What is VeriCoin?
VeriCoin is a decentralized and open source cryptocurrency designed to use the proof-of-stake-time protocol as a method of addressing deficiencies identified in the blockchain industry.
The platform was created after a careful evaluation of the industry and the myriads of problems it was going through by 2013.
The founders and their target
The founders of VeriCoin platform, Douglas Pike and Patrick Nosker, started working on the platform in 2012 and completed the protocol in 2013.
However, it was not until 2014 that they were able to launch the system officially.
The development of the platform is done by a decentralized team spread across the globe to help identify new features and upgrade the platform for enhanced security. The native currency on the platform is referred to as VRC.
The performance of VeriCoin native coin
A closer look at the performance of VeriCoin in the market reveals that its price has grown significantly.
When it entered the market around May 2014, the price was $0.008. This price grew by 2400% to reach $0.2 by the close of June 2014.
But the value took a downward trend in the subsequent months reaching a low of $0.01 in mid-December 2014.
Between December 2014 and April 2017, the price of VeriCoin ranged between $0.05 and $0.01. The price of VeriCoin grew past $1 mark in mid-December 2017 and continued rising to hit $2.2 in early January, the highest mark in its history. Even with this growth, the gains were short-lived.
Between January 2018 and September 2018, the value of VeriCoin fell by more than 1000% to settle at $0.16. Despite this drop, the value was still 1900% higher than the opening price when the coin hit the market in 2014.
What is the problem that VeriCoin solves?
While the blockchain niche has advanced at a very fast pace starting from 2009, the adoption in the society has slowed down. The blockchain experts hold the view that these networks have reached a point where a new focus is needed to propel the niche to the next level. Here are some of the problems that VeriCoin seeks to address.
- Centralization of blockchain systems
A closer look at the blockchain networks that use proof of work (PoW) and proof of stake (PoS) consensus algorithms indicates that they are at high risk of suffering from centralization. At Bitcoin, it is no longer possible for people to mine the network using standard equipment such as GPU and CPU.
Instead, miners have to buy very expensive ASIC mining equipment and meet the associated high cost of power. The high cost implies that only the wealthy can mine and own the tokens.
Even the more improved proof of stake (PoS) still puts a lot of weight on those who have more funds to secure the network. This compromises the original goal of decentralization because the less wealthy are left out. VeriCoin targets to address these issues by through enhanced decentralization.
- Poor scalability
One issue with the blockchain niche is that has persisted for some time is the inability to scale the supported transactions. This is a problem created by the design of decentralized networks that required most nodes to come to a consensus before transactions can be completed.
At Bitcoin, the platform can only support seven transactions/ second while Ethereum can only achieve a total of 25 transactions/ second. This is far too few when compared to the industry leaders such as VISA that can hit a maximum of 24,000 transactions/ second.
VeriCoin targets to become the most scalable blockchain in the industry.
- Insecurity in the blockchain networks
When people join the blockchain niche, the risk of getting attacked and losing their coins is never far. There is a danger of getting hacked and losing the native tokens at the native network level, on the wallet, or the exchanges.
When reports of attacks are reported in any blockchain network or facility, the community is left wondering if will be the next target. The recent attack in the blockchain industry took place at Coincheck exchange in January 2018 where about $520 million worth of altcoins were lost.
How does VeriCoin solve the problem?
- Adoption of a new consensus model referred to as proof-of-stake-time
To address the problem of centralized networks and risk of 51% attack, the founders of VeriCoin opted for a new consensus protocol referred to as proof of stake time (POST).
This is achieved by adding a non-linear proof function on the proof of stake (PoS) algorithm.
In their white paper, the development team explains that the additional function helps to define a fraction of stake’s active and idle time, at a given block.
The idle-time is a fraction of the age that no longer supports the distribution of consensus and commences upgrading it.
The new protocol enhances the security of the system while ensuring that the efficiencies of the PoS are maintained. It utilizes the time function to ensure that rewards and the probability to find new blocks increases in proportion to active staking time.
With the VeriCoin’s consensus algorithm, simply buying a lot of stakes will not be enough to give you an added advantage when mining the native coins. This means that even for those with a smaller stake but more active in the network will have a chance to mine new blocks and get rewarded.
- The binary chain model
The VeriCoin system was created to help consolidate the advantages of proof of stake (PoS) and proof of work (PoS). The main goal is ensuring that the transaction speed remains high while advancing the security of the network.
The combination helped to extend the reach of the network to people who prefer using their stake and hashing power of their systems to be accommodated in the network. It is the reason why the community has been growing at a very fast rate.
- Enhanced availability and interest for users
To encourage more people to join, VeriCoin offers users an annual discount of 10%. You only need to stake the native coins to benefit. This implies that you do not have to worry about resolving complex puzzles the way it happens with networks such as Bitcoin to earn from your stake in the network.
The approach has helped to win more users especially those targeting to invest or simply buy and hold. Instead of putting funds in with no interest rates or the rates are very low, people prefer the more rewarding VeriCoin.
To make the native coins easily accessible, the development team has been working with very many exchanges. You can buy the tokens in exchanges such as Bittrex, CoinEgg, Cryptopia, and Poloniex.
- The VeriCoin operates as a completely decentralized protocol
The VeriCoin is a decentralized network of nodes that are involved in the platform’s governance. The most important of these is confirming transactions when users are sending value.
The nodes follow back the respective users to confirm that they own the coins they want to send. Note that the information is encrypted so that users can only check the balance as opposed to the personal details.
The decentralized nature of the VeriCoin platform implies that there is no single point of failure. The nodes also help to protect the network and keep the cost of sending value as low as possible.
What makes VeriCoin better than it’s competitors?
The creators of the VeriCoin wanted to ensure that the platform was better than its competitors by adopting more progressive features. Here are the main things that make the network better than competitors.
- The network is run by a highly aggressive team that is always looking for new features such as the staking interest to make the platform more competitive in the market.
- The VeriCoin is a completely decentralized system which implies that it does not have a single point of failure.
- The network has succeeded in addressing the danger that comes with centralized mining by employing the proof-of-stake-time.
- To ensure that the platform is more impressive and reliable, the design of the core code combines both proof of stake and proof of work.
- Though the value of the VeriCoin was on a downward trend between January and September 2018, it is still performing relatively well. This means that the value is higher than the entry point in 2014. It is also more valuable than other cryptocurrencies such as Stealth and Databits.
- VeriCoin is about ten times faster than Bitcoin. The development team has indicated that it will keep working on improving the platform to make it even more scalable to compete with other leaders such as PayPal and Visa.
How can VeriCoin be categorized?
VeriCoin is one of the creative cryptocurrency networks designed to help address most of the problems reported in the blockchain network. The creative development team has expressed its commitment to using new technologies to remain more competitive in the market.
When the development team worked on the core code, it opted for the unique yet highly effective proof of stake time (POST) but combined key elements of PoW and PoS to make the platform more appealing. This is one of the reasons it has been referred to as the platform that could help to redefine the blockchain’s future.
VeriCoin’s vision on security?
The primary vision of VeriCoin is to become the most secure and progressive cryptocurrency network. The development team had seen the threats that faced other networks such as direct attacks by hackers.
To keep the network secure, the development team opted for advanced encryption, complete decentralization, and the reliable proof-of-stake-time. The platform also features a highly aggressive team that works and releases updates to address emerging vulnerabilities.
Examples of VeriCoin’s use cases/ applications.
VeriCoin, like other blockchain networks, is in the race to getting adopted by a larger community and increasing the applications. Though the competition is stiff, here are some of the top use cases for VeriCoin.
- Paying transaction fee at VeriCoin network when sending value.
If you want to send value on a peer2peer basis using the VeriCoin platform, the VeriCoin coin will be required to pay the transaction fee. This is a very small amount compared to what the standard banks charge for wire transfers or credit cards.
Note that the transaction fee is not charged as a profit. Rather, it is used to raise funds for supporting the network development and paying interest to VeriCoin stakers.
- Trading in the markets.
Like the conventional currencies are traded in the forex markets, the cryptocurrencies are traded in the crypto exchanges. You can trade the VeriCoin by identifying an appropriate exchange such as Poloniex and pairing it with other tokens such as ETH or XRP.
Note that most exchanges are centralized and, therefore, users are required to start by opening trading accounts and verifying them. Remember that the price of the selected cryptocurrency pair is determined by the market forced forces of demand and supply.
- Buying goods and services in the market.
As more traders continue accepting cryptocurrencies, it is becoming possible to pay for goods and services using digital coins such as VeriCoin. Note that even if a specific store only supports a different coin, it is still possible to buy by changing to the supported coin.
- Paying taxes in departments of jurisdictions that support digital coins.
For people who reside in jurisdictions that support and accept cryptocurrencies, it is possible to use VeriCoin for paying taxes and other government services. One good example is Singapore.
Early in 2018, the Singapore administration indicated that there is no difference between paying transaction charges using fiat and digital coins. The primary goal is relaying value.
In the United States, individual states have started crafting laws that allow users to pay taxes using digital coins. In Arizona, the state passed Bill HB 1091 that allows tax department to accept payment in cryptocurrencies. Therefore, you can pay for taxes using VeriCoin.
- Investing and saving.
If you have been looking for a reliable way to save funds and enjoy some returns on investment, VeriCoin might be a reliable method. The good thing with the VeriCoin system is that it allows users to enjoy investing without worrying about third-party seizures.
The impressive features such as the unique proof-of-stake-time have made the community and experts agree that the price of VeriCoin is likely to go up. However, it is important to appreciate that this prediction is speculative and the actual trend will depend on different factors such as the looming regulation.
https://coincheckup.com/coins/vericoin/charts