Yes, I know you are tired of hearing about yet another coin. But hold on, by now you should know that these crazy-name coins can be very interesting indeed. I have come across RaiBlocks, and while I initially suffered the same crypto-fatigue as all of you, I must say this one does call out to me more than others.
What is RaiBlocks (XRB)
It's a cryptocurrency, basically, in the truest sense. There are no smart contracts and the only function it has is that it is a payment method. But, it does this extremely well.RaiBlocks is different from other blockchain based cryptocurrencies. I've seen it often compared with IOTA's tangle, or with Byteball's DAG based system. I must admit that I lack a complete understanding of how the tangle works or how a DAG based system works, but I do know it offers some innovating benefits over blockchain-based crypto's. RaiBlocks uses what they call a Block-Lattice, and from what I understand it doesn't operate with a single blockchain, but rather each account is it's own blockchain.
From what I can tell RaiBlocks works similar to IOTA in the sense that each address/wallet functions as a node that sends transactions as a form of PoW. The difference being that with RaiBlocks the PoW can be done beforehand so that when a transaction is ready to be sent, it will be sent instantly.
Similarly to IOTA, RaiBlocks offers free transactions and infinite scalability. Proponents of RaiBlocks will point out that while IOTA is still in development and centralized through the coordinator node, RaiBlocks is in fact completely decentralized and working already.
RaiBlocks doesn't want to be the next smart contracts platform. It just wants to be a currency, and fulfill the promise that was once made by Bitcoin: a peer-to-peer digital currency that is usable and available to everybody. Because of this their distribution system was very different also: 100% of all RaiBlocks are already in circulation and have all been distributed through Captcha solving, providing Proof of Existence. A large amount of RaiBlocks is currently in the hands of Venezuelans, I've read.
RaiBlocks is currently only tradeable on Bitgrail, Mercatox and Bitflip, all of which are tiny exchanges that I've never heard of and cannot vouch for. Additionally, they seem to have a withdrawal limit of 100 XRB, meaning that in order to withdraw to your private wallet you currently need to purchase at least 100XRB costing you about $300-400.
Even so, the market cap of XRB is already $450 million dollars making it the #45 cryptocurrency currently. That says a lot considering how hard it is to buy and how obscure it is. That's a market cap bigger than PivX, Vertcoin or WaltonChain. Yet is is flying under the radar of everybody except those who dare venture to these vague exchanges.
It has been pumping quite significantly over the last few days, so I am not sure if right now is the right time to step in. But there is a certain hype in the air as well regarding this project: the subreddit already has 7.5K subscribers, which is a significant amount for an unknown crypto. On the other hand, the website is sorely lacking with much needed information.
I don't want to buy 100XRB to match the withdrawal limit, so I am still on the fence. However, if 100XRB is pocket change to you and you are willing to take some risk, I do think this is one project that deserves your attention. I may yet buy a handful 'just in case' and hope for a lowering of the withdrawal limit soon.
Be careful though, I have read many times that Mercatox is terrible and users cannot take their funds out. Bitgrail seems to be the go-to place at the moment.
I just can't shake this thought... If the market cap is $450K on these vague exchanges... what's going to happen when this hits a real exchange?? I would love to hear your thoughts on this one!
Click here to go to the RaiBlocks website
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