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.
PIVX stands for Private Instant Verified Transaction. PIVX is an MIT licensed anonymity-based cryptocurrency created out of a fork of DASH. PIVX is an open source blockchain-based Proof of Stake cryptocurrency with Zerocoin protocol implementation for industry leading transaction privacy. PIVX project is focused on advancing its privacy technology to ensure fungibility, improve network scalability and increase real-world utilization to become an effective decentralized online digital currency for everyone. PIVX inherited all the technical features of DASH such as masternodes, instant send and private transfer. It has a block time of 60 seconds and has a fixed reward size per block that uses a custom Seesaw Algorithm that dynamically alters the reward split between masternode and staking nodes. PIVX also utilizes a decentralized network of masternodes that allow feature services, treasury management, and community governance. The project is focused on advancing its privacy technology to ensure fungibility, improving network scalability, and increasing real-world utilization to become a globally-accepted decentralized online digital currency. PIVX is the first cryptocurrency to implement a directly spendable Zerocoin protocol and has also developed and implemented an industry-first Zerocoin-capable Proof of Stake consensus algorithm, called zPoS, that allows complete privacy of the balance and transactions while staking. PIVX “wallet” software closely resembles running your own bank, while basecoin (PIV) for transparent transactions and Zerocoin (zPIV) for completely anonymous, untraceable transactions. PIVX is an advanced privacy-enabled proof-of-stake cryptocurrency using the Zerocoin Protocol, an advanced zero-knowledge-proof privacy protocol for utmost transaction anonymity, and zPoS, a world’s first privacy-enabled Proof of Stake technology all developed by a team of highly experienced developers and cryptographers. Here at PIVX, we wanted to do something innovative, so we brought this cutting-edge technology to life. PIVX is available to be purchased directly with some popular fiat currencies. Here are some exchanges that provide the option to buy PIVX with currencies (USD, EUR etc.) UpBit, Coinroom, LiteBit. The PIVX network allows for 2.6 million PIVX tokens to be minted per year forever, with 90% of the minted coins going to staking wallets and Masternodes (staking is covered in the next section), and 10% going to fund budget proposals voted on by the Masternodes and stakers. This lack of a maximum coin supply makes PIVX function similar to a traditional currency, as inflation is introduced to the system to encourage daily usage and avoid hoarding. The inflation is around 4% per year, but instead of simply devaluing your currency like the Fed does when it prints Dollars, all those minted coins are going directly to holders of PIVX, offsetting the effect of inflation by spreading the profits. PIVX is a promising privacy coin aiming to be an easy-to-use digital cash replacement. There have been a few hiccups surrounding the implementation of the privacy technology, but the community and development team are active, engaged, and optimistic. It’s performing well on the market, with high volume and support from major exchanges (most notably Bittrex) and looks like it’ll be around for a while.'