QTUM
For those that do not know what QTUM is, here’s a brief primer: QTUM is a layered, proof of stake blockchain where the computing layer consists of the EVM and the settlement layer consists of a Bitcoin-based Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) blockchain. QTUM’s main net was launched in September 2017 and so far there are more than 20 companies building QTUM-based projects. Most of them are Eastern projects and many have been quite successful. These projects include: Vevue, Bodhi, INK, Spacechain, Medibloc, and Energo.
Many of my readers know that I have been bullish on QTUM for quite a while now. I think it is incredibly undervalued, partly because of a distinct lack of interest and awareness of QTUM in the West (QTUM is huge in the East), and partly because many people still do not understand its potential. Here’s a few reasons why I believe QTUM will be a top 5 cryptocurrency by the end of the year.
Ethereum ecosystem wins = QTUM ecosystem wins
Because QTUM uses the EVM, any projects building on Ethereum can be easily ported to QTUM. A corollary to this is that any successful dApp or protocol on Ethereum can easily become a successful dApp or protocol on QTUM. QTUM doesn’t need to compete with Ethereum for its developer ecosystem, it shares Etheruem’s developer ecosystem. There are many amazing up-and-coming projects for Ethereum such as 0x and Augur and I can envision a world where QTUM has its own 0x’s and Augurs.
Some readers might be wondering: why would people use QTUM when Ethereum exists? First of all, I don’t believe that cryptocurrencies is a winner takes all market. Second, I believe that many will choose QTUM over Ethereum because of a number of advantages that QTUM has. I elaborate on some of them below.
Keep in mind that I do not believe QTUM can overtake Ethereum anytime soon. Ethereum is king and will remain king for a long time.
Bitcoin ecosystem wins = QTUM ecosystem wins
Because QTUM uses a Bitcoin-based UTXO blockchain as its settlement layer, QTUM can take advantage of any upgrades to Bitcoin. Here’s a few examples: QTUM is already using SegWit and is primed to deploy its own version of Lightning. Once deployed, QTUM is essentially Ethereum with Lightning. How cool is that? It’d be even better for QTUM if Lightning turns out to be a massive success.
Of course, there are many more benefits for QTUM to use a UTXO blockchain besides being able to absorb Bitcoin upgrades. I outline them in a previous article: Is Qtum Overlooked And Undervalued? - A Detailed Analysis.
Bodhi and Qweb3.js
It is one thing to have a few companies building dApps on your platform, it is another for these companies to start enriching your developer ecosystem by contributing powerful, open source developer tools.
Bodhi is one such company. The company is building a decentralized prediction market on QTUM and has also taken the lead to build QTUM’s version of web3.js, qweb3.js. Ethereum dApp developers will know how useful web3.js is for dApp development. I have recently been getting my hands dirty with developing dApps and can testify that it is indeed awesome. I believe that qweb3.js is crucial to jump-starting QTUM’s community dApp development and it is very good news that Bodhi has taken the initiative to do so.
By the way, for those interested in Bodhi, check out their website and whitepaper to learn more. Bodhi distinguishes itself from Augur and Gnosis by introducing a few novel market mechanics.
World’s Largest Pension Fund Invests in Ink
Ink is another company building on QTUM. The company recently received an investment from the operators of Russia’s largest pension fund, NPF Gazfond. Gazprom (Russia’s national oil and gas company) and Alor Invest manages NPF Gazfond. Other investors of Ink include Fenbushi Capital’s Bo Shen and Softbank SAIF’s Yan Yan. For such high profile investors to invest in a budding cryptocurrency project is a huge vote of confidence on it.
Ink aims to build a blockchain, interoperable with QTUM’s, that can manage IP rights and enable the free trade of cultural assets. Learn more about Ink on their website.
Good news for QTUM’s projects is good news for QTUM. I have only chosen to discuss Bodhi and Ink but many others are also gaining momentum and we should start hearing more about them later in the year. Check out the projects here.
x86 virtual machine
One of the most anticipated upgrades to QTUM is the x86 virtual machine. QTUM merges the EVM with its UTXO blockchain through what’s known as the Account Abstraction Layer (AAL). The AAL enables the EVM to play nice with the UTXO blockchain. This layered architecture also allows QTUM to plug and play different smart contract virtual machines. QTUM is currently developing an x86 virtual machine that offers many benefits over the EVM. For one, any programming language with x86 compiler support today, which is almost all the languages that matter, can be easily ported to QTUM’s x86 virtual machine.
This blog post by QTUM’s cofounder and lead developer, Jordan Earls, outlines the myriad of advantages an x86 virtual machine has over the EVM much better than I can.
Growing influence in Asia, and specifically China
Patrick Dai, a cofounder of QTUM, claimed that QTUM is one of the most influential cryptocurrencies in the East. Many indicators, such as trading volume, media coverage, projects building on QTUM, support this claim. It is a well known fact that the Chinese government dislikes cryptocurrency speculation but is favorable of the development and adoption of blockchain technology. A series of recent events from China strongly hints that QTUM has received tacit support from the government.
Patrick Dai was interviewed on Chinese state television
Patrick Dai was recently interviewed on China Global Television Network (CGTN). CGTN is the English channel of the China’s predominant state television broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV). Patrick appeared on the show, The Point with Liu Xin, along with Henry Cao, Professor of Finance at the Cheung Keung Graduate School of Business. Topics covered include an overview of blockchain technology, how the financial industry can make use of blockchains, “blockchain fever”, and the challenges facing the technology. You can read about it here.
Overall, the interview was very bullish on the technology.
Qihoo 360 partnership
Qihoo 360 is one of China’s largest internet security companies. It’s products have over a billion users and its annual revenue reached $1.4 billion in 2014 (couldn’t find any data past 2014). The company is known for its antivirus software, web browser, and mobile application store. Qihoo 360 recently partnered with the QTUM Foundation to establish China’s first ever blockchain research center. The goal of this research center is to commercialize blockchain technology such that it can be deployed into Qihoo 360’s products.
Baofeng partnership
Baofeng is the company behind the Storm Player, one of the most popular online video players in China with hundreds of millions of users. Baofeng has a market cap of more than 8 billion CNY on the Shenzhen securities exchange. In December 2017, Baofeng announced that its Bokocloud division will help deploy up to 50,000 QTUM nodes. This strategic cooperation will make Baofeng Bokocloud the world’s first BCN (blockchain consensus network) service.
“We are very excited to sign the world’s first Blockchain Consensus Network (BCN) service agreement with Qtum,” said Reccon Cui, CEO of Baofeng Bokocloud. “Baofeng Group operates the world’s largest P2P network, so we are impressed by the security and superior flexibility of the Qtum’s blockchain architecture, and we found that the current ecosystem of Qtum is rapidly developing. We are very happy to cooperate with one of the best blockchain technical teams in this field.”
Strong Eastern awareness and interest
A good indicator of awareness and interest for a cryptocurrency project is the number of people that show up to its community events. QTUM recently held a Taiwan meetup where more than 800 people attended. Not bad.
