Nimiq: World's first Browser-Based Blockchain & Ecosystem, Crowdsal...

Meet Nimiq

Nimiq is the first Blockchain designed for simplicity. Its core values are ease-of-use, scalability and speed. Nimiq is a ‘frictionless peer-to-peer payment protocol’ for the World Wide Web. It is an open source and fully decentralized 3rd generation Blockchain protocol combining elements of Bitcoin and Ethereum, streamlined for the web. Nimiq introduces Blockchain technology native to the World Wide Web.

Check out their betanet

“Browsers are first-class citizens in the Nimiq distributed network. They are able to establish consensus with the network, and enable true peer-to-peer payments from within, all without a trusted third party. In comparison to conventional cryptocurrencies, this browser-first approach lowers barriers of entry by orders of magnitudes for developers, customers and merchants.”
Source: Whitepaper

Why Nimiq?

First of all, Nimiq is Installation-Free. To lower the barriers of entry for both users and developers, Nimiq is browser-based. Secondly, Nimiq focusses on fast synchronization. The problem with the standard Bitcoin and Ethereum clients is that it takes 100GB to establish consensus with the network. Since this a huge barrier for most users, there is only an ‘elite’ group of users actually capable of participating in the network without an intermediary. Nimiq solves this problem by leveraging the Mini-Blockchain Scheme and allowing for Light-Clients. For more info on ‘AccountsTree’ and the concept of a ‘Headers Chain’ look into their whitepaper. Thirdly, Nimiq introduces ‘Hashed Timelock Contracts’, creating the ability for users to establish ‘Payment Channels’ with each other to send ‘Off-Chain Transactions’. Off-Chain Transactions will be as secure as regular On-Chain transactions, but don’t require the space in the Blockchain itself. Since no block confirmation is necessary and the cost will be minimal, the transactions will be instant and the payment will be settled immediately once the recipient receives the transaction.

The main challenge for Nimiq is to translate Blockchain components to the web platform.

• Network for establishing P2P connections.
• Storage for persistent keys and Blockchain data.
• Crypto for hashing, signing and verifying.

In addition, this protocol must be streamlined for the constraints of the web:

• Compression of Blockchain data to sync within seconds instead of hours.
• Instant and scalable transactions so over-the-counter payments are practical.
• Simplicity means we do only one thing and we do it better than anyone else: payments.
• Blockchain Parameters streamlined for our browser-first approach.
• Cross-Chain Compatibility with other Blockchains such as Ethereum for advanced smart contract features.

Source: Whitepaper