Author: Norah Amboko

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Humaniq

What is Humaniq?

Humaniq is a banking app based on the blockchain technology, and available for both iOS and Android users. It is designed with unique biometric and blockchain recognition features to facilitate opening and extending banking services to the entire globe especially the unbanked. The app is created and run on the Ethereum blockchain to provide key banking operations together with other third-party services including the following;

  • Peer2peer lending.
  • Data security.
  • Loans.
  • Personal financial management.

Humaniq was founded in 2016 by a computing and human rights professional, Alex Fork. The primary idea of the application is premised on the idea that helping people get out of poverty and grow their local economies. The project and platform received huge support including the recognition by the UN (United Nations) for the excellent work of reaching the unbanked.

To achieve its objective, Humaniq also released its native token referred to as HMQ into the markets.  It is an ERC20 token that was released into the market in May 2017. The price of HMQ between launch and August 2018 remained relatively stable within the range of $0.05 and $0.1.

However, the months of December 2017 and January 2018 saw the price surge to $0.61 (the highest mark in its history). The community is expecting the value to keep rising as more people and multinationals appreciate the good work of Humaniq and support it.

What is the problem that Humaniq Solves?

Poor access to banking services in many parts of the globe

According to the World Bank and United Nations, about two billion adults of working age in the world (slightly under 40% of all global adults) lack access to formal and regulated banking services. Interestingly, these members do not just hail from the poorest countries.  Lack of banking services affects virtually every country on the continent.

Financial exclusion is one of the primary causes of extreme poverty in most parts of the globe. A bank account is considered an important part of founding businesses, expanding transactions, enhancing efficiency, promoting transparency, and better management. World Bank reports also shows;

  • India is home to 21% of the world’s unbanked population while China holds 12%.
  • Women make up 55% of the unbanked population.
  • About 95% of the Sub Sahara African is unbanked.
  • More than 20 million the Middle East and North Africa adults are unbanked.
  • The population of unbanked grew by 10% between 2011 and 2014.

Limited reach and use of blockchain technology

Since the introduction of blockchain technology in 2009, the fast growth has largely been concentrated in the cities and large crypto markets. However, in most rural areas, developing countries, and emerging economies are yet to experience the blockchain and its features. This is the niche that Humaniq is reaching to try and give demonstrate the positive side of blockchain technology.

How does Humaniq Solve the problem?

Humaniq system is based on the blockchain technology with the main transactions being run on the Ethereum platform. The focus is to understand the unbanked population and to provide a system that can capture the right information, win and bank them. Here are the main components used to help Humaniq address the outlined problem.

The native token (HMQ) and Ethereum smart contracts

The Humaniq tokens are ERC-20 compliant coins that are emitted to every authenticated user. Part of the tokens was released in an ICO that closed in April 2017. Though it was faced with many hitches, it was very successful and raised $5 million. A total of 11,600 participated in the ICO and made an average investment of $430.

The remaining tokens are released to the target market using the Emission smart contract that executes the predefined reward threshold. Other components of the system are the Humaniq app, Humaniq servers, and the Ethereum blockchain.

BioID technology

BioID technology is being used by Humaniq to make personal identification and registration easy. Humaniq is working with expert companies in bio-identification to ensure that users who want to join the network can sign up by simply letting the application scan their facial features. The process involves the following steps.

  • The user is required to visit Google Play to download the Humaniq app and install it on his/her smartphone.
  • The registrant takes a photo of him/ herself using a smartphone and uploads it in the Humaniq application.
  • The registrant is also required to record a short video grinning, smiling, and pronouncing the texts shown on the screen.
  • Once the details are added, the user is required to add more information including passport, and SMS. Note that there is no risk of losing the password because your face is the password.

Note that the BioID automatically updates your details so that changes in your facial features are captured, and the system updated automatically. For example, Humaniq will sense the changes in the face over time so that you do not have to repeat the entire registration process.

The Humaniq wallet

The Humaniq mobile wallet is an interface for the mobile users that provides a direct interface for checking the balance and running transactions. Like other wallets, the Humaniq mobile wallet helps to generate private and public keys that are required when sending, receiving and managing funds.  A standard token contract keeps track of the token balances and facilitates easy transfer when running transactions.

What makes Humaniq better than its competitors?

In about ten years, the blockchain niche has grown exponentially. Since 2009 when Satoshi Nakamoto released Bitcoin, over 1700 cryptocurrencies have entered the market.

This has opened stiff competition as each cryptocurrency targets to win a bigger market share. Here are some of the top reasons that make Humaniq stand taller than its competitors.

  • Humaniq targets a highly underserved niche yet potential niche. This implies that the community and users are likely to grow over time. Remember that though the focus is the unbanked, even the other population is not restricted from using the technology and investing in the token. For example, some of the people who bought the HMQ tokens during the ICO wanted to show their support for the project and make an investment.
  • The project is implemented with a lot of openness. This helps to make more people identify with it and come out to support the noble course of taking financial services to the unbanked. For example, the management runs startup Humaniq contest for developers, marketers, economists, and entrepreneurs across the globe. The winners of the contests are funded by Humaniq to implement their ideas.
  • The Humaniq project creates real links that unbanked can use to grow to financial freedom. The connection is done by taking groups of people to successful startups and businesses for inspiration. For example, Kenya (one of the East African countries) has been an important learning point for its success story in reaching the unbanked through mobile applications.
  • While it is true that Humaniq has its business edge, the focus on helping the developing countries and poor populations has set it apart from the peers. This focus has made even the governments and international organizations appreciate the positive side of blockchain technology.
  • Though new, Humaniq was carefully designed to run on top of the Ethereum blockchain protocol to enjoy a higher level of security and efficiency. All transactions involving the native HMQ have to be verified by miners spread on the Ethereum blockchain. This helps to make the transactions decentralized, secure, and reliable.
  • The platform provides unique features that help to enhance value of the network and its users. For example, Humaniq has an encrypted chat system, a biometric authentication system, and a unique reward model for people who use the system.
  • The process of registering on the Humaniq platform is easy, direct and highly secure. Unlike many cryptocurrencies that require users to follow lengthy procedures when registering, Humaniq is very easy to join and start enjoying its services. The app captures the facial details of the user so that the entire registration is completed in a very short moment. Note that the system also uses the facial recognition when you need to sign into your account. This implies that there is no risk of ever losing your Humaniq password.

How can Humaniq be categorized?

Humaniq is a blockchain based banking system that is helping to extend the reach of banking services to the large unbanked community across the globe. The platform is also timely in extending the blockchain technology to new niches. The operation is expected to play a pivotal role in helping create new meaning in the blockchain sector.

  • The Humaniq platform is designed carefully to make joining easy and direct.
  • Users from the targeted niches with unique ideas are supported with funding.
  • The platform helps users to operate securely in the network without worrying about hacks, forgetting passwords, or getting their information stolen.

What’s Humaniq’s vision on Security?

Humaniq targets to safely deploy the blockchain technology to help the unbanked access financial services. The Humaniq founder and the development team understood that the focus on safety was very important if the project was to become successful. Because the unbanked was also likely to lack important computing skills, the focus on safety had to be taken a notch higher. Here are some of strategies used to guarantee users of optimal safety.

  • Verification of users is done through facial and voice recognition. This helps to eliminate the need for formal documentation.
  • The tokens are provided as a reward to users who complete various tasks on the network such as signing in and using the native coins. This is meant to keep the platform free from the expensive ASICs mining equipment, centralization of mining, and eliminate the risk of 51% attack.
  • The system’s chat system is encrypted to ensure that no middleman can tap the communication between nodes and become a threat. The chat system and the entire network are also updated regularly to identify gaps and seal them promptly.

Examples of Humaniq’s use cases / applications.

Humaniq is a unique blockchain based platform that targets to accomplish a noble course of reaching and banking the unbanked. As a “bank” the use cases mainly mirror what conventional banks do. However, all the services are offered in a decentralized manner. Here are some of these applications.

  • Sending and receiving value. Like a standard bank, users are allowed to send value to target recipients based on same Humaniq network. This is an important component in any financial services package because users are to send value both locally and abroad. Note that since HMQ is an ERC-20 token, some gas will have to be used when sending the coins on a peer2peer basis.
  • Extending businesses services to the unbanked. As the Humaniq platform extends the reach to more people in various areas across the globe, more players will be able to plug their businesses and offer their services to the community. These include lending, consulting and other business-related services. All the payments are effected in the native HMQ coin.
  • Financial management. When you get banking services, the notion of prudent management becomes very important. Because the transactions involving your account are recorded in a public ledger, you can easily follow them to manage your finances. Just log into your account to see all the payments, deposits and other transactions for review.
  • Trading the native tokens in the markets. Like other cryptocurrencies, you can trade the tokens in the markets such as UPbit, Bittrex, and Mercatox. Note that you will be required to register for a trading account and verify it with personal information such as passport number, date of birth and proof of location. This information can differ from one market to another.
  • Buying products and services. As more traders start embracing cryptocurrencies, it means that you can pay for products and services using digital tokens such as HQM. Note that even if a store only accepts other types of tokens, you can still buy by converting HQM to the accepted tokens.
  • Entrepreneurial support. On top of providing banking services, Humaniq platform has been helping users to link with similar enterprises to help sharpen their skills. From Ghana in West Africa to Tanzania in East Africa, investors are helped to identify the right projects and take them to the right audience. You can even get a financial grant for startup or grow your business.

https://coincheckup.com/coins/Humaniq

https://humaniq.com/

https://blog.humaniq.co/

https://humaniq.com/wiki/about-humaniq/faq

https://humaniq.com/pdf/humaniq_wp_english.pdf

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Agoras Tokens

What is Agoras Tokens?

Agoras Tokens (abbrev AGRS) is a decentralized cryptocurrency and application built on top of the intelligent Tau-Chain decentralized network. It was designed to be the coin of the natural and artificial knowledge for the online society. Its efficiency will allow users to craft well priced derivative markets that would enable market hedging, stable prices, and risk-free interest.

Tau-Chain is expected to become a highly reliable platform for developers by providing a reliable computing language with automated proofs. The proofs will make it easy for developers to create anything that falls within the apps category. From creating new search engines to marketplaces, developers will find it very easy to design and deploy.

The value of AGRS in the markets has been relatively good especially starting from mid-2017. From August 2015 to April 2017, the price of the AGRS oscillated between $0.14 and $0.09. However, everything changed in 2017 commencing from November when the value grew steadily and broke through the $1 mark in early December. By December 26th, the price had grown by more than 3700% to hit $3.48. This was the highest mark in its history.

Between December 2017 and March 2018, the price shot down to $1.36 following the announcement that Agoras Tokens was delisting from Bittrex. Indeed, this delisting appears to have dealt a severe blow to the coin as it accelerated further down almost hitting the $1 mark early September.

What is the problem that Agoras Solves?

While the blockchain technology has been around since 2009 and demonstrated that a lot of things could be accomplished through decentralization, numerous challenges have also emerged. This is why most cryptocurrency platforms that were designed after Bitcoin have largely focused on finding these flaws and addressing them. Here are the main problems that Agoras Tokens targets to address.

Centralized computational resources

Today, computation resources are monopolized by a few highly centralized players such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple. However, outsourcing computational resources and data storage in such centralized data centers raises the risk of serious losses in the case of attack, arson, or other targeted problems. Besides, the cost of the computational resources is very high and out of reach for many small enterprises.

Poor uptake of cryptocurrencies by the society

Though it is true that many people know about cryptocurrencies today than any other time in history, the uptake and use have been very slow. A lot of people still hold the wrong perception about cryptocurrencies. The governments’ regular warnings that people should be extra careful with cryptocurrencies have only made the situation worse.

Some of the dangers that are associated with cryptocurrencies and that have made people stay away from them include high volatility, the threat of hacking, and poor acceptability of the cryptocurrencies in the conventional markets. Agoras Tokens network aims at addressing these concerns to help users change their minds and make cryptocurrencies part of their lifestyles.

Lack of ample cryptocurrency trading tools

While trading cryptocurrencies such as Agoras Tokens in the exchanges closely the forex markets, the factors that drive each are very different. Many people who are targeting to trade in the cryptocurrency markets often find it very difficult to analyze the market and make the correct moves at the right time for lack of proper tools.

The centralized nature of various exchanges and lack of cross-chain communication between blockchain networks makes gathering related information highly fragmented.

 Poorly developed artificial intelligence

While the consensus algorithms have done a lot in ensuring that users in various networks always strike a balance when issues that need voting come up have achieved so much, the level of inefficiency is still very high.

For example, proof of stake (PoS) largely factors those who have a bigger stake in a network while proof of work (PoW) consensus networks are largely controlled by those who can generate high hashing power. What about those with smaller stakes? Does the opinion of others interested in the topic count?

How does Agoras Solve the problem?

To address the outlined problems, Agoras Tokens targets to use the following strategies. Though they indeed look very comprehensive, the community is worried that the development team is over-ambitious.

Decentralization of data management

To reduce the dependence on centralized parties for computing resources, the Agoras Tokens development team adopted a decentralized approach to reducing the risk of one point of failure. In their website, Agoras Tokens development team points that even a combination of unused processing power from individual computers and smartphones surpasses that generated by top giants with a great margin. The design for renting unused computational power is built on the Zennet project to allow nodes contribute their unused computing power for a reward.

The internet of languages

The development team points out that the computing industry does not have a single best language for all blockchain and online based applications. Therefore, it has started working on the Tau Meta Language (TML) that is expected to become the best for all. TML is intended to facilitate seamless communication as well as semantic translation between knowledge representation languages, programming languages, visualization, and domain-specific languages.

Scaling discussions with artificial intelligence

Discussions are very crucial in any niche because they help users exchange thoughts and opinions that help to generate fresh ideas. Today, discussions on a large scale especially in blockchain networks are highly inefficient. Even in social media, a discussion of 1000 people can be stressful. Tau development team poses one major question; what if it was possible to listen to all people in a discussion and understand what they are saying?

To make such an approach realistic, the team has opted to use the artificial intelligence. The platform is creating new features that will make it possible for a lot of people to hold discussions to get more knowledge from them. In theory, if the network can effectively capture what 1000 people discussed, it means more knowledge productivity. The community is waiting to see how the idea will be implemented.

Advanced financial tools

The Agoras economy is designed to house many players such as the knowledge owners, miners, exchanges, and hardware renters among others with varying needs. The financial tools will be provided for all the parties to gauge the parameters of interest and optimize return on investment (ROI). It will be especially crucial for traders in the crypto markets to understand the trends and trade profitably.

Business automation

The Tau platform team indicates that it wants to provide the wealth of knowledge gathered using artificial intelligence to help users automate their operations. This is targeted at pinpointing the actual point to aim and get the optimal sales for your enterprise for a competitive edge.

What makes Agoras better than it’s competitors?

For more than ten years since Satoshi Nakamoto introduced Bitcoin, the race to release new cryptocurrencies has intensified with no sign of abating. For people planning to join the cryptocurrency networks, picking the right network is never easy. Agoras Tokens network is one cryptocurrency that has stood out because of its commitment to unique features. Here are the main things that make Agoras Tokens a better than its competitor.

  • The platform has been on the market for more than three years. This implies that most users consider it stable and not a risk to their funds. Many cryptocurrencies entering the market cannot be easily trusted because of associated risks. For example, the original developers of Burst coin disappeared and left the platform without an appropriate leadership. However, the development team at Agoras Tokens appears highly committed to helping grow the network.
  • The Agora Tokens development team has a very clear development roadmap. Though the community has raised concerns that the project could be over-ambitious, the team is pushing on and targeting key milestones such as Knowledge networks, the Alpha version and beta version expected in the 2nd quarter, 3rd quarter, and 4th quarters of 2019 respectively. The roadmap extends all the way to 2020 when a fully knowledge economy that allows knowledge-cash transactions will be ready.
  • The Agoras Tokens and Tau network are projected at a high potential niche. As trading, marketing, learning, medicine, and law among other components go digital, the demand for high-value knowledge is likely to keep growing exponentially. This demand is expected to spur the growth of Agora Tokens’ value in the long run.
  • The Agora Tokens provides users with highly diverse products. This is crucial in delivering greater value to the nodes. For example, you will be able to buy computational power in the network, send value, and access knowledge base to help take your business to the next level once all the features are installed.

How can Agoras be categorized?

Agoras Tokens is a highly ambitious project that targets to redefine the blockchain and entire computing industry. The project outlines the roadmap of taking away the computing power from the centralized multinationals and decentralizing it to the nodes in their networks. It also targets to make the development of Tau Meta Language and knowledge base possible between 2018 and 2020.

What’s Agoras’s vision on Security?

When Tau network and Agoras Tokens development team started working on the platform, the most important consideration was security. The primary vision for security is to provide the most secure network for decentralized computational power trading and knowledgebase economy. This vision will be achieved through progressive platform analysis and update, use of smart contracts, and advanced cryptography.

Examples of Agoras’s use cases / applications

Many people coming to cryptocurrencies often ask; where can cryptocurrencies such as Agoras Tokens be used? Though digital coins are still considered to be at infancy compared to fiat currencies that have been in the market for decades, some of them have made huge inroads into the community with a lot of applications. Here are some of the use cases of Agoras Tokens.

  • The Agoras Tokens are digital assets that can be traded in the exchanges. Like other coins such as Bitcoins or Ethereum, Agoras Tokens can be traded in the markets to optimize return on investment (ROI). To trade in the exchanges, the first step is identifying an exchange that lists Agoras Tokens and registering for a trading account. Then, pair the tokens with an appropriate coin and start trading by either selling or buying depending on the market movements.
  • Use Agoras Tokens to invest or save your money anonymously. If you save funds in a bank account, a whole array of people and authorities can easily know about the details. Indeed, your savings can easily be frozen by court order if a legal battle hauls itself your way. However, Agoras tokens and your transaction details are encrypted to ensure that no one can easily pull out the account details. This implies that you can save funds and rest knowing that no one can access or freeze them except you.
  • The perfect point for outsourcing developers. If you are looking for a developer, Agoras platform allows you to seek the best experts in your niche. Note that the operation is based on smart contracts that define the terms and conditions. When your application is completed and verified, the payment is automatically released to the developer. This implies that there is no room for the client to run away without paying the developer.
  • The ultimate way to send funds across the globe faster and cheaply. If you want to send value from one part of the globe to another, using the bank comes with so many hurdles. In addition to lack of privacy, the process takes long, and the cost is very high because financial organizations are profit driven. However, Agoras Tokens provides users with a peer2peer platform that helps to send funds instantly anywhere across the globe. By eliminating the centralized organizations, the cost of sending transactions also comes down significantly.
  • Use the Agora Tokens to pay taxes in jurisdictions that allow cryptocurrencies. While many countries were initially very skeptical about the use of cryptocurrencies, things have changed so much over the years. Even though they still have their demerits, cryptocurrencies such as Agoras Tokens have proven very effective in pulling the cost of sending funds low and addressing the problem of big data. Therefore, some countries and jurisdictions such as Singapore and the State of Arizona in the US are now allowing users to pay taxes using cryptocurrencies such as Agora Tokens.

https://coincheckup.com/coins/Agoras-Tokens

http://tauchain.org/

https://www.reddit.com/r/tauchain/comments/7pngv6/tauagoras_faq_updated_jan_2018/