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46

Trading / Big Shift in Market Sentiment After Price Spike for Bitcoin & Dogecoin

« on: April 06, 2019, 05:00:33 PM »

Bitcoin Analysis

Bitcoin Weekly

After almost three months of Doji candles and small-bodied candles recording on the weekly chart for market leader Bitcoin, a significant spike took place early this week.

The primary reason analysts believe the price increased so rapidly was due to short seller liquidation, which serves to drive price higher.

Later in the week Cumberland, a Chicago-based OTC desk, noted that several trades of greater than 1000 BTC were executed within a short time frame.

Each of the dotted lines on the below chart represents a trade of greater than 1000 Bitcoin being executed.

https://twitter.com/CumberlandSays/status/1113905335025184769

Bitcoin Daily

The rapid price rise brought the Bitcoin price over both a downward trendline (which was a significant point of resistance during 2018) and also an area of seller liquidity between $4100 and $4250, which price failed to overcome on three prior attempts.

The current price action we are seeing is similar to the price action which took place in November but in reverse.

Price sharply fell in November and underwent a period of consolidation, before following up with another significant drop.

The price has been recording some consolidation over the past few days of price action.

This type of price action increases the likelihood that the next move we will see will be a significant one to the upside.

The next critical level to monitor for bitcoin is $6150, which was a crucial level in 2018 and held as support numerous times prior to price significantly breaking below in November.

Dogecoin Analysis

DOGE Weekly

Altcoins also recorded significant increases during the week with the price spikes taking place across the crypto market.

DOGE had been trading around $0.002 since early January, and the price spike has resulted in the price surpassing the point of the former high.

DOGE Daily

DOGE actually appreciated before the price spike which took place in other top cryptocurrencies.

While other top cryptocurrencies began increasing on the 2nd of April, the surge in DOGE started on the 1st of April.

Research shows Dogecoin to be the least correlated with the returns of other major cryptocurrencies and the week’s performance reflects this.

While Bitcoin began consolidating after its initial spike, the increase in Dogecoin lasted several days and has now started to reverse.

With buying pressure high and more bullish patterns forming across the cryptocurrency market, it is likely that we could see a second wave of buying hitting DOGE.

Key takeaways:

• Price spikes take place across the cryptocurrency market, and market leader Bitcoin moves above an area of seller liquidity and a downward trendline which acted as resistance several times in 2018
• Several trades of greater than 1000 Bitcoin occurring in a short timeframe played a role in the increase
  
• Bitcoin has been consolidating over the past few day’s price action, increasing the likelihood that it can follow up with another increase
  
• DOGE ended a prolonged period of consolidation and increased before the appreciations in other cryptocurrencies
  
• The rise in DOGE lasted several days but is currently undergoing a reversal
  

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47

Crypto Discussion / Bitcoin’s transactions per block rate breaks all-time record twice in 10 days

« on: April 06, 2019, 04:55:34 PM »

Bitcoin’s [BTC] rally over the past week had made unprecedented news in the cryptocurrency industry, an area that was reeling from the constant bear pressure. The rise of the world’s largest cryptocurrency to break the $5,000 barrier was also followed by other cryptocurrencies on the charts spiking in terms of value too, with Ethereum [ETH], Litecoin [LTC] and EOS being stellar examples.

Bitcoin’s price hike was not the only event that was associated with the cryptocurrency, as reports show that Bitcoin broke an all-time high in terms of transactions per block. It was also found that the record was broken twice in the past 10 days, a positive boost for the coin that is far from its former glory. The figures showed that the initial record was created on December 20, 2017, a day after Bitcoin reached its all-time high, clocking 2,722 transactions per block.

That record was first broken this March 26, when the number of transactions on a block reached 2,734. Four days after the new record was established, it was broken again when the transactions on a single block peaked at 2,745. The figures mentioned above were daily averages meant to create a more consistent picture.

Kevin Rooke, a famous cryptocurrency researcher, replied to users’ comments on Bitcoin’s new numbers. EJ, a cryptocurrency enthusiast, asked:

“Not to diminish the significant amount of work that went into making this possible, but do we really think a 0.8% improvement over 15 months is substantial?”

To this, Rooke replied:

“These figures just refer to network usage, not necessarily max capacity (though Dec 2017 was probably pretty close to max capacity).”

Bitcoin’s abrupt price increase was also mentioned in the SFOX report, which claimed that the rally could drive volatility higher. The report also talked about the volatility of altcoins, which included Ethereum Classic [ETC], a cryptocurrency that has been away from the limelight for quite some time now. The report spoke about ETC’s volatility:

“This may be a function of increasing uncertainty about the future of this particular blockchain: on the one hand, ETCLabs’ renewed focus on Dapp development [especially Dapps focused on the Internet of Things] has some believing that ETC may be a currently undervalued platform for powering the next evolution of internet technologies.”

Source

48

Investing & Make Money Discussion / Blockchain Mortgage Tech Startup Acre Software Raises $6.5 Mln From UK Financial

« on: April 06, 2019, 04:54:26 PM »

United Kingdom startup Acre Software raised about $6.5 million to apply blockchain technology to the mortgage and insurance application process for advisers, a press release published on April 4 states.

Per the release, nearly three-quarters of UK mortgages are facilitated by advisers, and the company aims to help them retain their position by matching the speed of an end-user service. Acre reportedly uses blockchain to store all the data about mortgage advice immutably.

The investment reportedly comes from UK financial adviser Sesame Bankhall Group (SBG), which, according to the release, has more than 11,000 advisers in the country. Owler estimates the annual revenue of the advisory firm to be around $4.5 million. Moreover, the release also claims that SBG closed an exclusive deal with the startup, the details of which were not disclosed.

As Cointelegraph reported in October last year, mortgages are seemingly a target for modernization and decentralization through the application of blockchain technology. Big Four auditing firm PWC claimed in a report that blockchain “technology could remove cost and friction from the process, create transaction records that are infallible and incorruptible, and facilitate near-instantaneous settlement.”

More recently, in March, Swiss mortgage bank Hypothekarbank (“Hypi”) Lenzburg partnered with Swiss crypto asset manager TokenSuisse to expand the bank’s service offerings for crypto and blockchain firms.

Source

49

Trading / Binance CEO CZ attacks exchanges with fake trading volume; claims ‘credibility’

« on: April 06, 2019, 04:53:13 PM »

The issue of fake data in the cryptocurrency space has been prevalent for a long time now and many proponents and luminaries in the space are trying hard to combat it. Bitcoin [BTC], the largest cryptocurrency in the space, has been at the center of many controversies involving fake trading volumes and exchanges manipulating the trade counts.

The latest news related to such events was pertaining to Binance’s Chief Executive Officer [CEO] Changpeng Zhao, who commented on Binance’s position at number 8 on the list of cryptocurrency exchanges, according to CoinMarketCap. He tweeted:

“This is getting a little out of hand. The exchanges above fail to realize:
CREDIBILITY is the most important asset for any exchange!
If an exchange fakes their volumes, would you trust them with your funds?”

Zhao, more popularly known as CZ in the cryptocurrency industry, also took a sly dig at the wrongdoers in the industry by stating that the “secret” for the health of the industry depends on the exchanges not hurting themselves.

Many users also commented on CZ’s post, with the CEO agreeing with Alen Salamun, a cryptocurrency enthusiast’s, tweet. Salamun had stated:

“People still don’t know you can fake any email address simply by changing the From: field. So they have absolutely no clue you can easily fake exchange volumes by 0 fee inside exchange trading….”

Many people in the space have also been appalled by Binance’s number 8 position on the charts, with some claiming that the drop is due to the “epidemic of wash trading occurring to inflate volume”.

CZ’s disappointment and criticism comes in the wake of reports claiming that 95% of reported Bitcoin trading volume was fake. The report, dated March 20, was created by Bitwise Asset management who informed the US Securities and Exchanges Commission [SEC] of the apparent manipulation of figures in the cryptoverse. The report stated:

“Despite its widespread use, the CoinMarketCap.com data is wrong. It includes a large amount of fake and/or non-economic trading volume, thereby giving a fundamentally mistaken impression of the true size and nature of the bitcoin market.”

Source

50

Investing & Make Money Discussion / Cryptoradar Finds Best Prices Across Exchanges and Brokers

« on: April 06, 2019, 02:00:51 PM »

When you want to buy or sell digital coins, a service called Cryptoradar can help you find the best prices across multiple trading platforms. The website tracks cryptocurrency exchanges and brokers and offers several optimal choices depending on your location.

Traders Can Select Exchanges Based on Their Features

Cryptoradar.co has a variety of filtering options. Users can pick a digital asset exchange, a crypto broker, or a P2P platform based, for example, on supported payment methods like bank transfer including Sepa, Visa and Mastercard, and payment processors like Paypal and Skrill.

Traders can also select a platform that’s either based or available in their country or region and choose those that support a particular language. Results can be filtered by features like instant verification, integrated wallet, mobile app, and beginner friendly services as well as their ratings.

The website, developed by an Estonian company, finds marketplaces for a dozen major cryptocurrencies including bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin core (BTC) and ethereum (ETH). It can be used by both buyers and sellers who can set price alerts for the coin they are interested in.

Cryptoradar provides information about every platform it suggests. This includes details about the applicable fees and the availability of features like cold storage, multisig wallets, business accounts, and two-factor authentication. Both payment and payout options are listed.

A popup window for each trading platform contains a short description of the exchange or broker, an estimate of the ease of use of its system, details about the verification process, and its rating score. Registered users can write reviews and even earn money by sharing their experience.

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51

Crypto Discussion / New Ethereum Development Funding, Donation Model Panvala Launched

« on: April 06, 2019, 01:58:58 PM »

The Panvala development team has released the Rinkeby Alpha MVP, which can already be downloaded . This is the “first publicly usable build of Panvala” that has been launched to “demonstrate” the core functionalities of the system, encourage developers to contribute open-source code to the project, and obtain feedback from end-users.

Rinkeby has been built by ConsenSys, a Brooklyn, New York-based Ethereum-related development studio, and Panvala’s role in the project is to “facilitate the funding” of the work being done to ensure the growth and adoption of the Ethereum network.

Funding Ethereum Development Through “Slate Governance”

According to a blog post published by ConsenSys, Panvala aims to use a process referred to as “slate governance,” in order to help in acquiring funding for projects that interest the Ethereum community.

As mentioned in ConsenSys’ blog, slate governance works in a manner that is “similar to Token Curated Registries and other methods of decentralized governance.” Notably, Panvala has created a system which uses a token -based model that “wraps the existing ecosystem of grant funders, corporate open-source projects, and volunteers” by “giving them all” a common incentive to acquire “sustainable funding.”

Grants Issued To Gnosis, Level K, Status

Panvala has reportedly issued grants to fund the ongoing development of Gnosis, a decentralized prediction market platform, Status, an Ethereum-based mobile operating system, and Level K, a platform focused on smart contract development using Solidity.

Explaining how Panvala works and elaborating on its main objective, Jacob Cantele, the VP of Product at Panvala, remarked:

Panvala is a donation driven platform that helps fund the work that the whole Ethereum community depends on, typically work that furthers the security or scalability of Ethereum. Our donors contribute funds to a smart contract called the token capacitor. Each quarter, our token holders use their tokens to vote on which grant applications should be funded from the token capacitor.

Cantele also revealed Panvala was “originally built as a more traditional token-curated registry, before adopting slate governance as [its] model.” He added that “slate governance is an alternative to token-curated registries,” which “allows an individual or organization” on the platform to “curate a slate of proposals.”

Slate Governance Similar To "Representation In A Voting System"

These proposals, Cantele noted, are essentially a “registry” and they “have [their] slate compete with other slates on the platform for the support of token holders.” According to Cantele, slate governance is “more similar to representation in a voting system” as it helps in “solving the problem of low-voter knowledge of each individual proposal existing in a registry.”

When asked who should be testing out Panvala’s Alpha version, Cantele said:

Our main focus for the alpha is attracting members of the Ethereum community who would like to share their feedback. Panvala is also fully open-source, and we’d love to collaborate with other teams and hope our slate governance innovations can be a model for teams generally. Lastly, we’re very interested in talking to anyone who is interested in donating to the system, applying for a grant, or becoming a token holder.

Source

52

Trading / CME unrivalled; sees BTC Futures up by 950% since close of March

« on: April 06, 2019, 01:56:30 PM »

The Bitcoin bull-run coupled with the competitor-less Bitcoin Futures market saw the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s [CME] Bitcoin Futures surge by a whopping 950 percent over the past five days of the month.

As per exchange’s data, the CME saw a massive 22,542 contracts traded on its exchange on April 4, with each contract accounting for 5 BTC. This would mean that over $560 million, given Bitcoin’s price at over $5,000, was traded in the form of Bitcoin Futures in the period.

On April 1, Monday, prior to Bitcoin’s $5,000 ascendance, the number of contracts traded was a mere 2,162. A day later, when BTC rose by 15 percent and the collective market added over $20 billion overnight, the contracts increased by 455.73 percent to total 12,015 contracts.

An additional 5,050 contracts were traded on Wednesday. Bitcoin’s price continued to hover close to, and at times over $5,000, leading many to believe that this pump was not a temporary shock and hence the contracts, on April 4, reached 22,542, a massive 942.64 percent higher than the amount at the beginning of the month.

The Bitcoin futures market, as a whole, was going through a tumultuous time since the crypto-winter set in during the close of 2018. February 2019, saw the top exchanges, CBOE and CME record their lowest Bitcoin futures trading volume to date. After a successful early-2018, the derivatives market seemed to lose steam, as the price-decline began and eclipsed in February.

March 2019 also saw CBOE pull out of the XBT race by delisting their Bitcoin Futures for the same month. This exit was due to the falling prices of the coins in the market and the overwhelming drop of CBOE BTC Futures volume compared to that of CME.

CME is on the verge of facing stiff competition from other digital asset platforms, the most prominent of which is the highly anticipated Bakkt, spearheaded by the Intercontinental Exchange [ICE]. However, Bakkt has significant regulatory stalling and their launch has been delayed from January 2019 to later this year.

Other futures exchanges pegged to virtual currencies are Digital Currency Group and Polychain Capital, but Bakkt seems to be the overwhelming favorite.

In March, Terry Duffy, the Chairman of the CME, stated that stablecoins, backed by fiat currencies, would seek regulatory approval easier that decentralized currency. He added that the number of use-cases of cryptocurrencies should be expanded for it to be seen as a mode of payment rather than a mere volatile investment vehicle.

Most notably, Duffy shed light on the main cause of the regulatory obstacle for cryptocurrencies. He stated that the principle of limited supply, where only a certain number of Bitcoins can ever be created (21 million), is the main reason regulators stand in opposition to the decentralized currency market.

Source

53

General Discussion, Non Crypto Stuff / Ether Makes a Cameo in the Latest Season of a Netflix Series

« on: April 06, 2019, 01:55:03 PM »

In what can be marked as a fascinating development, Netflix, the much-loved streaming platform, has featured Ether in its recently released show. The show in question is a science-fiction thriller called The OA which is a Netflix original and has returned with its second season.

The series features the usage of ETH (Ether) as its story is based upon the fictional online quiz game Q Symphony. The plot features one character winning a considerable sum of ETH by playing the Q Symphony game. Here, the digital currency takes the center stage but interestingly this inclusion doesn’t have to do anything with money laundering, trading, or dark web.

Ethereum Debuts on Netflix

There is no doubt that Ethereum holds the 2nd position in the popularity chart in terms of cryptocurrency market cap. Following its mass-appeal, the web series The OA also goes on to feature the digital currency with prominence. Ether is introduced in the 1st episode itself as a form of currency that is given as rewards to the players of its fictional puzzle game named Q Symphony.

As the “Part II” of the series has digital currency content, the story is understandably set in the technical hub of San Francisco. In fact, the show seems to be greatly influenced by a blend of supernatural as well as science-fiction. The series starts with a female character going missing who also has made ETH in a significant sum through Q Symphony. However, before she goes missing, she has transferred all those funds to none other than her grandmother.

What must be noted is the fact that the web series is set in the backdrop wherein the crypto market didn’t witness a slump in the majority of 2018, so you might notice a difference between the prices shown during the episode and the current prices. But that is not a major issue as the story has enough action happening to hold your interest.

What makes this show different from others is the way it has included digital currency in its story. Previously, there have been other shows as well as movies that revolved around or included crypto in its subject. But they either focused on trading (like in Billions’ one episode), dark web (like in the feature film Unfriended: Dark Web) or even computer hacking (like in a single episode of another Netflix series The Blacklist).

On the other hand, The OA features crypto in a more normal and acceptable light. It showcases ETH being given as rewards to the players in the fictional video game played online which is quite similar and closer to today’s reality that probably has multiple decentralized games in the developmental stage across the world. In addition, the cryptocurrency in The OA is also shown as an authorized payment method as its characters are seen transferring or accepting the digital asset without any questions.

What’s also fascinating is that the makers have chosen ETH over Bitcoin to take the center stage in their plot. That also indirectly indicates the crypto-savvy nature and futuristic crypto approach of the show’s writers.

Source

54

Trading / Fundstrat Global Advisors Co-Founder Thomas Lee: Bitcoin Is Back in a Bullish Tr

« on: April 06, 2019, 01:54:09 PM »

Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Thomas Lee said that Bitcoin (BTC) is back in a bullish trend during an interview with Bloomberg published on April 5.

During the interview, Lee pointed out that Bitcoin’s critics declared the cryptocurrency dead because it lost 90% of its value. However, it has now broken over its 200-day-moving-average, which is why he thinks sentiment has to change and that BTC is currently in a bull market. Lee noted that a tailwind for Bitcoin formed this year because the dollar wasn’t strengthening and China’s equity multiplier has been growing.

Lee also noted that there is evidence that the so-called whales — investors who hold great quantities of cryptocurrency — have started accumulating more crypto once again. He said:

“A lot of them sold, in early 2018, that’s dry powder, they’re starting to put that to work.”

As Cointelegraph reported in March, Thomas Lee previously told CNBC that he thinks a bull mark could return within six months, noting the indicator to keep an eye on is 200-day-moving-average.

In February, Lee’s New York-based research company Fundstrat Global Advisors released its 2019 crypto outlook in which analysts describe incremental improvements that will purportedly support higher prices for cryptocurrencies.

Source

55

Trading / Bitcoin Hovers Over $5,000 as Top Cryptos See Losses

« on: April 06, 2019, 01:52:52 PM »

Saturday, April 6 — most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting slight losses on the day by press time, as Bitcoin (BTC) hovers near the $5,000 mark.

Market visualization courtesy of Coin360

Bitcoin’s price has seen a gain of half a percent on the day, trading at around $5,004 by press time, according to CoinMarketCap. Looking at its weekly chart, the current price is a solid 18% higher than $4,095, the price at which Bitcoin started the week.

Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Ethereum (ETH) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which is at about $17.2 billion. The second-largest altcoin, Ripple (XRP), has a market cap of about $14.7 billion by press time.

ETH is down by 0.38% over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading around $163, after having started the day at the same price. On its weekly chart, ETH has seen its value increase by over 12%.

Ethereum 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Second-largest altcoin Ripple has lost three percent over the 24 hours to press time, and is currently trading at around $0.354. Looking at the coin’s weekly chart, its current price is over 12% higher than the price at which it started the week.

Ripple 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Chris Larsen, co-founder of San Francisco-based technology company Ripple, and his wife Lyna Lam have donated $25 million in XRP to a university in California, according to an announcement released yesterday.

Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the only ones reporting gains (other than Bitcoin) are Binance Coin (BNB) and Monero (XMR), both under a percent up, and Tezos (XTZ), about 1.88% up.

The total market cap of all cryptocurrencies is currently equivalent to $174.6 billion, which is almost 18% higher than $143.4 billion, the value it saw one week ago.

Source

56

Scam Reports & Crypto Crime / Former Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd faces rape allegations, [...]

« on: April 06, 2019, 01:50:32 PM »

In a recent turn of events, Peter Todd, a former Bitcoin Core developer and cryptography consultant, filed a defamation case against ‘isis agora lovecruft’, who had earlier accused him of rape and sexual assault.

According to CoinSpice, the defamation lawsuit was filed by Todd’s attorney Liana W Chen, a senior associate with Kronenberger Rosenfeld, in the United States District Court Northern District of California. The suit was filed on April 2, 2019, in Oakland and Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu is expected to hear the case.

https://twitter.com/peterktodd/status/1114244703103397890

The defamation suit detailed a timeline of the accusations laid down against him by Isis Agora Lovecruft. According to the suit filed by Todd, he and Isis Agora Lovecruft were acquaintances and trouble started when Lovecruft publicly accused another man of sexual assault.

According to reports, following the accusation, Lovecruft wanted Peter Todd to publicly condemn the accused man. When Todd failed to do so, Lovecruft accused Todd of rape and sexual assault, along with two other major cryptographers.

The said accusations were made by Lovecruft via Twitter on February 20, 2019, when she accused Nadim Kobeissi, a renowned cryptographer known for his work on Cryptocat web service and his contributions against Internet censorship, of rape and sexual misconduct. She alleged that he forcibly grabbed her face and kissed her while attending a conference in 2012.

Lovecruft also said she was not the only woman who had faced sexual misconduct from the persons in question and claimed that she had spoken to “multiple survivors”.

https://twitter.com/isislovecruft/status/1098270385148022784

However, though Kobeissi was her primary target, she also mentioned Peter Todd and Jacob Appelbaum in her tweet. Appelbaum was a former member of the Tor Project and has worked with many renowned activism-related websites, including WikiLeaks.

This raised many eyebrows as the accused were renowned in the crypto-space. When a user questioned Lovecruft about her allegations against Peter Todd, she confirmed that Todd was indeed a rapist. She stated,

“Yes, similar to Nadim, i personally have a story about Peter Todd and i’ve personally spoken with survivors with absolutely awful and horrifying reports who are terrified of him and of coming forward (rightly so) i however am not afraid and [sh****] dudes are going down.”

Following this seemingly baseless allegation and the social media attention it garnered, Twitter locked her account for “violating its rules against abusive behavior”.

Source: Twitter

Though Todd and Appelbaum did not pay much heed to the allegation made by Lovecruft immediately, Kobeissi refuted the allegations through a Twitter post. In his series of tweets, the cryptographer said that Isis had ‘transformed’ into a ‘monster’ and that she had changed quite a lot over the six years he had known her.

https://twitter.com/kaepora/status/1092716046757318656

He added that he was not scared of her and subtly accused Lovecruft of propagating lies and gossip about the people who did not like her or offended her in any manner. He concluded his statement by asking her to move on and continue the “good work” she was known for and called it quits on the allegations.

It was after the entire fiasco gained unwarranted social media attention that Peter Todd decided to file a defamation suit. In his suit, Todd asserted that the allegations against him were fake and untrue and that he had never raped or sexually assaulted anyone. He based his defamation suit on the fact that the “statements of accusing Todd of rape and sexual assault remain publicly available”, harming his reputation to a large degree.

The defamation suit came into the limelight when attorney Stephen Palley tweeted about the same on April 5. He said that the case was related to speech issues and that there were certain merits associated with it. He commented,

“The injunction request is interesting — it’s been a while since I’ve looked at this but it is hard to get a court to enjoin speech, even defamatory speech; unlikely to happen at a prelim injunction hearing.”

Though the authenticity of the claims made by Lovecruft is yet to be verified by official entities, Reddit was of the opinion that her claims were fake owning to the lack of proof from her side. A Redditor, bittabet, commented,

“This lady has accused a ton of people of being “serial rapists” based on “stories she’s heard” on twitter. If there’s any actual rapes being committed they should be reported to the police, making up wild claims based on “stories you’ve heard” is not the right way to go about this.”

However, it is interesting to note that Jacob Appelbaum had earlier faced sexual assault allegations from Agora and another woman named Alison Macrina. This had eventually led to Appelbaum resigning from the Tor Project, even though he insisted that he was innocent and that the claims against him were “a calculated and targeted attack [that] has been launched to spread vicious and spurious allegations against” him.

Andrea Shepard, a Berlin-based developer and co-worker of Appelbaum at the Tor Project, following the initial set of allegations, stated that Tor’s management had suspected Appelbaum of sexual misconduct for months before he left the project.

Source

57

Useful Cryptocurrency Resources / What Is Proof-of-Authority?

« on: April 06, 2019, 01:29:14 PM »

Blockchain consensus algorithms can be very confusing. Even proof-of-work throws people for a loop more often than not. In the case of proof-of-authority, the algorithm is very different from what one would expect. Now is a good time to see what it is all about.

The Proof-of-Authority Concept

Compared to proof-of-work, which relies on mining, or proof-of-stake, which requires users to hold their coins in a wallet, proof-of-authority is very different. It is an algorithm found within a few blockchain projects. It provides very fast transactions and a rather high transaction throughput. Especially when compared to Bitcoin, any network using PoA will see major improvements in these areas.

The way proof-of-authority works is by having transactions validated by approved accounts. Those users are known as validators, a concept that is quite common among some of the more popular altcoins. TRON, for example, uses a network of elected validators. EOS also has 21 validators which were decided upon some time ago.

To become a validator, users need to formally verify their identity on-chain. They also need to contend with how difficult it is to obtain eligibility. This position is a reward, rather than something that can be achieved in a few days. Additionally, they need to serve as an authority which is completely independent in the network’s checks and procedures.

Every validator under PoA rules will run software to let them put transactions in blocks. It is a completely automated process which doesn’t require users to be constantly monitoring their computers, although they must have a device capable of running around the clock. In this day and age, even a Raspberry Pi can be used for most of these purposes without any problems.

Every individual on a network utilizing proof-of-authority can become a validator, and there are incentives for existing contributors to maintain their status. It provides a digital reputation linked to one’s identity, a concept that has been explored by various projects for quite some time now. For validators, their reputation means everything, and upholding that reputation will force these users to stay on their best behavior.

The big question is whether or not proof-of-authority is suitable for public blockchains. On paper, this concept works for both public and private chains, but it seems that a lot of people take issue with the centralized nature of this concept when it comes to public blockchains. Even so, the projects currently working with this model have been getting a lot of positive attention.

Source

58

Useful Cryptocurrency Resources / What Is Proof-of-Weight?

« on: April 06, 2019, 01:28:20 PM »

In the world of blockchain consensus algorithms, there are many different options to choose from. Proof-of-weight is one of the rather unusual solutions, although it is an interesting take on customization and scalability. Getting users excited about this model through incentivization remains its biggest challenge.

The Proof-of-Weight Concept

Defining Proof-of-Weight as just one algorithm would do it injustice. Instead, this concept combines a wide range of blockchain consensus algorithms which all try to achieve the same goal through slightly different means. It is based on the Algorand consensus model.

For those unfamiliar with Algorand, it is a protocol that confirms transactions very quickly. This is achieved through a Byzantine agreement protocol capable of scaling to many users. Reaching consensus on a new network block is guaranteed without the risk of a fork. Weighted users play an integral role in this process, hence the term Proof-of-Weight.

Every user on a network utilizing Proof-of-weight has a “weight” attached to them. This weight is based on how much money that user holds in their account. As long as the overall weighted fraction of the users are honest – usually two-thirds or greater – the network will remain secure. This method also protects the network from double-spend attacks.

Under the hood, Proof-of-weight mechanisms can create a committee – made up of random network users – to run each step of the protocol. As such, the protocol will ensure the majority of committee members are honest, while also introducing some degree of centralization. No major Proof-of-weight cryptocurrencies rely on the committee structure at this time, but it is an aspect to keep in mind regardless.

While some people may see similarities between Algorand and Proof-of-stake, they are not the same. In a PoS environment, the number of tokens held at any given time determines the amount of additional rewards users earn. Proof-of-weight uses a completely different weighted value. In the case of Filecoin, it depends on how much IPFS data users are storing at any given time. Chia uses Proof-of-space and proofs of time to achieve consensus.

Although Proof-of-Weight has a lot of merit, it is not a consensus model that major cryptocurrencies will adopt anytime soon. Keeping users incentivized to participate in such networks is very difficult, as they don’t earn rewards. This can be addressed by developers in many creative ways. However, at its core, Proof-of-weight is not designed to generate passive revenue streams.

Source

59

Useful Cryptocurrency Resources / What Is Proof-of-Assignment?

« on: April 06, 2019, 01:27:05 PM »

It has become rather apparent that there are many different blockchain consensus algorithms which can make a lasting impact in the coming years. Proof-of-Assignment is one of those concepts which seems rather unusual on paper, but it actually has a lot of merit when it comes to scaling and mainstream appeal.

The Proof-of-Assignment Concept

It is good to see blockchain and cryptocurrency projects explore different options when it comes to achieving blockchain consensus. Proof-of-Assignment is another attempt at solving issues apparent in both Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake. That doesn’t mean it will be successful, but it does offer some interesting features which could make it a lot more appealing.

How Does it Work?

Proof-of-Assignment works very differently from Proof-of-Work or Proof-of-Stake. It is designed to require far less computational power compared to traditional cryptocurrency mining. In fact, it may very well become possible to mine cryptocurrencies using this protocol using household appliances. It is an interesting concept when thinking about the Internet of Things as a whole.

Even though it may seem less robust than PoW or PoS algorithms, Proof-of-Assignment still has a lot of potential. It is designed to be much faster compared to these traditional algorithms, which would lead to vast improvements in terms of overall scalability. One project making use of PoA goes by the name of IOTW. IOTW claims that achieving a throughput of over 1 million transactions per second should be possible, although it remains to be seen what the future holds.

In its current form, Proof-of-Assignment is capable of handling thousands of transactions per second. That makes it vastly superior to most other public blockchain algorithms on the market today. Combined with its compatibility with IoT devices, this is an algorithm which could make a lasting impact on the cryptocurrency industry. Even so, it remains to be seen how this algorithm will be implemented exactly.

The Road Ahead

With just one cryptocurrency project officially exploring Proof-of-Assignment as of right now, there is still plenty of work to be done in this regard. If any algorithm could bring much-needed competition to Visa’s throughput, it may very well be PoA. Even so, that doesn’t mean this algorithm will ever make its way to public blockchains or even major projects. A lot more research and development is needed prior to making any real progress.

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Useful Cryptocurrency Resources / What Is the Upfiring DApp?

« on: April 06, 2019, 01:25:25 PM »

Numerous projects are exploring the use of blockchain technology in regards to uploading and sharing data. Finding the right balance is rather difficult, and the competition will continue to heat up. Upfiring is one of the options worth looking into, as this dApp is slowly beginning to hit its stride.

Upfiring in a Nutshell

Making the uploading and sharing of data more efficient and decentralized requires the use of innovative technologies. In the case of Upfiring, its objective is to use blockchain technology to let users upload files through a convenient interface. It is expected that this application will be released for Windows, MacOS, and Linux in the coming weeks. Competing with existing Torrent protocols will be difficult, but having more options is always beneficial.

How Does it Work?

There are many aspects to the Upfiring dApp. Users have the option to share their own files and convert them to the native Upfiring file format. These files are encrypted to offer users complete privacy at all times. Accessing the files externally is impossible, as data needs to be downloaded and decrypted using the native Upfiring client. It is also possible for users to “seed” files by not decrypting them.

By seeding a file, users can earn a portion of the 20 UFR token reward every time the file is downloaded and decrypted by others. Through this incentive, users are given an extra reason to help share files across the ecosystem, although it remains to be seen if that will be sufficient to spur additional interest in this dApp. There are other convenient solutions out there with similar goals, after all.

Sharing uploaded files can be done in traditional ways. Users looking to download specific files can do so through the dApp, and may become a seeder for the file if they so choose. It is impossible to decrypt files without paying the 20 UFR fee, though, which may be a limiting factor for the Upfiring ecosystem as a whole.

The UFR Token

As mentioned above, the Upfiring dApp has a native token, referred to as UFR. This token is primarily used to decrypt files uploaded by others, and also serves as an incentive for network participants to help seed and share files. Paying to access files which can be shared for free through other protocols may not necessarily work out all that well, although it remains to be seen how Upfiring will fare in this regard.

The Road Ahead

With the Upfiring application nearing release, it will be interesting to see how consumers respond to this new solution. It certainly has a lot of potential in terms of sharing information in a private and secure way. However, it seems unlikely that Upfiring will displace the Torrent protocol anytime soon. That being said, competition in peer-to-peer file sharing is always beneficial.

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