A Beginner’s Guide To Qtum

QTUM is a Singapore based blockchain service provider. The company incorporates Blockchain Smart Contracts services and provide the same at the top of bitcoin, for more security and stability. The source code for the product is the same as that of bitcoin, but Ethereum Blockchain plays a significant part too. It uses proof of stake for the verification purposes.

The aim behind the QTUM seems to incorporate the best of ethereum smart contract over the bitcoin source code and provide similar services for the majority of the cryptocurrencies trading on the Crypto Market. The team behind the project is looking to develop different templates & tools to incorporate the moderations of smart contract for various platforms. People and institutions can build their smart contract with ease, using these tools. The smart contract for QTUM won’t be limited to a particular ecosystem and can communicate with various cryptocurrencies with more comfort and security.

Top features of QTUM

The protocol works on the Bitcoin Source code, so any improvements made for Bitcoin would make QTUM better automatically.
The said Altcoin blockchain ecosystem is trying to break the boundaries between different cryptocurrencies which runs only on the codes they are based on.
It incorporates different protocols to interact with varying cryptocurrencies through smart contracts. For example, the SPV protocol allows it to communicate with smart contracts for Lite wallet.
It also has a solution for data feeds like Oracle, as it can communicate with these kinds of feeds through its smart contract.
Another tool UTXO increases the stability and security of smart contracts and also increases the ease of operations.

Proof of stake and Its implementation in QTUM

The significant difference in the QTUM which separates it from the rest is its use of Proof of Stake (POS) instead of Proof Of Work (POW). This feature also makes it the only blockchain based technology to implement POS. The core team has met with its stakeholders, financiers to discuss which protocol would suit their need better, POS or POW. The conclusion went in favor of POSE as there were still many flaws regarding security and stability in POW.

How would businesses Benefit from QTUM?

The businesses for future are already investing heavily in Blockchain technology, with QTUM, things go up by a notch. An institution can implement this technology into their ecosystem and create self-executing contracts, without worrying about the deadlines or quality of work, as everything can be pre-planned through smart contracts.

QTUM Tokens

QTUM has a total of 100 Million coins in the offering, out of which 51% was available for the general public for sale from 16th March to 15th April 2017. The rest 49% had a division where, 20% is distributed among the developers, the rest 20% was given to early investors and backers while the remaining 9% goes into the research and education purposes.

How to buy QTUM?

The cryptocurrency is currently available through a crypto-to-crypto exchange, so you cannot buy it against a Fiat currency. In order to get hold of this Altcoin, you first need to buy the significant cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum from a crypto exchange. You can then buy QTUM token through another exchange against your bought BTC or ETH.

Pros of QTUM

Use of Ethereum Virtual machine allows QTUM to create smart contracts for different cryptocurrencies with little adjustments
It uses proof of Stake instead of proof of Work. Thus it does not require mining (cross-verification) or supernodes. This process helps everyone to create a node of their own and gain rewards as well.
The use of Ethereum based smart contracts over the bitcoin source code gives it a push regarding development changes, as any changes made into the Bitcoin core protocol will automatically get incorporated into the QTUM Blockchain.

Cons of QTUM

There have been reported issues on its UTXO model.
The smart contracts need more finishing to make it accurate to the level of EVM.

Final Thoughts

QTUM has taken the best of Bitcoin core protocol and Ethereum Smart contract to create specific tools and templates for businesses to be able to incorporate the blockchain based decentralized network into their ecosystem. The level of attention around the technology might not be loud and being advertised left-right and center. However, it has tried to make the best of two blockchain technologies and provide a faster way to induct a business on the decentralized blockchain model.

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