What is Ixcoin?
Ixcoin is a decentralized and open-source cryptocurrency based on the Bitcoin core. This implies that it shares a lot of features and characteristics with Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency operates through a set of nodes that help to run transactions on the network.
The cryptocurrency was created in 2011, about three years after Bitcoin was launched. It has a maximum supply of 21 million coins just like Bitcoin. This has made some people in crypto communities refer to Ixcoin as the alternative to Bitcoin.
The main difference between Bitcoin and Ixcoin is that the latter has a bigger block size and mining reward. While Bitcoin’s block reward started at 25 coins, Ixcoin started at 96 coins. Then, it halves after every four years. Other details of Ixcoin include:
- The coin uses proof of work (PoW) consensus protocol
- Ixcoin difficulty adjustment is done after every 2016 blocks
- The Ixcoin uses a merge mining feature to help users mine it and other proof of work coins
- The block reward halves after every four years
A closer look at the Ixcoin performance in the market
While Ixcoin was launched in 2011, its trading history in the market is only captured from 2013. On May 15th, 2013, the value of Ixcoin was $0.01. The value grew steadily in the subsequent months to hit an all-time high of $0.18 early December 2013. But the positive show did not last.
Between January 2014 and April the same year, the value sunk to $0.02 and continued dropping further to reach $0.01 in October 2015. Then, the value remained within the range of $0.006 and $0.08 between December 2015 and mid-2017.
Starting in October, the value of Ixcoin started rising exponentially. The steady rise saw the value shoot to $0.69 by January 10th, 2018. It is important to note that almost all coins in the market reported a surge in demand and price towards the end of 2017 and early 2018.
In 2018, the price of Ixcoin took a bearish trend dropping steadily from $0.69 in early January to $0.11 in April. After a slight rise in May 2018, the price continued with the downward trend that culminated to a low of $0.01 by the close of 2018.
The ability of the coin to rise and become a major force the same way Bitcoin rose over the years has divided the Ixcoin community. For example, as an alternative to Bitcoin, some argue that it is possible for the coin to rise again. However, others posit that the Ixcoin platform and coin have little to offer in comparison with others such as EOS and Ethereum that have complex systems to support decentralized apps and smart contracts.
What is the problem that Ixcoin solves?
The design of Ixcoin was mainly targeted at helping address some of the issues that were being experienced at Bitcoin and traditional financial organizations. Here are some of the problems that Ixcoin solves:
- The high cost of sending value using traditional financial organizations
If you want to send funds abroad using the traditional financial organizations such as banks, the cost is punitive. The organizations charge high transaction charges to cater for shareholders returns and meet the operational expenses.
If you take the case of a banking institution, it has to meet costs associated with regulation, rent, and wages. Therefore, their services have to be charged a higher rate.
In addition to the high charges, banks also take a lot of time to process transactions. For example, wire transfers can take up to four days depending on your location and that of the recipient.
- Centralization of financial services
Most financial services offered by traditional organizations are highly centralized. The user information and their funds are held in centralized locations that make them an easy target for attackers.
If attackers such as wannacry ransomware manage to access the centralized data centers, the chances are that those with savings in the bank could risk losing them. But it is not just a cyber attack that can cause problems for your savings.
If the bank leadership mismanages the finances and the organization becomes bankrupt, you are likely to lose the savings. If it will be possible to access the deposit, the chances are that it will take a lot of time. This is the anomaly that Ixcoin seeks to correct using its network.
- Poor motivation for miners in other networks
If you take a closer look at many coins such as Bitcoin that use proof of work protocol, the mining rewards halves after some time. At Bitcoin, the mining reward started at 25 BTC and halved to 12.5 in 2012. By the close of 2018, Bitcoin mining reward was 6.25 BTC. As the mining reward decreases, the mining difficulty keep increasing and making it less interesting for miners.
It might reach a point when the reward will be too low such that no one will be interested in mining. This scenario could come faster than anticipated because of the fast-growing list of available coins that people can mine.
- Lack of privacy when using traditional financial organizations
For people who love sending value using the standard banking system, the chances are that their details are known by a long list of people. Because banks operate in line with the local laws, the management is required to install appropriate know-your-customer structures. This involves gathering as much info about clients as possible.
If you have some cash in a banking system, the cashier, banking manager, and the country’s leadership can easily pull out your operational history. This puts you at risk of getting targeted by lawsuits.
A lawsuit can suddenly haul itself to your doorstep forcing you to seek legal assistance. The info could also be used for targeted advertisements to make you purchase specific items or services.
How does Ixcoin solve the problem?
To address the above issues, Ixcoin developers picked the Bitcoin core and improved it. Here are some of the methods they use to solve the outlined issues:
- Higher mining rewards
One crucial thing about cryptocurrencies is that they rely on miners to run different transactions. Therefore, failure to motivate miners appropriately could compromise the efficiency of a network. To ensure that miners on the Ixcoin are motivated, the development team opted for two methods.
One, they set the reward per block at 96 coins. This is a high number especially for miners who want to mine the coins and hold awaiting the price to move up.
Two, the network has a feature that allows merge mining. Merge mining is a system that allows the mining resources to be used for mining the main network and others simultaneously. This means that even if the reward of Ixcoin goes down, miners will still find it profitable to stick around because it is possible to mine other coins.
- Complete decentralization
The main method used to address the outlined issues is complete decentralization. This focus was adopted as a method of advancing Satoshi Nakamoto’s original idea of a completely free system where funds could flow without restrictions.
Ixcoin operates as a network of nodes that run and govern the system. A user only needs to join the network as a node to start mining the network and participating in its governance system. However, it is important to appreciate that mining the Ixcoin system requires advanced equipment that can generate high computing power.
Decentralization implies that though transactions are completed on a peer2peer basis without involving third parties. Therefore, they are faster, cheaper, and anonymous. Indeed, even the miners who follow back to confirm you have ample Ixcoin to spend can only know the balance of the public address.
- Bigger block size
One of the main reasons that make Bitcoin transactions slow is its small block size. Since a smaller block size can only hold limited data and a new bock is generated after ten minutes, scalability is a major issue. To address the issue, Ixcoin features a larger block size that allows it to run more transactions while maintaining the block time of ten minutes.
What makes Ixcoin better than it’s competitors?
Though Ixcoin entered the market when the number of crypto coins was relatively low, the landscape has changed so much. By the close of 2018, there were more than 1600 crypto coins in the market. Here are some of the things that make Ixcoin better than competitors:
- The Ixcoin system operates as a completely decentralized system. This means that it is owned, protected, and run by users on its network.
- The Ixcoin community has been growing steadily because of its association with Bitcoin. Some people believe that Ixcoin is an improvement of Bitcoin and, therefore, the better option.
- By employing advanced encryption, it implies that users of the Ixcoin system can operate anonymously without worrying of getting discovered by third parties.
- The network is more profitable than others such as Litecoin because users are allowed to mine several cryptos using the same computing power.
- As a completely decentralized network, it implies that users are able to run transactions on a peer2peer basis. Therefore, transactions are cheaper and faster.
- The Ixcoin crypto follows the Bitcoin model closely. This means that most of the wallets and facilities that support Bitcoin are also likely to support it.
How can Ixcoin be categorized?
Ixcoin can be categorized as a fully decentralized crypto designed to replicate the success of Bitcoin. Its unique design and improvements make it better than Bitcoin and impressive to miners. Despite this, the value and community of the coin have been relatively low compared to Bitcoin.
What is Ixcoin’s vision on security?
The Ixcoin vision on security is to become the most secure crypto network in the market. Here are some of the methods used to keep the coin secure:
- Advanced encryption that helps to keep user info free from third parties
- Regular system update that identifies and closes gaps that can increase vulnerabilities
- Decentralization that ensures there is no single point of failure that attackers can use to gain access
Examples of Ixcoin’s use cases/ applications
As the cryptocurrency niche continues expanding, faster adoption is only possible by increasing the use cases. Here are the main use cases of Ixcoin:
- Ixcoin coin can be used to pay for goods and services in stores that support it. Even if only a different coin is supported; it is still possible to pay with Ixcoin by changing it to the supported token. Note that changing Ixcoin to another coin in the exchanges will be charged a fee.
- You can use the Ixcoin platform to save funds instead of using a banking system. You only need to buy the native Ixcoin and store them in your wallet. To recover your funds, simply sell the coins in the markets.
- Like Bitcoin, Ixcoin can be traded in the markets that list it. Trading cryptocurrencies such as Ixcoin will require you to join the crypto exchange of choice and open a trading account. You will also be required to form a crypto pair with other coins such as Ripple or Loopring before executing a trade.
- Ixcoin can be used as a platform for sending value. You only need to have ample coins to send and the public address of the recipient. This means that both the sender and receiver must be on the Ixcoin network.
- If you live in jurisdictions that support cryptocurrencies such as Singapore and Arizona, it might be possible to pay for government services with Ixcoin. For example, Arizona residents are allowed to pay their taxes using cryptocurrencies.
- Like Bitcoin, you can use Ixcoin to pay the transaction fee when trading in the markets. The transaction charge is the cost that traders have to pay for using a crypto exchange such as Binance of Poloniex.
- Many people are using cryptocurrencies such as Ixcoin as gifts. Instead of buying a hard asset, consider sending your close friends some Ixcoin. Then, they can opt to hold or trade the coins in the market.
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