Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin => Development & Technical Discussion => Topic started by: r1s2g3 on October 25, 2018, 12:28:52 AM



Title: What is colored coin in layman terms?
Post by: r1s2g3 on October 25, 2018, 12:28:52 AM

Recently I come across the concept of colored coin.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=347398.0

It says some extra metadata is put in bitcoin blockchain to make it colored. That extra metadata always associated so that it will always be identified.

1. How this extra metadata is introduced?
2. Is it really a useful concept?


Title: Re: What is colored coin in layman terms?
Post by: AdolfinWolf on October 25, 2018, 09:22:18 AM

Recently I come across the concept of colored coin.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=347398.0

It says some extra metadata is put in bitcoin blockchain to make it colored. That extra metadata always associated so that it will always be identified.

1. How this extra metadata is introduced?
2. Is it really a useful concept?

There have been some other threads about this; Might be worth reading.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=214316.0


And:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=106373.0
Quote
By the original design bitcoins are fungible, acting as a neutral medium of exchange. However, by carefully tracking the origin of a given bitcoin, it is possible to “color” a set of coins to distinguish it from the rest. These coins can then have special properties supported by either an issuing agent or a Schelling point, and have value independent of the face value of the underlying bitcoins. Such colored bitcoins can be used for alternative currencies, commodity certificates, smart property, and other financial instruments such as stocks and bonds.
https://github.com/bitcoinx/colored-coin-tools/wiki/colored_coins_intro


Would something like this still work? How exactly do i broadcast this? Using the testnet? Do i need a "color-aware" wallet? -- https://github.com/Colored-Coins/cc-transaction-builder
Do those wallets even exist still?

The entire implementation looks rather depreciated?



2. Is it really a useful concept?
It seems like it could be very useful, if implemented correctly, as explained above, but i haven't seen any projects apart from USDT (or XCPaccording to [1]) worth noting that use(d) colored coins. Perhaps because there are better and easier alternatives available. (such as ERC20?)
[1] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5004218.msg45203731#msg45203731


Title: Re: What is colored coin in layman terms?
Post by: r1s2g3 on October 26, 2018, 02:07:00 AM
Thanks for sharing the links.
Concept is old but does not look popular. I assume it do not have practical usefulness after ETH come into picture with capability of creating tokens.