Month: September 2018

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Burst

What is Burst?

Burst is a peer2peer decentralized platform and a digital cryptocurrency forked from NXT in 2014. It is designed to support smart contracts that are based on the blockchain technology and, therefore, providing standard features for decentralization, anonymity, and advanced cryptography.

Burstcoin departed from the common proof of work (PoW) and PoS (proof of stake) consensus protocols to a new algorithm model referred to as proof or capacity (PoC). This algorithm utilizes the empty space on the node’s hard drive for mining. The development team has even indicated it will make it possible to mine the coins with their phones.

Burst was founded in 2014 by an anonymous developer who disappeared about a year later. The cryptocurrency project was left in the hands of the community that had to push the system’s development and mobilizing resources. In 2016 and part of 2017, the project gained some momentum when more people started developing an interest in it. In the summer of 2017, the PoC Consortium joined the group and everything fell back to the rightful track.

The performance of Burstcoin in the markets demonstrates a cryptocurrency and project on the move. Between its launch and January 2017, the price of the token remained well below the $0.5 mark. However, the price started shifting upwards as the new management started exploring new ways of steering the platform to higher levels. In December 2017, the price had shot by more than 25,000% to hit $141.1 million, the highest mark in its history.

But, the positive growth was short lived. Between late December 2017 and August 2018, the value shot down by more than 1000%. Even with this drop, the price of Burstcoin in August 2018 was still more than 2000% higher than its value in 2016.

What is the problem that Burst Solves?

The blockchain technology has been growing at a very fast rate. Between 2009 and 2018, over 1600 cryptocurrencies had entered the market. However, mass adoption has faced serious hurdles that are threatening the growth and success of the entire blockchain niche. Here are some of these problems that Burst seeks to address.

  • Poor scalability: This is one of the serious problems facing the blockchain niche. Most cryptocurrency networks can only facilitate a few transactions per second. Bitcoin can only support seven transactions per second, Ethereum 20 transactions per second, and Ripple 1,500 transactions every second. These rates are dwarfed by the industry leaders especially Visa that has the capacity to process up to 24,000 transactions every second.
  • Low usability: While it is true that more people know about cryptocurrencies, the big percentage is hesitant to join the blockchain networks and use them. Though this has been caused by a number of things, the most notable is the difficulty of accessing the native tokens. If a new user wants to own some crypto tokens, he is required to join an exchange, register for an account, and verify it with government recognized details. When the lengthy procedure is coupled with multiple transaction fees, many are those who opt to stay away.
  • Decentralized mining: The use and application of Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) mining equipment have resulted in the centralization of mining. Because of the high cost of ASICs equipment and energy requirements, only those who can afford the equipment can mine various coins such as Bitcoin. This opens the danger of more tokens falling in the hands of few miners and risking 51% attack.

How does Burst Solve the problem?

Burst utilizes the blockchain technology but with a new consensus algorithm referred to as proof-of-capacity (PoC). The algorithm allows the nodes to use storage space as opposed to computational power when running transactions. Other methods used to address the problems include;

Smart contracts

The concept of smart contracts was introduced by the Ethereum to advance the blockchain technology. The technology  involves presetting the rules of transactions that both parties in a contract must meet. Burst adopted the smart contracts in 2014 and referred to them as Automated Transactions (AT). The automated transactions are Turing-complete and designed to facilitate simpler applications in many areas such as asset exchange, lotteries, and crowdfunding. This is aimed at helping to reach and draw more users to the blockchain networks.

Direct Acrylic Graph (DAG) and the Tangle

Direct Acrylic Graph (DAG) is a unique computational data structure that features finite directed graphs with no directed cycles. Burst employs DAG to ensure that all the miners in its network are properly motivated. The nodes get rewarded not just for confirming transactions, but also for keeping statistics of its peers. This is critical in ensuring that the native tokens are evenly distributed and the nodes are amply motivated to protect the network.

Blockchain binding with ACCTs

Blockchain binding with Atomic Cross-Chain Trading is applied in the Burst network to allow users exchange their coins without relying on centralized exchanges. Burst utilizes smart contracts that help to define the nature of transactions and enhance cross-chain compatibility. The biggest challenge of using ACCTs is that Burst and the target cryptocurrency must implement ACCT and support smart contracts.

The lighting network

Burst uses Lightning Networks to help scale up the transactions and speed blocks generation. Lightning Network uses a technology referred to as payment channels that involve creating a 2-party payment channel as a layer on the main blockchain. Burst is using smart contracts to implement Lightning Network without counterparty risk.

The Burst network’s marketplace

To help users get more value from their cryptocurrencies, Burst features an easy to use marketplace. This is meant to help users make direct purchases using Burstcoin. Unlike the common e-commerce sites, Burst marketplace also allows users to list the items they have for sale. For users with a lot of products to sell, the marketplace is a great option because Burst network is growing rapidly.

What makes Burst better than its competitors?

With more than 1600 cryptocurrencies in the market, the competition has become very tight. The cryptocurrency development teams have to work harder to win a bigger market share. Here are some of the main things that make Burst better than its competitors.

  • Though Burst had a tumultuous past, the ability to weather most of them has made a lot of people have great trust in its system. The four years it has been in the market has made the community believe its structures are stronger and more reliable that those of other networks.
  • Unlike the conventional financial institutions, Burst is a truly decentralized network. All the transactions are implemented on the blockchain and are confirmed on a peer2peer basis. By eliminating centralized and profit-seeking organizations, Burst transactions are cheaper and faster.
  • The growth of Burst, even with its turbulent past, has been better than many other cryptocurrencies. In August 2018, the market capitalization of the cryptocurrency was $22.1 million. This was way ahead of other more populous competitors including Steem Dollars and Hydro that have $15.9 million and $16.2 million respectively.
  • Burst has managed to craft a reliable solution for cross-chain operations. Now, users at Burst can enjoy sending the value with the Burst Asset Exchange embedded in the Burst wallet without having to be part of many networks. Though cross-chain operations are still low, users expect to be able to send funds to more networks as smart contracts become more popular.
  • Burst features an easy to use marketplace that makes it possible to buy directly with Burstcoin. Unlike other cryptocurrencies that require users to change the cryptocurrencies to fiat currencies before making a purchase, Burst network makes it easy and direct.
  • Because of the current value of Burstcoin and its reliable infrastructure, the cost of sending value is relatively low compared to other networks. This has seen even users from other networks trooping to the Burst network to enjoy lower cost of sending value to different networks.

How can Burst be categorized?

Burst is one of the most vibrant cryptocurrency networks helping to take the blockchain network to the next level. Despite its rough past that saw the founder opt out of the platform, its architecture has demonstrated the capacity to address most issues in the blockchain network.

A lot of traders are expressing the desire to join Burst because of its high scalability and capacity to run their smart contracts. More importantly, is the ability of the platform to facilitate cross-chain operations. The Blockchain binding with Atomic Cross-Chain Trading model makes it possible to send value across different chains without requiring a third party.

Notably, Burst will have to fight for its space because there are other faster-moving giants that are also interested in the same space. One of these contenders is Ethereum. While it is true that the blockchain niche is growing fast, the Burst development team has its work of crafting more creative features, growing the community, and raising its value.

What’s Burst’s vision on Security?

Burst vision is to enhance faster adoption of blockchain technology while guaranteeing optimal security. The network was founded in 2014 when attacks in cryptocurrency networks had become very common. Top networks such as MT. Gox and Poloniex were hacked resulting in huge losses in 2011 and 2014 respectively. To keep the Burst network safe, here are the strategies employed by the development team.

  • Collusive nodes attack (51% attack): This attack happens when majority nodes conspire to harm the network. To prevent such a problem, Burst uses Byzantine fault-tolerance technology to help in building dependable protocols. The focus is on identifying honest nodes by putting an upper boundary for maximum tolerance.
  • Protection from DDOS attack: Burst’s employs a Dymaxion design that requires all the nodes to perform PoC (proof of capacity) for tax validation. It also carries regular vetting to identify and blacklist misbehaving nodes.
  • Progressive network updates: Because of the fast-growing interest in cryptocurrencies, the nature of threats keeps changing. The development team has adopted a system of progressive improvement that involves constant checks to identify and fix gaps.
  • Advanced encryption of the network: To keep users’ details and funds free from third-party entities and attackers, Burst network employs advanced encryption. Even when sending funds on the network, user’s details cannot be easily revealed.
  • Most big cryptocurrency losses reported in the blockchain sector take place in the exchanges. The Burst development team created the decentralized asset exchange that makes it possible to bypass the exchanges.

Examples of Burst’s use cases / applications

When PoC Consortium took over the platform’s development in 2017, the biggest role was to increase the value of the native Burstcoin and increase the use cases. Here are some of the main applications of the cryptocurrency.

  • Burstcoin can be used to pay transaction costs at Burst network: To run transactions on the Burst network, users are required to pay a transaction fee. You can only pay this transaction fee using Burstcoin.
  • Buying items at the Burt marketplace: The Burst marketplace allows users to make direct purchases for listed items. Because there are no third party dealers such as Amazon or eBay, buyers are able to enjoy lower prices.
  • Paying transaction fee when trading Burstcoin in the exchanges: If you decide to trade Burstcoin in the exchanges such as Bittrex and Poloniex, the transaction charges can be paid in Burstcoin.
  • Paying taxes in jurisdictions that accept cryptocurrencies: For people in jurisdictions that allow users to pay taxes in cryptocurrencies, Burstcoin will be a great option. In Arizona, the State parliament passed bill HB 1091 that opened the door for citizens to pay taxes using cryptocurrencies. Other countries that allow payments to be done using cryptocurrencies include Singapore and Venezuela.
  • Saving and investment: Cryptocurrencies such as Burstcoin and Bitcoin among others have become a reliable form of saving and investment. As decentralized and anonymous networks, many people are opting to use cryptocurrencies for saving and investment because they are free from third-party seizures. Investors are expecting the Burstcoin value to grow exponentially and deliver high ROI (return on investment) over time.
  • Like other cryptocurrencies, Burstcoin can be used for direct purchases. As more people and traders embrace the concept of cryptocurrencies, it is becoming easier to make direct purchases for goods and services. Remember that even when a store only accepts other coins, you can easily convert Burst and buy the targeted item.

https://coincheckup.com/coins/Burst

https://www.burst-coin.org/

https://www.burstcoin.ist/

https://burstwiki.org/wiki/FAQ

http://www.burst-coin.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/The-Burst-Dymaxion-1.00.pdf

 

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Mysterium

What is Mysterium?

Mysterium is a cryptocurrency and a decentralized open-source platform designed to democratize the world of VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). In their site, Mysterium describes itself as an open source network that allows nodes to rent unused network traffic while offering a secure connection to those in need. But the vision of the Mysterium Foundation for the network is even bigger.

The foundation targets to make Mysterium a big marketplace where both clients can easily buy VPN services from network providers. The mandate of the development team revolves around peer2peer operations, smart contracts, state channels, and blockchain operations. This is why they have settled on a progressively improving model to deliver greater value to users and outdo competitors.

The Mysterium project was founded by Robertas Visinkis, Paulius Mozulas, and Valdas Petrulis who wanted to promote a trustworthy and sustainable network that guarantees seamless access and protection for internet users. To make the goal a reality, Robertas and his team created the Mysterium Foundation that foresees the development of the network. Mysterium Network also partnered with other parties such as Bitcoin Suissie, TokenMarket, and MME to promote faster development.

The price of Mysterium dropped by more than 2000% between June 2018 and August 2018. Though this was the trend reported in the market by most cryptocurrencies, the Mysterium foundation has demonstrated its commitment to growing the value of the platform through new features development.

What is the problem that Mysterium Solves?

Poor privacy of most internet networks

Today, the internet has become the primary driver of most industries. From e-commerce sector to government departments, everything largely relies on internet connection. However, privacy has become a serious issue as online users’ information easily get leaked or stolen by third parties without seeking consumer consent.

  • Many administrations progressively monitor the internet with the target of constructing political profiles. This monitoring and data manipulation has replayed in many situations with serious repercussions. For example, private data harvested from social media networks has been cited as one of the campaign pillars during the 2017 US presidential elections.
  • Many internet service providers have become unhinged to one of the core goals of guaranteeing privacy to their users. The providers are also harvesting data on users’ communication habits and selling the data to every willing buyer.
  • While the development of peer2peer technology and blockchain based platforms such as Bitcoin and Ethereum brought a lot of hope, it has emerged that it is still possible to pull out personal data. On Bitcoin, transactions are no longer private as cryptocurrency enthusiasts expected.

The looming cryptocurrency regulation

When the blockchain technology was born and popularized after Satoshi Nakamoto launched Bitcoin, most administrations felt that their powers were being usurped. Because the cryptocurrencies are decentralized, and transactions run on a peer2peer basis, the ensuing danger to financial transactions has caused panic. Now, many governments are crafting regulations targeting to get information about cryptocurrency users. This data could be used for tax, prosecution, and other third party related operations.

Note that while Mysterium is primarily aimed at enhancing privacy, it also targets to facilitate faster adoption of blockchain technology across all sectors.

How does Mysterium Solve the problem?

The Mysterium multi-layered architecture

To provide a reliable solution to the above issues, the Mysterium founders and development team opted for a layered architecture with the following components.

  • Decentralized service infrastructure and database layers: These two layers are the foundation of the Mysterium platform. They use smart contracts to help nodes identify themselves, discover each other, and send payments on a peer2peer basis.
  • The service provider layer: This layer comprises a network of Mysterium nodes that serve as VPN providers. They are the nodes that want to rent their unused internet traffic.
  • The service client layer: This layer comprises of various client applications created on the Mysterium network and even third parties.

Advanced cryptography and the Ethereum blockchain

The VPN consumers search and pay service providers using the inbuilt smart contracts that predefine all the terms and conditions. The network relies on the Ethereum blockchain for transparent processing and distributed storage. Registered identities also help to enable the use of limited trust when offering the services and processing payments.

The VPN service and VPN service providers even allow negotiations on terms and conditions. When the negotiations are completed, they are captured and implemented by the smart contracts on the Ethereum platform. Both parties are required to deposit some MYST tokens as collateral, and payment is only effected by the smart contract when all the conditions are met.

To run the computational costs correctly and factor all the limitations of operating on Ethereum Virtual Machine, Mysterium uses keccak256 hashing, ECDSA signature verification, and identifier recovery functions. The advanced encryption has been crucial in keeping user information more private.

What makes Mysterium better than its competitors?

Mysterium was created at a time when the growth of cryptocurrencies had reached the peak. This implies it has to fight for space and market share in a market with more than a1600 other cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks. Here are the main components that make Mysterium better than its competitors.

  • The platform utilizes smart contracts to run transactions: Smart contracts in Mysterium are designed to make processing of transactions easy and direct. Because the rules of the transactions are predetermined, and users have to agree with them, even complex transactions are inviolable.
  • The Mysterium network has targeted the high potential internet traffic niche which that is drawing a lot of interest from different stakeholders. At a time when more people are becoming conscious of the need for enhanced internet privacy, Mysterium network’s demand is likely to grow exponentially. This could ultimately increase the value of the network and price of the native token.
  • The Platform provides users with a secure and private method of making transactions such as sending value. This implies that you can now send funds across the globe using the Mysterium network without worrying about third parties knowing about personal details or even risk of seizures.
  • By offering internet traffic on a peer2peer basis without involving centralized profit-seeking entities, users are assured of lower transaction fees. This is likely to draw more traffic to Mysterium resulting in faster growth of the network.
  • The Mysterium development team has lined list of highly attractive features on its roadmap. Some of the features such as API for app developers and private end-to-end communication channel have become the pacesetters in the industry. More cryptocurrency networks are now following Mysterium for ideas on what to launch in their platforms.
  • Mysterium provides users with an opportunity to sell unused traffic in the network. This is a great way for users in the network to increase their revenue from the network. They can also mine the network and cut transaction costs because all operations are peer2peer.

How can Mysterium be categorized?

Mysterium is a new blockchain network created to help redefine the internet services by promoting the focus on security. Its design and operations are helping to wrestle internet traffic from decentralized operators and empowering more users to become providers. As a decentralized network, it implies that all people can participate in determining the nature of the internet they want.

While some have argued that most top internet providers are likely to put up a spirited fight, the blockchain technology is an irresistible technology whose time has come. The incentives provided for maintaining the network and decentralized governance implies that more people will get involved in promoting the system to make it better.

The aggressive development team has demonstrated it is willing to go to every length to deliver greater value to users. This is evident from the high profile features that have been lined up for implementation in their roadmap. The community is gearing up for positive price and value shift of the Mysterium network

What’s Mysterium’s vision on Security?

Security of people’s data when operating online and their digital tokens has become an important factor in defining the design and implementation of decentralized networks. The Mysterium’s development team aims at decentralizing and making user data as private as possible. The founders believe that no one should access your data, whether personal or for business, without requisite consent. To guarantee users the needed safety and privacy, here are the main strategies used at Mysterium platform.

  • Mysterium is based on the Ethereum network: While this design comes with some disadvantages because the network is not fully independent, it is capable of utilizing the advanced Ethereum network as an additional layer of security. For example, the Mysterium development team was able to advance applications of the Smart contracts for faster growth safely.
  • The development team is very aggressive in identifying gaps in the core code: Even with its strong core code, the Mysterium development team appreciated the complex and evolving nature of internet security. Therefore, it progressively identifies gaps and addresses them to keep the network more secure. This is why no successful network attack had been reported on the network by August 2018.
  • The token distribution model is not based on proof of work (PoW) or proof of stake (PoS): Rather, it is premised on the basis of the bandwidth that a node has shared on the network. This has been crucial in even distribution of the tokens to avoid the risk of 51% attack.

Examples of Mysterium’s use cases / applications.

Though Mysterium is one of the newest networks, the development team has been working extra hard to increase the value of the network via more use cases. However, Mysterium development team will have to work harder to win the market from industry leaders such as Ripple, Bitcoin, and Ethereum.

  • Use Mysterium coin to pay for the network traffic on the Mysterium marketplace: Mysterium coin is the primary currency for paying network traffic in the platform. Note that you have the opportunity to negotiate for better conditions such as prices.
  • Paying transaction fee when trading Mysterium on the markets: If you have more MYST and want to trade them in the markets such as Liqui and ForkDelta, the transaction fee can be paid using MYST. Note that the charges vary depending on the selected exchange. To enjoy lower transaction costs you should consider using decentralized exchanges such as ForkDelta that allow users to exchange their tokens directly from their wallets.
  • MYST can be used to pay for products and services in the markets: Like other cryptocurrencies, Mysterium tokens can be used to pay for products and services in online marketplaces. If you have ample coins in the Mysterium wallet, you will only need to identify a platform that accepts the coins. Note that even when a store accepts another coin; do not consider it out of reach. You only need to change it for the accepted coin in the exchanges.
  • It is a reliable way to save and invest your funds: Though the price of MYST has been was on a negative trajectory by August 2018, the community and experts are optimistic that it will finally take a positive trend. Therefore, people who want to save their funds only need to buy MSYT from the exchanges. Remember that the native coins are completely encrypted to ensure that no third-party can easily know about your details.
  • The best way to send funds anonymously: As a decentralized blockchain network, users on the Mysterium network are allowed to send funds directly anywhere across the globe. The network helps users to bypass centralized networks to make the transactions faster and cheap. All that is required is for both the sender and recipient to be on the network.
  • Creating a decentralized application to grow your business: One of the things making Mysterium network to attract a lot of users is allowing them to develop and plug decentralized application. Whether you are a developer or a business, this is a unique channel to advance the business. For example, a new store can create a decentralized application to help a business operate on a 24 hour basis.

https://coincheckup.com/coins/Mysterium

Mysterium Network

https://medium.com/mysterium-network

https://mysterium.network/whitepaper.pdf