Executive Summary
As cryptocurrency is gaining momentum around the world with elements of
mainstream adoption already present, we wanted to look at whether merchants are
ready and interested in accepting cryptocurrency and what's stopping
cryptocurrency from becoming a readily-accepted form of payment.
What we found was that in order for mass adoption of cryptocurrency to take place,
those involved in the industry must focus efforts on an integrated effort that jives
with with merchants’ existing systems and processes, while offering consumers a
choice of payment methods.
The three major findings from the survey were:
- The primary drivers in merchant interest in cryptocurrency were marketing
opportunities and the possibility to reduce transaction fees. - High transaction fees and long payment processing times are the current
barriers to adoption of cryptocurrency, while merchants are also concerned
about the process of integrating new payment methods. - Merchants want to make it easy to adopt cryptocurrency as a form of
payment for their business, via existing systems.
Introduction
In order to support the needs of the growing cryptocurrency merchant community,
GRAFT collected qualitative data using an online survey to better understand what
barriers merchants are facing in adopting cryptocurrency payments at the point of
sale. Over 125 respondents completed the survey which provided valuable insights
into what motivates merchants to accept cryptocurrency, along with perceived and
real barriers to the uptake of cryptocurrency as a payment option.
Respondents were merchants of various goods and services who incorporate both
physical and/or an online presence in their business models. The respondents had
not adopted cryptocurrency at the time of the survey.
Methodology
The survey was first published on GRAFT.Network web site capturing the data from
the incoming traffic, which reflects the data being skewed towards merchants
looking for (or curious about) a cryptocurrency processor solution.
The online questionnaire consisted of 5 questions regarding:
● Which type of business each merchant ran
● What drives the merchant’s interest in accepting cryptocurrency
● What are their perceived/real barriers to accepting cryptocurrency
● Features that merchants want to see regarding crypto payments
● Which type of POS/eCommerce system is used in their business
The survey is available at https://goo.gl/forms/BiBl2rPsTO9gmVcO2
The survey received upwords of 150 responses with responders spanning across 36
countries and 18 different business types. General retail and services were the top
two segments in responders business type. The countries included United States,
Belgium, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Latvia, Australia, Croatia, Switzerland,
Canada, Germany, Vietnam, Slovenia, Netherlands, Brazil, Turkey, Taiwan, France,
United Kingdom, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Ukraine.
Objective
The objective of the research carried out by GRAFT Universal Payment Network was
twofold. Primarily, it was to understand the drivers and the deterrents the industry
is facing when it comes to processing cryptocurrency payments. Secondarily, it was
to be able to add to the growing body of evidence regarding what it takes for
cryptocurrency to become mainstream and to contribute both to the debate and
possible solutions.
Survey Finding 1: Marketing and Reduced Fees Drive
Merchant Interest in Cryptocurrency.
The merchants who participated in the survey clearly see the potential in attracting
new customers by offering cryptocurrency as a payment option at the Point of Sale
(POS). Many merchants have considered the potential benefits of offering
cryptocurrency and are looking for a way to implement it in their business, whether
they are online, physical or both. Merchants contend that increased customer
demand, reduced transaction fees and loyalty programs are among the most
alluring factors when it comes to adopting cryptocurrency. As such, it is necessary
to find ways to roll the option out to vendors and ensure that uptake is as easy as
possible. That being said, if cryptocurrency adoption surges, so will the expectations
of customers seeking cryptocurrency as a payment option, which is what makes the
loyalty program side of the coin so important, as evidenced in the numbers below.
However, what is interesting to note is that the same story isn’t always true across
the various types of providers. The responses of online, physical and combination
stores highlighted diverging priorities for each merchant type. Segregated across
store types, there are some different conclusions as can be seen in the above
diagrams.
From the numbers above, it is clear that merchants who have both online and
physical presence are seeing potential benefits transcending both platforms and
focused on the benefits of cryptocurrency in terms of being seen as innovators, and
benefiting from loyalty programs and cryptocurrency integration leading an
increase in customer demand.
As for online merchants, they believe that cryptocurrency payments can lead to an
increase in customers, as well as higher payment amounts and faster
decision-making times (which generally leads to higher volumes of sales). This is in
fairly strong contrast to merchants with physical locations only, who are not so
swayed by the argument that cryptocurrency payments will lead to greater demand
for them, but are conscious of being seen as innovators and are interested in
lowering transaction fees.
Survey Finding 2: Integration Issues, Transaction
Fees and Delays Are The Main Barriers To Adoption
When looking at the barriers to adoption, merchants found that a lack of
integration with existing software/hardware to be one of their biggest concerns -
no matter the store type. Additionally, long transaction times and cryptocurrency
fluctuations consistently ranked higher as the key concerns for all merchants,
across the board.
Online merchants were concerned with transaction fees being reduced (or not) and
the fluctuation of cryptocurrency causing potential problems, or indeed barriers in
uptake. The situation was slightly different for brick-and-mortar merchants, who
were far more concerned with integration into existing Point of Sale systems, as
well as transaction times at the cash register and who pays fees. These differences
appear to be quite self-explanatory and consistent with the nature of the issues
that confront an online store versus a physical one.
For those merchants who have both physical and online stores, interestingly, their
concerns almost mirrored those of online merchants. While they were also
concerned with Point of Sale integration like those who owned physical stores, they
were more concerned with crypto fluctuation and less concerned with fee direction.
Survey Finding 3: Merchants Want Cryptocurrency
Integrated Into Existing Systems To Facilitate
Uptake
Research showed that merchants want to see cryptocurrency fully integrated into
existing payment systems. To be more precise, both Point of Sale and terminal
integration is a high priority for all merchants and constitutes the most significant
barrier, as well as the most desired feature for merchants when it comes to
accepting cryptocurrency. In this context, ecommerce integration only serves to
further underscore that point. Another recurring issue for traders was instant fiat
payouts and the fluctuating rate of cryptocurrencies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the survey shows a healthy appetite for cryptocurrency acceptance
among both on and offline merchants, mainly driven by the new customer and
demographic appeal. Business owners find digital money innovative and perceive
cryptocurrency as a potential driver of their business development. Furthermore,
the desire to use cryptocurrency is driven by its attractiveness to new customers,
transaction fee reduction, potential for easy to integrate loyalty programs and
positive perception by customers.
One of the key takeaways from this report, is that integration is both the biggest
barrier and most desired feature for all merchants.
However, this acceptance and interest comes with conditions. Merchants want to
see the full integration of cryptocurrency into existing POS/eCommerce software
and hardware. Moreover, they are interested in instant fiat payouts or flat value
token conversions. This will not be possible if barriers like high transaction fees,
cryptocurrency market fluctuation, high transaction times and lack of integration
with existing POS/eCommerce software make business owners feel uncertain about
adopting cryptocurrency in their businesses. Overcoming these major hurdles could
certainly usher in a new era for cryptocurrencies.
GRAFT Products
The team successfully integrated into multiple devices. GRAFT is running full force since the completion of their ICO!
GRAFT Mobile Wallet App
The GRAFT Mobile Wallet mobile wallet is ready, for both iOS and Android.
GRAFT Multi-currency Mobile Wallet for iOS
GRAFT Multi-currency Mobile Wallet for Android
GRAFT CryptoFind App
GRAFT CryptoFind allows users to find locations that accept crypto! This application allows merchants to update their status as well as for users to find those stores.
GRAFT CryptoFind for iOS
GRAFT CryptoFind for Android
GRAFT Mobile POS App
GRAFT Mobile POS allows merchants to accept cryptocurrencies. With this application, merchants can use their iOS/Android mobile device to accept payments!
GRAFT Mobile POS for iOS
GRAFT Mobile POS for Android
GRAFT Terminal Integration
Most stores, from convenience to large chain retailers, use payment terminals to handle payment. Traditionally this allows the stores to take payment with payment forms such as debit and credit cards.
In order to truly integrate cryptocurrencies into the modern economy, the acceptance of cryptocurrency payment must come in a form that existing businesses are already familiar with. The integration also has to be easy, and free.
GRAFT has been able to integrate on both Verifone and Ingenico payment terminals. That means existing store-owners can install a free application onto their terminal and start accepting payment in crypto!
Below are demo videos show casing both of the terminals:
Verifone Terminal Integration
Ingenico Terminal Integration
GRAFT Integration and Fees
Credit cards typically charge merchants large fees for every transaction a customer makes. This makes them costly, and that cost is carried over to the customer.
GRAFT does not charge the customer, as the fees are paid for by the merchant. These fees are a fraction of what average credit companies charge.
Transaction Fees
Credit Cards:
Typical credit cards charge merchants somewhere around 2~3% for every transaction.
GRAFT:
For RTA based GRAFT transactions, the fee is a constant 0.5% across all volumes, plus 0.25% to 0.75% for SLA & services.
This means that GRAFT costs the merchant about half of what credit cards are charging them!
Use-Case: Imagine
Imagine a world where cryptocurrencies are at every point of sale. You accumulate cryptocurrency through work, playing games, exercising and other crypto-related activities. You are able to easily use these earnings to buy goods as well as services. Things like foreign transaction fees are a forgotten concept. Interest rates become negligible because of the competitive market established by p2p lending platforms. Exchanging to fiat is unnecessary. On top of that, the individuals who join the network to perform authorizations, exchanges and maintain gateways are rewarded for strengthening the GRAFT infrastructure.
Real Time Authorizations
GRAFT is currently working on RTA(real time authorizations).
In order to make payment processing feasible, the first critical step is to make transactions as close to instant as possible. Customers can't pay for a product and wait 30 minutes for a confirmation.
GRAFT's RTA ensures that payments will be authorized and processed in near real-time and that the buyer can pay in the currency of their choice while the merchants receive settlement in their preferred currency. Additionally, with RTA various transaction types such as authorizations and holds also become a possibility, providing point of sale systems with familiar processes and interfaces.
GRAFT's RTA will work by implementing a two layer network with supernodes (randomly selected based on stake tiers) confirming and validating transactions and exchanges in real time.
This is an extremely important development in the payment processing space. Real time transactions will enable retailers to continue with their business practice unchanged, while adding support for cryptocurrencies. All of this while continuing to use their existing payment terminals! GRAFT will closely resemble what the modern day credit card system does, both for merchants as well as customers!
GRAFT's goal with implementing RTA technology is to enable merchants to operate exactly the same way as they always did. No new equipment, no surprises. Just seamless integration which provides them with an added ability to accept crypto payments.
For more information watch this short introduction:
What is Graft ?
GRAFT is a global, open-sourced, blockchain-based, decentralized payment gateway and processing platform. Any buyer and merchant can use Graft in a completely decentralized and inexpensive way. Graft ecosystem is open, so anyone can participate by maintaining Graft blockchain and implementing network services. Graft employs payment processing protocols and flows similar to traditional electronic payment systems such as credit cards, which are already trusted by millions of buyers and merchants.
Cryptocurrency is becoming a widely accepted form of storing value. One of the biggest challenges is making that value easier to spend for day to day items. Stores already have POS machines, but have a hard time adapting their businesses to accept cryptocurrencies.
GRAFT has long finished their ICO, and has a functioning MainNet. GRAFT allows businesses, small and large to start accepting cryptocurrency payments without any hassle.
Searching for the second best graft for coronary artery bypass surgery: A network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Abstract
There is a lack of unequivocal evidence basis for selecting the best second conduit in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We thus aimed to perform head-to-head relative effect estimate on angiographic outcomes for second conduits, including the right internal mammary artery (RIMA), radial artery (RA), right gastroepiploic artery (RGEA) and saphenous vein graft (SVG) by means of network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Databases were searched for RCTs comparing angiographic outcomes (≥4 weeks) of second conduits in CABG. Odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were computed with Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation. A total of nine RCTs were identified, including 2780 patients and 1620 angiographic results available for analysis to compare RIMA (n = 145) versus RA (n = 871) versus RGEA (n = 92) versus SVG (n = 845). The mean time to angiographic follow-up ranged from 1 to 7.7 years. An SVG was significantly associated with a 4-fold (1.67-16.00) and 3-fold (0.78-22.20) increased risk of late (≥4 years) functional graft occlusion when compared with the RIMA and RA, respectively. A RIMA was associated with a non-significant 27% absolute risk reduction for functional graft occlusion when compared with the RA. The present network meta-analysis consistently demonstrated an angiographic superiority of RIMA and RA over SVG. The RIMA is expected to achieve a better patency rate than the RA, but further studies are needed.
AbstractOBJECTIVES:
There is a lack of unequivocal evidence basis for selecting the best second conduit in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).We thus aimed to perform head-to-head relative effect estimate on angiographic outcomes for second conduits, including the rightinternal mammary artery (RIMA), radial artery (RA), right gastroepiploic artery (RGEA) and saphenous vein graft (SVG) by means ofnetwork meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).METHODS: Databases were searched for RCTs comparing angiographic outcomes (≥4 weeks) of second conduits in CABG. Odds ratios(95% confidence intervals) were computed with Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation.RESULTS:
A total of nine RCTs were identified, including 2780 patients and 1620 angiographic results available for analysis to compareRIMA (n= 145) versus RA (n= 871) versus RGEA (n= 92) versus SVG (n= 845). The mean time to angiographic follow-up ranged from 1 to7.7 years. An SVG was significantly associated with a 4-fold (1.67–16.00) and 3-fold (0.78–22.20) increased risk of late (≥4 years) functionalgraft occlusion when compared with the RIMA and RA, respectively. A RIMAwas associated with a non-significant 27% absolute risk reduc-tion for functional graft occlusion when compared with the RA.CONCLUSIONS:
The present network meta-analysis consistently demonstrated an angiographic superiority of RIMA and RA over SVG. TheRIMA is expected to achieve a better patency rate than the RA, but further studies are needed.Keywords:
Coronary disease •Coronary artery bypass grafting •Meta-analysisHow does GRAFT Network Eco-system work?
How do merchant service providers, pay-out brokers, application developers, authorization Supernode owners all fit together on the GRAFT Network? How the network is scaled, regionalized, and managed? Find out!
GRAFT NETWORK ECO-SYSTEM
GRAFT Network requires and invites participation from many parties in order to be fully functional on a global level. These network participants are represented both functionally and geographically, as a whole creating a network capable of executing any type of a cashless transaction anywhere, at a minimum cost to the merchant!
REAL TIME AUTHORIZATION PROVIDERS:
Type of a SuperNode required:
Full SuperNodeHardware / Systems Requirement:
Minimum hardware requirements include dual core CPU with 8GB RAM. Scaling requirements will be published at a later date. The supernode has to be directly accessible from the Internet (public IP), preferably with low-latency, high speed network connection.Functionality:
Perform real time authorizationsStaking requirement:
There are four tiers of supernodes based on the staking amounts, with equal fee distribution among the 4 tiers learn moreIncentive:
Supernode owners collect fees for instant authorizations (roughly ⅛ of 0.5% of the transaction amount). See white paper for more details.Steps:
Authorization providers only have to install the Supernode and connect it to the staking wallet(s).MERCHANT PAYMENT PROCESSING SERVICE PROVIDERS:
Type of a SuperNode required:
Merchant Service Providers can either partner with the Proxy SuperNode host or host Proxy or Full SuperNode themselves.Hardware / Systems Requirement:
Merchant Service provider will want to provide a Service Level agreement (SLA) to the merchant and as such should set up a high availability architecture for their SuperNodes.Functionality:
Merchant Service Providers provide important support and “gateway” services for the merchants, handling the set up, maintenance, and guaranteeing uptime for the network.Staking requirement:
Technically, a Merchant Service Provider doesn’t have to stake, however if the service provider chooses to host the Full Supernodes that also do authorizations, they will have staking requirements attached to those.Incentive:
Merchant Service Providers can add their own transaction fees on top of the network fees and/or have separate financial arrangements with the merchant. They can also distribute or lease payment terminals.Steps:
Setup Proxy or Full SuperNode infrastructure (or strike an agreement with the partner who will handle the technical operations part), define the business model (transaction fees, service fees, hardware distribution, etc), select the end-point strategy (payment terminals vs mobile POS/wallet solution), configure the end point to their SuperNode(s) as the gateway.EXCHANGE BROKERS
Type of a SuperNode required:
Exchange brokers have to run on a Full Supernode.Hardware / Systems Requirement:
Minimum hardware requirements include dual core CPU with 8GB RAM. Scaling requirements will be published at a later date. The supernode has to be directly accessible from the Internet (public IP), preferably with low-latency, high speed network connection. Exchange brokers will most likely want to implement high availability and have a low-latency connection to a high speed network.Functionality:
Exchange brokers provide crypto-currency exchange services to the network. These exchange services are used by the network for in-wallet top-up exchanges as well as merchant proceeds exchanges.Staking requirement:
Because exchange brokers take GRFT off the network before they deposit funds in other currencies to the recipients wallets, exchange brokers stake amount will equal to the limit of how much funds they can process within the funds receipt confirmation window (aka “bond” stake)Incentive:
Exchange brokers stand to gain what will eventually be a high volume of exchanges originating from the networkSteps:
Exchange broker has to implement a DAPI exchange service (and tie it to broker’s own API service)PAY-OUT BROKERS
Type of a SuperNode required:
Pay-out brokers have to run on a Full Supernode.Hardware / Systems Requirement:
Minimum hardware requirements include dual core CPU with 8GB RAM. Scaling requirements will be published at a later date. The supernode has to be directly accessible from the Internet (public IP), preferably with low-latency, high speed network connection.Functionality:
Pay-out brokers provide cryptocurrency to fiat exchange services to the network. These exchange services are used by the network to facilitate fiat settlements for the merchants.Staking requirement:
Because pay-out brokers take GRFT off the network before they deposit funds in fiat to the recipients accounts, exchange brokers stake amount will equal to the limit of how much funds they can process within the funds receipt confirmation window.Incentive:
Pay-out brokers stand to gain on a regional volume of crypto to fiat automated transactions originating from the network.Steps:
Pay-out broker will have to install or sign up for a Pay-out service software running on a Proxy Supernode.APPLICATION PROVIDERS
Type of a SuperNode required:
Applications can run anywhere, but have to connect to a Full Supernode for DAPI.Hardware / Systems Requirement:
Standard application availability / scalability considerations applyFunctionality:
Opportunities abound for the application providers – device configuration and management, reporting and distributions, line of business applications, POS systems, integrations, etc, etc.. These applications can be distributed as software to run on Supernodes or be hosted by the developers as SaaS.Staking requirement:
Depending on the nature of an application a “bond” stake may be required to insure the funds that are taking off the network.Incentive:
Application providers are free to choose the business model that suits them – from software licensing including open source, to SaaS, to additional per transaction fees. In addition to supporting the application developers through a powerful distributed API (DAPI), GRAFT Blockchain Foundation is putting together a marketplace and will be awarding seed funds in GRFT to further incentivize application developers.Steps:
Application provider develops an application using DAPI to connect to GRAFT Blockchain and Service Network. Application provider can either include/host Full SuperNode to get access to DAPI, or connect to a available DAPI source.MERCHANTS
Type of a SuperNode required:
NONEHardware / Systems Requirement:
Merchants have the following options at their disposal when it comes to enabling GRAFT Network payments at their location: Enable the existing payment terminal they are using (assuming it’s a compatible model) with GRAFT as an alternative payment method. To do this, they would download GRAFT app from the appropriate payment terminal’s marketplace (right now we’re actively working on support for Verifone and Ingenico). This way a merchant can use the same terminal for accepting traditional and crypto payments. Set up a separate terminal specifically for handling cryptocurrency payments. Use GRAFT POS if they don’t already have a POS / payment terminal setup or if they would like to start or shift exclusively to payments through GRAFT network.Functionality:
A merchant is able to start accepting cryptocurrency at their business without having to change processes, software, or retrain their staff. The merchant is further able to keep the funds in cryptocurrency or get instant or intermittent fiat payout.Staking requirement:
No staking is required for the merchant, however there are situations like accepting offline payments that might necessitate running a Supernode with a staking wallet on the point of sale system.Incentive:
The merchant is able to diversify their client base, appealing to crypto-owner demographic. The merchant gains an ability to have single payment processor for multiple locations, both off and online. Finally the merchant can consolidate their reporting, accounting, as well as facilitate fund distribution.Steps:
The merchant would need to contact the Merchant Service Provider to get set up, or they could set themselves up on GRAFT Network by download and running GRAFT POS application or install and configuring GRAFT Payment terminal application (in case of later they would also need to either host their own Proxy supernode or find a proxy Supernode provider)REGIONAL BOARDS
GRAFT Network does not have centralized governance, but the at the local levels we believe there should be layers of local activism / oversight to bring the network to full local scope and monitor quality.
These groups are free to establish their own ground rules and processes and their own business models. One such model can be represented by a membership dues organization that certifies and shares best practices among its members, facilitating merchant adoption and providing a support system for the merchant providers.
Monero Anonymous Transactions at a Point-Of-Sale with Graft Network
The Graft Foundation
Graft Foundation is a not-for-profit dev team working to launch a point-of-sale network which promises lower fees, faster processing and wider crypto coin acceptance using a debit card to process transactions in real time. The inherent limit to current coins, especially Bitcoin, is the lack of scalability, slow transactions times, growing transactions costs and lack of mechanism for micropayments. The Graft Foundation thinks it has found a way to overcome these limitations with a secure network built on the Cryptonight blockchain technology which is used on Monero and several other privacy based coins.
At the Point-of-Sale (POS) is not the time to determine the customer does not have the correct cryptocoin, fiat currency, or credit/debit card to purchase a good or service. Graft hopes to overcome this using a unique back-end and server build to allow real-time authorizations and exchange between fiat and various cryptocoins on the Graft Network. It hopes to add many of the largest coins such as Monero (XMR), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), NEM (XEM), Bitcoin (BTC) and its own unique coin known as the GRAFT coin.
“All the Graft software is under an open source license. Graft Foundation is a non-for-profit entity and we intend to operate as such unless we’re forced to change status by the governing laws of the land.” From the Graft Whitepaper.
The GRAFT Network
The Graft network is already in testnet mode with prototype wallets and POS devices with the MainNet and Wallet set to go online Q1 2018. The initial launch will be followed by broker integration and a Graft compatible debit card to launch later in 2018. Both are important to the project as they provide the back end structure to make the network work. Brokers provide the exchange between various coins allowing the merchant to determine the desired settlement coin and the customer to pay with a desired form of payment. This allows the network to work anywhere in the world seamlessly for any coin accepted on the network.
Transactions occur on the blockchain are recorded by miners similar to how Monero and other Cryptonight coins are mined currently. To overcome the delay from transaction to mining and recording transactions, Graft will use a unique Supernode set-up of powerful servers to perform real-time authorizations. The Supernodes will keep all real-time authorizations to prevent double spending prior to the final confirmation of a transaction on the blockchain. This is important for coins like Bitcoin which can take hours to days to settle. Even faster coins with Lightning network can take 30 seconds to several minutes which makes use as a POS impractical. Graft hopes its network can overcome this limitation.
Service Brokers provide several functions including coin exchange, pay-in and out, settlement, authentication and authorization for transactions. They are rewarded through fees and set-up like an exchange with offers for buy, sell and exchange between coins. They are set-up to make the best offer at time of transaction to create rapid movements of various coins on the Graft Network and are vital to the success of the project.
Build your own crypto portfolio with CoinVest
GRAFT ICO
The Graft ICO is set to launch January 18, 2018 and is limited to $10 million equivalent of GRAFT coins. The ICO will make up 5% of the total coins which eventually end up in circulation with the majority created through mining to draw computing and server power to the network.
The dev team and founders are keeping a respectable 8% with 27% kept in reserve for maintenance of the Graft network and other associated costs. As with most ICOs there is a discount for early purchasers of the coin. Details can be found at the ICO page here. Details can be found at the ICO page here.Details can be found at the ICO page here.
The Graft Network Launching Soon
Graft is currently in closed testing of the POS and wallets while test mining on a closed network. The network plans to go live early 2018 and with the integration of many coins with wide application at POS the network could grow very rapidly among crypto enthusiasts. For broader growth they plan to integrate accepting all credit cards and debit cards which would exchange fiat to coins allowing merchants to accept any form of payment on the graft network. This allows one POS terminal for all electronic payments for merchants allowing legacy and crypto payments. This could be huge.
As it is built on the Cryptonight blockchain technology there are elements of privacy which should make @officialMcAfee happy but also both customers and merchants. Follow the team here at their blog, check out the white paper and check out the ICO details before considering investing as all investments comes with risks.
Enter the Future with GRAFT's Decentralized Payment Network
GRAFT is a technological solution, a decentralized open source payment gateway based on blockchain that can be used by merchants and crypto-coin users.
The catalyst for the creation of GRAFT was the realization that modern payment systems are no longer enough for the fast-paced digital world. Traders and those who want to keep themselves informed about the evolution of technology have to take into account the growing interest in crypto-coins. Just in the last year, the search volume for "payment acceptance with Bitcoin" increased by 400%. This is a sign that crypto-coins are generating a lot of interest in the payment environment. The GRAFT platform bridges current fiat-based systems with the crypto-coin world.
To negotiate and operate services on the platform, users and merchants must own and use GRF tokens.
Using the platform, both marketers and regular users will enjoy benefits such as:
• The platform is compatible with all major payment methods;
• Merchants can choose their preferred payment method to receive their winnings;
• Merchants and users can carry out payment transactions in several convertible Crypto-coins, along with local fixed currencies, in the form of a credit / debit card.
To buy GRAFT tokens during your pre-order at ICO , you need to complete and submit a form . After submitting the form, you will receive the number of tokens purchased in your wallet NEM. Once the platform is operational, all users will be able to toggle the GRF tokens.
After the 30% discount, a token costs 0.001834 BTC, 0.028 ETH, 28.063 XEM or 0.0735 XMR. The minimum number of tokens that can be purchased is 10. However, to run a Supernode, which allows mining, transaction validation and other fee-generating services to the network, the minimum required value is 500 GRF.
Re: [ANN][ICO] GRAFT - Universal Payment Processing Network
I like the ideas behind this project, and the efforts that have gone into it by the founders, and their credentials too (if you look at the team page and google their names). However, I have the following doubts:
(1) The name GRAFT is terrible, because in the US this is a colloquial term referring to insider embezzlement or corruption. A glance at Merriam Webster will reveal this, or a search of headlines with the term 'graft' in the New York Times - the vast majority of the articles that come up have to do with corruption. It strikes me that the founders of this coin are not native American English speakers (the term does not have this meaning in British English, where it means 'hard work', the opposite) and simply did not know this. But for wide acceptance, there is no denying that the name is a major blunder.
(2) The supernode system for fast approval of payments sounds like a good solution (and a solution is certainly needed) but how is it protected from hacking and defrauding? Payments are approved outside the blockchain, which is the only mechanism guaranteed to be fraud-proof (the whole point of its existence). So how is payment security outside the blockchain going to be implemented? There is no information about this that I can find in the white paper or on the website.
(3) I don't understand the business model going forward for point-of-sale. Either the idea is (a) to partner with existing POS providers, such as Visa and Mastercard, or (b) create a new POS network. Option (a) is a non-starter; existing providers will not partner with Graft for obvious reasons. First of all, the whole idea of the coin is to subvert the existing system, and existing providers will obviously regard it as a direct threat to their existence. Second, there is the whole privacy and untraceability aspect; while we as consumers may like and want this, existing POS providers will not accept a payments system where they can garner no information about payee identities, amounts, track payments, etc. Apart from security and money laundering issues, it goes counter to the whole direction of their business model, which is to track users and predict their spending habits, etc. This leaves (b), which means founding a whole new POS network, with new hardware, and getting businesses to accept this. This requires a MAJOR investment and planning, and is a HUGE undertaking. Is there any evidence that the Graft team is prepared for this, and/or is capable of it? Apart from requiring huge investment up front in terms of the network hardware, it also requires getting merchants to sign on the dotted line, and the only way to do this (initially) would be to offer them the terminals for free, which implies even more investment. How much is this all going to cost? What is the plan? Is there even a chance that any merchants would sign up?
(4) Even if (3) can be surmounted, there is the regulatory issue. Given that merchants would need to sign up to this, how can Graft be guaranteed to be consistent with local regulations in the areas in which it is proposed to operate? Especially given the money laundering issues having to do with choosing a blockchain whose major feature is obfuscation of transactions and fungibility? I can see major problems here.
Until there is some sort of answer from the team on all of the above points, I won't be investing in this.
the Graft name is wonderful who cares if you don't like it ? they explain it in the Dubai conference video by the second guy in charge Idkis something (sorry I know I am butchering his name) and they explain it in the white paper.. get over the name. now here's the meat of the matter and why I am writing this: adoption for something like this is a HUGE deal you're right !! so knowing what I think I know about payment processing I believe the trick lies in the MSO's which are the middle men or marketing and sales organizations. They drive adoption by getting merchants to accept new ideas and technology (BIGGEST question is what is their incentive) ?
although I am a huge fan of a Crypto POS gateway for the masses (like Pundix in Asia) I wonder how the specifics might work or what will drive some of the small chains (because that's who they would go after initially) to adopt a free crypto terminal that claims to be a Universal Payment Processing Network ? yo have to go after the smaller chains because SMO's can't afford to go after mom & Pop at first and they can't convince burger king either for a long while.. so how will this work ? Pundi pundi has a nice high tech terminal without an MCR I think it uses NFC to communicate to their card. They raised their ICO goal without much struggle but they promoted nicely with some Youtubers like Ian Malina and such (which cost them a bunch I am sure).
so although I am a big believer in the tech and can see how consumers will be alright by slowly accepting crypto as a medium (unfortunately VISA is needed for most to begin with) HOW will they or WE get the merchants to adopt and learn something more complicated ? free terminals is not enough.. online merchants have a huge advantage and would probably be first adopters of a new crypto payment processor like GRAFT but they will also take Litecoin and others so please explain to me or give me the plan of action for driving Merchants to sign up ?
For pre-sale membership instructions, as well as additional details and a bonus program, follow the link to the GRAFT pre-sale page: https://www.graft.network/pre-ico/
For details on ICO's pre-sales, please visit: https://www.graft.network/pre-ico/
Learn more about Graft at: https://www.graft.network/
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Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Graft/
Bitcointalk - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2115188
BENEFITS
MERCHANTS (recipients)
Real Time Authorizations (Instant Confirmations)
Instant transaction confirmation, within hundreds milliseconds to a few seconds, which enables normal in-store and online checkout process
Low Transaction Fees
Transactions are confirmed instantly, within hundreds milliseconds to a few seconds, which enables normal in-store and online checkout process
Special Transaction Types and Smart Contracts
Graft Point of Sale apps support multiple transactions types that are unusual for cryptocurrency. For example pre-authorization and capture that are necessary for ticket booking, hotel check-in, or gas station payment. Schedule or Escrow transactions, which are essentially pre-programmed configurable smart contracts, can help businesses set up periodic remittance and subscriptions
Free Point of Sale App Accepts All Payment Methods
Free Mobile Point of Sale app accepts various cryptocurrencies and credit/debit cards, which eliminates the need to maintain multiple point of sale apps and wallets
Merchant Payouts in Local Fiat Currency
Transaction are settled in real time and payouts can be received in local currency
Authenticated Buyers
Buyers can confirm their identity in order to unlock some special transaction types which require age verification, for example
ICO AIRDROP CLARIFICATION
Dear GRAFT Community,
We would like to take this opportunity to clarify the promise we made to the ICO participants to do an airdrop if the price doesn’t recover to the ICO level within nine months.
Why did we do it?
As you might imagine, we’ve never before carried out an ICO, less so an ICO based on a live mineable blockchain. As such, we came up with coin pricing based on what we assessed to be а fair market value (very conservatively at that, comparing to other similar projects). One thing we didn’t know was that the price of the coin would be immediately driven down by ASIC miners, creating a large disparity between the ICO and mining price levels. As project leads we felt compelled to make it right by the ICO participants and to rectify this situation.Terms of the Airdrop
The following are the terms of the airdrop:
If the price of GRFT doesn’t recover to the ICO level (0.0000262 BTC) prior to November 18, 2018 (9 months from the end of the ICO) for a reasonable period of time (24 hours cumulative, according to CoinMarketCap), GRAFT project team will airdrop the difference in GRFTs to the ICO participants in good standing. The effective price at the time will be determined based on a 10 day moving average.
Example 1 ; September 20 GRFT price is 0.0000262 BTC or higher – no airdrop will take place
Example 2 : October 10 GRFT price is 0.0000262 BTC or higher – no airdrop will take place
Example 3 : November 10-18 GRFT price avg 0.0000131 BTC (and the price hasn’t crossed 0.0000262 BTC before then), each ICO purchase of 1 GRFT will receive ONE additional GRFT via airdrop.
The effect of potential airdrop
The actual number of GRFT’s issued for the airdrop will depend on the price difference between the airdrop and the ICO price (in BTC). Currently, we estimate that no more than 50M GRFT’s are at stake. The funds will be provided from the undersold ICO funds, and since all the ICO funds were earmarked for circulation, should not result in an increase of the circulation supply.
Conclusion
We understand the controversial nature of this offer and value community’s opinions and feedbacks. We try to make decisions that are fair to all our supporters, while carrying on the mission of the project. Your support is highly appreciated and valued.
Best Regards,
GRAFT BLOCKCHAIN BLOG
GRAFT WALLETS ARE SAFE AND NOT AFFECTED BY DOUBLE COUNTING BUG
As you probably know, most exchanges recently took offline all CryptoNote wallets (including Monero) due to Double Counting Bug. We tried to reproduce an exploit of the double counting bug with GRAFT master (current GRAFT version) to prove that GRAFT is not affected. In order to do that, we have prepared a special testing branch with the exploit: https://github.com/graft-project/GraftNetwork/tree/double-accounting-exploit, where we duplicated the “add_tx_pub_key_to_extra” call inside “construct_tx_and_get_tx_key(…)” method in cryptonote_core/cryptonote_tx_utils.cpp. The destination wallet with the bug was supposed to show the wrong (doubled) balance after the transfer from the exploited source wallet.
The destination wallet (GRAFT master, private testnet) before the test transfer shows 20 GRFT balance:
Now, we are transferring 10 GRFT from the exploited source wallet (private testnet), trying to “trick” the destination wallet:
The destination wallet after the transfer shows the correct amount (30 GRFT):
Here is the destination wallet log:
So this case is already handled in current Graft version (1.2.1), which is based on Monero v11, and the bug seems to be introduced in Monero v12, where subaddress functionality was implemented.
Therefore, current GRAFT wallets are safe for all users including exchanges.
GRAFT DEVELOPMENT STATUS UPDATE JUNE 2018
Supernodes and Real Time Authorizations
Let’s start from implementation of full supernode, which is essentially an implementation of real-time authorizations (RTA). Although we are close to the finish line, we do not release it yet to public alpha. We need more time for optimization, fine-tuning, and QA testing. One of the main reasons for the delay is an issue with communication. Unlike other two-layer cryptocurrency networks which use a separate mechanism for communication between their second-layer nodes, we reuse the existing peer-to-peer network as a basic transport. Our original algorithm finds the shortest and fastest routes between the supernonodes by maintaining a set of P2P tunnels through the network of cryptonodes. The main difference and greatest benefit of using the same communication base for two layers (both cryptonode and supernode networks) is not exposing the authorization sample’s supernodes – because in our design they are not required to have a public IP. Such design is the major difference and significant improvement comparing to other layer two implementations such as Dash masternodes.
Remember that one of GRAFT’s key differentiators and goals is absolute privacy initially provided by underlying CryptoNote blockchain protocol, which is the first layer of GRAFT platform. The fact that the auth sample supernode does not require a public IP attached to it makes GRAFT even more private and decentralized, because the supernodes are less dependant on regulated hosting providers. Without public IP the supernodes are “hidden” behind the large, distributed, and complex P2P network, which makes them less vulnerable to DDOS attacks. At the same time, the hosting and maintenance are less complicated and less expensive for supernode owners. (Note that wallet/POS proxy supernodes, which typically belong to service providers and large merchants, still require public IP address in order to be able to serve wallets and POS/payment apps).
However, such great benefits do not come for free. Along the way we found several issues in existing CryptoNote/Monero P2P communication implementation, which we are fixing in order to make it more efficient, stable, and suitable transport for our purposes. With that said, we anticipate the public alpha of supernode with RTA to be released by the end of July. Meanwhile, we will start a private alpha release for testing in a coupe of weeks, so if you are interested in helping us with preliminary testing please contact us at dev@graft.network.
While working hard on RTA implementation and getting ready to its production launch, we realized that hosting a supernode, either full (authorization) or proxy/gateway, requires a special DevOps skill set, so we are working through making arrangements and building relationships to provide turnkey solutions to supernode owners and merchant service providers.
Payment Apps
We are continuously working on improving the Verifone terminal app so it will be fully polished for production by the time RTA is released. As Verifone have written on their merchant marketplace website, where GRAFT app is listed as the Featured Apps Partner, “Our app partners are working around the clock to help empower our merchants with applications that enrich the customer experience and provide business productivity.” This is absolutely true statement, there is not much to add. Since the Verifone certification was achieved last month, we have done several improvements such as UI redesign (in both terminal app and our wallet), enhanced configuration utility for merchants, integration with CoinMarketCap for real-time exchange rates, and some bug fixes. Also, we are working on Ingenico terminal app integration into their marketplace.
One of important and promising features we are planning to develop is using NFC (Near Field Communication) for initial engagement between the mobile wallet and terminal app, so instead of scanning QR code displayed on payment terminal the buyer will just wave the phone (the same technology is used by contactless payment cards and Apple Pay). Implementation of such a feature will help improve both buyer and merchant user experiences and reduce the overall transaction time. We will keep you posted about our progress in this area.
We just finished design and now are ready to start implementation of the payment gateway which will facilitate GRAFT payments on online shopping platforms. Once implemented, integration with GRAFT payment gateway, among other features, will bring to online merchants and buyers a unique combination of absolute privacy and instant transaction confirmations (using RTA) – something they have never seen before. Plus, after we finish RTA and move to accept broker implementation, they will be able to accept various cryptocurrencies, while keeping the same benefits of privacy and transaction speed.
Wallet Apps
We finally redesigned the app downloads page on our website, so now it’s easier to find all our apps, including wallets, and their releases for various mobile and desktop operating systems: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. In recent wallet releases, we fixed some bugs and added new configuration options. The upcoming wallet release will support purchases with real time authorizations using full supernodes (currently it supports a limited version of RTA on testnet only).
CryptoFind App
As our app for discovering and listing crypto-friendly merchants is gaining more popularity among crypto enthusiasts, we periodically release new features and bug fixes. In recent CryptoFind version, in addition to bug fixes, we added a possibility to take a picture of the GRAFT sticker on the merchant’s window so the users can earn better bonuses.
Happy Grafting!
