The Qtum network is a decentralized open-source smart contract platform and value transfer protocol that aims to empower and bring together the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks under one chain. The Qtum system, pronounced as quantum, was designed under the UTXO transaction model of the Bitcoin network. However, in the Qtum network, there is an added function that allows for the execution and processing of smart contracts as well as several inclusions to the Defi ecosystem.
In recent years, the platform has improved greatly and has included a few special specifications such as its support for decentralized financial applications. As such, several platforms have been built on the network and as of March 2021, over 20 tokens had been created under its smartcontract system.
The project first came to the public eye in March 2016, while its main chain was released much later in 2017.
Who are the Founders of Qtum (QTUM)?
The Qtum network was founded by Patrick Dai and he also serves as the chairman of the Qtum Foundation. He is a graduate of Draper University, where he studied computer science. Later down the line, he pursued a Ph.D. for the Chinese Academy of Sciences but later dropped out to focus on his projects.
Initially, he was a project manager with Alibaba before venturing into the world of blockchain. While in the Blockchain industry, he worked on a couple of projects including Vechain, Factom, Meilink, and the Bitse Group before starting the Qtum system later in 2016. Prior to starting his project, Dai used to be known under the name Steven Dai while he was serving at the infamous BitBay project as the CTO. The platform is considered infamous because it was involved in a few scam scandals.
The other parts of the Qtum network are Jordan Earls, the lead developer, and Neil Mahi who was the blockchain architect of the project.
Another part of the team is Stephen (Xiaolong) XU who had been on the project since 2017 and served as one of the lead developers. Before the Qtum project, he worked as a software developer in Microsoft and Tencent. He is also well educated with a degree in Computer Vision from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
According to information from the Qtum website, the project is backed by several major participants of the blockchain industry including Roger Ver, from Bitcoin.com and the co-founder of Augur and EIR in Blockchain Capital.
What is Qtum (QTUM) used for?
The Qtum network was essentially built to serve as a bridge to connect the Bitcoin and Ethereum network services on a single chain. The system makes this provision while still maintaining its stance as an open-source platform. As such, developers on the network can make additions with permission to better the services offered by the system. Its operation process is facilitated through its value transfer protocol which provides the avenue for creating the services on the network.
Qtum also has a dedicated cryptocurrency that holds value and can be traded for other cryptocurrency pairs to earn some profit for the token holders. It is also used to facilitate transactions within the Qtum network.
What Is the Unique Point of Qtum (QTUM)?
The Qtum platform is a multipurpose system that was created to address four major shortcomings of the first generations of cryptocurrencies. The four problems which are faced by the Ethereum and Bitcoin network are governance protocol, difficulty in the connection of real-world applications and smart contracts, interoperability, and the expensive nature of their proof of work consensus algorithm. The Qtum system was equipped with two major technology systems which were coined to solve these problems. They include; the Decentralized Governance Protocol and the Account Abstraction Layer.
The Account Abstraction Layer, also known as AAL operates through the UTXO technology which was inherited from the Bitcoin network with an addition of a smart contract layer taken from the Ethereum network. This allows the development of applications and also permits their posting on virtual machines. These include the Ethereum Virtual Machine and x86 virtual machine. The platform also supports a series of software development programming languages such as Rust, Python, C++, and C. This makes it easier for existing apps to integrate the Qtum system into their protocols. The Qtum network also plans to include some common programming libraries into their system via their I’m at contracts system.
The Decentralized Governance protocol on the other hand allows for a change in the network’s core parameters. These parameters include the size of each block and the transaction fees and also save the player a lot of trouble as it would have experienced with integrating a hard fork.
How many Qtum (QTUM) coins are in circulation?
According to the platform’s whitepaper, the total supply of Qtum tokens was set at 100 million, and all the tokens were minted before the platform went live. In March 2017 an Initial coin offering was held and a total of 51 million coins were sold to participants of the network. Apart from those, 12 million tokens were assigned to the project team and 8 million tokens were allocated to private investors. The leftovers of the tokens were left in the care of the Qtum Chain foundation which is a non-profit organization registered in Singapore. And the company will receive tokens in four different parts in early 2021. Of the total amount, 20% is to be assigned for business development and 9% for promotions and academic research.
The tokens supply of the Qtum network is not fixed and can be mined. However, there is a block reward halving protocol that takes action every four years. Right from the first block reward subsidy of 4.0 QTUM for each block and will go through seven havings in total before eventually hitting zero around 2045. At the time, the maximum token supply would be at 107,822,406 QTUM.
Is the Qtum (QTUM) Network secured?
Unlike its predecessors, Bitcoin and Ethereum who use the novel version of the proof of stake consensus mechanism, the Qtum network uses a modified version known as the mutualized proof of stake consensus algorithm.
The consensus algorithm follows a protocol that incentivizes participants to keep their tokens locked up to be used in the facilitation of block validation. This process is also known as staking. On the system, the confirmation of each block is a competition for the token holders on the network where they get to validate transactions based on chance or connectivity. Unlike the earlier versions of the proof of work consensus, this version has its rewards constant and does not rely on coinage to determine the possibility of getting it. The rewards on the system are spread in a proportional way to the stake such that higher stakes equal higher rewards.
In addition to that, the system is also protected from “Junk contract” attacks via a process where 10% of the block reward is split between the miner that produced the block and nine additional miners. And the leftover 90% is delayed by 500 blocks in the future.
How do I buy Qtum (QTUM)?
The Qtum network provides an avenue where individuals who are used to the earlier generation of cryptocurrencies enjoy the same level of services with major security additions. This has further led to the speedy adoption of cryptocurrency and its availability across several platforms. To buy QTUM tokens, the steps below provide the right direction to purchasing its tokens.
* Open an account with the crypto trading platform.
* Transfer the specific amount of your fiat currency to your account.
* Wait for your deposit to be confirmed and Buy QTUM through your trading account.
Which Cryptocurrency Wallet Supports Qtum (QTUM)?
The PTPWallet platform supports many cryptocurrencies simultaneously, such as QTUM tokens. Because of its speed, flexibility, and unique features, it has grown to become one of the most used new platforms. In addition, users can easily use PTPWallet as their main QTUM wallet as it offers a simple and interactive interface, making it easy to navigate its system.
