QTUM Coin: Cryptocurrency News & Blockchain Smart Contract Uses?

Qtum Platform Review

A recent review author posited the joke: “What do you get when you cross the BTC blockchain with the Ethereum Virtual Machine? Qtum!” That’s a handy if comic depiction of the platform, although it’s far less of a joke than an accurate description of what the average user will experience.

Qtum [Qtum.org] is essentially the Ethereum system, but without Ethereum’s blockchain – it employs the Bitcoin blockchain instead. The immediate benefit to users is that enhancements to both Ethereum and Bitcoin will impact on and be assimilated into Qtum. For example, any existing Ethereum smart contract can also be deployed via Qtum on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Pronounced “quantum,” the company has a stated focus on the lucrative, “business friendly” aspects of blockchain technology. Qtum is driven by the same realization many share, that blockchain is a fundamental, global business shift of unparalleled scale.

With many startups and existing businesses seeking to address the debilitating issues of blockchain adoption – performance and personalization – Qtum is an innovative solution that grants users the most seamless experience across the (currently biggest) public chains.

Qtum Is A Hybrid Bitcoin-Ethereum Platform

A common clincher for developers who choose to run on the Bitcoin blockchain is that project’s Simple Payment Verification (SPV) protocol which allows “light” wallet interaction with the blockchain. Qtum now extends such functionality to dapps and smart contracts, which makes it a more attractive route for development. Another peripheral benefit of this is that smart contract products can employ one blockchain pending approval. If adoption isn’t what was anticipated, the other can then be tried on for size.

The bridge Qtum has built means that, rather than starting from scratch when adoption fails, developers can simply jump ship to another platform altogether.

Ethereum and Bitcoin also handle transactions’ small change differently. After a recipient address is paid in full, Bitcoin’s Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) protocol would be incompatible with Ethereum’s Virtual Machine, were it not for Qtum. By engaging the Qtum Account Abstract Layer, users allow the protocol to translate transactions from Ethereum’s accounts-based system into the UTXO blockchain.

Qtum Protocols

The Qtum token is similar to ETH, as it derives its value from user demand. Current value sits at $10.96. The project employs a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, and with no upper limit on coins, miners’ rewards are theoretically infinite. While investors seem to prefer the high values of more volatile altcoins like Bitcoin, Qtum has an inherent, persistent value of its own.

One company that has recognized this is Bodhi. A “decentralized prediction market platform,” the Bodhi project seeks to better garner crowd predictions on future event outcomes. In fact, Bodhi’s was the first dapp launched on the Qtum mainnet. Essentially a bookmaking or prediction gaming site, the Bodhi platform allows users to generate events. When an event comes to an end, an oracle dispenses the final results and winners ensue.

Another case study of Qtum at work comes in the form of Agrello. This company has also built upon Qtum, and is focused on the interplay of AI while generating legally-binding smart contracts. According to the Agrello team, the decision to use Qtum was heavily influenced by its unique route to the Bitcoin SPV. Noting that their users will need not bother with heavyweight environments nor nodes, they can approach a plug-and-play experience. For many, Qtum’s logic and value is immediately apparent and suitable to their purposes.

Qtum Tech Savvy

Developers note that there are almost unavoidable benefits to choosing Qtum over Ethereum itself, or for example, Raiden and other platforms. With that said, technically speaking, there is a notable price for its model. A resident of the land of tiny blocks, Qtum is lessened somewhat by rarefied and expensive transactions. Most are able to look past that, however, as being able to glean the best of both worlds is considered far more enabling and ultimately valuable. Qtum is trading on the network effect of best-of-Ethereum coupled with Bitcoin’s mining and node capacity.

As things stand, Qtum’s versatility is currently outshining all other considerations for many. The issue of transaction costs on the network may improve over time. Qtum employs a UTXO model to track funds on chain. At the same time, it generates smart contracts with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. The compatibility between Bitcoin and Ethereum – both giants in their own way – is a value not lost on startup projects.

Benefits of employing the UTXO model include the facts that transaction histories are wholly transparent with data more secure than employing the Accounting protocol. Qtum does employ the EVM to generate smart contracts. This results in a conflict with the UTXO model. The platform solves this by employing an Account Abstraction Layer that allows for all to be translated to an account-based interface. It is precisely this neat application that generates the compatibility that gives Qtum such value to developers.

By marrying the best or smartest attributes of the two principal public blockchains, Qtum has built a platform quickly growing in popularity. Particularly business-friendly, it is hoped that the stagnant adoption of cryptocurrencies among the world’s merchants will be addressed by the emergence of chains such as Qtum. Now that it is apparent that neither vendors nor their industry or retail clients are open to diminished transaction speeds or their peripheral services, cryptocurrencies are stymied as currency. With platforms like Qtum, many preclusive issues are resolved and the performance of altcoins enabled.

Qtum Conclusion

For techies, Qtum is basically the Ethereum Virtual Machine retooled and running on Bitcoin’s blockchain. For end users of projects built on Qtum, it’s likely they’ll simply think of it as “better.” The platform allows for Ethereum-designed apps to run on the Bitcoin blockchain. Dapps can swap or replicate as they wish between Ethereum, Ethereum Classic and Bitcoin.

Some commentators compare Qtum to a computer mouse. We stopped needing them a long time ago, yet they persist as their value is undeniable. Similarly, while the future may hold some other genius resolution, it’s unlikely that as a bridge between the two biggest crypto chains on earth, Qtum will fall away. If anything, having produced the code that enabled some impressive maneuvering around smart contracts, the platform is likely only gaining in popularity while streamlining its UI.