### What is Navcoin (NAV)?
Navcoin, launched in 2014, is an open-sourced digital currency offering fast and reliable payments with innovative technological and privacy features. Storing coins on a Navcoin wallet allows for making public or private transactions, earning rewards through staking (for network validation) or mixing coins (for privacy enhancement), and having a vote in project proposals.\
Unique to Navcoin's cryptosystem is that public NAV coins can be converted 1:1 to xNAV, the revolutionary privacy coin that guarantees untraceable transactions. Additionally, Navcoin has launched wNAV, a wrapped representation of NAV, that can be used in ecosystems such as [Ethereum](https://ethereum.org) and [Binance Smart Chain (BSC)](https://www.binance.org/en/smartChain).

Navcoin was launched without [pre-mining](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/pre-mine) or an [ICO](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/initial-coin-offering-ico) to achieve a fair and transparent initial distribution of the supply. The project operates as a fully [Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/decentralized-autonomous-organizations-dao), without a central decision making authority (unlike most other projects). Anyone can participate by simply staking NAV in their wallet, thereby obtaining a say in protocol governance and a vote on proposals that arise from within the community.

### How are Navcoin's privacy-enhanced features achieved?
Navcoin's philosophy is to provide people with privacy preserving solutions that allow them to express themselves financially and transact as they desire. This has resulted in the development of xNAV, a privacy coin based on the decentralized, trustless, and permissionless technologies of the future.

First of all, xNAV is built on top of the self-developed privacy protocol blsCT that merges [Boneh-Lynn-Shacham (BLS)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BLS_digital_signature) Signatures and Confidential Transactions (CT). BLS compresses a group of signatures into a single compact signature that authenticates the entire group, thereby shielding the origin of individual transactions. CT is a well-established privacy protocol that obfuscates the amount of coins in a transaction.

On top of that, xNAV ensures personal privacy by using Stealth Addresses, public-key cryptography and the innovative Dandelion++ protocol. Stealth Addresses are private addresses which ensure complete privacy for the receiver of a transaction. Dandelion++ is a communication mixing protocol which breaks the link between a message and its source.

When using blsCT, two xNAV transactions can be merged into one, and transactions can be aggregated an infinite number of times. This allows Navcoin to scale effectively and support a high quantity of transactions across the network and users' transactions are completely shielded and untraceable. Anyone trying to monitor transactions being made through Navcoin's network is unable to tell if a transaction has been aggregated or not, and users are able to merge their coins with other individuals making transactions. When doing so, a user's wallet uses Dandelion++ to send an anonymous request for coins from other nodes. These nodes can then connect and communicate between them using public-key cryptography to broadcast the session and their coins to mix. From those, the sender can randomly select several coins from the responses received. These coins are in turn mixed together with the original user's coins, and then sent to the network, and this system ensures true privacy while also enabling anyone who helps to facilitate the mixing-process by providing liquidity to receive a fee for their service, and generate a passive income.

Combining these technologies, xNAV stands out in scalability and privacy, effectively supporting high quantities of transactions across the network with shielded and untraceable transactions.

### How is Navcoin's network secured?
Navcoin's network is secured by a [Proof of Stake (PoS)](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/proof-of-stake-pos) consensus mechanism, which means that anyone can use their NAV to help validate transaction blocks. By comparison, Bitcoin's [Proof of Work (PoW)](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/proof-of-work-pow) consensus mechanism requires [miners](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/miners) to calculate huge mathematical problems to process transactions and earn rewards. This requires expensive hardware and is extremely energy intensive. Navcoin's PoS consensus mechanism does away with these resource intensive requirements; even a 5 Volt Raspberry Pi can take part in securing the network.

Navcoin's users can earn passive income in two distinct ways. First of all, users can help secure the network by [staking](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/staking) NAV to validate transactions. With block times of 30 seconds, the block reward is 2.5 NAV. Of each reward, 2 NAV are for the staker, and 0.5 NAV are held in a decentralized treasury, the [Community Fund](https://navcoin.org/en/community-fund/), used for self-funded community initiatives.

Users can also mutually merge their xNAV coins over various nodes to facilitate the mixing process that ensures xNAV's privacy and anonymity. Users are rewarded a fair compensation fee in return for this service.

### How is Navcoin's network governed?

In addition to helping to secure the network, Navcoin's PoS consensus mechanism enables all public NAV holders to get involved with governing their platform. There is no central authority controlling Navcoin, and community members play a crucial role in maintaining a fair and decentralized system of decision making. As a result, Navcoin operates as a [Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/decentralized-autonomous-organizations-dao) with all protocol administration and consensus changes being subject to an open voting system. All community members holding their NAV on the public side can participate in the DAO by staking their coins, and each stake is the equivalent of one vote. This gives each wallet holder a say in protocol governance, and allows them to vote on any proposals that arise. To ensure widespread participation, there is also no minimum staking amount required for anyone to take part in voting.

Navcoin's governance system also incorporates a [Community Fund](https://navcoin.org/en/community-fund/) to ensure that contributors and projects can be compensated and funded by the network.

### Related pages

New to cryptocurrencies? See CMC's[  Crypto Basics](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/categories/crypto-basics)

Learn more about other privacy coins such as[  Monero](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/monero),[  Zcash](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/zcash),[  Firo](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/firo) and[  Grin](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/grin)

Find out more about Navcoin by reading their[  blog](https://medium.com/nav-coin) or by watching their video series

-   [What is Navcoin?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEGBGSqQCjY)

-   [Introducing xNAV](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6XIk5WS-Gk)

-   [Comparing xNAV and other privacy coins](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6DKp-39OiM)

-   [What is wNAV?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wePWsQxXq2w)

Want to look up a transaction? Visit[  Navcoin's block explorer](https://www.navexplorer.com/)

Navcoin

MetaMask

Binance Chain Wallet

BNB Smart Chain (BEP20)

PancakeSwap

BinaryX

Trust Wallet Token

SafePal

TokenFi

Open Campus

Solidus Ai Tech

MOBOX

Phoenix

Metars Genesis

MEMETOON

Cheelee

NFPrompt

Meta Games Coin

Good Games Guild

MATAR AI

Seed.Photo

KicksPad

LocaGo

Populous is a network designed to offer small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) invoice liquidity for up to 90 days. Launched in 2017, Populous is designed to enable peer-to-peer (P2P) interaction between enterprises, boost liquidity and solve problems with working capital for SMEs.

By relying on blockchain technology and smart contracts, the Populous network facilitates decentralized communication between businesses and allows them to share liquidity pools. According to the network’s official whitepaper, there is a need for liquidity in the sector, and Populous is trying to bring the solution. By providing short-term liquidity to enterprises through P2P lending, the network gives enterprises quick access to capital, which cannot be achieved by waiting for customers to settle invoices.

Populous

PIVX

Komodo

GoChain

Peercoin, also known as PPC or Peer-to-Peer Coin, was created by Sunny King and his team and launched in August 2012. It is the first blockchain to implement Proof-of-Stake consensus.

The primary inspiration behind the creation of Peercoin was to address a number of perceived shortcomings of Bitcoin, including energy efficiency, security and sustainability, decentralization and long-term viability.

Essentially it was designed as an enhanced replacement for Bitcoin. As such, it was originally forked from Bitcoin and uses the same UTXO style blockchain. However, Peercoin's code was modified to introduce Proof-of-Stake as its primary consensus protocol. The next section explains how this makes for a better blockchain.

Given that Peercoin uses most of the same code, it can easily port new features from Bitcoin and utilize any of the supporting infrastructure, including tech advancements like Taproot or Lightning Network. Peercoin is the only Proof-of-Stake blockchain that uses modern Bitcoin code, making it the perfect drop-in replacement.

Peercoin also has a dedicated community, is actively developed, fairly distributed, has low barriers of participation, can do everything that Bitcoin does, minus the 13 TWh of energy usage, and it's not a scam.

Peercoin

pNetwork

Validity

HyperCash

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

BitShares Blockchain is a decentralized “Blockchain as Organization” (BaO); an industrial-grade decentralized open source platform built to run high-performance financial technology operations. It represents the first decentralized autonomous decentralized community that enables its core utility token (BTS) holders to decide the Blockchain future direction in order to develop and maintain a wide range of decentralized financial technology products, features and functions. BitShares Blockchain is a Blockchain that permanently records financial technology operations between different Blockchain accounts and facilitates a wide range of access controls across BitShares Blockchain user financial means.

BitShares Blockchain is a technology that supports the digital generation entrepreneurs, investors, and developers with a common interest in building and participating in free market solutions by leveraging the power of globally decentralized consensus and decision making. Consensus technology has the power to do for economics what the internet did for information. It can harness the combined power of all humanity to coordinate the discovery and aggregation of real-time knowledge, previously unobtainable. This knowledge can be used to more effectively coordinate the allocation of resources toward their most productive and valuable use.

BitShares looks to extend the innovation of the Blockchain to all industries that rely upon the internet to provide their services. Whether its banking, stock exchanges, lotteries, voting, music, auctions or many others, a digital public ledger allows for the creation of distributed autonomous companies (or BaO) that provide better quality services at a fraction of the cost incurred by their more traditional, centralized counterparts. The advent of (BaO) ushers in a new paradigm in organizational structure in which companies can run without any human management and under the control of an incorruptible set of business rules. These rules are encoded in publicly auditable open source software distributed across the computers of the companies’ shareholders, who effortlessly secure the company from arbitrary control. BitShares does for business what bitcoin did for money by utilizing distributed consensus technology to create companies that are inherently global, transparent, trustworthy, efficient and most importantly profitable.

BitShares has went through many changes and has done its best to stay on top of Blockchain technology. BitShares is using Consensus as the mechanism by which organized people decide upon unitary rational action. While not considered technology in the traditional since, consensus “technology” is the basis of democratic governance and the coordination of free market activity first coined by Adam Smith as the “Invisible Hand.” The process of consensus decision-making allows for all participants to consent upon a resolution of action even if not the favored course of action for each individual participant. Bitcoin was the first system to integrate a fully decentralized consensus method with the modern technology of the internet and peer-to-peer networks in order to more efficiently facilitate the transfer of value through electronic communication. The proof-of-work structure that secures and maintains the Bitcoin network is one manner of organizing individuals who do not necessarily trust one another to act in the best interest of all participants of the network. The BitShares ecosystem employs Delegated Proof of Stake in order to find efficient solutions to distributed consensus decision making.

BitShares

AirSwap

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.

Firo

PERL.eco

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

ARK is a cryptocurrency- and blockchain- based development platform allowing anyone to create their own fully customizable and interoperable blockchain. Reducing the industries need for Smart Contracts by using custom transactions, logic and multiple programming languages. ARK was founded in mid 2016, running a Toekn Exchange Campain(TEC) later that year which raised $800K in bitcoin and other exchanged cryptos. Sound financial planning has allowed the team to become a well-funded entity since its inception. On March 21, 2017, the ARK Public Network went live, hosting the native ARK crypto asset. The ARK business entity formed shortly after, called ARK ECOSYSTEM SCIC. The business entity is commonly referred to as 'ARK.io' which is part of the teams branding as well as the teams website.

The ARK Ecosystem consists of an open-source blockchain technology stack authored in TypeScript programming language. ARK’s public network acts as a live implementation of ARK technology, node operators acting as delegates on the network, standalone blockchains running on ARK technology with independent node operators, business entities that develop products powered by ARK as well as assist in maintaining the code base, an enterprise division driving adoption as well as a community of users, developers and service providers.

The ARK Public Network supports special transaction types such as multi-payment, multisignature, many various registration transactions, and IPFS hash transactions. ARK’s Launcher product, allows fully customizable interoperable blockchain creation using a graphical user interface. This plug and play creation method allows developers to fully utilize ARK’s consensus model, technology stack, product line and custom transactions.

Aergo describes itself as an open-source enterprise blockchain platform optimized for hybrid deployments, which consist of both permissioned and permissionless blockchain architectures. It includes support for SQL allowing for easy data handling and familiar smart contract programming for developers.

The platform is built and utilized by Blocko, the Samsung-backed South Korean blockchain technology company that, according to Korean media sources, has deployed production blockchain solutions for large-scale clients including Lotte Card, Shinhan Bank, Korea Exchange, Hyundai Motors, and more.

Aergo

WaykiChain

NULS

Dock is building a gateway to Web3 by providing simple solutions for businesses and developers to build, manage, and present digital Verifiable Credentials and decentralized identities using blockchain.

Dock provides credentialing technology that can be used to create cryptographically secure and instantly verifiable digital credentials, including workforce certificates, academic achievements, identity documents, and KYC checks.

Since 2017, Dock has been building Decentralized Identity and Verifiable Credentials (VC) technology, which will act as a gateway to Web3 in the future. We have been collaborating with organizations to adapt and innovate in the Web3 ecosystem by helping them understand the true ownership of their data and making their documents, certificates, and credentials become digital, tamper-proof, and instantly verifiable. Web3 is about data ownership and by using Dock’s technology, individuals can now truly own and control their most important documents and regain control over their data.