Shift is cryptocurrency that was launched in August 2015 based on Ethereum by a group of cryptocurrency enthusiast. Shift Storage Cluster - The default state of the IPFS infrastructure is represented as a globally shared network. This can lead to problems when it comes to verifying data integrity, availability, and custom implementation details such as earning token rewards for running a storage node. For this reason, Shift runs a private swarm. The storage nodes use a custom swarm key to ensure that they can only talk to other nodes using the same key. This also prevents Shift nodes being used to host and deliver content that was added outside of the Shift network which should improve reliability and performance. In order to store data permanently, IPFS implements a concept called pinning. Pinning content means that the content will be available permanently (or until it is unpinned). By default the pinning only applies to a single peer that it is pinned to, but that means if that machine goes offline, the content can be lost. The way around this is by using an IPFS cluster: a subnet (or private net) running the IPFS daemon, containing only Shift peers. The Shift cluster runs as a wrapper around the IPFS daemon. It allows the end user to connect a group of IPFS nodes together so that content can be stored and replicated within the group. The cluster elects a leader to be in charge of keeping track of which content is available in which locations. Shift is meant to disrupt the web hosting industry. The company has created Phantom which is a decentralized app to host websites. It does so through the Shift IPFS rather than the normal way a website is hosted. By using this ‘killer dApp’, the company is of the opinion that a business gets a chance of succeeding in the current competitive world. Because Shift is an open-source platform, developers of dApps are free to use the company’s script. This is made even easier by the fact that Shift Company has used Javascript which is popular language among dApp developers. According to the company, every dApp created using the Shift script can access the IPFS cluster to store data. This will be made possible by the use of a P2P hypermedia distribution protocol, an interplanetary file system which the company created. Even though the Shift has been around since 2015, the team only released the whitepaper on March the 5th 2018. The whitepaper is a bit technical but well detailed. Remember that the crypto is built with dApps developers in mind. It might not be a very good investment opportunity for a person who doesn’t understand dApps and Javascript. But at the end of the day, it is a volatile crypto which is one of the most important features to look for as a trader.
NavCoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency that uses the peer-to-peer blockchain technology to operate with no central authority managing its transactions. The issuance of NavCoin is carried out collectively by the network of miners and joint development by the NavCoin commmunity. The project is open-source and decentralized. Nobody owns or have complete controls over the cryptocurrency. The NavCoin project is open source and available for everyone to take part. NavCoin was known as Navajo Coin, which was rebranding from SummerCoinv2. NavCoin is cryptocurrency designed to be anonymous and simple to use. Established in 2014, it belongs to an older class of cryptocurrencies that came before the current wave of ICOs. NavCoin has stood the test of time well. Over the past four years it has implemented various upgrades, features, and improvements. The team is dedicated and knowledgeable, and as a result the platform has seen consistent growth. However, NavCoin has not seen the kind of growth that the other competitors in the race to be the top privacy coin have seen. Dash, Zcash, and Monero have all outstripped NavCoin in terms of adoption and funding. Recently, the project has seen a comeback, as they’ve begun to emphasize design, usability, and experience. NavCoin wants to make it simple and fast to use private transactions. Since the early days, one of NavCoin’s strong suits has been its fast transaction times. NavCoin sees block confirmations every thirty seconds as opposed to Bitcoin’s ten minutes. This is faster than Monero (2 minutes) and Zcash (2.5 minutes). Dash also averages about 2.5 minute block times, but its masternodes make it possible to send instant transactions. That said, NavCoin has the fastest standard block time of any privacy coin. These fast transactions aren’t expensive either. Where currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are having trouble with high miner fees, NavCoin keeps its transaction costs low. The average fee is only 0.0001 NAV to send a standard transaction. Private, encrypted transactions can be more expensive. While most other cryptocurrencies implement some form of proof of work mining, NavCoin was among the first to implement proof of stake. Proof of stake relies on users putting up a portion of their NAV holdings in order to gain an opportunity to create a new block. If the network ratifies the new block you created, you’ll receive an award. If your block is bad or contains fraudulent transactions, the proof of work algorithm takes away all the coins you staked. This incentivizes honest block creation. With NavCoin, it’s possible to earn a 5% interest from staking your NAV. In order to do so, however, you’ll need to operate a staking node on the network. You can do this on your computer by downloading the NavCoin Core client and setting the amount of NAV you want to stake. The team behind NavCoin and Valence is Encrypt S Ltd. However, it’s an open source project. As such, they’ve built up a big community following, and anyone can contribute. NavCoin features a very active development team. New updates come out regularly, usually every week. The Lead Engineer is Crag MacGregor. He is also CEO of Encrypt S Ltd. They’re the blockchain development company behind the NavCoin project. He’s from New Zealand. Nav is also one of the most beautiful, easily understood coins out there. This is in large part thanks to their marketing and creative team. NavCoin’s focus on style, branding, and communication sets them apart in blockchain space. Usability is important for adoption of any early-stage project, and it’s nice to see NavCoin taking this element of the platform seriously. Check out CoinBureau for the full review of NavCoin.