What is Burst?
Burst is a peer2peer decentralized platform and a digital cryptocurrency forked from NXT in 2014. It is designed to support smart contracts that are based on the blockchain technology and, therefore, providing standard features for decentralization, anonymity, and advanced cryptography.
Burstcoin departed from the common proof of work (PoW) and PoS (proof of stake) consensus protocols to a new algorithm model referred to as proof or capacity (PoC). This algorithm utilizes the empty space on the node’s hard drive for mining. The development team has even indicated it will make it possible to mine the coins with their phones.
Burst was founded in 2014 by an anonymous developer who disappeared about a year later. The cryptocurrency project was left in the hands of the community that had to push the system’s development and mobilizing resources. In 2016 and part of 2017, the project gained some momentum when more people started developing an interest in it. In the summer of 2017, the PoC Consortium joined the group and everything fell back to the rightful track.
The performance of Burstcoin in the markets demonstrates a cryptocurrency and project on the move. Between its launch and January 2017, the price of the token remained well below the $0.5 mark. However, the price started shifting upwards as the new management started exploring new ways of steering the platform to higher levels. In December 2017, the price had shot by more than 25,000% to hit $141.1 million, the highest mark in its history.
But, the positive growth was short lived. Between late December 2017 and August 2018, the value shot down by more than 1000%. Even with this drop, the price of Burstcoin in August 2018 was still more than 2000% higher than its value in 2016.
What is the problem that Burst Solves?
The blockchain technology has been growing at a very fast rate. Between 2009 and 2018, over 1600 cryptocurrencies had entered the market. However, mass adoption has faced serious hurdles that are threatening the growth and success of the entire blockchain niche. Here are some of these problems that Burst seeks to address.
- Poor scalability: This is one of the serious problems facing the blockchain niche. Most cryptocurrency networks can only facilitate a few transactions per second. Bitcoin can only support seven transactions per second, Ethereum 20 transactions per second, and Ripple 1,500 transactions every second. These rates are dwarfed by the industry leaders especially Visa that has the capacity to process up to 24,000 transactions every second.
- Low usability: While it is true that more people know about cryptocurrencies, the big percentage is hesitant to join the blockchain networks and use them. Though this has been caused by a number of things, the most notable is the difficulty of accessing the native tokens. If a new user wants to own some crypto tokens, he is required to join an exchange, register for an account, and verify it with government recognized details. When the lengthy procedure is coupled with multiple transaction fees, many are those who opt to stay away.
- Decentralized mining: The use and application of Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) mining equipment have resulted in the centralization of mining. Because of the high cost of ASICs equipment and energy requirements, only those who can afford the equipment can mine various coins such as Bitcoin. This opens the danger of more tokens falling in the hands of few miners and risking 51% attack.
How does Burst Solve the problem?
Burst utilizes the blockchain technology but with a new consensus algorithm referred to as proof-of-capacity (PoC). The algorithm allows the nodes to use storage space as opposed to computational power when running transactions. Other methods used to address the problems include;
Smart contracts
The concept of smart contracts was introduced by the Ethereum to advance the blockchain technology. The technology involves presetting the rules of transactions that both parties in a contract must meet. Burst adopted the smart contracts in 2014 and referred to them as Automated Transactions (AT). The automated transactions are Turing-complete and designed to facilitate simpler applications in many areas such as asset exchange, lotteries, and crowdfunding. This is aimed at helping to reach and draw more users to the blockchain networks.
Direct Acrylic Graph (DAG) and the Tangle
Direct Acrylic Graph (DAG) is a unique computational data structure that features finite directed graphs with no directed cycles. Burst employs DAG to ensure that all the miners in its network are properly motivated. The nodes get rewarded not just for confirming transactions, but also for keeping statistics of its peers. This is critical in ensuring that the native tokens are evenly distributed and the nodes are amply motivated to protect the network.
Blockchain binding with ACCTs
Blockchain binding with Atomic Cross-Chain Trading is applied in the Burst network to allow users exchange their coins without relying on centralized exchanges. Burst utilizes smart contracts that help to define the nature of transactions and enhance cross-chain compatibility. The biggest challenge of using ACCTs is that Burst and the target cryptocurrency must implement ACCT and support smart contracts.
The lighting network
Burst uses Lightning Networks to help scale up the transactions and speed blocks generation. Lightning Network uses a technology referred to as payment channels that involve creating a 2-party payment channel as a layer on the main blockchain. Burst is using smart contracts to implement Lightning Network without counterparty risk.
The Burst network’s marketplace
To help users get more value from their cryptocurrencies, Burst features an easy to use marketplace. This is meant to help users make direct purchases using Burstcoin. Unlike the common e-commerce sites, Burst marketplace also allows users to list the items they have for sale. For users with a lot of products to sell, the marketplace is a great option because Burst network is growing rapidly.
What makes Burst better than its competitors?
With more than 1600 cryptocurrencies in the market, the competition has become very tight. The cryptocurrency development teams have to work harder to win a bigger market share. Here are some of the main things that make Burst better than its competitors.
- Though Burst had a tumultuous past, the ability to weather most of them has made a lot of people have great trust in its system. The four years it has been in the market has made the community believe its structures are stronger and more reliable that those of other networks.
- Unlike the conventional financial institutions, Burst is a truly decentralized network. All the transactions are implemented on the blockchain and are confirmed on a peer2peer basis. By eliminating centralized and profit-seeking organizations, Burst transactions are cheaper and faster.
- The growth of Burst, even with its turbulent past, has been better than many other cryptocurrencies. In August 2018, the market capitalization of the cryptocurrency was $22.1 million. This was way ahead of other more populous competitors including Steem Dollars and Hydro that have $15.9 million and $16.2 million respectively.
- Burst has managed to craft a reliable solution for cross-chain operations. Now, users at Burst can enjoy sending the value with the Burst Asset Exchange embedded in the Burst wallet without having to be part of many networks. Though cross-chain operations are still low, users expect to be able to send funds to more networks as smart contracts become more popular.
- Burst features an easy to use marketplace that makes it possible to buy directly with Burstcoin. Unlike other cryptocurrencies that require users to change the cryptocurrencies to fiat currencies before making a purchase, Burst network makes it easy and direct.
- Because of the current value of Burstcoin and its reliable infrastructure, the cost of sending value is relatively low compared to other networks. This has seen even users from other networks trooping to the Burst network to enjoy lower cost of sending value to different networks.
How can Burst be categorized?
Burst is one of the most vibrant cryptocurrency networks helping to take the blockchain network to the next level. Despite its rough past that saw the founder opt out of the platform, its architecture has demonstrated the capacity to address most issues in the blockchain network.
A lot of traders are expressing the desire to join Burst because of its high scalability and capacity to run their smart contracts. More importantly, is the ability of the platform to facilitate cross-chain operations. The Blockchain binding with Atomic Cross-Chain Trading model makes it possible to send value across different chains without requiring a third party.
Notably, Burst will have to fight for its space because there are other faster-moving giants that are also interested in the same space. One of these contenders is Ethereum. While it is true that the blockchain niche is growing fast, the Burst development team has its work of crafting more creative features, growing the community, and raising its value.
What’s Burst’s vision on Security?
Burst vision is to enhance faster adoption of blockchain technology while guaranteeing optimal security. The network was founded in 2014 when attacks in cryptocurrency networks had become very common. Top networks such as MT. Gox and Poloniex were hacked resulting in huge losses in 2011 and 2014 respectively. To keep the Burst network safe, here are the strategies employed by the development team.
- Collusive nodes attack (51% attack): This attack happens when majority nodes conspire to harm the network. To prevent such a problem, Burst uses Byzantine fault-tolerance technology to help in building dependable protocols. The focus is on identifying honest nodes by putting an upper boundary for maximum tolerance.
- Protection from DDOS attack: Burst’s employs a Dymaxion design that requires all the nodes to perform PoC (proof of capacity) for tax validation. It also carries regular vetting to identify and blacklist misbehaving nodes.
- Progressive network updates: Because of the fast-growing interest in cryptocurrencies, the nature of threats keeps changing. The development team has adopted a system of progressive improvement that involves constant checks to identify and fix gaps.
- Advanced encryption of the network: To keep users’ details and funds free from third-party entities and attackers, Burst network employs advanced encryption. Even when sending funds on the network, user’s details cannot be easily revealed.
- Most big cryptocurrency losses reported in the blockchain sector take place in the exchanges. The Burst development team created the decentralized asset exchange that makes it possible to bypass the exchanges.
Examples of Burst’s use cases / applications
When PoC Consortium took over the platform’s development in 2017, the biggest role was to increase the value of the native Burstcoin and increase the use cases. Here are some of the main applications of the cryptocurrency.
- Burstcoin can be used to pay transaction costs at Burst network: To run transactions on the Burst network, users are required to pay a transaction fee. You can only pay this transaction fee using Burstcoin.
- Buying items at the Burt marketplace: The Burst marketplace allows users to make direct purchases for listed items. Because there are no third party dealers such as Amazon or eBay, buyers are able to enjoy lower prices.
- Paying transaction fee when trading Burstcoin in the exchanges: If you decide to trade Burstcoin in the exchanges such as Bittrex and Poloniex, the transaction charges can be paid in Burstcoin.
- Paying taxes in jurisdictions that accept cryptocurrencies: For people in jurisdictions that allow users to pay taxes in cryptocurrencies, Burstcoin will be a great option. In Arizona, the State parliament passed bill HB 1091 that opened the door for citizens to pay taxes using cryptocurrencies. Other countries that allow payments to be done using cryptocurrencies include Singapore and Venezuela.
- Saving and investment: Cryptocurrencies such as Burstcoin and Bitcoin among others have become a reliable form of saving and investment. As decentralized and anonymous networks, many people are opting to use cryptocurrencies for saving and investment because they are free from third-party seizures. Investors are expecting the Burstcoin value to grow exponentially and deliver high ROI (return on investment) over time.
- Like other cryptocurrencies, Burstcoin can be used for direct purchases. As more people and traders embrace the concept of cryptocurrencies, it is becoming easier to make direct purchases for goods and services. Remember that even when a store only accepts other coins, you can easily convert Burst and buy the targeted item.
https://coincheckup.com/coins/Burst
https://burstwiki.org/wiki/FAQ
http://www.burst-coin.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/The-Burst-Dymaxion-1.00.pdf