DigiByte is a blockchain ecosystem with a fast cryptocurrency, smart contracts, assets, and dApps. It’s widely available, from having solid points-of-sale options to debit card partners. Proudly the “fastest, longest, and most secure” blockchain combo, it’s 9 years old and 40x faster than Bitcoin. In this interview, we dissect into what truly makes DigiByte significant, especially in an increasingly-homogeneous world of faster-than-BTC blockchains.
Who?
Laura Taylor—Co-Founder & Vice President, DigiByte Alliance
Community members contributed to the responses.
#1. DigiByte is nothing short of a revolutionary project. However, I’d like to know how far have you come in materializing the dream. What are the current adoptions stats and user trends?
DigiByte has been steadily growing its user base and adoption over the years. It has been listed on several cryptocurrency exchanges, and many merchants and businesses have started accepting it as a form of payment; Travala and NowPayments as prime examples. The DigiByte community continues to flourish, even in the midst of a “bear” market. With 238K Twitter followers, our total social engagements grew to 1.03B +13.8% on a 1YR timeframe (LunarCrush).
And the average social contributors grew to 1.3K +45.6% on a 1YR timeframe (LunarCrush). In terms of ownership, we have 286K Addresses holding > 10DGB: This represents an increase of 34.9% or 74K addresses versus March 2020(CoinMetrics). Furthermore, we have accomplished this with zero marketing spent, instead relying on passionate volunteers and industry leaders who support true decentralization.
#2. As DigiByte has 40x faster transactions than Bitcoin and a higher maximum supply than it, it has every ingredient in the book to become a better method of transaction. However, a number of other platforms have tried to improve over the Bitcoin tech, and aren’t close to it even remotely. What does DGB have that’s different from those?
DigiByte is different from other platforms that have tried to improve upon Bitcoin’s technology in several ways. First, DigiByte has a multi-algorithm mining approach, which ensures that the network remains secure and decentralized, even as it scales. This is in contrast to other platforms that rely on a single algorithm or a small number of algorithms, which can be vulnerable to attacks.
Second, DigiByte has a unique and innovative approach to transaction speed and throughput, with the ability to handle up to 560 transactions per second. This is achieved through the implementation of SegWit, a transaction signature optimization that increases block size without increasing the block size limit. This allows for faster transaction processing times while maintaining network security.
DigiByte has a strong and passionate community of developers and supporters, who are committed to advancing the project’s goals and improving the platform. This community-driven approach has led to a number of successful integrations, as well as the creation of innovative applications and services on top of the DigiByte blockchain.
#3. DigiByte is a heavy improvement over Bitcoin, for example, the $3,809 vs. $3,809,523 per person extreme case example. It’s also not funded by an ICO or controlled by any company like so many other coins right now. Though this is great, is it really the best way to go about it? In other words, what I’m trying to ask is that people’s awareness has increased manifold compared to the time when Bitcoin was still picking up, and now people desire to know the team, the company behind, before they place trust in a new coin. Has this hampered DigiByte’s adoption in any way? Or has it proven to be the better approach?
DigiByte’s approach to not being controlled by any company or ICO has actually proven to be a strength in terms of adoption. Decentralization is a core principle of blockchain technology, and DigiByte’s lack of centralized control aligns with this principle. Additionally, the DigiByte community is very active and engaged, with many contributors and supporters working together to develop and promote the project. This has helped to build trust and establish DigiByte as a reliable and trustworthy cryptocurrency.
#4. Tell us about how DigiBye is equipped to handle hash power attacks on the blockchain. What are the decentralization stats?
DigiByte is equipped to handle hash power attacks on the blockchain through its use of five mining algorithms, which provide a high level of security and decentralization. These algorithms are SHA256, Scrypt, Qubit, Skein, and Odocrypt, and they ensure that no single mining pool or entity can dominate the network.
In terms of decentralization stats, DigiByte has a strong track record. The DigiByte blockchain has nodes spread across the world, making it one of the most decentralized networks in the cryptocurrency space. This decentralization makes it much more difficult for any individual or group to launch a successful attack on the network.
Furthermore, DigiByte has a very active community of developers and supporters who work to improve the network and its security measures. The community regularly engages in discussions on issues related to the blockchain’s security and decentralization, and there is a strong commitment to maintaining a decentralized network that is resistant to attacks.
Overall, DigiByte’s use of multiple mining algorithms and its strong community make it well-equipped to handle hash power attacks and maintain a high level of decentralization.
#5. DigiByte was quick to become the fastest PoW blockchain back in 2015 shortly after the research on Bitcoin by STEM and ETH Zurich was published. Where does it stand now, purely in terms of transaction speed? Will it undergo further improvements?
DigiByte continues to be one of the fastest PoW blockchains in the market, with a current transaction speed of 560 transactions per second (TPS). However, the team is constantly working on improving the network’s scalability and throughput. One of the ways they are doing this is by implementing SegWit, which has already been activated on the DigiByte network.
Additionally, the team is also exploring the potential of layer-2 and layer-3 solutions.
#6. In your community info paper, you’ve listed that there’s going to be a fifth hardware for mining apart from ASICs, FPGA, GPU, and CPU. Is it yet to be decided? Are any good options coming up?
DigiByte development team is researching and exploring the possibility of a fifth hardware for mining. However, there is no specific timeline. It’s best to follow official DigiByte channels for updates on DigiByte.
#7. A serious shift to a PoS + PoW is still under scrutiny. Is more security proof required (perhaps waiting until after Eth2) to realize serious PoW within the DigiByte ecosystem? Or is it a lost cause by now?
The DigiByte community is united in their preference for the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which they believe is a more secure and decentralized approach to blockchain technology. The community, including its developers, has decided to continue operating as a purely PoW blockchain in the industry. This decision was made due to the vulnerability of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) systems to various attacks, as well as their less secure and less decentralized structure. The community believes that by sticking with PoW, they can ensure the highest level of security and decentralization for the DigiByte blockchain.
DigiByte has also implemented a multi-algorithm mining system, which makes it more difficult for any one entity to gain control of the network’s hash power. This decentralization of mining power helps to mitigate the risk of 51% attacks.
While there may be ongoing discussions and debates about the merits of PoS versus PoW, it seems that DigiByte is committed to remaining a PoW blockchain for the foreseeable future.
#8. Tell us about DigiAssets. How can users get in on this to start with, and how do these assets solve greater problems?
DigiAssets works on top of the DigiByte blockchain and it’s a protocol that enables the creation, issuance, and management of digital assets. These can be anything from digital currencies, and tokens to identity and ownership certificates, and can be used for a variety of purposes such as crowdfunding, supply chain management, and more.
To get started with DigiAssets, users can first download and set up a DigiAssetX.com wallet that supports the creation and management of assets. Once set up, users can create their own digital asset by defining its properties such as name, total supply, divisibility, and more. Once created, these assets can be auctioned or sold just like any other cryptocurrency.
One of the key advantages of DigiAssets is its focus on security and decentralization. By leveraging the DigiByte blockchain, DigiAssets inherit the same high levels of security and decentralization, making it a secure and reliable platform for managing digital assets.
DigiAssets have the potential to revolutionize the way we think about digital assets, making it easier and more secure to create and manage them. Whether it’s for personal or business use, DigiAssets offer a flexible and customizable platform for managing digital assets with ease.
#9. Follow-up. How are DigiAssets different from NFTs and what additional features do they provide?
DigiAssets and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) share some similarities in that they both use blockchain technology to create unique digital assets. However, there are some key differences between the two.
First, DigiAssets can be both fungible and non-fungible, meaning they can represent both unique assets like NFTs and divisible assets like cryptocurrencies. This makes DigiAssets more versatile for use cases beyond just digital collectibles.
Second, DigiAssets have a higher level of customization options compared to NFTs. With DigiAssets, users can choose to set rules for how the asset can be transferred, who can transfer it, and what conditions must be met for the transfer to take place. This allows for more complex use cases, such as creating vendors that are triggered when certain conditions are met.
DigiAssets provide a more flexible and customizable way to create and manage digital assets on the blockchain. Users can get started with DigiAssets by using the DigiByte core wallet and the DigiAssetX software.
#10. What is Jared Tate’s involvement in the project on a day-to-day basis?
The DigiByte project has been entirely community-driven, with a decentralized team of developers and contributors working on its development and promotion. Jared Tate is still involved with the development of the project, but remember no single individual has control of how the DigiByte network progresses.
#11. An ever-increasing number of applications and companies are using Digi-ID. Tell us more about how it’s useful in the current scenario when authentication and privacy are high priorities.
Digi-ID is a decentralized authentication system built on top of the DigiByte blockchain. It enables users to securely sign into websites, applications, and other services without needing to remember usernames and passwords. Instead, users can authenticate themselves using a signature of their Digi-ID private key, which is stored securely on their own devices.
Digi-ID authentication is done using cryptographic signatures, which makes it nearly impossible for hackers to steal the private key from the one-time credential generated on each login. Another advantage of Digi-ID is its ease of use. Once a user has set up their Digi-ID, they can use it to sign into any website or application that supports the protocol. This eliminates the need to remember multiple usernames and passwords, making the user experience more streamlined and secure.
In terms of current use cases, Digi-ID is being used by a growing number of applications and companies, including DigiAssetX.com and ChangeAngel. It is particularly useful in scenarios where privacy and security are high priorities, such as in financial services and healthcare. With Digi-ID, users can be confident that their personal information and assets are being protected by a secure and decentralized authentication system.
#12. What are some great features or improvements that the developer community is working on as we speak?
There are many projects in the works on the DigiByte Blockchain but the most recent use case is DigiByte Domains. DigiByte Domains is a decentralized domain name system (DNS) built on top of the DigiByte blockchain. It allows users to register a unique domain name (such as “example.dgb”) and associate it with a DigiByte address. This DigiByte address can be used to receive payments or donations from anyone who knows the domain name.
With DigiByte Domains, users can choose to use a Username as their domain name, which makes it easy for others to remember and send payments to. For example, a user could register the domain name “john.dgb” and associate it with their DigiByte address. Then, anyone who wants to send them payments can simply send them to “john.dgb” instead of having to remember or even ask for their DigiByte address.
DigiByte Domains uses the DigiByte blockchain and DigiAssets to ensure that domain names are registered securely and cannot be stolen or tampered with. The domain name is linked to the user’s private key, which means that only they have control over it. This also means that DigiByte Domains can be used for secure and censorship-resistant websites, as domain names cannot be seized or blocked by third parties.