Smarter, better, faster and stronger? that's GoChain!. Since the invention of the blockchain and smart contracts, we've seen unlimited growth and the disruptive effects of the blockchain across industries and institutions but the age-long problems of smart contracts which are scalability, speed, true decentralization and security abound. Most DApps(decentralized applications) are built on the ethereum blockchain which has still been unable to solve these problems as most miners are centred in China which has the capacity to thwart decentralization and it can only process thirteen transactions per second. As at the moment of this write-up, ethereum is currently using 100% of its blockchain capacity.
GoChain is a next generation stand alone blockchain which supports DApps and smart contracts that brings solutions to the core problems of the blockchain using a new algorithm known as POR(proof of reputation). Rather than having accounts owned by known individuals validating transactions on the blockchain as is obtained in the POA(Proof of Authority), in POR, transactions are validated by companies who have a lot to lose if their reputations are damaged, their shareholders, market cap and the general trust of a company that cheats can be affected adversely. According to the GoChain whitepaper, 50 companies will be used in different countries so as to enforce decentralization. If implemented as stated, I think this will be the first truely decentralized blockchain to some extent.
Benefits
Promoting Mass Adoption of Cryptocurrencies
People trust visa to handle their transactions and have been doing so for years. This is simply because they can put a face to who they are trusting their data and funds with and the average individual will not simply trust ananymous individuals or code to protect his interest. That is where the POR(Proof of Reputation) algorithm makes a difference by locating this and bringing a profound solution. Imagine a scenario where a company like visa is one of the validators on the GoChain network, people know that they could simply put a call through to visa's head office and their problems will have at least been heard and visa knows that the last thing they need is negative attention to not only them but heir co-validators too. In the case of fraud, one knows exactly where and who to tackle legally. This is decentralization in the most human-friendly form.
The above being stated, The average Joe who sales birthday cards over the internet and doesn't care much about the technicalities can do so on the GoChain network because this time its not just a single company like visa having his back to see his transactions through, but a conglomerate of 50 companies like visa all working together to see his transaction to fruition.
True Decentralization thanks to the POR algorithm
In POW, most miners are situated in China which means they could be affected by the government or come together to make really wrong decisions capable of harming the network. In POS, a bad actor could simply buy large stakes in the network and do as he pleases. POS assumes that actors would work in the best interest of the community but this is never the case. Taking the steem blockchain as an example, one could clearly see the bad deeds of some stakeholders which eventually undermines the network. Since most are anonymous individuals, they virtually have nothing to lose if they are caught gaming the system.
But with POR, transactions are validated by companies which have a lot to lose. According to the GoChain whitepaper, preference is given to publicly traded companies with large reputations as opposed to smaller once. 50 different companies in fifty different countries will act as validators which in my opinion is the nearest attempt to true decentralization since the inception of the blockchain.
Speed
As of now, GoChain is already capable of supporting 1300 transactions per second and hopes to scale to 13000 transactions per second by the second quarter of 2019. This kind of speed will allow real-time use of the GoChain blockchain for everyday transactions and closes the big gap between centralised systems like visa who is able to process about 150 million transactions daily.
Cheap Transaction Fees
Nobody wants to spend outrageous amounts of money simply because they wanted to make a transaction. If the blockchain is really to compete with centralized systems, transactions must either be free or so cheap that its cost is insignificant and that is exactly what GoChain has done. Although it uses same fee structure as ethereum, with a billion in token supply and performance a lot better than ethereum, cost of transactions is maintained at extremely low prices and may never always fluctuate as the network issues currently plaguing ethereum will be absent.
The effects of this will be the everyday usability of GoChain for transactions even the smallest things like purchasing candy. This will also attract financial institutions who want to carry out large transactions at the lowest possible cost.
Ethereum Compatibility
One of the many features of GoChain I find amazing, unique and very useful is its compatibility with the ethereum network and smart contracts. dApp developers who have their DApps on the ethereum blockchain could simply jump ship and not write a single line of code. Inter blockchain swapping could never be easier.
Flexibility
One of the big problems which have prevented mainstream adoption of the blockchain is its rigidity. As a developer, as time progresses in the lifetime of your products reviews are done, upgrades and bug fixes are also carried out but this is not so with ethereum's smart contracts, they cannot be upgraded or updated and bug fixes are not very possible. But then came GoChain which offers a great deal of flexibility allowing developers to update and also fix bugs in their contract. Companies and individuals that are innovative and progressive will find GoChain a perfect match for them and their products and with its level of scalability, its future might pose more features that support continuous and uninterrupted growth.
Imagine a scenario in which as at the time of deployment to the blockchain network there existed a bug that didn't allow users complete their registration on a social network built on top of the ethereum blockchain, the developers will have to perform a hard fork to fix this which may lead to more that one copy of their app and make them open to attacks, but on the GoChain network a condition which was set by the company such as a certain number of votes would simply be activated allowing for modification and proper deployment of their dApp.
Ability to Capture Commerce
First of all, it is important to note that a large percentage of features of cryptocurrencies are mostly applicable in the commercial sector. Cryptocurrencies give the ability to engage in commercial transactions across the globe by eliminating the middleman or any centralized authority and allowing P2P communication which is exactly what the commercial industry needs so as to allow a seamless flow of commerce around the globe in a fast and secure manner devoid of centralized scrutiny. As a result of the above stated, it is important that cryptocurrencies should be developed with the commercial sector being made a priority and allow very easy integration.
How far gone
The GoChain team has judiciously followed up on their plans as proposed by their roadmap. As at the time of this writing, the GoChain main net is live and currently supporting 1300tps having completed its proof of concept and private token sale.
The team
I must say that having gone through the profiles of each member of the core team I think they have the capacity to bring GoChain to an expected fruition. My confidence is not built on just their LinkedIn profiles but their ability to deliver the main net just as scheduled on their roadmap and that my friend is applaudable.
Please do visit the GoChain website for more information on the team and the roadmap, cheers and thanks for reading
If interested in more details please visit the following resources;
● GoChain Website
● GoChain WhitePaper
● GoChain Telegram
● GoChain Telegram Announcement
● GoChain GitHub
● GoChain Reddit
● GoChain BitcoinTalk
● GoChain Twitter
● GoChain Facebook
● GoChain Medium
This is my entry for the @originalworks contest. Everything stated in this write up is my personal opinion on the topic and does not provide any investment guidance, please do well to visit the above sources. All Pictures are from the GoChain website, social media or whitepaper.
Gochain2018