Disclaimer: I just bought some QRL yesterday, and I'm writing this because I'm holding long term and I want it to do well!
I noticed QRL on coinmarketcap a few days ago when every crypto was in a slump except for this, which was gaining rapidly. Its name got me curios, since quantum computing is kind of the boogieman of blockchain security. After doing a little research on the tech and the team I decided to put a decent chunk of my crypto funds into QRL, thinking that if this does gain enough traction to hit the top 20 on coinmarketcap, there will be a lot of crypto investers thinking that if it gets big, everyone else is going to want to have a percentage of their portfolio in it as a hedge against advances in quantum computing, and they'll also be thinking it's a good idea to get in ahead of the crowd. This is the kind of project that could really snowball into a huge network effect just due to the problem it's addressing and the focus of its vision, but only if it gets large enough to develop that momentum. Fear of loosing is a much more powerful psychological motivator than the opportunity to gain (that's why insurance is such a huge business), and everyone knows that everyone else is going to want to have at least some degree of quantum security, and that knowledge becomes a powerful motivator to jump in as long as you think it's moving in the right direction.
Here's an interesting thread echoing these thoughts:
http://bullionstacker.com/viewtopic.php?t=28136So now I'm holding QRL. At this point it's still a risky investment, and I was beginning to have doubts about it today, especially since I bought near the current all-time high, but after some digging around I've decided to stick it out and hold most of my QRL for the long term.
I'm just an average crypto-interested guy, certainly not an expert, so I often base my decisions to a large degree on what is happening in the community and what others who are much smarter and more involved than me think, rather than forming a complete understanding of the tech myself. Here are some things that encourage me to hold my position.
I don't understand cryptography and quantum computing well enough to form my own opinion of the QRL tech, so I have to trust what other known quantum cryptography players think (barring any who might feel threatened by QRL). What do other experts think of QRL?
- Two former NSA cryptographers who are actively researching quantum computing cryptography solutions hosted a huge reddit discussion last month, in which they endorsed QRL as an example of "well understood hash-based solutions": and linked to an article about them. Read the first post where they introduce themselves, and then do a search for "Quantum Resistant Ledger":
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/67wsur/we_are_exnsa_cryptomathematicians_working_to_help/They also recommended this video as an intro explanation of quantum computing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrbJYsep45E- Someone pointed out a couple pages ago that SuperNET (creators of Komodo and other crazy blockchain tech) recently bought more than 200 BTC-worth of QRL. Their lead developer JL777 is somewhat legendary in the alt-crypto world, going back to the days when NXT was the only innovative altcoin, and he has a very strong grasp of the crypto-space. He also has a knack for picking winners to invest in, so I like to check up on the SuperNET NAV from time to time (
http://old.supernet.org/nav.php). They got into Stratis, IOTA, ZCash and Waves before they went big. I know he has dabbled in quantum resistant cryptography himself (
http://www.crypto777.com/), so he has enough of a grasp of the field to judge whether QRL's approach is legit. Seeing that they've acquired a decent holding of QRL makes me feel good about my own instincts.
A few things I gleaned from hanging around the QRL slack today:
- It's an active and growing community, the devs are present and responsive, and they know their stuff. They are focusing on tech before promotions, which I like.
- QRL testnet is up and running, with active alpha-testers, and the public testnet will likely launch next week. So this is not just a whitepaper and some promises, it's actually working tech.
- There is a potential partnership in the works, which will likely be announced later next week. I'm just guessing here, but it might be somehow related to the last-minute invitation QRL recieved to attend the exclusive BluYard & Google Quantum AI Labs conference in Munich (Details on the conference here:
https://medium.com/@BlueYard/join-us-on-june-22nd-for-a-quantum-leap-fa7b5aa61cc6).
- The latest word is that the mainnet will launch in late September.
A few more thoughts for people who bought QRL on the rise and are wondering what's holding it back. It's still extremely early, most crypto investors haven't heard of it. It's also still only in alpha testing. I think only traders and people who are actively looking for promising (and risky) new projects in the early stages of development have heard about it. I wish I found out a few days earlier, but I'm not getting out any time soon because I think it has huge potential for growth. It's a great team with tech that seems solid, and a clear vision that tackles a very big fear in the crypto world. It's early days, so it's high risk. Don't invest anything you can't afford to lose. If you have a long-term perspective, it's easier to weather the rocky short-term rollercoaster.
Here are some good articles I found from Peter Waterland about QRL:
Good intro article presenting the need for quantum resistant ledger, and a bit about the cryptography:
https://medium.com/the-quantum-resistant-ledger/blockchain-is-here-to-stay-but-for-how-long-536336a02b03Another good article on why retro-fitting Bitcoin and Etherium with quantum resistant signatures will still likely not be enough to protect the value of the network:
https://medium.com/the-quantum-resistant-ledger/peter-waterland-2deed7bdbf65An article from about how QRL's PoS algorithm is made quantum resistant. I know it's in active development and testing right now, so some details may differ:
https://medium.com/the-quantum-resistant-ledger/seed-investment-strategy-pos-algorithm-updates-3b3854e83a4a
