Bytecoin is the first cryptocurrency created with CryptoNote technology. Bytecoin allows users to make absolutely anonymous money transfers through the CryptoNote algorithm. CryptoNote uses CryptoNote ring signatures to provide anonymous transactions and allows you to sign a message on behalf of a group. The signature only proves the message was created by someone from the group, but all the possible signers are indistinguishable from each other. Even if outgoing transactions are untraceable, everyone may still be able to see the payments received and thus determine one's income. By using a variation of the Diffie-Hellman exchange protocol, a receiver has multiple unique one-time addresses derived from his single public key. After funds are sent to these addresses they can only be redeemed by the receiver; and it would be impossible to cross-link these payments. As a primarily peer-to-peer (p2p) payment system, Bytecoin has many of the same use-cases as Bitcoin. Created in 2012, Bytecoin is one of the earliest developed cryptocurrencies. Until recently, the team behind the coin has kept themselves anonymous. Now, though, they’ve opened up multiple communication channels, removed some layers of anonymity, and even built several local communities. Bitcoin’s PoW consensus algorithm heavily favors miners that use powerful GPU and ASIC machines over those trying to mine with CPUs. This causes the network to centralize around the more powerful miners. Bytecoin attempts to close the gap between these two classes of miners with a new algorithm, Egalitarian Proof-of-Work (PoW). Egalitarian PoW uses a version of skrypt, a proof of work function similar to the hashcash function used by Bitcoin. The difference between the two is that scrypt isn’t memory bound. Because of this, you can produce highly efficient CPU mining rigs. GPUs will always be about 10 times more effective, though. The Bytecoin project has been fairly fractured since its inception in July 2012. Previously, several isolated teams worked on the project without seemingly communicating with each other. This led to numerous forks and versions of the coin. In July 2017, the team decided to change their image and provide more transparency to the community. The team still remains pseudo-anonymous by only providing names and headshots on their webpage – no bios or social media links. But, it’s tough to expect more from a project that’s focused on privacy. The team has been busy at work refactoring their code and are planning to release a new public API on February 6, 2018. They’ll also be entering the Asian, Middle East, and African markets throughout 2018.
Waves is an open blockchain platform designed for ease of use and mass adoption. Anyone can use Waves to launch, distribute and trade their own crypto token. The platform is fully decentralised, transparent and auditable. Waves is inspired by NXT with team members previously being involved with NXT. Its name is inspired by the gravitational waves discovery. It is a cryptocurrency platform that had been coded for scratch and allows for asset issuance, decentralized crowdfunding, community management and encrypted messaging. Waves is creating a comprehensive blockchain ecosystem that will provide all the necessary features for business adoption, and the platform already has a number of powerful tools and services that make building user applications straightforward. Waves is a Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrency that conducted its ICO from 12 April 2016 to 31 May 2016. It raised a total of $16 million worth of bitcoins during the ICO. There is a total of 100 million tokens of which 15 million tokens are reserved for bounties and the development team while the remaining 85 million tokens are distributed to ICO participants. Features: 1. Highly accessible - Clean & familiar UX, Chrome app or html lite client, No blockchain download necessary 2. Fast, low-cost and scalable - One-minute blocks, Low (0.001 WAVES) transaction fees, Tx fees can be paid in tokens, Up to 1,000 txs/second 3. Fiat transfer - Fully compliant & licensed gateways into and out of the blockchain, EUR blockchain tokens with USD and other currencies on the way, Tokens fully backed by fiat deposits, Bitcoin gateway and tokens also available. 4. Easy token operations - Launch a new crypto token in under a minute, Tools for mass token distribution, Ideal for crowdfunding 5. Decentralised exchange (DEX) - Peer-to-peer trading from within the client, Trade any pair of Waves tokens, Near-realtime order matching, Blockchain settlement for security 6. Smart contracts - Non-Turing complete, Powerful but secure