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Category: Coin Guide

There are several thousands of cryptocurrencies out there, known also as altcoins. These coins and tokens all have their own unique features and uses, for example, some are used to help decide the direction the creator company should take, others give you discounts or access to special features. The Coin Guide is a concise summary of the aims and technology behind a certain cryptocurrencies. Insight is crucial in this field. Many projects disguise their progress through complicated jargon, making it hard to distinguish those who are building something meaningful from those who are not.

  • SuperFarm ($SUPER): Cross-chain NFT Farming with no code required

    SuperFarm ($SUPER): Cross-chain NFT Farming with no code required

    SuperFarm ($SUPER) is a cross-chain DeFi platform aimed at easing the process of creating non-fungible tokens (NFT) while giving them the capacity to add value to their tokens. It has its own NFT marketplace which creators could benefit from. The protocol is designed to make the user’s whole blockchain journey easier. Finally, SuperFarm is a continuously growing project that could attract more partnerships from several gaming platforms.

    Background

    Elliot Wainman, the creator of EllioTrades and co-founder of Dapp Evolution Games, began his work on SuperFarm with the objective of mass adoption for the Ethereum network. Elliot’s target is to reach over 2.5 billion gamers worldwide who are looking to purchase in-game assets through NFTs.

    SuperFarm’s first fundraising round amounted to a total of $1.1 million, where prominent cryptocurrency and financial firms like Bitcoin.com, GBV Capital, Solidity Ventures, and Spark Digital Capital, and many others participated.

    Before we dive deeper into what SuperFarm does, it is important to understand what NFTs are.

    What are NFTs?

    Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) refer to digital assets that represent almost anything, from works of art or a person’s identity. NFTs cannot be duplicated and they all have distinct metadata.

    They are commonly used to create a blockchain representation of a real world asset so that they can be traded with crypto. Since NFTs are programmable, they can be attached with different characteristics and attributes according to the needs of the creator.

    What is SuperFarm?

    What is SuperFarm? (Source: ‘PART 1: Introducing SuperFarm‘ medium article)

    SuperFarm is a cross-chain DeFi platform for NFT farming without any code required, with the primary aim is of making it easier for anyone to create their own tokens and add value to them through NFT farming. And because it does not have any coding requirement on the part of the business, using the platform lessens the technical complexity of coming up with their own NFT.

    SuperFarm NFT Farming (Source: ‘PART 1: Introducing SuperFarm‘ medium article)

    The way SuperFarm abstracts the process of tokenization is through a series of visual, beginner-friendly tools. They can customize the rules for their tokens, identify their attributes, incentivize a behavior, and more. The SuperFarm platform is easy to use but it does not compromise quality and effectiveness.

    The tokens that can be generated on the platform are ERC20 compliant. They can sell them to any supported marketplace. In fact, users can even set-up their own NFT marketplace through the platform if they want to.

    NFT Farming

    Through the platform, businesses can easily create their own farms and put up their NFTs there. Users can access them to stake on NFTs and earn incentives. There is a minimum requirement of SUPER tokens, however, before anyone is allowed to open up new farms.

    NFT Marketplace

    Users are given access to the NFT store where they can purchase NFTs through the reward points they are given from farming. It also allows users to buy NFTs with supported cryptocurrencies.

    Superverse

    Superverse is the gaming interface for SuperFarm. It is an NFT-based card game that functions on an autobattler setup. Aside from game points, some of the rewards that are available in Superverse include NFT drops from SuperFarm-partnered gaming platforms.

    There is a minimum requirement for SUPER holdings before a user is given access to the Superverse.

    SuperFarm Feature Comparison Chart (Source: ‘PART 1: Introducing SuperFarm‘ medium article)

    Superfarm Native Token – $SUPER

    $SUPER token is SuperFarm’s native utility token. It can be used as a medium of exchange or to pay for governance and transaction fees. SUPER also gives its holders access to products and programs available in SuperFarm’s gaming ecosystem, video game partners, and NFT drops.

    Since the platform seeks to be fully-decentralized in the future, its governance is community-directed. Any decision or proposal to amend or modify the platform has to go through the vote of SUPER holders. Voting power can be determined by the amount of the SUPER tokens you hold. The more you hold in SUPER, the stronger your voting power will be.

    Other purchases you can make in the platform also involves SUPER. It can be used to access some important features of the platform which are only available to holders of SUPER.

    If you want to purchase SUPER, the token is listed on Uniswap. Below are some of the use cases for SUPER.

    SuperFarm $SUPER use cases (Source: ‘PART 1: Introducing SuperFarm‘ medium article)

    Staking

    SUPER can also be staked. Users just have to lock their SUPER in a smart contract so they can earn token rewards for doing so. This reward structure comes from the collection of platform fees which are made in SUPER as well.

    Farming

    SUPER can be staked for NFT rewards too. By participating in the staking for NFTs, users can also receive exclusive NFT rewards from partner farms.

    Users can also set up their own farms on the platform. However, there is a minimum requirement of 100,000 SUPER tokens in order to do so. The purpose of the quota is to make sure that there is a low likelihood for spams, good quality of farms, and to incentivize the purchase of the token.

    NFT Drops

    SUPER holders are also entitled to NFT drop rewards. These are the NFTs available in the Superverse and partnered video games. However, to be a part of the NFT drops, users should be holding the minimum SUPER tokens required.

    SuperFarm NFT Drops (Source: ‘PART 1: Introducing SuperFarm‘ medium article)

    Conclusion

    SuperFarm is an interesting DeFi project. One of the platform’s strengths is that it has already identified who its target market is. If the project takes off successfully and gets more gamers and developers on-board, it is highly likely that it will drive people’s interest in crypto and DeFi significantly. Imagine 2.5 billion gamers jumping onto the crypto train; it will be a huge feat.

    Moreover, SuperFarm is a project that businesses can easily benefit from. If they want to create their own NFTs and market them, SuperFarm’s interface has prepared the platform for them as well. If the project achieves its objectives, it offers a promising outlook for the whole of DeFi. Looking at where it stands today, it is not impossible. The platform is easy-to-use and profitable. It belongs to the DeFi projects we have to look out for.

    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.

  • Radix DLT ($XRD): Taking DeFi to the next level?

    Radix DLT ($XRD): Taking DeFi to the next level?

    Radix DLT is a layer 1 distributed system to power the needs of the decentralised finance (DeFi) ecosystem. As DeFi continued to gain traction, the top blockchain networks supporting the market were already overstretched. As it turns out, scalability appears to be a hard nut to crack and hence projects like Radix DLT are formed.

    The motivation behind the Radix protocol’s creation is to save the $71 billion lost every year caused by unnecessary friction in the conventional financial system and allow those at the lower and higher levels of finance to make ground by powering a strong DeFi ecosystem.

    Check out our video which explains the scaling problems currently faced by Ethereum, and how Radix attempts to solve it.

    Taking DeFi to the NEXT LEVEL ? – Radix DLT Protocol overview

    Background

    The Radix team believes that using distributed ledger technology (DLT) to build a permissionless network will ease the development and accessibility of innovative financial applications. With these applications, we could finally bring down the guarded walls of traditional financial markets.

    Radix team (Image credit: Radix DLT)

    The project was founded by Dan Hughes, who also happens to be its CTO. Hughes’s former work includes the design of T-Mobile’s first mobile internet platform.

    Other team members include the organization’s CEO, Piers Ridyard, as well as CPO, Albert Castellana. The project is being supported by the Radix Foundation.

    What is Radix DLT?

    The team behind Radix DLT defines the project as the “first layer 1 protocol specifically built to serve DeFi.” The protocol seeks to remove the inefficiencies found in open finance (OpFi) both in the current and future settings. Hughes and his team want to achieve this through:

    • Re-engineering the consensus mechanism used in popular blockchain systems.
    • Employing decentralized virtual machines.
    • Activating on-ledger code.
    • Building DeFi-bound components and applications.
    • Incentivizing developers who drive the growth of the new-found financial breakthrough.

    Having its developers at the core of driving growth for innovative financial products, Radix provides its support by building highly-secure smart contracts, fast and interoperable OpFi decentralized applications (dApps), engaging and rewarding a distributed developer community, and guarding DeFi composability when scaling dApps on public blockchains.

    Radix network

    The network is made up of Cerberus (a consensus mechanism), Radix Engine (a development environment), Radix Component Catalog, and developer royalties.

    Cerberus

    At the heart of the protocol is Cerberus, a re-engineered consensus mechanism which uses a sharded Byzantine fault-tolerant (BFT) solution. This approach enables the system to be parallelized across multiple nodes without losing message complexity and responsiveness.

    The sharding concepts allows unlimited network splits or shards. Each shard can represent anything on the platform. By allowing unlimited shards, Cerberus shifts focus from global ordering to partial ordering.

    With global ordering, transactions are stored in a predefined chronological order. Partial ordering, at a very basic level, is the opposite of agreed chronological ordering. However, partial ordering has to differentiate between related and unrelated events or transactions when recording them on the blockchain.

    Using a “braiding” mechanism, Cerberus uses a new BFT-style system to sign interactions between nodes handling different shards before committing transactions.

    Radix Engine

    This is Radix’s specialized application layer that powers the interaction between a smart contract’s code with the actual blockchain. The layer powers the project’s virtual machine (VM), which in turn, powers the partial ordering system.

    Furthermore, the Radix VM handles concurrency to drive DeFi applications further.

    Radix Component Catalog

    In other blockchain systems, a developer’s work becomes an active smart contract after being pushed to the system’s users. For Radix, the component catalog handles apps before being registered as “active” on the platform.

    Radix Network (Image credit: Radix Whitepaper)

    In other words, the catalog contains templates ready for use to create additional active components. The new template-based products are called instantiated components.

    Developer Royalties

    The Radix system uses developer royalties to encourage developers to contribute. However, the project takes a different approach by employing distributed self-incentives such as those found in proof-of-work systems called mining rewards.

    Radix Token ($XRD)

    The platform has a native token, XRD, which is used to pay for transaction fees. Note that these fees are paid to node runners.

    A transaction fee is charged for token creation, messaging, and anything else that requires a change of the ledger state. The fee is burnt upon validation of the operation.

    Furthermore, the platform’s tokens have a controlled unlocking mechanism that spans 365 days. With each unlocking, the Radix Foundation’s amount of XRD reduces while those in the public domain increases.

    E-Radix (eXRD) Token Sale and tokenomics

    Radix Token Sale began on 8th October 2020 and a total of 642mil E-RADIX tokens were available to purchase at $0.039 per token.

    There will be an Initial Supply of 4.41 billion E-RADIX as both locked and unlocked tokens. The following chart shows the proposed distribution of the Initial Supply tokens.

    Radix proposed distribution
    Radix proposed distribution

    The unlocking mechanism for E-RADIX tokens will start on 17th November 2020. Of the Initial Supply of 4.41 billion E-RADIX tokens, 4.2 Billion tokens will be distributed and of which 99% will be locked and 1% unlocked.

    These locked tokens are subject to a price-based unlocking schedule which will allow holders to withdraw the tokens at certain price milestones as follows:

    Radix token unlock schedule
    e-Radix token unlock schedule (Image credit: Radix token sale info page)

    E-RADIX will be available for trading on Uniswap.

    This E-RADIX token is an ERC-20 token. When the RADIX ledger is instantiated, this E-RADIX token will be exchangeable 1:1 for RADIX (XRD) tokens. As mentioned in their key milestones article, the Team are on track for the Radix main net to go live in Q2 2021.

    On the mainnet, Radix will create a further 5.19 billion RADIX tokens which will also follow the same unlocking schedule as the E-RADIX tokens mentioned above.

    How to withdraw your unlocked E-RADIX (eXRD) and RADIX (XRD) tokens

    As mentioned in the previous section, E-RADIX and RADIX tokens are subject to a price-based unlocking schedule. However, to claim these tokens you will need to withdraw them from the unlocking smart contract.

    This involves visiting their Radix tokens unlocking website and connecting the wallet that you used to purchase the E-RADIX tokens. If that wallet address has an allocation of EXRD in the unlocking smart contract, you will see details of your total allocation together with the amount which is unlocked and can be withdrawn. Then all that is required is to click the “withdraw” button and follow the steps to withdraw the eXRD.

    Make sure to check back when an unlocking event occurs because it will mean you can withdraw more tokens!

    For a detailed walkthrough on how to claim your unlocked tokens, click here.

    Staking Radix Token

    With OpFi, staking, yield farming, and liquidity mining are common occurrences. Radix powers this DeFi subset by allowing users to lock their XRD to earn network emissions and be involved in decision making.

    Network emissions are periodically generated tokens that are spread across active staking nodes while considering the amount of staked tokens. Emissions make up for 2.5% of the yearly inflation rate.

    There are two approaches to locking tokens:

    1. A user can lock XRD and become a node runner on the network; or
    2. a user can lock Radix tokens and delegate his stake to another node runner, also called a staking node. A staking node has the power to validate transactions.

    Radix’s consensus mechanism limits the stake weight per node to 33% to prevent node runners from having absolute power over the transaction validation process.

    Network Subsidy

    The network subsidy is an additional amount of tokens distributed to transaction validators. The tokens are unlocked by the Radix Foundation every 24 hours and are expected to run for 10 years. However, to earn the subsidy tokens, a staking node has to consistently meet specific factors on responsiveness, bandwidth, and computing power.

    Other Radix token categories are the public token grant to support community contributors, the Radix team token grant to support the team, and the stable token reserve that supports stable coins on the network.

    Conclusion

    The projected growth of the DeFi market requires creating new distributed systems that, if possible, have unlimited scalability. Radix is one such project. With a key focus in leading the migration from centralized finance (CeFi), the project provides hope to the future of OpFi.

    From a re-designed consensus mechanism to decentralized self-incentives for developers, the project is keen on ensuring that DeFi overshadows CeFi.

    The Radix token supply approach is another key component of the network that shifts from the traditional approach of major blockchain-based systems that power OpFi protocols.

    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.

  • Vortex DeFi ($VTX): One-stop Gateway to DeFi

    Vortex DeFi ($VTX): One-stop Gateway to DeFi

    Vortex DeFi ($VTX) aims to provide users a one-stop access to all leading decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms and protocols from a single web-based user interface.

    Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has evolved from a niche subcategory to the biggest catalyst driving the cryptocurrency and blockchain field today. It’s primarily focused on the Ethereum network, which has the majority of the DeFi share. There are, however, a large number of core DeFi protocols, combinators, and countless forks. All of this can become confusing fast.

    Fortunately, users don’t have to delve into the complex workings and nuances of these protocols, which can be overwhelming even for long-term users. Vortex DeFi is introduced to simplify the access and exposure to the sector. It has integrations with different protocols, which abstracts away the complexity in a simple and yet intuitive interface, to level the playing field and ensure greater participation.

    Background

    Vortex DeFi launched in Aug 2020 through a private investment round. It accrued interest and funding from X21 Digital, DuckDao, Moonrock Capital, Magnus Capital, Pluto Digital Assets PLC, Faculty Capital, A195 Capital, etc. A public sale will be held soon.

    It has a multicultural team, led by CEO Rahul Singh and strategic advisor Lester Lim. The other prominent team members are technical lead Arun Sunil and product lead Shaz. All team members have previous experiences in market-leading companies and blockchain projects.

    What is Vortex DeFi?

    Vortex DeFi is a web-based DeFi management system or a comprehensive DeFi aggregative solution platform, serving as a bridge between Ethereum and Polkadot. It combines the functionality and power of core protocols in a sleek dashboard to allow users of all categories to engage in yield farming. The core services provided are NFT asset management, lending and borrowing, insurance, and exchange.

    Vortex DeFi will also utilize the yEarn finance protocol to access and extract value from various lending protocols to enable automated profitable yield farming. The added advantage of cross-chain compatibility ensures that users don’t have to choose between two promising blockchains. Vortex DEFI also has several components, taking the guesswork and experimentation out of the process.

    Vortex DEFI – Components

    Vortex Ecosystem (Source: Vortex DeFi wesbite)

    V-Swap

    Being the Uniswap or Bancor equivalent of Vortex, V-Swap will offer an automated digital assets exchange on the Ethereum and Polkadot blockchain. It’s likely to offer liquidity aggregation from multiple sources, so a peer to peer exchange of tokens can be performed without a direct counterparty or orderbook.

    V-Pay

    It will offer a fiat gateway for users, so they can acquire and sell crypto assets from FIAT, in their cards or bank accounts. This is required for onboarding new users, as well as ensuring that they have a way for realizing their returns.

    V-Yield

    A yield aggregator as the name goes, V-Yield will combine yield from different sources and optimize them according to the best return rate. It will spare users from the trouble of manually finding sources and having the need to rotate them.

    V-NFTs

    An asset management, V-NFTs will allow users to manage their asset collection and swap them for each other. Given that NFTs are an illiquid asset class and their infrastructure is scattered, it’s hugely important to develop a unified interface.

    V-Insure

    DeFi protocols are rife with exploits and smart contract risks. Therefore, to onboard new users and even to retain existing ones, it’s necessary to grant them peace of mind by ensuring the protection of their funds. V-Insure will seek to insure user funds by seeking out integrations with multiple DeFi insurance protocols.

    Vortex DEFI Native Token ($VTX)

    The native token of the platform is Vortex DeFi Token ($VTX), ERC-20 token, which will be used to incentivize users. It has four purposes:

    1. Liquidity pools (LP) rewards are distributed in VTX
    2. Usage for staking on the platform.
    3. Holding VTX tokens allows users to save on the platform fees
    4. The team has announced plans to regularly buy tokens and burn them every quarter to reduce supply and increase the value of existing tokens.

    All of these benefits and value accrual mechanisms will motivate users to hold tokens, in anticipation of rising demand and prices.

    $VTX Token Metrics

    The VTX token has a total supply of 100M $VTX and an initial circulating supply of $0.4M $VTX.

    $VTX Tokenomics (Source: Vortex DeFi Litepaper)

    Funding Rounds

    Private Sale (concluded): 32,500,000 VTX sold at 0.0276 USD per token.(25% TGE, 75% vesting over 120 days)

    Public Sale (on 28 February 2021): 2,500,000 VTX to be sold at 0.04 USD per token. No vesting period.*

    Advantages of Vortex DeFi

    The platform offers users the advantages of a unified DeFi management dashboard, the ability to fuse several protocols together offering a seamless experience with abstracted complexity, powerful lend and earn functionality, automated rotation of funds for optimized returns, non-custodial function, and insurance against loss of funds.

    Vortex DEFI Connected Protocols

    Vortex DeFi connected protocols (source: ‘Introducing Vortex DeFi Beta & Access to the Vortex of DeFi‘ medium article)

    Vortex DEFI will have integrations with several key DEFI protocols, including but not limited to Maker DAO, Compound, Kava, Idle, Aave, Yearn, Uniswap, Nexus Mutual, Curve. This will allow for a powerful user experience, which is likely to improve penetration of decentralized finance.

    Vortex Vision

    The team hopes that Vortex will become the top one-stop solution for a user’s DeFi needs and allow them to simplify their experience. Vortex hopes to make financial applications accessible and simple for all users, regardless of their technical expertise. It will also allow saving on transaction fees (gas) by batching and combining transactions.

    Vortex can also enhance the decentralization level of DeFi protocols by ensuring broad participation and an increase in user activity. Furthermore, it will feature the DAAS (DeFi-As-A-Service) business model. Currently, the product is in development and more changes are expected as the platform launch draws near.

    Conclusion

    DEFI was founded on the principle of openness, equal opportunity, transparency, trustlessness, lack of centralized control, fast processing, and lego-like composability. It is generally presented as a superior alternative to the traditional financial system, which differs heavily from the principles of the crypto community and disallows these services to a large number of people.

    On the other hand, DeFi is accessible to almost everyone with an internet connection and a personal computing device or smartphone. However, primitive user interfaces and experiences of the existing DeFi protocols were a problem. Thankfully, Vortex will overlap the strong functionality of these protocols with an amazing and simple interface.

    Currently, there is a lack of dashboard-style platforms connected to multiple DEFI protocols, aggregating their services and offering a one-stop solution. All of this is about to change with the Vortex launch, which is likely to onboard a large number of new users as well as provide a novel interesting solution to the existing ones.

    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.

  • SushiSwap ($SUSHI) Explained

    SushiSwap ($SUSHI) Explained

    Before we begin

    We’ve been closely following the events involving SushiSwap and its founder “Chef Nomi”. This article will not be making any comments or conclusions on Chef Nomi’s actions or how SushiSwap is or should be run. This article is simply an explainer on what SushiSwap is and how to use the platform. As with all yield farming projects, SushiSwap involves a huge amount of risk. Anyone intending to participate in yield farming should do full research and consider carefully the risks involved beforehand.

    What is SushiSwap ($SUSHI)?

    SushiSwap is the newest decentralised finance (DeFi) liquidity pool platform. With SushiSwap, people can add their tokens into the liquidity pools and earn. In this article, we’ll have a look at the Sushi Swap platform and how to participate in the liquidity pool. Anyone can participate.

    Sounds interesting? Let’s dive into it.

    Summary

    • SushiSwap is a platform that allows anyone to provide liquidity. In return, the person gets rewarded with token(s) and SUSHI tokens. 
    • As of September 4, 2020, there are 1 billion dollars of locked liquidity.
    • Possibility of very high APY (up to 1,000%) on some liquidity pools. You can check the current yields on SushiBoard.

    Why is SushiSwap so popular?

    Sushi Swap markets itself as an “improved and community-friendly” Uniswap. Unlike a traditional exchange like Binance where they employ market makers, SushiSwap is a community-oriented platform where users provide liquidity. In return, they get rewarded. Indeed, the users are the market makers.

    SUSHI token

    SUSHI tokens are given as rewards for liquidity mining. The token allows its holders to participate in the governance of the platform and entitles them to a portion of the fees paid to the protocol by traders. For the governance of the platform, SUSHI holders can submit a SushiSwap Improvement Proposal (SIP) which token holders can vote on with their tokens.

    Of course, some people also speculate on the prices of SUSHI and the token can be traded on major exchanges such as Binance, FTX and OKEx exchanges.

    Advantages of SushiSwap

    There is no KYC (Know Your Customer) policy. This means anyone can trade and contribute to the liquidity pools. The platform is permissionless, meaning anyone can contribute millions of dollars without asking for permission. 

    Earn tokens from Sushi Swap. SUSHI is Sushi Swap’s native token. When you contribute to the liquidity pool, you earn sushi tokens. You can exchange SUSHI for ETH. 

    Sushi Swap model: 0.25% go directly to the active liquidity providers and 0.05% get converted back to SUSHI and is rewarded to sushi holders. 

    Sounds interesting? Let’s visit Sushi Swap’s home page.

    SushiSwap beginners guide 

    When you first arrive on Sushi Swap’s home page, you’ll see this:

    Sushiswap.fi homepage
    Sushiswap.fi homepage

    Click on “Unlock Wallet” or “See The Menu”, either way you will need to connect your ETH wallet in order to this platform. 

    Sushi Swap has the option to use MetaMask, WalletConnect or many other non-custodial wallets. Pick the one of your choice.

    Connect wallet
    Connect wallet

    Give permission for Meta Mask or Wallet Connect to connect to Sushi Swap. Once you’re connected, you’re ready to add your tokens into the liquidity pools. (hummingbirddental.ca)

    Liquidity pools
    Liquidity pools

    You’re presented with various liquidity pools (LPs). Each liquidity pool has a different annual percentage yield (APY).

    In this example, I’ll contribute to the ETH-USDT pool. I add my USDT into the liquidity pool. In return, I’ll get a percentage of USDT and SUSHI tokens. Think of Sushi Swap as a “community revenue share” model.

    Contribute to liquidity pool
    Contribute to liquidity pool

    To contribute to the liquidity pool, click “Approve USDT-ETH UNI-V2 LP” and give your Meta Mask permission to move your tokens into the liquidity pool. 

    Now what? You wait. The “SUSHI earned” box should populate with your earned SUSHI. You can withdraw your SUSHI token anytime by clicking on “Harvest”.

    2020 roundup and new roadmap!

    Many things have happened within the Sushiswap ecosystem in the last months: it is now time for a quick recap and to look at what the future will bring to this project!

    The number of all the partnerships finalized by the protocol is countless, but one of the most important ones, if not the most important, is certainly the merger with Yearn. The news also sparked controversies: Sushiswap was still considered a sort of “copycat” of Uniswap by some, and when Andre Cronje (Yearn’s father) wrote an article on how it is difficult to build in Defi and how conversely it is easy for anyone to just copy other people’s code, this wasn’t seen as really coherent. The collaboration was born to allow the two teams to cooperate on Deriswap.

    Nevertheless, Sushiswap has been evolving so much that, according to Mira Christanto (one of Messari’s data analysts) they have “put their past behind” and, not being backed by Venture Capitals, they can move faster than competitors. January has seen a real growth in Sushiswap’s TVL (now at $2.1 billion), mostly at the expense of Uniswap’s.

    Among the important milestones in 2020, we find Onsen, the new Sushiswap liquidity mining incentivization program which replaces the old Menu of the week. It brings communities together into the ecosystem and allows voted tokens to become accredited and participate in the mining program. The website also has a new layout of and a lite version.

    2021 Roadmap

    As the new year has already begun, it is also interesting to have a look at what Sushiswap is working on for 2021. The team released a long and detailed roadmap in early January. Notable upgrades are the following:

    • Mirin will be the new upgraded version of Sushiswap’s V3 protocol. It will include many new features like franchised pools, double yield, dynamic yield rebalancing, and many more as you can read here.
    • Bentobox (which should have launched in January) was born in the team’s mind as a new Lending Platform. While they were was working on its code though, it became something more. In simple terms, it will be a single vault that holds all tokens for any protocols and future extensions. It will support several oracles and it will also benefit all the $SUSHI holders.
    • Miso (Minimal Initial Sushi Offering) will be a sort of token launchpad, designed to drive new projects’ launches on the platform. It will include crowd sale options, IDOs (Initial Dex Offering), auctions, and more. We could think of it as something similar to Binance’s launchpad.
    • As Ethereum fees are and will keep growing in the next future until ETH2 will be a reality, most platforms are studying alternative solutions for their users such as Layer 2 possibilities. Unlike Uniswap, which is working on Optimistic Rollups, Sushiswap decided to move in sync with the greater Yearn ecosystem and thus will probably offer Zk-rollups options.

    Together with all these big news, Sushiswap is also planning to move to a new domain as the old one, in their view, is not enough to describe the diversity of the platform anymore. A transition to a fully decentralized governance structure is also planned by the end of 2021. Last but not least, Sushiswap has created a proposal page for people to express their ideas on what they would like to see on the platform. Everyone can be a chef is the place where you can voice your opinion if you like to suggest new ideas.

    FAQs

    Is it risky to provide liquidity to SushiSwap?

    The pool could get hacked if the code isn’t audited. There have been cases of hackers draining funds from smart contracts. It helps if the code is audited by a reputable firm. In the case of SushiSwap, it has been given a “security review” (not an audit) by Quantstamp. 10 issues were identified but they do not appear to be fatal. Subsequently, Peckshield had completed an audit on SushiSwap. They found no critical or high severity issues relating to business logistics but 2 high severity opsec issues that need to be fixed through extra care with deployment.

    What is the reward model of Sushi Swap?

    0.25% go directly to the active liquidity providers and 0.05% gets converted back to sushi and is distributed to active SUSHI holders.

    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.

  • Litentry ($LIT): Decentralized Cross-chain Identity Aggregator

    Litentry ($LIT): Decentralized Cross-chain Identity Aggregator

    Litentry ($LIT) is a decentralized cross-chain identity aggregator, built on Substrate, that features an identity matching and identity staking mechanism.

    In today’s world, personal data and identity are everything. Some companies in the conventional world make millions by selling user data. In the decentralized world, blockchain-based firms make losses.

    For example, one user can create multiple accounts to take advantage of free airdropped tokens. Also, platforms powering decentralized finance (DeFi) have no way of tracking users’ credit history, making them charge higher collateral when issuing loans.

    Fortunately, there’s a new way to keep track of identities in the distributed ecosystem securely. Powered by Litentry, we can see blockchain-focused platforms do more than just power token swaps. It’s now possible to scan through user’s deposit and withdrawal actions on Uniswap. Furthermore, a user’s activity can also be assessed on a community-governed blockchain.

    Since the platform is so diverse, below, we look at the major highlights.

    Background

    Litentry is developed by a team of blockchain professionals based in Germany. Its founder was among the early contributors of Parity, a decentralized network. Notably, the project engineering team’s background is rooted in Ethereum.

    The protocol is funded through a Web3 Foundation grant. On its Github page, the project lists eight team members with organization permission.

    What is Litentry?

    The project focuses on decentralized identity (DID), allowing user identities to be linked to multiple distributed protocols. Litentry acts as a DID aggregator where it collects, indexes, and distributes DIDs to blockchains.

    More importantly, it performs all these activities in a decentralized and verifiable way. Notably, built on the Substrate network, the platform works towards the greater goal of eradicating identity redundancy in the Web3-powered application ecosystem.

    The problem

    In the current internet world, third parties take control of storing user passwords and data pertaining to their online activity. Unfortunately, internet users are coerced into accepting unfavorable terms and conditions, consequently lessening the grip on their personal data.

    Litentry brings the change by returning the control of user data to the users by powering a user-focused internet using blockchain technology. As such, the revenue emanating from using users’ data gets the users to share in the profits. Before Litentry, these profits went to third parties managing the user data.

    Key Features of the Litentry platform

    Apart from using decentralized ledger technology (DLT), the platform has other critical features that help it bring the much-needed revolution to the blockchain sector. Key among them include:

    1. Identity management – The platform is all about identities, and their management sits at the protocol’s core. This feature powers anonymous and independent identities emanating from applications and or services used by the user.
    2. Distributed storage – After collecting the data, the protocol stores them in a decentralized manner to enhance access from all corners of the distributed world.
    3. Identity staking – This is a unique feature. Just like staking tokens and earning rewards, Litentry enables users to stake their identities and be rewarded.
    4. Decentralized contributors – Instead of creating multiple accounts to use different platforms or services, the project allows users to use one identity to interact with various services anonymously. Interestingly, the user doesn’t have to provide passwords or any other registration details.

    Litentry Architecture

    Litentry Architecture (Source: Litentry Doc)

    To bring all the above features to life, the protocol uses a layered architecture. On the top layer is the Litentry Runtime, which sits on Substrate. The Runtime layer is a Parachain of Polkadot and employs offline workers when generating identities.

    The second layer is the User Side. Here, users flex their muscles when it comes to data under their control. Note that user data that comes from applications are anonymous, stored in a decentralized way, and cryptographically-separated.

    On the Litentry Authenticator layer, we have the mobile data hub. The hub can be used to manage a user’s different identities. Additionally, the hub can be connected to various IoT devices that the user wants.

    Next is the Litentry SDK enabling developers to fire up their creative juices to create completely decentralized applications and/or services. In addition, the Litentry IPFS data center offers users a chance to check the data attached to their identities.

    The middleware layer comprises services such as off-chain catching and query servers. It is also made up of a client-side SDK library that helps connect front-end apps with decentralized networks.

    Litentry Tokenomics

    The incentive mechanism on the Litentry platform takes into account different participants such as an identity staker, validator, external storage, node, and data buyer.

    1. Identity staker — This is the person who has an identity record and has a stake in the identities pool.
    2. Identity validator — An identity staker becomes a validator of new blocks when their identity has been confirmed.
    3. Storage — Stores all data about an identity in a decentralized manner.
    4. Node — The node is a critical component of the Litentry platform. Its work is to perform functions such as invoking off-chain workers to validate identity correctness and connecting with external decentralized storages.
    5. Data buyer — This is any entity on the blockchain that requests identity validation.
    6. Data generator — These are entities generating data and can include applications, users, or services offering migration services.
    Litentry Tokenomic (Source: Litentry Lightpaper)

    Litentry Native Token (LIT)

    Litentry’s base asset is called LIT. The network uses the asset to reward identity stakers in the identities pool. Two types of rewards the stakers get are the block reward and the matching fee.

    Apart from stakers, validators are motivated to truthfully verify the correctness of data. On the other hand, data generators enjoy benefits from the Litentry Foundation in the form of grants.

    External storage operators earn a section of the fee paid by users interfacing with the service. Others who are incentivized using LIT tokens are nodes.

    Those who pay using LIT tokens include identity buyers. Observe that these entities only have access to the winning identity or identities during an identity matching process.

    Conclusion

    The identity problem is two-pronged; users can create multiple entities to defraud a company. On the other hand, malicious actors aggregate user data and sell it to the highest bidder without profiting the real data owners.

    Fortunately, Litentry uses a layered approach to comprehensively tackle the problem to the benefit of both identity owners and decentralized platforms. Here’s to another promising project with a unique approach to solving some of the most crucial problems that often go overlooked.

    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.

  • ChainLink ($LINK) guide: A key link in the DeFi space

    ChainLink ($LINK) guide: A key link in the DeFi space

    ChainLink ($LINK) has been a standout project in the cryptocurrency industry since its creation in 2017 by San Francisco based company, SmartContract. The Company is renowned for being a decentralised oracle solution, they act as a middleware agent between traditional data sources, blockchain projects and smart contracts (which drive Decentralised Finance (DeFi) projects) using their $LINK token. Partnership wise, the Company has been linked with national governments like the Chinese government and are consistently building new partnerships with major brands. Clearly, ChainLink is a company that any crypto or blockchain enthusiast should have an understanding of, so here we have compiled a complete guide to this revolutionary project.

    ChainLink has prominence because they solved the Oracle Problem. The oracle problem originates from an issue with smart contracts, which are coding instructions that would automatically execute under specific conditions on blockchain networks. Smart contracts are. also immutable, cost effective and self-executing, so technically they are perfect for automating transactions which are transparent and have zero chance of failure. These smart contracts derive their data from “Oracles” (i.e. data sources, APIs etc) , and this is where the problem lies. Smart contracts are only as “smart” as the information fed to them by the oracles. If you feed a smart contract with malicious code or bad data, the smart contract will still process it anyway because it is just code, and what comes out would be incorrect or unpredictable. This is known as the “Oracle Problem”.

    That all changed when ChainLink worked out how to retrieve and share information from the Oracles without jeopardizing the security of the blockchain. This was by creating a decentralized blockchain that bridges between the Oracles and the smart contracts. While researching this, I stumbled upon a 스포츠토토 사이트 추천, which provided insights into secure and reliable platforms for sports betting. The system is built on a collection of individual nodes that act as smart contracts on their own to gather the information and, as a result, have created a smart contract infrastructure. Now, instead of having to blindly trust a source, smart contracts can access resources like data feeds, traditional bank account payments, and web APIs.

    ChainLink infrastructure
    ChainLink infrastructure (Image credit: Data Driven Investor)

    Why is this important? It is because ChainLink believes its technology will do away with traditional legal agreements and instead the information will be stored on blockchain forever. 

    ChainLink is also relevant to the cryptocurrency industry because its Oracles also provide a solution for decentralized applications (dapps) as they too provide a bridge to the outside world.

    The $LINK token is ChainLink’s native cryptocurrency and was set up on the Ethereum network using an ERC677 token whose functionality is based on the ERC-20 token standard, it also boasts ‘transfer and call’ functionality. The $LINK token is used as staking for a bidding system for provision of information and for rewards, as will be seen in the following paragraph.

    The decentralized oracle network works through a two way system between those who wish to purchase data and those who bid to be the providers of the said data. Providers, also known as “Node Operators” stake ChainLink’s $LINK tokens to make bids to the intended data purchaser. If they win, they must provide the information required by the purchaser on chain through their APIs. The “winning” Node Operator’s payout is determined by the number of operators using the site, and the Oracles implement this decision. Payouts are in the form of the $LINK token. 

    This system has a number of benefits. When ChainLink is popular with Node Operators, then their value increases. Not only that, but Node Operators are also rewarded for accumulating $LINK tokens through easier access to larger contracts, also increasing $LINK’s value. Those who act maliciously, however, are punished by removal of $LINK tokens. 

    As you can see the $LINK token allows for self regulating governance of the ChainLink network. Some have suggested that payouts needn’t be in $LINK, but rather any other cryptocurrency would have done the job. Yet, ChainLink’s price performances in recent times have suggested the team in San Francisco were right to go down the native token route.

    The $LINK token can be traded on exchanges and is gaining in popularity too. Currently it ranks as the 8th highest market cap according to Coingecko. Available on most major exchanges like Coinbase Pro, Binance and OKEX ChainLink’s token has been a standout performer in recent months. Check out our Coinbase Pro review, Binance review and OKEX review.

    Unlike other companies who rely on PR and word of mouth to promote themselves, ChainLink has gone about it by courting various companies and governments around the world. Their CEO Sergey Nazarov has been on a charm offensive for a while and has secured numerous allies. This is because ChainLink provides businesses the benefits of decentralization, trust and immutability, all without them having to make a new system. Here’s some of ChainLink’s key partners.

    Other Cryptocurrencies- Bitcoin and Hyperledger

    In terms of the cryptocurrency field, ChainLink’s oracle services are available on other blockchains such as Bitcoin and Hyperledger. This openness has also opened up the door for a number of high profile partnerships with other blockchain projects that have made commentators and traders take notice of the Company.

    Synthetix Network

    In March 2019, ChainLink and Synthetix announced a partnership with the aim of improving the Synthetix platform’s price feeds. SNX, the company’s native token, receives data feeds using Chainlink’s decentralized oracle network. 

    Celer Network

    ChainLink has been used by Celer to bring accurate real world data to their layer-2 scaling solution. Now, payments executed off chain can be registered on chain making the real world and blockchain more cohesive. Their joint statement described their union as, “a combination of off-chain conditional state transition with an on-chain oracle dependency. Or put it simply, introducing the capability to combine real-world information and layer-2 scalability.”

    ChainLink and their oracles are not just reserved for the cryptocurrency industry. The use cases and partnerships stretch to major internet companies like Google. The search engine company integrated ChainLink’s oracles for its blockchain cloud service. According to a blog post, the oracles will help with data communication between Big Query and other blockchains on the cloud.  

    Chinese Government Blockchain Service Network (BSN)

    In June, the Chinese state backed Blockchain Service Network (BSN) announced its intentions to bring ChainLink in on a consultancy and application basis to help develop the BSN. Reports at the time suggested ChainLink will foster the creation of a “service hub” which would form the bedrock of its “internet of blockchains.” For a full breakdown of the partnership which also involved Cosmos, click here. 

    SWIFT 

    SWIFT is a major financial institution/telecommunications company which connects the banking world. They have brought ChainLink on board and are regularly using their technology. SWIFT began using ChainLink’s technology as now any real-world money transfer can be sent into the blockchain from SWIFT via Chainlink. So ChainLink now allows cohesion between traditional banking and the crypto sphere. 

    Other partnerships

    The partnerships don’t stop there. ChainLink has teamed up with betting company, BetProtocol to provide decentralized Esports and Sports Oracles on their website. DocuSign, an online contract company has also brought them onboard. 

    Overall, it is clear that ChainLink is an important figure within the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. Quite how important the oracle technology proves to be will be easier to judge as the world understands and develops blockchain technology. Though currently, all signs point towards a more optimistic outlook

    As for the $LINK token, they are clearly a standout which has risen rapidly in the past few months, having gone from $3.72 in early May 2020 to reach a new all-time high of over $14. In fact, as a Forbes report noted in July 2020, the $LINK token has “soared 1,000% in just over 12 months”. One factor in the token’s recent success is the increase in partnerships since 2019. Another reason is definitely the recent DeFi fever, especially since ChainLink and the DeFi space are so interlinked as ChainLink provides oracles for the smart contracts that power various DeFi projects.

    We can also see that people also have positive thoughts on the project, a huge majority of users on Coingecko voting positively.

    Zeus Capital, purportedly an asset management and research firm published a report on 15th July 2020 accusing Chainlink of being a classic “pump and dump”. The Report alleges ChainLink of using techniques such as inside trading, artificial transactions, overhyping the project, and questioning whether ChainLink actually has partnerships with companies like Google and Oracle. According to Zeus Capital, this was to drive up the price of $LINK prior to the team dumping the coin onto innocent investors. They concluded their Report saying that “Based on our findings we have opened a short position in LINK and recommend you doing the same with a target price of USD0.07 and potential upside of nearly 100%.”

    In addition to promoting the Report through advertisements on Twitter, screenshots have also been circulating saying that Zeus Capital was offering Twitter cryptocurrency influencers rewards of up to 5 Bitcoin to post price analysis indicating that LINK prices would fall.

    Twitter user @iceberg trolls Zeus Capital asking for 5 BTC to post bad chart and Zeus Capital actually seems to accept the offer.

    Supporters of ChainLink retaliated, accusing Zeus Capital of spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD). On the day the Report was published, prices for LINK went up to $8.73. Meanwhile, the real Zeus Capital, a prominent investment banking operation based in London came forward on 20th July 2020 to say it did not produce the Reports.

    Zeus Capital then doubled down on their allegations against ChainLink by publishing a follow-up report on 31st July 2020 titled “Exposing Chainlink’s Pump and Dump Scheme”. They also doubled down on their stance in the Report: “The current tokenomics and lack of commercial applications cannot justify LINK’s price. As a result, we recommend short selling LINK with a target price of 7 US cents”. The Follow-up Report also concludes with a disclosure that they hold a short position on $LINK.

    Despite these damning reports, prices for LINK continued to remain strong. This meant that those who were shorting LINK, i.e. counting on prices to drop, were getting squeezed out of their positions. This all came to a head on the morning of 8th August 2020 when prices for LINK crossed over the USD $11 threshold. During that time, data showed that millions worth of Chainlink short positions were partially or fully liquidated. A notable example of this was a short position worth around USD$20 million which seems to have been entirely liquidated, leaving the wallet pretty dry with only USD $299.66 remaining.

    It is noted that there is no conclusive evidence to say that any of these liquidated accounts belonged to Zeus Capital. However one thing is certain- ChainLink, helped by its supporters i.e. the Link Marines were able to successfully shake off the FUD. And as at the time of this update, LINK prices had peaked at USD$14.34, almost double the prices when the first Report was published.

    2020 has been a favorable year for Chainlink ($LINK). It has been one of the best performing coins and secured its spot in the top10 assets ranking by mcap. It is now sitting at n°9 with a market cap close to $8 billion dollars.

    Chainlink is widely recognized as the most used oracle in crypto and has been a backbone for Defi’s explosion. Many are the collaborations announced, over 300, not only on the Ethereum blockchain. Chainlink is also expanding to other chains such as Polkadot and Tezos. Results have exceeded expectations and the company has also been recognized, among 6 other blockchain companies (Lightning Labs, MakerDAO, Elliptic, Bitmark, Ripio, Veridium Labs) by the World Economic Forum among the 100 most promising Technology Pioneers of 2020.

    The team has allegedly doubled its size and acquired important strategic pieces. Ari Juels, now Chief Scientist at Chainlink Labs, was one of the 2 writers of the first Proof of Work paper. He has also developed Deco, a privacy-preserving technology now acquired by Chainlink, at Cornell University together with other researchers.

    “Deco allows oracles to attest to the validity of information in trusted databases/systems without exposing it to the public or even the oracle itself using … Zero-Knowledge Proofs. Essentially, the oracle can join a user-initiated web session to attest to some requested information— possibly to verify someone’s identity, approve their financial information, or check key government records”.

    The data will never leave the selected database so the info will remain stored in trusted locations, enhancing the privacy and usability of the blockchain. An important possible application could be transactions that can meet KYC (Know Your Customer) or AML (Ant Money Laundering) requirements without exposing sensitive information on-chain.

    2021 looks certainly promising. The company will continue with its focus on security while bringing as much data as possible on-chain, from different sectors. This will provide huge improvements and development to the whole crypto space.


    Sources: Decrypt, Maxbit

    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.

  • ERC Tokens Explained: What are they?

    ERC Tokens Explained: What are they?

    ERC (Ethereum Request for Comment) token standards are built upon and utilise the Ethereum blockchain. Most of us have only heard about the vastly used ERC-20, while becoming more familiar with the ERC-721 and ERC-1155 token standards thanks to the growing adoption of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) by upcoming projects. This article gives an overview of what are ERC tokens, their various types, and functions.

    Summary

    • ERC tokens are special forms of smart contracts that utilise the Ethereum blockchain, rather than having their own blockchain like Bitcoin.
    • They can have different functions and even a combination of features.
    • ERC tokens can be Fungible, Non-fungible, and Semi-fungible.

    What is a token and how do we classify them?

    First of all, ‘tokens‘ are programmable digital units of value that are recorded on a distributed ledger protocol such as a blockchain. Basically, ERC20 tokens are special forms of smart contracts that utilize Ethereum’s blockchain. They can also be described as digital assets which are not the main currency of that blockchain. While $ETH and $BTC both have their blockchain and are thus far considered as coins, tokens don’t.

    There are different types of tokens. Utility tokens differ from the rest because they usually offer a wider functionality than, for example, a means of payment (coins, like $BTC) or voting power on a platform (such as governance tokens, like $UNI). They can combine multiple purposes, are integrated into an existing protocol and used to access its services. They also provide network activity, which ensures strength of the platform’s economy.

    To easily understand how they fit into the blockchain ecosystem, we need to understand how Ethereum works first: we can think of it as an operating system on top of which applications (smart contracts) can be built (written), just like developers build applications for Android and iOS. One difference being that applications on Ethereum can be decentralized (Dapps). Once we have these platforms, we can (if we want) create tokens, each time choosing the most appropriate standard for our purpose.

    Years ago, when there was no standard in use, it was far more complicated for developers to make smart contracts interact with each other; they had to create specific implementation standards to develop a token and launch it on Ethereum’s network. Then, the ERC-20 came out and that heavily simplified the process.

    Another distinction is between Fungible and Non Fungible tokens.

    Fungible Tokens

    In this case, each token is equivalent to all the others and they are interchangeable (1 $BTC will always be equal to any other 1 $BTC).

    ERC-20

    First proposed in 2015, it’s the industry standard and most accepted one. It makes the initial distribution of tokens extremely easy, so it became massively used in the 2017 ICOs craze. The ERC-20 contracts are composed of 6 mandatory functions and 3 optional ones.

    ERC-20 contracts
    ERC-20 contracts

    6 mandatory functions:

    • balanceOf(): keeps track of the balance in each user wallet
    • totalSupply(): shows the current total supply in circulation
    • transfer (): lets the owner send a specific amount to another address
    • transferFrom(): allows a smart contract to automate the transfer process and send a given amount of the token on behalf of the owner
    • approve(): approves the withdrawal of tokens from the owner’s address to the receiving address. It also guarantees that nobody could create more tokens out of nothing, keeping the supply under control
    • allowance(): makes sure that the owner has at least as many tokens as the amount set in the approve function; the transactions added to the blockchain have been proved valid

    3 optional functions:

    • name(): pretty self explanatory!
    • symbol(): 3-4 letter abbreviation
    • decimals(): it is impossible to write decimal places in Solidity- only whole numbers, so this function is needed. Most tokens use 18 decimals

    How to send ERC-20 tokens?

    There are two ways of sending ERC-20 tokens, depending on if you want to send them directly or delegate the function to a smart contract. You can either:

    • call the transfer() function to send tokens to another wallet address
    • call the approve() function and then transferfrom() from the receiver contract

    Besides the ease of use and the popularity that this standard immediately gained among the community, its main flaw soon became obvious, causing millions of dollars worth of tokens to be lost forever in smart contracts.

    Limitations of ERC-20 tokens and what are wrapped tokens?

    What happens if you simply use the transfer() function to send tokens to a smart contract which is not made to receive them?

    The transaction will succeed and these tokens will be credited to the receiver address, but they won’t be recognized by the recipient and they will remain there forever, unusable.

    Another limitation is that since $ETH itself was obviously created before the ERC-20 standard was even developed, it is not compliant with it (nor with other standards). That is why to interact with many contracts, we need to “wrap” $ETH into $WETH (wrapped ether, which IS an ERC-20 token, pegged to $ETH 1:1).

    To solve the various flaws, new standards were proposed. The most famous ones are the following.

    ERC-223

    Summary:

    • prevents funds to be lost
    • half as expensive
    • backwards compatible

    This standard was proposed by a Reddit user known as “Dexaran”; it focuses on security and tries to fix the main flaw of its predecessor, by using a unique, new transfer() function, which allows tokens to be sent to either a personal address or a smart contract. Moreover, it includes a tokenFallback() function that checks the receiving contract for the same function.

    Basically, if the receiver is a regular address (not a contract), the transfer will be similar to the ERC-20 one, while if the receiver is a contract, the tokenFallback() function will be triggered. If the receiving contract does not have this function, the transaction will fail but all the funds will be returned to the sender address.

    Simplifying the transfer and reducing it to just one single step, the process will also be cheaper (less gas fees!). The ERC-223 standard is backwards compatible with the ERC-20, as it keeps all of the original functionalities and solves the biggest issues. The ChainLink ($LINK) token has been described by its developers as “an ERC20 token, with the additional ERC223 ‘transfer and call’ functionality of transfer, allowing tokens to be received and processed by contracts within a single transaction”.

    The ERC-223 standard has never been finalized.

    ERC-777

    Summary:

    • makes transactions smoother
    • allows for approved operators
    • standard for minting/burning tokens
    • backwards compatible with ERC-20

    This standard was developed by Jacques Dafflon and Jordi Baylina, it is similar to ERC-20 and it relies upon the ERC-1820. Before that, developers couldn’t identify the functions which can be implemented by smart contracts. By creating a central registry of contracts on the network, the ERC-777 can use it to identify the interfaces a smart contract uses.

    Its uniqueness is the friction reduction in transactions. It also defines a new set of functions, for example it uses send() instead of transfer(), authoriseOperator() instead of approve(), tokenReceived() handler function instead of tokenFallback().

    It also allows for more customization, a list of approved operators so that people can approve smart contracts to move tokens on their behalf, and creates a standard for minting and burning tokens (very useful for particular projects).

    A pure ERC-777 is not compatible with ERC-20 but the standard described how to make it compatible.

    The ERC-777 standard became finalized on May 6th, 2019.

    Other fungible tokens

    There have been many other proposals combining some aspects of different standards into each other.

    • ERC-827 combines some of the advantages of ERC-223 and ERC-20 standards, it enables token transfer for a 3rd party to spend it
    • ERC-664 is mainly centered on modularity and makes it possible to update token contracts
    • ERC-677 provides a safe way for new contracts to transfer tokens to external contracts
    • ERC-621 can increase or decrease the token supply
    • ERC-884 allows companies to use blockchain to maintain share registries

    Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

    These tokens are unique: each one can have a different value ant they are not replaceable. NFTs enable the tokenization of individual assets. They can often be found in games or you can imagine them as digital pieces of art, real estate… basically anything you like. Unique tokens can be further modified adding new “tools”, hence increasing their value overtime (like new bodyparts on a racing car). Check out our video on NFTs:

    Non-fungible tokens explained

    ERC-721

    It became famous with CryptoKitties. The contract is composed by 8 functions plus 2 optional ones. Most of them are the same or similar to the Fungible counterparts, with few important differences.

    ERC-721 contracts
    ERC-721 contracts

    8 mandatory functions:

    • name()
    • symbol()
    • totalSupply()
    • balanceOf()
    • ownerOf(): retrieves the address that owns whichever NFT ID number is searched; ownership is defined by simply having the token
    • approve()
    • takeOwnership(): transfer the tokens from another address that currently holds them
    • transfer()

    2 optional functions:

    • tokenOfOwnerByIndex(): allows NFT IDs to be searched through a list of tokens owned by the user; it is necessary if we want more ntfs
    • tokenMetadata( ): retrieves the metadata, i.e. info for identification

    While when new ERC-20 tokens are created, the supply simply increases. In this case, things are more complicated. We have to monitor the metadata, and that is expensive in gas fees. ERC-721 defines a storing method.

    A problem with this standard is that if we want to send more NFTs to someone, we will need as many transactions as the number of tokens sent.

    Along with the ERC-721, a few other Non Fungible standards have been proposed, like the ERC-875 and the ERC-998.

    Semi Fungible Tokens (SFTs)

    In some cases, NFTs and FTs do not provide the required level of flexibility that is necessary to build new projects. As we have said, Fungible tokens are all “equals” while Non Fungible ones are unique.

    But what if we need something that is neither Fungible nor Non Fungible? Like seat tickets?

    Seat tickets (or supermarket vouchers, lottery tickets etc.) are 99% equal to on another with a very small difference, like a serial number that makes them unique, preventing double-spending/selling. When we buy a seat ticket, we don’t want someone else to have the same exact token and be able to use it if he arrives before us at the cinema.

    In these circumstances Semi Fungible Tokens come in help: they hold their value until they are sold, changing from Fungible to not Fungible anymore.

    The Multi Token Standard: ERC-1155

    This one was created by Enjin in 2018 for its Gaming Multiverse.

    In all the other standards we have considered, we need to deploy a different contract for each type of token (one contract for all the same ERC-20s, one contract for each unique NFT). It is like being at the supermarket and not being able to buy all of the groceries we want at the same time, having to proceed one item after the other, from shelf to register, continuously. If we want to be able to buy a bunch of stuff at the same time, we need a new standard, and that is the ERC-1155. It allows for different “items” to be stored and created in the same contract (FTs, SFTs and NFTs), with the least possible amount of data; it is cheaper and more convenient.

    For example, in a game we may exchange a currency (ERC-20) and/or NFTs (ERC-721) with other gamers; the ERC-1155 makes it possible. Moreover, it can execute a deterministic smart contract function by simply sending a token to an address (i.e. sending a token to an exchange address, the exchange could immediately return another token back to the sender’s address).

    Practically, a single smart contract can mint infinite tokens forever (and it allows to save fees!)

    Learn more about the ERC 1155 token

    Conclusion

    Overall, among the Fungible tokens, some people think that the ERC-777 should be the designated one to become widely adopted. It offers, for example, more ways to protect our funds. Nevertheless, none of the above standards is without flaws and inherent risks. As a matter of fact, there are multiple reasons why ERC-20 is still the most popular one, and we can’t forget to mention that a new standard would create a lot of issues and interoperability problems, at least at the beginning.

    If we consider the Non Fungible world, we are yet to see an explosion in adoption, but more and more platforms and games are coming out and it will probably be one of the trends of the next years. There are different platforms where you can go and buy collectibles directly with your Ethereum wallet (such as Metamask). One of the most famous and used is Rarible.

    Only time will tell us which will be the next standard in use; proposing a solution and having the community embrace it are two very different things.

    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.

  • The Graph ($GRT) – The Next Level of Decentralized Apps

    The Graph ($GRT) – The Next Level of Decentralized Apps

    What is The Graph?

    The Graph ($GRT) is a decentralized and open-sourced indexing protocol for blockchain data. Developers can build and publish different APIs, which are referred to as subgraphs, and perform queries through the GraphQL.

    The platform can easily be used to look for any Ethereum data conveniently through simple queries. This addresses the common problem faced by a lot of other blockchain indexing platforms.

    Blockchain applications face difficulties in keeping properties like finality, chain reorganization, and security in their process of fulfilling query tasks. These are also potential complications that applications usually address, but unfortunately make the process of querying time-consuming. The Graph has a workaround for this, and it is built exactly for that purpose.

    Through “subgraphs,” The Graph indexes blockchain data, which users can access via the GraphQL API. According to the team, they will make it fully decentralized in the future, where more nodes will be involved and made responsible for maintaining the index.

    The interest for the platform is steadily growing. In fact, they hit over a billion queries last June 2020. This was right at the time when decentralized finance was also gaining much institutional attention.

    The Graph’s Daily Query Volume (Source: ‘1 Billion Monthly Queries’ medium articles)

    Background

    Yaniv Tal, co-founder and CEO of The Graph, together with his team, has created an indexing protocol meant to ease the process of accessing blockchain data. Tal and his co-founders had personally witnessed themselves how difficult it was to actually create new applications on the Ethereum blockchain.

    Thanks to their experience on applications, they have found out that there is actually no decentralized indexing and querying softwares yet for blockchain. The problem back then was that developers had to come up with their own method to gather data and transform them from different sources.

    The mission of the platform, which Tal and his team developed, is to help create applications that require no servers and make Web3 accessible to everyone.

    How Does The Graph Index Data?

    To index Ethereum-based data, The Graph uses the “subgraph manifest.” This refers to the description of a subgraph containing data about smart contracts, blockchain events, and the procedure in mapping event data with one another, before they are all kept in the platform’s database.

    The flow of the data from transactions, subgraph manifests, and the database follows a particular structure. All of it begins with decentralized applications that are adding data to the Ethereum blockchain through the help of smart contracts.

    All of that data will contain a record of all events and transactions up until the point that they have achieved finality. Then comes the Graph Node, which scans the whole blockchain database, gathers new data, and filters out those that are relevant to the queries that users make. To make the indexing much easier, it identifies every information that answers the questions from subgraphs.

    GraphQL is the link between blockchain data and the application that a user wants to provide it with. But then again, it is through the Graph Node that users can deliver searches to the platform. After the whole process, users can finally look at the results of their query from their applications.

    Basically, this is how the cycle of data query and indexing works in the platform. Users can refer to the Graph Explorer to scan through the subgraphs that are already in the platform. Each of these subgraphs have a playground where users can perform queries through GraphQL.

    How the Graph Works? (source: https://thegraph.com/docs/introduction#how-the-graph-works)

    As of latest, The Graph can support the indexing of data coming from Ethereum, IPFS, and PoA networks. There are more networks that the platform will support in the future. But right now, they already have more than 2,300 subgraphs deployed, which developers for applications utilize. Some of these applications are AAVE, Aragon, Balancer, DAOstack, Uniswap, Synthetix, and many others.

    There is a lot of institutional support for The Graph network. Michael Anderson of Framework Ventures, said in a press release that they “couldn’t be happier to back Yaniv and the team, and we look forward to helping grow the decentralized network when it launches.”

    Hayden Adams of Uniswap also shared how useful the platform was for their analytics needs: “As a company we don’t manage or run our own databases. … Right now it’s pretty difficult to get historic data from the Ethereum blockchain in an efficient way.”

    Their plan, apart from expanding to other blockchains soon, is to make it community-owned and governed in the future. This is also in response to the shift of many blockchain applications to a decentralized model of governance.

    Key Roles

    The platform’s whole ecosystem is composed of the following:

    The Graph’s Protocol Roles (source: The Graph Network In Depth)
    • Consumers – These are the users who pay indexers for their searches. It could also be web services or any other software linked with The Graph.
    • Indexers – These are the nodes that maintain the indexing function of the platform.
    • Curators – Using GRTs, curators identify to the subgraphs the information that is valuable for the platform’s index.
    • Delegators – These are other stakers who delegate their GRT to existing indexers and earn a portion of the rewards run by nodes.
    • Fishermen – They check whether the network’s response to queries is accurate.
    • Arbitrators – They decide whether an Indexer is malicious or not.

    The Graph Council

    The Graph plans to decentralize its governance in the future. This will most likely be similar with MakerDAO and Compound. At the point of the protocol’s maturity, the team plans to launch a Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO) that would allow core interest groups to participate in important protocol decisions.

    Similar to other DAOs, the Graph Council, which will be the governing body for the technical parameters of the protocol, is also in charge of how The Graph Foundation allocates its native, utility tokens.

    Among their basic functions include decisions on allocating grants and ecosystem funding, protocol upgrades, protocol parameters, and other emergency decisions.

    GRT Token ($GRT)

    The Graph Token, or $GRT, is its native ERC-20 based token, which can serve as a medium of exchange and the reward distributed to community participants who function as Indexers, Curators, and Delegators.

    GRT token distribution
    GRT token distribution (Image source: The Graph)

    GRT also has a vesting and distribution schedule ranging between 6 months to 10 years depending on the bucket. Around 12.5% of the total token supply (i.e. 1,224,999,438 GRT) is expected to be in circulation at launch. However this figure is exclusive of stakeable but locked tokens.

    GRT token distribution at mainnet launch

    The Graph launched its mainnet at 9:00a.m. (PT) on 17th December 2020. Upon launch, GRT has been distributed to all of the participants of the public sale. Members of The Graph’s Curator Program also received an initial USD $1,000 worth in rewards, with the remainder to be distributed to them on a quarterly basis based on their contributions to the Program.

    The Graph Foundation also received around 20% of the supply for the future development of The Graph. In particular, contributors who want to help building on The Graph can apply to their Grants Program, around 1% of the total supply of GRT will be allocated to support these participants in 2021.

    Here’s a graph showing the GRT circulation over the course of 5 years from the date of launch (i.e. 17th December 2020 at 9:00a.m. PT)

    5-year GRT circulation schedule by Bucket
    5-year GRT circulation schedule by Bucket (Image source: The Graph)

    Indexers that assisted during the Testnet phase have also ben rewarded between USD$10,000 to USD$100,000 in GRT as a reward for their contributions.

    In addition, around 2% of the total GRT has been granted to several Education Programs and loans totalling around 2.5% had been made to independent ecosystem partners.

    Indexer Staking

    In order for users to stake in the nodes that operate the whole platform and sell their services in the query market, they have to lock their GRT. In return, they are given financial rewards. If the indexers work maliciously, like altering data intentionally, the GRT that they staked will be slashed.

    Mainnet now live!

    The Graph Network launched its main net on 17th December 2020 after 3 years of development! According to the team the mainnet launch includes the following components: Deployment of The Graph Network contracts on Ethereum mainnet, deployment of the GRT contract, distribution of GRT to takeovers, launch of the Bug County Program and new docs for network roles.

    With the mainnet launch, Indexers will first stress test and improve performance before supporting real query volume, which will be upwards of 5,000 queries per second. Of course, there will be rewards for Indexers who will now begin earning on-chain indexing rewards and query fees.

    Graph Roadmap: What’s next?

    Now that mainnet has launched, The Graph will continue building. The Team has stated that the Graph Foundation will work on building a production-ready Graph Explorer dApp and Gateway that will support all network contributors.

    The Graph is also open to any individuals or third-parties that want to build for the network and as mentioned previously, they an apply to the Grants Program or collaborate with other community contributors.

    Conclusion

    Looking at the current boom of the DeFi space, we can see how important it is for developers to be able to freely access blockchain data. Making the process faster and less difficult for everyone could potentially influence the growth of the space as well as its reliability, security, and capacity.

    Everyone saw the need to create a bridge of information between applications and blockchain data. The Graph sought out to answer that.

    And with the deployment of smart contracts that depend on user data, The Graph has proven itself to be easy to use, cost-efficient, and fast. The platform is seen as a promising tool to empower everyone in the community, especially those who are developing more use cases for the blockchain.

    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.

  • How to mine Dogecoin with these easy software

    How to mine Dogecoin with these easy software

    Introduction

    First started as an internet meme from 2 software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer to mock crazy fans of cryptocurrency, Dogecoin has now officially become a part of the big family. It’s actually one of the top crypto currencies at the moment – not bad for something that started out as a joke. 

    what is dogecoin

    Just like other cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin is powered by a decentralized finance system called blockchain technology. The attraction of cryptos is that it is not under  any private corporations, multinational enterprises or the government’s control. Crypto currencies are free from any regulations set by any government and bank institutions.

    Moreover, Dogecoin cannot be found in a single particular computer system. It is built on top of a huge network of computers or nodes that confirm the transactions. This system of peer-to-peer exchange and transfer of information makes the whole structure almost impossible to hack and bring down. 

    Cryptocurrency has limited supply, hence the hype. This limit of supply is meant to make sure that their prices will not get too low, which is what happens  for fiat currency like the USD if the government keeps on printing the money without proper control or monitoring. 

    There are market caps for each cryptocurrency. Dogecoin has no supply limit, of which  around 129 billion Dogecoins are currently circulating as of May 9, 2021.

    What is Dogecoin mining?

    Before we get to Dogecoin mining, you have to know that mining cryptocurrencies is not the same as  mining coal or petroleum underground like they do in the Middle East. The mining being discussed here is  digital mining through complex mathematical algorithms. In a simpler context, it is like the process of creating a new coin by solving a puzzle, but just in a more technical way involving very complex algorithms .

    Since the ledger — blockchain technology — of the transactions need to be maintained, not a lot of people will spend time mining. Instead, they will just buy the coins outright from the crypto markets. . 

    In the early days of crypto, it was possible to use your own laptop pc to solve any of the blocks in the chain and earn yourself a coin for your efforts.  Each confirmation of a transaction  will place a new block for the Doge network, for which there will be a reward for the miners in the form of more Dogecoins.

    Every cryptocurrency has different mining systems. Here is a comparison of Dogecoins and Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency in the world.

    DogecoinBitcoin
    AlgorithmScrypt coinSHA-256
    Block Time1 minute!10 minutes
    Difficulty2,798,2523,511,060,552,899
    Reward10,000 DOGE12.5 BTC

    Notes:

    1. Algorithm: Rules for mining new currency aka hashing algorithm
    2. Block time: Average time for a new block checked and added to the chain. It varies across time. 
    3. Difficulty: Difficulty level to mine a new block of currency. It varies across time. 
    4. Reward: Amount of new currency rewarded for each new block mined. It varies across time. 

    How to mine Dogecoin?

    how to mine dogecoin

    There are 3 ways to mine Dogecoin: solo mining, pool mining and cloud mining. We’ll explain one by one to see what the difference is between them. 

    1. Solo mining

    You are mining on your own. It means you need to spend more money on the most modern and updated equipment and pricey utility fees by yourself. However you get to keep all the rewards to yourself .

    In some cases, people have spent a whopping $500,000 for just building the mining gear alone. This is not including the electricity bills that are usually enormous for an operation of that size. If you’re not careful, the electricity bills could eat into your profits without you realizing.

    1. Pool mining

    It’s like a group project. You have less work to do but you need to share the pride and achievement. At Dogecoin mining, you will have an easier time earning coins, but the rewards have to be shared. 

    Before joining a pool, check out their calculation for the payouts of each member and consider the extra pool fees needed. There are few options online for pool mining. So do research about all of the options before you join the pool.

    1. Cloud mining

    Pay for a group to mine for you. This is for those that prefer not to invest too much effort and time for mining Dogecoin. You can rent machines from a data center and ask them to mine for your behalf. This way might be the most costliest among the 3 options, since it is time-locked and the price might drop during the agreement. Furthermore, electricity bills and other costs need to be covered too. 

    Things needed to mine Dogecoin

    Other than the electricity itself, there are 3 things needed to mine Dogecoin which are hardware, software and a crypto wallet. 

    1. Hardware

    Any Windows, Mac OS or Linux system is needed to start mining. Basic machines like CPU can be used but it will take a long time to succeed. Also, your computer will end up overheated or getting damaged.

    GPU mining is recommended, especially those with graphic cards. Alternatively, you also can use Scrypt ASIC miner which is dedicated mainly for crypto like Dogecoin. 

    1. Software

    The software will differ depending on the hardware you use. Here are the softwares recommended for different hardwares:

    • CPU: CPUminer
    • GPU: EasyMiner, CGminer, CudaMiner
    • Scrypt ASIC: MultiMiner

    Be careful to select the legit mining software, or else the fake ones will harm your PC and investment. So double check before downloading. 

    1. Crypto wallet

    Digital wallet is not enough to secure your Dogecoin if you are serious about mining it. Since you have invested so much in this process, why not secure it further by having a cold crypto wallet?

    dogecoin digital wallet

    You don’t have to worry about being hacked  and keep your profits safe. 

    Conclusion

    We don’t know whether Dogecoin will go up in price again or plummet to oblivion. Will Elon Musk put more trust in it or is it just for clout? That’s up to you to discover. 

    However when mining Dogecoin, one should always balance the costs to run the mine and the potential returns before deciding whether it is a good option.  

    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.

  • Enjin (ENJ) Explained: Blockchain Gaming Platform

    Enjin (ENJ) Explained: Blockchain Gaming Platform

    Enjin is a blockchain gaming platform focused on the creation of digital collectible items that are truly owned by the user. The platform offers methods for creating digital assets (known as ERC1155 tokens) for use across multiple Video Games. Their uses include collectible art or even in-shop coupons. Blockchain gaming allows gamers to have true ownership of their in-game items and trade them for value.

    Enjin Platform uses Blockchain technology for these key benefits:

    • True item ownership – with transactions that cannot be censored powered by the Ethereum blockchain.
    • Convenient Exchange of value – digital items can be traded or sold instantly. The Enjin Wallet also allows users to access decentralised exchanges such as Kyber Network and Changelly.
    • Reserve Value – unwanted digital items can be “melted” into the Enjin Coin cryptocurrency.
    • Single Wallet for all items – the Enjin Wallet users to keep all digital assets in one single location.
    • ERC-1155 Token Standard – a superior version of the ERC20 and ERC721 token. Its transaction bundling and multi-send features mean it will save users’ costs.

    What is Enjin Coin (ENJ)?

    Enjin coin’s (ENJ) value comes from its use case as a stored reserve value in every item created on the Enjin Platform. $ENJ is locked up when items are created and released when items are destroyed.

    Items store (lock up) a certain amount of ENJ, with items such as the infamous “Monolith” storing 1,155,777 ENJ. ENJ from items can only be extracted by destroying the item (“via the melting process”). This creates a situation where more and more ENJ is locked up and overall supply is reduced as the platform is used by more games.

    #meltismurder
    Popular meme “Melt is Murder” discourages the destruction of items

    In terms of economics ENJ is a scarce resource and each game acts as a “value trap” for ENJ – locking up ENJ reserve and increasing the scarcity of $ENJ. With a limited supply of 1,000,000,000 $ENJ, this cryptocurrency acts as a form of “Digital Gold” – its value determined by the dynamics of supply and demand within the game’s ecosystem.

    Enjinx showcases all valuable assets and games on the Enjin Plastofrm

    Cross-game items – Enjin Multiverse

    One of the unique advantages of Blockchain gaming is the ability to create items that can be used across different games by different developers. This means players can carry their items between games like it is a single world (also known as the Multiverse).

    Multiverse items are possible because assets are stored on a decentralised blockchain – so independent developers can all access the item. To encourage the development of cross game items, Enjin announced its newest asset the Stormwall. It is an example of what we can expect with its gaming assets. Stormwall is a shield that moves across Enjin’s Multiverse of games.

    In the below video we see Stormwall being as a playable item in 32 different games including 9Lives Arena, Age of Rust, Cats in Mechs and more.

    Why is a Multiverse Beneficial?

    One of the biggest questions asked about cross-game items is – why is it beneficial for game developers and players? For developers, supporting cross-game items mean that they gain the benefits of additional exposure from games participating in the multiverse and increased retention from players who want to test out the item. This is especially important in this age as player attention is extremely valuable and having players “check out” how an items works in a different game drastically improves player interest.

    For players, having cross-game items mean that their items are naturally move valuable, especially long term value. This means that the effort used to earn valuable items are not wasted if they can be used in new upcoming games.

    The Enjin Coin Ecosystem

    Enjin have created an entire ecosystem where you can create, store, trade and use these items.

    • Enjin Wallet – Cryptocurrency wallet to safely store cryptocurrencies, blockchain gaming assets and exchange value. For more information check our EnjinWallet review.
    • EnjinX – Blockchain explorer to view transactions and items
    • Unity Plugin – Allows game developers to directly implement and issue items in games on multiple platforms like iOS, android, PC and MacOS.
    • Marketplace – buy and list items with the safety of smart contracts that independently facilitate the trade.
    • The Enjin Ecosystem

    Enjin for Mobile Games

    One of the biggest use case for non-fungible tokens is in mobile games. Mobile gaming is currently valued at $63.2 billion USD globally and growing on a year by year basis (Source: newzoo). Enjin has a direct partnership with game engine Unity which hosts the Enjin SDK which allows for easy integration of Blockchain assets directly into the game.

    Enjin Partnerships

    Enjin has a strategic partnerships with increase the rate of adoption of Blockchain Gaming and growth of the ecosystem. On the gaming side there is a partnership is with cross-platform game engine Unity with the introduction of the SDK

    The Enjinwallet has recently become the first wallet to offer full Binance Chain and all BEP-2 (Mithril, ChangeNow) based tokens.

    Enjin and Samsung Partnership

    Samsung’s s10 presentation at MWC Barcelona 2019 that broke the internet

    Enjin has been partnered with smartphone manufacturer Samsung Electronics to as a technology provider. Enjin Wallet directly interacts with the Samsung’s Blockchain Keystore, a trusted zone on new Samsung devices which is specifically designed to key cryptographic private keys safe. Samsung will also support Enjin’s ERC-1155 token standard and increase the adoption of Blockchain based non-fungible tokens.

    Enjin and Microsoft Partnership

    Microsoft Azure Heroes using Enjin ERC 1155
    Microsoft Azure Heroes using Enjin ERC 1155

    Microsoft has chosen Enjin as technology provider with the deployment of Azure Heroes, a program that will directly use ERC-1155 non-fungible tokens as a reward. This Blockchain-based reward will be given to contributors who help produce material for the Microsoft Azure platform, with participants given cute badge(r)s. For example, makers that contribute to the developer community or content heroes will be given rare badgers.

    These collectable badgers are a proof of achievement as an Azure Hero which you can show off on your social media. As these are tokenized assets on the blockchain, they cannot be faked. So no fake achievements or heroes here!

    https://twitter.com/AzureHeroes/status/1310851813164412928

    Enjin has entered the (DeFi) game

    Enjin Coin (ENJ) is now supported by the Aave Protocol. This means users can deposit ENJ in the Aave Protocol and earn interest whilst others borrow your ENJ. The Aave Protocol protects your deposits as it is controlled by immutable and transparent Ethereum smart contracts. Your ENJ is also secured by other cryptocurrencies left on the Protocol as collateral.

    How to connect Enjin Wallet to Aave Protocol

    Now with the Enjin-Aave partnership, you can directly interact with the Aave Protocol with your Enjin Wallet (which in our opinion is the best mobile wallet EVER). Here’s how: On the Enjin wallet, go to “DApp Browser”. On the search bar, go to app.aave.com. Click “Browser wallet” and when asked to choose your market, choose “Aave Market”.

    Connect Enjin Wallet to Aave Protocol
    Connect Enjin Wallet to Aave Protocol

    Enjin and BMW

    After much speculation, Enjin has confirmed they are partnering up with BMW to integrate Enjin Coin token swap into BMW’s Vantage App. The Vantage App is a Korean customer loyalty app for car-owners. Users can use the app to pay for goods/services such as gas, highway tolls and parking fees. There will also be referral rewards for dining and shopping.

    Purchases on the BMW Vantage app are rewarded with BMW Coins which can be used as spending for various activities and be swapped for ENJ.

    Note the token swap feature is not available on the Vantage App yet and according to Enjin, more details will be available once it is live.

    Enjin putting property on NFTs with LABS Group partnership

    Enjin is helping LABS Group put property on NFTs and the blockchain with its partnership.

    LABS Group will be using Enjin’s NFT minting platform to tokenise real estate on the blockchain. LABS Group will be offering fractionalized deeds of real estate for as low as USD$100, allowing retail investors (particularly millennials) to finally enter and invest in the real estate market.

    The range of real estate on offer will include buildings, hotel rooms and apartments. Trades will all take place securely through the regulated LABS Security Exchange.

    This marks the introduction of blockchain into the world’s oldest and largest asset class, valued at approximately USD$228 trillion.

    Enjin enters Japanese cryptocurrency market

    Enjin will be the FIRST gaming cryptocurrency to be listed on Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges. And it is going straight for the top with one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges- Coincheck.

    Enjin ($ENJ) will be listed on Coincheck from 26th January 2021.

    This is a significant first step for Enjin into the Japanese market. Enjin’s aims are twofold- for ENJ to be approved by Japan’s finance regulators and to promote adoption of the Enjin Platform in the Japanese gaming industry.

    This listing was one and a half years in the making, having to pass the rigorous auditing and monitoring of the Japanese Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA)- formally recognised by Japanese financial regulators, the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA). The approval process for cryptocurrencies in Japan is notoriously difficult, with only 15 cryptocurrencies (including Enjin) being approved for listing on Coincheck.

    Japan also has a fiercely competitive cryptocurrency exchange market with over 20 exchanges in operation. Coincheck is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan based on volume, founded in 2014 with over 1.7m users and counting, and prides itself on being the top downloaded cryptocurrency app in Japan.

    As Enjin now has its foot in the door of the Japanese market, the Enjin team is now in discussions with various domestic companies and projects. With Japan being the pioneers of the gaming world (think Super Mario, Pokemon and Final Fantasy), it will be interesting to see what innovations Enjin can bring to the space.

    See Enjin’s official announcement on the Coincheck listing.

    Enjin Japan Coincheck
    Enjin is going to Japan! (Image credit: Coincheck)

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Does it cost ENJ to transfer tokens on Enjin Chain?

    Enjin isn’t a blockchain, rather it’s a project built on Ethereum. In order to transfer Items (non-fungible tokens), you’ll need to use ethereum (similar to how ERC20 tokens work). In the future Enjin is explorer additional scaling options (Efinity) to allow for free item transfers.

    What is the most EXPENSIVE item on ENJIN

    The Monolith is the most expensive item on ENJIN, with 1,155,777 ENJ locked in the item. At the time of writing, this item is worth $168,000 USD!

    What makes ENJIN valuable

    ENJIN is a scarce resource, used to lock value into ever item created on the ENJIN platform. This means as time progresses and more games create items on ENJIN, more and more $ENJ will be locked up creating scarcity in supply

    Where can I buy Enjin

    $Enj is listed on all major exchanges, such as Binance.

    Other Resources:

    EnjinX – Blockchain explorer that tracks the Ethereum Blockchain, ERC-20 and ERC-1155 items
    Egamers – Enjin Games news website
    Everything Enjin – Great site covering Enjin Related News
    Multiverse Era – Telegram Channel about the Enjin Multiverse
    Castle Crypto – Coverage of Enjin games
    AsiaCryptoToday – cover of Enjin Platform

    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.

  • Wing Finance ($WING) – A Credit-based DeFi Lending Platform

    Wing Finance ($WING) – A Credit-based DeFi Lending Platform

    Wing Finance ($WING) introduced a credit-based DeFi system that supports cross-chain digital asset lending, allowing users to borrow funds and provide collateral based on their credit score.

    Crypto-lending, as it was introduced in the DeFi space, was not as accessible to many as it was meant to be. Despite being open platforms, over-collateralization requirements have limited the number of people who could make loans since they had to own a ton of digital assets first. Wing Finance aims to resolve this issue. In this article, we will explain how this mechanism works.

    Check out our video on how you can EARN through Wing Finance:

    HUGE Opportunities to EARN don’t miss out: WING Finance (Ontology)

    Background

    Wing Finance is a protocol developed by the team behind Ontology, an enterprise blockchain solution protocol. The aim of the developers was to address the problems that were present in mainstream financial products deployed in DeFi. With the process mainly designed to introduce credit elements in the space, Ontology came up with Wing Finance.

    In the spirit of further decentralization, Wing Finance also launched a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to support community governance and user sovereignty. What Wing brings to the table are concepts such as credit-based lending and expandable categories of assets that can be digitized.

    Features of Wing Finance

    Here are the main features of Wing Finance:

    • Wing Finance supports cross-chain collaboration and decentrazlied governance throughout a range of DeFi projects.
    • They have a risk control mechanism that fosters relationships between borrowers, creditors, and guarantors that will be mutually beneficial.
    • Wing Finance bridges the world of DeFi and traditional finance through its decentralized credit system.

    What is Wing Finance?

    Wing Finance ($WING) is a credit-based, cross-chain lending platform on DeFi. And as already mentioned, its main goal is to make digital lending services more accessible to everyone through a credit evaluation module that does away with massive collateralization requirements.

    The credit evaluation framework works around the OScore system, a mechanism built on top of Ontology. OScore is a sovereign reputation and credit assessment system for DeFi. It functions through the implementation of identifiers and credentials that are supported in cross-chain transactions.

    To put it simply, it is the system that comes up with a credit evaluation tool that factors in the holdings or balance of any particular user, as well as their history of managing digital assets. To do this, OScore attaches a digital identity to a user’s assets, such as those that are built on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ontology. This helps the system determine a user’s credit score.

    Ontology is working on integrating more evaluation functions and on-chain data in the OScore system. But now, they are already implementing OScore in their user’s wallets.

    Collateral Support

    Since the platform is powered by Ontology, it can support a collateral pool that contains a variety of cryptocurrencies even if they are on different blockchains. This is what is referred to as ‘cross-chain’ support. Through Ontology’s decentralized identity and data functions, any asset can be digitized.

    Decentralized and Automated Credit Evaluation

    Smart contracts power the decentralized and automated credit evaluation function of the platform. Decentralized identity and data protocols enable automated credit data verification and evaluation system that does not require any third-party intervention. Furthermore, this is where the OScore system rests.

    Features of Credit-Based Lending

    • Lower collateralization requirements

    Since borrowers can now depend on their OScore data to make loans, the collateralization requirements can be lowered further, if not canceled altogether.

    • Asset Digitization

    It is easier to digitize assets on the platform because it can now be attached with credit elements from the on-chain data that OScore can gather.

    • User Sovereignty

    The platform does not need any third-party to perform user verifications. Instead, the credit elements used to tag users function through decentralized identifiers (DID), which are verifiable and decentralized. Smart contracts also ensure that the review of these elements does not need manual intervention anymore.

    Wing Pools

    There are 2 types of pools on Wing Finance- Flash Pool, NFT Pool and Inclusive Pool.

    Flash Pool

    Wing is deployed on 4 networks with 6 pools in total: Ontology, Ethereum, OKXChain, BNB chain, and Ontology EVM.

    Wing Finance’s Flash Pool allows users to borrow and lend on the platform. Lenders also receive interest payments for supplying their funds on the platform. To prevent the likelihood of asset losses, it also has an insurance pool that can cover such risks.

    Flash Pool
    • Lending

    Anyone can supply their cryptocurrencies in the Flash Pool which it will lend to the platform’s borrowers. In return, lenders receive interest in both the crypto supplied and WING tokens. The return is correspondent to its APY.

    • Borrowing

    Anyone can borrow cryptocurrencies from the Flash Pool, they just need to meet the prescribed collateral requirement for their loan. To earn WING rewards, they have to lock 3% of their WING tokens first.

    • Insurance

    To ensure that potential risks are covered in the platform, users can also take part in the insurance pool of the platform. Users just have to lock their WING tokens in the flash pool for at least 3 days.

    NFT Pool

    Wing Finance’s NFT Pool is a NFT-collateral based fund pool on the Wing DAO platform. It currently supports 6 types of NFTs: CryptoPunks, MAYC, BAYC, Meebits, Azuki, and CLONE X.

    The main feature of Wing Finance’s NFT pool is that it hopes to provide a unique and innovative way to unlock the value of NFTs via its peer-to-pool lending model. With the peer-to-pool lending model, users supply ETH in the asset pool to provide liquidity to the lending pool. These users earn ETH interest from borrowers and the pWING token which is an ERC-20 protocol variant of the WING token.

    In the NFT pool, users can borrow ETH by collaterizing NFTs which go into the NFT-collateral pool. The borrowers then receive a corresponding functional NFT. NFT buyers could then purchase these NFTs through the liquidation market with the potential to purchase them at a discount since the NFT prices are calculated from the floor price.

    Inclusive pool

    Wing Finance’s Inclusive Pool is an asset pool that allows people to undercollaterize assets and maximize their borrowing capabilities. The Inclusive Pool includes a supply & borrow pool, and an insurance pool.

    There are currently only 3 supported assets on the Inclusive Pool: pDAI, pUSDT and pUSDC. Users can borrow from the supply pool subject to the rules set by Wing Finance. Users can also loan out assets but is required to collaterize a certain amount every time they do so. This amount is calculated based on the users’ OScore.

    WING tokens are distributed to those who use the Inclusive Pool provided they have not breached repayments, or only returned their loans during the grace period.

    WING Token

    The WING token is Wing Finance’s native utility token. It is used to back the platform’s reward system as well as its voting mechanisms.

    Rewards System

    In Wing Finance’s Inclusive pool, they are rewarded for maintaining a good credit score on the platform. Examples of activities that help with that include paying loans back on time and maintaining good behavior.

    They can also be given reduced interest rates for their loans if they exhibit good repayment practices.

    Wing DAO

    The community can vote on protocol parameters on Wing’s three main pools. These are the lending pool, borrowed pool, and risk control margin pool. Some examples of the functions that can be subject to a community vote are the type of assets that can be borrowed, minimum and maximum borrowing and lending amounts, and other risk control requirements.

    Wing DAO

    Users only have to own at least 1 WING in order to participate in community governance. Through this, they are given the right to put forward proposals on the services of the platform.

    Why are WING prices pumping?

    WING prices have gone up nearly 300% in the past 24 hours on 29th July 2022, from $12 to a high of $58. But why are WING prices going up? This could be because there has been an overall rise in DeFi tokens such as Uniswap ($UNI) (up 24.9% in the past 7 days) and PancakeSwap ($CAKE) (up 21.2% in the past last 7 days). However, a more recent reason for the sudden rise in WING prices could be the AMA with WING DAO on the latest NFT pool.

    However, there is concern that the WING price pump may not be sustainable as many consider the crypto market to still be in a bearish state.

    Conclusion

    Over-collateralization requirements in most DeFi products have limited the number of people who could actually borrow crypto and the amount that they can leverage. While these were innovations that many crypto adopters were waiting for, these were not enough to attract new adopters who didn’t have much crypto holdings to begin with.

    Wing Finance has made a system where it is much easier to borrow funds and lend idle assets to get returns without compromising the quality of its liquidity pool altogether. And because it functions on top of the Ontology system, it does not suffer from rising gas fees that are experienced in other smart contract chains.

    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.

  • 5 Reasons to be excited about Ethereum (According to Vitalik)

    5 Reasons to be excited about Ethereum (According to Vitalik)

    Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin recently discussed in his blog post his excitement about Ethereum and its potential. He admits that originally, he was more general about what Ethereum can achieve. But now, after so many projects being developed on Ethereum, he is shifting his gaze to applications already known to work. In this article, we look at some Vitalik’s reasons as to why we should be excited for Ethereum and its potential.

    What is Ethereum?

    Ethereum is an open-source, public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform featuring smart contract (scripting) functionality. It provides a decentralized virtual machine known as the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The EVM can execute scripts using an international network of public nodes. Ethereum also provides a cryptocurrency token called “ether” ($ETH). Ether ($ETH) can be transferred between accounts and used to compensate participant nodes for computations performed. Ethereum was proposed in late 2013 by Vitalik Buterin and launched in 2015.

    To learn more about Ethereum, check out our article: Ethereum 2.0 is coming- Here’s what you NEED to know.

    Ethereum development roadmap
    Ethereum development roadmap (Source: Twitter)

    Reason 1: Ethereum as a form of payment

    In countries with fewer links to the global financial system or with extreme inflation, cryptocurrency (and Ethereum) is a valuable asset. Vitalik realised this in December 2021 when he was able to pay for meals using cryptocurrency in Argentina.

    One obstacle to the more widespread use of cryptocurrency, according to Vitalik, was high transaction fees. At the time, fees cost about a third of his meal, and several minutes to confirm. However, since he and the restaurant owner had Binance wallets, they were able to transfer the funds instantly for free.

    Since then, there have been significant improvements to the Ethereum network. After the Ethereum Merge transactions are being processed at a much faster and more stable rate. Scaling technologies such as rollups will even further push Ethereum’s scalability. Technologies such as social recovery and multisig wallets with account abstraction are also improving wallet security. It may take years for these technologies to mature, but progress is certainly being made.

    Donations are a notable use case for cryptocurrency. For example, we saw donations being made to Ukraine and refugees relying on digital currencies as a form of payment.

    To learn more, check out our article: Crypto war- The role of cryptocurrencies in the Russian-Ukraine conflict.

    In addition, countries’ adoption of CBDCs (e.g. China’s DCEP/e-CNY) has led to serious concerns about financial surveillance and control. According to Vitalik, cryptocurrency is the only technology that can combine digitalization with privacy.

    This makes payments one of the major reasons to be excited for Ethereum and its potential.

    Reason 2: Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

    Vitalik also sees huge potential in DeFi. In particular, he considers the following DeFi products to be especially important:

    • Decentralized stablecoins: Decentralized stablecoins are considered a secure and stable digital money. Essentially, halfway between holding crypto assets and withdrawing to fiat currency. They are also usually pegged to a reserved asset, such as the US Dollar, making it less volatile than most cryptocurrencies. Decentralized stablecoins have added aspects of being fully transparent and non-custodial. An example of decentralized stablecoins is the DAI token, DUSD or EOSDT.
    • Prediction markets: Prediction markets have been a reliable part of the DeFi landscape since Augur launched in 2015. They have been gaining traction ever since, demonstrating their utility in the 2020 US election. Allowing people to predict (and profit) from the outcome of the 2020 US elections. In 2022, both crypto-based prediction markets such as Polymarket, and play-money markets like Metaculus are becoming even more popular. Crypto-based prediction markets are advantageous, as they are more trustworthy and accessible worldwide. Vitalik expects these markets to continuously grow in terms of usage and value over time.
    • Other synthetic assets: Major stock indices and real estate have the potential to be replicated in the same way as stablecoins. However, there is a challenge in creating an appropriate balance of decentralization and efficiency to make these assets available at reasonable rates of return.
    • Glue layers: These will be necessary to allow users to easily trade between different assets, such as ETH, centralized or decentralized stablecoins, synthetic assets, etc.
    Polymarket is a popular platform allowing users to make predictions on current events
    Polymarket is a popular platform allowing users to make predictions on current events (Source: Polymarket)

    Reason 3: Blockchain Identity

    Vitalik is bullish on blockchain identity. Blockchain identity uses blockchain technology for aspects of identification such as basic authentication, attestations, naming, and proof of personhood. An example mentioned by Vitalik is the Sign In With Ethereum (SIWE) standard. The SIWE standard lets users log into websites similar to how we use Google or Facebook to automatically log in. But with SIWE, we can log into sites without fear of Google or Facebook accessing our private information, or locking our accounts. SIWE is currently used in end-to-end encrypted email, Skiff and many blockchain-based alternative social media projects.

    Also, ENS allows usernames to be used with proof-of-personhood systems. This can enable users to prove that they are actually human. This is especially useful for airdrops and governance, as it ensures fairness and prevents abuse. Proof-of-attendance protocol can also confirm a person’s participation and thus their eligibility for airdrops and participation in governance.

    Vitalik believes that each of these applications has its individual uses. But the true utility will be seen when these aspects are all combined. For example, users can log on to Blockscan chat using Ethereum, making them visible by their ENS name. Then, to fight spam, Blockscan chat could “verify” accounts by examining their proof-of-attendance protocols. This verification process could show information on a user’s participation, and even verify token balances or a proof-of-personhood profile. In turn, it can be determined whether the user should be eligible for rewards and perks.

    Reason 4: DAOs

    DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) are smart contracts that represent an ownership or control structure over an asset or process. Vitalik believes there is still room for improvement for DAOs, particularly in terms of ensuring they are not abused. For example, DAOs are crucial for the long-term survival of decentralized stablecoins. But, there have been cases of malicious actors abusing DAOs to drain DeFi projects out of hundreds of millions.

    Reason 5: Hybrid applications

    Finally, Vitalik believes there are applications that can take advantage of both blockchains and other systems in order to improve their trust models. For example, voting can utilise systems such as MACI to combine blockchains, ZK-SNARKs, and a limited centralized (or M-of-N) layer for scalability and coercion resistance. This will allow voting to be censorship resistant, auditable, and private.

    Conclusion

    According to Vitalik, we are only at the beginning stages of building applications that will push Ethereum’s potential even further. Currently, these applications face the challenges of the limits of present-day technology, such as the lack of scalability of blockchains. There will also be other challenges to come, such as privacy issues.

    However, there are numerous reasons to be excited for Ethereum, because all these problems can be solved. Vitalik believes that it will require us to look beyond the quest for excitement and short-term profit. Because sometimes, it is the more stable and boring applications that become the most useful and valuable in the long run.