Qtum is a decentralized and open-source smart contracts platform and value transfer protocol. Qtum uses proof-of-stake consensus, meaning node operators are rewarded for validating transactions. It is a DGP governed blockchain where community participants can vote to change certain network parameters. Qtum is built on a bitcoin core fork, but the foundation has created its own hybrid blockchain with the help of several key tools. The coin uses bitcoin’s chain because of its simple and stable nature, allowing the foundation to build upon it more easily. As the QTUM project is a hybrid of Bitcoin and Ethereum, its team comprises of members from both Bitcoin and Ethereum community. They also have team members who formerly worked with Tencent, Alibaba, Nasdaq etc. Apart from that, they are backed by some notable VCs and prominent people from the Blockchain community such as Patrick Dai (Project Co-Founder), Neil Mahi (Chief Blockchain Architect/Co-Founder) and Jordan Earls (Lead Developer/Co-Founder). Qtum provides a Turing-complete blockchain stack and is able to execute smart contracts and decentralised applications like the Ethereum blockchain. Qtum builds on Bitcoin's UTXO transaction model and uses the Proof-of-Stake algorithm. It is backed by some highly prominent members of the blockchain community such as Anthony Di Iorio, Xu Star, Bo Shen, David Lee, Jehan Chu and Roger Ver. Qtum sold over 10 million dollars’ worth of its tokens after only 90 minutes, eventually raising a total value of $15.7 million before stopping the campaign early after only 5 days. They raised a total amount of 11,156.766 bitcoins (BTC) and 77,081.031 ether (ETH) in exchange for the 51 million Qtum tokens being distributed to the public. In Qtum’s whitepaper, 51% of the coins were distributed to the public via the crowdfunding campaign. Of the remaining 49%, 29% of the coins would be allocated as community incentives, and the remaining 20% would be distributed to the early backers and development team.
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.