Month: August 2018

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Peerplays

What is Peerplays?

What Peerplays offers is a value proposition that is enticing both for businesses and the end users. Peerplays takes advantage of blockchain to bring users the best of a decentralized gambling platform and provably fair gaming.

There are several challenges in the industry that Peerplays has been able to tackle, while at the same time providing incentives for the existing gambling platforms to consider venturing into the blockchain by integrating their systems with Peerplays.

By design, Peerplays is for the future. It is a project that is primed for future growth, success, and scalability to suit different market scenarios. Peerplays uses consensus and voting mechanisms for this, and it should propel it to the height of blockchain platform use in the gaming industry.

What is the problem that Peerplays Solves?

The gambling and betting industry has always struggled with cheating and fraud between administrators and players. This is an industry where it seems each party is always trying to steal a move on the other by all means possible.

In light of such experiences, since 2011, more than 10 popular gambling websites have been forced to shut down by authorities, or have gone bankrupt and that is in the US alone. When such companies go down, millions of dollars in customer deposits go with them, and the hope of ever retrieving this money becomes so slim.

However, even with all these challenges, the gambling industry has still managed to grow, with more players increasingly depositing their money into websites that are centrally owned and operated.

This is a precarious situation, and the need for fair gambling online is important now more than ever. In light of the advancement of technology and the advent of blockchain technology, fair play is needed in online gambling. Peerplays offers a solution where users are allowed to design special chips and tokens that they can use on the supported gambling platform of their choice.

They are also able to purchase and sell tokens for some of the giant cryptocurrencies like Ether or Bitcoin and use them as transactional currency within the games that they play on the blockchain.

Peerplays does away with the need for a House. Instead of having a house, gamblers are matched with other players through Peer-to-Peer (P2P) gameplay.

This is possible through the use of smart contracts. These contracts are written in such a manner that they hold the money that players wager in an escrow before the game starts. When the game is over, the smart contracts check to make sure the conditions set for the release of the funds have been met and verified, then they release the funds to the winner.

The smart contracts that are used in Peerplays are systematically built into the Peerplays code instead of using a virtual machine like other blockchain platforms do. As a result, this has made it very easy to process transactions faster. Other than that, the fast speed of transactions also means that millions of players can have fun on Peerplays at the same time without having to worry about any network challenges.

How does Peerplays Solve the problem?

To prove that Peerplays is a fair platform for gamers, gamblers, and companies that would be willing to invest in it, the platform has to be auditable. The following are some of the ways that Peerplays uses to address the challenges highlighted above:

Provably Fair Gaming

A proof is an important part of gaining trust. The Peerplays network is fully auditable. All the smart contracts that are used on Peerplays are open-source. Therefore, anyone can study and verify them, and make sure that they perform the tasks for which they were written.

Players, therefore, get into arbitration agreements with Peerplays, within which they are bound by the laws of the contracts. Before funds are released from the escrow accounts wherein they are held, the players have to voluntarily make moves or not.

As a result, failure of a player to perform any action, or produce their winning hand disqualifies them from the jackpot payout.

This, therefore, is a system that is free from manipulation. The players get into the games fully aware that the results are based on luck and skill.

Blockchain Consensus

Peerplays uses the same technology that is running on Muse, Steem and BitShares, Graphene.

Graphene supports this blockchain by providing a high throughput. It also takes a short time between block productions, making it one of the most efficient blockchain consensus mechanisms currently available. This allows Peerplays to handle more than 100,000 transactions a second.

Native Smart Contracts

This decentralized platform uses an order matching algorithm. As a result, buy and sell orders between users on the blockchain are filled immediately. This is one of the other reasons why Peerplays is able to handle thousands of transactions a second, and also why it can handle thousands of players wagering on the blockchain simultaneously.

When a game starts, every player places an order. A native smart contract accepts and fills this order, matching players or player groups together. The smart contract then becomes the arbiter over the rules, terms, and conditions of the games that the players are engaged in, and eventually releases the winnings to the player who emerges the winner.

What makes Peerplays better than the competitors?

Peerplays Blockchain Standards Association (PBSA)

This is a non-profit organization that has been around since 2016. The agenda behind PBSA is to offer support for the development of provably fair games on the Peerplays ecosystem. Through PBSA, developers are able to create games and products that the users will not just appreciate today, but also years in the foreseeable future.

The role that PBSA plays on the Peerplays blockchain is important as an oversight body. They come up with standards that govern gambling and gaming on Peerplays, and they further act as educators and advocates, making sure that the set standards are understood and appreciated by Peerplays users in different communities and industries.

The need for PBSA stems out of the following inherent features of the traditional gambling and gaming industry:

  • Slow, outdated and regressive regulatory frameworks
  • Disastrous results from self-regulation by different betting operators
  • Untrustworthy betting operators in the industry
  • Exploitative gambling operators who often target problem gamblers
  • Centralized storage of betting data
  • Lack of transparency

In light of these features, most of the players in the gaming and gambling market end up shortchanged. The end users, to be precise, often get a raw deal. Through PBSA, Peerplays is able to push through these challenges and offer users an assurance of a platform that is specifically built to cater to their needs.

Serve-Side Tournament Hosting

This is a technique that has been used in the eSports industry for a very long time, successfully. Over the years, this model has seen a growth in uptake, being integrated into different gaming platforms.

Peerplays allows support for server-side hosting while at the same time it provides different tools that can be used to enhance the business. Through this, as long as a user has been able to connect to the Peerplays API they can use the platform to place wagers, bet on jackpots while at the same time still running their games on the website independently.

For game publishers, you can take advantage of the customizable smart contracts and create your own fee schedule, tournament structure, distribution and collection methods for wagers. This can be done for any game even if it is hosted on a server off-chain.

On the other hand, gaming partners also have the benefit of improving their GUI, offering their customers the best possible experience. The basic Peerplays GUI can be hosted on a public server.

Businesses and individuals have a better chance of increasing their earnings on Peerplays by using the referral program. In this program, users earn a lifetime revenue each time they refer a player to Peerplays.

As a result, therefore, businesses that integrate their platforms with Peerplays have an unmatched potential for additional earnings, especially when they encourage and get all their users to create a Peerplays account.

Public Client Portals

Through hosted client portals, users have access to the Peerplays blockchain via their preferred web browsers. While enjoying this access, all the private keys are kept locally. Because of this, the public client portals offer more convenience compared to a private desktop client, for example.

However, you will need to constantly run backups so that you can avoid losing funds accidentally. These portals operate like lightweight wallets, and for this reason, you do not have to download the entire node. Instead, you can reference some of your trusted public nodes. To boost security, users are allowed to run a full node together with the desktop client.

Placing Wagers

Any token issued by the user is accepted as a wager in the Peerplays tournament smart contracts. However, in case the tokens presented by the user are not among the certified wagering instruments, the users have to pay a small fee. A committee determines the tokens that are considered standard wagering instruments. You are also able to place wagers with the core Peerplays token.

Asset Exchange

Peerplays is a Graphene Blockchain. Therefore, a lot of the Peerplays features are similar to BitShares. Users have the capacity to create their own tokens, initiate buy and sell orders on the internal market, which will then be filled on the chain order with matching smart contracts. Users are also able to purchase and sell tokens from some of the popular cryptocurrencies such as ETH and BTC.

Open Source GUI

Everything on Peerplays runs on a basic open-source GUI. The GUI is built to enhance the user experience. It has features that make access very easy for players. Other than access, they are also able to host multiple tournaments, create, buy and sell tokens. Through this, players can also enjoy live gameplay on all the games they play on the blockchain platform. Over time, the GUI will be translated into different languages to help with uptake, and support widespread commercial and personal use.

PowerUp Points

PowerUp points are tokens used on the Peerplays network for user rewards. These points are distributed to the users depending on the amount they have wagered on the games they play, and their win records. It is the only acceptable token that is used as a buy-in for the tournaments that involve mega jackpots. As a result, you can expect a very high demand for these. These tokens can also be traded in an asset exchange platform, used for rewards or purchases.

Mega Jackpots

Through Mega Jackpots, Peerplays can sponsor some of the largest tournament jackpots. This is done by taking advantage of the profit sharing feature on the network. A small portion of the network fee is allocated to the Mega Jackpot Fund, which is simply a virtual account secured through a smart contract. This contract will schedule and host all the mega Jackpot events and be awarding winners when the tournaments are complete.

How can Peerplays be categorized?

Peerplays is a P2P gambling marketplace that brings together gamblers, gamers and other affiliated parties, leveraging on the benefits of blockchain technology to provide the best services to all the parties involved.

What’s Peerplays’ vision on Security?

Peerplays uses Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) for governance purposes. The choice of DPsS is borne out of the fact that it is one of the most efficient, flexible, decentralized and fastest consensus models that is currently being used on blockchain platforms.

DPoS helps by administering the ability to vote in resolving matters that demand consensus in a democratic and fair manner. All the parameters that are important on the network are determined through the elected delegates.

Examples of Peerplays use cases/applications

BookiePro.fun

This is a betting exchange platform where gamblers are able to wager their bets on games from a variety of sporting events with tokens. BookiePro.fun eliminates the need for a house, which is one of the reasons why it is different from a normal sportsbook.

Instead of having a house, BookiePro.fun will match the bet placed with the orders that have been placed by other players who might have placed their bets, hoping the outcome is the opposite of yours.

Resources

https://coincheckup.com/coins/Peerplays

http://www.peerplays.com/

http://www.pbsa.info/

https://www.peerplays.com/news/

https://www.peerplays.com/faq/

https://www.peerplays.com/docs/Peerplays_Whitepaper.pdf

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Melon

What is Melon?

The Melon protocol brings together a collection of open-source blockchain rules and smart contracts, which are collectively referred to as Melon. This protocol is built on Ethereum, and it is designed in such a way that it can, later on, be deployed on other blockchain platforms in the foreseeable future.

The Melon protocol is comprised of two types of smart contracts:

  • Melon Core

The Melon Core refers to the part of the fund or portfolio which allows the portfolio managers the tools with which they can create and interact with all the functions they need to perform with respect to the funds, while at the same time following the laid down rules and regulations as stipulated in the Melon Protocol.

  • Melon Modules

These are all the functions that portfolio managers need in their portfolio to allow them to go about their job accordingly. Most of these are optional features and include things like volatility calculations, price feeds, daily profit and loss calculations and NAV calculations.

The Melon protocol is an open-source platform, which means that each time an improvement is made to the platform, they can be accessed by anyone.

Therefore, individual users and fund managers are able to engage, audit and upgrade their platform to the latest version of the Melon protocol as and when they are made available.

One of the benefits of adopting changes to the Melon protocol when they are made available is that they eventually help users to reduce their dependency on fund managers, and reduce the costs associated with human errors that might be experienced in the course of traditional asset management.

Through the Melon protocol, it is also easier to create and manage operations, thereby making work easier. By design, Melon is an inclusive, transparent and reliable blockchain platform. Any user does not need special permission for them to set up a fund management account on Melon.

Melon operates like the internet. While Melonport AG is behind the development, they do not own Melon. Melon does not also take fees, making it a public good/service, and a matter of public interest. This is an open-source project, completely decentralized, and safe from feedback loops.

What is the problem that Melon Solves?

Statistically, according to Hedge Fund Research, more than half of the hedge funds currently have a book value of less than $100 million. However, this population is a representation of only 1.4% of the hedge fund industry, worth more than $84.9 trillion in asset value.

There are a lot of barriers that are making work and life difficult for fund managers. Almost all fund managers are constantly worried about counterparty risk and custody when making arrangements of how to transfer assets or where to hold their assets. A lot of fund managers have been declared bankrupt, leading to massive losses across the board.

Traditionally, audibility of fund management portfolios in an accurate manner has always been one of the main challenges facing this industry. Another challenge that fund managers experience is the lengthy settlement process. This will in most cases end up in delays in information sharing and transfer. As a result of these delays, inaccurate information might be passed on from one level to the next, and by the time such errors are discovered, it might be too late to take corrective measures without dire repercussions.

Risk managers in the industry at the moment end up working with inaccurate and imperfect information. Considering that these managers owe their compensation to the same people whose risks they are trying to manage, the conflict of interest often ends up in unprofessional conduct when managing certain accounts.

There is also the challenge of human interaction. The fund management process depends on a very long chain of human interaction, from booking to the settlement of trades and reconciliation. As a result, the conventional fund management system ends up creating a lot of room for error.

In light of all these challenges, how do some fund managers succeed? Success in this industry comes down to a very high working capital, the solvency of the custodians, and the accuracy of the people who work for the fund managers.

Looking at the cost of setting up a hedge fund, it might take close to a year to set up. There are other costs involved, such as the initial start-up cost, and the running costs. These coupled with internal ineptness and external forces eventually conspire and we end up with a massive rate of failed funds all over the place.

How does Melon Solve the problem?

The solution to most of the problems that fund managers experience as mentioned above lie in smart contracts. Smart contracts automate most of the concerns that are costly and require timely attention in fund management.

As a result, there are several barriers to entry that are mitigated by the blockchain. Smart contracts enforce simple rules and parameters, and through this, they automatically honor those as and when the rules are met.

The blockchain ecosystem is created in such a way that it primarily reduces the custody risk that has been inherent to many fund managers over the years. The blockchain accounting system is a trustless system. Therefore, it is visible, transparent, and always open for auditing. This is exactly what the Melon protocol is about.

The Melon protocol significantly reduces the barriers to entry that are experienced by fund managers.

One of the promises behind this project is to increase audibility and visibility by providing a decentralized system upon which coded rules are enforced, moving trust from counterparties and central authorities, and enforcing all operations on the blockchain.

By providing these services, the Melon protocol creates a large pool of portfolio management talent from which investors can make a selection. While Melon is built on Ethereum, the long-term plan is to make Melon interact with as many blockchains as possible, creating a platform where users can manage all their assets.

What makes Melon better than the competitors?

The Melon protocol addresses a lot of the concerns that are associated with traditional fund managers, making this one of the best alternatives in the market at the moment. The following are some of the reasons why Melon trumps the competition:

Investment Size

With Melon, users are able to manage their own wealth. There is no need to hire an investment manager or have to worry about the costs involved with hiring one. There is no limit to your investment size. You can invest with as little as you can, and the maximum is an endless pit. To start investing in a portfolio that is listed on the blockchain, all you need is 0.65 Ether.

Cost of Transaction

Trading on the Melon protocol attracts very low and highly competitive fees compared to what conventional fund managers currently charge. In fact, these fees are only applied when you are trading.

Decentralized Platform

The Melon protocol is a completely decentralized and trustless platform. This does away with some of the challenges that are often associated with centralized server management of funds, and the dependability on human interaction.

This is a platform that is secure, visible to all users, hence freedom to audit on the blockchain. All the portfolios that are created on the Melon protocol are established on the Ethereum blockchain.

Any assets that are available in these portfolios are held on the blockchain, hence establishing transparency in the management of the said portfolios.

Regulation

Digital asset management on the blockchain is still relatively new, hence the regulations governing the same are relatively unclear. However, through smart contracts, there is so much that you can do to automate your portfolio and make it respond to certain triggers.

You can also create smart contracts that alert you whenever risk breaches or loss triggers are identified. Given the transparency on the blockchain, both regulators and investors have access to clean data on the Melon protocol, hence real-time data on performance and risk exposure.

Administration

The blockchain platform allows fund managers the best experience for administrative tasks, operational support, and technological upgrades and updates. This is possible because of smart contracts, which are built to handle specific instructions either periodically, or based on event triggers. These instructions are coded in the smart contracts and a chronology is available in the Melon protocol library.

Visibility

One of the perks of using the Melon protocol is ease of access to performance records. Because of high visibility, fund managers can look forward to a significant reduction in the cost of marketing and advertising.

Account performance is standardized, and as a result, users are able to compare fund managers based on their performance and track records. This is reliable information that automatically pitches a fund manager’s talent to prospective employers and investors. Data on the blockchain speaks volumes about your performance.

Logistical Concerns

You do not need to worry about some logistical challenges like furniture space. Using the Melon protocol endears you to a more cost-efficient, affordable, accurate and faster platform for fund management than any conventional platform you might have access to.

Ease of Access

Melon is built in such a way that anyone can simply audit, interact with and experiment with the software. It is simple, easy to use, and even beginners are able to try their hands at fund management, building a good track record and harnessing the best of blockchain technology while at it. The costs of establishment and operation are minimal. Users can take advantage of this and create a profile, building their visibility and reputation while at it.

On the other hand, developers have a good platform upon which they can create modules and earn tokens for the code they contribute to the Melon protocol depending on how these modules are used. This, therefore, is a good way to establish an incentive process where developers get rewards for contributing to the development of the Melon protocol.

How can Melon be categorized?

Melon is an autonomous system built for cryptographic asset management. The frontend and backend are both executed and hosted on decentralized platforms. While the backend is leveraged off Ethereum smart contracts, the frontend runs on IPFS.

What’s Melon’s vision on Security?

One of the biggest challenges facing centralized management systems is their design. A central unit is a prime target for any kind of attack. Melon is built fully decentralized, which does away with this challenge. For governance purposes, there are incentives that are built into the Melon protocol that help the entire community participate in the development of the blockchain platform. Instead of a central authority, those who hold MLN tokens elect a technical council. The role of this council is to cast their votes on matters concerning Melon updates and upgrades.

Melon Protocol Bug Bounty Program

This is a program that is run for developers on Melon. Any developer in the world is welcome to test the security features of Melon, especially the smart contracts and the frontend. This is important so that the developers can raise concerns as and when they notice them, and this can be addressed immediately.

This way, individual developers are constantly working round the clock to keep the Melon protocol secure. In exchange for this, the developers get rewarded in MLN tokens. The bounty program aims to make security testing an incentivized program, and by involving the developers who actively use the Melon protocol on a daily basis, this bestows confidence from developers and users alike.

Examples of Melon use cases/applications

Midas

Midas Technologies AG is one of the partners who is currently using Melon for their retail investing app, together with an airdrop service. As an investment app, Midas offers their users a value proposition that each user has a fund on the Melon blockchain, and as a result, they use it to hold their cryptographic assets in the same way a digital wallet would.

Midas aims to make investing in portfolios and buying cryptographic assets very easy for all the users. Through the Melon blockchain, Midas is able to combine digital security and financial innovation.

Resources

https://coincheckup.com/coins/Melon

https://melonport.com/

https://ipfs.io/ipns/melon.fund/#/ranking

https://medium.com/melonport-blog

https://medium.com/melonport-blog/melon-token-launch-858e341e050

https://bravenewcoin.com/assets/Whitepapers/melonprotocol.pdf