Bitcoin Diamond (BCD) is a fork of Bitcoin that occurs at the predetermined height of block 495,866 and therewith a new chain will be generated as the BCD. Bitcoin Diamond miners will begin creating blocks with a new proof-of-work algorithm, and will consecutively develop and enhance the protection for account transfer and privacy based on original features of BTC. This will cause a bifurcation of the Bitcoin blockchain. The original Bitcoin blockchain will continue unaltered, but a new branch of the blockchain will split off from the original chain. It shares the same transaction history with Bitcoin until it starts branching and coming into a unique block from which it diverges. As a result of this process, a new cryptocurrency was created which we call “Bitcoin Diamond”. Bitcoin Diamond coin could win over a lot of Bitcoin users with its faster transaction times, lower fees and easier access to new users. Bitcoin is a hugely popular coin but it can be quite difficult to use! Many critics of Bitcoin argue that the coin won’t be a valid replacement for normal money until users can make small purchases; quickly and easily. A network offering these features will also appeal to small businesses dealing in low priced, high-volume goods like coffee or fast food. However, in my opinion the price of Bitcoin Diamond will have to be more stable before it attracts any big-brand clients like Starbucks or McDonalds. One of the main safety features of blockchain technology is encryption. Private personal information is hidden using computer code. Some critics of Bitcoin think that not enough user information is encrypted. For example, all transactions and their amounts can be seen by anyone using the Bitcoin network. This can make tracing the real identities of users fairly easy for governments and other organizations. The team behind Bitcoin Diamond wanted to encrypt more user information. However, they have recently decided not to add more privacy features to BCD. They feel that governments will soon start passing laws that stop cryptocurrencies from hiding user data. In a statement published on Medium, the team noted Japan and Russia as examples of this trend. Bitcoin Diamond is processing much larger blocks than Bitcoin in the same amount of time. Larger blocks mean more transactions and a quicker average transaction time. Bitcoin Diamond makes it easy to mine BCD with less powerful computers. GPU mining allows more users to get involved in supporting the network and this can only be a good thing. Bitcoin is the world’s top cryptocurrency but it’s still quite difficult to use. Diamond coin’s high transaction speeds and low price could make it perfect for buying and selling small and inexpensive products like coffee or bus tickets.
The Skycoin Platform is the most advanced blockchain platform in the world. Developed by early contributors to both Bitcoin and Ethereum, Skycoin’s platform is completely secure, infinitely scalable, and ISP independent. It uses its own specific distributed consensus algorithm, called Obelisk, instead of other commonly used algorithms like proof of work (POW) and proof of stake (POS). Obelisk uses the concept of ‘web of trust dynamics’ which distributes influence over the network and makes consensus decisions depending upon the influence score of each node. Each node subscribes to a select number of other network nodes, and the density of a node’s network of subscribers determines its influence on the network. Skycoin is very fast. With transaction speeds close to 2 seconds and no transaction fees it can rival any other cryptocurrency on the market as a payment method. The transaction costs of Skycoin are covered by Coin Hours. This is value paid to Skycoin holders for each hour they hold a Skycoin. Skycoin is against charging transaction costs and mining incentives as it only drives up the costs of the network. The biggest benefit of Skycoin is that it is energy efficient due to the Web-of-Trust social proof. It can even run on a 30-watt cell phone processor making it great for mobile payments. Centralization becomes less of an issue when anyone can participate in the blockchain. Sia stores tiny pieces of your files on dozens of nodes across the globe. This eliminates any single point of failure and ensures highest possible uptime, on par with other cloud storage providers. A major goal of Skycoin is to promote actual usage of cryptocurrency rather than speculation. Skywire, the flagship application of Skycoin, has the ambitious goal of decentralizing the internet at the hardware level and is about to begin the testnet in April. However, this is just one of the many facets of the Skycoin ecosystem. Skywire will not only provide decentralized bandwidth but also storage and computation, completing the holy trinity of commodities essential for the new internet. Skycoin also has its own ICO platform called Fiber, their own deterministic programming language, CX, derived from Golang, a private decentralized messenger system called Sky-Messenger, and a decentralized social media platform, BBS. Here is another way to think of Skycoin: An open-source, community-owned, hardware-based peer to peer internet designed from first principles and leveraging the incentive system of the blockchain.