Hello again ECC’ers!
First of all, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy new year! We hope you’ve been able to spend some quality time with your families over the holidays and we wish you all the best for 2020. Let’s get right into it!
Development Update:
Here are a few highlights of the work done on the development side for the back half of 2019:
* Internal bug fixes and threading improvements
* A Significant speedup in blockchain synchronization
* AODV routing and data packet transmission (base layer for messaging) complete.
* New ZMQ notifications added to support Sapphire integration with messaging
* Fee estimation improved for a smoother experience using Electrum-ECC
* The exploration of design options for decentralized file sharing
* Improvements in the wallet recovery tools for troubleshooting corrupt wallets
* Providing support for new wallet installations due to the coinexchange.io closure
Currently, messaging is working well in the developer environment, and many messages have been sent successfully between the developers. Dylan is working hard on the UX that comes with it, so messaging 1.0 can be available and usable by all. That being said, let’s talk a little bit about ECC messaging.
While many of the other blockchain based messaging platforms out there actually write each message to the blockchain, ECC messages are direct between nodes (or possibly forwarded by intermediate nodes). They are immediate, not written to the blockchain (no chain bloat over time), and more secure for that reason (no history kept on the blockchain that might be attacked by quantum computers in the distant future). The only blockchain dependency/connection is that the message routing piggy-backs on the mesh network of the inter-connected full nodes.
Other messaging systems like Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, etc. have central servers that your UX app connects to when it starts up. With ECC messaging there are no central servers, only the existing full node mesh network, with all of the infrastructure being open source for everyone to see. The current downside is that Messaging 1.0 will currently only work with local full nodes running, but in the future we will be adding light/mobile client support.
Griffith is currently updating some code so Dylan can sign messages, which allows Sapphire to verify the origin of each message. In the current dev form, people can pretend to be someone they are not, and using a private key signature will solve this. Dylan will need this prior to Messaging 1.0 being available.
Here’s what’s happening in the coming months:
- New Sapphire release with some bug fixes.
- Sapphire with Messaging 1.0, then later with file sharing.
- There is currently a discussion of limits being placed on staking rewards so that IF (we stress that this is a big if) we succeed in getting coinexchange or even cryptobridge coins burned, a new staking phase will begin to get the supply of ECC back to 25 billion. This staking period would last a decent period of time, with max staking rewards being capped at 1,000 ECC (proposed). Rather than all the staking rewards going to a few large wallets, this makes things better for decentralization. Placing a limit on staking rewards will require a hard fork.
- White paper re-write to reflect all the changes that were made to the technology in the past two years.
Exchange Update:
ECC is currently available at Crex24 (Not available to users in Canada, USA, UK, or Israel) and at Txbit.io for everyone worldwide. Note that both exchanges have announced they are implementing KYC in January 2020 (Crex24 has already started). Since our last medium post, unfortunately both cryptobridge and coinexchange.io have shut down, and we are continue to anxiously await the debut of ECC on NEXT exchange. You can find their latest medium update here.
Marketing Update:
Wim has been hard at work hustling for ECC. Let’s take a look at what he’s been up to:
Wim’s new company, Doubblemedia is a company that connects brands with consumers with the user as the main focus. They are currently working on the release of an app called “FOCUS” that rewards a user with ECC via brand recognition games. Doubblemedia’s main goal is to contribute to the success and adoption of ECC worldwide. Think of it as a social platform with a twist that rewards users with ECC.
A small clip of FOCUS in action has been posted in the ECC discord and Telegram servers. According to the roadmap, the target release of the ECC app is in Q3, 2020. They have currently met or exceeded targets on all items on the roadmap to date.
Doubblemedia is also now officially part of BCNL (Blockchain Netherlands). What does this mean? BCNL will integrate mobile wallets in the app profiles with a simple clean QR code so that users can tip each other, and/or tip from their app to other apps that are part of the ECC ecosystem (for example as part of an ECC messaging app to be released in the future). Doubblemedia will have access to legal help, investors, and paid blockchain developers if needed.
Initially, 5% of Doubblemedia’s net profit will directly go to the ECC foundation, which will kick off in 2020. Doubblemedia will initially use ECC as the currency of choice, but may switch to BTC satoshis if it does not gain any traction. Even if that switch does happen, 5% of net profit will continue to go towards the ECC foundation.
As we start a new year, keep in mind that what makes ECC special is also what is helping ECC survive through this harsh market environment. There is no funding necessary for the project (although any donations to the development team is certainly appreciated), and there is currently clear continued development and direction. All of us are volunteers, driven only through passion to build a system of truly decentralized, open source, scalable network services. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for everything you do for ECC — whether it’s development work, marketing, or just spreading the word and being active in our various social media channels. We wish you and your family all the best for the year ahead.
Originally published at https://medium.com on January 3, 2020.
