Author: Ben Chan

THORChain ($RUNE) information and guide
Among the growing list of emerging decentralized exchanges lies THORChain and their RUNE token. The Company is one of many decentralized finance (DeFi) options in a field that is creating much buzz within the industry. The decentralised liquidity network, whose successful seed funding was completed last year, is one that should not be missed by those who are looking into this field. After a successful mainnet launch, the cross blockchain answer to Uniswap was made official in the first part of this year. As such we have compiled a complete guide to EVERYTHING you wanted to know about THORChain, answering questions like ‘What is THORchain?’, ‘Who Uses THORChain’ and other important topics.

What is THORChain?

First imagined in 2018, THORChain offers a wide range of services on its decentralized permissionless network. It allows for swapping of assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as providing continuous liquidity pools for users. The platform uses a cross chain and can be used on any blockchain/with any asset, unlike other decentralized exchanges.

Their development paper outlines the core conception of THORChain, saying: “THORChain is a liquidity protocol designed to connect all blockchain assets in a marketplace of liquidity through cross-chain bridges and continuous liquidity pools secured by economically incentivised validators.”

THORChain’s consensus is Proof-of-Stake and built on Tendermint, with network validators required to bond (lock up) their native token, $RUNE. Validators are punished for bad behaviour by having their stake slashed, which in turn disincentivises such actions.The network’s data is calculated and overseen using Midguard API service and is secured and bonded by ThornNode, which also powers the network. The nodes make vaults and validate the transactions on the site.

Who uses THORChain?

Users

These are the main participants and they usually use the cross chain services between the pools with them paying a slip fee. The fee is paid due to gas fees on external services and for fast execution. However, swapping is non custodial and unrestricted on different chains.

Liquidity providers

These are secondary participants who add liquidity to the various pools which is then bound with RUNE in a separate vault. Using the continuous liquidity pool means the network does not need oracles or have a price feed. Liquidity rewards are earned through fees generated from pools and are paid out when users withdraw. As the THORChain website explained, “liquidity is provided by stakers who earn fees on swaps, turning their unproductive assets into productive assets in a non-custodial manner. Market prices are maintained through the ratio of assets in pools which can be arbitraged by traders to restore correct market prices.”

Nodes explained

Nodes are the basis for THORChain’s services. They have three main functions, these are: to Bond RUNE, create vaults (which are like wallets) and witness transactions/produce blocks. They are all run by node administrators who are also rewarded for their work through bond rewards. For a full breakdown of node operators, please click here.

In terms of THORChain, as previously mentioned, nodes earn two-thirds of the System Income and they make vaults and validate the transactions on the site. Nodes are anonymous, with plausible deniability on all transactions. The nodes are created every three days and compete to enter with bonded capital. The oldest nodes are churned out and replaced when necessary. This allows the nodes to stay fresh and keeps the network constantly updating itself.

RUNE token: what is it?

Another integral part of the system and the nodes that run it is THORChain’s native token, RUNE. Available through Binance Chain, the token is a BEP2 token.The RUNE token is used in all liquidity pools and is bonded by nodes. All RUNE tokens are at a 1:1 ratio to asset value and this allows for pools to be linked. RUNE is also the rewards for pools, with the equivalent of 1/3rd of the System Income providing continuous liquidity incentives.

Alongside providing on chain liquidity, RUNE is also an important part of the THORChain security. This is because it protects against malicious actors by offering them a larger benefit for liquidating then they would receive from corrupting the system, as nodes earn 2/3rds of the System Income. Thus all transactions using RUNE on the system have double the amount at a 67% to 33% ratio. The other third is for liquidity providers. Not only that, but in terms of security nodes are also closed when malicious activity is detected.

RUNE has a total supply of 500 million tokens. Of which 100 million will be sold to the public in 3 stages, 150 million has already been allocated throughout the team, community and operational reserves, and the remaining 220 million is saved for the emissions reserve.

How to earn RUNE?

RuneVault: Liquidators and users of RUNE can have access to the RUNEVault feature which allows you to store and stake the token, with returns on investment. Using a Binance Chain Feature, users can “freeze” their tokens even if they have staked them meaning that the currency is always in the wallet. Earnings are based on weekly RUNE staked, but this weekly taking is reset should you withdraw any amount.

Rewards

THORChain offers rewards for all participants on the network. The rewards are paid out through the distribution of system income. This is worked out by Swap fees plus Block rewards. Swap fees are paid by users when swapping assets and Block rewards are worked out on an emission schedule. As mentioned previously, the system income is paid 67% to the nodes and 33% to the liquidator. However, this ratio is officially worked out by the incentive pendulum.

Governance on THORChain

THORChain attempts to have a minimal governance model. Instead staked capital is the main driver of the market and developers respond accordingly. New assets are easily listed and this means there are rarely many governmental decisions to undertake and it is truly decentralized in many ways.

Who is the team behind THORChain?

The team behind THORChain is purposefully pseudoanonymous. According to their website, “figureheads, personalities and founders undermine a project’s ability to decentralise,” and that, “transparency is demonstrated in other facets (treasury, code, research)”. That being said, there are 10 employees listed on LinkedIn and 12 team members listed with 6 additional advisors on ICOBench.

What sets THORChain apart? What are its benefits?

THORChain takes a little while to understand the basics and the nodes that run the network. However, once you get the hang of the exchange then THORChain has a number of benefits.

The main benefit is that with their cross chain feature, any asset can be swapped and a pool created around it. That gives users a huge amount of variety and does not hem them in unlike other decentralized exchange options do. This opens a whole new world of possibilities for DeFi users and one that should be applauded.

Conclusion

For those who are fans of Uniswap, then this decentralized option could be a great alternative. Yet, as Balancer has shown with their recent security scare, the often precarious nature of DeFi security does cause concern. Perhaps though, THORChain with their incentivized payments negates this risk. However, until more is known about the site and they are around for longer it will be hard to make a final judgement.

Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more

With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces

The DeFi series on this website also covers topics not explored on YouTube. For an introduction on what is DeFi, check out Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Overview: A guide to the HOTTEST trend in cryptocurrency

Tutorials and guides for the ESSENTIAL DEFI TOOLS:
More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
July 22, 2020
China’s Cosmos and ChainLink Plan
China has asked for guidance from the teams behind Cosmos and ChainLink for their Blockchain Service Network (BSN), it was revealed last month. Researchers have called upon both companies to aid their development of the BSN, which was launched alongside their Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) in April 2020, to help them build out a “service hub” which would form the bedrock of its “internet of blockchains.”

Learn more about ChainLink ($LINK).

SmartContract and Iris Foundation join BSN Development

According to reports, SmartContract, the group behind the Chainlink oracle network, will aid the BSN team in the sourcing of reliable information. Their Dapp services, potentially on Hyperledger, could allow for a cohesive and more streamline to access information.

Yifan He, BSN expert and CEO of Beijing Red Date Technology, spoke on the ChainLink addition, saying the partnership between the two, will give access to outside data from many Chinese companies, such as financial transaction information from China Union Pay, something difficult to obtain and analyze in the first place. This would then allow for BSN users to access “outside data such as stock prices and financial transactions.”

On the other hand, Iris Foundation Ltd., the company who uses the Cosmos network to integrate businesses using interchain services, will work on interoperability for the network. He described their addition as allowing for “cross-chain services between blockchains adapted in the network.”

Both companies appear to know what the State Information Center and China Mobile/China Union Pay backed BSN needs in their attempts to create a worldwide blockchain infrastructure.

And it seems they have a good chance of pulling it off as the government backing allows greater alliances and interconnectivity between the important players. One of these players and a team that looks integral to the future research is ChainLink.

ChainLink suits BSN

The chance to be part of a huge project was something ChainLink’s co founder and SmartContract CEO Sergey Nazarov, couldn’t miss. Explaining how the BSN might use his company, the co-founder said: “Chainlink provides the blockchain abstraction layer or secure blockchain middleware that enable dapp developers to create universally connected smart contracts.”

Google, through its Google Cloud uses ChainLink for a similar function as he BSN, Nazarov explained. “What BSN really cares about, much like the people we’ve worked with from Google, is this type of contract that allows blockchains to access external off-chain data,” Nazarov stated.

The need is made even greater as blockchain can’t be directly applied to application programming interfaces (APIs) and only universally connected smart contracts can create the connection and allow for off chain data.

This use case is especially needed, Nazarov claimed, for global financial product or insurance, as the contracts must have external data and ensure goods and services are delivered, which needs the universally connected contracts.

The usage of ChainLink and their services are set to continue as Nazarov told CoinDesk, “Chainlink’s technology suits BSN’s vision because the network includes multiple chains that are also supported by (his) team.”

BSN starts to build for future

Since its launch in April, the BSN has been announcing a number of partnerships with experts in the blockchain field. For example, around the initial launch the research team confirmed the plans to adapt Ethereum and EOS public blockchains into the BSN system.

A target area has been cross chain services with Polkadot one of a number of companies earmarked for positions on the interchain service. “We plan to have at least four different interchain service technical frameworks developers can choose from in the hub,” He said.

“The interchain service hub is one of the three critical parts for the national blockchain infrastructure”, He continued adding that enterprise and public blockchains into the network were the other key fields.

Despite not being finalised, the network is already proving popular. ”We have been on-boarding two to three public chains every month on average, while adapting consortium chains at a slower pace since it usually takes longer to integrate them with the network,” He claimed.

However, not all blockchain developers are pleased with the creation of the network, with some developers worried about their data being stolen as well as other privacy concerns. The BSN looked to quell the fears in their recent technical white paper, but there is cause for concern considering the nations stringent Internet laws.

Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more

With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces

The DeFi series on this website also covers topics not explored on YouTube. For an introduction on what is DeFi, check out Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Overview: A guide to the HOTTEST trend in cryptocurrency

Tutorials and guides for the ESSENTIAL DEFI TOOLS:
More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
July 18, 2020

Coinbase Fees- How to avoid them

Coinbase, like most exchanges charges withdrawal fees. However there is a neat trick allows you to avoid withdrawal fees. Coinbase is the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the US and UK due to the ability to directly purchase cryptocurrencies with fiat, as well as being one of the few exchanges that allow US citizens to trade. Many not only use Coinbase to buy cryptocurrencies, but also to store their cryptocurrencies. So with frequent usage of the Exchange, withdrawal fees can certainly add up. (https://atelierdetroupe.com/) Here are some top tips and hacks to avoid or reduce Coinbase Fees.

To find out more about the best Cryptocurrency Exchanges in our Guide.

Reduce Coinbase Fees when sending Bitcoin

Coinbase and Coinbase Pro (previously known as GDAX are two of the more popular platforms around the world where people can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies. Coinbase and Coinbase Pro currently operate in the US, Europe, UK, Canada, Australia, and Singapore. Users can trade cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.

Name:
Binance

Ease of use:
4.9 Star Rating

Fees:
4.5 Star Rating

Rating:
4.5 Star Rating

Full Review:
HERE

Name:
Coinbase

Ease of use:
4.6 Star Rating

Fees:
3 Star Rating

Rating:
3.5 Star Rating

Full Review:
HERE

Name:
Bybit

Ease of use:
4.8 Star Rating

Fees:
4.4 Star Rating

Rating:
4.5 Star Rating

Full Review:
HERE

Name:
Phemex

Ease of use:
4 Star Rating

Fees:
4 Star Rating

Rating:
4.3 Star Rating

Full Review:
HERE

Name:
OKX

Ease of use:
4.2 Star Rating

Fees:
4.1 Star Rating

Rating:
4.4 Star Rating

Full Review:

HERE

Coinbase vs Coinbase Pro: What are the differences?

Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are actually two separate but related products. Coinbase was launched first in 2012 and aimed to provide a user friendly platform for people with no experience to buy and sell bitcoin through bank transfers. In 2015, with the growing interest and popularity in cryptocurrencies, the Company expanded to create Coinbase Exchange- a US based Bitcoin exchange to allow for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading. Because Coinbase Exchange was beyond the original scope for their more “casual” users, they decided to rebrand it to GDAX – Global Digital Asset Exchange (which is now known as Coinbase Pro).

Coinbase – a place where customers can buy, sell, send, receive and store your cryptocurrencies.

Coinbase Pro (formerly GDAX or Coinbase Exchange) – an exchange for professional traders. Aside from having the same functions as Coinbase, Coinbase pro also allows users to do the following:

Trade between different cryptocurrencies;
place market, limit and stop orders; and
have more detailed trading charts to analyse short term trends (e.g. order book, volume etc).

Most importantly, Coinbase Pro has lower fees and in some limited transactions, zero fees.

What are the fees on Coinbase and Coinbase Pro?

Coinbase buy/sell transaction fees

Coinbase has the most expensive fees compared to other what we consider as Tier 1 Cryptocurrency Exchanges. Coinbase charges a 0.50% fee for cryptocurrency purchases and sales. On top of this, Coinbase also charges a Coinbase Fee. The Coinbase Fee is the greater of (1) a flat fee depending on order size; (2) a variable percentage depending on your region and payment type.

Here are the flat fees charged by Coinbase:

Total Transaction Amount	Transaction Fee (USD, EUR, GBP)
Less than $10	$0.99, €0,99, £0,99
More than $10, Less than $25	$1.49, €1,49, £1,49
More than $25, Less than $50	$1.99, €1,99, £1,99
More than $50, Less than $200	$2.99, €2,99, £2,99

Flat fee

Below is the variable percentage for users in the US. Check here for the variable percentages for other countries.

Here’s an illustration of how to calculate your buy/sell transaction fee. For example, I’m in the United States and want to purchase USD $20 worth of Bitcoin using my debit card. My flat fee would be USD$1.49 because total transaction amount more than USD$10 but less than USD$25. Whilst the variable percentage would be 3.99% because I am paying with debit card. In this case, Coinbase would charge me USD1.49 because the flat fee is higher than the variable percentage.

Coinbase crypto to crypto conversion fees

For crypto to crypto conversions e.g. USDC to BTC, or BTC to ETH, Coinbase charges a spread margin of up to 2%. The exact margin would depend on the market fluctuations at the time.

Coinbase Pro trading fees

Coinbase Pro on the other hand operates on a maker-taker fee model. You would be considered a “taker” if you place an order at the market price, and this order is filled immediately. On the other hand, you are a “maker” if the order you placed is not immediately matched by an existing order. In the case where only part of your order is matched immediately, you would pay the taker fee for that portion only. You would then pay the maker fee for the remainder of the total order when it is matched.

Coinbase Pro’s fees are charged as a percentage of the transaction in question. As to the percentage, it would depend on the total amount traded by users in 1 month as follows:

Based on the above, for small volume users, e.g. those that trade less than USD$10,000 a month, their fees would be 0.50% of each transaction.

Of course, one possible method to reduce trading fees is to work towards a higher tier by increasing your monthly trade volume. For example, if more than $10,000 USD is traded in a month, the Maker and Taker fees drop to 0.35%, this means 15% a reduction on trading fees.

Coinbase hack: use Coinbase Pro (GDAX) to avoid withdrawal fees from Coinbase

Coinbase withdrawal fees can be very high. When users withdraw their coins off the Coinbase platform, Coinbase will charge users a fee based on their estimation of the network transaction fees they anticipate they will pay. Coinbase has stated that in some circumstances, the fee that Coinbase pays may be different from the estimate. So there is a possibility that the estimated fee that users have to pay are HIGHER than the network transaction fee actually paid by Coinbase.

However, there may be a way to avoid Coinbase withdrawal fees. According to Coinbase, they do not charge for transferring cryptocurrency from one Coinbase wallet to another. Since Coinbase and Coinbase Pro (GDAX) are owned by the same company, sending your funds from Coinbase to Coinbase Pro would be instant and free since it is a transfer from one Coinbase wallet to another.

Coinbase Pro offers FREE withdrawal fees for Digital Assets like Bitcoin

The key here is that Coinbase Pro does not charge any withdrawal fees. You can then send your cryptocurrencies from Coinbase Pro to any other wallet outside of the Coinbase platform without paying any network transfer fees.

Withdraw in another cryptocurrency

Bitcoin has the most expensive transfer fees on Coinbase. One way to reduce transfer fees is to exchange Bitcoin to another cryptocurrency such as Litecoin or Bitcoin Cash. These coins will be cheaper to transfer, and could be exchanged back to Bitcoin once the transfer is complete on the receiving exchange.

Use another Exchange

If Coinbase fees are too expensive for you, you can always use another exchange such as Binance or FTX Exchange. These exchanges offer more competitive withdraw rates and also have more types of cryptocurrency options. To find out more about the best Cryptocurrency Exchanges in our Guide.

Is Coinbase expensive to use?

Coinbase fees are in line with other cryptocurrency exchanges, with $2.99 being charged for transactions between $50-200 dollars. However for larger transactions, Coinbase charges a variable percentage fee of 1.49%. For anything over $10,000 USD, we recommend using Over The Counter (OTC) trading desks which are better at handling large volumes with more flexible rates. Here’s a list of the top 5 OTC desks.

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

June 14, 2020

Boogle Review: Blockchain Blunder or Genius Search Engine?

Tongue in cheek reference or Shameless Knock-off, Boogle’s landing page looks awfully familiar

Boogle is a blockchain powered search engine that plays a cheeky tongue-in-cheek to it’s primary competitor, “Google”. The name Boogle is a combination of the words “Blockchain” and “Google“. Currently the search engine is focused on Asian markets as the company is established in Singapore.

The Singapore based company, Boogle Group Limited is adding security and privacy by default to all searches. This is a direct response to Google’s failure to address privacy issues, where data breaches in the past has lead to broken consumer confidence. The search engine is also making a firm stance on net neutrality – preventing big companies from monopolizing search results. In addition, users are rewarded for using searching via the Boogle Token ($BOO).

Will Blockchain improve search results?

“Boogle seeks to create a search engine built on a decentralized platform like blockchain which is secure, network-neutral and free from monopoly by any Internet organization”
Patrick Lee, CEO of Boogle

The key selling point of Boogle is that it uses blockchain technology to improve search results and reward users on the platform. Users can sign up to the platform by generating a private key (giving complete access to their account and funds). Users are then rewarded with BOO tokens, a valuable cryptocurrency as a reward for using the service.

Boogle Account creation process

Reward for simply searching?

We tried out the Boogle rewards program and during our one week of usage, we were rewarded 0.82 BOO (roughtly $0.064 USD, as of 24th October 2019). Admittedly this isn’t a huge reward. We’ll observe the platform over time as the search engine matures and gains advertisers (a key part of their revenue model).

Boogle’s BOO token reward system

Can Boogle win over an over-crowded Space

Internet search is a trillion dollar business, with major competitors like Google, Baidu, Bing and Duck Duck Go. In recent years, Microsoft has also employed an incentive drive promotion strategy via “Bing / Microsoft Rewards” with a luke warm reception. In order to succeed in the search industry, Boogle must be able to prove that it can deliver the results that people want.

Can Boogle deliver Results?

Will you sacrifice Better results for blockchain Rewards?
Benson Chan, Author

Doing a full scientific study of search engine results is difficult, as the search behavior of each user is different. We asked our contributors to do their daily search on both Google and Boogle and tabulated the results over a week. Here are our findings:

Boogle Google
Relevant Material Found 84% 96%

Surprisingly searching “Boogle” gave some interesting results

We found that Boogle only gave a 84% successful search result over our 1 week test, whilst Google scored higher at 96%. This means Google is still king for research and search relevancy. We’ll be interested to see how this compares over time as Boogle gains more search data and user behavior.

Verdict

Boogle Review Score: 3.8/5

We give Boogle a 3.8/5 as our final rating for the search engine platform. We like the privacy options and VPN feature, this greatly improves user privacy by removing tracking. The idea of giving a cryptocurrency to reward active users to be novel, but the amount given isn’t substantial. We hope search relevance improves over time as the platform garners more users.

October 24, 2019
Stellar Lumens (XLM) in a Nutshell
Stellar is a platform that connects banks, payments systems, and people. Lauched in 2014, Stellar uses blockchain technology to allow for quick currency exchange and money transfer. Stellar was originally based on Ripple Lab’s protocol, but due to key philosophical differences Stellar eventually rewrote the code entirely. It is built on a semi-decentralized consensus platform and is designed to support any type of currency such as the US dollar, RMB or Yen. Stellar platform’s native currency is the Stellar Lumens (XLM).

Stellar Lumens (XLM) can be traded on Binance Exchange.

Features and Specifications
- Transaction speed: 3-5 second confirmation time
- Total Supply: 100B XLM created initially
- Supports thousands of transactions per second
- Uses Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) rather than Proof of Work
- Simple, clean API
- Multisig and smart contracts
- Decentralized distributed database
- 1% fixed annual inflation
How fast is Stellar?

Stellar XLM Logo

The Stellar network can confirm transactions within 3-5 seconds with a transaction cost of less than $0.00001. This makes the network ideal for mass consumer adoption and cross border transactions. The network itself can support more than 1000+ transactions per second.

How Does Stellar Lumens work?

Decentralized network

A decentralized network consists of peers that can run independently of each other. This means that the Stellar network does not depend on any single entity. The idea is to have as many independent servers participate in the Stellar network as possible, so that the network will still run successfully even if some servers fail.

Ledger

Like a traditional ledger, the Stellar ledger records a list of all the balances and transactions belonging to every single account on the network. A complete copy of the global Stellar ledger is hosted on each server that runs the Stellar software. Any entity can run a Stellar server.

These servers form a decentralized Stellar network, allowing the ledger to be distributed as widely as possible. The servers sync and validate the ledger by a mechanism known as consensus.

Consensus

Stellar uses the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) rather than Proof of Work. The Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) is a protocol that achieves optimal safety against ill-behaved participants. Basically, it aims to be more secure and offer better protection against malicious parties.

The Stellar servers communicate and sync with each other to ensure that transactions are valid and get applied successfully to the global ledger.

For example, if you want to send $5 to a friend on the network, a list of trusted servers will begin a process to agree on the validity of your $5 payment to your friend. The majority of these servers will have to agree that you do in fact own $5 worth of credit on the network before they will mark the transaction as valid.

This entire process of coming to consensus on the Stellar network occurs approximately every 2-5 seconds.

Anchors, trust, and credit

Anchors are simply entities that people trust to hold their deposits and issue credits into the Stellar network for those deposits. They act as a bridge between different currencies and the Stellar network. All money transactions in the Stellar network (except the native digital currency of lumens) occur in the form of credit issued by anchors.

Anchors do two simple things:
1. They take your deposit and issue the corresponding credit to your account address on the Stellar ledger. You can make a withdrawal by bringing them credit they issued.
2. You have to trust the anchor to honor your deposits and withdrawals of credit it has issued.
Anchors exist in the pre-stellar world now. For example, to use Paypal, you deposit money in from your bank account. Paypal then gives you credit in your Paypal account. You can now send that Paypal credit to anyone that trusts Paypal (anyone with a Paypal account). Someone that received your Paypal credit can convert it to real money using Paypal by withdrawing it to the bank.

Anchors perform the same function in Stellar. The difference is, all the “Paypals” and other anchors are operating on the same network so they can all transact with each other now – this makes the system way more powerful. People can now easily send and exchange all these different anchor credits with each other.

Distributed Exchange

The Stellar ledger is able to store offers that people have made to buy or sell currencies. Offers are public commitments to exchange one type of credit for another at a pre-determined rate. The ledger becomes a global marketplace for offers.

All these offers form what is called an orderbook. There is an orderbook for each currency/issuer pair. So if you are wanting to exchange Virgin Bank/EUR for bitstamp/BTC you look at that particular order book in the ledger to see what people are buying and selling it for.

This allows people to not only buy and sell currencies in a foreign exchange like manner but also to convert currencies seamlessly during transactions.

Stellar Lumens Partnerships

Stellar key aim is to help to poor and the unbanked. In 2017, IBM announced a partnership with Stellar protocol to develop a cross-border blockchain-based payment system for large banks. This would greatly improve the efficiency of cross border transactions, especially for countries in Southeast Asia where remittance costs matter and many domestic helpers cannot afford to send money back home. Currently the program works with 47 currencies and in 72 countries.

Stellar Lumens (XLM) Currency

Lumens is the name given to the token of the Stellar network. They were originally called stellars back when the Stellar network launched in 2014, but with the launch of the upgraded network in 2015, the name of the token changed from stellar to lumen.

The Stellar network’s built-in currency, the lumen, serves two purposes:
1. Acts as a small anti-spam role
  - Each transaction has a minor fee—0.00001 lumens—associated with it. This fee prevents users with malicious intentions from flooding the network (otherwise known as a DoS attack). Lumens work as a security token, mitigating DoS attacks that attempt to generate large numbers of transactions or consume large amounts of space in the ledger.
  - Similarly, the Stellar network requires all accounts to hold a minimum balance of 20 lumens. This requirement ensures that accounts are authentic, which helps the network maintain a seamless flow of transactions.
2. May facilitate multi-currency transactions
  - XLM sometimes facilitate trades between pairs of currencies between which there is not a large direct market, acting as a bridge. This function is possible when there is a liquid market between the lumen and each currency involved.
Stellar Lumen token metrics

At the genesis of the Stellar Network, 100 billion lumens (XLM) were created as specified in the protocol. As part of its custodial mandate, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is entrusted to oversee that the vast majority, 95 billion, of the lumens are distributed to the world.
- 50% to be given in small increments to as many people as possible.
- 25% to be given to other businesses and non-profits to reach people that stellar.org wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach through the Direct Signup program.
- 20% to be given to bitcoin and XRP holders
- 5% to be retained by Stellar.org for operations.
The Stellar network has a built-in, fixed inflation mechanism. New lumens are added to the network at the rate of 1% each year. The network also collects a base fee for each operation in a transaction. The funds from base fees are added to the inflation pool.

As a balancing measure for the ecosystem, anyone who holds lumens can vote on where the funds in this pool go. Each week, the protocol distributes these lumens to any account that gets over .05% of the votes from other accounts on the network.

How to mine Stellar (XLM)

One question that is frequently asked is how to mine Stellar (XLM). Stellar cannot be mined in a process similar to Bitcoin because it doesn’t use Proof-of-Work. Instead Stellar relies on re-established nodes that confirm transactions via a voting system. Block rewards are given to Stellar Nodes at a 1% inflation rate per year. You can buy or sell Stellar (XLM) on the Binance Exchange.

Resources:

Stellar website https://www.stellar.org/

SCP whitepaper https://www.stellar.org/papers/stellar-consensus-protocol.pdf

Blog https://www.stellar.org/blog/
September 17, 2019
What is Ripple and XRP

Ripple – Ripple Transaction Protocol is a real-time settlement system designed to be used by banks for currency exchange, remittance and gross settlement. The idea is to replace age old systems like SWIFT – which was developed in 1972 and used by most banks today. The Ripple protocol offers significant advantages in both speed of transfer and transfer tracking. Ripple uses distributed ledger technology, similar to Bitcoin. When compared with Bitcoin, it is faster and cheaper to send on the ripple network. However, there is one significant trade-off which is its lack of decentralization. The Ripple network is closed off and cannot be joined by any user – meaning there is a significant amount of centralization.

xCurrent Settlement between banks

XRP – The cryptocurrency XRP is commonly confused with the Ripple Protocol (also named Ripple) issued Ripple Labs. The XRP is an issued token that uses the Ripple network – it can be sent extremely quickly and with low fees. However, it should be noted that the XRP is not required for the network to work nor is it required for banks to use it if they choose to adopt Ripple. In fact, the xCurrent communication between banks do not use XRP.

Ripple Currency (XRP) vs the Ripple Protocol

So lets start off with one confusing factors. So I must make a distinction between Ripple the transaction protocol (which is used between banks and other businesses) and the ripple issued currency, XRP. When you see Ripple making gains its actually the XRP, the currency that is issued by Ripple. And this is actually quite different from the network protocol or Ripple protocol. Both share the same name and I’m sure this has definitely confused a lot of investors.

https://youtu.be/Y1GshH0F9Ic

Ripple Protocol

So lets start off with the transaction network known as Ripple. So the Ripple protocol is based on technology that’s similar to blockchain but not completely the same. It doesn’t require any mining and its based on a consensus network instead of being consumer-facing which is what Bitcoin is. Basically, it’s for the everyday person.

Ripple is exclusively used by big institutions such as banks. The whole idea of Ripple is to allow banks to transfer any sort of asset, be it currency, USD, Euro, gold, or any other asset such as airmiles. You can transfer that between other institutions near instantaneously. This rivals systems such as swift. So if you ever bought Bitcoin with bank transfer you will know how painful that is. You have to contact your bank and send the transaction to a swift bank code account and this might take up to two to three days and theres a lot of transaction fees involved for both the sender and the receiver. Ripple is set to revolutionise this by providing near instantaneous, sub-second transactions for institutions such as banks. It’s already been adopted by quite a few big banks and

XRP – Currency of the Ripple Network (xRapid)

So now that I explained what is the Ripple transaction protocol, let’s move on to Ripple XRP. XRP is actually issued by Ripple Labs and is a form of cryptocurrency that can be traded and it’s not “mined”. So there is a finite number of ripples and that amount is actually issued by the company behind Ripple called Ripple Labs.

XRP by itself has no underlying related assets or values eg. Its not tied to USD or gold. Rather, it can be used to act as an intermediate currency in institutions. It has one huge advantage in that transaction costs are very, very low (unlike Bitcoin, which is now reaching 1.5 usd in transaction fees).

xCurrent doesn’t use XRP

Ripple Labs have developed two different technologies aimed at solving the transfer of value between nations. Xcurrent is an enterprise technology aimed at banks that allow instantaneous transfer of value. This technology does not use the XRP currency, rather it is ledger for value transfer in the currency of the bank’s choosing.

Is the XRP Centralized

XRP transactions can be confirmed very quickly because of the small number of validator nodes on the network. The XRP network is not open consensus, so only a small number of validators (~30 validators) need to communicate a transaction before it is considered “confirmed”. Proponents of XRP praise it for sub 1 second confirmation times whilst opponents point to the centralized architecture and lack of censorship-resistance. XRP transactions can be reversed and accounts can be frozen – similar to how traditional bank accounts my be frozen.

Concerns about Ripple

So moving on, XRP is currently only issued out at less than 40% of its total. The remaining amount (minus the 20% retained by the creators of Ripple) is held by Ripple Labs to distribute whenever and however they so wish. This is actually kind of interesting because unlike a lot of decentralized currencies, Ripple Labs plays a huge part in distributing XRP. Ripple Labs is actually a company and this is very different from Bitcoin, where Bitcoin is fully decentralized and doesn’t have a central controlling authority. Ripple Labs is registered in many countries and it could be sued and held under police custody. This is again very different from other technologies.

So that’s a little information regarding the Ripple protocol and XRP. I’m sure this may be a little bit confusing for some people and since the technology and the currency share the same name it could be misunderstood. I hope this clarifies a little for you about what Ripple protocol is and what XRP is.

You can buy Ripple (XRP) on Binance – https://www.binance.com/

September 16, 2019
Cryptocurrency 101 – the Basics
One way to describe cryptocurrency is that it is simply a digital cash system without a central entity. To realize digital cash you need a payment system with accounts, balances, and transactions. One major problem payment networks have to prevent is double spending: to prevent that one individual who spends the same amount twice. This is usually done by a central authority or body who keeps a record about the balances.

In a decentralized system, there is no one person that is responsible for this. Every single part of the network has to fulfill this function. Every part needs to have a list with all transactions to check if future transactions are valid.

Cryptocurrency and the blockchain

Cryptocurrencies are also simply just limited entries in a database no one can change without fulfilling specific conditions. If you think about it, that can also be used to describe our current monetary system. Money in your bank account is basically entries in a database that can only be changed under specific conditions.

Confirmation of transactions is a critical concept in cryptocurrencies. As long as something is unconfirmed, it leaves it open to forgery or falsification. When a transaction is recorded onto the blockchain, it can no longer be changed and it can’t be reversed.

Peers in the network, or as they have come to be known, miners, can confirm transactions. They take transactions, stamp them as legit and spread them in the network. After a transaction is confirmed by a miner, every node has to add it to its database. It has become part of the blockchain.

Cryptocurrency has derived its namesake from the strong cryptography process used to secure its consensus-keeping system. Cryptocurrencies are built on cryptography. They are not secured by people or by trust, but by math.

Properties of Cryptocurrency

Most cryptocurrencies share a common set of properties, but not all rules are set in stone. Some may focus more on privacy, while others boast faster transaction speeds of lower costs. Below are some of the more common characteristics you will find cryptocurrencies.
- Transactions cannot be reversed – when your bitcoins are sent, there’s no getting them back, unless the recipient returns them to you. They’re gone forever. This makes it difficult to commit the kind of fraud that we often see with credit cards, in which people make a purchase and then contact the credit card company to make a chargeback, effectively reversing the transaction.
- Decentralized – there is no central authority controlling it and that means goverments cant take it away from you.
- Low cost – compared to bank transfers or international transfers, the fees are a lot lower.
- Speedy – you can send money anywhere and it will arrive minutes later, as soon as the network processes the payment.
- Secure and transparent – because all the transaction information is stored on the blockchain, people cannot trick or deceive you about what funds they have. Cryptocurrency funds are locked in a public key cryptography system. Only the owner of the private key can send cryptocurrency.
- Pseudonymous – Neither transactions nor accounts are connected to real world identities.While it is usually possible to analyze the transaction flow, it is not necessarily possible to connect the real world identity of users with those addresses.
- Store of value – Most cryptocurrencies have a limit to the supply of tokens that can be mined or created. Because of this controlled supply, there are no risks of inflation unlike fiat currencies where new money can suddenly be printed.
October 13, 2018
Blockchain Security: Hodlers Should Learn More About It

A Blockchain contains digitalized transaction “block” records where each block connects to a series of all the previous and future blocks. Although experts suggest that Blockchains are impenetrable, it does not elude the fact that hackers have found ways to paralyze impregnable walls. Therefore, security concerns continue to invade peoples mind. There exist various companies offering security services such as smart contract, penetration testing, and adequate knowledge regarding Blockchains. Many professionals advice interested parties to do thorough research and learn more about cryptocurrencies before joining the community. You can rely on the numerous training videos on YouTube or attend conferences. People and companies alike also need to understand Blockchain security from all angles.

Security

Individual curiosity is an integral part of understanding Blockchain security. You need a clear perception of who is in charge of your investment security and how third parties play their role. Note that, your CTO is not responsible for personal data protection. His/her area of expertise lies in scientific and technological issues within the organization like code and software development. Entrust your protection to a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) because their task is to provide adequate data and technology security.

Their services cost a fortune but if you cannot afford one, hire a consultant to evaluate your security measures. He/she will pay attention to various areas of interests such as two-factor authentication and cyber-security employee policies. For instance, most hackers illegally penetrate corporate systems via email, instant messages, or promotion/reward links. Their aim usually entails stealing sensitive information like credit card details, passwords, and usernames. In short, everybody who uses the internet to transact is vulnerable to hackers.

Every transaction follows a specific set of agreement for security purposes. Cryptocurrencies adopt smart contracts to control digital currency transfer through blockchain technology. The computer program eliminates the need for third parties because it digitally facilitates and negotiates terms. It is also a significant security protocol whose transactions can be tracked and reversed. Hackers operate using smart strategies like targeting both the top management and employees as well.

Therefore, you should not solely rely on corporate protection especially if your passwords, username, and cell phone numbers are connected to your account or assets. It is extremely risky to expose your data through various devices to multiple platforms. Programmers across the world have developed security management apps like Dashlane to secure your passwords and wallets. Another alternative solution includes adopting a comprehensive multifactor authentication using launch keys. You can also apply the most recent security key development like Titan to verify login details over Bluetooth.

The bottom line is that if you are currently in the cryptocurrency business (individually or as an organization), you are a target and so are your employees. Create different passwords for every account and enhance the verification process. Most importantly, do not trust anyone with your information and that includes private keys, passwords, username, etc. Blockchain agencies should consider training workers and extending useful solutions to hacking issues. The strategy strengthens not only personal security but also the entire corporation. Various costs are usually involved, and therefore, the relevant officers must create a budget to accommodate security changes.

Regulations

According to various sources, most people have yet to understand how cryptocurrencies work and their potential. Even after dominating the world news for a decade, over half the global population is unwilling to take risks. The industry is still young and expanding at best. Its high growth rate has triggered the need for regulations in various countries. Japan is among the first nations to legitimize cryptocurrencies followed by the United States. However, most governments issue notices about investing in the industry.

The warnings pertain to risks involved especially since transacting organizations have no legal responsibilities to their clients. Some reports suggest that the electronic cash system creates a perfect atmosphere for terrorism and money laundering (due to anonymity). As such, several states have expanded laws on various criminal activities to include crypto markets. Others restrict crypto investments while nations like Nepal have banned all crypto activities altogether. In Qatar, citizens cannot operate locally, but they are at liberty to do so beyond the borders.

Cryptocurrencies have also tapped into fundraising using Initial Coins Offering (ICO). However, most states regulate ICOs while others like China have completely banned them. Strict regulations have also discouraged people from investing, but most governments are working towards creating crypto-friendly regulatory systems that will attract investment and offer maximum protection to clients. Luxemburg and Cayman Island are among the nations that hardly view Blockchain technology as a threat. They aim to create their own cryptosystems including Venezuela and Marshall Island.

Taxation, at its best, has yet to categorize cryptocurrencies and all its tax-worth activities. But different countries have adopted various references to regulate Blockchains by taxing them as assets, financial assets, foreign currency, income tax, etc. in the United Kingdom, crypto firms pay corporate tax, individuals pay capital gains tax, and unincorporated agencies pay income tax. The mining of cryptocurrencies is mostly affected by power taxation rules.

The bottom line is that Blockchain security has unlimited options. Cryptocurrency companies can adopt smart contract auditing or hire consultants. (https://casadelninobilingual.com) More so, they should offer cybersecurity training to their staff and regulate internet access. Individuals, on the other hand, can maximize personal data protection through launch keys and two-factor authentication methods. Regulation-wise, governments are responsible in that, they can create crypto-friendly regulatory systems, impose the tax, or ban cryptocurrencies altogether.

September 20, 2018
Ripple and XRP – Revolution or Scam?

manafort.com) temp927.kinsta.cloud/what-is-ripple-and-xrp/”>Ripple has been booming lately as more and more financial institutions have started to use the service for its fast transactions and extremely low fees. As banks seek to move away from the somewhat outdated SWIFT system, the Ripple protocol and it’s token XRP has risen up as a viable alternative. Ripple is also a very controversial coin, with proponents talking about interest from banks and opponents worried about centralization and lack of real world adoption.

Will there be a demand for Ripple and XRP

Previously, there were concerns about the use of the token. In theory, it is possible to use the Ripple payment protocol without the XRP token and people were left to wonder about it’s worth. However, Ripple has recently tweeted that, “3 of the top 5 global money transfer companies plan to use XRP in payment flows in 2018”.

3 of the top 5 global money transfer companies plan to use XRP in payment flows in 2018. Even more in the pipeline. https://t.co/5JOlxe20Ur

— Ripple (@Ripple) January 5, 2018

Furthermore, the CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, has also confirmed that banks and payment providers plan to use xRapid (the XRP liquidity product) in a serious way.

Future outlook for Ripple – serious challenger to bitcoin or scam?

Ripple, currently second in market capitalization, has been continuing on an upward trend. At press time, the altcoin was trading at an average of $3.36. With a market cap of over $131 billion, it is over half that of bitcoin.

One thing to take note of though is the high supply of Ripple. Bitcoin will only ever have at most, 21 million coins in circulation. Ripple currently has over 38 billion XRP issued. If we set the supply of Ripple to 21 million, using its current market cap, each coin would be over $6,200. And looking at it that way might ward off potential investors.

The success of Ripple and other altcoins have led to an all time low for bitcoin dominance at 33.3 percent. With this recent news, will we finally be seeing a challenger to bitcoin for the top of the crypto throne or is just another flash in pan? One thing for certain is that 2018 is sure to bring much more exciting news for crypto.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1GshH0F9Ic

Ripple Total supply vs Circulating Supply

The XRP token was created with a significant portion of it reserved for development of the coin. Unlike mining, these coins can be issued out by the owners (either the founders of ripple or Ripple Labs). This is a large difference between the circulating supply and the total supply as well, with almost 60% of XRP left to be distributed.

If XRP had the same supply as Bitcoin the Price would be walloping $18,953!

January 5, 2018
Crypto Catchup – Christmas edition

With the Christmas holidays over, might we expect new money to pour into the markets? The past week saw a few dips in the market, with bitcoin falling to 11,000 and 13,000 on two separate occasions. The price has rebounded now back to over 16,000.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv9fZcN5i8I

Crypto as a store of value?

One big vision for crypto was it’s use as an alternative currency. It promoted fast and global transactions, as well as the security of cryptography. However, as we draw to the end of 2017, we’ve found that some cryptos, like bitcoin, have taken on a role as a store of value rather than as a currency. The popularity and high demand of bitcoin has caused transaction fees to sky rocket. As a result, using it for daily spending is very cost inefficient as the transaction fees may very well take up a large percentage of the actual purchase.

Nonetheless, it still works very well as a store of value. It’s accessible all around the world, as long as you have an internet connection you can send and receive it. In nations suffering from hyperinflation, like Venezuela, bitcoin can help people retain some of the value of their currency. It sort of functions like a form of digital gold.

Bitcoin God – more forks?

Forks look like they are here to stay. This year saw the coming of Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Diamond just to name a few. And they all had various levels of success.

Another one on the horizon is Bitcoin God, set to fork at block height 501225. Created by chinese developers, they say they will offer POS mining, large block sizes, smart contracts, and zero-knowledge proof. Only time will tell whether they can deliver on these promises, but all this forking business shows now signs of slowing down.

The content here is not financial advice. The above references an opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.

December 27, 2017
Binance Exchange and Token Summary (BNB)
Binance is a crypto-crypto exchange with a focus on the international market and rapid development. Binance has grown tremendously over the past few months, especially with its early adoption over various coins and the large trade volumes for other popular coins. Currently, it supports English and Chinese users and there is a possibility to expand to Korean and Japanese in the future. Binance has recently expanded operations with various regional development teams around the world.

The Binance token (BNB) was created during the ICO event to fund the development of the Binance exchange.

Features of Binance
- High performance – capable of processing 1.4 mil orders/second
- Multi-language support – Chinese, English, Korean, Japanese
- Good support team – Binance support is reachable (rare in crypto space)
- All major coins available – BTC, ETH, LTC, BNB etc.
- Low trading fee – Only 0.1% trading fee
- Early support for Bitcoin Forks – Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Diamond were all listed on Binance
- GAS distribution for NEO – storing NEO on binance yields GAS too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4jle45hMfg&feature=youtu.be

Partnerships with Other Chinese Coins and ICOS:

One of the advisors for Binanace is Da Hong Fei – The founder of NEO. This means that there is a strong partnership between Bianace and NEO. Currently, Bianace is the only exchange that gives NEO GAS for holding NEO on the exchange. The exchange takes a snapshot of the NEO balance on a daily basis and will distribute NEO GAS based on the snap shotted balance.

Interview with the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao

I had the privilege of interviewing the CEO of Binance, ChangPeng Zhao. Binance is taking the cryptocurrenc exchange scene by storm with a massively positive response from both the Chinese and International community.

Binance ICO:

The Binance Exchanged was financed through an ICO that was held on the 14th of July 2017. A total of 15 Million USD dollars were raised during the event. Here are achieves for the Whitepaper and the ICO page.

Binance Token:

Binance tokens were issued to project supporters. The token has 3 major features:
1. Exchange Fees: Binance tokens can be used to reduce fees for trade costs and commissions. Currently, Binance has a 0.1% trade fee and 50% of the fee can be paid in terms of Binance tokens.
2. GAS: Binance will eventually feature advanced features that require GAS. BNB tokens can be used as GAS to power these advanced features.
3. Staking: Binance eventual want to develop a decentralized exchanged. The BNB tokens will eventually be used on this exchange to stake transactions.
Sign up to Binance here: https://www.binance.com/?ref=10192887

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. (Rybelsus) Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
December 5, 2017
Komodo in a Nutshell
Komodo ICO (KMD)

The Komodo ICO ran from Oct-Nov 2016. At the time they raised a total of 2636.37BTC. Komodo is a Zcash fork and so it will have all the same privacy features. However, they are not part of Zcash (ZEC). Their work is built on top of the open-source Zcash project.

What is Komodo

The zerocash protocol allows a higher standard of privacy and anonymity to transactions. It makes it possible to send money online without disclosing receiver and sender information, while at the same time allowing for verification of the transaction’s authenticity. This utilizes a technology called zk-SNARKS.

Komodo is also developing something called delayed proof of work or dPoW. Komodo has two levels of mining and two separate proofs of work (PoW). Only Komodo has to attach itself to the Bitcoin blockchain. Because of this, third party blockchains can use Komodo as an additional security layer. The Komodo blockchain will have the 64 notary nodes. The notary nodes, apart from finding blocks and recording transactions on the Komodo blockchain, take the confirmed blocks on the Komodo blockchain and notarize or engrave them on to the bitcoin blockchain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBTMjFotWS8

Other Applications

Apart from the features listed above, Komodo is also being developed as part of a broader project called SuperNET. SuperNet aims include:
1. assetchains that allow anyone to create their own asset with its own blockchain
2. multiwallet where those assets can be stored, including many coins like Bitcoin and Komodo
3. atomic swaps, so that people can trade their coins from the multiwallet without counterparty risks
4. pegged assets – which are a form of price-stable assets created on the assetchains – these assets solve the problem of price volatility by attaching themselves to the value of stable currencies like EUR or USD.
Resources:

Whitepaper https://komodoplatform.com/whitepaper/

https://steemit.com/komodo/@komodoplatform/a-guide-to-better-understand-komodo
October 9, 2017