Photo by Mathieu Stern on Unsplash
In this article, we will look at some exciting crypto projects in terms of the technology they bring to the industry and the problems they try to solve. You can argue that Bitcoin is the only fully functional cryptocurrency out there, and I agree, but these projects are meant to solve the problems Bitcoin could not.
I have also created a video on ‘*Why Bitcoin Matters’*
Please do not take this article as financial advice, most of the cryptocurrencies are currently highly volatile and thus a risky investment. The industry attracts a lot of scammers and bad actors, so please be careful.
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano was launched in 2017 by Charles Hoskinson. The project runs on a proof of stake consensus algorithm and aims to be a third-generation cryptocurrency. Cardano aims to be the most advanced smart contract platform and support all forms of projects.
Cardano has one of the most active communities and has the largest decentralized network. It is based on peer-reviewed scientific research papers, which means it is verified by the smartest people on the planet.
The hydra ouroboros consensus algorithm can perform several thousand transactions per second, much higher than the industry’s benchmark — VISA’s 24,000 TPS.
Cardano is about to release its Goguen update, which will make it possible for other projects to build on top of Cardano’s multi-asset smart contracts platform. Moreover, Cardano's ERC-20 converter is a game-changer for current tokens on Ethereum.
The Voltaire system of Cardano would allow network participants to use their stake and voting rights to further the development of Cardano through a treasury system, making it a **Decentralized Autonomous Organization**.
If you are interested in learning more about Cardano, use the link below.
Why I am Betting on Cardano (ADA)
The crypto of the futurelevelup.gitconnected.com
AAVE
Aave was earlier called ETHLend and was founded in 2017. The Aave token was recently launched in October 2020. Aave is a lending and borrowing platform, users can lend money for interest and borrowers need to provide a crypto asset as collateral.
Aave is also a governance token of Aave protocol. It allows network participants to vote and make changes to Aave protocol via **Aave Improvement Proposals (AIPs).**
The new collateral swap feature in V2 of AAVE protocol allows lenders and borrowers to trade collateral for a stable coin if the value of collateral goes down.
The lenders and borrowers receive Atoken for their lent and collateralized money, respectively. They can freely trade these, and the one with the token will receive the equivalent interest and collateral.
With V2, users can take batch flash loans and borrow multiple coins in single smart contract transactions.
With Defi becoming more accessible and necessary, Aave will certainly be at the forefront of the industry. In fact, Aave was launched when Defi was not even a thing!
The Aave Protocol V2
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for… V2 of the Aave Protocol on mainnet!medium.com
Chainlink
Chainlink is a decentralized middle agent meant to authenticate data between centralized and decentralized systems. Chainlink is essential to make decentralized ledger technology widely usable because we cannot have worldwide adoption without banks and other central institutions integrating with the decentralized world.
Chainlink (LINK) is an **ERC-677 token** on the Ethereum network. It is an incentive for oracle nodes to validate the data and also work as a penalty/collateral system.
Chainlink, comparatively, has a low node requirement of 1 core and 1-2GB RAM. You don’t even need to have any LINK token to become a node in the network for clients/tasks with no deposit requirement. This makes Chainlink highly accessible.
If you are interested in learning more about Chainlink and why it’s needed, use the link below.
Centralized and Decentralized Systems Finally Get ‘Chained’
What is Chainlink and how it differs from other crypto-currencieslevelup.gitconnected.com
Polkadot (Dot)
Gavin Wood, an Ethereum Co-founder founded Polkadot and released the original paper in 2016. The project aims to provide a multi-chain decentralized application environment for all sorts of projects with their own independent blockchain networks.
Polkadot has sharded multichain network called ‘parachains’, which can process multiple transactions in parallel solving the scalability issues with many crypto projects.
Polkadot allows projects running on top of it to have their own unique blockchain to balance various tradeoffs in their favor. This allows all sorts of projects to run on top of it efficiently.
Polkadot supports interoperability and cross-chain data transfer because we are not going to have one project to rule them all. Interoperability is essential for almost any kind of project.
Here’s a good read by Jack Platts, if you want to learn more about Polkadot.
Polkadot: The Foundation of a New Internet
Polkadot is a global network of blockchains and the foundation of a new internet. The architecture of Polkadot provides…medium.com
Ethereum
We had to discuss Ethereum as it is at the forefront of the industry at the moment.
To be honest, I am not too excited about Ethereum. At the moment, Ethereum lacks behind ADA and DOT in terms of scalability, interoperability, and accessibility. I know that most of the DApps run on Ethereum, but many projects are looking to move to other platforms, and new projects are choosing Dot over the Ethereum network.
A lot of money is staked in the Ethereum network, so they may improve the network sooner than expected, which is the reason I am interested in it. But this space is changing so quickly that I wouldn’t be surprised if Cardano, Dot, or some other project surpasses Ethereum like Apple surpassed blackberry. It is very hard for an existing project to change, but a newcomer can learn from its predecessors and surpass them.
Let me know what you think about these projects. What projects are you excited about? What do you think is the next big thing?
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