What Is Sphere?
Sphere (SPHR) is a peer2peer and decentralized payment network that operates through proof of stake (PoS) consensus algorithm.
The focus of the development team is helping to extend the benefits of blockchain technology to more niches especially the social media and e-commerce platforms.
- A closer look at the Sphere cryptocurrency
The development of the Sphere platform started in 2015 when the mobile application was created for iOS and Android.
The platform was founded by computing experts Andrew Khong, Andy Fuhr, Tamara Mihajlovic, and Jessica Thoennes.
In 2017, the development team worked hard on releasing additional features and also laid down the groundwork for its ICO. Between 12th February 2018 and 9th, April 2018 Sphere held its ICO when 650,000,000 were sold.
- The performance of the Sphere coin in the market
The performance of the Sphere coin in the market has been impressive growing by 24,900% by the close of October 2018.
After entering the market in May 2015, the price was $0.002 before growing marginally to $0.007 in mid-May. However, the price remained low within the range of $0.002 and $0.03 until March 2017.
From April 2017, the value of Sphere grew steadily and hit the highest mark of $11.15 on January 4th, 2018. However, the price took a bearish trend immediately after hitting the peak. By the close of October 2018, the value of Sphere coin had decreased to $0.5.
Despite the negative show in 2018, the community remains optimistic that the value will take an upward trend as the features described in the crypto’s roadmap such as the marketplace and ad platform get actualized.
What is the problem that Sphere Solves?
Even as the blockchain technology takes root, it is faced by a lot of challenges. Indeed, even the areas that appear to run smoothly are still faced with bottlenecks. Here are some of the main problems that Sphere addresses.
- Centralized mining
Cryptocurrency mining is the process of confirming transactions in a blockchain network and adding new blocks to their public ledger for a reward. Miners also vote on various governance aspects that require consensus on their networks. However, the process of mining only works effectively when the nodes are completely decentralized.
As mining difficulties for various platforms, especially those that use proof of work (PoW), keeps edging up, mining companies started manufacturing advanced equipment that generates a lot of computing power. The mining equipment threatened to undo the benefits that had been achieved through decentralization.
Because the equipments are very expensive, only the rich in the society can afford them. This means that the process of mining is likely to be left in the hands of a few parties such as mining pools and mining companies. It also raises the danger of 51% attack.
- Lack of privacy when running financial transactions
If you take a closer look at financial transactions, it becomes clear that the details of transactions are not private. Your transactions, account details, and operational history are accessible to bank cashiers, the bank management, credit reference staff, and political administration.
The problem of privacy is also experienced in blockchain networks such as Bitcoin. While many people believed that the blockchain technology would offer total privacy, the concept is still not easy to achieve. At Bitcoin, the only cover that users have is the use of pseudonyms.
However, it has been proven that advanced technology can still be used to follow individual transactions on Bitcoin and know the details of users. This is one of the issues that Sphere addresses.
- Poor adoption of cryptocurrencies especially in conventional markets
Even as more digital coins join the crypto market, the adoption as a means of paying for goods and services in the stores is still low. This problem is contributed by the complex process required to facilitate acceptance of crypto coins in the market.
Sphere targets to address the issue by linking the coin directly with the markets and making it easy for both buyers and sellers to use. Even with the negative perception that has been created by some administrations about the cryptos, Sphere targets to demonstrate that its native coin is reliable and secure for daily use.
How Does Sphere Solve The Problem?
- Use of scrypt mining algorithm
To address the problem of centralized mining, Sphere development team opted to use the advanced version of Scrypt proof of work protocol. The protocol is memory intensive and resistant to ASICs mining. This implies that more nodes spread in the Sphere system can now mine the coin using standard GPU.
The Sphere network development team targeted to use Scrypt to help reduce the chances of more coins falling in the hands of a few parties. This approach has helped to reduce the danger of 51% attack. Note that the team progressively improves the protocol to address vulnerabilities.
- Sphere runs its own marketplace
Though cryptocurrencies have been demonstrated to be more effective than fiat currencies in facilitating payments, many stores are yet to accept them. This is caused by two main factors. One, many governments have cautioned their traders against using the coins. Two, a lot of technical expertise is needed for such operations.
To jumpstart the entire process, Sphere opted to create its own marketplace. This is an open market that allows users to list their items and sell to others on the network. Then, the payment of the platform is effected using Sphere coins.
- The Sphere platform runs its own ad platform
If you take a look at the big data firms such as Facebook and Google, they rely on user data to run ads and make a lot of profit. Sphere operates differently. Instead of focusing on the centralized operators, it creates a platform that all can utilize to run ads.
The data on the Sphere platform is available on its public ledger and is not a monopoly of one entity. This implies that you can follow the info for additional analysis to either evaluate the market or get additional details about specific items before buying.
- Sphere operates as a completely decentralized platform
When the Sphere development team started working on the platform, they wanted to make it different from others so that more people could find value and join it. Therefore, they designed it as a completely decentralized platform that is governed by the nodes spread in its network.
Complete decentralization implies that there is no single point of failure on the network. The data on the network is stored by different nodes spread across the globe to ensure that users can still access their info even if one of the nodes is offline or opts out.
The decentralization has been very crucial in keeping the network secure and reliable. Whether it is at night or during the day, you can easily access your data and run transactions.
What makes Sphere better than it’s competitors?
As the crypto space attracts more players, it is becoming highly competitive. Because many networks offer almost similar services, the goal is to offer more customer value to make the platform and native coin attractive. Here are the things that make Sphere better than its competitors.
- The network runs its own marketplace that makes it easy for users to directly buy or sell products on the system. This edges the network ahead of others that have to rely on the conventional markets to facilitate trading. The feature is very crucial in helping to grow the value of the native coin in the coming years.
- Sphere operates as a completely decentralized platform. This makes it better than conventional financial services providers like banks because users can operate without a single point of failure.
- As a peer2peer coin, Sphere transactions are completed without involving centralized third parties such as credit card companies. This implies that transactions are completed faster and can be carried any time of the day or night.
- Unlike some decentralized networks such as Bitcoin or conventional financial services, Sphere uses advanced encryption and decentralization to make transactions anonymous. Users on the network are, therefore, able to enjoy sending value, investing or even trading without worrying about third-party seizures.
- The Sphere system provides people on its network with many options to make money from it. You can mine the native coins, run ads, or even sell products on the marketplace.
How can Sphere be categorized?
Sphere is a unique cryptocurrency created to help the industry reinvigorate itself and move to the next level. To address the current issues that have slowed the adoption of cryptocurrencies, Sphere has demonstrated that creativity can help.
By allowing people to use the marketplace and even run ads, Sphere coin is likely to grow in value because more people will find value in joining it. The development team has also committed to advancing the platform further by running a social media network.
What’s Sphere’s vision on Security?
The Sphere’s vision on security is to provide users with the most secure and progressive cryptocurrency network. When the founders created Sphere, attacks on cryptocurrency establishments such as the Mt. Gox hack of 2011 had become very common. Therefore, the development team adopted the following features and strategies to make the platform secure.
- Advanced encryption on Sphere platform helps to protect user information from third parties.
- The cryptocurrency platform runs as a completely decentralized system. This implies that all operations rely on a network of nodes and does not have a single pointy of failure.
- The development team at Sphere progressively improves the network by releasing new updates that seal gaps and vulnerabilities.
Examples of Sphere’s use cases / applications
Since 2009 when Bitcoin was launched, the primary goal of altcoins entering the market is to win a bigger following getting accepted across different niches. Sphere targets to achieve this by diversifying its operations. Here are the main use cases of Sphere.
- The Sphere tokens are used for paying transaction charges on the native network. This is the cost that people sending funds or selling items on the Sphere platform pay. The charges go to facilitating the development of the network by incentivizing the developers.
- You can use the native coin to trade in the markets. Like other cryptocurrencies such as Loopring and Ripple, Sphere can be traded in exchanges such as Bittrex and BitBox. Note that trading in the exchanges requires users to register and creating trading pairs with other coins.
- The Sphere coin can be used to pay for products and services in its native marketplace. The marketplace operates like the standard e-commerce sites but the only accepted method of payment is Sphere. You can also use the coin to make direct purchases in other stores that accept it.
- Use Sphere to pay taxes in countries that support cryptocurrencies. As more countries appreciate the benefits of blockchain technologies and come out to support cryptocurrencies, it is possible to pay for services such as utility bills. One good example is Arizona.
After passing HB 1091 in March 2018, Arizona now allows residents to pay taxes using cryptocurrencies. The law requires the tax authority in Arizona to accept the coins and convert them to US dollars immediately. Then, the cash is credited to the user’s tax account.
- Use Sphere for saving your money. Instead of saving your money in a banking system, you can now buy Sphere coins.
The good thing about investing in Sphere is that the coins have a good potential for growth as the development team works hard to add new features. Besides, the cryptocurrency space is growing steadily and you can enjoy additional services such as low cost of sending value across the globe.
Remember that even if you target to invest in cryptocurrencies or use it to save funds, the expected growth is speculative.
The cryptocurrency market is very volatile and the value of different coins can swing in either direction. Therefore, you should invest in the network carefully and follow the best practices such as spreading your funds across different coins, keeping your Sphere client updated, and only investing what you can afford to lose.
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