Firo

## What Is Firo (FIRO)?

Firo (FIRO), formerly known as Zcoin, is a cryptocurrency that focuses on being private digital cash. It created the Lelantus privacy protocol which allows users to burn their coins and redeem them later for brand new ones that do not have any transaction history.

Prior to Lelantus, it was also the first cryptocurrency to code and launch a practical implementation of the Zerocoin protocol which became one of the most prevalent privacy protocols in use, prior to it being replaced by Sigma and then Lelantus after cryptographic flaws were discovered in the Zerocoin protocol in 2019.

### Who Are the Founders of Firo?

The founder of Firo (then Zcoin) is Poramin Insom. He earned a masters degree in Information Security from Johns Hopkins University where he wrote a paper on a proposed practical implementation of the Zerocoin protocol. Aside from Firo, he is also a co-founder of the Satang Corporation and has served as second lieutenant with the Royal Thai Armed Forces in its cyber warfare division.

Reuben Yap joined the project shortly after its launch in 2016 and now leads the project in its overall strategy, development and research goals. Reuben has been a vocal advocate of online and financial privacy, having founded one of Southeast Asia’s earliest VPN services to combat censorship and is a well-respected speaker on the topic, with featured commentary in CoinDesk, BBC, Forbes, Nasdaq, Reuters and Cheddar News, among others. He assumed the role of Project Steward & Co-Founder in November 2019.

#### What Makes Firo Unique?

Firo's Lelantus privacy protocol and its predecessor, Sigma, relies as part of its construction a specialized zero-knowledge proof called one-out-of-many proofs which unlike other zk constructions, does not require a trusted setup or exotic math/cryptographic assumptions while retaining high anonymity sets.

It was also the first project to deploy Dandelion++ in October 2018, a method of propagating transactions that prevents third parties from linking an IP address to a transaction. 

In November 2018, Firo's (then Zcoin) blockchain was used in the Thai Democrat Party's primary election to elect its party leader. With over 127,000 votes cast nationwide, it is the world's first large-scale political election held on a blockchain.

Firo was rebranded from Zcoin in October 2020.

#### How Many Firo (FIRO) Coins Are There in Circulation?

Firo (FIRO) has a circulating supply of 12,211,042 coins and a maximum supply of 21,400,000 FIRO as of August 2021. It follows a similar distribution schedule as Bitcoin.

### How Is the Firo Network Secured?

Firo uses a PoW-Chainlock hybrid consensus model whereby quorums are formed by several hundred masternodes deterministically selected (LLMQ) that perform a verifiable network-wide measurement/vote of the “first-seen” rule and locks in the block that is first-seen. Blocks are final with a single confirmation as no reorganizations are allowed past this point. This also mitigates 51% mining attacks as more than half the masternode network would need to be compromised to disable Chainlocks before a 51% attack can be mounted.

Firo's mining algorithm is MTP which relies on memory hardness to make it resistant to ASICs. It is moving to FiroPOW, a ProgPOW variant that is designed explicitly for GPU mining and is even more resistant to ASICs and FPGAs to encourage fair distribution of its coin.

### Where Can You Buy Firo (FIRO)?

Firo (FIRO) can be traded on the following exchanges:

*   [Binance](https://www.binance.com/)
*   [Bittrex Global](https://bittrexglobal.com/)
*   [Huobi Global](https://www.htx.com/)
*   [Gate.io](https://www.gate.io/)
*   [MEXC](https://www.mexc.com/)
*   [Satang](https://satangcorp.com/exchange/)
*   [Tokocrypto](https://www.tokocrypto.com/)

You can also swap Firo (FIRO) on the following swap services:

* [ChangeNOW](https://changenow.io/)
* [LetsExchange](https://letsexchange.io/)
* [StealthEX](https://stealthex.io/)
* [MajesticBank](https://majesticbank.sc/)
* [Exchang.io](https://exchang.io/)
* [SimpleSwap](https://simpleswap.io/)
* [Changelly](https://changelly.com/)
* [Swapzone](https://swapzone.io/)

If you are interested in learning how to buy Bitcoin ([BTC](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/)), read our official guide [here.](https://coinmarketcap.com/how-to-buy-bitcoin/)


MetaMask

Binance Chain Wallet

FIRO

Komodo

Ravencoin is a digital peer-to-peer (P2P) network that aims to implement a use case specific blockchain, designed to efficiently handle one specific function: the transfer of assets from one party to another. Built on a fork of the Bitcoin code, Ravencoin was announced on Oct. 31, 2017 and released binaries for mining on Jan. 3, 2018 with what is called a fair launch: no premine, ICO or masternodes. It was named in reference to a TV show Game of Thrones.

Ravencoin

ZEN is the governance and utility token for Horizen, a zero-knowledge-enabled network of blockchains powered by the largest node infrastructure in the industry. Blockchain interoperability is enabled by the Zendoo protocol, which uses SNARK-verification and allows for complete flexibility in sidechain type, consensus, and speed. Cryptographic verification of networked chains offers massive scale, and the network currently supports up to 10,000 sidechains with a throughput limit of 10,000,000 TPS.

Zendoo makes Horizen a permissionless network of blockchains. Developers can deploy their blockchains within the ecosystem using a variety of SDKs. In 2023, the ecosystem team launched Horizen EON, a public proof-of-stake sidechain and an EVM-compatible smart contracting platform that allows developers to efficiently build and deploy dapps on the Horizen ecosystem, while benefiting from the Ethereum ecosystem. Since going live with Horizen EON, DeFi projects including SpookySwap, Ascent Exchange, and Yuzu have successfully integrated into the Horizen ecosystem. Get started on Horizen EON today!

Horizen's native cryptocurrency, ZEN, is a mineable PoW coin currently trading on major exchanges, including Coinbase and Binance. ZEN can be staked to participate in Horizen's nearly 50,000 full node network.

While ZEN was previously a privacy token, following ZenIP 42204 in June of 2023, the network removed its existing privacy features in favor of moving towards a vision of adaptability and responsible, scalable growth.

Horizen

Metal DAO

BarnBridge, founded in 2019, is a protocol for tokenizing risks. It was launched in September 2020. BarnBridge is a sort of decentralized finance (DeFi) lego for creating tradeable tokens that expose a consumer to market volatility. As of March 2021, the platform is still in an early stage of launch.

To learn more about this project, check out our deep dive of Quant.

BarnBridge is a project that expands the functionality of DeFi to make it more flexible and efficient. By tokenizing market fluctuations and exposure to risks, it can reduce volatility for conservative investors or increase it for daytraders. BarnBridge enables traditional risk management tools and fixed income instruments on the DeFi market. The main focus is dividing cryptocurrency risks into tranches so market participants, depending on their risk profile, can invest in different products or assets.

BarnBridge

Steem is a community-focused blockchain that creates an instant earning opportunity for the network’s users. The protocol is designed to provide an earning opportunity for customers based on their value to the network. It is designed to provide users with a platform where they can post curated content online, and get paid in cryptocurrency.

The protocol is a publicly available, incentivized blockchain database that allows users to interact with each other and earn in return. It leverages technologies from both social media and cryptocurrency to provide users with value. The network ensures the fair treatment of contributors by running a reward structure that reflects each user’s contribution.

Steemit is the first app that was built on the Steem blockchain, and it launched on July 4, 2016. The protocol aims to provide value for its community of users in the following ways:

To provide thoughtfully chosen news and commentaries.

Creating an opportunity to earn.

As a source that offers answers to users’ inquiries.

Offering a stable cryptocurrency pegged to the USD.

Steem

PIVX

Unifi Protocol DAO

Cortex

QuarkChain

Decred is Money Evolved.

By combining battle tested Proof-of-Work with an innovative take on Proof-of-Stake that places coin holders in charge of shaping the future, Decred is able to adapt to challenges and innovate at a rapid pace. You acquire influence in Decred by putting “skin in the game”.

Decred’s security, privacy, scalability, and decentralized treasury empower stakeholders and provides them with the tools needed to enhance their financial sovereignty.

Decred

pNetwork

AdEx is a cutting-edge web3 marketing platform utilizing blockchain and programmatic advertising to elevate digital advertising. Through AdEx, Web3 advertisers can access an untapped market of potential crypto users.

Originating in 2017 as a decentralized ad exchange, AdEx has evolved into a full advertising protocol, boasting 20,000+ registered users and processing billions of micropayments on the blockchain. Currently, AdEx serves as a Demand-Side Platform, allowing advertisers to buy traffic through SSPs, conduct real-time bidding, and leverage programmatic technology. Moreover, AdEx maintains direct partnerships with premium publishers, encompassing all interactions between publishers, advertisers, and end users.

ADX, the native token of AdEx, serves as the platform's native utility token, playing a pivotal role in rewards, governance, payment, and staking. It incentivizes validator uptime, ensuring seamless advertising campaigns. The more tokens staked, the more robust the validator network becomes. ADX token holders can stake their tokens to receive generous rewards and participate in governance decisions. Moreover, advertisers leverage ADX for campaign payments, enjoying reduced fees compared to other payment options.

AdEx

Bella Protocol is a platform that provides a suite of DeFi products designed to make crypto banking simpler and more accessible. The protocol aims to create a better user experience by eliminating the high fee and slow transaction issues that can affect some blockchain platforms — while simultaneously improving the user experience through its simplified DeFi smart portal.

Bella's smart pool feature allows users to access the best yields available in the DeFi market, while benefiting from nearly zero gas fees — since these are directly subsidized by the platform.

The project launched in September 2020 as the first project distributed via Binance’s Launchpool platform, and has secured investments from several prominent firms, including Arrington XRP Capital and Ledger Capital.

The protocol was built by the ARPA team, a blockchain-based layer 2 solution for privacy-preserving computation. The BEL token is an essential component of the Bella Protocol ecosystem and serves as both a reward token that allows holders to participate in the governance of the platform.

BEL can be used to farm fee rewards from the network, get exclusive discounts on Bella protocol products (such as its robo-advisor tool), and for earning staking rewards.

Bella Protocol

Litentry

Wanchain is a distributed ledger that allows for cross-chain transactions and the interoperability of multiple chains. Although Wanchain facilitates transactions between blockchains, it is also a stand-alone blockchain that runs autonomously. The protocol acts as a distributed ledger that processes and maintains records of cross-chain transactions.

Transactions on Wanchain do not only occur between different public blockchains but between private chains as well. As an Ethereum (ETH) fork, Wanchain enjoys some of the properties of the Ethereum blockchain. The protocol securely and autonomously processes applications via smart contracts.  The use cases for Wanchain include decentralized exchanges (DEXs), lending and borrowing platforms, stablecoins, crowdfunding, multi-currency payments and settlements.

The platform is totally decentralized and requires no custodian party to manage or confirm transactions. Unlike other cross-chain systems, Wanchain does not rely on a third-party platform to authenticate transactions. The locked account mechanism is used to secure and manage accounts on the network, eliminating third-party interferences.

Wanchain

NULS

Ardor

Wrapped NXM (wNXM) is a 1-to-1 backed token that can only be generated by wrapping genuine NXM.

NXM can only be traded among Nexus Mutual members, while wNXM is fully tradable but can't be used at all within the Nexus Mutual protocol.