RaiBlocks is a new tech in the space of blockchains, based on a DAG. Like IOTA, it has free transactions and seems to be incredibily promising in the upcoming future.
However, if you're thinking you might be too late to invest in this - you might want to know that price isn't everything. RaiBlocks has had quite a good ride if you will in terms of positive PR - but there are a few issues with it that might prevent it from going too fat if not addressed sooner rather than later.
My top concerns regarding RaiBlocks (XRB) right now are:
- The claimed 7000 TPS (Transactions Per Second) - while impressive, is untested and not proven. It is only theoretical and quite hard to attain especially because of my next (2) point.
- The ledger (chain) size is already nearing 4GB with only a handful of transactions. It has no proposed mechanism for reducing this and if not taken care of soon - will drive XRB into the same scaling wall as Bitcoin.
- The PoW (Proof of Work) required is not only required for sending a transaction, but also for receiving.
- You cannot receive funds if you are not online. Someone can send the funds, but they will show as pending until you become online and to the necessary PoW to 'pocket' them.
- There are a number of vulnerabilities and attack vectors that haven't been accounted for through a technical solution. A bug bounty is underway as well.
- It can only function as a currency. It does not support data transfer, is not spam-proof, is not quantum-resistant and the network might become slower and slower with increased usage.
Finally, in terms of trading it, the following two should be mentioned:
- It currently had quite a massive rally - mostly fueled by hype (albeit the hype is warranted, as it's quite an awesome tech).
- It is only available on two lesser-known exchanges specifically built for it. A third, larger one is currently working to implement it.
By all means, this post is in no way intended to bash this technology, merely to provide a few thoughts around it - mainly summarized from other discussions I have seen. You are welcome to challenge any of these in the comment section below and, if factual - I will update this article as I go.
Disclaimer: This is my first post on Steem and I have a stake in both XRB and other currencies. I'm trying to remain as objective as possible.