What is Hush?
Hush is a privacy coin that was forked from Zcash coin. This implies that it shares most properties and features with Zcash 1.0.9 such as a total supply of 21 million coins. The coin was founded in November 2016 with the primary target of advancing user privacy when sending value.
While Zcash and other crypto coins such as Ripple have improved on the original idea of decentralization, Hush founders argue that a lot of improvements are still needed. For example, Hush supports a new crypto app referred to as Hushng that facilitates private messaging when sending value on a peer2peer basis. Other details of Hush include;
- Utilizes Equihash mining algorithm
- Features a block time of 2.5 minutes
- The mining difficulty is adjusted after every block
- The mining reward is 12.5 Hush per block
- Mining reward halves after every four years
- The total supply of Hush is 21 million
- The hush coin label is HUSH
- A closer look at Hush performance in the market
After discovery in November 2016, HUSH coins hit the market in the subsequent month, December. On December 3rd, 2016, the value of Hush was $0.02. It remained within that range until March 2016 when it started rising steadily. In June 2016, the value shot through the $1 mark.
By 20th June 2017, the value of the coin had grown by approximately 19000% to hit $3.86. But the positive growth did not stop there. The bullish trend continued throughout the remaining part of 2017 and climaxed at $19 on 7th January. This was the highest mark in the coin’s history. But the positive show did not last.
Immediately after hitting a peak, the price took a downtrend that persisted for the rest of 2018. By the close of 2018, the value of Hush had sunk to $0.04. However, it is prudent to mention that the negative price show was not peculiar to Hush. Many coins in the crypto market such as Bitcoin, Loopring, and Ethereum were on a bearish trend in 2018.
The negative show was a correction of the sudden rise in crypto prices in 2017. Therefore, it is crucial for investors with interest in Hush to evaluate its potential before buying its native coins. For example; will the price of Hush grow in the coming months?
What is the problem that Hush solves?
When cryptocurrencies hit the market in 2009, the crypto community believed that the solution they were seeking had finally dawned. Though the introduction of decentralized transactions provided an alternative to the traditional financial systems, the new system was not without its share of problems. Here are some of the problems that Hush addresses.
- Lack of privacy in the crypto markets
When you take a closer look at cryptocurrencies, their design gives the impression that transactions are completely anonymous. But this impression is incorrect. It has now emerged that it is possible to pull out personal trending history from most crypto networks. Here is the case of Bitcoin.
If you use Bitcoin to run transactions such as sending value or making payments, there are a number of ways that your transaction history can be pulled out. One, Bitcoin system only uses pseudonyms to protect user info. This means that other details such as actual IP addresses that can be used to identify the user are exposed.
To know the source of transactions, an attacker or government agency can follow different nodes to establish where transactions are coming from. For example, if you pay for services from different stores using Bitcoins, it is possible to follow the transactions and identify you.
Because Bitcoin blockchain is an open ledger, the transactions are available for scrutiny by any interested party. If a group of Bitcoin addresses are tied to a specific user, it is possible to also know the identity of others. Hush targets to address these issues by ensuring all the details are kept completely anonymous.
- The high cost of sending value through traditional financial organizations
If you want to send value through the traditional financial organizations such as banks, the charges are very high. However, the operational design of these organizations requires them to optimize profits in order to generate ample returns on shareholders’ investment.
The other reason for making traditional financial organizations charge a lot of money for their transactions is to meet the high cost of expenses. For example, most banks have to maintain operational branches downtown to serve their clients. Therefore, they have to raise funds to meet costs for rent, wages, and advertisements.
- Poor adoption of cryptocurrencies in the society
Though the number of cryptocurrencies in the market has increased steadily, it is ironical that the same is not reflected at the lower levels of society. For example, if you have some crypto coins, the chances are that no store in the neighborhood supports them for direct payment of goods and services.
Many coins in the market today are held by investors who buy in bulk and wait for the price to go up to offload. The local stores are also hesitant to adopt the native coins because of the complex process of acquiring them. For example, you need to join a crypto exchange in order to buy or exchange the native coins for fiat currency.
- Difficulty in sending messages together with crypto transactions
When people send funds, being able to send a message associated with the transaction is very important. For example, a message saying “thank you” attached to a crypto transaction is a courteous way of promoting good relations with clients. However, most crypto networks do not support messaging. Hush targets to address this problem by providing a platform for sending messages privately.
How does Hush solve the problem?
To address the issues identified above, Hush development team had to craft a unique strategy that would also help to position it appropriately in the competitive market. Here are some of the methods used to address the problem:
- Hush is a completely decentralized platform
Decentralization is the primary method used to address the outlined issues. The Hush system operates as a network of nodes that run all operations including its governance. This means that the network bypasses the profit-seeking organizations such as banks to ensure that transactions are direct, fast, and cheaper.
As a decentralized network, it implies that there is no single point of failure. The data on all transactions is stored by different nodes to ensure that even if one is offline or falls off, it would still be accessible from other nodes. The decentralized nature of Hush also implies that any person can become part of the network’s governance and contribute to its growth.
- The application of zero-knowledge core
Zero-Knowledge proof is a cryptographic method of enhancing anonymity in a network. It is a method where one party (call it prover) can prove to another entity (verifier) that he knows the value of X, without conveying any further details apart from the fact that he knows the value of X. according to the protocol, all other details apart from the value of X are considered trivial in completing a transaction.
- Use of private messaging application
The Hush network is designed with a messaging application called HushList that allows users to send private messages. The app encrypts the messages so that users can attach messages when sending transactions.
The Hush contacts are stored in the users’ computers while the messages are attached to the blockchain so that only the recipient can decrypt it. Note that depending on the user’s preference, the transactions can be anonymous (shielded) or transparent.
- Equihash algorithm
To ensure that more people can mine and own Hush coins, the network employs proof of work equihash algorithm. Equihash algorithm was developed by Dmitry Khovratovich and Alex Biryukov in 2016. The technology has been successfully employed by Zcash and Ion projects.
Like at Zcash, Hush adopted Equihash because it implements bottle-necked by memory bandwidth to make it difficult for cost-performance trade-offs for custom ASICs. However, ASIC technology has advanced so much and started generating equihash mining equipment. This implies that though you can still mine Hush with ASICs you can also mine it with standard GPU and CPU.
What makes Hush better than it’s competitors?
When Hush developers released the coin into the market, they knew it was fiercely competitive. However, they were focused on outdoing others and emerging as the best in the market. Here are some of the things that make Hush better than competitors:
- Hush is led by an aggressive team that focuses on progressively advancing it. This is one of the reasons why Hush boasts of very impressive features such as Hush Messenger and Zero Knowledge Prove
- The network operates as a completely decentralized system. This implies that both investors and traders can run transactions without worrying about third-party seizures
- As a peer2peer coin, HUSH allows users to send funds directly without going through third parties. This means that transactions are completed faster and cheaply
- Since Hush operates as a proof of work coin, it implies that those who join the network also own it. Therefore, they could be called to vote when governance issues arise or new features are being introduced
- The Hush system is gaining a lot of popularity from the mantra that it is better than Zcash and Bitcoin. Having solved some of the issues that face most of the coins in the market, Hush is seen as one of the next generation coins that are helping to redefine the crypto niche
How can Hush be categorized?
Hush is a completely anonymous and decentralized cryptocurrency. Its design and features are aimed at helping to ensure that users can run their transactions in total anonymity. The community has especially been impressed by the additional features that help them to attach encrypted messages when sending value.
Note that even though the coin offers the optimal anonymity that people want, it is crucial to be extra careful when trading Hush in the exchanges. This is because exchanges require traders to provide additional personal info that can be used to identify them. To be sure of operating in total privacy especially when trading in the markets, consider using decentralized exchanges.
What is Hush’s vision on security?
Hush vision on security is guaranteeing users of optimal security and privacy to users on its platform. The development team wanted to create a network that could help advance the original idea of Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi, the pioneer of blockchain networks, espoused a system that would allow users to operate without worrying of getting attacked or transaction details known by third parties.
To keep the Hush system more secure and reliable, here are the strategies employed by its development team:
- Use of advanced encryption and zero-knowledge prove that helps to keep user info away from attackers
- The development team is very aggressive in identifying gaps and addressing them before attackers can take advantage of them
- The system uses total decentralization that helps to ensure all the coins are evenly distributed. This is very crucial in reducing the danger of 51% attack
Examples of What is Hush’s use cases/ applications
To advance the decentralization and blockchain technology concepts, the Hush development team believes that it is prudent to get as many uses as possible. Here are some of the uses cases of Hush:
- Hush can be used to send value on a peer2peer basis both locally and across the globe
- Like Bitcoin, Hush can also be traded in the exchanges that list it
- If you reside in a jurisdiction that supports cryptocurrencies such as Switzerland and Arizona, it might be possible to pay taxes and other government services
- If you want to join the crypto niche by investing in cryptocurrencies, one coin to consider is HUSH
- Hush coin can be used to pay for goods and services in stores that support them. Note that even in the event that only a different coin is supported, it is still possible to pay with HUSH by converting to the accepted coin
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