This could be written on Etherium. Sounds like smart contracts.
Half route name idea... Crescent
Yeah, writing it on Ethereum was one of my thoughts. However, there are some reasons, why I didn't follow this route further:
Ethereum has assets, which are not that different from what I am thinking about. The HUB: tokens have some properties, that Ethereum assets don't have and this would be a way to realize sidechains on Ethereum, without the need to change Ethereums code. So, there may be actually enough advantages to think about this a little more.
However, there is another reason, why I think bitcoin is a better base for this: bitcoin is mainly a value exchange and storage tool, while Ethereum isn’t. Bitcoins worth is not primarily defined by its usability besides its "usability" of being a value tool. This is more a feeling that I have than anything else, but I think it would be good to have some base that is meant to be that, as opposed to a blockchain, that is mainly intended to be a platform.
If it works, the HUB: protocol can be used with just about any cryptocurrency, using bitcoin is just the most… well, logical. People could create implementations for Monero, Zcash or whatever, though.
Using HUB: to enable these cryptocurrencies to utilize smart contracts is one of the main use cases I'm thinking of
This is a real project?
At this point, the honest answer is "no". There are a couple of reasons:
My programming skills are just enough to write a "hello world!" program, so I am not able to write the needed code myself. Neither do I have the funds to pay a programmer.
Since HUB: has no native coins, there is no way to sell something as an ICO and even if there was, I'm getting a little tired of ICOs. I think they are holding back development, actually, because it divides the community. Everybody is working on their own little project, instead of trying to work on a few big projects. I’m not that much better, I guess
I can't really bait anyone with 100x returns or any other kind of direct returns, really. You could argue, that, if this idea takes off, it may further mass adoption of bitcoin, which would ultimately benefit those involved, but I understand that working on a project that can multiply your money looks far more interesting.
I am not yet sure how viable the idea actually is. I think the use cases are there:
- Enabling pretty much any cryptocurrency to have smart contracts
- Fastening transfer times of bitcoin etc.
- delegating transactions to sidechains could remedy maximum transaction problems
- ideally, transactions won't require a fee (not sure about that, yet)
- …I have more, but it's buried in my brain somewhere
But I don't know how to create a sufficient level of security, yet. All ideas I've come up with until now require at least some level of trust (although at least, we are not talking about trust in a single person) or sanctioning of malicious behavior (which implies that malicious behaviour is possible). I’m not totally sure how much of a problem that actually is (philosophically, I have a problem with accepting that we have to create systems that are completely trustless, even if it's the internet). So, there is still a chance, that this thing would just pop like a soap bubble.
Anyway, It's nice to see some people posting here. That's encouraging
Good luck with your project, I think you have a good idea here and should solicit some of the better DEVs on this site.