Achain is a public blockchain platform that enables developers of all levels to issue tokens and create smart contracts, decentralized applications, and blockchain systems. Achain is committed to building a global blockchain network for information exchange and value transactions. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, Achain utilizes a modified version of DPoS — RDPoS (Result-delegated Proof of Stake) to establish node consensus. Shortly, DPoS suggests that all coin holders vote for the validator nodes that will produce the next blocks. On the project website, only info about CEO Tony Cui is listed. Cui has a few significant accomplishments, including winning the Future Star award from the Zhongguancun Alliance and being listed in the 30 under 30 on CYZONE, a famous venture capital magazine. On LinkedIn, 51 people are listed as employees at Achain. Most of the team is based in Beijing. Achain also has a few key industry partners. It has even co-organized a “Blockchain Technology Open Course” with Tsinghua University, which is widely recognized as one of the world’s top universities. The roadmap for Achain development is fairly detailed. However, most goals listed are development-oriented rather than marketing or design. Still, it’s important to note that focusing on making the protocol interoperable and building a technology that is more accessible to mainstream adoption could also be considered a marketing-oriented part of this project. There are three major phases with projected completion dates listed. These include Singularity (completed Q1), Galaxy (ongoing), and Cosmos (complete at the end of Q4). One thing to note is that dates for these phases are not consistent between the homepage and the whitepaper. This could be simply due to a scenario in which phase names remain the same while new goals and timeline dates within those phases continue to change. In January 2019, the project will update the website to reflect roadmap goals for the new year. Looking at the current landscape of blockchain projects, Achain certainly offers the possibility of much-needed technical innovations. The ability to easily create an Achain fork, as well as, the protocol’s unique RDPoS consensus algorithm make this a promising project. It will be interesting to see how Achain builds upon its accomplishments, and how the project team continues to develop a long-term strategy for improving the protocol’s technical capabilities and increasing participation in its ecosystem.
'DigitalNote describes itself as a decentralized Proof-of-Work(bmw512)/Proof-of-Stake(echo512) hybrid blockchain with fast, untraceable transactions and encrypted messaging features. The network is reportedly resistant to 51% attacks via its VRX v3.0 technology and it is mobile-ready with lightweight wallet functionality. A masternode network reportedly enhances untraceability and provides incentive for users to secure the network, whilst enabling fast private transactions and P2P messaging that are difficult to trace or censor. Miners and stakers are encouraged to participate via network fee payouts, facilitating consistent block generation and a fast network. DigitalNote was originally released as ''duckNote'' by an anonymous individual or group of individuals under the pseudonym ''dNote'' in 2014. Over the years more advancements were added to the protocol, with each major upgrade rebranding the name of the protocol (first ''DarkNote'' and then ultimately ''DigitalNote''). Much like Bitcoin's ''Satoshi Nakamoto'', the original founder(s) vanished in 2017, leaving the open source code to be updated by a community team who have since continued development.'