Xcel Token

IoT or Internet of Things is an interconnected network of smart devices that include everything from our phones, baby monitors, fridges, front door keys etc. Increasingly, these devices are becoming integrated into our lives. According to Wikipedia, “The number of IoT devices increased 31% year-over-year to 8.4 billion in 2017 and it is estimated that there will be 30 billion devices by 2020. The global market value of IoT is projected to reach $7.1 trillion by 2020”. There are already lots of examples of IoT networks in use today. One welcomed example of an IoT smart device is the Petnet Smart Pet Feeder. This device allows us to automate the feeding of our pets. It is able to determine which is the best type of food for your dog or cat and order it via online stores. The feeder will then automate the amount and times when your pet can eat according to what is best for it. This device can be controlled via any smartphone so owners can ensure that their pet is bein...

Today there are tens of thousands of pilots trying blockchain technology in numerous features of society. The public sector, specifically government, has also shown significant interest in blockchain technology. Currently  governments on all landmasses  except Antarctica are engaged in blockchain pilot projects.  The public sector is responsible for many areas of trust and services so there are a large number of use cases across countries including: the European Union (EU — anti-counterfeiting), Estonia (Digital Government), US (FDA, DHS, HHS, GSA — security, anti-counterfeiting), China (Payments), India (Payments, Land Registry), Switzerland (Identity), Denmark (Voting), Dubai (Digital Government), Georgia (Land Registry), Gibraltar (Stock Exchange), and many more. Some of the spaces in the Public sector that Blockchain can fit in to- 1.      Identity Management/Attestation Blockchain technology provides three special capabili...

Coin burning is a concept exclusive to the  cryptocurrency marketplaces, having been adopted by a wide range of coins and tokens. Though it may sound hard core, but coin burning is a central mechanism that could prove to be a popular feature for cryptocurrency projects down the road. In fact, many Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have integrated a coin burning mechanism for unsold tokens at the end of their token sale. Not only that, but major exchanges with their own native tokens – like Binance – also adopt a periodic token burning mechanism to add value for those who hold Binance Coin (BNB). There are of course, many motivations for projects to consider a coin burn structure. This guide will delve lengthily into the mechanics of coin burning to provide a new outlook on what the future holds for the cryptocurrency marketplace. Coin burning – as the name suggest – is a process of intentionally ‘burning’ or eliminating the coins by r...

An atomic swap is a  smart contract   technology that empowers the exchange of one cryptocurrency for an alternative cryptocurrency without using central intermediaries, such as exchanges.  Atomic swaps can take place unswervingly amid blockchains of different cryptocurrencies , or they can be conducted off-chain, away from the foremost blockchain. They first came into prominence in September 2017, when an atomic swap between Decreed and Litecoin was conducted.  Since then, other start-ups and decentralized exchanges have allowed users the same facility. For example, Lightning Labs, a start-up that uses bitcoin’s lightning network for transactions, has conducted off-chain swaps using the technology. Cryptocurrencies and decentralized exchanges, such as 0x and Altcoin.io, have also incorporated the technology.  Atomic Swaps Break Down As it occurs today, the process for switching cryptocurrencies is time-consuming and complex. This...

A node is a device on a blockchain network, that is in the crux the underpinning of the technology, allowing it to function and survive.  Nodes are disseminated across a widespread network and carry out a variety of tasks. In this blog we will try to understand what blockchain nodes are. A node can be any active electronic device, including a computer, phone or even a printer, as long as it is connected to the internet and as such has an IP address. The role of a node is to support the network by maintaining a copy of a blockchain and, in some cases, to process transactions. Nodes are often arranged in the structure of trees, known as binary trees. Each  cryptocurrency   has its own nodes, maintaining the transaction records of that particular token.  Nodes are the individual parts of the larger data structure that is a blockchain. As the owners of nodes willingly contribute their computing resources to store and validate transact ions, they have th...

Cryptocurrency mining is one of the most regularly used approaches of validating transactions that have been executed over a blockchain network. Not only does blockchain work to protect transaction data through encryption, as well as store this data in a decentralized manner (i.e., on hard drives and servers all over the world) so as to keep a single entity from gaining control of a network, but also the primary goal is to ensure that the same crypto token isn't spent twice. In effect, "mining" is one means of making sure that cryptocurrency transactions are accurate and true, such that they can never be compromised in the future. Cryptocurrency mining itself refers to a type of validation model known as "proof-of-work" (PoW). There are two common validation types, and we'll look at the other, known as proof-of-stake, in a moment. In the PoW model -- which bitcoin , Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin use, to name a few -- individuals, group...

The life cycle of a merchandise is a fascinating one. The next time you’re purchasing something in the supermarket, think of what all it had to go through to get in your hands. Think about where all the raw constituents came from, who all transported the raw material to manufacturing plant where it was fashioned, and how it ultimately got packed and ended up in the very shop where you are purchasing it right now.   Supply chains are absolutely critical for the overall well-being of your business. The current system of supply chains is outdated and requires a significant reboot. This is where the blockchain comes in.   A blockchain is, in the simplest of terms, a time-stamped series of immutable record of data that is managed by a cluster of computers not owned by any single entity. Each of these blocks of data (i.e. block) are secured and bound to each other using cryptographic principles (i.e. chain). The 3 properties of the blockchain technology that is going to ...

The Bitcoin Lightning Network is an autonomous solution that’s signaled as the key to all problems keeping Bitcoin from mainstream implementation. It claims to solve the bleak scaling problem, make instant transactions, keep transaction fees minuscule, and take your transactions off the blockchain . In this article, we’ll discover what the Bitcoin Lightning Network really is, how it can make the guarantees it provides, and its current state. Bitcoin has a scaling problem. Bitcoin is designed to store all transactions in a data structure called a block. A block contains information about the previous block, miscellaneous data about mining rewards, and most of the block is just transaction data. Blocks are also fixed at a maximum of 1 MB in size. This last bit is where the trouble is. Because blocks are 1 MB in size, and a block is created every 10 minutes, assuming the transactions are not SegWit (coming up later) the network can process a maximum of between 3....

Blockchain technology has to be one of the principal innovations of the 21 st century assumed the ripple effect it is having on various sectors, from financial to manufacturing as well as education. Unknown to many, is that Blockchain history dates back to the early 1990’s. Since its popularity started increasing a few years back, a number of requests have cropped up all but underlining the kind of impact it is destined to have as the race for digital economies heat up. How blockchain emerged? Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta intended what many people have come to know as blockchain, in 1991. Their first work complex working on a cryptographically secured chain of blocks whereby no one could tamper with timestamps of documents. In 1992, they upgraded their system to incorporate Merkle trees that enhanced efficiency thereby enabling the collection of more documents on a single block. However, it is in 2008 that Blockchain History starts to gain relevance, thanks to the...

Remittance is the transference of money from a migratory worker to someone back in their home country. People have always moved in search of better work forecasts in high-income (or high currency value as compared to home) countries. Based on the  World Migration Report 2018 , there are presently a projected 244 million international migrants living in other countries. This number has either unswervingly or indirectly contributed to the global remittance’s $689 billion-dollar industry with India being top of the pile, contributing $80 Billion or 11.6% of its entirety. The global remittance industry  is expected to grow by more than 3% in 2019. Blockchain can be the future for remittance The most prevalent Cryptocurrency is Bitcoin. It has been labelled as the future of the global financial industry. Bitcoin positively has great potential to be the digital currency of the world but before that, one of two things needs to happen: ·      ...