart from a predefined goal, DAOs contrast with other organizations. In the present world, every organization out there is centralized. So, the only reason for the existence of DAOs is to take advantage of a highly efficient, autonomous, and decentralized system of governance. If organizations work like the DAOs, then there would be no time wastage and effort from an intermediary to control the organization. Instead, all the work would be done by itself.

The Advantage Over Traditional Governance

Governance simply refers to the interaction between various entities based on specific rules and norms and on how they are regulated and structured. Every governance in a company follows a top-down approach. In such an approach, there arises issues and dilemmas. For example, an agent can make a decision with their own choice as a result would not affect them.

If the decision turns out to be risky for business and expensive, the one to suffer would be the principal (a higher position), not the agent from a lower position. But, with DAOs, the costs, as well as the principal-agent dilemma, would be reduced because DAOs utilize smart contracts and blockchain technology in its working.

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Crypto Guides

Four Best Use Cases Of Blockchain For Governments

Introduction

Blockchain platforms have proven themselves to be not only a platform to create and exchange cryptocurrencies but much more than that. Further, these platforms are not limited to only financial workspaces, but much more can be achieved. In this article, let us see the applications of blockchain in government institutions.

Budgetary Use Cases

I am starting the article with budgetary use case as this is very close to my heart to achieve a corruption-free world. Every government around the world has its budgetary sessions for every financial year. As per the allocations, the amount is released to each department as required. Based on the amount announced for the department, they have to design a blueprint on how the funds will be utilized for the year and all the minor details like contractors, vendors; payments should be finalized to incorporate the same in a smart contract.

Once all the details are completed, the smart contract can be launched. Everyone will be paid accordingly when predefined conditions are met. Thus, achieving a corruption field. Once a smart contract is deployed, it would be difficult to change any conditions. Hence this is a bit complex to implement, but the stakes are quite high since we envision a corruption-free world.

Digitizing The Documents

Every government has many departments often divided between state and central. Most of the governments are digitizing the records as of now. It will be an excellent use case of blockchain if the digitized materials are stored in the blockchain. Often the documents should be shared amongst immigration authorities, defense, homeland security, many more departments. A lot of paperwork and permissions should be sorted out to get adequate information, which is very time-consuming.

If all these documents are stored in the blockchain, it would be effortless to transfer the materials. The document should be shared using the only blockchain. Every view of the document from other departments can be stored as transactions; transaction approvals can be saved as different transactions. Thus, everything will be recorded. This is very useful to avoid any loss or tampering of the documents.

Voting

Voting is crucial for any democratic country to run smoothly at predefined intervals of time. There are huge limitations when it comes to conducting voting securely without any fraud. If blockchain is implemented for voting, that can be changed. Each vote can be converted into a smart contract and display the transactions publicly for everyone to view. Moscow has its voting platform on Ethereum.

They have implemented blockchain voting for urban and landscape design. Half a million people have voted their ideas for public transport, plantations, and materials to be used. Though the platform isn’t used for political polls, the success is a considerable achievement to develop blockchain for voting a full-fledged manner.

Identity

Almost all the governments around the globe have some unique identification numbers for their citizens. Social security numbers for Americans and Aadhar numbers for Indians are some examples. These identification numbers contain the most sensitive information of the citizens of a country like tax returns, income details, retina scans, fingerprints, and so much more.

If these details are hacked somehow, it would be a massive setback for the governments as it is a concern of people’s security. Hence, it is essential to safeguard such information in blockchain so that every view by different authorities can be permissioned and stored using transactions.

These are some of the use cases in government institutions where blockchain will be beneficial to enhance the efficiency and working of the government.

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Crypto Guides

How Different Is Permissioned Blockchain From Permissionless Blockchain?

Introduction

Blockchain has created ripples throughout many industries. Its security futures are ever essential now with increasing data due to IoT. Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning are used to analyze the data generated to find different patterns as per the requirement. Blockchain is essential to secure the data or transfer the data securely.

Different industries are trying to implement the blockchain technology to improve their business. Hence, it is essential to design the platform in terms of their requirement. To facilitate the same, we have different types of blockchain platforms available. They are as follows:

  1. Permissioned blockchain or Private blockchain
  2. Permissionless blockchain or Public blockchain.
  3. Hybrid blockchain.

Permissionless Blockchain

Cryptocurrency platforms are classic examples of permissionless blockchain platforms. As the name suggests, it is a public blockchain. Anyone can join the network to perform different activities in the network, like users, miners, developers, or community members. Since the network is transparent, anyone can have a look at the transactions getting confirmed in the network.

🔓 Permissionless blockchain networks follow all the underlying principles of a real blockchain network. These networks are genuinely decentralized.

🔓 Authorities cannot shut down the network as no single entity controls the network. People, regardless of nation, location can join the network from anywhere.

🔓 Mostly all public blockchains are linked to a token with some intrinsic value. Based on the network-specific number of coins are mined at the beginning itself, or new coins are mined after every block is confirmed.

🔓 Miners are rewarded with these tokens to keep running the network smoothly.

🔓 Bitcoin is an example of a permissionless blockchain network.

Permissioned Blockchain

Enterprise blockchains are an excellent example of permissioned or private blockchains. Permissions should be given for different entities to join the network.

🔐 Everyone should have valid credentials to join the network.

🔐 These networks are not genuinely decentralized as these networks are created for the purposes of enterprises.

🔐 Not all the members of the network can see the transactions unless they have appropriate permissions.

🔐 Different Hyperledger platforms developed for different enterprise use cases are good examples of permissioned blockchain networks.

🔐 These blockchains are often not associated with tokens as enterprises run these.

Consortium Blockchains

Consortium blockchains are nothing but private blockchains but run by different entities together. Blockchain, being niche technology, different companies, even rivals, are coming together as a consortium to develop the technology.

R3 Corda is one such example in the financial place formed to create the technology for Fintech purposes.

Hybrid Blockchain

Hybrid blockchains offer the functionalities of private and public blockchains together at the same time. The entities involved can choose which data should be open or closed, depending on their functionality. The users need not forgo one feature completely to utilize the other functionality.

🔐🔓 Interoperability is very much possible, enabling to form multichain because of the hybrid nature of the platform.

🔐🔓 Dragonchain is an excellent example of Hybrid blockchains.

These are different types of blockchains available as of now, enabling the adoption of various industries as per their requirement.