Month: September 2018

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Viacoin

What is Viacoin?

Viacoin is an open source and decentralized cryptocurrency derived from Bitcoin protocol in 2014. It features Auxiliary proof of work (AuxPoW) and Segregated Witness (SegWit) technologies that help to make transactions scalable, cheaper, and more secure. The project was one of the early efforts used to remedy the flaws exhibited in Bitcoin.

The project was started in July 2014 by a person/persons only referred as BTCdrak after forking the Bitcoin core. Another renowned Bitcoin developer, Peter Todd, was introduced to the team as the chief scientist and Advisor. Todd is believed to be the main face of the project but only reintroduced himself as an advisor for legal reasons.

After launch, the price of Viacoin remained well below $0.05 mark until March 2017. The only short instance when it went above that mark was around 10th August 2014 when the price rose to $0.28 before retracting to the original range. The price grew with more than 13,200% to hit the highest mark in its history, $6.65, early January 2018.

The project’s focus has seen new features getting introduced progressively to improve the network. Some of these features include the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), Schnorr signature and non-atomic flushing

What is the problem that Viacoin Solves?

When Bitcoin was introduced into the market in 2009, it demonstrated that it was possible to run completely decentralized payments and transactions. But Satoshi Nakamoto did not expect the demand for the blockchain based payments and transactions to skyrocket in the subsequent years. In just a few years after launch, Bitcoin and other early cryptocurrencies were experiencing serious limitations that included the following;

Poor scalability

Most early blockchain projects especially those based on proof of work (PoW) algorithm are very slow because every node or most of them have to be involved in confirming transactions. Bitcoin can only support 7 transactions/second, Ethereum 25 transactions/second, and Bitcoin Cash 61 transactions/second. Even the cryptocurrency with the highest rate, Ripple, can only reach 1500 transactions/second which is a far cry from top industry leaders like Ripple that can hit a whopping 24,000 transactions per second.

Poor cross-chain interoperability

A closer look at most cryptocurrencies and associated projects reveals they provide diverse benefits that users would want to enjoy. But cross-chain interoperability has been a serious obstacle. A person in the Bitcoin network would require joining the Ethereum, Ripple, or Bitcoin cash networks to send value there. This makes the process very expensive, inconveniencing and unrealistic in most of the cases.

Decreasing mining rewards

The block reward of most proof of work (PoW) algorithm based cryptocurrencies halves after a couple of years. At Bitcoin, the reward halves every four years. The implication is that miners are likely to get demotivated as the rewards continue decreasing. The miners could opt to walk away leaving the network without ample miners to confirm the transactions.

How does Viacoin Solve the problem?

When Viacoin founders set out working on a new platform to address the outlined issues, their focus was not to just provide a standalone solution, but ensure that the platform could easily get improved over time. Here are some of the key methods used to address the problems.

Segregated Witness (SegWit)

Segregated Witness is used to shrink transaction sizes to help the network cope with UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) growth. SegWit is a transaction where the witness data is separated from the main transaction. The technology targets raising transaction throughput per block and simultaneously helping blocks to sync faster.

SegWit application at Viacoin is also targeted at fixing malleability. This implies that more scripting will be possible and, therefore, adding new features such as bidirectional payments, atomic swaps, and even lightning networks is relatively easy.

Merged mining (AuxPoW)

Merged mining at Viacoin was created to help increase the utility of the mining power of the user’s system. This means that with the same mining power, users are able to mine more Scrypt based coins. For example, you can mine Viacoin and another coin such as Litecoin without lowering the mining power.

Every hash that a miner generates can be used for the selected cryptocurrencies. The Auxiliary Proof of Work (AuxPoW) block closely resembles the common Bitcoin block but features two main differences;

  • The hash of the block header does not meet the blockchain’s difficulty.
  • It includes additional data elements indicating that the miner who created the block mined the parent blockchain and that the respective work meets the aux blockchain difficulty level.

Implementation of AuxPoW implies that Viacoin miners will be motivated to continue mining even as the rewards go low because they can mine other coins of preference. This approach was considered forethought that many players were unable to see it when Viacoin was created. However, it has now become an important premise in the industry as rewards in many cryptocurrencies continue ebbing out.

The lightning network

Lightning network at Viacoin is an additional network operating layer on top of the Viacoin blockchain. The layer utilizes smart contract functionality that targets enabling instant payments across a network of participants. This is very important to increasing transaction throughput because most transactions are processed outside the consensus ledger.

Lightning Networks further allows the execution of exceptionally low transaction fees. The Viacoin white paper refers to the Lightning Network as the Silver Bullet. The payment under the system is implemented using a script that enforces atomicity through decrementing time-locks.

Blocknet protocol

In May 2018, Viacoin announced that it was ready to adopt and implement Blocknet Protocol. This is a true peer2peer protocol between nodes on different platforms. Once implemented, the protocol will enable the delivery of any type of digital service from a node in one platform to another node in a different platform.

The application of Blocknet Protocol will include three key things; a blockchain router (xbridgep2p), an inter-chain data transport, and a coin exchange protocol. The protocol will be very helpful in monetization, microservices, decentralized applications (DApps) and protocol related services.

What makes Viacoin better than it’s competitors?

The blockchain niche has become highly competitive as more networks continue joining the industry. From the beginning, Viacoin targeted positioning itself at the front of others. Some of the things that make Viacoin better than competitors include;

  • Viacoin uses more advanced technology that makes the network faster compared to other cryptocurrencies. For example, it is about 25 times faster than Bitcoin. High scalability implies that more traders including those handling a lot of transactions can use it without suffering backlogs.
  • The cryptocurrency is led by a very aggressive team that progressively adds new features to improve the system over time. The team comprising of blockchain experts and financial advisors has seen the network and its community grow progressively over time.
  • As a peer2peer network, Viacoin is better than centralized organizations such as banks because transactions are completed faster and at a lower cost. It also employs advanced cryptography to help users run transactions without worrying about third-party seizures.
  • Having been established in 2014, Viacoin is considered more stable compared to the newer models. The cryptocurrency community considers a blockchain network to be more stable after clocking more than three years in the market. By this time, most of the features will have been tested and their stability proven.
  • Viacoin performance in the market has been impressive. Though its price has not been explosive the way other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash have performed, the progress is impressive. This has resulted from listing in more markets and the fast-growing community.
  • The platform is completing the application of Blocknet Protocol that will help with cross-chain communication in the market. This is a great score at a time when sending value from one network to another has become a serious issue hindering blockchain growth.

How can Viacoin be categorized?

Viacoin is a secure, scalable, and upgradable cryptocurrency network. The segregated witness technology at Viacoin makes it easy to implement new features and changes for progressive improvements. This means two crucial things that will help to determine the progress of Viacoin in future;

  • The network will always be better because changes such as new features and improvements can be implemented with ease.
  • Unlike at Bitcoin or Ethereum where even minor adjustments are enough to cause serious disagreements and even forks, Viacoin is different. The technology lowers the need for dividing the network like it happened after the DAO attack in the Ethereum network.

What’s Viacoin’s vision on Security?

The security vision of Viacoin is to become the most secure network without compromising its ability to grow over time. When Viacoin was created in 2014, regular attacks had become a common thing in the young blockchain industry. In 2011, Mt. Gox was hacked and over 600,000 Bitcoins lost. Then, BitFloor was hacked in 2012 resulting to loss of 24,000 Bitcoins while Picostocks lost 6000BTC in the 2013 attack.  Viacoin founders had to craft a winning model that could keep the network secure and win the user’s trust. Here are some of the methods used to keep the network safer.

  • Dark Gravity Wave (DGW): This is an open source difficulty algorithm created by Evan Duffield (the creator of Dash/Darkcoin). The technology utilizes multiple exponential moving averages to smooth the mining difficulty readjustment to help address flaws such as time wrap attacks.
  • Regular updates to fix gaps: With attackers getting tech-savvier, the Viacoin development team adopted a system of regular updates to fix bugs noted in the network. To guarantee users of extra security, the development team has also lined up an array of development features to implement in 2018.
  • Use of smart contracts: The application of smart contracts in a network helps to make the operations of a system inviolable. Because users have to meet the pre-set conditions, many attackers are finding it very difficult to break into the system.
  • Viacoin uses Scrypt mining algorithm: This algorithm has been crucial in reducing the efficiency of ASIC mining to help decentralize mining and lower the danger of 51% attack. However, the efficiency of scrypt has increasingly come under question as more as ASIC miners targeting scrypt hit the market.

Examples of Viacoin’s use cases / applications.

The core goal of many cryptocurrencies is becoming major payment networks in the market. Even as the looming regulations remain unpredictable, the use cases of most cryptocurrencies continue increasing. Here are the main Viacoin use cases.

  • Paying transaction fees in the Viacoin network. When you decide to use the Viacoin network to send value, the transaction fee is paid using Viacoin. Note that this fee is mainly meant to motivate the miners who help to confirm the transactions running on the network as opposed to optimizing the network profitability.
  • Paying the trading fees in the cryptocurrency markets. If you want to trade Viacoin in the markets such as Binance and Bittrex, the transaction charges can be paid in Viacoin. Note that trading in such exchanges requires users to pair Viacoin with other coins such as Bitcoin. Therefore, even the other coin paired with Viacoin can also be used to clear the transaction fees.
  • Buying goods and services from e-commerce stores. Like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple among other cryptocurrencies that have been wooing traders and buyers to their platforms, Viacoin is also in the race. Viacoin stability has made stores such as Lionfood to start accepting it for direct payment.
  • A reliable method of saving funds without worrying about third-party seizures. As a decentralized and highly encrypted network, Viacoin allows users to save and invest in the network without worrying about third-party seizures. Whether you want to buy and hold or simply hide your savings from third parties, there is a great opportunity to relax without worrying about third-party seizures.
  • Viacoin can be paired with other cryptocurrencies to trade in the exchanges.The cryptocurrency exchanges operate like the standard forex markets. To start trading in the exchanges such as UPbit, Coinroom, and Yobit among others, you need to identify the preferred trading pair and register for a trading account.

https://coincheckup.com/coins/Viacoin

https://viacoin.org/

https://medium.com/@viacoin

https://github.com/viacoin/documents/blob/master/whitepapers/Viacoin_fullcolor_whitepaper.pdf

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Zcoin

What is Zcoin?

Zcoin is a fully decentralized and open source cryptocurrency powered by the ZeroCoin protocol. The protocol utilizes Zero-Knowledge proof that helps to guarantee total financial privacy and anonymity. The protocol has elevated Zerocoin to a class of its own with only a few competitors including Zcash and Monero.

The Zerocoin project is the work of Poramin Insom who implemented the recommendations of his John Hopkins professor, Mathew Green. Earlier on, Poramin had made history by being the first to implement stealth addresses in QT-wallets to improve anonymity.

Though Zerocoin has achieved much in advancing the blockchain systems by enhancing the anonymity, the price and value have changed with a very small margin since inception.

On 21st March 2017, the market capitalization of Zerocoin was about $ 19.6 million at a price of $0.09. The price remained within the same range until November 2017 before shooting by more than 9000% on 15th January 2018. But this growth was short lived.

Between January and mid-2018, the price shot down with more than 8000%. This took it back to the point it started at early in 2018. As the importance of anonymity and privacy in blockchains become even more critical, more people are now trooping to Zerocoin and raising its demand again.

What is the problem that Zcoin Solves?

Though blockchain technology and products are growing remarkably fast, they are faced with serious issues that could negate the progress. Zerocoin’s primary goal was to remedy the issues found at Bitcoin and other proof of work (PoW) cryptocurrencies.

Lack of anonymity

Zcoin was created to help improve anonymity in a scalable way when sending value in its network on a peer2peer basis. When Bitcoin was created, Satoshi Nakamoto intended to demonstrate that it was possible to run a completely decentralized manner. While the peer2peer payment model has been a great success, anonymity has proven to be an uphill for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Notably, anonymity was not one of the core goals of Satoshi Nakamoto when he created Bitcoin. To send value, Bitcoin only provides pseudonymity via public keys or hashes. Many Bitcoin users are allowed to generate multiple identities to help preserve their privacy.

Even with these efforts, it is still possible to pull out the details of individual users. How does this happen? The bulk of user information is leaked by web trackers. When people make transactions with Bitcoins especially in stores such as Overstock, the merchants leak information to third parties for advertisement purposes. Others methods that can be used to compromise user’s anonymity include:

  • Advanced technology is being applied to connect multiple nodes and discover originators information.
  • Following the public ledger, different public addresses can be traced back to specific users.
  • When Bitcoin users provide their identity when trading in the exchanges, anonymity can be lost. This method is being by authorities to target specific traders to identify those operating without paying taxes.

Centralized mining

In Bitcoin and other proof of work (PoW) consensus and some proof of stake (PoS) based cryptocurrencies, mining has become highly centralized. The situation has been made worse by the development of advanced ASICs mining hardware that generates optimal mining power for individuals/ mining pools. This coupled with the associated high cost of power has made it unviable to mine most proof of work (PoW) cryptocurrencies with CPU or GPU.

Companies with a lot of money have taken the opportunity to set up large ASIC mining farms raising the danger of the bulk of Bitcoins falling into the hands of one or a few players. It also increases the danger of 51% attack in the event that such users in the same pools conspire to harm the network.

How does Zcoin Solve the problem?

Poramin Insom identified the outlined issues when studying for his Master’s Degree in Information Security at John Hopkins University. It is at the university that he wrote the proposed practical implementation of Zerocoin protocol focusing on enhancing anonymity and security in blockchain systems.

The Zerocoin protocol

This protocol works like Bitcoin in many ways with all the transactions getting recorded in a public ledger. But the transactions in Zcoin, unlike in Bitcoin, involve destroying the Zcoins and minting Zerocoins. The Zerocoins are new coins that do not have any transaction history. Then, the Zerocoins are converted back to Zcoins. Because a lot of people are mining Zerocoins, it is very difficult to tell who minted which coins.

The Zero-knowledge proofs

The Zerocoin protocol used at Zcoin employs zero-knowledge proofs that can be instantiated with Schnorr. The technology is applied through conversion of proofs such as 19,20,21,22, 23 … into non-interactive proofs through Fiat-Shamir Heuristic. This means that one party can easily prove to another party that he knows value X without providing any other info apart from the fact that he knows the value of X.

At Zcoin, this technology is applied to help users to demonstrate that they can send Zerocoins without giving personal information. Zero-knowledge proofs is an important component of the Zerocoin protocol because users can demonstrate they can spend the Zerocoins after burning Zcoins without giving additional personal information.

Anonymity of Zerocoins

To get Zerocoins, you are required to start by burning the Zerocoins. When you burn the Zcoins, the Zerocoin protocol generates random number “S” for the new Zerocoins and another secret number “R.” Then, “R” and “S” are used cryptographically to generate another value “C” that you have to commit to. This value “C,” is added to the public ledger so that you do not change it later. When you make payments with “C” some value will be spent but no one will be able to tell that some value of “C” corresponds to it.

To ensure that users do not double spend, nodes on the Zcoin (Znodes) have to verify that the zero-knowledge proof was valid and that the “S” value has not been spent. What this implies is that when one sends you Zerocoin, the recipient can only tell that a specific amount “X” was spent to their wallets. There is no other unintended info about the sender that can be generated from the transaction.

To send Zerocoin “S”, the owner is required to provide a zero-knowledge proof that he has “S” value corresponding to the public value “C”. Here, the zero-knowledge proof can only tell there is some “C” corresponding to your “S,” but not specifically which “S”. This implies that some Zerocoins would, in reality, be spent but no one would easily tell whether the value was from “C” that corresponds to you.

The Merkel-Tree Proof of work (MTP)

To build a cryptocurrency that is completely anonymous, Zerocoin founder knew that it had to be fully decentralized. At Bitcoin, miners are always in the race of looking for more powerful ASICs because they are considered highly effective than GPUs. However, the ASICs are very expensive and, therefore, out of reach for standard miners.

Zcoin uses Merkel-Tree proof of work (MTP) algorithm that is resistant to ASIC and GPU mining. This implies that unlike Bitcoin, Zcoin can be mined using a standard CPU.

What makes Zcoin better than it’s competitors?

Zcoin, like other cryptocurrency networks, is pit against other top competitors in the market. These include banks and cryptocurrencies that are involved in sending value. The following are the top reasons that make Zcoin better than competitors.

  • Zcoin is one of the truly anonymous cryptocurrencies in the market. Whether you are sending or receiving value, it is very difficult for other people to follow back and pull out your personal details.
  • The Zerocoin network employs Merkel-Tree proof of work (MIT) that helps to completely decentralize mining. This implies that mining has been removed from the hands of a few people with ASICs to the large community including users with standard CPUs.
  • As a decentralized network, Zcoin system allows users to send value on a peer2peer basis. Whether you are sending funds within your country or across the globe, the transaction will be cheaper and faster compared to standard centralized organizations such as banks.
  • The network is led by a highly enthusiastic team that has demonstrated great commitment to take the blockchain niche to the next level. Just like they found the right method of enhancing anonymity, the founder, and his development team are committed to achieving all the items lined up in the project’s roadmap. In 2018 and 2019, the Zcoin team targets to implement Ethereum inter-ledger connectivity, encrypted communication between nodes, the Sigma protocol, and decentralized anonymous voting.

How can Zcoin be categorized?

Zcoin can be categorized as a truly anonymous cryptocurrency project that is working on helping the blockchain niche edge to the next level. The founder, Poramin Insom, is a computing expert with a special focus on cryptocurrency anonymity. While Zcoin has indeed achieved so much in the industry, Poramin still insists that he wants to take the privacy to another level.

In 2019, the Zerocoin founder targets to implement the Sigma protocol that will introduce the next generation anonymity. This notion has excited the community so much and is expected to push the Zcoin value and token’s price to an even higher level.

What’s Zcoin‘s vision on Security?

When Poramin Insom founded Zcoin, his main concern was not just anonymity. His mission for security was to provide users with a completely anonymous and secure network that they could trust. With the DAO Child attack on the Ethereum system having taken only a few months prior to Zcoin launch, Poramin had to work harder to demonstrate that Zcoin was secure and reliable. Here are some of the strategies used to make the network more secure;

  • The network employs Merkel-Tree proof of work that ensures mining is fully decentralized. Under the system, the tokens are spread evenly across the globe to avoid concentration on a specific pool and raising the danger of 51%.
  • The network uses advanced cryptography that makes it very difficult for attackers to access users’ details. This, coupled with Zcoin total destruction to generate Zeroicoins implies that even attackers targeting Zcoin users still find it extra hard to break into their accounts.
  • The development team at Zcoin is very aggressive. The team progressively works on Zcoin to identify gaps and seal them progressively. For example, the Sigma protocol is expected to improve the security even more.

While the Zcoin team has been very aggressive in addressing security concerns, it appears their efforts need revitalization because attackers are still gaining access. In February 2017, an attacker made away with over $500,000 by taking advantage of a typo error.

Examples of Zcoin’s use cases / applications.

Because of its enhanced anonymity, Zcoin has become a major attraction to users. Here are some of the main use cases:

  • The Zcoin platform is preferred as an investment and saving platform. Unlike banks where a lot of people have access to your transaction details and account balance, Zcoin is different. Users can invest without worrying about seizure from third parties.
  • Zcoin, like other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ripple. Can be used for sending value across the globe. As a decentralized network, users on the network can send funds on peer2peer basis without requiring centralized authorities such as banks to facilitate operations. This makes transactions instant, cheap, and highly convenient.
  • Zcoin can be used to pay transaction charges on the native network and when trading in the markets. When trading Zerocoin in the exchanges, users are required to pair the coin with another cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. In every case, you have the option of selecting which coin to use in paying the transaction charges.
  • Zcoin can be used to buy goods and services in various stores that accept the coin. As more people and stores come to accept cryptocurrencies, it is now possible to use Zcoin for direct purchases. You only need to identify a store that accepts the native coin to make a direct purchase.
  • Zcoin is a reliable crypto coin for paying taxes in countries and states that accept cryptocurrencies. In the State of Arizona, HB 1091 bill was passed into law to allow residents to pay taxes in cryptocurrencies such as Zcoin and Bitcoin. Other countries where you can pay taxes in Zerocoin include Singapore and Venezuela.

https://coincheckup.com/coins/ZCoin

https://zcoin.io/

https://zcoin.io/blog/

https://zcoin.io/faq/