Decentralized Blockchain- Qortal
The Internet Needs a Makeover: Decentralize for a Better Future
Qortal is a decentralized blockchain platform that aims to provide the world with true peer-to-peer solutions (P2P) in areas of local wallets, cross-chain trading (atomic swaps), e-commerce, communications, data hosting, application hosting, and more! Envision a base platform that offers alternatives to rebuilding the Internet, crypto space, and internet service itself.
The Qortal Project launched June 29th 2020 by a team of developers and community who sought to address some of the limitations and scalability issues of existing blockchain platforms. Qortal has built support for a few projects, while these are only coins added to the wallets and Trade Portal features, these third party coins are currently: BTC, LTC, ARRR, DOGE, DGB, and RVN! More coins will be added once the Voting System goes live and the community can take part in these developmental decisions - as community consensus in as many areas as possible, is the ultimate goal.
One of the unique features of Qortal is its novel consensus algorithm called ‘Minting’ which rewards every ‘Minter’ each block, rather than competing to sign blocks. While there are some hardware limitations, virtually any modern computer is able to run a minting node on the Qortal Network - which is entirely optional. Meaning you do not have to become a Minter in order to use the rest of the platform. Minters earn the platform's coin called ‘QORT’ based on an account leveling system of levels 1-10. Minter’s blocks minted count will equate to a weighted vote in the future Voting System. To become a Minter, you’ll need to reach out to the community and obtain a Sponsorship, which is Qortal’s P2P of requiring human interaction while also combating bot farms. The more you learn about Qortal, the more you come across this passionate focus for P2P solutions!
Qortal will soon be launching ‘Q-Apps’ which will unleash the platform’s ability to build apps freely including some by the development team such as 1) a YouTube type video hosting alternative and 2) a GitHub type code repository alternative. Anyone will be able to build their apps without any sort of gatekeeping, and be able to make use of any coins Qortal has built support for. Furthermore, any project that seeks to have their own token on Qortal, can submit their project for review and possibly have its own asset issued! The criteria will simply require Qortal’s community approval for ethical projects that meet three key areas: 1) truly decentralized, 2) no pre-mine/ICO, and 3) no PoS. The whole focus is to provide real value to the platform and its users based on a set of principles.
The crypto space is littered with centralization and abuse of buzzwords like "decentralized" while falling short of expectations. Qortal aims to build truly decentralized infrastructure in the blockchain space, to empower lives with a system that makes sense and cannot be compromised by outside forces. The question is often raised, how Qortal will be affected by government regulations, and the answer is simple: if the platform is truly decentralized with no intellectual property or ownership of any kind, while also not requiring KYC, it simply cannot be directly regulated. The same as how Bitcoin itself cannot be directly regulated. Sure we can go to great lengths debating how they can regulate Bitcoin’s use and participation, our point being, Qortal falls into that same situation.
Which leads to the next point: QORT claims it does not pass the Howey Test and is a commodity - not a security. Every aspect of Qortal including its developers are decentralized, there is no pooling funds into a joint enterprise, the value of QORT does not depend on a third party, there was no ICO/pre-mine, there is no profiting off the work of others per se, and they use a new type of PoW with tiered block reward. Everything is P2P!
Mission Statement
The Qortal Network will bring back individual sovereignty to a worldwide economy. Qortal will:
1) rebuild the Internet in an unhackable fashion,
2) provide a viable alternative to the devastation caused by exchange hacks and thefts, 3) build a new worldwide economic system based on honesty, openness, trust, democracy, and transparency,
4) implement a true-direct democratic system with a voting system where the individual's influence is weighted based on contribution, and
5) establish a fair system with room for everyone to earn their place in Qortal!
How Can Qortal Help People?
Qortal's decentralized infrastructure can help people in several ways. Here are a few examples:
Decentralized finance: Qortal can provide a platform for decentralized financial applications that allow individuals to transact directly with each other without intermediaries, making financial services more accessible, affordable and secure. This includes solutions for e-commerce websites with payment systems, and information sites with subscription-based services. All of which will provide more utility to the coins they’ve built support for.
Private communication: Qortal‘s chat application called Q-Chat provides encrypted P2P messaging as well as the ability to create public and private groups - similar to Telegram. Q-Chat is currently only text-based, but in the future it will include voice and video calling - along with a mobile app solution and a Lite Network which will make all aspects of the platform much faster.
Censorship-free Internet: Qortal's infrastructure can enable the creation of a censorship-resistant internet where websites can be hosted and accessed by peers freely and unhindered! This can done in Qortal’s QDN (the Qortal Data Network). Those who are interested in hosting their own websites, can do so with average hardware at home, without the need for servers and other associated requirements typically associated with the conventional Internet. A gateway can be created for traditional Internet traffic to access the site, and those running a node on the Qortal Network can engage in P2P access - meaning they can access the data directly from the owner and/or any other peers who run a redundant copy of the data, to help keep it live.
Trustworthy data storage: Qortal's blockchain-based data storage system can provide a secure and tamper-proof way to store data, making it ideal for virtually any application you can think of, such as medical records, identity management, and supply chain tracking. What this means is that Qortal can be of benefit to both individual, and commercial-type use cases - as properly built blockchain technology can provide three key benefits: reduced overhead, greater scalability, and greater security!
Overall, Qortal is intended to become a leader in the blockchain space when it comes to building viable alternative infrastructure in areas such as collective consciousness, individual sovereignty and a safe haven for innovation! Think infrastructure. Think BIG!
Qortal's commitment to building a truly decentralized infrastructure that empowers individuals and encourages ethical projects to build together is a powerful step towards creating a more open, equitable, and secure world. By supporting initiatives like Qortal, we can all contribute to the growth and development of decentralized technologies that can help us build a better future for ourselves and for generations to come. Let's embrace the possibilities that Qortal and other decentralized systems offer and work towards creating a more decentralized and empowered world together!
Disclaimer: Any opinions, advice, statements, or other information expressed or made available through our product or service are those of the respective author(s) and do not necessarily reflect our views or opinions. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from your use of our product or service. This is not investment advise rather an opportunity to educate yourself about the Qortal project.
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Excellent article. I interviewed Jason about a year ago for my YT channel (@CrowRising) and plan to do so again in the near future. Thanks for this. Subscribed.