Which government? The UN?

A very quick update.

Unfortunately, the dev I hired to do some work on the mobile app earlier this year wasn't up to the job. Crypto development is no joke. Very few people are really capable. Not the best news to give you guys, I know (I've been hesitating giving the bad news). And I've, once again, moved home. The builders have been in for a month getting the place ready. The move process has been going on since the beginning of the year. I'm hunkered down in a single room (on an airbed) with no real amenities and I still need a new Linux box with enough power to handle the work required. I can now understand ICO for sure but that will not happen here.

I've been in touch with a few well known independent devs but at the moment they're implementing updates in other cryptos. DASH is ring-fencing a lot of devs out there!

This is not entirely a bad thing. It allows me to take a helicopter view of what's going on before rushing in. There's been a lot of development in crypto over the last few months. When things settle I will be getting someone to take a good hard look at the base code. The code is at v2.1.0.3. I want to take a look at what can be implemented in KOBO without requiring a hard fork. This should mean new wallets at some point. I want updates to the code to bring it up to v2.2. With the delay I can check which developments mean something future-proof and which ones are fluff and unnecessary.

I want to add some features that you've probably all been reading about in some other cryptos. I need to make sure they'll work with X15 PoS. The main thing is implementing an instant send feature (if possible). I also want to see if it is possible to get KOBO onto BlockNet. I want KOBO to be part of an Internet of Blockchains. I think it's necessary for the future.

I'm very relieved to see good trading volume since I got us onto Cryptopia. Yobit was a brutal bottleneck to trading progress and people still have KOBO stuck there. Just look at the difference now. With the current volume I think we might have a benefactor somewhere. They might have teeth though. We could be being used for PnD right now, but I'll take the current gradual increase in trading volume with no complaints!

As in the past, when the updates start it will happen relatively quickly with lots of updates, so don't lose hope. Your patience will be rewarded.

As ever, KOBO's reputation is spreading to the right areas and we've dragged ourselves out of the abyss. I've even been offered positions with some new projects but stupidly I've turned them down. I'd rather devote my time to KOBO's future. We have a mature blockchain that needs to be brought right up to date and cleaned up for the future, and it will be. Same with the infrastructure behind it.

Anyways, I'm sure you're all smiling and looking at Lambo brochures with the recent rises in crypto so I'll leave you all to get back to those green figures!

Glad to hear it

I hope you're ready for long nights

There is a method but it's not documented for Kobocoin. Use the following Litecoin instructions as a guide:
https://www.lurkmore.com/view/Compiling_the_Litecoin_daemon_from_source_on_Debian

Compiling the daemon is generally the same for most altcoins. Download the source code from https://bitbucket.org/TheTribesman/kobocoin

I understand your frustration. Have you tried with the node list I posted above? I will update the OP.

Yes it will. Mine are running on 14.04.

Try these:

addnode=144.76.71.141
addnode=184.164.129.202
addnode=188.134.72.213
addnode=188.163.104.108
addnode=188.163.105.160
addnode=212.7.208.116
addnode=217.175.119.125
addnode=222.42.14.4
addnode=222.42.14.42
addnode=24.60.193.40
addnode=31.185.246.115
addnode=73.8.92.80
addnode=80.192.5.209
addnode=82.229.201.131

As an aside, the Yobit guys have said they will resolve the wallet issues. I also have some KOBO on Yobit which has been tied up for almost a year now. If you're also in the same unfortunate position as me please be patient. It will be resolved.

Yes, I'm very happy that we now have somewhere to trade. It's such a relief. I'll be even happier when you guys all start making some profits. You deserve it.

Your support and encouragement has been absolutely awesome.

And I am eternally grateful for all the 'old timers'!

Very good to see sustained volume for KOBO is now on Cryptopia

 

I'm in the middle of moving home so bear with me on the delays

Good job

What's the issue you're experiencing?

Meanwhile Kobocoin (KOBO), now battle hardened after two years in the industry, a proper crypto built specifically for mobile phone usage in Sub-Saharan Africa (and it's a green X15 PoS currency) goes completely ignored. People seem to run miles just to get scammed by TBC. I'll never understand it.

I guess the world always loves a badbwoy!

We've proved our staying power and been battle hardened in the most brutal capitalist industry on the planet. No ICO, no premine, no instamine, no allegations of wrongdoing, no forks (soft or hard), the network still running, our JS library built, we're IoT ready, and our mobile wallets are still syncing (after many late nights suffering!). Our problems with Yobit withdrawal continue. If anyone knows how to contact the team directly then please let me know. It's been almost a year now and trollbox support attempts aren't working. I will consider a nice reward for anyone who can get Yobit to sort out the withdrawal issue.

The Future

For KOBO, the future is mobile. The desktop wallets will be also be updated but right now the mobile wallets need to give new crypto/kobo users more information and services other than just the wallet function itself.

I've found a developer who's already started working on the new wallet features. He's an Android/iOS developer (not crypto - so no blockchain updates... yet). The following features will be added over the next few weeks.

1. PIN Entry System (on startup or app lockout) - In progress
To include app lock after 60s non-activity

2. KOBO/BTC Markets Page
Consisting of:
   - KOBO price
   - BTC price
   - KOBO/BTC price (average)- This can be expanded later to include LTC/DOGE/XMR
   - KOBO/BTC price (individual exchanges)
   
3. General Crypto Markets Page
Page based on CoinMarketcap API's of top 10 (or 20, or even 30).
   
4. Newsfeed Page
With the following news categories being pulled into the page. These could be individual categories or just the top 20 items based on the categories listed below. I considered having individual sources being listed and selectable but I'm not sure it's necessary right now. It's can come at a later date if the demand is there.
   - Crypto News
   - Fintech News
   - Africa News
   - World News
   
5. Core Wallet Features
   - Sweep Paper Wallet - Very very important. People need this to add KOBO they buy from agents to their wallet so it's as easy as adding phone credit.
   - There is an existing issue where attempting to label an address (incoming transactions) causes the app to crash (I already created an updated WalletActivity.java that just needs to be implemented).

6. Possible Future Developments
   - Services Marketplace where KOBO / BTC / LTC / XMR / DOGE is accepted
   - African based crypto noticeboard where early adopters (businesses only) can get their message out. They will hopefully be converted to long-term platform advertisers
   - Your Ideas invited

At the moment I'm not trying to link the wallet and newsfeed via code. That can come later based on wallet usage or how things progress in general. And of course, I will be asking about porting the app to iOS

The aim is to build a compelling mobile wallet that people (not just kobo users) will consider downloading. I'd like prospective business partners to view the wallet as an advertising platform as well as crypto wallet. I'd also like to think that there's a way to require all partners/advertisers/prospects to pay in KOBO for all services (advertising, sponsorship, listings etc). Crazy as it sounds, I'm hoping this requirement will help with exchange volumes.

This is the MVP (Minimum Viable Product). It's going to cost me quite a bit to get it built but if the demand is there (after the work is completed) then I'll consider getting a business plan drawn up and go for some proper funding to really build up the wallet services. Once the above work is complete I'll also commission professional marketing shots of the mobile app so it can be advertised to a wider audience.

Some prospective partners in Kenya, Nigeria, and the USA are looking into if/home they can use kobo in their payment offerings (this still includes Bitsoko - that collaboration is not dead yet, it's just moving very slowly). I've had discussions on how kobo can work for them (as opposed to bitcoin). One prospective partner even asked if they needed to buy mining equipment. I explained the difference between PoW and PoS which they liked, but once again, no matter how good things get I always remember that our exchange volumes are not the greatest. At this point it's our achilles heel.

My biggest concern at this time is the Yobit withdrawal issue. I hate to think that new users are going to Yobit to trade BTC for KOBO and then finding out they can't withdraw the KOBO. That's the biggest downfall at this time. I've been constantly contacting Yobit but I just cannot seem to get them to move on this. Maybe I should offer them some BTC. That normally wakes people up.

Any further ideas for the wallets? All advice appreciated (other than the expected BCT "why don't you just die already" advice which I still won't be taking). Please try to keep ideas to things that can be achieved without the intervention/interaction of others (e.g. advising me to go and get the biggest online retailer in Africa to accept KOBO is not realistic right now). Service offerings are what's possible at this time.

tl;dr?
Two years on, KOBO is still alive

 

There are plans to expand the mobile wallet offering into iOS. The issue is just time and money. I need a new dev environment (I'm sick of pointing a fan at my old workhorse so it doesn't crash when compiling!).

I think mobile is the way to go right now. Kobo is a straight up digital currency and I need to make sure that people can carry kobo with them wherever they go. That's the main way forward for kobo right now. I'm watching all developments in the crypto space to see what will add value. The first thing I want to add is pin-to-send, or pin-to-login-to-the-mobile-wallet-app (just like other mobile banking apps which is easier - it's just a wrapper).

I will be looking at developments that help with transaction speed and capacity. At the moment I don't see any developments that take the main mobile focus forward. If funds become available I'd like to commission a brand new mobile wallet that's secure and resilient and with a lot more features than currently available.

Thanks. The plan is to be the multi-denominational digital currency of choice for mobile devices in the largest mobile fintech market on the planet (Sub-Saharan Africa). It always has been right from announcement. The coin parameters were chosen to facilitate this. It's also X15 PoS which new entrants to the industry are saying makes them green. We were green (even check the logo!) before they were even a figment in someone else's imagination.

At the moment there's no real technical development that I can see taking things forward (remember that kobo is on an IoT platform already - ROKOS). If there's a definite benefit to introducing new features on the blockchain then I'll definitely look into it. I also don't want to fork the coin with no real reason for doing so. There's nothing wrong with what kobo is right now. It could be in a better place when it comes to trading and I won't be happy until I see some real volume.

I think external features would be more useful right now. IOS wallet, possibly a 'secure' online wallet, and partnerships with the right companies. These would be very good starts. Introducing tech without a true purpose is not something I want to do right now. The people I've been talking to (programmers, business people, African fintech entrepreneurs) are talking about matching names to addresses for identity verification.

On this forum there's a cold war going on for anonymity. No-one I'm talking to is talking about anonymity like we do here in the forum. I'm not sure anonymity brings anything to kobo right now other than keeping up with trends (which might be the right thing to do - but at the moment I don't see it).

I do agree that just being a 'coin' may not be enough but kobo has a few things already built into the original coin parameters that still serve it's needs (at this time). As people start to use it these small features will become apparent. I've seen coins put out a constant stream of developments just to keep community members happy. Once the developments stop coming in, the coins are dropped like hot cakes and the price crashes. Makes me wonder if it was worth the devs time doing all that work just for a pump/dump opportunity.

My dream/goal/milestone for this year is to get us onto a Chinese exchange. China is making massive investments in Africa right now. A Chinese exchange would be a great fit (as long as we start getting better trading volumes!).

I'd rather use my energy to push kobo's visibility beyond BCT to the people who could make the dream of gaining adoption a reality rather than appeasing people who might only be looking for the next pump/dump opportunity. Progress on that front is slow but we are getting there!

Excuse the essay!
 

Found this on a thread about best coins to invest in. We're mentioned with some very established names there, and the poster didn't get shot down.


 

(KOBO really needs to be on a Chinese exchange. China is investing massively in Africa but kobo's trading volume is all but non-existent right now - no chance just yet)

Thanks

There's a reply to a comment I made on the CBN article (posted as Kobocoin)
http://guardian.ng/news/cbn-bars-banks-from-bitcoin-virtual-currencies/#comment-3114258436

I'm glad people can see the difference between kobo and some of the other players trying to establish themselves in the market. Onecoin in particular. I'm not a fan.

There's only 2 cryptocurrencies for Africa. BTC and KOBO!

Great News!

https://guardian.ng/news/cbn-bars-banks-from-bitcoin-virtual-currencies/

Cryptos are now on the radar of Africa's biggest economy. The Nigerian economy has been sliding since the new government came in. People are now looking for an alternative to their failing currency to hold some value.

It's a good thing KOBO is now on a WORKING exchange like Cryptopia. I've been getting a lot of enquiries recently about Kobocoin and how to acquire them. The difference this time round is that people are asking where they can trade BTC with KOBO. They're not looking for direct cash purchases which I personally feel is a dangerous game to get into. After seeing that news item I'll be pointing everyone to Cryptopia.

We're now 3 weeks away from becoming 2 years old and claiming our place as an established crypto which will bode well for the future. Quite a milestone!