Opening up any crypto trading platform page nowadays, one may be awestruck at the sheer number of coins and projects available to invest in and learn about.

Indeed, at the time of writing, there are about 11,000 different cryptocurrencies available!¹ But how are blockchains associated with coins, and why are coins even needed to exchange data between users of the network? The answer is a complex one, but here’s the gist of it:

There are a litany of cryptocurrencies available on the market²

At its core, blockchain is a secure way to record and share information across a network of computers.

Imagine it as a public database that anyone can access, but no one can alter once an entry is made. Each new entry, or “block,” links to the one before it, creating an unbreakable chain that strengthens as more blocks are added.

Different blockchains use unique protocols to create these blocks, embedding information that ties each block to its predecessor, ensuring the data remains secure and organized.

When a new block is added, it can include a “minted” digital asset—essentially, a newly created item on the blockchain. Users can then exchange these digital assets or even create new ones as the blockchain grows.³

Mining on Bitcoin allows the network to remain secure and free from centralized control ⁴

There are many different types of digital assets possible on blockchains, including crypto assets, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT), central bank digital currencies (CBDC), securities, stablecoins and tokens.⁵

For the sake of this blog we will focus only on cryptocurrencies and the value they provide to blockchains. This branch of blockchain technology is called cryptoeconomics, and it covers a wide breadth of different topics related to cryptocurrencies and the role they play in blockchains.

In essence, in a decentralized, peer-to-peer network, where any actor is corruptible and can act selfishly, there needs to be an incentive structure in place to motivate the majority of the peers to uphold the integrity of the ledger.

Bitcoin was the first to implement such an idea, with its Proof-Of-Work protocol, which rewarded miners for adding valid transaction blocks to the chain, and keeping the system honest.

With cryptoeconomics, Bitcoin created a new kind of trust—one built on math and code instead of legal contracts.⁶

Qortal is another blockchain project where the integrity of the network is maintained by the peers' nodes verifying the transactions that are done over the network. They are rewarded with QORT through verifying the transactions over time, accumulating more rewards the longer they have their nodes running. This is a different protocol than on Bitcoin, and is known as Proof-Of-Time.

However, QORT plays another important part in the decentralized infrastructure known as Qortal. In fact, given that the Qortal motto stands as “rebuilding the internet from the ground up, completely decentralized; a new ecosystem free of any outside control”, it becomes apparent what other purposes the QORT coin can accomplish.⁷

It functions as a currency within the parallel economy found on Qortal, while simultaneously protecting the decentralized and independent nature of the project.

Anybody building a Q-App on Qortal (an application that is decentralized and utilizing the Qortal blockchain to store its data) can accept QORT payments for offering services, selling products, or even crowdfunding new software development within the platform.

Furthermore, anyone running a full node can also “mint” QORT, which means earning a reward for taking part in the consensus process of the blockchain. Anyone can earn QORT merely by providing their node to the growth of the network, and helping secure newly created block.⁸

QORT also serves as a fee mechanism within the ecosystem, allowing anybody to publish Q-Apps, Websites, and even files to the blockchain. The fees serve to maintain the integrity of the blockchain, being paid to the minters for running their nodes.

So one can truly call QORT a “utility” coin, given its multifaceted purpose. This allows it to stand out from many other projects, whose coins do not offer much in terms of intrinsic value.

QORT is not your average Joe coin…⁹

So, why are coins necessary for decentralized networks like Qortal? Well, they are the bulwarks to the network’s decentralized nature, and guarantee its freedom from third-party interference.

Bitcoin was the first mover in showing us you can encourage the majority of people in a blockchain to act honestly through a mining reward structure. Qortal took this a step further by allowing users to also build businesses, apps, and much more on top of the blockchain, and be rewarded for providing value to the users of the chain.

QORT is the backbone of the parallel, decentralized economy that is brewing on Qortal, and which continues to grow every day. It is the epitome of a utility coin, and will continue to grow in value as Qortal’s economy grows as well.

If you’re new to crypto, and this blog was informative for you, it may be time to look into Qortal more closely, by installing the Qortal Browser Extension perhaps, and afterwards obtaining your first QORT coins. Come join a new internet, where blockchain and cryptocurrency are much more than buzzwords!

References

1. Coinbase. (n.d.). Why are there so many cryptocurrencies, and why do we need them? Coinbase. https://www.coinbase.com/en-gb/learn/crypto-basics/why-are-there-so-many-cryptocurrencies-and-why-do-we-need-them

2. Ferrari, J. (2024). Image on 11,000 Cryptocurrencies [Image created using Canva]. Canva.

3. PwC. (n.d.). Understanding cryptocurrency and digital assets. PwC. https://www.pwc.com/us/en/tech-effect/emerging-tech/understanding-cryptocurrency-digital-assets.html

4. The Motley Fool. (n.d.). Financial infographic [Image]. The Motley Fool. https://m.foolcdn.com/media/dubs/images/original_imageshttpsg.foolcdn.comeditorialimag.width-880_8y7ib2T.png

5. Investopedia. (n.d.). Digital asset framework. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/digital-asset-framework.asp

6. Voshmgir, Shermin. Token Economy: How the Web3 reinvents the Internet (Token Economy: How the Web3 reinvents the internet (English original & foreign language translations) Book 1) (p. 45). Token Kitchen. Kindle Edition.

7. Qortal. (n.d.). Qortal 101. Qortal Wiki. https://wiki.qortal.org/doku.php?id=qortal_101

8. Qortal. (n.d.). Minting overview. Qortal Wiki. https://wiki.qortal.org/doku.php?id=minting_overview

9. Ferrari, J. (2024). Image on QORT…Way More Than A Coin! [Image created using Canva]. Canva.

Have you ever come across the term “Web3”, and how it is associated with a brand new internet, and stared at it in confusion, thinking the internet you were currently using to browse your favorite website was definitive, and had no room for improvement?

It’s understandable! The current internet as we know it, also called Web2, is extremely complex, grandiose and has been around since 2004.¹

Its utility and mass adoption has had a profound ripple effect across every human endeavor, from economics, to arts, to engineering and even political governance methods.

But as with every great technological leap, progress and improvement are inevitable, especially when problems with the existing solution become more and more apparent, or worse when they are taken advantage of for the benefit of the few in favour of the many.

The internet has many evolutions since its inception in 1983²

These problems, which can be summarized as a concentration of data in Big Tech companies’ servers, has led many Web3 projects to spring up since 2014, when the term was first coined by Gavin Wood of Ethereum.³

Qortal, which launched in June 2020⁴, was one of these projects, which promised a new way to transfer data, without the need for intermediaries and where users are much more empowered with how their information is used.⁵

Indeed, in Web2, a server hosted by companies like Google Cloud or Amazon Web Services houses the backend code that drives apps. This arrangement concentrates power, allowing these corporations—collectively known as Big Tech—to obstruct access to anyone, or trade users’ sensitive data for cash.⁶

MAMAA (Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Amazon and Alphabet) corporations have a vertiginous grasp of the data on the normal internet⁷

Web3 projects leverage blockchain technology to enable peer-to-peer data transfer between users, without the need for an intermediary. In other words, the need for big centralized servers to serve and deploy data on any network becomes obsolete.

Instead, in the case of Qortal for example, it utilizes a data layer known as the Qortal Data Network (QDN), to store the data being transferred between peers in the network. Instead of placing data directly on the blockchain, which can lead to bloating and decreased performance over time, QDN utilizes the blockchain merely for securing the data. The actual data is stored off-chain, and is both encrypted and divided into chunks while being relayed across peers on the network.⁸

This architectural advantage makes Qortal an attractive alternative to the existing internet, especially given its low transaction fees, and that QDN is completely encrypted and chunked, meaning that the data transmitted from node-to-node is completely encrypted, and unable to be seen at all by any third parties.⁹

There are many reasons to think Qortal is the future of the internet¹⁰

Furthermore, Qortal also boasts its own coin called “QORT” which is used as a cryptocurrency within the decentralized infrastructure. This means that any transaction fees can be used to reward the minters supporting the blockchain. Additionally, Q-App creators can crowdfund their own app ideas directly inside Qortal using an application known as Q-Fund. This is just the tip of the iceberg in regards to the capabilities of the QORT coin.

QORT being an integral part of the Qortal network cements Qortal as a serious contender to the normal internet, given that it would be decoupled from any centralized server, and now from any centralized government fiat currency as well. In other words, it has the potential to transform itself into a complete parallel economy, one far more secure and decentralized to the one found on the current internet.

If reading this article has sparked your curiosity about Qortal, and you want to learn more, the best way to get involved is to dive in directly, and install the Qortal Browser Extension on the Chrome store found here.¹¹ You can also download the open-source code on Github here¹² and load it manually on any Chromium browser of your choice.

If not, join our Discord¹³ or Telegram¹⁴ and start chatting with existing Qortal members directly. We will be glad to welcome you into the community and answer any questions you may have! Dive into a brand new internet with Qortal!

Join the Web3 project that is taking the internet by storm¹⁵

References

1. O'Reilly, T. (2005, September 30). What is Web 2.0: Design patterns and business models for the next generation of software. O'Reilly Media. https://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html

2. Impact Millions. (2023). Group of people in a business setting [Image]. Impact Millions. https://impactmillions.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Group-2-1170x620.webp

3. Deltec Bank & Trust. (2022, July 26). A brief history of Web 3.0. Deltec Bank & Trust. https://www.deltecbank.com/news-and-insights/a-brief-history-of-web-3-0/

4. Qortal. (n.d.). Qortal 101. Qortal Wiki. https://wiki.qortal.org/doku.php?id=qortal_101

5. McKinsey & Company. (n.d.). What is Web3? McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-web3

6. Prestmit. (2023, February 2). How Web3 resolves critical problems in Web2. Prestmit. https://prestmit.io/blog/how-web3-resolves-critical-problems-in-web2

7. Inside Telecom. (2023). The path of big tech and world domination [Image]. Inside Telecom. https://insidetelecom.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/the-path-of-big-tech-and-world-domination-1024x597.jpg

8. Dodgers Design. (2023, August 10). Qortal vs Web3 hosting: A comparative study of decentralized web hosting platforms. Medium. https://medium.com/@dodgersdesign/qortal-vs-web3-hosting-a-comparative-study-of-decentralized-web-hosting-platforms-1131b2a36ae8

9. Qortal. (n.d.). Qortal data network (QDN). Qortal Wiki. https://wiki.qortal.org/doku.php?id=qortal_data_network_qdn

10. Ferrari, J. (2024). Infographic on the Reasons Why Qortal is the Future of the Internet [Image created using Canva]. Canva.

11. https://bit.ly/qortal-chrome-extension

12. https://github.com/Qortal/chrome-extension

13. https://discord.gg/tDkjMDJRgu

14. https://t.me/qortal_official

15. Ferrari, J. (2024). Image on QORT Taking the Internet By Storm [Image created using Canva]. Canva.