ICON is a blockchain technology and network framework designed to allow independent blockchains to interact with each other. ICON is supported through a cryptocurrency token, called ICX. ICON is a South Korean-based company that developed a blockchain technology and accompanying cryptocurrency token called ICX. The company bills itself as an interconnected blockchain network, allowing participants in a decentralized system to “converge” at a central point. This is done by connecting a community to other communities through ICON Republic and Citizen Nodes. While blockchains are most commonly associated with cryptocurrencies, enthusiasts point out other areas where the technology can be applied. Any exchange of information can technically be added to a blockchain, though adding some types may not be cost-effective. Transactions involving securities, currencies, business contracts, deeds and loans, intellectual property, and personal identification could be “tokenized. ICON’s blockchain is more like the Plasma or Ontology blockchain in that its purpose is to act as an intermediary between other blockchains and networks. This interconnectability makes the ICON project worth keeping an eye on over the next decade. ICON sports its very own decentralized exchange. This DEX sets currency reserves for each blockchain community so that ICON communities can exchange value in real time through the ICON Republic. In this way, DEX complements C-Rep portals by establishing another gateway for ICON Communities to connect to the ICON Republic.
Groestlcoin is an ASIC-resistant cryptocurrency that boasts having “almost ZERO fees.” Although the coin itself is only pseudo-anonymous (like Bitcoin), the development team has ported a wallet (Samourai) to give you full anonymity. Groestlcoin is strictly a cryptocurrency for peer-to-peer (p2p) payments. The coin serves the same end-goal as other transactional cryptos like Bitcoin and Litecoin but accomplishes that goal with a different set of attributes. Groestlcoin accomplished a few significant “firsts” with its feature set. It was the first coin to implement Segregated Witness (SegWit) and the first to perform a Lightning Network transaction on mainnet. With the implementation of the Lightning Network, Groestlcoin has minimal fees. Transferring 10,000 GRS (~$6000 at the time of this writing) costs fractions of a fraction of a cent. Even if the GRS price rises 1000x, the transaction fee would be just a couple of pennies. Groestlcoin utilizes two rounds of Grøstl-512 for its mining algorithm. This mining algo is ASIC-resistant, for now. A developer going by the Bitcointalk username “Gruve_P” launched Groestlcoin on March 22, 2014. Since then, the team has grown to over 20 people spread all around the world. Most team members prefer to stay relatively anonymous, only sharing their first name and country of origin on the website. The team has been consistent in releasing new versions of the platform every three months. With such consistency, it shouldn’t shock you to hear all that they’ve accomplished in the last four years. The team activated SegWit in January 2017 and is currently working on Lightning Network releases for both their mobile and desktop wallets. The team and community have also built eleven different Android wallets, ten different wallets for Blackberry, and three for iOS. They’ve created more than ten desktop wallets as well. GRS has recently seen a rise in popularity, with most CPU and GPU miners moving away from networks like BTC, where ASIC miners have completely saturated the mining pool. With its robust features, focus on privacy, and innovative technology, GRS is a very lucrative choice for these miners, and has the possibility to be the next big coin that hits the market. While investing in any cryptocurrency is subject to their inherent volatile nature, the immense market potential of Groestlcoin, along with its pioneering technology and dedicated development team, make it a very strong consideration for investment.