In this thread we discuss [b]cool/unique/interesting[/b] cryptocurrency projects/decentralization projects.
These may or may not be the future of the internet. These may encompass file storage/P2P networks/finance networks and may/may not be malicious or not in nature.
Projects that are considered interesting for this thread: Bitcoin/Bitcoin alts/Altcoins/Altcoins which promote decentralization.
Things posted in this thread may include ideas/links which promote finance/money via cryptography, or ideas that promote decentralization to otherwise popular ideas (reddit/twitter/github/bittorrent).
[b]General common sense applies; do not download anything except from sources, disregard and report any direct links posted here unless it points to a github or similar link. As always do your own research and blindly ignore what anyone on this or any other forum has to say about investing in things. Before investing any amount of money (or investing time mining) do your own research.[/b]
Assume that any 3rd party links posted here are malicious and use your own common sense to regard/disregard information. Consider any hype/etc as being bullshit posts that are just people just trying to make a buck.
[b]NOTE: BEFORE DOWNLOAD ANY FILE WHETHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY VIA THIS THREAD ENSURE YOU DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE; THIS INCLUDES ANY AN ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED VIA COMMENTS AND PRIVATE MESSAGES/LINKS--DO NOT BE A GULLIBLE IDIOT AND YOUR [u]OWN RESEARCH[/u][/b]
Useful Links:
[url]http://poloniex.com[/url] -- a bitcoin/cryptocurrency exchange
[url]http://reddit.com/r/btc[/url] -- a useful forum for discussing bitcoin in particular
[url]http://reddit.com/r/cryptocurrency[/url] -- a useful forum for discussing cryptocurrencies in general
[url]http://bitcointalk.org[/url] -- a useful forum for discussing cryptocurrencies and bitcoin in general
If you're a complete noob and don't know what bitcoin is at all then here is the low down:
Bitcoin is basically a decentralized form of money. It invented the term "decentralized ledger" which is basically a decentralized, trustless database. This simply means that 1-100,000,000 people could edit the same database and have it be trustworthy--whether for financial purposes or otherwise.
So at its most basic application cryptocurrency provides a forum for TRADE/FINANCE. Here is a decent (albeit optimistic) video that explains the BLOCKCHAIN:
[hd]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIVAluSL9SU[/hd]
At its most complex/optimistic application, bitcoin/blockchain could provide for thousands of different applications ranging from TRADE to FINANCE to DELIVERY to CONTRACTS to VIDEOGAMES to a whole host of other uses. At this point in time, besides flaws in transaction speed etc, no one has been able to reverse the blockchain itself which makes it an impermeable database (as of now). BITCOIN invented the concept of the blockchain, arguably, so the concept of BLOCKCHAIN isn't unique to BITCOIN anymore.
[editline]5th March 2016[/editline]
First post:
[url]https://zeronet.io/[/url]
Real-time updated, P2P websites using Bitcoin cryptography and the BitTorrent network
Your content distributed directly to other visitors without any central server.
Uncensored
It's nowhere because it's everywhere!
No hosting costs
Sites are served by visitors.
Always accessible
No single point of failure.
Interesting because it is the first representation of cryptocurrency as being an infallible hosting network which provides links which may otherwise be removed by traditional legal methods.
I bought a load of Ethereum because of a thread on /biz/ and now I am a very happy man.
Something that should definitely be noted with ZeroNet, is that unless you are always using tor with it, as soon as you connect to a site and become a peer for it, your IP is attached to it. Thereby if something illegal were to be on it and someone wished to go after anyone and everyone hosting it, you could be held responsible.
Regardless of that, I do believe that with ZeroNet and Tor combined, it's certainly a step up from Tor's hidden services. Now hopefully they get audited and can prove that things are as secure as they say it is.
On the side of bitcoin, I used to love it. I was one of those people that used to buy low, sell high. If you really watch how things are going and buy and sell at the right times, it can definitely rake in some money for you. The biggest issue I have with bitcoin is how much people push that it's an anonymous cryptocurrency when it's not. It's not meant to be either. Yes, there are tumblers and such to help but everything can be tracked in the end.
Another cool project:
OpenBazaar
Basically a decentralized ebay of sorts that uses bitcoin as payment method; much like the silkroad or similar it could be used for illegal items but given how a lot of people are disatisfied with PayPal/eBay it could prove to be something quite unique.
[url]http://openbazaar.org/[/url]
[url]https://www.reddit.com/r/openbazaar[/url]
[url]https://github.com/OpenBazaar[/url]
[hd]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vjcz5FivDE[/hd]
One question I commonly get asked by people unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies is how is one supposed to know things are a scam or not. As there is no central registry and there are different regional currencies (the Chinese hold a huge interest in cryptocurrency) it is impossible to calculate how many different cryptocurrencies (otherwise known as altcoins) exist. I made a rough calculation one day and came up with a number slightly higher than 3000. If you read through the bitcointalk.org forum (basically the most well known forum for cryptocurrency) you will note the hundreds of different currencies and that people will invest in literally any idea (if you don't believe me, keep in mind Dogecoin's market cap is currently at ~20 million USD).
Although I post some of the more serious crypto/decentralization based projects here I also run a blog if anyone is interested that covers the more ridiculous side of this shit: [url]http://cryptolonography.tumblr.com/[/url]
Literally anything you can think of already exists: DisneyCoin, CocaColaCoin, Titcoin, Fuckcoin, Salamicoin, Juggalocoin, Porkcoin, Mosescoin, Truckcoin etc. On top of the plethora of stupid ideas, there are people that will invest either mining/CPU time into mining these coins, or purchasing them for money and trying to trade them.
here are some samplers:
[img]http://40.media.tumblr.com/2710411485e17eea1c6b799234f0f0e2/tumblr_o3toiavGJA1u7ayc0o1_500.png[/img]
[img]http://41.media.tumblr.com/254fcb33379ddfafeee5ab6f42ef8379/tumblr_nhyd4pENni1u7ayc0o3_500.png[/img]
[img]http://40.media.tumblr.com/788aac84ba163898f2ff03e4b43f613d/tumblr_nhyd4pENni1u7ayc0o5_500.png[/img]
[img]http://40.media.tumblr.com/773f7a85e50d973b52a049d3e4c54e0b/tumblr_nhxz89AXwJ1u7ayc0o1_500.png[/img]
[img]http://41.media.tumblr.com/299aee8d89201ce40e21763757fc2f6c/tumblr_nid2s9x4C41u7ayc0o3_500.png[/img]
[img]http://41.media.tumblr.com/6c6ec33c786eef0f78bf06f8843efbc7/tumblr_nidlm9NDDP1u7ayc0o2_250.jpg[/img]
[img]http://40.media.tumblr.com/0c9d6b7916af0ee0b457d608323c76e8/tumblr_nid2veqOJe1u7ayc0o1_500.jpg[/img]
[editline]10th March 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=maaatts;49878176]I bought a load of Ethereum because of a thread on /biz/ and now I am a very happy man.[/QUOTE]
I bought a load of Ethereum and Bitshares and they both went down about 60%. I was a sad man. I sold out and bought some Siacoin instead and now I am quite happy.
Another interesting crypto/decentralization project that has been around for a while: Namecoin
[quote]"What does it do?
Securely record and transfer arbitrary names (keys).
Attach a value (data) to the names
(up to 520 bytes, more in the future).
Transact namecoins, the digital currency (ℕ, NMC).
Namecoin was the first fork of Bitcoin and still is one of the most innovative altcoins. It was first to implement merged mining and a decentralized DNS. Namecoin squares Zooko's Triangle!
What can it be used for?
Protect free-speech rights online by making the web more resistant to censorship.
Access websites using the .bit domain (with TLS/SSL).
Store identity information such as email, GPG key, BTC address, TLS fingerprints, Bitmessage address, etc.
Human readable Tor .onion names/domains.
File signatures, Voting, bonds/stocks,/shares, web of trust, escrow and notary services (to be implemented)."[/quote]
[url]https://namecoin.info/[/url]
TL;DR you can basically use namecoin as a decentralized DNS system which makes it impervious to traditional domainname takedowns.
[hd]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwNwrfCVVvM[/hd]
Another cryptocurrency project (which I am personally invested in, to provide full disclosure) is Syscoin.
Syscoin provides an alternative to eBay with the option of an arbiter. It basically could easily replace the idea of eBay and provides an alternative towards OpenBazaar. It could provide a marketplace towards anything from drugs to cheats to anything you could think of.
They currently have a beta out which provides an example of what they would provide.
[url]http://syscoin.org/[/url]
[quote]Syscoin is a revolutionary cryptocurrency that not only allows low-cost financial transactions like Bitcoin, but provides businesses the infrastructure to trade goods, assets, digital certificates and data securely.
Syscoin isnt just about money and trading, it has the ability to attract all business types thanks to its native set of features geared towards the financial sector. Syscoin offers benefits to everyone from eBay traders, to High Street shops and many more.
Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Syscoin’s intrinsic value is derived from the decentralized services it provides directly on the blockchain. The blockchain powers all Syscoin services. It is a decentralized system of record hosted by a series of “nodes” on the Syscoin network. Syscoin trades under the symbol SYS in virtual currency exchanges.[/quote]
maybe i'll bring this thread back to life as there seems to be a few more people interested in technology
Voxelus is a blockchain/economy for VR content
"Voxelus is a 3D design app for Mac and PC that lets anyone create VR games and experiences without writing a single line of code."
this is what the marketplace looks like: [url]https://www.voxelus.com/marketplace[/url]
so basically you can design shit a la secondlife and sell it to people with bizarre fetishes and who want to look really weird
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