What Is PIVX (PIVX)?
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Protected Instant Verified Transaction (or eXchange) (PIVX), launched January 30th, 2016, is a decentralized, MIT licensed open-source, fair-launch blockchain/cryptocurrency project managed, developed, governed, and stewarded by a community driven decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). It has been designed, engineered, and tested using advanced cryptography protocols to provide, first and foremost, user Financial Data Protection.  PIVX is Financial Data Protection.

While PIVX is based on Bitcoin's codebase fundamentally, it has undergone significant custom developments and integrations. PIVX uses a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus protocol with its native cryptocurrency, denominated as "PIV". PIVX in many ways has continued to pioneer the Proof of Stake consensus algorithm. PIVX's advanced PoS is enriched with the Time Protocol v2 as well as the Cold Staking functionality which ensures higher security for coin owners and possibility to secure the network and receive staking rewards while coins are being cold stored offline on a hardware wallet.

The PIVX user's financial data protection is secured through a highly customized, open-source implementation of the vetted academic anonymity protocol zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge (zk-SNARKs) Sapling. All of the user's transactional activities are protected by this protocol, called SHIELD.

PIVX is also fully compliant with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT) requirements governed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). These regulatory bodies maintain regulation and laws concerning the use, transmission, and legality of digital assets and the associated data required to use them.

PIVX integrates other features including a 2nd layer of functionality through a Masternode network that provides a decentralized governance mechanism of voting; and is currently developing new features for this layer such as the Deterministic Masternode Lists, Long Living Masternode Quorums (LLMQs) and more, as well as including the addition of the anonymity protocol zk-SNARKs Sapling to staking and masternodes---all of these heavily customised.

All the PIVX supply occurs as a direct result of a static/fixed block emission rate plus any monthly budget allocation payouts. PIVX also has a dynamically calibrated coin-supply restrained by burning 100% of the transaction fees on the network. PIVX is an independent, application and payment agnostic blockchain. PIVX uses its native cryptocurrency (PIV) as both a means of rights-preserving, privacy enabling, near instant digital currency exchange as well as the reward for those who help secure, build, decentralize, and govern the PIVX network protocol. PIV is purchased and/or obtained to be held or staked (hot or cold) or locked in masternodes by individuals who want to participate in the network.

The monetary policy of PIVX is designed to enable a sustainable infrastructure service capable of supporting scalable, decentralized, and resilient node infrastructure, allowing for instant, private transactions globally, without astronomical Quantitative Easing (QE) and the corresponding resulting devaluation of the native coin, as experienced in other cryptocurrency endeavors.

PIVX as a DAO utilizes a decentralized network of masternodes that allow running various apps and services, treasury management, and community governance. PIVX has a built-in governance mechanism which allows masternode owners to vote for or against any submitted proposal.

What Makes PIVX Unique?
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PIVX is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that is self-funded and community-driven.

PIVX has the ability to perpetually self-fund development and other PIVX network supporting activities through monthly treasury payouts, which are based on successfully voted community proposals.

PIVX burns 100% of all transaction fees.

PIVX is a pioneer in Proof of Stake Privacy/User Data Protection.  It only requires 1 PIV to stake.

PIVX Utilizes a Tier Two layer to it's network, deploying masternodes to help participate in the governance. Running a masternode requires 10,000 PIV.

PIVX lays claim to numerous cryptocurrency and blockchain firsts, including:

-   First Proof of Stake project with Masternodes 

-   First Proof of Stake project with Blockchain based governance 

-   First Proof of Stake project with blockchain based community self-sustainable funding 

-   First Proof of Stake coin to Control Inflation by burning all the transaction fees

-   First Proof of Stake project to implement the Zerocoin protocol 

-   First Crypto project to have its main website natively translated to 30+ languages

-   First Proof of Stake project to implement private staking

-   The first-ever successful implementation of zk-SNARKs based Sapling privacy protocol on Proof of Stake blockchain

PIVX Origins and Founders
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PIVX was announced on bitcointalk.org on November 25th, 2015. On January 30th, 2016 at 04:10:07 UTC  the first block of the PIVX network was created.

While the initial idealization of PIVX was originated by three individuals (Coin-Server, s3v3nh4cks, and Stakebox), the development and direction of the project remained stewarded and directed by the community. That being said, none of the initial founders have been active since late 2018.

The development since 2018 has been spearheaded by three core blockchain developers (Fuzzbawls, Furzy, and Random.Zebra) with over 20 years of combined blockchain development.  Their combined efforts has continuously placed PIVX in the top 10 most actively developed blockchain projects according to messari and cryptomiso.  The rest of the PIVX ecosystem ranging from marketing, web development, business development, and social media has been actively overseen by other members of the community, many of whom have been involved since PIVX's inception.

How Many PIVX Coins Are In Circulation?
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PIVX creates a new block every 60 seconds. Each of these blocks create 5 new PIV, and allocates 1 new PIV.  What does 'allocate' mean? To understand that, the PIVX governance model needs to be understood.

The PIVX governance model is a system that allows for funding to be generated for community proposals.  Proposals are submitted to the system by the community, and they are voted on once a month. Those proposals that "pass" are issued the funds they have requested.  This fund issuance occurs in a "Super Block", which occurs every 30 days.  The available funds for each Super Block equals the number of blocks since the last Super Block, times the number of PIV allocated for the Super Block from each block.   The math here is fairly simple, especially since this is where the one 'allocated' PIV comes into play.  One PIV per block, and one block every minute, for 24 hours for 30 days works out to be 30 days x 24 hours a day x 60 minutes per hour x 1 PIV per block.  30x24x60x1 = 43,200 PIV allocated to the Treasury per Super Block.  This forms the "budget" available for the proposals.

It is possible that exactly 43,200 PIV can fund passing proposals, with nothing remaining. But, this is rare.

Most of the time, a very high percentage (Usually 95% or more) of the allocated 43,200 PIV is created to fund proposals. As such, it is reasonable  to estimate inflation to be based on 6 PIV per block being created. However, it is important to realize this is not exact. It is also important to realize that the PIV for Treasury funds is created at the Super Block, whereas the other 5 PIV is created with each standard block.

Reward Distribution
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-   2 PIV per block is created and paid to the staker that wrote the block.

-   3 PIV per block is created and paid to the next masternode in the payment queue.

-   1 PIV per block is allocated to the Treasury Budget and [may be] created with the Super Block and paid to a funded proposal.

Maximum Coin Supply 
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The numbers below represent the theoretical maximum coin supply. The actual number will be determinant upon transaction fee burning and allocated  PIV not required, of the maximum possible monthly budget generation. As a result of these factors, the actual number will most likely be less than these theoretical maximums.

By June 2040: 125,929,497 PIV 

By June 2060: 189,001,497 PIV

PIVX

Komodo

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

AirSwap

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

Vite has built a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) based smart-contract platform, with a Snapshot Chain structure to facilitate zero-fee transactions and optimize transaction speed, reliability, and security. The Snapshot Chain of Vite utilizes Hierarchical Delegated Proof of Stake (“HDPoS”) to achieve network consensus, while supernodes take only staking rewards and no transaction fees. Vite virtual machine maintains compatibility with EVM, and utilizes asynchronous smart contract language, Solidity++.

The VITE token is the currency for simple token transactions and smart-contract executions on the Vite network, with users staking VITE for transaction quota instead of consuming gas. VITE can also be used to vote for Snapshot Block Producers (aka supernodes). In addition, a VITE staker with unused transaction quota can lease such quota to dApps in exchange for their tokens. For instance, users can stake VITE in exchange of ViteX’s native decentralized exchange token, VX.

Vite’s current products include a decentralized exchange (ViteX), a multi-purpose wallet application (Vite App), payments (VitePay), and government/enterprise blockchain applications (VitePlus):

ViteX is a decentralized exchange with on-chain orderbook and matching engine, and supports currently 20+ digital assets.

Vite App is a mobile application that allows trading (ViteX), asset management (wallet), dapps (e.g Vite-based games) in one place.

VitePay is a fast and feeless payment solution, currently available to use in Singapore’s Ce La Vi Sky Bar and taxi services under the Midwest Global network - Users can pay for merchants with Vite wallet, who in turn receive payment with zero fees with near-instant settlement. VitePay is also integrated with the e-commerce platform OpenCart, and one can utilize VitePay at the official Vite store.

VitePlus is a Vite-based enterprise blockchain solution for governments and enterprises. Vite has developed a pilot app, SyraCoin, for the Syracuse government, allowing city housing fund donors to receive blockchain-based coupons that are redeemable for goods and services within city bounds.

VITE

NULS

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

Viberate

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

Ardor

Gitcoin creates technologies and opportunities that empower communities to fund, build, and protect what matters.

Through the Gitcoin Grants Program, there has been over $54 million distributed to early-stage builders that champion public goods initiatives in decentralized finance (DeFi), climate, open sourcing, and beyond.

Core products include Gitcoin Grants Stack, the end-to-end grants management solution, Allo Protocol, an open-source funding protocol, and Gitcoin Passport, an all-encompassing decentralized identity management tool.

GTC is Gitcoin’s governance token, launched in late May 2021. The token is needed for the creation and funding of the DAO that will govern Gitcoin.

Gitcoin

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.

Viction

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

Verge is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency and blockchain that seeks to offer a fast, efficient, decentralized payments network that improves upon the original Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. It includes additional privacy features including integrating the anonymity network Tor into its wallet, called vergePay, and providing the option of sending transactions to stealth addresses.

The project describes itself as community-driven, relying on volunteers and priding itself on being open source.

Verge was first launched in October 2014 as DogeCoinDark, a fork of Peercoin (PPC). In February 2016, it was renamed Verge in order to rebrand for easier mass-market adoption and to distinguish itself from Dogecoin (DOGE), with which it has no direct connection. The project is now based on the Bitcoin source code.

Verge

Loom Network is a platform as a service that is built on top of Ethereum and allows developers to run large-scale decentralized applications. This platform was released on October 1st, 2017.

The goal of this is to allow application developers to have smart contracts that can access much more computing power when it is required, or maintain the same power at lower costs for tasks such as trials for onboarding new users or applications that simply do not need the full security of blockchain to begin with.

In this system you have the ability to interact with APIs developed by third parties which are not on chain. Loom attempts to be the ultimate platform that allows smart contract developers to create applications without the need to switch to another programming language.

As such, they can easily integrate their applications with the outside world.

The Loom Network runs on Plasma, which is a scaling solution that allows for faster transactions throughout the network.

Loom Network

QuarkChain

Lisk is striving to on-board 100,000,000 users into crypto and web3 by offering an accessible blockchain application platform and an industry leading JavaScript SDK.

Released in 2019, the Lisk SDK enables developers to build application-specific blockchains entirely in JavaScript, the most widely used programming language in the world. To get a deep-dive into the Lisk SDK, please visit the Lisk SDK documentation or watch Lisk.js 2019 and Lisk.js 2022.

To be released in 2022, the Lisk blockchain application platform allows interoperability between all application-specific blockchains built with the Lisk SDK. With other words, users will be able to use DeFi, NFT or Metaverse blockchain applications on Lisk.

To better understand why Lisk is important watch the following videos: The Case for Lisk and The Ultimate Vision for Lisk.

If you are curious about Lisk’s history and journey, watch Looking Back on Lisk.

The Lisk project is managed by the Lisk Foundation, a non-profit entity based in Zug, Switzerland. A local team of experts specialized in law and finance, as well as yearly audits, ensure the proper handling of funds and regulatory compliance under the supervision of the Swiss Federal Foundation Supervisory Authority (ESA, Eidgenössische Stiftungsaufsicht).

The Lisk products are developed by the Lightcurve GmbH, a Berlin based blockchain studio. With a team of over 40 blockchain experts, Lightcurve is researching, developing and promoting the Lisk SDK and the Lisk blockchain application platform.

Lisk

IRISnet is a service protocol and cryptocurrency, which was officially launched on Mar. 1, 2019. The primary purpose of the IRISnet protocol is to provide a blockchain-based, open network to small and medium businesses that are offering a wide variety of services.

According to the official IRISnet Whitepaper, the protocol aims to employ different public and consortium blockchains to bring the power of decentralized, open networks to thousands of businesses and freelance service providers. Interestingly, IRISnet was named after Iris, the personification of the rainbow and the messenger of the Gods in Greek mythology.