Author: Norah Amboko

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SolarCoin

What Is SolarCoin?

When Satoshi Nakamoto launched the first decentralized network, he probably never knew that he was ushering a new world of endless opportunities. Immediately, cryptographers, financial experts, and conservationists went back to their drawing boards to evaluate how to take advantage of blockchain technology. One of the resultant projects was SolarCoin.

  • What exactly is SolarCoin?

SolarCoin is cryptocurrency and an open source platform that was founded in 2014 by Nick Gogerty and Joseph Zotoli. Today, the project is run by the SolarCoin Foundation, an organization based in Delaware, and registered as a Public Benefit Organization.

The primary goal of the founders was to identify an energy references coin that could help to promote efficient use of energy to ensure all can access it for economic growth. The team was concerned that though the centralized administrations always targeted making their countries efficient, the involvement of the society was limited. They wanted to get everybody involved.

  • The performance of SolarCoin in the market

After entering the market in March 2014, SolarCoin token was valued at $0.01. It traded at around $0.01 until March 2016 when the value rose marginally to $0.2. By June 2016, the price shot up to $0.2 before sliding to about $0.06 in the subsequent six months.

Starting from January 2017, the value of SolarCoin started climbing steadily to reach its highest point of $2.06 in mid-January 2018. But this growth did not last. SolarCoin price followed the bearish trend that other coins such a Bitcoin and XRP had adopted in the market.

The downward trend continued to $0.05 mark by the close of October. Though the industry started showing signs of recovery starting from the onset of the third quarter of 2017, it will be interesting to see the performance of SolarCoin in the coming years.

What is the problem that SolarCoin Solves?

SolarCoin was created to help close the gaps that had started emerging following the blockchain technology intensification in the market. Though being able to send funds on a peer2peer basis was a great achievement, the following issues also needed answers.

  • The high cost of running decentralized networks

If you take a closer look at the cost of running decentralized networks, you will realize that a lot of energy is needed. Of greater concern is the proof of work (PoW) based cryptocurrencies that incur high cost of mining machines and running them. Here is a demonstration of power requirement for Bitcoin.

By October 2018, the power requirement for running the entire Bitcoin network was about 342,934,450 wallets. If you compare the figure with the normal household requirement of 1.2 kilowatts requirement, it implies that Bitcoin power needs can power about 285,833 homes.

The high energy requirements stem from the ever-growing mining difficulty which means that computers are required to work more to find new blocks. But this paints only a small section of the real situation. If you combine all cryptocurrencies, it implies that the power use is even more. This is one major issue that SolarCoin addresses.

  • Lack of motivation for clean energy users

It is interesting that even though a lot of people know about clean energy solutions such as solar, they rarely use it. Most people ask the question; “If I have power from the mains, why worry about solar?” SolarCoin addresses this problem by creating a motivation schedule for people using solar energy.

  • The risk of centralized mining

A few years after the launch of Bitcoin, companies making advanced mining chips entered into the market. They wanted to help people generate high computing power and mine more blocks for rewards. Though this might sound impressive because users are assured of more coins, it is disastrous to the cryptocurrency and its community.

Because the advanced mining equipment cost a lot of money, only the well to do in the community can afford. This means that most of the new coins getting into the market are taken by the rich. The implication is that the few users in the network can conspire to harm the network or run schemes such as pump and dump strategies.

  • The negative perception of cryptocurrencies

Though the blockchain technology is really impressive, it has not has been received well by some parties. The most irked parties are the administrations and tax authorities. Their dislikes have seen them regularly discourage the community from using the coins.

In Russia, the administration discouraged its citizens from buying and using cryptocurrencies. Even in the draft financial digital assets draft bill, the ministry of finance recommended that people who accept payment with cryptocurrencies to be considered to have committed offenses.

In the EU, the EU Commission insisted that people who use cryptocurrencies are at a great risk of losing their money because digital coins do not have consumer protection. Other jurisdictions that have made cryptos to have negative perception include the UK, China, and India.

SolarCoin targets to address the problem by demonstrating that there is something positive that can come from cryptos.

  • Poor adoption of cryptos in the community

Though a lot of cryptocurrencies have been entering the market since 2009, it is interesting that society has been lagging behind in adopting the technology. When new tokens are released through ICOs, the people who are first to take the opportunity are capitalists who target to buy at a lower price and sell when the value moves up.

This means that the community and stores do not have the opportunity to become part of the new networks. Even when those who bought the tokens during the ICO start selling, the price is high and prohibitive. The effect is that very few stores that allow users to pay with digital coins while the available ones are located in different jurisdictions.

How Does SolarCoin Solve The Problem?

Even as society works towards optimizing profits through new technologies such as blockchain, the founding team was of the view that a clean and green environment should be part of the society all the time. Here are some of the methods used to help ingrain the need for a better environment.

  • Proof of stake consensus protocol

The proof of stake protocol used at SolarCoin is the main force that helps to address the problems of centralized mining and associated high cost. Unlike the proof of work protocol, the proof of stake system does not require users to generate a lot of hashing power to mine the network.

To use the proof of stake protocol to mine the SolarCoin platform, you only need to own some stake. This means buying the native SolarCoin and holding them. Every year, those with some stake in the SolarCoin system are rewarded with 2% of the returns generated through different transactions.

  • Rewarding solar energy users

Though there are many power options out there, solar is considered the most effective consideration because it is cheap, renewable and clean. However, many people who take additional effort to use solar energy are rarely rewarded. The SolarCoin targets to change the narrative by ensuring that people are motivated when they go solar.

  • Total decentralization

SolarCoin operates as a completely decentralized cryptocurrency. Like other digital coins, the SolarCoin token is completely decentralized to allow users to make direct payments without involving centralized banking systems.

The decentralized model uses a network of nodes spread in the system to ensure to confirm transactions and vote on governance issues. This implies that if you have some stake in the SolarCoin network, you will be called to vote when key decisions on network governance such as adoption of new features are being done.

What makes SolarCoin better than it’s competitors?

To win in the highly competitive niche, many cryptocurrency networks are forced to redefine their operations. Here are the main things that make SolarCoin better than competitors.

  • The SolarCoin network targets an area that is less explored. This implies that it is likely to enjoy near monopoly and grow rapidly as more people discover it.
  • The idea of using clean energy and cutting power bills is an impressive one. This implies that more people are likely to join the SolarCoin community to explore different ways that they can benefit from.
  • The cryptocurrency allows users to join and own the network. Unlike conventional banking systems that make people feel passive, the SolarCoin system is not owned or run by a centralized entity. Rather, users who buy some stake own and govern it.
  • The SolarCoin network provides users with an opportunity to invest without worrying about third-party seizures. Because the transactions and user accounts are encrypted, it is difficult for third parties to access the info. Indeed, even a court of law cannot order you to provide the details because cryptocurrencies are not regulated.
  • The SolarCoin system provides users with a reliable platform to send value without limitations. Unlike the conventional banking systems that have a lot of limitations such as being unavailable during public holidays or requiring prior notice when withdrawing large sums, it is different when it comes to SolarCoin.

No matter the time of the day or night, you have full control over what to do. Whether you want to send funds, trade, or check the operational history, there are no limitations. You can even send funds on a public holiday.

How can SolarCoin be categorized?

SolarCoin is a carefully thought cryptocurrency that targets the energy niche that touches a wide range of people. As the reality of the dwindling fossil fuels dawns in the coming years, the SolarCoin is likely to gain a lot of popularity. Therefore, it could be a great investment especially for those who target to stake the coins over the long term.

What’s SolarCoin’s vision on Security?

The SolarCoin vision on security is to make it the most secure and attractive network to facilitate the adoption and growth of clean energy. To achieve this vision, the SolarCoin development team employs the following strategies:

  • Use of proof of stake consensus protocol for even distribution of coins. This is important because it helps to prevent 51% attack.
  • The team also reviews the network regularly to identify gaps and address them immediately before attackers take advantage of them.
  • The network operates as a completely decentralized system. When a user joins the SolarCoin network, his account and transaction info is encrypted so that no third party can easily access the details. Even miners who confirm transactions can only know the balance in a public address but cannot know the actual user.

Examples of SolarCoin’s use cases / applications

SolarCoin development team has been working very hard to win a bigger market and increase the coin’s use cases. Here are some of the coins’ applications.

  • Use the coin to pay for products and services in the market. Like other coins such as Bitcoin or fiat currency, SolarCoin can be used to pay for goods and services. You only need to identify a shop that accepts the coin to make a purchase.
  • Trade the SolarCoin in the markets. If you want to optimize returns from SolarCoin, one option is trading it in the markets. This means opening a trading account and pairing the coin with others such as ETH or XPR.

If you are new to trading cryptocurrencies, it is important to start by learning how to analyze the market. This is because the crypto market can be highly volatile and result in losses within a short time.

  • Use SolarCoin to send value on a peer2peer basis. As a cryptocurrency, SolarCoin can be used to send value on a peer2peer basis. This can be done by asking the recipient to join the SolarCoin network or opening a wallet that supports SolarCoin. Then, send the coins to his wallet.
  • Use SolarCoin to pay for government services. If you stay in jurisdictions such as Arizona, Singapore or Switzerland that are supportive of cryptocurrencies, it might be possible to pay for government services using SolarCoin.

In Arizona, bill HB 1091 that was passed in April 2018 allowed residents to pay taxes in cryptocurrencies. According to the bill, when a resident pays taxes using a coin such as SolarCoin, the funds are converted to USD immediately and then credited to his account.

https://solarcoin.org/resources/

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https://solarcoin.org/

 

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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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