Feathercoin (FTC or ₣) is an open source cryptocurrency, published under the license of MIT / X11.1, based on the Litecoin protocol. On 16 April 2013 Feathercoin successfully forked from Litecoin by the creation of its genesis block. As a cryptocurrency, creation and transfer of coins is based on an open source cryptographic protocol (the blockchain) and is not managed by any central authority. The hashing algorithm chosen for Feathercoin was the Proof-of-Work NeoScrypt, which had premiered on Phoenixcoin. NeoScrypt is 25% more memory intense, which makes it less feasible to create ASICs for it. The main programmer is Peter Bushnell, at the time running the information technology for the Brasenose College of Oxford University. He explained his motivation for developing the coin in an interview with Vitalik Buterin. One month after launching Feathercoin, Peter Bushnell left his job as head of IT at the Brasenose College of Oxford University and lived off his Litecoin savings. Feathercoin was launched on 16th April 2013 and as developed by Peter Bushnell. It was forked from Litecoin, with the aim of making Feathercoin what Litecoin was supposed to be: a faster, more secure, and stable version of Bitcoin. The consensus mechanism is based on the Proof of Work (PoW) concept. The Feathercoin network runs on the NeoScrypt hashing algorithm, making it much easier and faster to mine. Feathercoin enjoyed rapid adoption by users soon after its launch, gaining immense popularity, and establishing itself as a worthy contender in a BTC/LTC dominated market. Feathercoin can be mined using either processors (CPUs) or graphics cards (GPUs). Due to the hashing algorithm of FTC, it cannot be mined with an ASIC card. Mining software is available for download at their official site. Wallets for FTC can be found over at their official website, including both desktop and mobile wallets.. While the paper money you are used to carrying around is (or can be) stored in a physical wallet, cryptocurrencies, like all digital currencies, have to be stored in a software-based digital wallet. Although you will find links to feathercoin wallets throughout the web, the only safe way to know that you're downloading the latest and correct version is by scrolling to the bottom of the coin's official home page and selecting the button for your particular operating system. Feathercoin wallets are available for Android, Linux, macOS and Windows platforms.
Blockchains are quickly becoming the modern equivalent of what apps were to smartphones when they took off a decade ago. There’s a blockchain for everything - from cloud storage (Siacoin) to identity verification (Civic). But the original point of Bitcoin, the very cryptocurrency was to overturn the traditional banking system. An interestingly named token - Bread, is here to bring us back on track for this original goal. Bread technology intends to reinvent and revolutionize banking as we know it. By building a blockchain synced, Bitcoin-based wallet, the idea here is to decentralise banking and make it accessible to everyone. With a blockchain connected, easy to use Bitcoin wallet, Bread makes it easy for you to transition to a truly decentralised banking service.It also provides portfolio management tools to offer a comprehensive banking experience. Purchases made using its BRD token attract loyalty points and rewards, giving customers another lucrative reason to use the Bread wallet app. Bread was officially launched in 2014 itself and even raised VC funding to the tune of $7 million in August 2017. It then went the ICO route in December 2017, where it made available 88 million BRD tokens. $32 million was raised in the price, with BRD being valued at the rate of 900 for every 1 ETH at the time. As of June 2018, just over 6 months later, its value had fallen to above 1600 for every 1 ETH. A decentralised banking system was Bitcoin’s original vision that is either taking too long to fruition, or we’ve become an impatient audience. Whatever the case, Bread wants to accelerate the transition. A significant decision the Bread team took was to introduce the BRD token - which, with its cheap rates and loyalty/discount offerings, may emerge as the primary incentive for users joining the platform. If this is indeed the case, expect a spike in the value of the BRD cryptocurrency, something investors right now would be eyeing closely. Having said that, its fall in value since the ICO is certainly a cause for concern, and investors are advised to do their research and analyse before taking decisions.