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What is Power Ledger (POWR)? A Comprehensive Guide

April 26, 2019 by Sherwood Pham Leave a Comment

Power Ledger is a blockchain-based platform whose strife is to completely transform the global energy space by capacitating local areas to sell and distribute solar energy to their neighboring community without the interference of third parties. To better understand this, imagine a world void of dependence on large utility organizations or foreign resources for all the energy required to run your life. Thanks to the Power Ledger blockchain-based project, such a world is bound to becoming a reality in the near future.

Deutsche Bank, in a 2015 report, indicated that not less than 30 countries globally have thus far reached grid parity, the state where the price of solar-generated electricity is equivalent to or less than the cost of local retail electricity. By amalgamating innovations from both solar power and blockchain technology, Power Ledger proffers an unrivaled green energy solution that is not only cleaner but less costly and with more sustainability as compared to the conventional energy alternatives.

Company History and Accomplishments

Power Ledger’s contrivance was aimed at addressing 3 key challenges that are faced by the global energy system, as mentioned below:

To include individuals living in high-density housing in the distributed energy economy.
To change electricity networks to make an incentive for the connection of decentralized energy resources (DERs).
To mitigate the risk of connecting billions of dollars in network assets.

Power Ledger Technical Overview

The Power Ledger platform establishes p2p energy transactions by keeping track of both the generation as well as the consumption of all the participants on the platform in real time. Most noteworthy, the transactions entailing the generation and use of energy have predetermined rates.

How the Power Ledger Ecosystem Works

The Power Ledger platform operates on 2 blockchain layers and is fueled by 2 crypto coins namely; the Power Ledger Token (POWR) and Sparkz. Both of these crypto tokens are used to power the ecosystem and play various roles on both blockchains. The ecosystem implements Ecochain, a private consortium blockchain, as well as the public Ethereum blockchain.

POWR (the Power Ledger Token):

POWR enables application hosts and contributors to gain access and use the platform. Most significantly, in the event an app host does not have an adequate no. of the POWR tokens, it will not be in a position to access the platform. After an app host returns Sparkz to the ecosystem, the Ethereum Smart Bond gets unlocked. Consequently, the POWR tokens that had been previously locked on escrow are returned to the app host.

While the total volume of the POWR tokens is a million, the presently available supply of the tokens rests at just under 400K.

Sparkz:

The Sparkz tokens can be purchased and redeemed using conventional currencies (fiat currencies) within select cryptocurrency trading platforms that have closed-loop exchanges for energy and Sparkz. The app host uses the Sparkz tokens to onboard its clients. Basically, customers pay cash for Sparkz, which they as result exchange for electricity.

Most significantly, the total amount of Sparkz is variable. Sparkz tokens are produced based on the amount required, used, after which they are destroyed when redeemed. The price of Sparkz is tethered to a local government’s fiat currency and power cost. For example, in Australia, a single Sparkz token would be equivalent to 1 AUD (Australian Dollar).

Sparkz’ price ought to retain its stability, given that it is attached to a government-issued currency. There are a variety of blockchains for every different local currency to enable multiple fiat currencies from all over the globe to partake in the Power Ledger ecosystem at various prices.

Product & Traction

With VPP2.0 which is an expansion of virtual power plants and is at the moment still under development as one of their products, Power Ledger boasts 5 other key products as listed below:

Asset Germination,
C6 & C6+,
xGrid,
PowerPort, and

The above-mentioned products offer various energy solutions, the entirety of them on the blockchain. xGrid capacitates users on the platform to purchase and sell energy on the existing electrical grid via p2p transactions. With uGrid, on the other hand, just as is the case with xGrid, users are in a position to as well trade energy via p2p transactions. Be that as it may, with uGrid, unlike xGrid, the transactions are carried out on an existing microgrid or embedded network, for instance, within an apartment building.

PowerPort fosters transparency to Electric Vehicle charging, enabling users to select their preferred source for the power that charges their vehicle. C6 & C6+ implement blockchain technology to keep track of, as well as verify carbon credits. What’s more, smart contracts facilitate the trading of carbon credits. Lastly, Asset Germination offers a platform that monetizes the communities’ excess renewable energy.

Economics

POWR’s Presale sold out in a mere 3 days, in which case it came up with more than $13 million AUD in exchange for 190 million Power Ledger (POWR) tokens. Subsequent to the presale, Power Ledger carried out an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) to sell the rest of the 160 million POWR tokens allotted to TGE (Token Generation Event). Most noteworthy, following both rounds, that is the ICO and the TGE, a total of $34 million AUD were raised.

Also worth mentioning is with regard to the fact that the Australian Government, in addition, awarded Power Ledger an $8 million AUD grant to further the development of its technology and concept. Australia has one of the highest electricity costs globally and as such has a big stake in the overall success of the Power Ledger project.

On the 1^st of November 2017, after its TGE, the POWR tokens were released for trading on major cryptocurrency exchanges for just about ten cents. From the time it hit exchanges, POWR had an imposing short-term bull run attaining a $2.10 USD all-time high in the 1^st week of January 2018.

Since it attained its all-time high, POWR’s price fluctuated throughout the rest of the 1^st quarter of 2018, hitting quite a number of more highs, for instance, $1.09 USD and $0.80 USD. In the recent past, the price of POWR has been lingering around $0.15 USD, a significant drop from its January 2018 peak. The negative price movement of the POWR tokens in 2018 has been largely attributed to BTC’s colossal downsizing since the beginning of 2018. On the assumption that VPP2.0’s launch is a success, there are chances we could witness an upturn in the value of POWR.

Where to Purchase POWR Tokens

So far, the POWR tokens can be purchased from, among others, such cryptocurrency exchanges as Digifinex, Upbit, Binance, and Huobi, just to mention but a few.

Where to Store Your POWR Tokens

Given that POWR is an ERC-20 Token running on the Ethereum blockchain network, the tokens have to be stored in cryptocurrency wallet that supports ERC-20, most preferably an Ethereum wallet. Consequently, MyEtherWallet is among the most renowned Ethereum wallets, owing to its appreciable reputation.

In comparison to software wallets, hardware wallets offer much better security. As such, hardware wallets provide the most secure means for shrewd investors to cache their crypto assets. The 2 most renowned and reputable cryptocurrency hardware wallets are Trezor and the Ledger Nano S. Modeled with ERC-20 support, both of these wallets can be used to store POWR tokens.

The Market Size

Stationary Energy:

Electricity is a vital enabler. The present electrification state of the universal population rests at 84 percent. Advanced and transitional economies necessitate secure access to contemporary energy sources, to fortify their development as well as growing prosperity.

In so far as third-world countries are concerned, the accessibility to affordable and steadfast energy is key to alleviating poverty, improving healthcare, increasing productivity, fostering competitiveness, as well as promoting economic growth.

Hundreds of millions of people have attained access to modern energy over the last 2 decades via distribution networks, particularly in such countries as India and China. The implication of this is that more people from all over the world are at the moment connected to the continuously growing and interconnected electricity networks.

This, as a result, contrives a massive appetite for innovative new p2p (peer-to-peer) platforms for energy transactions.

Non-Stationary Energy:

Besides the consumers of stationary electricity, being inclusive of houses, apartments, buildings, and factories, users of non-stationary electricity are driving up the demand for electricity across the universe.

The year 2015 saw the global threshold surpass a million EVs (Electric Vehicles) on the road, with the aggregate number closing at 1.26 million.

To service this crescive fleet, there was an approximated total of 1.45 million charging stations for electric cars globally in 2015.

Significantly, Electric Vehicles are projected to attain price parity with combustion engine cars by the year 2025. The latter is majorly attributed to not only the falling in the cost of batteries, but increasing fuel density as well. Consequently, highlighted below are the ranges of the deployment scenarios for the stock of Electric Vehicles (EVs).

Between 2 to 20 million EVs in use worldwide by 2020;
Between 18 to 60 million by 2025; and
Between 22 to 140 million by 2030.

The Team behind the Power Ledger Project

The Power Ledger project boasts a team with a lot of expertise as regards both blockchain technology and electricity markets. Notable members of the team include Dr. Bill Tai and Dr. Jemma Green, who is a co-founder of the project and its chair.

Jemma Green:

Dr. Jemma Green is a co-founder and chair of the project. She is vastly experienced in blockchain technology, AI (Artificial Intelligence), and energy. Other than Power Ledger, she is not only a board member at Water Corporation in Perth, Australia, but is as well the Chairman of Climate-KIC Australia, a group working on the innovation of solutions pertaining climate change. She is a holder of a Master’s degree in Sustainability Leadership from the University of Cambridge, as well as a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) with the Sustainability Policy Institute from Curtin University.

Her role in the organization entails providing strategic external relations, risk management, and leadership development. She boasts a long-standing career in finance that arches over more than 15 years highlighted with 11 years of experience in investment banking. What’s more, she as well holds a Ph.D. in Disruption.

John Bulich:

John Bulich is also a Co-Founder and the MD (Managing Director) of Power Ledger. He is additionally a Director at Ledger Assets, an organization that develops blockchain apps for power, asset sharing, medical uses, and photo validation. He formerly served as a Director at WA Property Investments for twenty-two years, working on portfolio management, securities trading, and property development.

David Martin:

David Martin, Power Ledger’s Co-Founder and MD, worked as a Director at Future Effect, an Australian-based energy company. He is a former Senior Executive of Horizon Power where he served as a General Manager.

Bill Tai:

Holding an MBA from Harvard, Dr. Bill Tai is a Global Ambassador and Advisor with Power Ledger. He is renowned for being a co-creator of the Blockchain Summit. He is as well a board member of the BitFury Group and Voxer. He has previously served as the Chairman of the Board for Treasure Data, a data pipeline and repository under Softbank’s ARM Corporation, as well as Hut8 Mining Corp, which is the biggest publicly listed cryptocurrency mining operation in North America.

On the whole, Tai’s experience is rather intensive. He is a world-renowned venture capitalist and has worked as a Board Director for 7 publicly listed organizations that have seen growth from startups that he funded. He is as well part of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneer Committee, besides being an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University.

Marc Van Hoof:

Marc Van Hoof, the organization’s COO (Chief Operating Officer), is an investor who is at the moment engrossed in such organizations as Revl, Inc., and Breathometer. He is as well a Board Advisor with Law Advisor, which is an online service for individuals seeking legal advice or a lawyer. He worked for Cisco as a Product Manager in 2005.

The entire Power Ledger team comprises of approximately thirty members.

Power Ledger Notable Partnerships

The Power Ledger team has been working around the clock to form a number of commercial alliances with entities outside of the blockchain space.

Clean Energy Blockchain Network:

Clean Energy Blockchain Network is an off-shoot of Power Ledger whose focus is on the mainstream adoption of the Power Ledger Platform in North America. The group keeps their own team as well as advisors independent of Power Ledger and has affiliations with such notable organizations as Microsoft Azure and IBM Blockchain. The group was the driving force behind the first North American deployment of Power Ledger at Northwestern University.

Greenwood Solutions:

Greenwood Solutions offers energy solutions to industrial, residential, and commercial clients. The organization joined forces with Power Ledger to particularly deploy the Power Ledger Peer-to-Peer energy trading platform in Burwood, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Via the deployment of solar panels, the alliance hopes to make it possible for the community to monetize their extra energy.

KEPCO (Kansai Electric Company):

KEPCO is Japan’s 2^nd most established electricity utility company. Power Ledger’s alliance with KEPCO is aimed at trialing Peer-to-Peer energy trading in Japan from ten initial residences in Osaka, granting Power Ledger the opportunity to demonstrate why its platform has more flexibility and is more robust as compared to extant standards.

Power Ledger’s other notable alliances are inclusive of a three-month trial carried out with Origin, a renowned Australia-based energy company, as well as a 1 year trial with Tech Mahindra. Headquartered in India, Tech Mahindra explores Microgrid-as-a-Service platforms. The team is as well working alongside Silicon Valley Power, a municipal utility organization run by the City of Santa Clara, CA, to put into trial the Power Ledger platform as regards recording carbon credit transactions and managing energy utilized in an Electric Vehicle charging facility.

Power Ledger Notable Competitors

Restart Energy Democracy(MWAT):

Restart Energy Democracy is a vastly established European producer of solar cells. The group has instigated a blockchain platform to operate as an energy franchise sales company. They aim to onboard energy producers who then sell directly to consumers through the platform.

SunContract(SNC):

SNC is an energy-trading platform for buying and selling electricity, similar to Power Ledger. SunContract is currently focused on the Slovenian market through the SONCE group, a major Slovenian energy company.

Asia(ELEC):

ELEC is the first retail electricity marketplace in Southeast-Asia addressing the need for transparency and security in the consumption of energy. They are developing a platform to allow anyone to source energy (renewable and non-renewable) from commercial energy suppliers or to buy directly from a private producer.

GRID+(GRID) :

GRID is a Consensys-affiliated project leveraging the Ethereum network to find wholesale electricity prices and offering energy to consumers. One GRID token is pegged to 500 kWh of electricity, and GRID+ takes a small premium on top of the wholesale prices for revenue. It offers asset trading beyond just electricity through the Lattice1 wallet. While Power Ledger works to incorporate its platform into existing utility networks, GRID appears to be focused on disrupting the utilities market, buying energy themselves and selling it at a better price than commercial rates.

WePower (WPR) :

WePower is a crowdfunding/financing platform for renewable energy projects, which gives participants the opportunity to raise capital by selling future energy production.

Future Projects and Roadmap

Power Ledger has given a comprehensive list of its objectives for the coming 2 years. The organization has already signed an agreement to bring its technology to Europe in 2019, in which case, the Liechtenstein Institute for Strategic Development will become the first European Application Host to implement Power Ledger’s p2p energy trading platform in Europe.

What’s more, Power Ledger concluded a number of agreements that will bring its platform to Asia in the next year as well. Indian based Tech Mahindra has additionally sealed a deal with Power Ledger to settle microgrid transactions.

Achievement Timeline

Founded in May 2016, Power Ledger has realized a number of significant milestones in so short a period. In August 2016, Power Ledger developed and trialed Australia’s first energy trading blockchain network. Shortly after, the company made its first international deployment by taking live its p2p blockchain-based energy trading platform across a distribution network in New Zealand.

In the second quarter of 2017, Power Ledger developed and deployed a commercial energy management system that capacitated the transparent distribution of locally generated recyclable energy to tenants in multi-unit departments. Power Ledger has successfully implemented pay for the use of solar-powered electric vehicle charging units into various Australian developments. In the most recent past, Power Ledger has come up with the first p2p energy trading trial in Bangkok, Thailand with BCPG, the energy developer.

Conclusion

Power Ledger offers a blockchain-based marketplace that has the capacity to truly revolutionize the world. By taking power away from big energy organizations, the project grants local communities the power to sell their excess solar power to their neighbors. The organization has come up with an energy distribution and tracking ecosystem that capacitates consumers to purchase carbonless, viable energy at significantly reduced prices as compared to what conventional electric companies offer.

Power Ledger aspires to broaden its operations to 3 continents globally and has garnered an army of powerful strategic alliances to help realize its objectives. With the scheduled release of multiple apps for its platform in the immediate future, Power Ledger has positioned itself to disrupt various energy markets throughout the globe, and as such contriving a future that is bright for all partakers involved in this green revolution.

EliteX Releases Beta Version of Asset Exchange Incorporated into Lisk

April 19, 2019 by TheCryptoToday Leave a Comment

EliteX recently launched the beta version of their first digital asset exchange that has been incorporated within the Lisk network. Lisk is a development platform that makes it easier for developers to build decentralized applications in JavaScript in order for developers to earn more in terms of attention and revenues since Lisk allows decentralization in their platform.

The beta release of EliteX for Lisk will serve as trading platform for various assets like BTC, ETH, USDT, and LSK trading pairs. Ultimately, the goal of the project is to create an exchange as a principal platform or marketplace where future Lisk tokens can be launched and traded. Currently EliteX Exchange is undergoing the process of accepting and reviewing several blockchain projects to include in the platform.

EliteX also shared gratitude to the Lisk community members and other new members who took part in the alpha Testnet phase that happened in February as well as the people who participated in their questionnaire and gave valuable feedback which helped the team prepare the exchange platform and fix the bugs in preparation for the launch on the Mainnet. Upon completion of the first beta phase, they target to launch an OTC trading facility in the latter half of the year in addition to the spot exchange. They will also launch contract trading and leverage platform later this year.

EliteX Exchange Team is huge supporters of the Lisk ecosystem since it aims to make blockchain accessible to everyone. By using JavaScipt, Lisk allows developers to create decentralized blockchain applications easily since JavaScript is one of the most widespread programming languages. With this feature, a lot of possibilities for blockchain are made open to a large community of developers around the world making adoption easier and more widespread.

Lisk utilizes sidechains in developing new blockchain projects. This is one of the strategies that EliteX is planning on emulating as this innovation solves challenges in terms of speed and scalability that are seen as roadblocks in developing and growing the blockchain.

EliteX will work harder in expanding the range of products and exchange functions after this current beta release. The next steps are the OTC trading facility which is scheduled around July which will be included in the official launch of EliteX Exchange ver. 1.0 along with necessary KYC compliance development, project information and tracking, and tools for trading risk assessment. All these will end in the launch of version 1.1 and the addition of a contract trading suite that has full features.

A project that the team targets to launch by 2020 is EliteX DEX which is the first decentralized exchange constructed on the Lisk network. It will be a token-driven sidechain project where huge efforts will be put into. EliteX DEX development will entirely be open source and trustless. Its goal is to be a “secure, peer-to-peer, on chain, fully auditable trading platform.” The platform will enable traders to buy and sell their digital assets without third party oversight or arbitration necessary. By trading directly from the traders’ wallets, they benefit from the added security, they have personal control over their private keys, and ultimately, full control of their digital assets.

EliteX believes that the decentralization that blockchain technology is welcoming will create widespread changes to the way the world is run. The team believes that by developing their trading platform on the Lisk network, and aligning with Lisk’s intention and purpose of accessibility, they are certain that the goal of playing a role in the future will be accomplished as well as their vision of ranking in top 20 exchanges globally by 2021.

(20 votes, average: 1.70 out of 5)

Justin Sun, TRON Founder, Reveals Plans and Progress for 2019

April 19, 2019 by TheCryptoToday Leave a Comment

During the second day of the conference in the TOKEN2049 in Hong Kong, Justin Sun, the TRON founder and CEO, has made announcements regarding his plans and progress for the upcoming quarters of 2019. He presented the progress report of his company as he spoke in front of the huge audience and has even revealed his better plans in the remaining months of this year.

A report from the CrytoGlobe highlighted the presentation of the TRON founder and everyone was just amazed at the TRON’s current status. These are some of the progress stated by Justin Sun during his presentation at the TOKEN2049;

In the last 14 days, the average number of daily transactions was roughly 3.3 times that of the Ethereum.
The number of mainnet accounts is 2.6 that of EOS, even though the EOS was launched one month before the TRON.
More than 6000 of smart contracts have been established even though the TRON’s smart contract platforms were only launched in November 2018.
186 decentralized applications (DApps) according to DappRadar and 255 according to DappReview were established. The TRON founder was also confident that there will be more than 2000 DApps by the end of this year.
The BTT token launched on the Binance Launchpad was sold out in only 40 minutes.
BitTorrent has over 100 million active users per month, and he believed that it has over one billion devices in terms of installations that includes all users in 138 countries.

Plans for the Q2 and Q3 of 2019

Having known about the progress of the TRON, the entire audience was also excited as to the upcoming plans that Justin Sun is giving to the public. During his presentation, he further elaborated the better plans he had in mind and the CryptoGlobe has reported some of these important points.

TRON is launching the BTT token in Bit Torrent Speed.
The BitTorrent Live is finally been built that includes the basic view, broadcast, gift, and other important features to be implemented in only 10 weeks.
Tether and TRON announced its collaboration with the aim of launching the TRON-based USDT.
An improved Privacy Support is also expected to be announced this year which include shielded transactions similar to those which are offered in the Zcash.
The BitTorrent FileSystem is expected to be announced in Quarter 3. This is the company’s goal to be the best-decentralized storage solution in the market.
Improved scalability and speed through the TRON’s layer 2 solutions will be released in the Quarter 2. The founder aims to offer a continuously improved sidechain that will give users unlimited capacity expansion of the main chain.

Having all these announcements heard straight from the TRON founder, the audience was astonished by the statistical data presented by Sun. Moving forward, he also revealed that he is eyeing to launch the 2,000 DApps on its blockchain by the end of the year. Apparently, there are lots of upgrades that are in store for the market this year.

(18 votes, average: 1.33 out of 5)

What is AION? A Review of the Futuristic Platform for developing dApps

April 19, 2019 by TheCryptoToday Leave a Comment

Aion strives to bring about flawless interoperability across blockchains, interconnecting both public and private enterprise blockchains. It achieves the latter via a “token bridge” which enables tokens to move across chains.

As a 3^rd generation blockchain platform, AION capacitates data and value transfers between whichever AION-compliant blockchain and Ethereum by means of network bridges. The platform leverages its high scalability attribute to ensure speedier processing time as well as higher data capacity as regards the underlying blockchains, including the capability to tailor or rather customize public and private blockchains.

As much as the extant blockchain platforms are able to render their own levels of transparency within every network, this level of transparency is no more a guarantee in the event you opt out of the network and move to such platforms as, among others, banks, governments, and (or) healthcare providers.

In an interview with Techcrunch, Matt Spoke, the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of AION had this to say:

At its core, AION becomes the plumbing to move data around. Aion provides the middleware for blockchains to communicate with each other, and the ability to pass messages between them. Matt Spoke, CEO.

The Team behind the AION Project

Matt Spoke and the rest of the project’s co-founders, being inclusive of Jinius Tu, who is AION’s Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and Kesem Frank, who is the organization’s Chief Operations Officer (COO), were employees at Deloitte serving as members of the company’s blockchain team.

While working at the organization, they began to fathom about the need for a public blockchain with the capacity to interconnect various private blockchains. What’s more, Jinius Tu also garnered noteworthy experience serving as a Senior Risk Engineer at Morgan Stanley. Not long ago, Ian Chain who was previously a global partner at Deloitte came aboard the AION Foundation where he serves as a Senior Executive.

Whilst the company was initially bore the name Nuco Global, in July of 2018, the name was changed and is now called AION Foundation. Most significantly, this change marked an official transition in which case the organization ceased to be a corporation and ended up a non-profit foundation.

AION Partnerships

AION has set up strategic collaborations with reputable organizations both in the blockchain as well as financial investment spaces.

Back in October of 2017, AION partnered with the renowned Moog Inc. Worth mentioning is that Moog Inc. is a Fortune 1000 company with a specialty in manufacturing parts for the aerospace and defense industries. This collaboration was aimed at building a blockchain solution with the capacity to propel the manufacturing industry into the blockchain age.

In the last quarter of 2017 AION joined forces with Blockchain Interoperability Alliance, ICON and Wanchain. The alliance was purposed to help foster interconnectivity between various individual blockchain networks.

In July of 2018, AION announced its alliance with Amberdata which is a data provider rendering operational intelligence for blockchain infrastructure, on-chain dApps, token implementation and transactions. Amberdata will provide AION with analytics for its mainnet to offer users a complete suite of tools that serve to monitor, search, and analyze the multi-tier blockchain for the AION network.

Most importantly, the organization (AION Foundation) has a significant number of various other alliances and looks forward to building more in the time to come.

AION Technical Overview – More than Just an Interoperability Project

Whilst, the AION project is largely renowned as a project specializing in interoperability, its team is as well working around the clock to make sure the AION root chain is leveraged.

Other than creating new blockchain platforms, monetizing inter-chain bridges, and running cross-chain dApps, the AION token additionally serves as the fuel that secures the entire network. It is believed that the market is discounting the potential usage the AION blockchain protocol will have to run dApps and execute smart contracts.

AION has contrived and abundance of tools for developers to develop on the AION blockchain. Following the conclusion of the token swap in November last year, developers are thus far in a position to deployed smart contracts or migrate decentralized applications from the Ethereum network to the AION root chain. Matthew Spoke, the Founder and CEO of AION Foundation, noted that it is a five-minute process to port extant Ethereum dApps to the AION root chain.

The AION FastVM is basically, a tweaked EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine). The AIOV Virtual Machine (AVM), on the other hand, is a performant, lightweight, and stable virtual machine that leverages elemental attributes of the JVM (Java Virtual Machine). Applications written in the Solidity programming language will be supported, but there will as well be a new option for running applications written in Java.

The AION Network

The AION network is multi-tier, just like is the case with a basic computer network. Both logic and value are passed through various blockchains to come up with a value chain in which transactions in their entirety are carried out on an on-chain basis.

Based on the Equihash algorithm, the AION network is a PoW (Proof-of-Work) network.

Bridging:

Contrary to a smart contract, AION destroys tokens as they move. As such, there is only a single token at a given point in time. It achieves the latter via the AION Token Bridge which transfers the AION ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum making them native AION crypto coins. Bridges are bidirectional and implement the BFT-based algorithm to arrive at a consensus. Most noteworthy, transactions on the network will only be ratified in the event there exist more than 2/3 of votes on a transaction.

Elementally, bridges carry out two functions namely:

Signing and broadcasting interchain transactions the moment they have been sealed in the source blockchain and an interchain transaction forwarding fee has been paid.
It informs the connecting network of the merkle hash updates as regards the contributing network.
The AION Virtual Machine (AVM):

The AION Virtual Machine is a tailor-made, lightweight JVM implementation modeled to execute chain logic within distributed networks. It was built with an eye towards robustness and performance. It’s a 128-bit VM (Virtual Machine) based on the Ethereum Virtual Machine, but accents a more secure wallet address.

Overall, the AION Virtual Machine is a step towards more robust interchain apps.

API (Application Programming Interface):

AION supports web3 & Java Application Programming Interfaces. Its own Java API was developed implementing JDK 8 but as well supports JDK9 and JDK10 features. In addition to integration with BaaS (Blockchain as a Service), the API provides an interface for Java-based apps. The Web3 module works with any AION node to execute smart contracts.

Product & Traction

Owing to the fact that AION is an open-source project, the progress of its development can be kept track of on their GitHub page.

The token swap from an ERC-20 token to the indigenous AION mainnet is underway. The token bridge implemented in the swapping process serves as the foundation of the interoperability technology used for other tokens. It is believed that the advancements achieved thus far by AION in the interoperability front puts the project ahead in so far as competition is concerned.

AION as well espouses blockchain’s permissionless feature. As such, anyone is at a position to run a node on the AION blockchain protocol. Also worth noting is the fact that there are over 2,100 miners working around the clock to ensure the AION blockchain is secure.

The team behind the project is additionally encouraging further contribution from the community. Gitter, which is an application that enables developers on the platform to chat and share ideas regarding the project, is rather active. On the grounds that the AION project, as earlier mentioned, is open-source, anyone is in a position to make their contributions to the projects. In addition, developers are able to submit AIPs (AION Improve Proposals).

There are bounties & grants up for grab for any user on the platform. In this regard, here’s what the team had to say:

We believe the welcoming stance towards contributors is a key ingredient in building a vibrant community that ultimately helps in the adoption of the blockchain protocol.

AION Market and Competition

Multiple bridges may be generated in the event multiple groups of verifiers sign up for a similar blockchain network using dissimilar identifiers.

From the connecting network’s point of view, these bridges are distinct, even though the broadcast and receive messages towards the same network.

As such, it is the responsibility of the user to establish which bridge to use by particularizing the target network identification. In this regard, the intention entails driving an open market by incentivizing various bridging networks to compete in terms of pricing, stability, and reputation, with the goal of an optimal fee value driven by the demands of the market.

Economics

Fee Distribution:

Bridge verifiers are recompensed from interchain transaction fees and potentially a portion of block rewards. The aim of the fee distribution is to come up with a fair distribution policy. Internally, all fees that are allocated to a bridge are distributed to the validators of the bridge. This is achievable either proportionately to the stake each validator has put on the bridge or equally irrespective of staking.

Externally, bridges share interchain transaction fees on the routing path and with the connecting network validators.

In so far as external fees go, the distribution models could be classified into two, as discussed below:

The sender of an interchain transaction particularizes the manner in which the fees are to be distributed between bridges and the connecting network. The benefit that comes with this approach is that users are in a position to optimize the fees on the basis of the load of the bridge, as well as the minimum rates.

Be that as it may, this approach is flawed in the sense that users are required to have a fundamental understanding of the routing path and the fee requirements of each bridge prior to sending the transaction.

In the second model, the sender only particularizes the aggregate fee and the bridge, after which the connecting network shares this fee on the basis of agreements or hard-coded protocol. The advantage of this approach is that it is a lot more user-friendly. Nonetheless, this approach has its disadvantages including the fact that changing the ratio between the bridge and the connecting network is not only rather strenuous, by slow as well.
Incentives:

The proffered system is tailored to discourage bad actors or actions on the platform. Nevertheless, a number of events are bound to occur. In such events, the chain validator will be demoted or removed from the active set, averting contribution in consensus as well as any rewards for themselves and their backers.

To discourage malicious backers, repercussions are dealt with by their backing approach. The network-imposed repercussions are modeled to do away with reward opportunities, instead of punishment by deregistration or redistribution of stakes among other chain validators. On the whole, this approach gets rid of the zero-sum gain in which case, as the English phrase goes; “one man’s meat is another’s poison,” one’s loss is another’s gain. In lieu, it aligns motivations, and invigorates positive collective actions.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, the blockchain ecosystem’s evolution is fast-paced. So as to clinch mainstream adoption, coming up with a more efficient solution to interoperability and eventually leading to the contrivance of inter-blockchain communication is an important step forward. AION’s federated blockchain network atop the hub-and-spoke architecture was, given the time, an unprecedented solution.

In this day and age, it is a vastly employed technique that deals with the issue of interoperability. It’s only fair to mention that the AION project has set up a whole new direction for the future of blockchain technology. Whether they can continue to be relevant with the advent of various other interoperability solutions remains to be seen.

Without doubt, interoperability will turn up, yet not necessarily under the guidance of one single project; there are chances it will be in the form of a world-wide and allied initiative whose aim is to provide a communication standard much the same as what TCP/IP was to the Internet. With the proviso that the latter is the case, it only implies that AION’s value proposition as an enabler of interoperability will be extraneous.

InstaDApp V2 Officially Launched

April 18, 2019 by TheCryptoToday Leave a Comment

An all-new version of this decentralized bank, the InstaDApp V2, has officially been launched. The company is very excited to announce the launching of this newest version as it features an all in one dashboard for the DeFi ecosystem together with the contract wallet.

Further, during the launching, they revealed that an integration with the MakerDAO, Uniswap Exchange, and Kyber Network is now possible in the new InstaDApp. Everything can finally work in one-single dashboard, making every transaction easier and smoother.

Many were anxious with regards to its safe of use. Apparently, in a forum discussion from Reddit, it was revealed that they still no longer have further resource about the new version of the InstaDApp. However, if users do not have the feeling of using the app safely, they can still wait for some time and wait for further updates to be introduced.

Meanwhile, other users were already excited about its launching and had visited the InstaDApp official website. Most of them revealed that this new app is quite cool compared to the other since it’s like a CDP portal but with a whole-new DeFi ecosystem.

The InstaDApp, being a banking protocol, is very vital tool in the financial world. As to the launching of the version 2 app, it was revealed that each user will have their personal contract wallet which enables them to interact to other protocols. As the company starts to make integrations with MakerDAO and Kyber Network, they will further launch the Uniswap pool by next week.

Manage Your Portfolio Fast and Easy

One of the main features of the newest InstaDApp V2 is the ability of users to manage every transaction in one single dashboard, fast and easy. An information from Reddit confirms that it is the goal of the new application to integrate all good DeFi protocols into one application. Somehow, this allows users to keep track of all their portfolio all in one place.

Meanwhile, despite integrating all protocols in a single dashboard, users still have the choice whether or not they’ll manage it through the InstaDApp or will still use their CDP portals. After couple of hours from the official launching, more and more users are excited about this new application.

InstaDApp has definitely made it easy for the users to continue moving forward with every transaction they create. Apparently, since the launching of this application, it has been the aim of their company to provide for an easy access for users who do not have prior knowledge of finance and who are willing to take on loans.

With the “borrow and send” feature of the InstaDApp, any user can now make this transaction in just a single dashboard from the different protocols. Hence, it is believed to be hassle-free and time-saving. As regards to the upcoming updates and upgrades of this newest version, users are highly-advised to stay tuned for further announcement from the InstaDApp as they may include more changes in the days to come.

Having known all these advantages from the application’s newest version, users are now very eager to continue their transaction moving forward.

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Aion Officially Launched Aion Surf for Miners

April 18, 2019 by TheCryptoToday Leave a Comment

Aion has officially announced the official launching of Aion Surf for miners and it is finally live. It has been the main goal of the Aion network to attract more miners; given the fact that they are the backbone of the blockchain space.

In the continually growing mining community, this Aion Surf aims to make mining pool easier and a lot enjoyable for the miners. Further, apart from this launching, the Aion network also made sure to improve and give more time in the improvement of the UI/UX aspect so that the onboarding process will be made easier and smoother.

In a report from the Medium, it has been revealed that creating a simple and user-friendly design was the focus of the network as they introduced Aion Surf to the miners. Having known that this platform becomes enjoyable for the seasoned miners, the network also wanted for the design to be a lot intuitive, making it more appealing and easier to use for the new miners.

The Aion Surf Features

While the Aion Network made sure of the ease-of-use of this newly launched platform, another important aspect of the Aion Surf focuses more on being responsive to the miners. As miners log in and check for their recent status online, they will be able to get the best experience without having to compromise the usability of the platform.

Further, as they emphasize on becoming more responsive to the miners, this creates lots of internal discussions as most of them are happy about this new product. Meanwhile, thousands of miners around the world also look forward to the continuous updates and improvements that the Aion Network will add into its features and functionality.

Having known these recent functions, the network further informed the public that their pool will no longer require miners of fees in the future. For several reasons, they believed that adding fees would discourage them from mining and from joining the pool.

They further added that creating an account as a miner already entails efforts and investment; hence, they wanted to return back the effort of these people by requiring no further fees. Meanwhile, the Aion Network has also explored for some alternatives as they still planned to monetize the pool. Despite removing these fees, they still added that they cannot continue to operate free pool indefinitely. As for the year 2019, the network added that they plan to have 0% fees, but may inform the public to some changes whenever significant changes happen in the market this year.

The Seamless Onboarding for Miners

As the Aion Network reveals the Aion Surf to the miners, they further iterate their aim to provide a seamless onboarding process, especially in creating pools. To create a smoother and easier pool is kind of service they aim to provide to the new entrants.

With this regard, the network believed that a clean process in joining the pool is the sure way to provide miners this kind of seamless onboarding. While everything is properly built, the Aion Network still continually aim to improve the process in order to make it simpler and fast for the miners.

(10 votes, average: 1.80 out of 5)

Best VeChain Wallets of 2019

April 15, 2019 by TheCryptoToday Leave a Comment

In this fast-growing digital currency community, VeChain has become one of the innovative platforms that work aggressively in creating solutions as to the spread of fake products in the market. Moreover, apart from this movement, the VeChain has recently issued their so-called VEN token through the popular Ethereum sale.

Since its launching, the VEN token has spread out all throughout the market and also paved the way for the availability of the VeChain wallets and other storage options. Being an investor in this digital community, you have to have a secure means of keeping your digital assets. There are VeChain wallets to choose from and all you need to do is to pick out the best one that suits your need.

While all these available wallets vary in terms of functions and usability, taking some time to look into the important aspects in selecting an ideal VeChain wallet would help you save your head from trouble in picking one.

How to Store VeChain?

While VeChain promises to render a well-trusted service in the market, making use of these important wallets will also help investors to acquire transparent transactions and information in the market. The technology that has been used by VeChain simply aims to track transactions and items their shipping cycle. Hence, they always ensure that customers receive the best quality product support.

Meanwhile, it is also important for you to know how is VeChain being stored. Keeping and securing your VeChain only requires you to have a good and safe wallet. There are lots of options to choose from when it comes to keeping your digital assets. However, you only need to search into those wallets that are risk-free from thefts and any activities that may lead to fraudulent transactions.

When looking for a wallet, taking full control over your private keys is necessary. Wallets may come in a form of desktop or mobile variant, while others may also come in software and hardware ones. Above all these different wallets available in the market, make sure to look for storage that is also supported by the VeChain project so you can keep your VET tokens hassle-free.

Different Features of VeChain Wallet

Having known that the VeChain wallet is finally available in the market. It is as well important to consider the different features that this innovation can give you. Undoubtedly, this wallet has lauded the digital community as the surest and most reliable means in storing the VET tokens. These are among the features that you may enjoy in using a VeChain wallet.

Robust Security Protection – Prior to its launching, the VeChain wallet went through a series of security tests which were really approved and manifested by third-party security firms. This heightened security protection includes source code review, smart contract, audit, management audit, and a lot more. Other features also include data encryption and packing protection. By all means, they wanted to ensure the safest transaction that wallet users will have to do.
X Node Binding Service – This feature ensures that X Node participants will be able to transfer their X Node status from Ethereum wallet into a VeChain wallet. Through this X Node binding service, users will be able to earn their VET tokens easily.
Cross-platform Crypto Asset Management – This feature ensures secure and safe transactions in all sorts of cryptocurrencies. This cross-platform thing allows users to swap their VET token to any other currencies safely. This feature is just among the reasons why getting a VeChain wallet today is a must!
VTHO Rewards – The VeChain wallet is reportedly giving access to users to claim their VTHO rewards. Apparently, these rewards can be received in many other ways but it generally includes holding the VET token through an X node.

Best VeChain Wallet in 2019

As mentioned, several wallets are finally available in the market for purchase. Generally, there are some good wallets that are capable of storing VET tokens. Below is the good list of options that you can choose your wallet from.

#1. Ledger Nano S – This is a hardware wallet that is known for its best security feature. If you are looking for safe storage for your digital coins, this is apparently a good pick. The Ledger Nano S is among the best-selling wallets, especially if the security feature is your utmost concern. It is a small USB drive-sized device that is perfectly capable of storing about 700 different digital currencies. One of its best features includes multiple currency support, transparent display of transaction, encryption of accounts, and PIN code activation.

#2. VeChain Thor Wallet (Mobile Wallet) – Along with the release of the VET tokens, the released of this mobile wallet was also made possible. There are about 2 million people who carry their smartphones anywhere they go, and it is no surprise for the VeChain Foundation to choose for the release of their first mobile wallet.

#3. VeChain Thor Sync (Desktop Wallet) – This is another wallet from the VeChain Foundation that is intended for your computer use that works best for both Windows and OSX operation system. This wallet gives users access to the VeChain blockchain and right now, this wallet remains to be under a continues development and study.

#4. Atomic Wallet – This is another desktop wallet where you can store VET tokens on. This is also suitable for computers operating under Windows, MacOS, Ubuntu, and Fedora. Being a desktop wallet, private keys are still being encrypted before you can make transactions through your computer. This wallet is known for its ease of use. But, apparently, more available features will be added soon. Apart from keeping VET token, it also has the ability to add custom ERC-20 tokens to your wallet and trade your coins into other currencies.

Summary

Right now, there are definitely lots of VeChain wallets to choose from. Among those that are enlisted above are the solid choices to consider when you plan of getting one. Whether you prefer having a desktop or a mobile wallet, what matters is the fact that makes sure to choose the wallet that suits your needs.

(25 votes, average: 2.00 out of 5)

Qtum Can Now Be Used in Trading Traditional Stocks in Global Markets Using Quantfury

April 14, 2019 by TheCryptoToday Leave a Comment

Qtum has announced yesterday that it can now be used in trading and investing in commodities, stocks, crypto, and other financial instruments on Quantfury.

Quantfury is a mobile app that enables cryptocurrency owners to use their crypto to access their dollar funds and trade various financial instruments. Example of these are equities, crypto pairs, and commodities that are enumerated on global traditional markets as well as crypto exchanges. The trading of these financial instruments is done without paying a commission, maker and taker fees, leverage fees, and other fees. The financial instruments traded are always quoted at real-time exchanges’ best bid and ask prices and are never artificially adjusted.

Quantfury is a trading app that is offered to users who are outside the US and Canada. Usually, in order to trade stocks and other financial instruments and assets, users have to fund their accounts with particular fiat currencies. More often than not, these come with a lot of fees and some are hidden charges or adjusted prices.

In this new partnership, by using dollar funds, or Qtum tokens as collateral, users can buy stocks instantly like Tesla, Amazon, or Apple and there is no need to pay commissions or maker and taker fees.

By using the Quantfury app, all financial instruments are quoted in real time with the best bid and ask prices delivered directly from the global trade. App users receive transparent and fair trading on both the traditional markets as well as the cryptocurrency markets.

Users can now expand their investment ranges with some of the more intriguing stocks in the world. For some time, Asian users of Qtum have been unable to benefit from the stability of Western markets. There are new possibilities that will move the retail investment experience forward thanks to these new features that will remove much of the resistance and friction that existed before.

Investing in its own trading strategies is how Quantfury makes money. Learning user trading data is one of the strategies employed by Quantfury. It offers real-time back-to-back bid and asks prices from global trading platforms such as NASDAQ and Bitfinex without any commissions or fees.

Quantfury’s platform is user-friendly and the transparency it offers the users enable them to access global markets without needing to sell their crypto. Currently, Quantfury accepts six major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dai, and Tether.

Users can now trade or invest in more than 700 financial assets such as QTUM/USD pair at Bitfinex without a maker or taker fee. Quantfury users can also deposit up to $1,000 USD in Qtum.

To set Quantfury from the rest of the competition, a crucial difference is that users can utilize their crypto as collateral, and get fiat funds to exchange traditional and crypto resources. On the other hand, most brokers require users to first convert their crypto to fiat before depositing it, while in cryptocurrency trading, they only let users trade other cryptos with their current crypto assets. But possibly the best feature of Quantfury is the cost in the platform since there are no commissions, leverage fees, and no hidden charges.

Quantfury hopes that in this new collaboration, access to unique financial services can be made more accessible to Qtum’s user base that does not usually benefit from the Western market’s stability.

Qtum’s commitment is to break down the barriers that prevent blockchain to be accepted around the world and this new integration and collaboration demonstrate the dedication of Qtum to expand financial opportunities and access to the users.

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Cardano’s Presence Surges Back as one of Top Players in the Blockchain Space

April 12, 2019 by TheCryptoToday Leave a Comment

In an interview with Cheddar, Cardano’s Chief Executive Officer and Founder of IOHK Charles Hoskinson discusses the Cardano blockchain, which is becoming more popular and is getting more attention from around the world. He also talks about how this crypto project contrasts to the more popular blockchains.

He begins by discussing how Cardano and cryptocurrency startup IOHK targeted sustainability and interoperability which basically means the plethora of cryptocurrencies have to converge sooner or later. IOHK is the first third-generation cryptocurrency to enter the market according to Hoskinson. He hopes that the number of users of the cryptocurrency will grow gracefully from thousands to millions to billions.

The interviewer asked the CEO on how his company tried working on interoperability and weaving itself into an ecosystem that is overcrowded. According to Hoskinson, his company is looking for a Bluetooth or WiFi moment to which he admits the company and the industry haven’t reached yet. It is compared to a “watershed moment” for blockchain that is comparable to how WiFi and Bluetooth are significant to communication.

Take for example consumers who, when they put out their phone in countries like South Korea, Japan, South Africa, or America, their phones basically connect to the WiFi network. This, according to Hoskinson, has been made possible through the industry’s hard work.

The goal of Hoskinson and his team which essentially helped create Cardano, a third generation cryptocurrency, is a future set of standards that will lead the crypto and blockchain industry towards interoperability wherein trading of communication or information can be easily done and not just among the cryptocurrencies, but as well as among traditional or conventional financial systems and institutions.

What we are seeing is a collection of standards being created that will inevitably converge over the next three to five years to create a situation where you can move information and value between all these different systems – not just Bitcoin to Litecoin to Ethereum to Cardano, but also your regular bank account, your Chase account, or your Wells Fargo account, or your credit card. Somehow you can move seamlessly between these different systems and do cross-border settlement. Hoskinson said in the interview.

Hoskinson mentions that these are achievable partly through innovation and partly through pragmatism. Sometimes, the CEO said, the best standard doesn’t win and so the builder should be ready and willing to integrate it into the system, whatever ends up happening. He admitted that the industry is not there yet but he is confident that it will get there soon.

As a final inquiry to the CEO, Cheddar interviewer asked what is the pitch for Cardano and how will a newcomer in the cryptocurrency space consider Cardano over the abundant number of cryptocurrencies. He answered that at the end of the day, Cardano is infrastructure and he compares this to trains and planes and just like how these infrastructures are built, Hoskinson’s project will be around for a long time and it is not about who will be first to market, or how quickly can upgrades be done but it is about what is fit for purpose for 7 billion people as the company thinks globally.

This global approach includes Cardano having offices in various parts of the world and making considerations on how it can work, for example, for coffee farmers who do not even have an internet connection and only have intermittent power. Consequently, the project also targets that it will likewise work for those in Wall Street. The solutions they have built in various university settings have been validated with previous methods and code so that what they have constructed will work for the long term, something that will last for the next thirty years because as Hoskinson said,

We have to eventually live with these decisions for better or for worse.

(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)

VeChain Partners with DNV GL and Norway in a Box to Provide Blockchain Solution to Imports

April 11, 2019 by TheCryptoToday Leave a Comment

VeChain has recently announced that it will be partnering with DNV GL and Norway in a Box to create a platform that will ensure imports from Norway and other Northern European countries reach the Chinese market safely.

VeChain will provide the blockchain technology that is trustless and decentralized which basically gives consumers a transparent way to view the journey that these products will be undergoing from the origin country until it reaches the Chinese market.

The high-quality Norwegian products, particularly seafood will be ensured in this new platform. Seafood from Norway will be the first batch of Norwegian products incorporated in this new platform. Due to the challenges regarding safety concerns that current imports are facing in the Chinese market, fundamental processes like validation, safety measures, and certification, especially in food importation, is still a big challenge even in this day and age. Blockchain technologies will provide the solution to these hurdles by allowing a secure, absolute, and transparent platform that has a traceable characteristic that will show the processing of food products with assurance and data confirmation from third-parties.

DNV GL is one of the largest business assurance companies in the world and it will be collaborating with Norway in a Box, an exporter of high-quality Norwegian products, along with VeChain and its blockchain technologies. Ensuring that guidelines of governments are met, these three companies are working together to bring fresh food from Norway and into China.

My Story™ is an app from DNV GL which is a blockchain powered digital assurance solution. In this new partnership, brands of different products can give their consumers instant access to verified and real stories behind the products via the app. Consumers can scan a QR Code that is attached to a product and they can access facts, timelines, and locations that are made available to the consumer which makes the process a transparent one.

In this new collaboration, MyStory™ will assist in starting the verification of the Norwegian salmon and other types of seafood. Through this app, the process that the fish will undergo, from the time it was caught until the packaging is completed will be recorded.

Norway in a Box, on the other hand, has created a shopping platform where consumers can purchase the seafood once it arrives in China. Meanwhile, other shipments will be sent directly to restaurants in China. MyStory™ and Norway in a Box are working closely together to improve their services and features for the future.

In this new partnership, blockchain technology offers the assurance that the ledger is unchanged and that facts about the product are registered. DNV GL will audit product information and processes and validate the data capturing process. In general, the collaboration will also answer the growing demand for transparency in food importation not just in China but in the world especially with its feature of traceability from the first steps of the process until its arrival. With the app, the product’s freshness is assured by Norway in a Box and validate by DNV GL which addresses a lot of food safety concerns.

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)