Month: November 2018

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ECC

What Is ECC?

Cryptocurrencies entry into the world of finance caused a major disruption that jolted top players such as banks. The native platforms are cheaper, secure, and private so that users do not have to worry about third parties knowing the details of their transactions. One such crypto is ECC (E-Currency Coin).

  • A closer look at ECC coin

ECC was founded in 2014 by a group of anonymous individuals who had the dream of redefining how the internet works today. But the start of the coin was bumpy with the founders abandoning the project. The impact was that the project remained dormant with nothing taking place until early 2017.

Greg Griffith came to the rescue in 2017. Instead of starting his own coin, Greg opted to revamp ECC and starting working on its fundamentals.

Greg created a team of experts and quit his job to concentrate on building the project. The team has managed to build the trust of the community by ensuring it is readily available to interact with token holders and answer any questions they might have. The results of this trust, commitment, and cooperation started bearing fruits when the coin demand began growing exponentially.

  • The price performance of ECC

The price of ECC coin is a reflection of the illustrious past it had after inception and after the new management. When the coin entered the market in 2014, the price was $0.000028. After the founders left the project, the price sank to $0.000001 by 2015 and remained low until mid-2017.

After Greg took over, the price jumped up to $0.00067 in mid-June 2017. This was about 2200% growth. The price continued on an upward trend hitting the highest mark of $0.003 which was more than 14,000% growth from the entry price in 2014.

After hitting the peak, the price took a bearish trend shifting downward to $0.0002 by October. However, the bearish trend demonstrated by ECC  is similar to what other coins such as Bitcoin, Ripple, and Loopring.

ECC price stabilized starting from September 2018 and the community expects it to keep growing in the coming years. It will be interesting to see how the price of ECC responds to the growing demand and competition in the market.

What is the problem that ECC Solves?

A closer look at financial services in the society reveals that they are dogged by myriads of issues that have refused to go away for many years. The following are the main issues that ECC solves.

  • High cost of sending value in the society

If you take a closer look at a standard financial transaction, it is taken through a lengthy procedure that makes the process expensive. Besides, the financial organizations are profit based. This means that they use every available method to optimize profitability.

The bank management must also increase the transaction costs to meet its expenses such as wages, rent, and insurance. The financial services also have statutory requirements such as keeping a large some reserves with central banks. All of these considerations have the impact of pulling up the cost of sending value.

  • Centralization of financial services

For decades, the financial services have operated in a decentralized manner to make it easy for governments to control inflation, collect taxes, and compete against others in the market. However, this centralization comes with major inefficiencies.

One of these shortcomings is that all the info and vaults are held in a single point. Because management and compliance are entrusted to a few people, there is the danger mismanagement. For example, if a banking institution is mismanaged and ends up bankrupt, deposits in the institution could get lost.

Another issue of centralized services is that people find it hard to access their money both at home and away. Even though the money you have stored there is yours, withdrawing large amount requires you to give notices and be monitored closely. Why should you be given conditions to access your cash?

Centralized services also make it very difficult for people to access and use their cash when away from home country. For example, if you have deposits in a local bank, it will be a very lengthy process to access the funds from another country. Even if you use universal methods such as internationally accepted cards like Visa, the cost is very high.

  • Lack of secrecy in financial transactions

Do you keep money in a saving account and regularly use credit cards? If the answer is ‘yes,’ you need to know that there is no secrecy. A long list of people knows about your personal details and financial history. The cashiers in that bank, the bank management, political administration, and financial planners can easily pull out your details in a few clicks.

How Does ECC Solve The Problem?

When the founding team of ECC set out to work on a digital coin, the target was to advance the work started earlier by Satoshi Nakamoto when he launched Bitcoin. The core goal was to revolutionize the financial sector. Here is an account of how the ECC addresses the above issues.

  • ECC operates as a fully decentralized network

The main strategy used by ECC to address the aforementioned problems is decentralization. Decentralization implies that the network does not have a single point of reference or risk of failure. Instead, the network is operated by a set of nodes that are spread in the system across the globe.

Decentralization of operations implies that transactions running in the system are not controlled by an organization such as bank or credit card company. This means that the costs that were charged by banks have been removed and the fee for sending value is lower.

Decentralized operations also ensure that transactions are completed on a peer2peer basis. Therefore, no matter your location, the transactions will be completed promptly.

  • Use of proof of stake (consensus algorithm)

After launching Bitcoin, the proof of work protocol that drove it proved to be a major challenge. It used more power and resulted in centralization. To address the issue, ECC opted for the newer and more effective proof of stake (PoS) protocol. Note that the coin started as a proof of work (PoW) network and only resulted to PoS when the new management joined.

The good thing about the proof of stake protocol is that only those with some stake in the network are allowed to confirm transactions. This helps to reduce the danger of 51% attack because those with stake in the network would find it hard to conspire to damage the system.

What makes ECC better than it’s competitors?

The field of cryptocurrencies has drawn interest from many players. From financial companies to individuals with cryptographic knowledge, everyone appears to be in the race to create a new cryptocurrency. This has opened stiff competitions as the networks compete for markets. The following are the main indicators that make ECC better than competitors.

  • The platform has been in operation for a long time starting from 2014

Though the start of ECC was tumultuous, the coin weathered the turbulence to emerge one of the highly revered tokens.  The long period of time it has been in operation is an indication that the core code is strong enough and structures proved to work.

  • ECC operates as a completely decentralized system

As a completely decentralized system, ECC is able to avoid key shortcomings that come with centralized management. Users are able to associate with the network and give it the impetus for faster growth.

  • Users have the opportunity to use and own the system

If you use a credit card company, there is a sense of passiveness. One feels that the decisions are made by others and only has to follow. For example, the debit card transaction charges are fixed and can be changed at any time without notice. But ECC is different.

When you join the network by purchasing a stake in the network, you will be contacted when decisions are being made. For example, you will be called upon to vote when new features are being introduced. This means that you are not just a user, but also owns the platform.

  • Mining ECC is as simple as holding some coins and getting rewarded

When ECC adopted the proof of stake protocol, mining was made easy. Unlike the proof of work mining that requires the use of advanced equipment with a lot of hashing power, ECC only needs you to stake the network. Just buy some coins to become eligible to get rewarded with new coins.

  • The platform has a very aggressive, open, and committed team

A cryptocurrency is as good as the development team that leads it. For the ECC crypto, the main driver of the project is the energetic team that took over after the founders left. The team has learnt from the past and has put the best foot forward to win the trust of the community and keep growing the network.

How can ECC be categorized?

ECC can be categorized as a truly decentralized cryptocurrency whose potential has been undervalued because of its tumultuous past. However, the architecture of the blockchain is impressive and the new team committed to helping it grow into the next big coin in the industry. This is one of the reasons why the performance of the coin has been impressive after the new team took over.

What’s ECC’s vision on Security?

The main vision of ECC on security is to become the most secure network that users can rely on to send, invest, and store data without worrying of getting attacked. Though the founders walked away, they had a very impressive dream for the network. But all is not lost because the new team took over from where they stopped.

Examples of ECC’s use cases / applications

The effectiveness of a cryptocurrency in the market can be gauged partly by how it is applied in the market. For most payment networks such as ECC, the competition to win the market has been very stiff. Here are the main applications of ECC.

  • You can use ECC coin to pay for transaction fee when sending value on the network. Like other networks such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, all transactions attract a small fee that goes into maintaining and developing the network. Note that the fee is not targeted at raising profitability.
  • People on the ECC network can use it to save funds. You only need to buy the coins and hold for some time. Investing in ECC has two key advantages. One, you are rewarded to hold the coins in line with the PoS protocol. Two, you stand to gain some returns on investment when the value of the coin moves up.

However, it is important to appreciate that the expected growth of ECC is only speculative. Even if all indicators show that the value is likely to go up, there are many factors that can affect it. For example, new regulations, competition, or new technology can easily swing the value downwards.

  • If you are a resident in jurisdictions that support cryptocurrencies use for official purposes, it will be possible to pay for official services such as utility bills. One good example is Arizona. After passing regulation HB 1091 I April 2018, Arizona allowed residents to start paying taxes using cryptocurrencies.

According to the new regulation, the tax authorities are required to convert the coins to USD and credit the resident’s account. Other countries where you can buy official services with ECC include Venezuela, Singapore, and Switzerland.

  • Use ECC to pay for goods and services. As more stores come out to support cryptocurrencies, it is now becoming easy to pay for goods and services with digital coins. You only need to identify a store that accepts ECC and clear payment with ECC.

Note that even if a store only supports other coins, it is still possible to make a purchase by converting to the supported coins. Note that this will require the use of services of exchanges such as Binance or Bittrex.

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Musicoin

What Is Musicoin?

Musicoin is a cryptocurrency and a platform created to help link musicians to listeners and fans without using third party companies.

The music industry has been reeling with undertones of unsatisfied and cheated musicians looking for better ways to earn more from their work. The answer is the blockchain technology.

The Musicoin platform was created in early 2017 by Isaac Mao who wanted to change how things were working out in the music industry. Mao has a background in software engineering with a lot of experience in social media research.

The Musicoin system seeks to meet the needs of both the listeners and artists by allowing them to meet on a peer2peer basis. This implies that the artist will easily know how his followers are taking the new songs and even get improvement ideas without involving third parties. Think of that song you cherish so much; it will be possible to interact with the artist directly on Musicoin.

  • The performance of Musicoin in the market

When the Musicoin token was released into the market in March 2017, the value was $0.0009. Then, it grew significantly to reach $0.008 by the close of the March before rising further to $0.02 in May and $0.03 in early June.

The value dropped slightly to reach $0.01 in August before increasing to reach a peak of $0.1 in early January 2018. But the good price did not last.

The value dropped sharply to reach $0.015 in early February. After gaining marginally in February, the value continued with the downward trend that culminated to $0.003 by the close of October 2018.

Because of the unique features, the community is optimistic that the value of Musicoin will take an upward trend and deliver good returns on investment. Note that the negative price growth as affected other coins in the market including Bitcoin. The drop is a correction to the sudden growth that most coins reported in December 2017 and January 2018.

What is the problem that Musicoin Solves?

The music industry has been held hostage by the big multinationals. Now, Musicoin targets to restore the power of music to the musicians. Here are the main issues that Musicoin addresses to help achieve the target of empowering the musicians.

  • Musicians do not have control over their music in streaming services

In the world of music, the most notable entities are Spotify, YouTube, and ITunes because they stock a lot of tracks from musicians and listeners can listen with ease. However, the giant companies have usurped the power of musicians by acting as third parties between them and listeners.

One issue is that most listeners interact with the music streaming services and not the musician. This means that getting direct feedback about the songs on the market is not easy. The danger is that the musician might miss an important component that could have helped him improve the future albums. This could even result in the loss of fans in the industry.

  • The profit that trickles to the musicians is very small

Most of the big companies that stream artists’ songs are driven by profits. However, the profits only end up in the respective company’s accounts while very little reaches the singer. These companies have been accused of impoverishing musicians and making it impossible for them to advance their careers.  This is the reason why a decentralized platform such as Musicoin has become an important stepping stone for both musicians and listeners.

  • The uptake of the blockchain technology has been poor in niches such as music

As the blockchain technology continues growing at a fast pace, some niches are underserved. The main focus of many crypto networks has been the financial sector. Many cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ripple are targeted at the facilitating faster transfer of value on a peer2peer basis.

The music industry has lagged behind as other sectors such as video gaming and medical records management take to blockchain technology. Musicoin targets to bridge this gap by creating a decentralized system that gives musician greater control over his music and listeners more options to enjoy entertainment.

  • The centralization of payment services

The problem of centralized payment services remains a major challenge in the community. Though other networks such as Litecoin and Bitcoin have helped to introduce some changes, the traditional centralized systems still persist.

The main issue of the centralized services is high inefficiency. When you initiate a transaction, it is picked by the management that has to counter-check and verify all the details. The management must also ensure that the sender and recipient are not associated to money laundering or terrorism.

These checks make the transactions very slow. In some cases, wire transfers can take up to four days. Musicoin targets to address the issue to ensure that payments are cleared immediately.

How Does Musicoin Solve The Problem?

To address the outlined issues, the Musicoin founder designed the platform to make it easy to share music and get bulk of the benefits. Here are some of the main methods used to address the problem:

  • The Musicoin smart contracts

One of the important components of the Musicoin system that facilitates direct interaction between musicians and listeners is the use of smart contracts. The smart contracts operate like the standard contracts but they are automated and implemented in the blockchain networks.

At Musicoin platform, the smart contracts allow the musician to set the conditions for fans to listen to his music. For example, a smart contract can be customized to allow a visitor access to a   specific song or album after paying a specified amount of money.

The contract can even specify the bonus and execute them when the listener reached a specific viewership limit. The contract also allows the listener a chance to communicate directly with the artist. The automation makes it easy to sell music, meet with fans, and create communities around specific songs or brands.

  • $MUSIC payment platform

This is a music tipping feature that allows listeners to tip their musicians directly using the MUSIC coin. To promote accountability, the tipping system was designed to be open so that any person can visit the Musicoin website and see the artist that has been tipped. The artist is paid through the $MUSIC.

This method is a departure from the centralized streaming services that often take the tips and rarely remit to the artists. Even when the tips are related, a big percentage is slashed to meet the cost of the streaming service.

  • Complete decentralization

The Musicoin platform is run as a completely decentralized network. This implies that it is not run by a centralized management. Rather, it is run by a network of nodes spread in the system to help confirm transactions when they are initiated.

Whether you want to stream a song for pay, send value, or tip an artist using MUSIC, the platform uses the nodes spread in the system follow back the public address to ensure that it has ample coins. The miners also add new blocks to the Musicoin public ledger.

Decentralization services imply that both musicians and listeners can operate on a peer2peer basis without involving music streaming companies or centralized financial services. The transactions are also instant and cheaper.

What makes Musicoin better than it’s competitors?

To win a bigger market share, the Musicoin founders appreciated that they had to work against giants such as YouTube and Spotify that have won millions of followers. Here are some of the things that make Musicoin a better option:

  • The Musicoin system is completely decentralized. This means that artists can enjoy more profits from their work. As the blockchain technology grows, artists are assured of a bigger audience and more returns.
  • The Musicoin system has diverse applications that make it more appealing. Musicians can upload and live stream their music to the clients while any user can use the network to send value. This design makes the Musicoin better than other conventional platforms that either stream music or send value.
  • By operating as a completely decentralized network, sending value on a peer2peer basis is cheap and fast. Whether you want to send funds across the globe or in the neighboring county, the process is fast and efficient.
  • Musicoin allows users to send value without worrying about third-party seizures. Using advanced encryption, users can now send value without worrying they will be discovered by third parties such as tax authorities or courts of law.
  • The Musicoin network allows users to join and own the system. When you join the Musicoin as a node, you become part of its governance system. This means that you will be called to vote on governance issues when they arise.

How can Musicoin be categorized?

Musicoin is a completely decentralized platform designed to empower the musicians. It was created to help artists understand that they do not have to rely in the centralized companies that take the bulk of their profits. Instead, the blockchain system allows the artists to funnel all the revenue to their pockets.

Though the Musicoin might be less elaborate because the blockchain is still young, it is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. Therefore, this could be a great opportunity to invest in its coins and hold them waiting for the price to go up as the demand increases.

What’s Musicoin’s vision on Security?

The security mission for Musicoin is to provide musicians and listeners with a secure and reliable platform for their music, personal info, and native tokens. Though still considered young after entering the market in 2017, the Musicoin system’s features have demonstrated it is reliable and secure. Here are the main features that help Musicoin to achieve its security mission.

  • The Musicoin development team progressively evaluates the platform to identify gaps and fix them before attackers take advantage of them.
  • The platform employs advanced encryption that helps to keep user details and coins encrypted. This is crucial in making it hard for unauthorized people or attackers to gain access to your account.
  • The Musicoin system used smart contracts that define the rules of engagement between musicians and listeners. The contract makes it very difficult for people outside it to break and change the content or steal from musicians/ listener.

Examples of Musicoin’s use cases / applications

Musicoin was established at a time when the streaming services were approaching the peak. Therefore, it was considered a major disruption for the giant music streaming services that used to make millions from artists. Here are some of the things that make Musicoin better than competitors.

  • The Musicoin system has helped to empower musicians and listeners. The musicians no longer have to worry that their profits will not reach them because listeners pay directly to them. Indeed, even tips that listeners pay when they like a specific music are also channeled to the musician.
  • The Musicoin token can be used to pay for streaming services on the Musicoin platform. Listeners enjoy more using the blockchain platform because the cost is low since the profit-seeking streamlining companies have been removed.
  • Musicoin token, like other coins, can be used to send value on a peer2peer basis across the globe. Instead of using centralized baking or credit card companies that very expensive, consider sending the funds in MUSIC. Note that the recipient will also be required to be in the Musicoin platform to receive the payment.
  • If you are a resident in a jurisdiction that supports cryptocurrencies, it might be possible to pay for government services. A good example is Singapore. Early in 2018, the Singapore authorities indicated that people were allowed to make payments using digital coins because the primary goal was to relay value. Other jurisdictions that support crypto coins include Venezuela and Arizona.
  • The native MUSOC coins can be used to pay for goods and services in the market. As more stores start accepting cryptocurrencies because of their efficiency especially in facilitating instant payments, you will find it easy to buy house or office items with MUSIC.

Note that even in the event that MUSIC is not supported in your store it is still possible to buy by changing to the supported coin. One common store that allows users to pay goods and services with cryptocurrencies is Overstock.

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