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What is Koinos (KOIN)?
A general purpose blockchain-based decentralized network that allows for free-to-use applications through a “Mana” mechanism that dynamically prices network resources in opportunity cost (not tokens) and allows for free-to-use dApps through Mana “delegation.” Proof-of-burn is implemented as a consensus algorithm to maximize efficiency, decentralization, and provable egalitarianism while thwarting the exchange attack and mitigating spam. Blocks are produced by hashing a private key and the random number output of a verifiable random function (VRF) then dividing by the amount of tokens burned. Like proof-of-work, the longest chain serves as an immutable record of transactions backed by the largest pool of sacrificed capital. The Koinos blockchain framework is used for fork-less upgrades as a result of its modular upgradeability. This creates a free-to-use and truly decentralized general purpose blockchain with a mainstream user experience that maximizes accessibility to end-users, developers, and node operators.
The fourth and final testnet has been up and running for a little while. Wen Mainnet?
Native token distribution will find place on or just after October 31th. We originally planned for mainnet a month after, but since Testnet V4 has been running so smooth, it might even come a bit sooner!
How was Koinos distributed?
To maximize decentralization and provable fairness from the very beginning, the KOIN token was launched in the same manner as Bitcoin; through proof-of-work mining (on Ethereum). The max supply of mineable tokens was 100 million KOIN. When Koinos mainnet goes live, token balances will be initialized using a snapshot of the KOIN ERC-20 and the initial target rate of new token creation will be 2%, but this can be altered in-band by governance (see the Fork-Less Upgradeability and Decentralized Governance sections). The burn component of the consensus algorithm could result in a much lower actual inflation rate and even temporary periods of deflation.
As a result of the novel “Mana” system, the mainnet tokens can be transferred without paying any fee because the Mana contained within them allows the holder to use the network without spending any KOIN. The Mana system makes Koinos the first truly free-to-use blockchain as users do not have to purchase accounts, pay to execute smart contracts, or even acquire KOIN tokens in order to use the blockchain.
Can you tell some more about what Mana is?
Our goal with Koinos is to support decentralized (“Web3”) applications that have a Web2 user experience. In short, dApps must have a delightful user experience and people must be able to begin using them without first having to acquire tokens which is a major barrier to entry. The Mana system is how we accomplish those objectives. We call it “Mana” because the user experience replicates that of the RPG video games so many people are already familiar with.
The basic premise of the Mana system is that every KOIN token is “born” with 1 Mana which can be consumed when a user consumes network resources. Mana is a property of the KOIN token, it is not a token itself. It therefore cannot be bought or sold and cannot acquire its own price distinct from the KOIN token. Users can, however, delegate their Mana to other users, thereby allowing non-token holders to begin using the blockchain while still effectively mitigating spam. That Mana is still tethered to the delegator’s KOIN to ensure the economic sustainability of the system and maximize liquidity for the delegator who can undelegate at-will.
Who build Koinos?
Prior to developing Koinos we were the core developers of Steem (the first fee-less and social blockchain) up until a hostile takeover and exchange attack. After leaving that project, our goal was to build a company that would empower developers to build dApps like Steem and Hive, but on a truly decentralized and fee-less blockchain that would resist the exchange attack. Unfortunately, none of the existing blockchains had the properties we needed. The “fee-less” blockchains were not truly fee-less, requiring that users pay for RAM and/or accounts nor were they truly decentralized as a result of their launch (ICOs) or their consensus algorithm, and often both.
We wanted to take blockchain accessibility to the extreme by enabling, for the first time, free-to-use dApps which would require not only fee-less transactions, but free accounts, free smart contract execution, and network resource delegation. Delivering these capabilities required building an entirely new blockchain from the ground up and executing a provably fair decentralized launch. The end result would be a general purpose blockchain that was not just another Ethereum competitor, but the first genuine alternative to Ethereum.
How does your blockchain handle forks?
When developing Steem we saw firsthand how hard forks are holding back blockchain adoption by creating a major bottleneck in the upgrade process. Mainnet solves this problem through its use of the Koinos blockchain framework which allows any behavior to be added to the blockchain as a smart contract. The fundamental assumption of this framework is that any smart contract can be upgraded by an authorized party. In the case of system logic, the system governance contract has the authority to make a “user smart contract” into a “system smart contract” in-band (no hard fork) that overrides some basic, native implementation. In this way, upgrades to the blockchain’s business logic can be pushed to the p2p network much like an operating system patch with minimal network disruption.
The Koinos blockchain framework is effectively the world’s simplest, fully functional, general purpose blockchain contained within a microservice architecture. The blockchain (i.e. the chain microservice) features natively implemented system calls that contain only the cryptographic functions necessary for constructing a technically true blockchain along with logic for dispatching a node between the native system calls and newer system calls implemented as smart contracts (i.e. WASM implementations) running in the virtual machine. This combination of native implementations and “system smart contracts” form a high-performance, vertically scalable, and upgradeable blockchain “kernel” (the framework) that allows for any behavior to be added to the blockchain without requiring a hard fork.
What languages does the Koinos blockchain support?
Ethereum dramatically expanded the creative space available to developers by allowing them to leverage a single, custom-built, Turing complete programming language; Solidity. Koinos dramatically expands that creative space once again by allowing developers to work in all of the most used Turing complete programming languages, starting with C++ and TypeScript (using AssemblyScript), but with more languages to come. Koinos accomplishes this through the combination of three open source technologies built and maintained by the best teams in the world, all of which have ever-increasing language support. They are: (1) WebAssembly, (2) Protocol Buffers, and (3) the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol.
WebAssembly is used for smart contracts. Protobuf is used for serialization within the node, and AMQP manages communications between microservices which utilize broadcast messages to implement an event-driven paradigm. These technologies make it far easier to implement an SDK for any programming language that all three support; which is practically all of the most used Turing complete programming languages.
