Hello Community,
The amount of development in decentralized finance is astounding and the amount of things once thought impossible, which are now possible is increasing. These new possibilities present opportunities for investment and enrichment. As the world wades through the Coronavirus Pandemic blockchain technology developers and game developers have continued working and developing new technologies. One such company called Blockstream is a company focused on side-chains and how they can improve performance on a blockchain with high transactional volume but saturated transaction capacitance. Think Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Their other focus is on non-fungible Tokens, the unique digital representations of ownership share in unique digital or virtual items. The company has many technological achievements, but the ones interesting to me right now are the Bitcoin Lightning Netwirk with a transactional volume potential of ten million transactions per second, and the concept of Bitcoin Microtransactions using side chains.
We are familiar with side chains here because of Steem Engine. We understand that these side chains can create micr-economies like the micro-trade economy which developed on Steem-a Engine and many made money from buying or selling these tribe tokens. This micro-economy toke place off the main Steem Blockchain, but was also recorded on the Steem blockchain. The Bitcoin Lightning Network is a similar Bitcoin blockchain sidechain, which helps to relieve congestion on the Bitcoin main blockchain, but the transactions which occur on the Lightning ?Network Sidechain are recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain developers. This Bitcoin sidechain is primarily thought of as a tool to improve transactional speed and lower transactional costs on the Bitcoin blockchain, but like Steem or Hive side chain, it allows for the existence of micro transactions and micro-economies.
You see the tribe tokens were not Steem Tokens, but they were valued in fractions of Steem the token of the main chain, the Steem blockchain. The Blockstream developers and conceptual people took this concept and created a sidechain where micro transactions or very small fractions of Bitcoin could be conducted at faster transactional speed, lower transactional cost and then recorded on the main Bitcoin blockchain. This concept of micro transactions, micro-transaction fees and faster transaction times allows small transactions to occur on the Bitcoin sidechain, similar to how tribe transactions could occur. But in this case they are transactions inside a video game. You kill a player, you get 500 Satoshi. While 500 Satoshi is very small, and the transactional cost or miners fees would make it economically irrational on the Bitcoin main chain, it’s not expensive on a sidechain.
So you hopefully see how Steem brought value to the tribe tokens on the Steem-Engine side chain, Bitcoin brings value to the Satoshi transactions on the Bitcoin Sidechain. Now the next important thing is the use of nonfungible tokens. As you may recall the game Steem-monsters started on the Steem blockchain and as it grew in popularity it became necessary to create a hierarchy of cards based on rarity, and this led to the use of non-fungible unique tokens to represent Steem-Monster cards. Steem-monsters eventually changed and became Splinterlands with thousands of players. But it’s this concept of uniqueness or non-fungibility that makes much of the Monster Card value. This same concept can be applied to weapons and equipment in a video game, thus the side chain Bitcoin Lightening Network, it’s faster transaction times, lower transaction fees and rewards in Satoshi’s creates a gaming micro-economy and provides for secure trading via in game smart contracts. You shoot a player you get 500 Satoshi, you also pick up all his/her gear, which are non-fungible tokens. They now are transferred to you. At the end of the game of the game, you can see your winnings in Satoshi in your in game wallet, and your game inventory will also reflect all the game items you picked up and their value. Now just like a side chain here you can sell the items for Bitcoin and transfer all your Bitcoin fraction Satoshi to your regular wallet or keep it there to continue playing the video game.
As you can see the ingredients here include a side chain, a main chain, non-fungible tokens and a video game based on a blockchain or side chain. An example video game is the game Light⚡️Nite, which is being developed by Satoshi Gaming Studios partnering with Blockstream.
I began this post as a report on a leader in the technological space of side chains, non-fungible tokens and video game monetization. I realized that this topic is broad and complex, but it can be summarized and I believe digested by many in our community because we have unique experiences here that have expended our minds about what is possible.
The rest of this post is about Blockstream, but I hope you see how this concept could be adapted to any chain with a desirable token or a desire to make their Token desirable. Splinterlands was Clearly a good use case for Steem in indirect ways, but you can see how in-game video rewards create a direct value for the Token in question.
Shortsegments
BLOCKSTREAM
BLOCKSTREAM is a world-wider leader in Bitcoin and blockchain technology. Their products and services such as non-fungible tokens and side chains may well be the foundation of the financial infrastructure of the decentralized finance and the reward mechanisms underlying monetized video games now and in the future.
BLOCKSTREAM Quote
Bitcoin is at the heart of everything we do. From enterprise-grade settlement networks, to consumer wallets, to Bitcoin satellites, our technology is accelerating the adoption of Bitcoin-based peer-to-peer finance. Blockstream's key innovation is in sidechains, which enable the introduction of brand new features to Bitcoin, as well as the issuance of new digital assets.
BLOCKSTREAM has several technological achievements in the blockchain space, and their greatest skill is in developing side chains. They were a vital contributor to the development of the Bitcoin Lightning Network via development of the side chain, which was/is the backbone of the Lightening Network. They are partnering with Powerful forces within the cryptosphere to advance Commerce. They are also very invested in development of Non-Fungible Tokens, as a backbone of the development of commerce in video games and beyond.
This is information from their website about the companies achievements.
Sidechains
A sidechain is a blockchain that runs parallel to the Bitcoin blockchain, enabling the deployment of new features and capabilities while leveraging bitcoin’s security. A sidechain is interoperable with the Bitcoin blockchain and supports the secure transfer of assets between chains. We have a side chain here on the Steem blockchain called Steem Engine.
Blockstream is the leading provider of both open-source and commercial Bitcoin technologies. We deliver a range of products and services that make the adoption of Bitcoin and peer-to-peer finance easier than ever.
The Liquid Network
The Liquid Network is a sidechain-based settlement platform for traders and exchanges. It enables fast and private Bitcoin transactions between users, as well as the issuance of digital assets such as stablecoins and securities.
Blockstream Green Wallet
Blockstream Green is a simple and secure Bitcoin wallet with Liquid support. Send and receive Bitcoin, Tether, and other Liquid assets, all secured by Green’s unique two-factor multisig security and hardware wallet support. Currently available for iOS and Android.
Blockstream Satellite
Blockstream has taken Bitcoin into space. The Blockstream Satellite network broadcasts the Bitcoin blockchain around the world 24/7 for free, protecting against network interruptions and providing anyone in the world with the opportunity to use Bitcoin.
Lightening Network
In collaboration with industry leaders, Blockstream is a key contributor to the Lightning Network, an open network built on top of Bitcoin to enable fast, cheap and private microtransactions.
Elements
Elements is an open source blockchain platform, providing developers with the tools to build their own networks and products. By extending the well-known Bitcoin codebase, developers can quickly roll out working blockchains that support powerful features such as Confidential Transactions and Issued Assets.
As you can see, BLOCKSTREAM has several technological achievements in the blockchain space, and their greatest skill is in developing side chains. They were a vital contributor to the development of the Bitcoin Lightning Network via development of the side chain, which was/is the backbone of the Lightening Network. They are partnering with Powerful forces within the cryptosphere to advance Commerce. They are also very invested in development of Non-Fungible Tokens, as a backbone of the development of commerce in video games and beyond.
The history of the blockchain is being written now, history is occurring around us. The future of blockchain based, cryptocurrency reward games is occurring now.
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New Financial opportunities from side chains, non-fungible tokens and in-game cryptocurrency rewards.