Waves platform registration and getting started. Waves platform overview. On which exchanges is it traded?
With this post I would like to open a series of reviews of blockchain platforms, the main goal of which is to talk about the possibilities of practical application of blockchain technology for building not only individual services, but also entire digital ecosystems. In our reviews, we will talk about systems that are undeservedly deprived of attention on Habré, but are widely known and discussed in the cryptocurrency community.
In the first article of the series we'll talk about the open source blockchain platform Waves, which by June of this year, as part of a crowdfunding campaign, managed to attract funding in the amount of 29,445 BTC, which at the current exchange rate was more than $15 million.
I decided to take a closer look at the functionality of this decentralized platform, specializing in the blockchain token model, the main directions of its activities, as well as the strategic steps of the project management.
Unlike the Canadian-based core Ethereum team and the German Lisk team, the core of the Waves team operates in Moscow.
Founder of the platform Sasha Ivanov Graduated from the Faculty of Theoretical Physics of Moscow State University. Before immersing himself in the cryptocurrency environment, he specialized for several years in the development of bots for trading on the stock exchange, based on the model of artificial neural networks.
Before implementing the Waves project, Ivanov managed to launch the instant cryptocurrency exchange service Coinomat, develop the first crypto-fiat token CoinUSD, and, together with several notable blockchain enthusiasts, founded the Crypto Asset Fund, a venture fund specializing in blockchain technology.
During the development of cryptocurrencies, the founder of Waves was attracted by the potential of blockchain technology for issuing securities and crowdinvesting. One of the projects that influenced the formation of Waves was the NXT blockchain platform - one of the first platforms that provides users with the opportunity to create their own crypto-analogs of shares - blockchain tokens - and trade them on the exchange, thus attracting investment. Whitepaper Waves also contains noticeable references to the experience of NXT, which was taken into account when developing its own platform.
Blockchain crowdinvesting has a number of advantages compared to classic venture investment and crowdfunding models.
So, instead of working under the patronage and complying with the conditions of one large venture investor, project founders may find themselves much more more interesting model, in which funds for the project are raised through a large number of micro-investments. In addition, in addition to receiving funding, startups automatically have the opportunity to form a primary user base who can test a particular project within the framework of the crowdinvesting community that has emerged as a result of the campaign. It is likely that Direct Investment will gradually bite off its piece of the market from venture funds.
Concerning classic model crowdfunding, then unlike, for example, the popular international crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, Waves will allow you to leave the project’s investors by selling your token on the exchange to another user, without waiting for the final results of the project.
Waves is a platform whose functionality allows users to issue custom tokens that will be the equivalent of some assets, carry out various operations with them, and also implement areas such as trading, fiat and cryptocurrency exchange, voting on the blockchain and decentralized crowdfunding.
As part of a crowdfunding campaign on Waves, startups can issue crypto-tokens, the acquirers of which, in turn, have the opportunity to operate with them at their own discretion: buy, sell, transfer or exchange without intermediaries. And all this is based on the principles and technologies of blockchain.
For all of the above operations with tokens, a special p2p exchange is being created within the Waves platform. We can say that tokens play the role of a certain universal tool, tied depending on the purpose to a particular asset.
Implemented this mechanism as follows: with the help of network gateways that support the token, its binding to a particular currency, for example, the US dollar, is confirmed. Unlike the tokens of the decentralized exchange platform BitShares (which is based on a dynamic mechanism that operates through scripts, where in order to ensure that the value of the token remains tied to the asset, bots automatically carry out a purchase and sale transaction on the exchange), the functionality The Waves platform involves the use of blockchain payment systems as a transaction layer.
In order for participants in a crowdfunding project to decide how to distribute profits or what to spend raised funds on, Waves plans to implement a voting system based on blockchain technology.
To enable the transition from NXT to Waves, the development team plans to launch a protocol that will allow the assets of a project hosted on the NXT platform to be transformed into Waves assets.
In addition to the advantages, the Waves blockchain model also involves a number of risks that can be divided into three categories:
- Technical risks, for example, bugs that cause a loss of token value, as is the case with Ethereum. This type of risk lies with the Waves platform itself.
- Risks of fraud, which can be reduced through a KYC assessment system for projects placed on the site. To be fair, it should be said that during ICOs and crowdsales of cryptocurrency projects there were practically no cases of successful fraud, since investors trust their money only to well-known people from the industry who have a positive reputation.
- Legal risks, in order to avoid which a competent assessment of the model’s compliance with existing government legislation is necessary. For example, in the USA there is a very strict policy regarding crowdinvesting, but at the same time in Asia and Europe you can choose a more favorable jurisdiction for a project of this type.
To get started with Waves, users are encouraged to install the Lite Client. Lite Client does not require installation of the full Waves blockchain and only stores information about the user’s own assets within the platform.
In addition, server software is offered for full blockchain nodes.
The Waves platform began with the code for the Scorex framework, an open-source blockchain project that its creators claim is capable of accelerating research and development processes in the field of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. This is largely explained by the compactness of the Scala code at the core of Scorex. For comparison: the Bitcoin Core code contains more than 100,000 lines of code, NXT contains more than 45,000 Java code, and in both projects the code structures are very confusing, which somewhat reduces the space for developers to experiment. At the same time, Scorex's Scala code consists of less than 4,000 lines of code.
Mining of the Waves platform is based on the Leased Proof of Stake (LPoS) consensus. This type of consensus allows you to create blocks in 10 seconds thanks to a limited number of nodes (about 100). LPoS provides users with the ability to lease their balances to other nodes in exchange for a share of the profits, unlike the Bitshares DPoS (Delegated Proof of Stake) platform consensus, where miners are determined through a simple vote.
According to the founder of Waves, LPOS consensus implies a system in which users who generate blocks are selected based on the balance of the Waves token. At the same time, users can withdraw their funds at any time and use them at their own discretion. But ordinary users cannot use money for mining; they can only lend it to generating nodes in exchange for a reward. This approach is called “account leasing”.
Not long ago, a rewards program was announced, under which enthusiastic testers created a test network of 100 full nodes. The purpose of this step is to test the operation of the LPoS consensus protocol and monitor transactions carried out through the Waves network. In case of positive test results, participants in the next stage of the program will try to find platform vulnerabilities and break the system. Motivation for participants is a bonus for results determined by the Waves development team depending on the stage of this testing.
After some time, they plan to add smart contracts to the platform, which will be launched only on full nodes to achieve greater scalability. Considering the unsuccessful experience of The DAO, within the framework of Waves it is planned to implement a less flexible solution compared to Ethereum, but more secure - transactions will not be carried out through smart contracts, but will take place inside the sandbox. This program works in a protected environment and, in fact, has no access to anything - neither to resources within the system, nor to external resources. Unlike Ethereum code, which operates independently of developers, the sandbox receives data through certain communication channels, processes it and sends it back. This is the usual approach of virtual machines.
The results of the sandboxed code will be available to all developers. Unlike Ethereum, the code in Waves will not be integrated with the blockchain. The Waves code will be located in the Sandbox, where the calculations will be performed. The code will work on several nodes, the performance of which can be compared. Third-party developers will be offered an API to implement contracts in any programming language.
The platform will allow the development of an additional password (2FA) system on the blockchain. Unlike other systems where the risk of password database theft remains, the safety of each password in the Waves authentication system is ensured by distributed technologies and cryptography. Users of sites integrated with the Waves 2FA solution will be able to authenticate using a password stored in a decentralized system, eliminating the risk of an attacker replacing the password.
Unlike the Ethereum platform, whose founder Vitalik Buterin initially recognized the experimental tasks of his development, the Waves platform aims to solve specific business problems with a large load and the ability to scale.
In this review, we looked at the Waves blockchain platform as an example of a successful application of the concept of using crypto tokens. In the next article of the review series, we will look at the Lisk crypto platform, which offers its users the opportunity to develop applications based on JavaScript without the need to master the language of the platform itself, as is implemented on Ethereum.
Waves Platform- a decentralized platform for crowdfunding and issuing digital values. This is a blockchain project with Russian roots. The Waves crypto platform focuses primarily on the issuance, trading and exchange of assets/native tokens on the blockchain. One of the main features of the project is its focus on ease of use and mass adoption. The four core components of Waves, an open-source platform: cryptocurrency, blockchain, a decentralized consensus-based confirmation mechanism, and a community of miners serving the network. Proof-Of-Stake is used as a consensus algorithm.
Story
2019: Availability of smart accounts and smart assets
“We are very pleased to add another gateway to the Waves client,” comments Alexander Ivanov, CEO and founder of the Waves blockchain platform. “Ethereum is the most popular blockchain platform after Bitcoin itself, and it is important to offer users the opportunity to trade ETH on a decentralized exchange. Over time, we will add more coin gateways, increasing our appeal, and allow not only trading, but also crowdsales on Waves, which will allow you to collect a range of cryptocurrencies directly.”
Partnership with Deloitte CIS
RUIG Drinks and Bites became the first company in Holland to host Waves
On June 22, 2017, it was announced that the RUIG Drinks and Bites bar in the city of Ede became the first Dutch company to begin accepting the Russian Waves cryptocurrency for payment.
`We chose WAVES because of the great prospects that this cryptocurrency opens up. We also wanted to please our visitors, many of whom are Waves holders. We try to be original not only in terms of the choice of beer, wine, gin and tonic in our establishment, but also in payment methods. In addition, traditional banking transactions are associated with high costs, and we would like to reduce them,” notes Marley Grevland-Kenders, co-owner of the establishment.
2016: Conducting its own ICO for 30,000 BTC or $16 million
In June 2016, Waves completed an ICO (Initial Coin Offering - public sale of coins), during which it raised more than $16M (30,000 BTC). In terms of the size of crowdfunding investments, it entered the top 10 most successful blockchain projects.
To prevent this, Waves implements new types of transactions through plugins, used as an extension on top of the main one. software. This way, customers who do not have a plugin can still transact online.
Only a few transaction types are included in the core software
- Custom Application Tokens (CATs).
- Decentralized Exchange (DEX).
- Anonymity features.
Custom Application Tokens (CATs)
Selected tokens can be bought, sold, exchanged without intermediaries. Since you customize the coin yourself, it is possible to do whatever you want.
Creating a token costs 1 WAVE – about $13.40 at the time of writing this article.
To date, more than 7,000 user tokens have been issued on the platform. Their common market capitalization amounted to more than $1 billion.
Decentralized Exchange (DEX)
Decentralized exchanges reduce many of the risks associated with using a typical centralized service.
Since your funds are stored directly in your wallet, DEX is almost impossible to hack. Additionally, decentralization means that the administrator cannot freeze your funds or restrict trades and withdrawals. You are in complete control of your account.
Waves seem to have found a niche by focusing on the simplicity and mass scale of the project. The tokens you can create using the platform lack some features found on other platforms, but they are very easy to add.
Trading
Waves completed their ICO in June 2016, raising over 16 million dollars. Almost immediately after the campaign, the price of WAVES dropped by 80% and stabilized at around $0.20 (0.0003 BTC).
In July of this year the price remained relatively low. The subsequent surge was most likely caused by the release of their roadmap, as well as the announcement of a partnership with ICO Hub to solve the necessary problems.
Since then, the price has slowly fallen and then jumped again, reaching a new all-time high (in US dollars) in December this year. The price jump was caused by the team's announcement that Waves will soon become the fastest blockchain platform in the world.
With Bitcoin's scaling issues, speed is becoming an increasingly important factor when assessing the value of cryptocurrencies.
Where to buy WAVES
You have several options where you can purchase WAVES.
Namely
- Exchangers.
- Cranes.
Exchangers
Numerous exchanges such as Binance and Bittrex offer WAVES available for trading. To obtain currency on these platforms, you first need to purchase Bitcoin or Ethereum. After your purchase, transfer your funds to one of these exchangers and convert them to WAVES.
You can also use services like Changelly or Shapeshift to get tokens.
DEX
The DEX exchange is suitable for receiving cryptocurrency. The token is available in pairs with BTC, USD and EUR, although There are significantly more transactions with Bitcoin than with other coins. Typically, the higher the volume, the easier the trading.
Cranes
If you are interested in getting some WAVES but have a limited budget, use faucets. With sites like Wavesdrop, you can earn up to 0.0001 WAVES every hour. It's not a lot, but it's free!
All you have to do is enter your WAVES wallet address and confirm that you are not a robot.
Where to store WAVES
The best place to store your WAVES is the Lite Wallet client provided by the company. Storing funds on an exchange puts them at risk, especially since your money is under the control of a third party.
The Lite wallet is available in a web version and as an extension for Chrome. You can also get it on your mobile device through the Apple App and Google Play stores.
Be sure to lease your tokens while in storage to support the network and earn rewards.
conclusions
Waves provides an easy way to create your own token and take advantage of the simple blockchain functionality. The platform is good for people who want to start crowdfunding or create a simple loyalty coin for their business.
The main advantage of the project is simplicity. Any user can create a custom token with a few clicks and little knowledge of the underlying technology.
Besides simple token development, Waves also offers decentralized exchange services.
The team has formed significant partnerships with Russian government and with the accounting firm Deloitte. Although the smart contract space is massive, the team faces serious competition from several other blockchain projects.
If the company delivers on its promises of making Waves the fastest blockchain platform in the world, it can be guaranteed that the platform will achieve great popularity in the world.
It was developed two years ago. As a result of the crowdsale, a hybrid of Nxt, Ethereum, Ripple and Kickstarter raised $17,000,000 and was included in the list of the best ICOs of 2016. The project was able to achieve such success thanks to the combination of the most popular technologies in the cryptocurrency and business markets. Let's take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of this platform.
Waves Decentralized Exchange (DEX)
The company has received all the licenses necessary to legalize the trading of tokens for fiat money. This is one of the similarities with Ripple. Such an advantage on this moment cannot boast of most competitors. The ability to buy cryptocurrency directly with dollars and euros increases interest in DEX from people who are just entering this market. Let's consider other advantages of the exchange:
Decentralization is a guarantee of reliability, so you don’t have to worry about hacking. Each user can become a matcher and receive income in the form of commissions for the trades of other users. To do this, you need to use the Matcher function.
The speed of transactions is very high.
Simple, fast, clear, easy user interface. To gain access to the exchange and wallet, just download the Waves Lite Client extension or install the application on Android.
There are no restrictions on withdrawals.
Fixed commission amount.
Funds are stored in a wallet, not on an exchange.
Disadvantages of the exchange:
Small selection of currencies. According to CoinMarketCup, the exchange currently provides the opportunity to trade 72 cryptocurrencies. Among them, only 3 are in the TOP 20 by capitalization. Therefore, this service cannot become a full-fledged trading tool.
To top up your account with dollars, you must register on IdNow.eu
Low liquidity (liquidity is a parameter that indicates how quickly a currency can be sold at the market price).
Only operations with Waves and tokens issued on the platform are fully decentralized.
At the moment, the daily turnover of DEX is $5.6 million.
Platform for creating tokens and conducting ICOs
Waves bills itself as a decentralized Kickstarter and is looking to move crowdfunding to the blockchain.
The project allows not only to create tokens, but also conduct ICOs. Moreover, creating your own token takes no more than one minute, after which the asset can be immediately traded on the exchange.
Integration with the consulting company Deloitte allows individuals work in a legal financial field. Let's look at the features of token issuance:
The cost of token development is $1.
The developers are going to add reputation systems, voting and the ability to exchange encrypted messages for network participants.
Tokens Flexibility is a system that allows issuing projects to choose which currency will be used as a fee for their token transactions.
At the moment, more than 8,000 tokens have been issued.
Compared to Kickstarter, Waves has the following advantages:
Speed of the company.
Lack of moderators.
Smaller commission.
Availability of its own platform for issuing and exchanging tokens.
High-quality ICOs on the Waves platform attract the attention of investors. Among the most successful projects are MobileGo (gaming industry) and Primalbase (office rental ecosystem).
The main advantage of conducting an ICO on this platform is the complete legalization of all operations and the ability to buy tokens for fiat money.
Cryptocurrency
Capitalization: 1,193,870,000 USD.
Coin value: 11.94 USD.
Emission: 100,000,000 WAVES.
Proof model: LPoS is a hybrid version of PoS. Leased proof of stake allows you to lease your own Waves currencies, while receiving a share of the mining of full network nodes (computing resources that have the entire version of the blockchain and keep the port open to receive incoming requests). The number of full network nodes is limited - there are only 100 of them.
The blockchain is replenished with a new block every 10 seconds. The system uses standard 15-word public key encryption.
Waves mining is only available to full nodes using server software. For the rest, Account Leasing is provided. To start leasing, you need to open the Waves Lite Client application, go to the Leasing section and select the amount of cryptocurrency to be leased. Not all users can generate network blocks. The selection is carried out based on the number of coins on the balance and the user’s reputation.
The best way to buy waves is directly through the app wallet. This cryptocurrency is supported by 87 exchanges.
An important advantage of the platform is its high throughput, which allows you to forget about problems with transaction delays and expensive commissions. Transaction speed is ensured by full network nodes.
Waves Roadmap and Outlook
A review of Waves cannot be complete without considering the project's development plan. The roadmap allows you to monitor the fulfillment of the promises made by the developers.
In winter-spring 2018, Waves programmers promise to implement the following innovations and updates:
Implementation of a platform for decentralized voting.
Updating mobile applications.
Possibility of correspondence with simple messages.
The implementation of Atomic Swap - a technology for exchanging different cryptocurrencies without the participation of third parties (usually an exchange acts as a third party) - is the second similarity with Ripple.
Implementation of smart contracts.
Plan for the period spring-summer 2018:
Release of a hardware wallet.
Implementation of a user interaction interface for decentralized voting.
In the summer-autumn of 2018, it is planned to implement an interface for off-chain user correspondence, that is, without the participation of the blockchain.
In the fall-winter of 2018, the roadmap promises to completely finalize Lite-Client and implement smart contracts based on a Turing-complete computer.
Waves is a forward-looking platform that makes it as easy as possible for ordinary person working with blockchain, crowdfunding and helping him make money on cryptocurrencies. The project really makes a difference global problems. Cryptocurrency is fundamental because it is based on currently in-demand business services.
The platform was founded by entrepreneur Alexander Ivanov in 2016. The businessman took the well-known NXT crypto platform as a guide. Previously, Ivanov was part of the team of this project. NXT is popular mainly in Asia.
Waves made history even before the official start. At the creation stage, the crowdfunding company helped the organizers raise 30 thousand Bitcoins. As of the summer of 2016, this amount was equivalent to 15-16 thousand dollars. Waves became the seventh product in history in terms of the number of funds voluntarily raised for its creation. The platform launched its test version on June 7, 2016. The official release was given in November 2016. It was then that third-party users had the opportunity to issue their own tokens using Waves.
In June 2017, the coin entered the Top 10 digital assets by market capitalization.
Waves algorithm
The Waves system uses the Proof-of-Stake algorithm. The creators on the official website express the hope that in the near future a more optimal solution to the problem will be found that will save resources.
In October 2017, it was announced that testing of a new algorithm, called Waves New Generation, had begun. The developers do not hide the fact that it is written on the basis of a similar Bitcoin NG protocol.
- Main advantages of Waves NG:
- Increased block capacity;
- Speed of generation of new blocks;
- Microtransactions without delays;
Increased transaction speed on the DEX exchange built into the platform.
According to Alexander Ivanov, already in 2018 the platform will be able to increase the speed of transactions on an ongoing basis.
The Waves platform does not prioritize the growth of its own crypto coin. The main task is to transfer everything payment systems and crowdfunding on blockchain. Waves positions itself as a financial platform focused on the creation of native coins, transfers and trading, including deep integration into fiat currencies.
Features of the Waves platform:
- Possibility of using the built-in DEX exchanger;
- No restrictions on trading volumes;
- Storing all assets in a wallet as an alternative to the exchange;
- Possibility of issuing your own coins;
- Possibility of conducting ICO within the platform;
- Leasing your own coins.
One of the most unusual features of the Waves wallet is the rental of its own tokens for a fee. The platform operates using LPoS (Leased Proof of Stake) consensus. This is a kind of modification of Proof-of-Stake. To launch your own node in the system, you need 10 thousand Waves. The vast majority of users do not have that many coins. The developers invite system participants to unite and rent out their tokens to someone who can run a node. Large nodes make weekly payments to their landlords.
The procedure for renting coins will not take even five minutes.
Follow these steps:
- Open your WavesLite wallet;
- Click the Leasing button;
- In the Recipient field, indicate the pool to which you want to rent coins (more than 10 addresses are available);
- In the Amount field, specify the number of coins;
- In the Fee field, enter the transaction fee. The higher the commission, the earlier trading with your coins will begin.
- Click the Lease button.
Waves Transactions
At the end of 2017, the time to build one block is one minute. In the future, the developers assure that transactions will go much faster. The block size is limited. Currently there is a limit of one hundred transactions per block.
The system takes a commission for each transaction or token issue. Transferring coins within the system will cost 0.001 Waves. To issue a token you will have to pay one Waves.
On December 23, the developers announced that the Waves-NG protocol had finally been activated on their network. It is expected that the transaction speed on an ongoing basis will be 6,000 thousand per minute. The goal of the largest blockchain platform is to achieve network throughput of up to 1000 transactions per second.
What is Waves used for?
Waves places its main emphasis not on its own cryptocurrency, but on the development of full-fledged financial trading, which over time will become a full-fledged alternative to exchanges. Skeptics express doubts about the uniqueness of Waves, comparing the idea with Ethereum, but, according to founder Alexander Ivanov, his product is focused on the transfer of fiat currencies via the blockchain and crowdfunding on the blockchain. The developers plan to develop mainly in these two directions.
Already at the end of 2017, the platform offers the most convenient solution on the market for creating your own cryptocurrency. There is no need to use smart contracts or other similar transactions for this. You just need to launch the client, pay a fee and create your own coin. The most convenient offer, designed for a wide range of users.
Another advantage of Waves - storing currency within a decentralized exchange - is not a unique innovation, however, Waves strives to become a leader due to increased functionality. The Waves exchange is not inferior in speed to its centralized counterparts, but is distinguished by increased security.
The official Waves client offers very convenient way buy coins using plastic card. The operation will take a few minutes. To do this, you just need to open your wallet and select the deposit amount. For now, one transaction is limited in the range from 30 to 200 dollars or euros. Enrollment occurs within two hours.
Another option is to transfer Bitcoin directly to your account. Minimum amount wallet replenishment is 0.01 BTC.
On which exchanges is it traded?
Waves aims to focus coin trading on its internal platform, but third-party exchanges are also showing interest in the token. The clear leader is Tidex. Almost half of the transactions take place on this exchange. Two other popular options with high trading volume are Bittrex and Yobit.
Mining Waves
Waves is considered a very promising coin, but it is not available to ordinary miners.
Only node owners can mine coins in the system, but in order to obtain this status, you must have 10 thousand Waves in your account. As of January 2018, 1 coin is trading at $13. Accordingly, to launch a node you will need to invest 130 thousand dollars or over seven million rubles.
It is impossible to mine coins using a video card or using special ASIC equipment without the required amount in your account. The only way to accumulate coins, besides purchasing, is to lease the accumulated tokens.
Waves Storage Wallet
The platform offers an official Waves storage wallet. All you need to do is enter your name and unique password. After this, the user receives a wallet address and a unique SEED key, which consists of 15 random words. They need to be written down. The SEED key is the only way to access your wallet on all devices.
On your computer you can use the special WavesLiteApp plugin for Google Chrome. There is an official Waves Walles app for Android, available on Google Play.
Waves positions itself as a platform, not a cryptocurrency, so analysts are wary of large investments in this coin. The well-known WalletInvestor portal assumes very restrained growth. It is expected that the coin will break the $40 mark only by 2022.
The obvious advantage of the coin is its readiness for completely legal activities, but within a year the creators will not be able to turn all their ideas into reality. Waves is gradually developing, but there is not a single factor that would indicate a rapid takeoff. For example, the growth of Zcash or Monero cryptocurrencies can be predicted taking into account the huge turnover on the black market.
However, a sharp decline is also not expected. Moderate growth is predicted due to the following factors:
- Great interest in the new crowdfunding system;
- Active development of cryptocurrency within the legal sphere;
- Development of the internal exchange.
Optimistic American investors predict the currency will rise to $30-35 next year. But a breakthrough that will help increase the starting capital tenfold is unlikely to happen with Waves.
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