What Is Qtum (QTUM)?
Blockchain technology has progressed greatly since Bitcoin. There are many new Layer 1 platforms that use innovations beyond the original Bitcoin model. Qtum, on the other hand, has incorporated desirable elements of Ethereum and Bitcoin. Due to its unique architecture, this combination makes it an interesting project. Qtum Academy is here to walk you through its unique aspects if you’ve ever been curious about what makes it special.
History
Ashley Houston, Neil Mahl, and Patrick Dai founded Qtum (pronounced Quantum) in 2016. The project raised $15.6 million in an ICO in 2017 before launching its mainnet in September of that year. The primary idea behind the Qtum network is to combine elements of the ETH and BTC networks. The team combined Bitcoin’s unspent transaction output (UTXO) model with Ethereum’s smart contract capabilities, leveraging both chains’ upstream benefits.
How does Qtum work?
There are 4 significant aspects to the Qtum network:
1. A UTXO model for accounting.
2. A Solidity smart contract platform.
3. An Account Abstraction Layer.
4. A Proof of Stake consensus mechanism.
To create this mix, Qtum used a modified Bitcoin Core client software to complete their network’s transaction base. The network also supports the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and employs Solidity as its coding language. This means that code and DeFi (Decentralized Finance) projects from ETH can be easily ported to Qtum. Furthermore, its unique Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism has been designed to address critical security issues.
What is a UTXO?
Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs) are a common concept in the crypto world. Some networks divide crypto transactions into outputs and inputs. To send 1 BTC, for example, you must use UTXOs as inputs and then “send” as an output. These UTXOs are then marked as spent, and the output is transformed into a new UTXO.
What is Proof of Stake?
Qtum’s custom consensus mechanism is Mutualized Proof of Stake. The Qtum team created it to increase the cost of junk contract spam attacks. The mechanism distributes block rewards among block-producing nodes while also delaying payment. Each reward is distributed evenly among the successful validator and the previous nine successful validators. A portion of the rewards will also be held back for 500 blocks. This system makes calculating the exact rewards from a potential attack difficult for attackers.
What is offline staking?
Qtum will launch a new offline staking mechanism for QTUM holders in August 2020. You only need to provide your wallet address rather than give up custody of your QTUM tokens. Your coins remain in your wallet and are available for spending or delegates at any time. There are two actors in the consensus mechanism: Super Stakers (validators) and delegators. Delegators send their wallet address to a Super Staker via a smart contract.
The delegator agrees to pay a fee, and the Super Staker can accept or decline the delegation. The delegator’s UTXOs can then be staked by the Super Staker. If a Super Staker validates a block successfully, they will split the reward with their delegators and charge a fee.
Conclusion
Qtum’s blockchain is quite unique. In this way, Proof of Work (PoW) problems is resolved by implementing a Proof of Stake (PoS) system with upgrades. The Qtum blockchain platform, unlike many others in the ecosystem, has taken successful features from previous blockchain platforms
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