Limitations Of Other Top Cryptos
by Marvin Dumont
While cryptos in general have advantages over sovereign fiats, not all digital coins are created equal. Governments around the world are tightening restrictions over the burgeoning cryptocurrency industry and that means people will increasingly place a premium on unregulatable and untraceable coins (such as Apollo).
There are various reasons why certain regions have had difficulty adopting cryptocurrencies. Part of Apollo Foundation’s vision is to establish the Decentralized Apollo Bank Network. It will comprise thousands of ATM locations worldwide, where legalities allow.
Utility Of Privacy Coins
Crypto advisory firm Satis Group believes that privacy coins will see the biggest price increase over the next 10 years. This forecast reflects the potential demand from citizens (especially those in emerging markets) who want functional and convenient monetary systems, and who can acquire and trade privacy coins with the tap of a screen.
Bitcoin (BTC) is celebrating its 10-year anniversary but it isn’t as private as you think. It’s pseudonymous (not anonymous) which means authorities and third parties can trace wallet addresses to real-world identities. Due to Bitcoin’s limited file sizes, sending and receiving payments often result in slow transaction times and expensive fees. As as mentioned, you can be identified by outsiders who examine the blockchain, and through know-your-customer (KYC) rules of exchanges and other requirements.
Robust Privacy Features
Apollo Foundation is implementing Olympus Protocol to protect users’ privacy and provide assurance of financial anonymity. Three features accomplish this objective: IP Masking (which conceals your physical location); Coin Shuffling (which randomizes source of funds); and Private Transactions. These prevent outside parties such as bureaucrats and hackers from observing your payment transactions.
Some mainstream cryptocurrencies can be subject to unwelcome influence that make them less distributed and peer-to-peer — and more like centralized networks that cryptos were designed to avoid in the first place. An Oct. 2018 joint study by Princeton University and Florida International University found that China exerts a threatening influence over Bitcoin’s ecosystem because of mining concentration in the nation of 1.4 billion people. Researchers said that three-fourths of the network’s mining activities take place in China, and that its anti-crypto government has the power to undermine the entire BTC network.
Bitcoin may currently enjoy its perch atop the industry, but regulations and Chinese opposition will continue to make the situation dynamic over the next few years.
Ripple (XRP), too, enjoys its share of prestige but it hardly offers any privacy at all. The San Francisco, Calif.-based company has formed major partnerships around the world but XRP should be viewed as a centralized token. Not a distributed, trustless medium of exchange that underpin most cryptocurrencies. As such, it perpetuates old-world problems of having to place trust in regulators and institutions that are responsible for the Financial Crisis.
There’s a saying: Loose lips sink ships. Loss of privacy leads to greater risks for investors. And Apollo Foundation believes that privacy and anonymity are premium features that give users their freedom.
