On 8 January 2014, Vice posted an interview which discusses how bitcoin works and why. Quicker Coins:
Bitcoin is the leading crypto-currency in the world. The currency was first generated by a mysterious group or individual named Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009.
It is a cryptocurrency, so-called because it uses cryptography to control the creation and transfer of money. Users send payments by broadcasting digitally signed messages to the network. Participants known as miners verify and timestamp transactions into a shared public database called the block chain, for which they are rewarded with transaction fees and newly minted bitcoins.While bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC: 'the silver to bitcoin's gold') have emerged as frontrunners, Quicker Coins lists the following currencies which are alternatives to bitcoin: InfiniteCoin, Peercoin, Primecoin, Feathercoin, Devcoin, Terracoin, Namecoin, Freicoin, Dogecoin, Earthcoin, Novacoin, Quark, Stablecoin, Ripples, Anoncoin, BitBar, Chuck Norris Coin, CoinyeCoin, Franko, Asiccoin, CatCoin, BlakeCoin, Bytecoin, 42Coins, Copperlark. They are either bitcoin clones or declare their superiority - as with the Russian Copperlark - based on the type of coding and security their designers use. Anoncoin declares itself the "currency of the underground":
The only one that supports the darknet with i2p capability. Join the ranks of the underground forces and start saving up your Anoncoin. ... Why does this project exist? We want to make sure cryptocurrency will still be available for use and trade within the darknets even in the event that the central banks decide to crack down on the bitcoin buisness on a large scale.Second generation crypto-currencies include Protoshares, eMunie, Mastercoin, MintChip, DYM and Opencoin. What are these things worth in real world currency terms? Look here.
Anoncoin is currently the only cryptocoin that supports the i2p darknet. With the addition of being fully tor compatible there is a huge possibility of hiding in plain sight by transferring coins using the darknets only. This kind of transfer across darknets, exchanges, and “coin mixers” can help you ensure that the coins you received initially either from mining, purchasing, or as payment of services can be fully scrambled and thus not traceable back to your wallet. Even if the blockchain is studied in detail there will be no way to tell which coins belong to what wallet, nor any kind of ID.
Reihan Salam's Vice interview with Jerry Brito, a senior research fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center and director of its Technology Policy Program, is posted below the jump. For more explanations on what these developments mean for society and the economy, see this article at Wired and this podcast interview, in which GoldMoney's Andy Duncan talks to Jon Matonis. See the original bitcoin whitepaper by bitcoin designer 'Satoshi Nakamoto' here and a chat with bitcoin investors, the Winklevoss twins, here.
Litecoin mining contract on eBay. The bitcoin motto is Vires in Numeris ('strength in numbers') and appears here on a litecoin image. Image Source: eBay.
Above the jump: images from listings related to bitcoin and other crypto-currencies on eBay; the eBay listings were current at the time of writing this blog post. EBay's listings include many contracts for crypto-currency mining and bits of hardware necessary to do currency mining.
150 netcoin, physical wallet. Image Source: eBay.
Earthcoin (EAC), pictured at the top of this post, is so new (it launched on 20 December 2013) that its Wikipedia entry (created 8 January) has not been edited yet. A child of litecoin, earthcoin's transactions are authorized by a decentralized peer-to-peer network. Its designers are issuing virtual coins in blocks, the size of which coincide with the movements of the heavens:
Coin Trader praises earthcoin for something its competitors lack: good marketing (it is "Litecoin with a business plan" and a Facebook page), including the seemingly eco-friendly element in that the coin is named after the planet, and its rewards system follows the seasons:[D]ue to the recent cluster in the market we're all seeing developers and teams try to bring something to market that will last, and all we get are quick short lifecycles and 20 more coins before your portfolio can even mature from last week[']s launches...
Our goal isn't to compete, as much as compliment, create balance, and not divert into launching 9 more coins because we can. Instead, we'd like to see what kind of actual substance and value we can create with a coin that represents us all. No matter what race, age, ethnicity, we're all a part of this beautiful planet, and who knows maybe this tiny lil' grass roots idea might be enough to unite some/many of us!
EarthCoin is a new generation scrypt coin that is a descendant of Litecoin. Like Litecoin - it uses scrypt as a proof of work scheme.EarthCoin uses a 365 day period. It will start with 10,000 coins per block, and it varies in a sine curve with amplitude of 2,000, with a period of one year (like the Earth moving around the Sun).
This means that you start with 10,000 coins, and it adjusts at each block, reaches a maximum of 12,000 coins per block after about 3 months, then it will descend gradually to approx 10,000 coins per block again at about 6 months. Then a new minimum of 8000 coins per block at about 9 months.
Then we reverse that - to climb and return to 10,000 coins per block at one year, before finally cutting the payout in half.
This is where Earthcoin attempts to differentiate itself, somewhat. As humans, we’re all used to working in different seasons.. now crypto-coin mining is no different. The block rewards system is modeled after the seasonal rotation of the Earth moving around the sun.. an interesting concept, if you’re into mining.
We have all been poisoned for over 100 years and suffer from the same affliction, whether we have been fortunate to live in luxury or poverty, the disease has infected all of us. Some can live with the disease for a lifetime through fortune, some do not get to live at all. Some of us can eat food each and every day, some of us do not get to eat at all.
Fractional reserve fiat currencies have infected all aspects of human existence on the Earth. Through direct examples as mentioned above or through indirect correlation as to how cities are designed or how medicine is administered or where strawberries are grown. Centrally organized institutions regulating the money supply for the betterment of each of their respective nations, trying to outwit one another to achieve exclusive benefits in an ever-expanding inflationary environment that only destroys value with each passing second. Some would call it a common divider. A mechanism through its degradation that has fostered and supported fraud, cheating, manipulation, counterfeit, crime, mistrust and War. ...
Imagine removing regulatory bodies whose sole purpose was to ensure the integrity of a store of value based on a set of standards and measurements through the checks and balances of fallible men and instead giving that responsibility to millions of upon millions of participants plugged into an automated network, leaving standardization and confirmation of value up to perfect algorithms, removed of the human condition.
Imagine waking up each and every day with naturally just a little bit more money than you had yesterday.
Imagine how cities would be designed sustainably and how a man’s efforts in Bangladesh would be rewarded with the same incentive as a man in the United States.
Imagine how loans would be discouraged and instead work effort and product would become more valuable as humanity expanded.There are warnings on the bitcoin forum against trade in pseudo-currencies outside exchanges (let alone on the exchanges). So what is going on on eBay? Even seasoned crypto-currency forum members were startled to see trade in these coins appear on the mainstream e-auction site. But here we are. According to Bitcoin Talk and the Earthcoin Website, earthcoin exchanges include:
Imagine travelling anywhere in the World to buy anything from anyone without middlemen transaction fees or conversions. Imagine storing your currency on your password protected cell phone where you are able to buy anything anywhere at anytime, simply by scanning your QR-Code.
Imagine where our efforts were all measured equally, where freedom was for everyone, and where someone had the foresight to plan for the generations to come.
You have been taught not to imagine this. You have been told it is not possible. You have been told this by the very people who manage and control the fractional reserve, fiat system.
We assure you it is real. We assure you EarthCoin is real. It is already here. The roadmap to be set forth soon for EarthCoin is nothing short of inspirational and revolutionary.
Take back the planet. This isn’t just about paying for things in EarthCoins, this is a about a revolution!
Bitcoin (BTC) Paper Wallet with 0.1BTC balance. Image Source: eBay.
See all my posts on Cryptocurrencies.
A great piece that sheds much needed light on some of the great theoretical/ideological debates in the contemporary crypto space. At CleanApp Foundation, we appreciate the emphasis on pragmatism, and emphasis on Blockchain/DTL/Crypto projects that offer real social utility. Looking forward to engaging more with your crew!
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