MKR is a cryptocurrency depicted as a smart contract platform and works alongside the Dai coin and aims to act as a hedge currency that provides traders with a stable alternative to the majority of coins currently available on the market. Maker offers a transparent stablecoin system that is fully inspectable on the Ethereum blockchain. Founded almost three years ago, MakerDao is lead by Rune Christensen, its CEO and founder. Maker’s MKR coin is a recent entrant to the market and is not a well known project. However, after today it will be known by many more people after blowing up 40% and it is one of the coins to rise to prominence during the recent peaks and troughs. After being developed by the MakerDAO team, Maker Dai officially went live on December 18th, 2017. Dai is a price stable coin that is suitable for payments, savings, or collateral and provides cryptocurrency traders with increased options concerning opening and closing positions. Dai lives completely on the blockchain chain with its stability unmediated by the legal system or trusted counterparties and helps facilitate trading while staying entirely in the world of cryptocurrencies. The concept of a stablecoin is fairly straight forward – it’s a token that has its price or value pegged to a particular fiat currency. A stablecoin is a token (like Bitcoin and Ethereum) that exists on a blockchain, but unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, Dai has no volatility. MKR is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain and can not be mined. It’s instead created/destroyed in response to DAI price fluctuations in order to keep it hovering around $1 USD. MKR is used to pay transaction fees on the Maker system, and it collateralizes the system. Holding MKR comes with voting rights within Maker’s continuous approval voting system. Bad governance devalues MKR tokens, so MKR holders are incentivized to vote for the good of the entire system. It’s a fully decentralized and democratic structure, then, which is an underutilized USP of blockchain tech. Value volatility is a relative concept among both cryptos and fiat currencies. The US dollar, for example, was worth 110.748 yen on July 9, 2018. On July 4, 2011, $1 was worth 80.64 yen, and on March 18, 1985, $1 was worth 255.65 yen. These are major differences in exchange rates, and inflation within each country makes each currency worth different values even when compared to themselves. One USD in 1913 is worth the equivalent of $25.41 today, and even $1 in 1993 is worth the equivalent of $1.74 today. Stablecoins don’t negate these basic economic principles of value. Instead, both Tether and Dai have values pegged to the U.S. dollar. This is done to stabilize the price.
The district0x network is a collective of decentralized and autonomous marketplaces and communities, also known as districts. These districts are built upon a decentralized and distributed open-source framework, the d0xINFRA network, which is powered by Ethereum smart contracts. The district0x network aims at creating a friction-free, virtual economy where the users will be able to make buying and selling decisions, complete transactions, and even rank their peers with just one simple click. District0x aims to develop a flexible, and free market with advanced entrepreneurial concepts. The District0x infrastructure has a very neat concept with some well-outlined features, such as the staking interface. A staking interface is put in place that allows DNT holders to have open control over the districts through an Aragon governance layer for all markets that come online. Post creation of a district, an Aragon entity will also be created that people can use to interact with this staking mechanism. After staking a user will receive voting rights in that district. Using the creation interface, one can remove central power structures from any marketplace without the additional need for development or programming skills. It can be described as the WordPress of dApps where the districts being launched are like wordpress templates and the auxiliary modules are WordPress plugins for extended functionality. While it is very difficult to buy lesser known cryptocurrencies using fiat currencies (dollars, euros) directly from crypto-exchanges, district0x or DNT can be easily purchased from various exchanges using Ethereum or Bitcoin as the base cryptocoin. Binance is one of the popular exchange platforms that can help trade Bitcoin or Ethereum for District0x. One can use various wallets like myetherwallet.com to store the district0x (DNT) coins. Coinbase, Blockchain, Exodus, Trezor Hardware Wallet are also wallets that supports district0x. District0x, differs from most coins in its underlying concept and the architecture it is built on. The concept of interconnected districts and marketplaces promises a novel structure to the modern economies. What a lot of users are missing out on is the fact that it is a staking mechanism and not just a voting token. Staking is basically the process of mining the PoS (proof of stake) coins. Early investors will be able to lock their tokens to a specific district on the network, thus being able to participate in its governance later. DNT tokens can be staked in districts, thus they not only give voting power and privileges within that district but also provide district-specific tokens depending on when the investor had started trading. For example, early investors of the PoS token will be able to make decisions about the distribution of profits among stakeholders, the intricacies of the business model etc. DNT can basically be considered as a dynamic stock in the future district0x ecosystem. By joining the district0x, the user receives district0x coins. They allow the owner to exercise the right to vote for district proposals and make decisions within certain districts. This includes, for example, voting on proposals concerning the future of a particular district or setting fees. The scope of shareholders’ rights is outlined in the bylaws and varies according to the specific scope and purpose of each district. District0x platform users can interact with the functions and services provided by each district. Users can also freely create their own districts. For example, on Ethlance, the first district in the District0x network, users can post job offers or search for new jobs.