Use of
cryptocurrency has become more accepted and mainstream recently, and in the
last six months there have been a couple of significant developments in
crypto's progress towards widespread adoption.
First, the
huge investments and price increases during the "summer of Bitcoin"
have put cryptocurrencies in the news and shown they can retain investment
value despite shocks. Secondly, the cryptosphere at large has seen a push to
address and confront major issues that could impact user adoption long-term.
In search
for good enough in all respects
Among these
issues are those of compatibility and interoperability. Forks, lightning
networks, and atomic swaps have all come to the fore as efforts are made to
make increase user experience and efficiency. If the history of technology
diffusion tells us anything, it is that mainstream users want solutions that
are "good enough" in all respects (rather than excellent at just one
or two things).
Cryptocurrencies
that are easy to use, provide versatility, and bring platforms together will
succeed best, and compatibility and interoperability are the name of the game
Hcash (abbreviated from HyperCash) is a Chinese/Australian cryptocurrency
project aiming to provide a wide set of features that would increase adoption.
Among
Hcash's features is the ability to support integration of block-based and
blockless-based transactions and currencies. Currencies like Bitcoin and
Ethereum use conventional Blockchains, while others like IOTA operate on a
blockless paradigm. There is a lot of room for different currencies to
flourish, but those that offer interoperability and compatibility stand to
become major players in their own right. Hcash, by aiming to allow for harmony
between different paradigms and currencies, might be able to carve out a
significant market share for itself.
Problem to
be solved: bridging ecosystems and making user experience simple
Most people
involved in investing or using cryptocurrencies will have noticed the
considerable buzz behind IOTA, Byteball, and similar currencies. These use a
blockless chain setup, in this case using Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG)
technology.
The data
format used in this type of chain is fundamentally different than in
Blockchain-based systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum. This raises serious issues
regarding interoperability and compatibility for making transactions and swaps
between these two kinds of chains.
If managing
conventional cryptocurrency transactions can be cumbersome for novices (which
is very much the case), then comprehending and managing transactions between
Blockchain-based currencies like Bitcoin and a tangle-based currency like IOTA
would be prohibitively inconvenient.
Steps
towards bridging the gap
Linking
tangle-based and Blockchain-based systems is, therefore, a challenge. This is
the principal aim of the Hcash solution. It creates sidechains to both types of
systems which allows for flow of data and value, in effect becoming an
intermediary platform between both.
On top of
this, the Hcash team has built several features into their solution to make
usability more fluid and secure. Notable among these is the unlimited nature of
transactions, allowing Hcash users to "transfer unlimited times with a
limited block size, no matter the speed of transfer or amount of transfer."
They have
also chosen a novel governance structure that incorporates and accommodates
both Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanisms, balancing the
needs of both miners and users.
Hcash also
supports privacy (using Zero Knowledge Proof technology), and has been
future-proofed against the rise of quantum computing with quantum resistant
safeguards.
These
features all tick the boxes of a technology that will help to bridge the gap
between DAG and Blockchain currencies while also allowing for a straightforward
user experience.
Australia's
progress in crypto
Hcash is a
joint project between teams in Australia, Hong Kong and China. Australia has
seen some progress in terms of cryptocurrencies lately, and Hcash has
capitalized on the recent interest sweeping the country. Of course, the Chinese
public has already shown a great interest in mining and investing in crypto.
One thing
of note about the Hcash project is that it has a strong academic foundation.
The solution has been developed by computer scientists and researchers at three
major universities (Monash University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Hong
Kong Polytechnic University) and already has usage and support across the
Australian third-level educational industry and mainstream markets.
The team
are therefore very research-focussed and the project is open-source. The Hcash
project is addressing unresolved issues in the cryptosphere, and has
considerable expertise on its advisory board including one of the founding
researchers of the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero.
It is also
worth noting that the project is sponsoring the World Blockchain Summit in
Dubai, during which their CTO Khal Achkar will be speaking.
The strong
academic foundations of the currency have attracted a lot of interest from
investors ahead of the full launch of the network in the coming months.
Bringing
systems and protocols
The crypto
world is growing in every direction, solving problems for many different users.
With a rapidly expanding base of solutions, many observers are turning their
attention to the cohesion between players in the ecosystem.
At the same
time, the increased mainstream adoption of crypto brings about a need for more
user-friendly platforms.
If Hcash
can address these two issues of interoperability and usability, they could
cement their place in the ecosystem and benefit many users.
No comments:
Post a Comment