Ethereum
Created by Vitalik Buterin, a Russian-Canadian cryptographer, Ethereum is a distributed computing platform capable of executing smart contracts written in Solidity coding language. Launched in July 2015, the platform is under active development and is currently in the Homestead phase. The network currently utilizes Proof-of-work (PoW) to secure transactions on the blockchain but plans to move to a proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol with the release of Casper. Today, the blockchain's native token, ether (ETH) is utilized to reward miners for computing resources contributed to the network.
Ethereum (ETH) developers continue to scale the capabilities of the platform. The expected release of the Raiden Network may allow Ethereum to handle up to 100,000 transactions per second, far surpassing the capabilities of large payment processors like Visa.
To revert the hacking of The DAO, the community's first attempt at a live dApp, the Ethereum blockchain was hard-forked in 2016 to replace The DAO smart contract with one capable of returning contributions to Ethereum users. Not all community members supported this decision. Some believe 'code is law' and should be immutable, disagreeing with the replacement of the flawed smart contract utilized by The DAO. These users decided to continue use of the original ethereum blockchain, now operating under the name Ethereum Classic (ETC).
All major developers have continued to work with the hard-forked version of Ethereum (ETH). It remains unseen whether Ethereum Classic will be able to survive long term due to the existence of the Ethereum Ice Age, an exponential increase in PoW mining difficulty set to take effect in 2017.
The below projects aim to leverage synergies in the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem to build a new peer-to-peer digital economy. These projects hope to utilize reduced costs, increased operational visibility, and micro-payment capabilities to decentralize global commerce.
Ethereum (ETH) developers continue to scale the capabilities of the platform. The expected release of the Raiden Network may allow Ethereum to handle up to 100,000 transactions per second, far surpassing the capabilities of large payment processors like Visa.
To revert the hacking of The DAO, the community's first attempt at a live dApp, the Ethereum blockchain was hard-forked in 2016 to replace The DAO smart contract with one capable of returning contributions to Ethereum users. Not all community members supported this decision. Some believe 'code is law' and should be immutable, disagreeing with the replacement of the flawed smart contract utilized by The DAO. These users decided to continue use of the original ethereum blockchain, now operating under the name Ethereum Classic (ETC).
All major developers have continued to work with the hard-forked version of Ethereum (ETH). It remains unseen whether Ethereum Classic will be able to survive long term due to the existence of the Ethereum Ice Age, an exponential increase in PoW mining difficulty set to take effect in 2017.
The below projects aim to leverage synergies in the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem to build a new peer-to-peer digital economy. These projects hope to utilize reduced costs, increased operational visibility, and micro-payment capabilities to decentralize global commerce.
Digix DAO (DGD)
Digix Global leveraged blockchain technology to create the DGX token, the first crypto-currency with each token backed by 1g of physical gold. Utilizing ethereum smart contracts, DGX tokens can be exchanged for an equivalent quantity of physical bullion and redeemed by investors. For example, an investor who holds 100 DGX tokens can exchange their tokens for an 'asset card' representing a 100g bar of physical bullion, or visa versa. The asset card stores all of the bar's pertinent attributes on the ethereum blockchain, including quarterly audit sign offs, and can be used to redeem gold directly from the custodian. Clearly this new tokenized gold system is superior to gold ETFs, as each DGX token is specifically backed by physical bullion with no underlying legal agreements or contractual liens. Put simply, investment in DGX is clean-cut gold ownership. Their proprietary Proof-of-Asset (PoA) verification method is documented in detail in their whitepaper.
To support the Digix (DGX) ecosystem, Digix Global created Digix DAO (DGD). The DGD token crowd-sale launched on March 31st, 2016 and lasted under 24 hours, quickly reaching its maximum first round investment of $5.5 million worth of ether (ETH). The ether held by Digix DAO will be spent to expand the DGX ecosystem. DGD token holders decide to fund projects via governance smart contracts. For their contributions to the Digix ecosystem, DGD token holders are rewarded with a portion of the daily demurrage, storage, and transaction fees collected by Digix Global.
After a recent partnership, Digix Gold Tokens (DGX) can be utilized as collateral on SilverBullion's peer-to-peer lending platform.
Read more here or visit the Digix knowledge center for additional information.
Download our DigixDAO (DGD) Valuation Metrics below! Please contact us if you have questions about this customizable workbook.
To support the Digix (DGX) ecosystem, Digix Global created Digix DAO (DGD). The DGD token crowd-sale launched on March 31st, 2016 and lasted under 24 hours, quickly reaching its maximum first round investment of $5.5 million worth of ether (ETH). The ether held by Digix DAO will be spent to expand the DGX ecosystem. DGD token holders decide to fund projects via governance smart contracts. For their contributions to the Digix ecosystem, DGD token holders are rewarded with a portion of the daily demurrage, storage, and transaction fees collected by Digix Global.
After a recent partnership, Digix Gold Tokens (DGX) can be utilized as collateral on SilverBullion's peer-to-peer lending platform.
Read more here or visit the Digix knowledge center for additional information.
Download our DigixDAO (DGD) Valuation Metrics below! Please contact us if you have questions about this customizable workbook.
digix_metrics.xlsx |