On Thursday, the smart contract protocol Counterparty reached its millionth transaction. Bitcoin Magazine received an update on the condition of the projection from Shawn Leary, the newly elected Counterparty community director.
Counterparty was launched inwards Jan 2014 amongst the creation of its native currency, XCP. Unlike typical ICOs (initial money offerings) today that transfer funds to the founders, XCP was created yesteryear “burning” bitcoins, whereby bitcoins were sent to a particular address (one for which no i owned the somebody key) that rendered them unspendable. Those who destroyed their bitcoins inwards this way inwards homecoming received an total of XCP inwards proportion to their bitcoins lost.
This “proof of burn” procedure lay all Bitcoin users, including the founders, on an equal basis inwards price of obtaining the native XCP token. According to Leary, the Counterparty squad hopes that its unique founding sets the musical note to attract novel projects that won’t convey wages of users’ funds.
“We desire to spill out this legacy together with promise it wards off scams together with attracts genuine projects that role our protocol for what it was intended: decentralized markets,” said Leary.
Counterparty doesn’t stimulate got its ain blockchain; rather, it exists solely via the Bitcoin blockchain. All actions taken on Counterparty are made through ordinary Bitcoin transactions using XCP every bit the “fuel” that is spent. This way that Counterparty transactions are protected yesteryear the hashing ability of Bitcoin, thus a double pass would require a 51 per centum assault on the Bitcoin blockchain itself.
Counterparty Project: More Than Games
Leary described an indie-game network that is “growing leaps together with bounds roughly Counterparty.” This marketplace seat is arguably where Counterparty has had its greatest impact. The outset of these games to ascension to prominence was Spells of Genesis, amongst its token launch inwards 2015.
Since then, many gaming projects stimulate got flourished on Counterparty. The Rare Pepe project currently has over 1,000 digital collectible trading cards registered via Counterparty for role inwards games such every bit SaruTobi Island together with Rare Pepe Party. The augmented reality game Augmentors has too successfully raised over $1,000,000 inwards bitcoins inwards a token sale on Counterparty of the in-game property Databits, together with fifty-fifty won investor Vinny Lingham’s back upwards during an episode of Shark Tank. Augmentors is currently inwards beta together with is planning for a launch inwards 2018.
But in that location is to a greater extent than to Counterparty than exactly games. Generally, Counterparty is helping anyone exercise digital assets amongst smart contract properties that are protected yesteryear the hashing ability of the Bitcoin blockchain.
For instance, Counterparty’s FoldingCoin is aimed at rewarding those who render computing ability to Stanford’s Folding@home projection to assist inwards the report of diseases such every bit Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s together with many cancers.
In collaboration amongst Storj, Counterparty developed Pico payments, which volition endure implemented to cut the toll of microtransactions.
Probably their most widely used token, LTBCOIN, has been used yesteryear the LTB Network for a few years now. In fact, over 17 per centum of all Counterparty transactions stimulate got been amongst LTBCOIN.
“Every protocol has its deficiencies together with quirks,” Adam B. Levine, Editor-in-Chief of the Let’s Talk Bitcoin! Show, said to Bitcoin Magazine. “Counterparty is no different. What I similar close it is that we've been edifice amongst it long plenty that I sympathise those risks together with challenges. We've already solved most of them, similar accepting dollar payments for tokens together with giving token buyers the feeling of 2nd fulfillment when they'd otherwise endure waiting for blockchain confirmations.”
The Scaling Debate: Preparing for What’s Next
The Counterparty squad has non taken a definitive seat on the diverse scaling proposals, but continues to run Bitcoin Core. Leary told Bitcoin Magazine that in that location are ii routes Counterparty could convey to trouble organization human relationship for a network fork. If Counterparty supports a difficult fork inwards advance, they volition “release a novel version of Counterparty utilizing the novel Bitcoin client, together with users must switch to this novel Bitcoin customer every bit good every bit the updated Counterparty version earlier the specific Bitcoin fork occurs.”
Alternatively, if a fork occurs that they did non trouble organization human relationship for ahead of time, they stimulate got the pick to “freeze” Counterparty balances at a specific block meridian on the former chain together with transition to a novel chain at an indicated block height. In this case, “there would endure some downtime, but the procedure would endure announced good inwards advance amongst clear instructions provided for everyone.”
The squad too emphasized that since Counterparty exists solely through the Bitcoin blockchain, in that location tin endure no such matter every bit a fork inwards Counterparty itself. Counterparty nodes exercise non postulate to coordinate amongst i another, since all nodes exactly postulate to monitor the canonical Bitcoin blockchain, whatever the Counterparty protocol defines that to be.
Continuing Improvements
Counterparty is nevertheless continually improved amongst evolution led yesteryear meat maintainers Ruben de Vries together with Devon Weller. There are currently ii Counterparty Improvement Proposals (CIPs) outstanding, CIP 9 together with CIP 10. Both are aimed at reducing costs for transactions over the network. The squad is too raising funds to upgrade counterwallet.io.
Editor’s Note: The LTB Network is a belongings of BTC Media.
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