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Talking tokens with Adam B. Levine

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The world is built on a giant $256 trillion pile of assets. Everything from property to art, to stocks to oil. Blockchain wants to change all that. This collection explores the industries being disrupted, by whom, and what that means for both consumers and enterprises.

We've delved deep into the tokenized world to uncover the people, the projects and the potential of this technology to change capital forever.

Blockchain’s promise of a more liquid world

Tokenize all the Things

Telegram, one of the largest messaging platforms in the world—and used by many in the crypto industry—is launching its own blockchain platform. But it's up against a deadline: October 31. Will it deliver the GRAM cryptocurrency on time or will it be forced to backtrack on its ambitious plans?

Insights on Telegram's upcoming blockchain platform

Telegram's crypto play

Crypto Capital has worked with major exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, BitMEX and Bitfinex. But it was never really a bank, and two of its founders have been arrested by the FBI. We dig deep into it here.

Insights into the shady Panamanian bank that has been underpinning the crypto industry to this day.

The Crypto Capital Scandal

The Ethereum community gathered in Osaka, Japan, for its fifth developer-focused conference. Here are all the highlights and everything you need to know.

Breaking news and features live from Devcon's fifth conference.

Devcon 5

The largest crypto exchange in the world is expanding to the US. We track its major developments as it gears up for launch. Will the exchange survive or suffer in the harsher regulatory climate?

The latest on Binance's push into America

Binance in the USA

Decrypt's coverage of all the events taking place at Blockchain Week in and around New York City.

Decrypt's coverage of NYC Blockchain Week events

New York Blockchain Week: 2019

Will Heasman

In a well publicized hack, the dating app Tinder was compromised last week. Black hat hackers, apparently hunting for a fresh assortment of catfishing bait, appropriated 70,000 pictures from the app. The breach, which was the first major security incident in Tinder’s history, affected 16,000 users. 

With Tinder’s reputation up in flames, a number of critics have pointed out that this could have been avoided via a decentralized system. 

Tinder's data breach is the latest in a long line of data foul ups, ranging from Google’s loss of 50 million user’s data in 2018, to last year when Facebook’s unsecured server jeopardized over 400 million user’s phone numbers. For Tinder the key problem was that it held the files in one, centralized location, making it easy for hackers to bag such a big loot. 

MORE CENTRALIZATION, MORE PROBLEMS.

"Centralization is the apex of vulnerability. When all of the data is stored in one location, usually all it takes is one ‘key’ to access the files on the server,” said Jeff Kirdeikis, the CEO of Uptrennd—a decentralized social media platform. “We've seen this vulnerability exploited with Equifax, Facebook, Myspace, and even major government agencies. If it's centralized, it's vulnerable, and it likely will get breached." 

It didn’t used to be like this. During the Internet's infancy, nascent applications, such as email, were designed within a distributed model, with no single point of failure. Now, many companies such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter operate on predominantly centralized architecture. That allows the likes of Facebook to be exposed to a host of attack vectors, including the classic distributed denial of service (DoS/DDoS) assault, where a bad actor overwhelms a server with a flood of traffic, crashing the website. 

Centrally held servers are inherently fragile. In Facebook’s _second_ most infamous scandal, the platform allowed access to over 400 million user phone numbers—all due to unprotected databases. So, other than effective password management, what's the solution?

In Kirdeikis' opinion, there is only one way to combat this central issue: distribute and decentralize data.

"Decentralization allows for fractional amounts of data to be stored in multiple locations.

A BETTER WAY

Imagine if a photo were split up into one hundred pieces, and then servers around the world hosted one of those pieces each. If one of those servers was hacked, your photo would not be vulnerable as they would only have a fraction of the information.

This is similar to if someone found a single shred of a shredded credit card. It would be useless without the rest," Kirdeikis noted.

Sam Pajot-Phipps, Head of Strategy at The Open Application Network, explained to _Decrypt_  how decentralized systems keep data secured: 

“Depending on the type of product and data, leveraging a decentralized data storage protocol can provide consumer applications with increased security through a global network of independent operators that manage and secure the data and with verifiable guarantees as to how the data is stored, accessed and managed.”

NOT A CURE-ALL FOR EVERYTHING

However, decentralization isn't without its faults. These systems frequently oblige more effort from the end-users hands, often requiring the need to install software. For some, the slack that centralized entities take up more than compensate for the issues they present. Moreover, the fragmentation of data over several locations heightens costs and increases complications. 

Pajot-Phipps argues that for a decentralized utopia to come to fruition, education, technology, and ergonomics need to come up to scratch. 

“In a future state where decentralized data protocols support every-day consumer applications we are shifting certain requirements and responsibilities from specific entities to individuals. While this moves us towards a more self-sovereign future it also requires novel technical solutions, education and changes to standard user-experiences.”

 


Facebook

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Thousands of images were stolen from Tinder by catfishers

Insights into the biggest events shaping the crypto industry.

News

Ben Munster

Binance appears to be raking in as much as $194 million per quarter, according to a statement released Monday, a sign that the exchange continues its relentless growth.

Each quarter,  the exchange claims to burn around twenty percent of its quarterly profits in the form of its native cryptocurrency, BNB. The latest burn for Q4 removed $38 million worth, a roughly $6 million increase from last quarter’s takings. By comparison, $37.6 million was burned in the third quarter of 2019, suggesting profits for that quarter amounted to $188 million. 

That's a 3.19 percent increase,

BURN, BABY, BURN

The burn is a sign that Binance, which last year rolled out a high-risk margin platform, is chipping away at the dominance of exchanges that offer similar services, such as BitMEX, said Ryan Selkis, the CEO of crypto analytics firm Messari. Which makes it unlikely the burn is mere fanfare, he added: "It’s tough to envision a scenario where Binance is intentionally setting their own money on fire.”
[binance ]

Binance also acknowledged the obvious—that  markets in the most recent quarter had been “rife with ups and downs.” It nonetheless claimed that the BNB token itself had “decoupled” from Binance’s centralized operations and had “drastically increased in utility.” The increase, it said, aligns with the recent rollout of various decentralized platforms, including a proprietary blockchain—“Binance Chain”—and an  “decentralized” exchange, Binance DEX, operated at arm’s length. 

In BNB terms, this quarter’s burn removed 2.2 million BNB from circulation; a 200,000 increase over the previous quarter and a 1 million increase over the quarter before that. 

FEELING THE BURN

Binance has seen remarkable growth since its launch in 2017, with a host of acquisitions, product launches and coin listings, among them the wildly popular Bitcoin Futures and Bitcoin Margin services, giving it pride of place among the nascent crypto exchanges. 

Binance has said that it will continue to burn its BNB supply until there are a mere 100 million BNB left; that’s about half of the BNB money supply that was issued. Roughly 183.3 million tokens remain outstanding. 

The exchange generates BNB in a variety of ways, and said in today’s statement that the latest burn “represents activity across Binance spot, margin, and futures exchanges, as well as the various solutions, divisions, and partners that use BNB.”

Last year Asian exchange Huobi, a competitor to Binance, saw a similar increase in profits. 


Changpeng Zhao

Binance

binance bnb

Binance sees $6 million increase in quarterly profits - Decrypt

Binance appears to have taken in $194 million in the most recent quarter, according to an analysis of the company's most recent token burn.

Binance sees $6 million increase in quarterly profits

Tim Copeland

Youtube has purged more crypto videos, just weeks after admitting that an algorithmic error caused it to ban many videos and channels. Two more YouTubers have gone to Twitter to complain about further strikes after their channels were brought back to life.

Last month, following a mass deletion of cryptocurrency videos, the crypto community called Youtube out. The platform admitted that the deletions were a mistake, promised to reinstate the videos they removed "in error," and put the entire incident down to a mishap. Now, the same appears to have happened again, and one crypto YouTuber, dubbed That Martini Guy, is calling the platform out.

"STOP STRIKING MY CHANNEL!" he pleaded yesterday, in all caps, "THIS IS AN ATTACK ON CRYPTO YOUTUBE."

> HEY @TeamYouTube @ytcreators
> 
> STOP STRIKING MY CHANNEL!
> 
> 4 MORE VIDEOS GOT A STRIKE
> 
> NOTHING ABOUT MY VIDEOS IS PROMOTING REGULATED FINANCIAL SERVICES!
> 
> THIS IS AN ATTACK ON CRYPTO YOUTUBE
> 
> YOU ALREADY ADMITTED YOUR MISTAKES HERE⬇️https://t.co/SYWu1URTqs pic.twitter.com/4jPv52qAYg
> 
> — That Martini Guy ₿ (@MartiniGuyYT) January 19, 2020

He wasn’t alone. On January 15, crypto vlogger Davincij15 tweeted a similar message, begging his followers to help. “So I got a strike today on my last live stream. This is clearly an error and with the strike, I am unable to stream or upload videos. Please LIKE & RETWEET to help reopen my YouTube channel,” he said.

Since then Davincij15’s strike has been removed but a warning remains on his channel. According to MMCrypto, this needs to be removed too for him to continue making crypto content without fear of losing his channel.

Crypto YouTuber Ivan On Tech told _Decrypt_, “YouTube is such an important platform for crypto and a natural place for community building. We love this platform. Unfortunately, the strike and appeal process is very non-transparent and Kafkaesque. It also feels unfair sometimes because creators need to create an uprising on Twitter to get YouTube’s attention. Small creators might not have that option.”

Ivan On Tech saw his platform disappear in the Christmas purge but it has since been reinstated. He realized that Twitter was one of the best ways to get the video streaming giant’s attention. Can tweeting save the day again?


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Bitcoin is the world's first peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. It was invented by a mysterious inventor Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009 and is regarded as the first digital currency to fix the double spend problem.

Bitcoin

YouTube is giving content creators more reasons to try other platforms. Image: Shutterstock.

Crypto YouTubers are complaining that their videos are getting strikes even though YouTube said it had no problem with crypto.

Youtube has purged more crypto videos, just weeks after admitting that an algorithmic error caused it to ban many videos and channels.

Daniel Phillips

German-Finnish Internet entrepreneur and political activist Kim Dotcom has expressed distaste at the levels of infighting in the Bitcoin community. Dotcom, who is working on an eponymous crypto project, backed Bitcoin Cash proponent Roger Ver, pointing to the innovation in the BCH community.

During last week's On The Record podcast with cryptocurrency derivatives trader Tone Vays and statistician Willy Woo, Dotcom said, “I am looking at the reality of crypto today and all this fighting. Real innovation is not being recognized because of this fighting, because of the toxicity.”

He went on to say that this infighting is damaging the reputation of the whole crypto community, blasting “pissing matches” between prominent industry figures.

Dotcom pointed out that the cryptocurrency industry can still be considered very small, claiming that just 2 percent of Internet users have been exposed to the sector. Woo argued that it could expand to 16% or more in the future. However, he said the coin that will catch mainstream appeal might not be Bitcoin but Bitcoin Cash.

"They [new adopters] don’t know anything about the current wars that are taking place, the current toxicity within the crypto community. They are going to go with the currency that gives them the cheapest fees, the fastest transactions, the most reliability [...] unfortunately, that is not [BTC]."

Dotcom said he had sat down with Ver and looked at his latest experiments for Bitcoin Cash, saying the Bitcoin.com founder was a step ahead of everyone else.

> The numerous sites I created had over a billion users. I know what it takes to bring a billion users to crypto and I’ll have a role in making that happen. The time has come to bring crypto to the masses. The corrupt and outdated financial system has to go.https://t.co/mwAt199kWE
> 
> — Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) January 20, 2020

"[Ver] is working on some really cool stuff, in terms of security and privacy. And I also agree with his argument: In order to be a very successful cryptocurrency you need to provide fast and cheap transactions, there's no way around that. It's nice to be a store of value, but if you really want to succeed in this game, you need to be THE electronic cash."

Dotcom has his own plans to compete in the cryptocurrency game but they have hit a roadblock in recent months after his planned initial exchange offering on Bitfinex was cancelled. He is also fighting a bid to avoid being extradited to the US, where he is wanted for copyright charges.


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Bitcoin Cash was a hard fork of Bitcoin. The split took place in 2017 and since then, Bitcoin Cash has become one of the largest cryptocurrencies to emerge from Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Cash

Kim Dotcom thinks there is more innovation in the Bitcoin Cash community. Image: Shutterstock.

Political activist Kim Dotcom criticizes the infighting in the Bitcoin community, and shows his support for offshoot Bitcoin Cash.

Kim Dotcom went on record to describe how he believes infighting among Bitcoin maximalists is ultimately harming the crypto community.

A representative of top 50 crypto project Holochain has had to clarify that no funds raised in its $20 million ICO were used to build a bondage studio in Denver, run by Holochain executive director Mary Camacho.

Sleuths on notorious internet forum 4chan discovered that Camacho was the owner of Studio Friction, described as “Denver’s home for rope and aerial art,” on Sunday. Subsequently, Holochain’s social media profiles were inundated with comments, including a claim that funds from the ICO could have been used to build the bondage studio.

However, a representative has denied that any money was mixed between the two projects, according to messages seen by _Decrypt_. We have reached out to Holochain for a response and will update this story if we hear back.
[Holochain executive director Mary Camacho is a fan of bondage]One of the less explicit comments on the 4chan post dicussing Camacho's choice to set up a bondage studio. Image: 4chan.
Upon closer inspection, there appears to be some confusion over the timelines of the two incidents in question. The studio’s crowdfunding raise on Indiegogo—which picked up $10,085 in donations—ended in September 2017, before the studio opened in November that same year. Yet the Holochain project was created in January 2018, with its ICO ending three months later, in April. So, the studio was built before any ICO money was raised.

While Holochain continues to deal with the fallout, fans of the project have come out in defense of Camacho.
[Mary Camacho is the executive director of Holochain]Camacho is on the board of directors for Studio Friction, and helped set up its fundraiser. Image: Studio Friction.
“I do support Mary and her freedom to do whatever she wants and I hope she is not too affected by the hate coming from 4chan trolls and other reactionaries haters,” one community member posted in Holochain’s official Telegram channel.

On Twitter, there was a similar response, with one community member tweeting, “On 4chan people are discussing your personal choices to be involved in Rope fetish activity. I think it is your personal choice and of no impact on what you do to Holochain. Sorry people are so biased. However it may be in your interest to come out and make a statement about it.”

> On 4chan people are discussing your personal choices to be involved in Rope fetish activity. I think it is your personal choice and of no impact on what you do to Holochain. Sorry people are so biased. However it may be in your interest to come out and make a statement about it
> 
> — Walter Ego (@Walter_Eg0) January 19, 2020

The news does not appear to have affected the price of Holochain’s cryptocurrency HOT either. While its price fell seven percent yesterday, that mirrored a sudden market drop, led by Bitcoin (BTC).


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The Holochain community has been attacked by trolls on 4chan over the issue. Image: Shutterstock.

The executive director of top 50 cryptocurrency Holochain was revealed as a fan of rope binding. But the project says no funds were misused.

A Holochain representative has had to clarify that no funds raised in its $20 million ICO were used to build a bondage studio in Denver.

Robert Stevens

A blockchain forensics investigator thinks that COSS’s surprise decision to shut down its crypto exchange two weeks ago bears the hallmarks of a possible exit scam. 

COSS, a three-year-old exchange based in Singapore, denies any allegation of wrongdoing. It shuttered the exchange without warning—locking up some $2 million of customer money—and continues to maintain that the site needs to be offline for a much-needed upgrade, which could take up to a month. 

STRANGE DOINGS

“There is precisely zero reason to take an exchange down for 3-4 weeks for a platform upgrade,” Rich Sanders, an investigator at the London-based blockchain forensics and investigation firm, Cipherblade, told _Decrypt.__ _

Sanders released images on Twitter showing COSS had swept some of its Bitcoin funds to Binance around the time of the shutdown. Sending funds to anonymous Binance wallets is suspect, said Sanders, who investigates ICOs for a living. 

> There you have it crypto Twitter -- COSS sending custodial funds to Binance. There's no spin-doctoring that shit. This isn't for "safekeeping" or it'd have been publicly announced (like the one ETH address was -- a decoy). This is a shit-tier attempt at laundering.
> 
> Have fun. pic.twitter.com/UzmYeAZosY
> 
> — Rich Sanders [Jan/3➞₿🔑∎] (@Raindropactual) January 9, 2020

Sanders said the move could be a way of hiding customer funds before telling the community that the funds have, say, gone missing. “It'd be the ‘perfect crime’ to relaunch COSS with negligible amounts of new features,” he said.

COSS community manager Satyarth Mishra, the public voice of COSS, disputed Sanders’ conclusions, and said that no funds had been transferred to Binance. “You can pull up a few wallet addresses on any blockchain explorer and claim anyone you like is making those transactions,” he wrote on Telegram. 

But Sanders countered: “That is not the behavior of a user withdrawal to Binance, but of an individual that owns exchange wallets sweeping funds, instead of to a hot wallet, to Binance.” 

COSS has disclosed wallets for Ether holdings, and Mishra said that other funds were placed into a cold wallet, whose address “remains undisclosed.”

HOW TO PUT OUT THE FUD

COSS could straighten things out by disclosing the addresses of the wallets that hold customer funds, the names of the investors and the auditors looking into the matter, as well as further technical details about the migration to an upgraded system. But, despite customer outrage, it said it will wait until the exchange reopens.

On Tuesday, COSS founder Rune Evensen gave this statement to _Decrypt_: “There are ongoing daily meetings between the involved parties and they will make a formal announcement once they are ready. No comment until then.” 

Indeed, COSS has declined to answer further questions on the record from _Decrypt_. 

Meanwhile, volunteer administrators in COSS’s Telegram group, whose actions are roughly coordinated by COSS, ban users they claim are spreading “FUD.” Questions such as “Is the exchange solvent?” “Have the funds been sent to Binance?” and “Where is the Bitcoin held?” appear to be automatically banned. Attempts from multiple accounts to post those questions were blocked.

 

John McAfee is the founder of McAfee associates.

John McAfee

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A blockchain forensics investigator thinks that COSS’s sudden decision to shut down its exchange last week bears the hallmarks of a possible exit scam.

Adriana Hamacher

Malta’s technicolor blockchain dream has turned an ominous shade of grey. Last weekend, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat—chief architect of the tiny Mediterranean island’s pioneering policies in blockchain, gaming and AI—was obliged to step down amid the crisis surrounding the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Under his policies, Malta was meant to become a utopia for cryptocurrency startups and investors. Instead, the legions that came in 2018—lured by flashy conferences, tax breaks and the promise of regulatory clarity—find themselves out of pocket, in limbo or have ditched the island altogether. 

Increased international scrutiny over the events that led to the departure of Muscat has driven the island’s leaders to pursue more conservative policies towards the blockchain startups that it had previously courted. Scapegoats have been found—such as the Maltese legal firm that was the first in the world to tokenize itself, and had its license revoked last month. In a bizarre twist, there’s even a connection with another journalist’s murder.

> Well boys and Girls ...
> 
> There goes Malta as a tax haven and supporter of Crypto ....
> 
> New Prime Minister going to shut us down.
> 
> I warned everyone:
> 
> Basing the future of Blockchain technology on the whims of politics,
> 
> Is a sure fail.https://t.co/j1xYNJPQwy
> 
> — John McAfee (@officialmcafee) January 15, 2020

But many of those _Decrypt _spoke to for this article believe that Malta’s blockchain dream began to sour long before recent revelations. Daphne Caruana Galizia was one of the first to see it, and her accusations—many of which are proving correct—may only be the beginning. 

BLOCKCHAIN BEGINNINGS

In the years before her October 2017 assassination by car bomb, Caruana Galizia leveled accusations of corruption against Muscat’s government and business associates via a blog voraciously consumed by many of the island’s 450,000 inhabitants.

She criticised Malta’s "cash for passports" program; it grants foreign business people Maltese citizenship, and therefore EU citizenship, in exchange for their large investments into a national development fund. She revealed the links of Muscat’s associates to the Panama Papers and more. Muscat called her his harshest critic. 
[Joseph Muscat]Joseph Muscat is accused of shielding his chief of staff and childhood friend Keith Schembri, who has been implicated in Caruana Galizia's murder. (Image: Shutterstock)
“Malta is set to become the Bitcoin money-laundering capital of this part of the world—and preparations are already being made for it,” she wrote, on news of the island’s plans to become a leader within the cryptocurrency industry. “Whoever has a vested interest in the heightened use of cryptocurrencies is already [funneling] money into the Labour Party and a couple of Panama companies, and calling the shots.”

 The bitter secret of Blockchain Island

Anonymous Maltese blogger BugM, one of many determined to bring Caruana Galizia’s killers to justice, believes that an aggressively pro-blockchain policy was seized upon by the government to distract attention from the high-profile murder investigation that ensued.

“The problem was that the government overhyped it. It was in the wake of a snap election called to bury some very serious allegations of corruption (which is now clearly linked to Daphne’s murder) and followed by Daphne’s assassination so the government was looking to find something to show off,” the blogger told _Decrypt_. 

If that was indeed the plan, it was—initially at least—successful beyond its architects’ wildest dreams.

BINANCE TAKES THE LEAD 

Malta’s plan to allow cryptocurrency exchanges and others to operate until 2020 without complying with anti-money laundering (AML) laws saw swift results. With a year to apply for formal authorisation (the cut off date was October 2019) and generous tax laws, the advantages were obvious. 

 To date, the Malta Financial Service Authority has yet to issue a single license.

In March 2018, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, announced its move to Malta, after receiving warnings about its lack of AML compliance from Japan, China and Hong Kong.

It was soon followed by other exchanges, notably OKEx and BitBay. 

In July 2018, Malta published headline grabbing cryptocurrency legislation—the first comprehensive, regulatory framework for distributed-ledger technologies.

By the end of 2018, Malta was the leading country in terms of cryptocurrency exchange volume.

On Twitter, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao personally thanked Muscat for welcoming the company, and heaped praise on Malta’s aim to be a global trailblazer in the regulation of blockchain-based businesses.

> Government of Malta works on Saturday for blockchain initiatives. How about yours? https://t.co/IIWNFh8xRf
> 
> — CZ Binance (@cz_binance) June 2, 2018

The exchange enthusiastically announced its plan to hire a staff of hundreds, and even wanted to set up a bank. But earlier this month, BugM cast doubts as to Binance’s actual physical activities on the island, alleging that the exchange was but a ghost, and that its 2018 financial records contained no transactions, no trades, and no tax paid. When _Decrypt_ asked Binance about BugM’s allegations, the exchange did not respond.

> The accounts of each company as at 31 December 2018 each confirm that neither did any trading whatsoever. 3/ pic.twitter.com/Q9FBWOl7Nz
> 
> — BugM (@bugdavem) January 6, 2020

THE UNRAVELLING OF BLOCKCHAIN ISLAND

To date, the Malta Financial Service Authority (MFSA) has yet to issue a single license. Malta has, in fact, been outdone by Estonia, Switzerland, Germany, Finland and Austria.

Out of the 340 preliminary applications the MFSA received from cryptocurrency exchanges and other service providers, only 34 resulted in completed applications. 

> 90% of crypto funny stuff operators who rushed to #Malta to benefit from the 1 year “transitional period” (ie a further year of operating ignoring rule) have either run away, imploded or are planning on operating illegally. #BlockchainIslandhttps://t.co/T4GuoFYwJk
> 
> — BugM (@bugdavem) November 2, 2019

Malta’s legislation has been praised as innovative and robust, yet the final result has fallen victim to two flaws. The first is unfortunate timing; it was published in the midst of crypto winter. The second is that it’s a very tough set of regulations and requirements, necessitating the employment of Malta’s army of legal advisors and accountants.

Many would-be applicants have been deterred by their onerous fees, not to mention the €10,000 (approximately $11,000) the MFSA required to process a preliminary application. Ultimately, fewer than a dozen licenses are expected to be issued, more than one source told _Decrypt_. Those that are will likely be the biggest players, and established companies looking to fund a new project.

The MFSA did not reply to a request for comment. 

While Binance’s deep pockets mean that Malta is not the only jurisdiction where it’s seeking a license (the exchange is reportedly applying to the Isle of Man and Singapore, among other localities), other exchanges have sought more hospitable shores. At least three have packed up and left within recent months.

The plight of the startups left on the island is compounded by the lack of banking. After the owner of Malta’s Pilatus bank was charged by US prosecutors with alleged money laundering, the European Central Bank revoked the bank’s license. Malta’s banks have been unwilling to lend to cryptocurrency firms for fear of further damage to their reputation.

 "We're the first firm in Malta’s history that's about to lose their license."

But some crypto businesses on the island appear to be thriving, and have partnered with foreign banks to ensure competitiveness. For example, the Malta-based ZBX exchange has teamed up with Switzerland's Dukascopy Bank, to allow its users to link a bank account directly to the exchange.

Dave Pulis, CEO of ZBX, told _Decrypt _that the company is optimistic about acquiring its license from the MFSA, and, later this year, plans to submit a further application in order to list security tokens. But, “only time will tell if Malta will be the global hub for exchanges,” he said.

Others are not so optimistic, and point to Malta’s Virtual Finance Agents—local firms who paid substantial fees to act as a kind of sherpa for cryptocurrency firms during the application process—who are left with a vastly diminished pool of clients.  

THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY HAS CLOSED

“The hype is really over. Internationally speaking, [Malta] is not a hotspot anymore. Germany now allows their banks to hold custody on bitcoin wallets. That means this little time window for a small country to come up with an attractive framework is over,” Leon Siegmund, a board member of Malta’s Blockchain Association and founder of BitClub Malta, told _Decrypt_.

Germany is also the first country (and is unlikely to be the last) to stipulate that exchanges and other crypto services must hold a local license to provide services to German nationals.

As a result, Siegmund said a Maltese license is now far less desirable: “It’s too expensive; it doesn’t provide any value. As long as it’s not passportable, it’s a small market, so it’s not really useful.”
[Malta blockchain]BitcoinClub Malta founder Leon Siegmund said that countries need to better tackle the rapid innovation that has come with Bitcoin. (Image: Leon Siegmund)
He believes that the architects of Malta’s regulations were very bold, but Malta's position within the European Union, and its aim to align policies under the 5th Anti-Money Laundering directive,  nevertheless brings unwelcome scrutiny to the island. Malta’s oldest banking institution, the Bank of Valletta, lost its correspondent banking license and stands to lose its US dollar one. Hence the authorities can ill-afford any risks, he added.  

THE WORLD’S FIRST TOKENIZED LAW FIRM

And reprisals are coming.

In March 2018, Maltese law firm E&S Group made history, becoming the first legal firm in the world to tokenize its business, linking its tokens to earnings—the aim being less of a financial one and more to demonstrate having skin in the game.

Branching out after 10 years in gaming, shipping and aviation, the firm had become one of the first to offer services for the ICOmarket. The lawyers developed early expertise in the area, onboarding as many as 120 crypto clients that year, including Binance and eSports tokenization platform, chilliZ.  

But, on November 28, 2019, the Malta Financial Services Authority stripped the firm’s corporate services arm, E&S Consultancy, of its license—making it the first firm in Maltese financial services history to lose its licence without having ever even incurred a fine. The action coincided with Malta’s worst anti-government demonstrations in decades—against the handling of Caruana Galizia’s murder.

Speaking exclusively to _Decrypt_, E&S cofounder Christian Ellul said that the action was highly unorthodox.

“It's factually unprecedented. It's never happened before,” he said. “No one's ever lost their license, so we're the first firm in Malta’s history that's about to lose their license, but it's not on the back of any wrongdoings by ourselves directly.”

Its high profile and lack of political affliliations made E&S an easy target for the authorities—who seized on the opportunity presented by an investigation into the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak.
[E&S]E&S Group cofounders Christian Ellul and Karl Schranz. (Image: E&S Group)
Kuciak and his girlfriend were gunned down at their home in Slovakia in 2018. The man charged with the crime is millionaire entrepreneur Marian Kočner, who happens to be Ellul’s former father-in-law. The MFSA claims that, by setting up Maltese companies for Kočner, the law firm had aided a client who was not “a fit and proper person.” Ellul told _Decrypt_ that allegations that the two companies he established for Kočner were used for money laundering and tax evasion were unproven, and that he provided services on the understanding that the businesses were legitimate.

No regulatory action has been taken against other Maltese service providers, including those who aided the billionaire businessman named as a prime suspect in Caruana Galizia’s murder, Jorgen Fenech. But the search for scapegoats could be just beginning.

THE DREAM IS OVER

The idealism surrounding “Blockchain Island” is fast dissipating. Perhaps the unofficial end came at the end of November, when Malta’s problems could no longer be masked by evasive politicians and slick branding; when self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright preached about blockchain’s ability to counter fraud at one end of the island, while protestors bayed for the blood of corrupt politicians at the other.

In December, officials in the European parliament accused Muscat of presiding over “serious and persistent” threats to democracy and rule of law. 
[Malta blockchain]Malta's capital Valletta was the scene of daily protests before Prime Minister Joesph Muscat finally agreed to resign. (Image: Wikimedia)
But many Maltese will tell you that the country is already the highest regulated in the world—for 98% of the population. Doing business in Malta is now harder than ever for this majority as a result of the recent furore. 

With Muscat finally agreeing to step aside, the nation’s new prime minister, Robert Abela, was sworn in on Monday.

Caruana Galizia’s son, Matthew Caruana Galizia, has said that much of the new cabinet is formed of Muscat’s assoiciates, guaranteeing him indemnity from prosecution over his role in the murder. 

 Bitcoin, murder and mafia on “Blockchain Island” Malta

It also suggests there may not be radical changes to the blockchain-friendly policies initiated by Muscat.

What’s certain is that Malta’s rivals Singapore, Switzerland and Liechtenstein will be noting “Blockchain Island’s” mistakes. 

“Malta has very good and high level regulations. But possibly, in the current market conditions, they are maybe too onerous for most potential clients to consider,” said Ellul. 

E&S still councils blockchain firms, although it’s a much smaller part of its business. The firm is challenging the loss of its license. While it’s able to function without it, the challenge is a matter of reputation, and Ellul is reasonably confident of success. “We will fight this unjust and discriminatory decision whatever it takes,” he said. 

That could open a Pandora’s box of questionable activities among Malta’s service providers, banks, lawyers and accountants—including those that have serviced the country’s cryptocurrency startups—aired like the laundry that hangs from the balconies in Malta’s ancient streets.


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the European parliament accused Muscat of presiding over “serious and persistent” threats to democracy and rule of law." IMAGE: Shutterstock.

Deep dives into Web 3.0, future and present.

Features

Malta has a new prime minister, replacing trailblazer Joseph Muscat. What will happen to the startups lured to Blockchain Island by his visionary promises?

Its name couldn’t be more fitting; Brave is the little software company that could. Not only is it taking on tech titans like Google with its privacy-focused browser; it’s aiming to upend the advertising model that underpins the Internet, with a revolutionary loyalty rewards programme that pays users in cryptocurrency for watching ads.

2019 was a crazy whirl of breakthroughs for the San Francisco based startup. In 12 months, Brave officially launched its browser following a long beta, it’s rolled out its Basic Attention Token to a score of countries, and it’s enlisted 350,000 publishers on its Brave Rewards platform. Just last month, Brave browser’s user base hit 10 million—admittedly, that’s not a patch on the billion plus users of Google’s Chrome browser, but hey, they took a decade to get there.

Brave’s cofounder Brendan Eich told _Decrypt _that 2019 was a pivotal year for the startup, “with the launch of several major components of our platform.” But 2020 promises to be transformational—with Brave planning moves into e-commerce, machine learning innovations and big-brand partnerships to beef up Brave’s pioneering ad offering. The browser itself won’t be neglected, with Brave adding new features such as the ability to sync cryptocurrency funds between devices.

BRAVE’S PUSH FOR PRIVACY

Eich is well versed in browser tech. Back in 1995 he invented JavaScript, the browser code that makes websites interactive (as opposed to static pages of text and images). Somewhat ironically, JavaScript was subsequently co-opted for the data-intensive, targeted ads that Eich is now focused on blocking with Brave browser. He was also a co-founder of Mozilla’s Firefox web browser.
[Brendan Eich, Brave browser]Brendan Eich in 2010, IMAGE: Wikipedia
Eich founded Brave along with fellow Mozilla veteran Brian Bondy in 2015, as an antidote to the data harvesting employed by popular web browsers controlled by gigantic corporations like Google and Microsoft.

Eich and Bondy set out to create a browser which put users in control of how their data is stored and shared with advertisers. From the outset, Brave was designed to be “privacy-first”, blocking tracking cookies and scripts by default.

Intrusive targeting has become a hot-button issue over the last year, not just because of consumer privacy but because of concerns over the manipulation of elections through targeted advertising. But Brave’s blocking of adverts, trackers and cookies gives it another key advantage over its rivals: it offers faster page loading speeds. Brave loads pages at least twice as fast as its competitors on desktop, and up to eight times as fast on mobile—with lower battery consumption to boot.

Until a few weeks ago, Brave Browser was said to be in beta release—meaning users could expect a fully functional, but not quite complete experience.

That all changed in November 2019, with the release of Brave 1.0.,"which offers three to six times faster browsing than other browsers,” according to Eich.

“This led to a 19% growth in monthly active users, from 8.7 million in October to 10.4 million in November—a 2x increase in one year,” he said, adding that daily active users tripled in the last year, to more than 3.3 million.

 Brave 1.0 launches with Brave Rewards on iOS, prompting BAT rally

Brave’s growth milestone suggests that it’s not only privacy-conscious users who are starting to move away from more established web browsers like Safari and Chrome; it’s also those seeking a faster user experience. 

STEPPING UP TO BAT

Protecting user privacy is all well and good, but completely blocking online tracking threatens to break the advertising model that pays for much of the content on the web. Brave’s solution is to pay _users_ for watching ads, in its own Basic Attention Token (BAT) cryptocurrency. The users then reimburse websites and creators, either by automatically allocating BAT based on how much time they’ve spent on a website, or by directly tipping sites and creators.

In May 2017, the startup’s ICO raised $36 million for the Ethereum-based Basic Attention Token; its Brave Rewards platform went live in April 2019 on desktop, in July on Android, and in November for iOS. It aims to place the control of data sharing firmly in the hands of the user, and to create a system where publishers can be rewarded directly for their content. 

“With Brave Ads, we introduced the first advertising platform built on privacy,” said Eich. “Now Brave users on all platforms can opt into privacy-preserving ads and get rewarded with 70% of the ad revenue, which they can keep or use to support their favorite content creators via Brave Rewards.” The idea is to balance the flow of BAT income from advertising with payments made to content creators.

By October 2019, the Brave Rewards program was supported in 31 countries, and, by December, over 350,000 publishers had registered for it, making them verified and eligible to receive BAT. 

It’s an astounding achievement—an 820% jump in less than a year.

According to Brave’s data, the majority of registrants are content creators, such as Youtube channels connected to the Brave ecosystem—which make up 231,865 of the registered publishers. 

Websites account for a further 38,819 and include publishers such as the _Washington Post_, _The Guardian_, _Barrons_, _Vice_, the _LA Times_, _LADBible_ and, of course, _Decrypt_.

BRAVE’S PARTNERSHIP BONANZA

To make it easy for users, including verified content creators, to cash in or exchange BAT, Brave announced a partnership with digital money platform, Uphold In October. The result is a wallet “which lets Brave users transfer BAT out of Brave Rewards and convert the tokens to digital assets and fiat currencies (after completing a verification process with digital money platform Uphold),” said Eich. 

 Major initiatives will support the growing utility of BAT, on the one hand, but also the expansion of our ad platform into mainstream online advertising.

And that’s not the only significant partnership Brave has bagged this year. It’s teamed up with other industry leaders including news site Cheddar, censorship-resistant online encyclopedia Everipedia; rewards and data platform TAP Network; hardware authenticaton solutions provider Yubico, and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

“We also worked with numerous advertisers and brands as we delivered over 475 privacy-preserving ad campaigns from brands such as Intel, Pizza Hut, Amazon, Home Chef, and more,” said Eich.

BRAVE’S 2020 PLANS

More partnerships are in the pipeline for 2020, he said. And Brave also plans to significantly enhance its ad offering. 

“Our aim is to scale Brave Ads and to make them even more relevant to users with the development of more machine learning in the browser, and more partnerships with leading brands,” said Eich.  

Meanwhile, publishers will get more rewards, “with an in-page, consent-based publisher ad model that gives them 70% of ad revenue for ads they choose to feature on their pages.” 

There are intriguing plans for Brave’s token, too. 

“You will also see further decentralization of our Basic Attention Token platform with the BAT Apollo roadmap phase, where we will start testing on-chain payments and campaign confirmations,” said Eich.
[Brave Browser]The Brave BAT partnership crest. Image: Brave
Brave also has further designs on its wallet functionality:

“We also plan to enable users to move their BAT from one device to another, with the implementation of wallet sync,” said Eich. 

“These major initiatives will support the growing utility of BAT, on the one hand, but also the expansion of our ad platform into mainstream online advertising—all while preserving privacy and putting users first.”

TOWARDS PRIVACY BY DEFAULT 

Eich’s argument, that the unfiltered web is invasive, unpleasant and slow, is persuasive, and Brave’s achievements over the past year are certainly impressive—it’s even led to copycat platforms. In April, Gab, the free-speech absolutist social media network, built its own web browser, a forked version of the open-source Brave browser.

But let’s not forget that Brave is still one of the smaller web browsers and not yet even in the top ten by market share. 

It could reach reach as many as 50 million users by this time next year, and a place in the top ten. But its success will depend on whether advertisers migrate from the existing business model favored by browsers like Google, and if it can scale its user base enough to make it a serious competitor. 

Wikipedia cofounder Larry Sanger is a fan. Another is Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buetrin, who praised the browser—which integrates with Ethereum apps—for contributing to the growth of the Ethereum ecosystem.

But Eich believes that Brave’s biggest advantage is the privacy that it provides. 

“This is crucial, because Internet giants that thrive on tracking users are facing backlash not only from users, but also from regulators,” he said. 

Brave has persistently pointed out that Google, for one, is actively violating European Union regulations by allowing companies to share sensitive customer data with ad partners.

“The privacy wave will continue to rise,” predicted Eich. “Established companies that are stuck in surveillance capitalism business models they cannot change, due to shareholder pressure, will start to feel the pressure from advertisers and users that demand more accountability, less fraud, and a privacy-by-default approach.”

In other words, a Brave new world. 


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INTERNET

Basic Attention Token

Brave browser has big plans for 2020 (Image: Brave)

Brave's privacy-focused web browser was one of 2019’s tech success stories. Co-founder Brendan Eich lays out his grand plans for 2020.

For Bitcoin’s scaling solution, the Lightning Network, 2019 passed in a flash of innovation. 

Developers made major progress in enabling large sums to be transferred across the network; the first neutrino mobile wallet was launched; the first Lightning conference opened; the first major exchange integration went live, and more. “Huge milestones,” as Ryan Gentry, lead analyst at crypto investment firm MultiCoin Capital, told _Decrypt_. 

But for Lightning, a super-fast payments layer on top of the Bitcoin blockchain that allows users to send and receive bitcoin quickly and cheaply, 2020 promises plenty more thrills, and perhaps some spills too.

“This is a very exciting time for Lightning,” said Samson Mow, chief strategy officer at Canadian blockchain services provider Blockstream. “For 2020, I expect to see continued growth of the network and further privacy improvements as well.”

MAKING LIGHTNING PAYMENTS EASIER

Payments on the Lightning Network are becoming easier, with developers anticipating further progress with multi-path payments. These allow for multiple channels to be used together in concert, meaning that payments can be split into smaller chunks. That, in turn, means that large amounts of bitcoin can be sent both quickly and cheaply. 

But multi-path payments aren’t the only option being worked on. 

Roy Sheinfeld, co-founder of bitcoin wallet and payment services provider Breez, said that the startup is working on asynchronous payments via Lightning Rod, a new offline-style payments protocol that will enable users to make payments without the need for mobile nodes to be online at the same time.

Channel capacity is also set to increase, he predicted. So-called Wumbo channels are in the works. These would not only remove the current 0.167 BTC channel limit, but leave payment participants free to set it as high as they wish.

Another upcoming innovation to look out for is “Trampoline routing.” This should enable clients to simplify their network transactions by relying on a so-called “trampoline node” to relay payments, instead of having to do it manually. 

LIGHTNING’S POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS

We’ll also see more exchanges jumping on board. Bitfinex just added support for the Bitcoin Lightning Network, and Bitfinex wallets can now send and receive bitcoin using Lightning.

In February, Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey announced that Square’s Cash App will integrate Lightning capabilities sometime in the future. Dorsey is a high profile Bitcoin cheerleader as well as an investor in Lightning; he’s recently doubled down by funding the development of Lightning. 

In the same month, Jeremy Welch, the chief executive of Casa, which provides Bitcoin multisig key security and Lightning nodes, told _Decrypt_ that Dorsey’s support for Lightning via Square would simply be “huge.”

Messaging functionality is in the works, too. A peer-to-peer, instant messaging protocol, “Whatsat”—a portmanteau of WhatsApp and satoshi—was created for Lightning in November. It enables encrypted messages to be sent without the use of a third party, like Facebook or WhatsApp. For the time being, it’s free; implementing a low-cost version is the main challenge. 

There’s even a Lightning ATM in development that will allow you to convert all your spare change to satoshi.

 How to make your own Bitcoin ATM 

LIQUIDITY VS. PRIVACY

All that progress comes at a price, however.

“For 2020, I'm anticipating tension between those on the network that want to onboard millions of users now, and those that want to go slow and prioritize user privacy first,” said Ryan Gentry, lead analyst at crypto investment firm MultiCoin Capital. 

Gentry questions whether the network’s liquidity management tools are currently robust enough to handle a sudden influx of payments. “It will be very interesting to see how the network holds up if a game like Litenite or Raiki goes viral,” he said.

“We have to check that the network can scale, that the clients can scale,” admitted Sheinfeld. 

With Breez, Sheinfeld’s ultimate aim is to improve Lightning’s UX. “We want to obfuscate complexity, and make it a seamless experience, like with the Internet,” he said. Lightning service providers, he believes, will play a leading role in onboarding users, performing a similar function to Internet Service Provider (ISPs).

“If we want to provide UX that’s on a par with fiat, we’re not there yet, but I think we’ll be there in six to 12 months.”

If the Lightning network’s going to achieve mass adoption, it has some hurdles to overcome, then—but it’s going flat-out. In the meantime, why not help things along by building your own Lightning node.


innovation

lightning network

Better privacy and liquidity management, trampoline routing, Wumbo channels, messaging and more—in 2020, Lightning is on course to change the world.  

Ki Chong Tran

There are plenty of stable digital currencies available, but only one can claim to be widely used, decentralized, and trustless. In this article, we find out why DAI stands out from the rest of the stablecoin pack.

Crypto with steady value isn’t new or rare. Tether(USDT) has been around for years and is by far the largest stablecoin available. We also have stablecoins such as USDC, PAX, Gemini Coin, and the upcoming Libra all competing to be the stable cryptocurrency of choice, but they all rely on trusting someone to honestly keep dollars in the bank. DAI changes that.

WHAT IS DAI

DAI is an ERC20 token on the Ethereum blockchain that has a steady value of one US dollar. It is also the key to the MakerDAO lending system. When a loan is taken out on MakerDAO, DAI is created. It’s the currency users borrow and pay-back. 

Once DAI is created, it functions simply as a stable Ethereum token. It can be used to pay for things and is easily transferred between Ethereum wallets.

WHO INVENTED DAI?

DAI is a product of MakerDAO, which was founded by Rune Christensen, the current CEO.

 The current version of DAI is technically an updated version of the stablecoin called multi-collateral DAI because it allows multiple types of crypto assets to be used to create DAI. The old version of DAI is now called SAI and known as single-collateral DAI because it could only be created by using ETH as collateral. The first crypto asset besides ETH accepted in the new multi-collateral DAI system is Basic Attention Token (BAT). 

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT IT?

The price of DAI is kept in check through a system of smart contracts automatically executing themselves. If the price of DAI fluctuates too far from one dollar, Maker (MKR) tokens are burned or created in order to stabilize the price of DAI. MakerDAO’s algorithms automatically manage the price of DAI so no one person needs to be trusted to keep the currency steady. If the system works as intended and one DAI equals one US dollar, MKR holders benefit because the total supply of MKR decreases–making MKR more rare and valuable. 

To date, DAI has remained stable for two years with only minor fluctuations from its one dollar price peg.

 MakerDAO recently upgraded their system to include the DAI Savings Rate in which DAI holders can lock their DAI holdings into the MakerDAO’s Oasis app to earn interest. 

WHAT ELSE IS DIFFERENT?

Since DAI is simply a token on Ethereum, anybody can use or build with DAI without permission. As an ERC20 token, DAI functions as a building block that can be incorporated into any dapp needing a stable asset or payment system. 

Developers can also wrap DAI in different smart contracts and modify it for different uses. For example, xDAI takes DAI and puts it on a superfast and low-cost sidechain to make transfers and payments easier and more efficient. Chai and rDAI takes normal DAI, puts it in an interest generating pool, and lets users control what happens to the interest as it accumulates. 

HOW IS DAI PRODUCED?

DAI is created whenever someone takes out a loan on MakerDAO. DAI is destroyed when loans are paid back.

HOW DO YOU GET HOLD OF DAI TOKENS?

The most direct way to get DAI is by taking out a loan on MakerDAO’s Oasis platform. You can also trade DAI on that same platform or use a centralized exchange such as Coinbase.

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH DAI?

One of the main uses for DAI is as a stable hedge or counterweight against the volatility of more popular crypto-assets such as Ethereum or Bitcoin. The stable value of DAI means it is good for investors or traders who believe the market is about to go down. 

Since DAI is stable, it’s also one of the most ideal crypto assets to spend. The Coinbase Card allows users to spend DAI and other crypto assets by converting the crypto into fiat on a Visa card. If you are in the UK or Europe, you can also spend DAI using the Monolith Visa debit card. 

THE FUTURE

MakerDAO is working hard to brand DAI as the “world’s first unbiased currency” and it’s starting with the logo, which they want to be as ubiquitous and recognizable as symbols for the dollar ($), euro (€), and pound (£). In the quest to become the first trustless mainstream currency, DAI will have to be adopted and used by millions of people–a task requiring not only branding, but also marketing and education. Though not an easy task, no other stablecoin is better positioned to make it happen.


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What is DAI? A 3-minute guide to the Ethereum stablecoin - Decrypt

DAI is an ERC20 token on the Ethereum blockchain that has a steady value of one US dollar. It is also the key to the MakerDAO lending system.

According to DigiByte, blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum are not secure or scalable enough. DigiByte claims to have a proven and tested solution that is faster and safer than the competition. 

WHAT IS DIGIBYTE?

DigiByte is a complete blockchain network based on three different layers. The top layer is for smart contracts, decentralized applications, and customizable tokens. The middle layer is the public ledger where the DigitByte native coin can move throughout the network and serve as its base asset. The bottom layer is the core infrastructure of the system and includes the decentralized nodes, the client software, and the communication between each. 

WHO INVENTED DIGIBYTE?

Jared Tate is the founder and creator of DigiByte and has been working on the project since 2013. 

 Both DigiByte and Bitcoin use Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO), which is a technical method for keeping track of blockchain transactions between accounts. However, DigiByte has over 9 million blocks as of July 2019 compared to Bitcoin’s less than 600,000 blocks. DigiByte is also 40 times faster than Bitcoin, making it the fastest and longest UTXO blockchain in the world. 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF DIGIBYTE

 	* January 2014 – DigiByte is officially launched
 	* April 2017 – Segwit is activated on DigitByte becoming the first major altcoin to do so
 	* May 2019 – DigiAssets is launched

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT IT?

Secure and battle-tested in the wild for over 5 years, DigiByte has proven that its security as a blockchain is for real. It’s most unique feature is the fact that the blockchain network uses five mining algorithms when most only use one. These five different mining algorithms are meant to prevent mining centralization and make the network more secure and decentralized.

In addition to having five mining algorithms, DigiByte also claims to have the “most advanced difficulty stability” of any current blockchain. The advanced difficulty adjustments are meant to protect the DigiByte blockchain from malicious attacks and further improve security.

 DigiByte has had over 275,000 full nodes downloaded since April 2017 and 15,000 nodes active globally.

WHAT ELSE IS DIFFERENT?

The newest innovation from DigiByte is DigiAssets, which is the top layer of the DigiByte blockchain that allows for smart contracts, decentralized applications, and programmable tokens. Because of DigiByte’s heightened security and scalability, the team believes that it offers the ideal base protocol for a platform like DigiAssets.

The first two DigiAssets were created by DigiByte founder, Jared Tate, in April 2019. The DigiTorch and DigiFlame are both meant to be passed on from different DigiByte community members as they build new projects on DigiAssets.

HOW IS DIGIBYTE PRODUCED?

DigiByte has a fixed supply and distribution schedule. A total of 21 billion DigiByte will be created within 21 years. Since there was no ICO or Token Generation Event, new DigiByte have been and always will be created through mining. The first DigiByte was mined in 2014 and the last of the 21 billion coins will be mined in 2035.

HOW DO YOU GET HOLD OF DIGIBYTE?

DigiByte can be purchased and traded on major exchanges such as Huobi. To use DigiByte off an exchange, you will have to download a DigiByte wallet. You can also earn DigiBytes through mining.

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH DIGIBYTE?

Like Bitcoin, DigiByte can be used for payments or transferring value. However, DigiByte is also used as the fuel to run the DigiAsset smart contract network. In this context, DigiByte functions like gas in Ethereum to pay for transactions or as the carrier for other assets and code to be sent and received. 

THE FUTURE

Besides continually developing technical upgrades and improvements to the core protocol, the DigiByte launched DigiStats in the fall of 2019 to provide interactive and historical blockchain statistics, increase mobile and payment processing options, and create more fiat and USDT stablecoin pairings on different exchanges.

In January 2020, as the network turns 6, the company is also planning on launching the DigiByte Foundation which is designed to help with fund-raising inside the community.

> January 2020 is going to be the start of the #DigiByte Foundation. 
> Please make sure to follow us to stay up to date, and get involved. Soon we will publish bylaws, and get registered. Next steps will be community involvement, board completion, patron sponsorships, funding, etc.
> 
> — DigiByte Foundation (@DGB_Foundation) January 3, 2020

However, the biggest and most important upcoming plan for DigiByte will be growing DigiAssets. If all goes according to plan, an entire ecosystem of dapps and ICO will be an integral part of the network. 


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DigiByte (DGB) is a UTXO PoW based blockchain with a focus on cybersecurity, digiassets, payments, and secure communications technologies.

DigiByte

What is DigiByte? A 3-minute guide to the OG of blockchains - Decrypt

DigiByte claims to have a proven and tested solution that is faster and safer than blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

If blockchains want to be able to host mainstream applications that hundreds of millions of people use on a regular basis, they will have to be able to handle millions of transactions quickly and securely. This is where the Internet of Services Token (IOST) blockchain comes in. The team is creating a blockchain that can handle real usage and real volume. Learn why IOST is contending to be the prime destination for the future world of dapps.

WHAT IS IOST?

IOST is its own fully-fledged blockchain network and ecosystem with its own nodes, wallets, and consensus protocol. Speed is the name of the game for IOST, a blockchain dedicated to being “ultra-fast” through a combination of unique technologies such as Proof of Believability (POB) and Efficient Distributed Sharding (EDS)–more on these later.

WHO INVENTED IOST?

IOST was founded by Jimmy Zhong, Terrence Wang, Justin Li, Ray Xiao, Sa Wang, and Kevin Tan who are alumni of some of the world's most prestigious universities and companies in the world.

 The IOST ecosystem has a $50 million incubator and accelerator called Bluehill. Bluehill is designed to be similar to Ethereum’s ConsenSys with the goal of supporting critical infrastructure and projects that will help grow the IOST ecosystem. 

A BRIEF HISTORY

 	* Early 2017 – Development of IOST is started
 	* January 2018 – IOST token sale raises over $31 million
 	* February 2019 – The IOST mainnet called Olympus v1.0 is live
 	* May 2019 – IOST releases OnBlock a web-based platform that will allow anyone to interact with decentralized applications on IOST's network, just by using an email address or mobile phone number to log in.

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT IT?

Understanding IOST means comparing it to its nearest competitors; Ethereum, the most popular smart contract platform for developers, and EOS and TRON, highly scalable smart contract platforms with high usage. The biggest differentiator is that IOST claims to be able to process up to 100,000 transactions per second compared to Ethereum’s 20, Tron’s 2,000, and EOS’s 4,000. 

To reach these transaction speeds that far surpass the competition, the IOST team has created a novel blockchain architecture, which introduces and combines several innovations including Distributed Randomness Protocol, Efficient Distributed Sharding, TransEpoch, Atomix, Proof-of-Believability, and Micro State Blocks.

 Like the ERC20 standard on Ethereum, the IOST platform has its own token standard for implementing tokens on the IOST blockchain called IRC20.

WHAT ELSE IS DIFFERENT?

Servi or Partner Nodes produce blocks for the IOST blockchain and these nodes are selected via votes from the IOST community. Both voters and those selected as nodes are rewarded with tokens. Organizations or individuals interested in becoming a node must apply and receive at least 2,100,000 votes. 

HOW IS IOST PRODUCED?

There is a total supply of 21 billion tokens in the IOST blockchain and the system issues 2% more tokens every year to reward official nodes, partner nodes, and voters. An additional 1% of tokens are designated to reward those who help further grow and develop the IOST ecosystem. 

HOW DO YOU GET HOLD OF IOST?

Originally the IOST token was an ERC20 token that was sold during the ICO, but since the launch of the IOST mainnet, holders have been able to swap their old ERC20 tokens for the new IOST mainnet tokens. IOST tokens can be purchased on major exchanges like Huobi and Binance, which support automatic token swapping from the old to new tokens. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH IOST?

The IOST token can be used for payments between users and services, transaction fees for using the system, and as part of the “believability scores” that is unique to the IOST platform. 

THE FUTURE

IOST has a high number of dapps and dapp users, which is very impressive considering that it is a still a relatively new blockchain compared to the others in the “Big 4”. Gambling, games, and exchanges are the most popular IOST dapps at the moment. The team has big ambitions of bringing in over 100 million users in 2019 and to do this they will need to continue increasing dapp and dapp usage as well as increase their partnerships with different organizations. They will continue partnering with more exchanges and bringing in more developers and nodes into their ecosystem in order to create the “world’s first scalable AND decentralized blockchain project.”


IOST is an ultra-fast, decentralized blockchain network based on the next-generation consensus algorithm “Proof of Believability” (PoB).

IOST

What is IOST? A three minute guide to the Ethereum rival - Decrypt

IOST is its own fully-fledged blockchain network and ecosystem with its own nodes, wallets, and consensus protocol. Find more in our helpful guide.

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Dotcom backs Bitcoin Cash

Toxic Bitcoiners drove Kim Dotcom to Bitcoin Cash

Putting rumors to bed

Holochain denies ICO funds were used for bondage studio

Show me the money

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Why 2020 will be the best year yet for Bitcoin's Lightning Network

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