Author: Samuel

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Quantum Resistant Ledger

What is Quantum Resistant Ledger?

Private digital monies have been touted as the future of financial systems. To achieve this dream, one of the core ideas behind these monies is longevity.

However, for longevity, we must also ensure the digital signatures involved in the use of these monies is protected from all the risks that are associated with quantum computing attacks. This is where Quantum Resistant Ledger comes in.

Quantum Resistant Ledger is a unique value store that is built to be future-proof. It is a quantum value store that has a decentralized layer of communication. This is a secure layer that attempts to shore up the project from some of the challenges that cryptocurrencies are expected to face as a result of quantum computing.

Instead of using 256-bit ECDSA (elliptic curve digital signature algorithm) like most of the cryptocurrency projects currently do, Quantum Resistant Ledger uses a secure and peer-reviewed XMSS, Proof of Work (PoW) and there are plans underway to hard fork Cryptonight v7 to Proof of Stake (PoS).

What is the problem that Quantum Resistant Ledger Solves?

Quantum Resistant Ledger is all about privacy and mitigating security risks in the near future. At the moment, Bitcoin has not been exposed to quantum attacks. However, if this were to happen, a lot of people would suffer. Given the nature of computing and the advancements therein, it is only a matter of time before someone creates a quantum computer, one that can break the ECDSA.

It is important to mention that ECDSA is one of the most commonly used signature schemes in blockchain technology. It offers security and bolsters these projects against attacks. However, if it were to be breached, any ledgers existing would be vulnerable to attacks.

A normal computer is unable to break the ECDSA, however many brute force attacks are wielded. These computers do not have sufficient energy with which they can attempt and successfully guess a private key. However, through Shor’s algorithm, this is a possibility in the near future.

Quantum computers can use this algorithm and regenerate a private key from a public key. This is a serious concern, because almost if not more than half of all the Bitcoin addresses have their public keys revealed.

One of the reasons why this vulnerability is a serious matter is because whether you are using Ethereum or Bitcoin, the sender’s public key address is always stored and revealed in the blockchain.

This is why users are able to inspect the ledgers at any given time for transparency. These addresses, that were initially made visible for auditing purposes, might in the future become the one thing that puts blockchain projects and users at risk.

It is very easy to assume that it is only Bitcoin that is vulnerable to this probability of quantum attacks. However, that is not true. All the other blockchain ledgers that use elliptic curve cryptography to append signatures to the transactions are at risk.

This means almost all the cryptocurrency projects are at risk. It is important to mention at this juncture that the risk is too high, that if only 10 – 20% of all the addresses remain in ECDSA, then it is very easy to steal the money in them, sending the ledger value to zero, if the attacker has a quantum computer.

How does Quantum Resistant Ledger Solve the problem?

One of the biggest challenges that face cryptocurrency and the world of computing as we know it, is privacy. There are different inferences that are used to address this.

In some spheres, privacy is all about obfuscating IP addresses through the Tor protocol, while other projects use different methods to achieve this. More often, the transactions are set up in such a manner that it becomes nearly impossible to trace them. Others, like ZClassic and ZCash, use zero-knowledge proof, while some like Monero, make the balances unclear.

The consensus is that each project deals with privacy in a different way, to meet their inherent needs. Quantum Resistant Ledger uses Zk-Stark.

This is a procedure that makes transactions quantum resistant. It is possible because the private transactions are reduced to roughly 400-500 kilobytes. This is a size that is too big to reasonably be included in a block. It is worth noting that the average bitcoin transaction is less than 300 bytes in size.

Each transaction in Quantum Resistant Ledger is around 2.1kilobytes. Therefore, unless the limit is set in such a way that each block handles one transaction, it is virtually impossible to handle this. Besides, this would end up being a very expensive transaction, costing hundreds of dollars to complete.

Taking this into consideration, and the fact that the EU is already wading into the controversial area about privacy through legislation, it is highly unlikely that implementing this expensive concept will be done. instead, Quantum Resistant Ledger aims to create a chain that can be used by governments and businesses without worrying about whether or not their use of the chain is legal.

The team at Quantum Resistant Ledger is working hard to make sure that the ecosystem is as friendly as possible so that independent forks on the chain can become part and parcel of the system created.

What makes Quantum Resistant Ledger better than the competitors?

There are several reasons why owning a Quantum Resistant Ledger would be a brilliant idea in this age and time, especially when compared with other crypto projects out there.

There are plans to integrate a governance and/voting system based on PoS for regular hard fork upgrades. Quantum Resistant Ledger is currently using an algorithm that selects blocks according to the closest hash of reveal hashes that have already been published from the validator stakes. This is one of the features that makes Quantum Resistant Ledger resistant to collusion and gaming, and at the same time offers protection against Sybil state attacks, and from block withholding, a technique that is often used by irresponsible miners.

Quantum Resistant Store of Value

While Quantum Resistant Ledger might not be easy to understand for those who lack the inept knowledge of cryptocurrency, the issue of a store of value is one that most people would easily appreciate. When you are building your portfolio of cryptocurrencies, it is always a good idea to make sure that you diversify your portfolio. This is simple financial knowledge. It helps your portfolio stay safe amidst uncertain market scenarios.

It is only prudent for you to have something that would stand the test of time, even when the worst possible scenario unfolds. Other than that, even if you are not diversifying your portfolio, you have to look at this from the perspective of an investment. You need an investment that is secure, and this is what Quantum Resistant Ledger offers.

Quantum Resistant Token (QRT)

These are the tokens that are created for use and transferred on the Quantum Resistant Ledger blockchain. These tokens are created in such a manner that they take on all the security qualities that are associated with the Quantum Resistant Ledger blockchain. They, therefore are quantum resistant.

Developers who will be using Quantum Resistant Ledger in the near future will no longer have to worry about quantum threats challenging the security of the tokens they use in and for their projects. The QRT, like any other tokens that are used in different projects, must only be accessed through Quantum Resistant Ledger.

The Merkle Tree

This is an inverted tree that computes the parent nodes by hashing the linking of child sibling nodes to the root. Because of this, it is easier to prove the existence of a node through cryptography, by simply computing the root.

In order to make this system more secure, Quantum Resistant Ledger extended the number of OTS key pairs that are available for use, especially if the tree is a hypertree, made up of several Merkle trees.

Ephemeral Data Messaging Layer

Ephemeral plays an important role in the Quantum Resistant Ledger ecosystem, championing functionality, integrations and more importantly, bringing a lot of users on board. Most people would easily mistake the role of Ephemeral in the Quantum Resistant Ledger project. However, it serves as a utility that makes things easier.

One-Time Signatures

The OTS is an important part of the Quantum Resistant Ledger ecosystem, especially when it comes to security. The question that has been asked by a lot of people is why the same OTS cannot be used to sign more than one message, and herein lies the security function

Quantum Resistant Ledger uses XMSS to sign all transaction messages that are issued before valid transactions are generated. The OTS algorithm is written such that it can only be used to sign one message with one key.

If the key were to sign two different messages, an attacker gets the chance to create an authentic signature for a third message that you would never have signed. As a result, with this message, the attacker is able to create a transaction you do not know about and have it approved. Because of this reason, users are often advised to track all their OTS keys and make sure they use different keys for different transactions.

How can Quantum Resistant Ledger be categorized?

Quantum Resistant Ledger is a security blockchain platform. It encrypts data that is shared across it through quantum computing. The encryption and security methods that are currently in use in most of the blockchain projects are expected to be obsolete and vulnerable within a few years. What Quantum Resistant Ledger is providing is a stable solution for the future.

What’s Quantum Resistant Ledger’s vision on Security?

Just like privacy, security is a major concern for projects like Quantum Resistant Ledger that deal with private monies. There are lots of algorithms that are in use to keep Quantum Resistant Ledger as secure as possible. These are algorithms that have been used successfully in public key cryptography in the past.

One good example is ECDSA, which has been used in Bitcoin. The idea behind ECDSA is on the assumption that a unique logarithm problem when applied over carefully selected groups, does not offer a credible and/or reliable solution.

However, through tried and tested methods, there is proof that with the right power, a quantum computer has the capacity to use an algorithm and generate a private key. This is done by scanning all feasible solutions to the public address and creating a simultaneous superposition.

One of the most secure post-quantum algorithms, eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme (XMSS) is used in Quantum Resistant Ledger. XMSS employs a one-time signature scheme (OTS), which allows the key to sign only one message.

To do this, the OTS keys are only generated as and when they are needed. As a result of this, XMSS is one of the most secure algorithms, especially because message attacks tend to forge algorithms and keys, but XMSS is unforgeable.

Examples of Quantum Resistant Ledger use cases/applications

Mobile Application

The mobile app is currently available. This model is designed to build upon aesthetic designs that had been proposed earlier on. Some of the core functions of this mobile app include support for Kyber &Dilithium which are necessary for ephemeral messaging, Shasha that supports the sha3 hash function, and QRLlib, which is the core library for the Quantum Resistant Ledger.

Other than these functionalities, Quantum Resistant Ledger is also built to support communication between native code like Java for Android devices and Objective-C for iOS devices, and through bridges, communicate with react-native languages like JavaScript.

Improvement Proposals

Quantum Resistant Ledger is primed for security and privacy. In line with this, upon the launch of the main network, maintaining a secure and stable ecosystem is important for any links or integration that would result in changes felt across the network or changes of a significant nature.

Quantum Resistant Ledger has QRL Improvement Proposals (QIPs) in place to address this. These protocols are all about checks and balances.

Media Monitoring

When using Quantum Resistant Ledger, it is possible to stay abreast with all information regarding Quantum Resistant Ledger or anything else concerning quantum computing and any advancements in the field.

Bisq.network

To bring the functionality of Quantum Resistant Ledger closer to everyone, it is important that the token is listed on exchanges. In light of this, Quantum Resistant Ledger has been trying to partner with different exchanges to enable them to list the main network coin. This would make work easier for interpersonal trades.

Resources

https://coincheckup.com/coins/Quantum-Resistant-Ledger

https://theqrl.org/

https://www.medium.com/the-quantum-resistant-ledger/

https://theqrl.org/faq

https://github.com/theQRL/Whitepaper/blob/master/QRL_whitepaper.pdf

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Peerplays

What is Peerplays?

What Peerplays offers is a value proposition that is enticing both for businesses and the end users. Peerplays takes advantage of blockchain to bring users the best of a decentralized gambling platform and provably fair gaming.

There are several challenges in the industry that Peerplays has been able to tackle, while at the same time providing incentives for the existing gambling platforms to consider venturing into the blockchain by integrating their systems with Peerplays.

By design, Peerplays is for the future. It is a project that is primed for future growth, success, and scalability to suit different market scenarios. Peerplays uses consensus and voting mechanisms for this, and it should propel it to the height of blockchain platform use in the gaming industry.

What is the problem that Peerplays Solves?

The gambling and betting industry has always struggled with cheating and fraud between administrators and players. This is an industry where it seems each party is always trying to steal a move on the other by all means possible.

In light of such experiences, since 2011, more than 10 popular gambling websites have been forced to shut down by authorities, or have gone bankrupt and that is in the US alone. When such companies go down, millions of dollars in customer deposits go with them, and the hope of ever retrieving this money becomes so slim.

However, even with all these challenges, the gambling industry has still managed to grow, with more players increasingly depositing their money into websites that are centrally owned and operated.

This is a precarious situation, and the need for fair gambling online is important now more than ever. In light of the advancement of technology and the advent of blockchain technology, fair play is needed in online gambling. Peerplays offers a solution where users are allowed to design special chips and tokens that they can use on the supported gambling platform of their choice.

They are also able to purchase and sell tokens for some of the giant cryptocurrencies like Ether or Bitcoin and use them as transactional currency within the games that they play on the blockchain.

Peerplays does away with the need for a House. Instead of having a house, gamblers are matched with other players through Peer-to-Peer (P2P) gameplay.

This is possible through the use of smart contracts. These contracts are written in such a manner that they hold the money that players wager in an escrow before the game starts. When the game is over, the smart contracts check to make sure the conditions set for the release of the funds have been met and verified, then they release the funds to the winner.

The smart contracts that are used in Peerplays are systematically built into the Peerplays code instead of using a virtual machine like other blockchain platforms do. As a result, this has made it very easy to process transactions faster. Other than that, the fast speed of transactions also means that millions of players can have fun on Peerplays at the same time without having to worry about any network challenges.

How does Peerplays Solve the problem?

To prove that Peerplays is a fair platform for gamers, gamblers, and companies that would be willing to invest in it, the platform has to be auditable. The following are some of the ways that Peerplays uses to address the challenges highlighted above:

Provably Fair Gaming

A proof is an important part of gaining trust. The Peerplays network is fully auditable. All the smart contracts that are used on Peerplays are open-source. Therefore, anyone can study and verify them, and make sure that they perform the tasks for which they were written.

Players, therefore, get into arbitration agreements with Peerplays, within which they are bound by the laws of the contracts. Before funds are released from the escrow accounts wherein they are held, the players have to voluntarily make moves or not.

As a result, failure of a player to perform any action, or produce their winning hand disqualifies them from the jackpot payout.

This, therefore, is a system that is free from manipulation. The players get into the games fully aware that the results are based on luck and skill.

Blockchain Consensus

Peerplays uses the same technology that is running on Muse, Steem and BitShares, Graphene.

Graphene supports this blockchain by providing a high throughput. It also takes a short time between block productions, making it one of the most efficient blockchain consensus mechanisms currently available. This allows Peerplays to handle more than 100,000 transactions a second.

Native Smart Contracts

This decentralized platform uses an order matching algorithm. As a result, buy and sell orders between users on the blockchain are filled immediately. This is one of the other reasons why Peerplays is able to handle thousands of transactions a second, and also why it can handle thousands of players wagering on the blockchain simultaneously.

When a game starts, every player places an order. A native smart contract accepts and fills this order, matching players or player groups together. The smart contract then becomes the arbiter over the rules, terms, and conditions of the games that the players are engaged in, and eventually releases the winnings to the player who emerges the winner.

What makes Peerplays better than the competitors?

Peerplays Blockchain Standards Association (PBSA)

This is a non-profit organization that has been around since 2016. The agenda behind PBSA is to offer support for the development of provably fair games on the Peerplays ecosystem. Through PBSA, developers are able to create games and products that the users will not just appreciate today, but also years in the foreseeable future.

The role that PBSA plays on the Peerplays blockchain is important as an oversight body. They come up with standards that govern gambling and gaming on Peerplays, and they further act as educators and advocates, making sure that the set standards are understood and appreciated by Peerplays users in different communities and industries.

The need for PBSA stems out of the following inherent features of the traditional gambling and gaming industry:

  • Slow, outdated and regressive regulatory frameworks
  • Disastrous results from self-regulation by different betting operators
  • Untrustworthy betting operators in the industry
  • Exploitative gambling operators who often target problem gamblers
  • Centralized storage of betting data
  • Lack of transparency

In light of these features, most of the players in the gaming and gambling market end up shortchanged. The end users, to be precise, often get a raw deal. Through PBSA, Peerplays is able to push through these challenges and offer users an assurance of a platform that is specifically built to cater to their needs.

Serve-Side Tournament Hosting

This is a technique that has been used in the eSports industry for a very long time, successfully. Over the years, this model has seen a growth in uptake, being integrated into different gaming platforms.

Peerplays allows support for server-side hosting while at the same time it provides different tools that can be used to enhance the business. Through this, as long as a user has been able to connect to the Peerplays API they can use the platform to place wagers, bet on jackpots while at the same time still running their games on the website independently.

For game publishers, you can take advantage of the customizable smart contracts and create your own fee schedule, tournament structure, distribution and collection methods for wagers. This can be done for any game even if it is hosted on a server off-chain.

On the other hand, gaming partners also have the benefit of improving their GUI, offering their customers the best possible experience. The basic Peerplays GUI can be hosted on a public server.

Businesses and individuals have a better chance of increasing their earnings on Peerplays by using the referral program. In this program, users earn a lifetime revenue each time they refer a player to Peerplays.

As a result, therefore, businesses that integrate their platforms with Peerplays have an unmatched potential for additional earnings, especially when they encourage and get all their users to create a Peerplays account.

Public Client Portals

Through hosted client portals, users have access to the Peerplays blockchain via their preferred web browsers. While enjoying this access, all the private keys are kept locally. Because of this, the public client portals offer more convenience compared to a private desktop client, for example.

However, you will need to constantly run backups so that you can avoid losing funds accidentally. These portals operate like lightweight wallets, and for this reason, you do not have to download the entire node. Instead, you can reference some of your trusted public nodes. To boost security, users are allowed to run a full node together with the desktop client.

Placing Wagers

Any token issued by the user is accepted as a wager in the Peerplays tournament smart contracts. However, in case the tokens presented by the user are not among the certified wagering instruments, the users have to pay a small fee. A committee determines the tokens that are considered standard wagering instruments. You are also able to place wagers with the core Peerplays token.

Asset Exchange

Peerplays is a Graphene Blockchain. Therefore, a lot of the Peerplays features are similar to BitShares. Users have the capacity to create their own tokens, initiate buy and sell orders on the internal market, which will then be filled on the chain order with matching smart contracts. Users are also able to purchase and sell tokens from some of the popular cryptocurrencies such as ETH and BTC.

Open Source GUI

Everything on Peerplays runs on a basic open-source GUI. The GUI is built to enhance the user experience. It has features that make access very easy for players. Other than access, they are also able to host multiple tournaments, create, buy and sell tokens. Through this, players can also enjoy live gameplay on all the games they play on the blockchain platform. Over time, the GUI will be translated into different languages to help with uptake, and support widespread commercial and personal use.

PowerUp Points

PowerUp points are tokens used on the Peerplays network for user rewards. These points are distributed to the users depending on the amount they have wagered on the games they play, and their win records. It is the only acceptable token that is used as a buy-in for the tournaments that involve mega jackpots. As a result, you can expect a very high demand for these. These tokens can also be traded in an asset exchange platform, used for rewards or purchases.

Mega Jackpots

Through Mega Jackpots, Peerplays can sponsor some of the largest tournament jackpots. This is done by taking advantage of the profit sharing feature on the network. A small portion of the network fee is allocated to the Mega Jackpot Fund, which is simply a virtual account secured through a smart contract. This contract will schedule and host all the mega Jackpot events and be awarding winners when the tournaments are complete.

How can Peerplays be categorized?

Peerplays is a P2P gambling marketplace that brings together gamblers, gamers and other affiliated parties, leveraging on the benefits of blockchain technology to provide the best services to all the parties involved.

What’s Peerplays’ vision on Security?

Peerplays uses Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) for governance purposes. The choice of DPsS is borne out of the fact that it is one of the most efficient, flexible, decentralized and fastest consensus models that is currently being used on blockchain platforms.

DPoS helps by administering the ability to vote in resolving matters that demand consensus in a democratic and fair manner. All the parameters that are important on the network are determined through the elected delegates.

Examples of Peerplays use cases/applications

BookiePro.fun

This is a betting exchange platform where gamblers are able to wager their bets on games from a variety of sporting events with tokens. BookiePro.fun eliminates the need for a house, which is one of the reasons why it is different from a normal sportsbook.

Instead of having a house, BookiePro.fun will match the bet placed with the orders that have been placed by other players who might have placed their bets, hoping the outcome is the opposite of yours.

Resources

https://coincheckup.com/coins/Peerplays

http://www.peerplays.com/

http://www.pbsa.info/

https://www.peerplays.com/news/

https://www.peerplays.com/faq/

https://www.peerplays.com/docs/Peerplays_Whitepaper.pdf