Month: October 2018

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Bitcoin Plus

What is Bitcoin Plus?

Bitcoin Plus is one of the top cryptocurrency and blockchain networks that have demonstrated unique resilience and desirable success in the market. The cryptocurrency was created in 2014 by a group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts largely drawn from the Bitcointalk forum to help advance the original idea by Satoshi Nakamoto and address emerging issues.

The coin has recently shot to fame because of the coin’s good performance in the market.

  • The troublesome history of Bitcoin Plus

The original Bitcoin Plus developer who was only known by the handle XBC Plus ran away after receiving the network funds raised in an initial coin offering (ICO).

The new team that took over the coin development fixed the wallet, and everything appeared to stabilize before some of the members also disappeared with the coins they could get their hands on.

It was not until 2015 when two members of the community, JJMV, and Egghead, took over and helped to steady the ship.

The new ‘Took Over’ team hired a respected developer known as ‘Mammiax2’ who helped to fix the wallet cryptocurrency wallet and made it difficult for individual admins to siphon funds.

The goal of the system is making the cryptocurrency completely self-sustaining.

  • The Bitcoin Plus Shift to a fully proof of stake (PoS) coin

In 2015, a new XBC project was created and a new coin released. The coin still went by the name Bitcoin Plus and even allowed previous users to convert the old coins to the new ones on a ratio of 1:1 basis.

The Bitcoin Plus Coin (abbreviated as XBC) is a proof of stake (PoS) coin which implies that users only need to have some stake to mine the network. Note that it operated as a hybrid of proof of work (PoW) and proof of stake (PoS) until late 2017 when it was switched to a PoS consensus algorithm platform at the height of block 400,000.

  • The Bitcoin Plus value

The Bitcoin Plus value has changed over time to reflect the tumultuous history as its founder and developers changed focus. In May 2014, the price of XBC started at $11 but took slumped by more than 5000% in the subsequent four months to reach a low of $0.2 in August 2014.

The price remained below the $1 mark until August 2016 when it rose slightly and remained within the range of $1 to $3.1until May 2017.

The new development team made Bitcoin Plus very competitive, and the price grew to $189.50 by the close of June 2017. This was the highest mark in its history. In January 2018, the price also shot very high to $182 before declining to an average of $15 in September 2018.

The community holds the view that the coin could easily grow to rival the original Bitcoin.

What is the problem that Bitcoin Plus Solves?

When Bitcointalk forum community came together and decided it was time to create a new coin, the drive was irresistible.

The community believed that it had the power in its hands to help steer the cryptocurrency community. Here are some of the problems that the team sought to address using the network.

Note that the issues include the focus of the new Bitcoin Plus introduced in 2015.

  • Centralization of financial services

Many financial services in the market today are highly centralized. From banks to credit card companies, funds have to be deposited to centralized vaults with diverse management before you can be allowed to send value.

This centralization makes your funds an easy target by attackers. Such attacks can even be orchestrated through a legal battle with the goal of siphoning the funds via attorneys.

Bitcoin Plus aims at helping to make the system completely centralized for enhanced security.

  • The high cost of sending value across the globe

The cost of sending value through conventional means is very high because the organizations are designed to help optimize profitability. For banks, the cost could be double because the funds being sent might attract charges for both the sending and receiving institutions.

This is one of the reasons that have made many people seek refuge in blockchain networks such as Bitcoin Plus.

  • Scalability issues in most networks

When blockchain platforms were founded, their success was largely pegged on the ability to decentralize governance.

However, the requirement that all or most of the nodes must be involved when confirming transactions has resulted in serious scalability issues.

For example, Bitcoin can only handle four transactions/ second while Ethereum can only manage about 15 transactions/ second. This is a far cry when compared to about 24,000 transactions/ second for Visa.

  • Poor adoption of blockchain by the community

While the blockchain networks have been growing at a steady rate, the same cannot be said of the community.

The experts argue that many people still find the process of joining cryptocurrencies complicated. Bitcoin Plus wanted to make the community own and feel part of the blockchain system.

  • Privacy issues

When it emerged that transactions in the Bitcoin network are no longer as anonymous as initially thought, many people were very disappointed. Many cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Plus are created with one of the goals being to address privacy.

How does Bitcoin Plus Solve the problem?

When the Bitcointalk forum was created, the community was able to share the issues that affected the blockchain network and come-up with reliable solutions to address them. Here are some of the methods that Bitcoin Plus used to address the issues as mentioned earlier.

  • Bitcoin Plus has a built-in TOR

ToR help keep the Bitcoin Plus network more secure and private, it has an inbuilt TOR system (The Onion Router).

TOR is a system of volunteer nodes (relays) that receives signals and passes them to the next relays. Because the path of the transactions is randomly generated and the next relay can only know where to go once the signal is received, it is impossible to trace the origin of transactions.

This helps to make Bitcoin Plus one of the exclusively private networks.

  • The exchange has an inbuilt and highly effective wallet

Many people targeting to join the cryptocurrency niche often find it complicated because a lot of steps are involved.

For example, some cryptocurrencies require users to join third-party cryptocurrency wallets to store the native coins.

However, Bitcoin Plus has an easy to use wallet ingrained in its system.

This means that you do not need to incur additional costs or subject your XBC to another platform for storage.

  • Bitcoin Plus is available in multiple platforms

To provide users with greater control and guarantee better attachment, the Bitcoin Plus system is available for multiple platforms including mobile phones.

This implies that you can easily carry the Bitcoin Plus system, send value, and manage the XBC coins even on the go.

  • Bitcoin Plus operates as a decentralized network of nodes

Bitcoin Plus operates as a completely decentralized network comprising of nodes spread across the globe.

The nodes help with governance, running transactions and securing the network. When a user initiates a transaction such as sending value, it is taken by nodes that check the sender’s public address balance and add new blocks to the blockchain.

This means that users do not have to rely on centralized and profit-seeking organizations such as banks that are an easy target for attackers.

What makes Bitcoin Plus better than it’s competitors?

The fast-growing blockchain niche has seen many cryptocurrency networks entering the market to take advantage of the rising demand.

It has also opened the space for stiff competition from both blockchain based and non-blockchain based operators. Here are some of the things that make Bitcoin Plus better than competitors.

  • The network has passed through a very difficult past and emerged stronger. It is, therefore, considered a very reliable network compared to most networks in the market. It has also been in the market for more than four years. This implies that most of its network’s features have been tested and proven to work.
  • The native coin XBC has been doing relatively well in the market. The two times that XBC shot to more than $180 is considered a pointer of good things to come. Even at the current rate, the value is still doing better than many digital coins such as Mooncoin and Novacoin.
  • The platform has a very ambitious development team. After the departure of the founding team, the new development group at the helm of Bitcoin Plus is very active. The team easily identifies emerging issues and acts promptly to improve the network. For example, the team saw the threats that came with proof of work consensus algorithm and facilitated the effective shift to proof of stake algorithm.
  • The stable design of Bitcoin Plus has won the trust of most exchanges. This is one of the reasons why a lot of exchanges have agreed to list XBC.
  • Bitcoin Plus is a completely anonymous network that allows users to join and use the system without risking getting discovered by third parties. By using advanced encryption and The Onion Router system, no third party can follow back to know your details or even the transaction details.

How can Bitcoin Plus be categorized?

XBC is a completely decentralized and anonymous network designed to help advance the blockchain network. It was an early effort of the community to address the shortcomings noted in the blockchain network.

Even after the rough start when the initial developers disappeared with investors’ funds, another team took over and helped to push the system to the current revered status.

What’s Bitcoin Plus’s vision on Security?

The Bitcoin Plus vision on security is to help every person to get involved in the blockchain network securely.

The new development team was concerned that the security of the system could be compromised after the previous leaders ran away with investors funds.

Here are some of the methods used on the network to guarantee optimal user security.

  • The system uses proof of stake (PoS) algorithm that promotes even spread of the native coins to prevent the threat of 51% attack.
  • The development team is very active in identifying gaps in the core code and sealing them to avoid attacks.
  • The system uses advanced encryption and The Onion Router system to make the system extra difficult for attackers.

Examples of Bitcoin Plus’s use cases/ applications.

The main goal of the Bitcoin Plus team, like other cryptocurrency networks, is to get adopted as a method of payment by both users and traders. Here are some of the main use cases of the Bitcoin Plus applications.

  • Use the XBC coins to pay for transaction fee on the Bitcoin Plus network. When sending value on Bitcoin Plus, a transaction fee to motivate the miners on the system has to be paid using XBC coins.
  • Pay the transaction fee in the markets when trading XBC. For those who opt to trade in the markets, the operational fee can be paid in XBC coins. Remember that you might also be required to pay an additional fee in XBC such as deposit and withdrawal charges depending on the selected exchange.
  • Use the native coins to pay taxes. Cryptocurrencies such as XBC and Bitcoin are increasingly being accepted as a means of relaying value. In the state of Arizona, cryptocurrencies are accepted as a method of paying taxes. Another jurisdiction that allows users to make official transactions using cryptocurrencies is Singapore. The country’s leadership insists that users can make payment using fiat or crypto coins because the primary goal is sending value.
  • Use Bitcoin Plus coin to invest or save funds. If you want to save money away without worrying that a third party or curious bank managers can know, the best method is going blockchain. Using anonymous systems such as Bitcoin Plus, you can buy the native tokens and hide funds without worrying about third-party seizures. You can also hold on the tokens waiting for the value to go up or even trade them in the markets.

https://www.bitcoinplus.org/history.php

https://www.bitcoinplus.org/

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Feathercoin

What is Feathercoin?

Feathercoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency and open-source blockchain that was forked off the Litecoin protocol in 2013. Note that the Litecoin protocol had earlier on been forked from the Bitcoin core.

The cryptocurrency network is based on the proof of work (PoW) NeoScyrypt algorithm that was aimed at making sending of value more reliable, secure and convenient.

The Feathercoin network was created by a programmer referred to as Peter Bushnell who wanted to see things taking a different course in the blockchain niche. His commitment to the network saw him leave a fulltime job as the Head of IT at Brasenose College of Oxford University. Though he left the Feathercoin network for some time, his return in 2017 has brought new vigor that could help to make Feathercoin the next big thing in the crypto industry.

The Feathercoin (FTC) price in the markets started at $0.4 early in May 2013 before dropping to $0.08 in July the same year. By December 2013, the price had risen to $0.8 before dropping to $0.03 in August 2014. Then, it remained within the same range until April 2017 when the price started growing significantly and reached $0.5 in January 2018.

By the third quarter of 2018, the price of Feathercoin was $0.04 with a market capitalization of $10.4 million.

What is the problem that Feathercoin Solves?

After Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, it did not take long before major shortcomings started emerging. As a payment network, Feathercoin did not just target improving the already existing blockchain networks.

Rather, it also focused on addressing the challenges that people faced when using the conventional financial services such as credit cards and banks. Here are some of the issues that Feathercoin target to address.

  • The high cost of sending value across the globe

Many people sending value across the world using the banking systems have complained of high transaction charges. The cost arises from the fact that the conventional financial services are designed as for-profit-organizations.

For those who use credit cards, the respective companies have a lot of restrictions and unnecessary penalties.

While previous networks such as Bitcoin had addressed these issues, the Feathercoin team believed that there was a great room for more improvement.

  • Centralized mining

After the debut of the blockchain technology in 2009, one of the most notable developments was the discovery of advanced mining equipment especially Application-specific integrated circuit (ASICs) miners.

The miners generate very high hashing power to increase the rewards to the owner. However, the miners are very expensive which implies that only the rich people can afford them.

Besides, they also require a lot of power to run. This has created a situation where only a few people can mine and own coins especially those using the proof of work algorithm.

Feathercoin wants to restore the mining power and cryptocurrencies to the community. This was the original vision of Satoshi Nakamoto.

  • Poor adoption of the blockchain technology

While the growth of blockchain industry has been impressive, the adoption by the community has been wanting. Indeed, most of the people coming to the blockchain networks target buying the native tokens for speculation purpose. Feathercoin wanted to change this narrative by increasing the adoption by having applications.

  • Poor scalability

While the benefits of the blockchain technology such as low transaction costs are evident in most networks, the problem of scalability has been threatening to slow down the technology adoption.

When Feathercoin was created in 2013, the main competitors were Litecoin and Bitcoin. Bitcoin can only handle seven transactions every second and will require 60 minutes to confirm them.

Though Litecoin is faster than Bitcoin, it can only handle 56 transactions per second using Segregated witness and will require 30minutes to confirm them.

Even with the Litecoin’s improvement, the blockchain still lags behind when compared to other technologies such as Visa that can complete over 20,000 transactions every second.

Feathercoin targets to improve the scalability of the network to make the blockchain solutions more desirable especially to traders.

How does Feathercoin Solve the problem?

Though many people indicate that Feathercoin was conceived from the need to simply have another coin, the development team demonstrated the thoroughness of the system to address most of the issues experienced in the financial sector. Here are some of the solutions introduced by Feathercoin.

  • Use of NeoScrypt mining algorithm.

The focus of the development team at Feathercoin to expand and experiment with new technologies made it target new applications and introduce important changes.

To address the problem of centralized mining the development team had initially opted for the Scrypt mining algorithm.

However, the team had to change to NeoScrypt that makes it unviable to mine the coins using ASICs. This implies that more people including those with GPUs and CPUs can now mine and own FTC.

  • Advanced checkpointing.

In 2013, Feathercoin adopted the Advanced Checkpointing (ACP) technology to help keep the network extra secure. The technology publishes all checkpoints through a node to help maintain the network integrity. In the Bitcoin system, the checkpoints are stored in the node of the respective clients.

This means that every node is required to maintain an update on the latest block to verify the transactions correctly. If a node lacks the latest update, the platform becomes open to new vulnerabilities.

At Feathercoin, the development team created a master node that is responsible for publishing all the series of checkpoints for the clients to check. This implies that nodes can now operate as lightweight clients, run transactions more securely, and faster.

  • Advanced cryptography to guarantee users of total anonymity.

For many people coming to the blockchain industry, one of the primary goals is seeking an opportunity to operate anonymously. In most banks, transactions can easily be accessed by a wide range of parties including bank management and cashiers.

Feathercoin adopted advanced encryption that ensures all the user information cannot be easily accessed. With the encryption, even miners spread on the system can only follow back to check the balance on the public address but cannot pull out the personal details.

  • The Enhanced Hash Rate Compensation.

To address the serious threat of poor scalability in other networks, Feathercoin development team went for the Enhanced Hash Rate Compensation.

The technology helped to ensure that new blocks on the Feathercoin platform are added every 60 seconds. The technology was developed for the Feathercoin system and has helped to make it about ten times faster.

What makes Feathercoin better than it’s competitors?

When Feathercoin was designed in 2013, it did not bring much regarding uniqueness. It was considered to be simply another clone in the market that was fast attracting new networks. However, Feathercoin has stuck around and committed to delivering greater value to users. Here are some of the main things that make Feathercoin better than competitors.

  • Feathercoin has managed to address the serious issue of blockchain scalability by using Checkpointing and Advanced Hash Rate Compensation. These technologies have made Feathercoin better than many blockchain networks out there including Bitcoin.
  • Sending value on the Feathercoin platform is cheaper and faster compared to most networks. Unlike many financial organizations that charge high transaction fees to optimize profitability, Feathercoin is not owned by any single entity. The small charge levied on the Feathercoin transactions is directed at motivating the nodes. The fact that the value of FTC is still low compared to others such as Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash also helps to keep the transaction costs low.
  • The Feathercoin development team is very aggressive. Though the founder left when the coin was still young, his return in 2017 has made the network to vibrate with vigor. He and the development team have vowed to bring the platform to the level of Bitcoin Core 0.13 by adding the latest versions of BarterDEX and Lightning networks. These goals, coupled with the new Feathercoin Development Foundation, have made the community believe that this could be the next Bitcoin.
  • Feathercoin allows users to join and own the network. By operating as a completely decentralized network, it implies that the nodes spread in its system own the network. As a proof of work based network, users in the network can be called to vote on key issues that define the direction of the platform. If you are a miner, the network will greatly rely on you to confirm transactions and building consensus.
  • The commitment to operate as a decentralized exchange has suddenly renewed interest in Feathercoin even by blockchain experts. As more governments threaten to pass punitive crypto laws, one of the strategies to keep the networks completely anonymous is adopting decentralized exchanges. At Feathercoin, the development team targets to ensure that users can trade right from their wallets without going through the risky centralized exchanges.
  • The value of FTC has performed relatively well in the markets. Though the price has not grown to the levels of other top networks such as Bitcoin Cash, its progress has been impressive. The growing community and experts are of the view that the value of Feathercoin could surprise everyone with high ROI in the coming years.

How can Feathercoin be categorized?

Feathercoin is a network designed to evolve with the shifting blockchain technology. Unlike other platforms that often find it difficult to adopt changes resulting in stagnation, Feathercoin is different. Since inception, the platform has added technologies such as Advanced checkpointing, NeoScrypt mining model, and now targets to introduce BarterDEX technology.

What is Feathercoin’s vision on security?

The Feathercoin’s vision on security is to become the most secure network in the blockchain industry.  Having been introduced at a time when major attacks such as the Mt. Gox hack of 2011 and Bitcoinica resulted to major losses, the development team at Feathercoin team had to craft a reliable strategy to keep the platform secure. Here are some of the technologies and features used to keep the Feathercoin system secure.

  • Checkpointing is used to help protect the integrity of the network and prevent 51% attack.
  • The advanced cryptography used in the platform helps to keep the user information private and away from third parties.
  • The development team progressively reviews and updates the network to identify gaps and address vulnerabilities.

Examples of Feathercoin’s use cases/ applications.

When cryptocurrencies enter the market, the target is getting adopted widely and being used for direct payments. The unique design of Feathercoin has helped increase to include the following.

  • FTC can be used to pay for products and services in stores that accept it. After realizing that digital coins are cheaper, faster, and more reliable when making payments, many stores are now accepting payment using cryptocurrencies. Some of the stores that accept Feathercoin include Coaex Precious Metals, I Got Spots, Countdown Zed, Wood Shot Glass, and Converted. Note that even in stores that only accept a different coin, it is still possible to buy with Feathercoin by converting to the supported coin.
  • Use Feathercoin to pay taxes in jurisdictions such as Singapore and Arizona. In Singapore, the administration insists that the main role of cryptocurrencies such as NEO and Feathercoin is sending value and, therefore, can be used in making official payments. In Arizona, HB 1091 allowed citizens to pay transactions in cryptocurrencies.
  • Use FTC to pay for transaction fee in the Feathercoin network and the exchanges. Like other platforms, Feathercoin requires users to pay a small transaction fee for motivating the miners spread in the network. This fee must be paid in FTC. If you opt to pair FTC with other coins such as BTC, ETH or NEO to trade in the market, the transaction fee can be paid using FTC.
  • Using FTC coin for investment. For people who want to invest in the blockchain network prospecting the value of the native coins to go up, one of the high potential coins in the market is Feathercoin. The impressive performance, especially in 2017 and 2018, is being used as an indicator that the price growth could be positive in the coming years.

https://feathercoin.com/

http://forum.feathercoin.com/topic/8523/faq-new-forum-member-most-asked-questions-try-here-first

https://feathercoin.com/merchants-who-accept-ftc/