Here's what we are assuming for RC4 (yes, assuming!):
Darksend limit lifted
Darksend based on new crypto, extremely powerful anonymity (along the lines of ring sigs, but without the bloat)
MN payments enforced
"Spork" technology successfully implemented (enforcement = "on"); enforcement code perfected and streamlined
MN voting is deterministic
I2P integration completed or in the works
IP obfuscation
Based on the above features, we would be looking at a paradigm shift, and I think that the market would react accordingly. Now we don't know how many of those things will be in RC4, but we know from eltito that there's some damn amazing stuff in the works.
P.S. Peercoin as one of the most innovative cryptos ever? How's that? Yes, Proof of Stake was interesting, but what does PPC actually DO that nobody else did at the time? At it's heart it's still the same-old-same-old, albeit with a different staking/securing mechanism. Anonymity coins, on the other hand, are a *radical* departure from the normal paradigm.
+101
I think we should send out a challenge to other anonymity projects to get code verified by independent auditors. The auditors would not say which project is better or take sides, just verify the code does what is says on the packaging.
I'm not sure why people are sitting around waiting for Evan to finish coding RC4.
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Get bounty going for independent code audit. If we have nothing to fear, those that don't follow suit and don't have a real project yet take away investors, then they have something to fear. FUD and trolls go away, price goes up.
Coins101*
Spork technology - that prevents ASICs as it means you can hard fork with fewer risks at any point you want, just with 3-6 months notice to the entire network. ASICs proof, if you want it. Get the word out. Price goes up.
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IP Obfuscation - mixing rendering block chain useless, plus protection from being able to track transactions through IP sniffing. Bitcoin / Litecoin can't compete with that. Get the word out. Price goes up.
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Bitcoin code compatibility - Having something similar to bitcoin means Darkcoin can go where bitcoin can go. Privacy groups complain about lack of privacy from bitcoin, darkcoin is one of only a few that can step in to existing bitcoin / litecoin merchant tools. Get the word out to the right places. Price goes up.
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Master Nodes - increase in nodes, reduced coin supply, new services go into master nodes giving them more money, increase in master nodes. Get the word out, work on identifying new services, do some market research on them, invite others to work on them. Price goes up.
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Master Node pools Get the word out to invite people to set-up master node pools for those that can't afford a master node on their own. Price goes up.
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Privacy becomes a big issue for mass adoption and use in retail sectors that need privacy, credible options for mainstream use are recognised as limited, darkcoin picked to provide alternative option to run next to bitcoin, ETFs buy darkcoin. Raise the issues with affected markets already using bitcoin and would be impacted by its poor anonymity. Price goes up.
Coins101*
B2B Adoption - businesses realise they can use Darkcoin to transact internationally without incurring high costs of fiat and with privacy to keep trades confidential. Price goes up.
What we need are coordinated activities to push darkcoin forward while technical work goes on. Technical work and innnovation will always be required. What do we do, watch the price go up and down between technical releases? Get real. There is a lot of value here, its just not being applied in the right way.
I'm happy to start a moderated thread on these topics, plus see through actions to contact those that need contacting. I'm happy to do this in a coordinated way through to central oversight and approval to ensure we all work in harmony and lockstep.