Umbrella Cryptocurrencies BetaUniversal Umbrella Symbol: Ʉ
Latin Capital Letter U Bar - Unicode Character (U+0244)
“Innovations in cryptocurrency can come in many forms, only one of them being new algos.”
--Robert Murray - Founder of Umbrella
Umbrella-BTC - TBA
Umbrella-LTC - July 28 15:00 GMT
Umbrella-VTC - TBA
Umbrella-DRK - TBA
Umbrella-BTCTicker Symbol: UBTC
Algorithm: SHA256d
Type: POW
Merge-Mined with: Bitcoin
Total Coins: 2,625,000
Block Reward: 10
Block Time: 600 s
(2)Halving: Proprietary (diaBR/r)
Difficulty Re-target: Every Block
(3)Insured: Yes (CABI)
IPO: None
(1)Preallocation: 2%
CDIC Preallocation: None
Umbrella-LTCTicker Symbol: ULTC
Algorithm: Scrypt
Type: POW
Merge-Mined with: Litecoin
Total Coins: 6,000,000
Block Reward: 10
Block Time: 270 s
(2)Halving: Proprietary (diaBR/r)
Difficulty Re-target: Every Block
(3)Insured: Yes (CABI)
IPO: None
(1)Preallocation: 2%
CDIC Preallocation: None
Umbrella-VTCTicker Symbol: UVTC
Algorithm: Scrypt-Adaptive-N
Type: POW
Merge-Mined with: Vertcoin
Total Coins: 10,500,000
Block Reward: 10
Block Time: 150 s
(2)Halving: Proprietary (diaBR/r)
Difficulty Re-target: Every Block
(3)Insured: Yes (CABI)
IPO: None
(1)Preallocation: 2%
CDIC Preallocation: None
Umbrella-DRKTicker Symbol: UDRK
Algorithm: X11
Type: POW
Merge-Mined with: Darkcoin
Total Coins: 2,750,000
Block Reward: 10
Block Time: 540 s
(2)Halving: Proprietary (diaBR/r)
Difficulty Re-target: Every Block
(3)Insured: Yes (CABI)
IPO: None
(1)Preallocation: 2%
CDIC Preallocation: None
(1) - 1.5% For Development, Giveaways and Promotions. .5% Donation to the CDIC.
(2) - (diaBR/r) = Decreasing Insurance Allocation Block Reward/Rate
(3) - (CABI) = Crypto-Asset Backed Insurance
PRESS RELEASE
UMBRELLA ANNOUNCES A SUITE OF INSURED CRYPTOCURRENCIES
COINS THE TERM “CRYPTSURANCE” FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Umbrella Holdings
Media Contact:
support@umbrella.holdingsWebsites:
http://www.umbrella.holdings •
http://www.cdic.us(Los Angeles, CA - July 15, 2014) Umbrella is proud to unveil the world's first fully insured cryptocurrencies (cryptsurance). Umbrella is a basket of insured cryptocurrencies that are designed to hedge against the loss of its overlying cryptocurrency. A secondary cryptocurrency by nature, Umbrella is designed to be merge-minded alongside each algorithms corresponding industry leader. Umbrella-BTC to Bitcoin, Umbrella-LTC to Litecoin, Umbrella-VTC to Vertcoin, and Umbrella-DRK to Darkcoin. Using the ticker symbols UBTC, ULTC, UVTC, and UDRK, respectively. Additional Umbrella securities will be added once clear leaders emerge for newer algorithms such as SHA3 and X13. Similarly, if a new industry leader emerges for any particular algorithm, we will create new securities around it as well. Since Umbrella are the only cryptocurrencies to be insured and backed by the Cryptocurrency Deposit Insurance Corporation or (CDIC), your currency is safeguarded against theft, hacks, and insolvency on participating exchanges. Umbrella cryptocurrencies are also insured when held in the CDIC’s free cold storage service. This means that you can now safely diversify your assets by allocating a percentage of your portfolio into Umbrella cryptos.
Umbrella solves one of the major problems of owning cryptocurrencies. If your cryptocurrency is lost by an exchange due to a hack or insolvency, your options are extremely limited in recovering your losses. While Umbrella cannot reimburse your loss of the overlying currency, through the CDIC, we can reimburse any loss of Umbrella currencies as incurred by the exchange. For example, holding equal amounts (in value) of Bitcoin and Umbrella-BTC would offer a substantial upgrade in asset protection compared to owning Bitcoin alone. Having asset protection in place by reducing your exposure is a fundamental requirement in today’s financial markets. Wall Street has a variety of ways to deal with risk, from derivatives like options and futures, to more exotic offerings like forwards and swaps. It all comes down to minimizing risk; Umbrella makes this a seamless process. While Umbrella does not solve all the problems plaguing today’s cryptocurrencies or exchanges, we offer something no other cryptocurrency can, which is peace of mind.
Working with the CDIC, a portion of each block reward is allocated into an insurance fund and held as collateral for claims. These amounts will halve at certain points based on implied risk. Participating exchanges will receive a seal of approval guaranteeing that your Umbrella holdings are fully insured. While we cannot fully comment on the CDIC’s approval process or policies, we do know that the exchange must provide proof of liabilities and pass a series of penetration tests before being insured. This ensures that the exchange is doing its job, and reassures its customers that it’s a safe place to store digital currency. These policies are provided at $0 premium to the exchange due to the unique Crypto-Asset Backed Insurance or (CABI) system devised by the CDIC.
Finally a reason for merged-mining! Currently, most merged-mined coins linked to their larger brethren suffer from high difficulty, which drives down profitability. This makes merged-mining an afterthought in most cases and it’s simply not worth the time or effort. Umbrella changes this model where profitability is no longer the sole reason for mining, but rather insurance becomes the motive. Merged-mining is also green by nature as the work is already being done for the primary coin. In addition to keeping the network secure, merged-mining offers no interruption or loss of hash-rate on the primary coin. In other words, no extra work is needed by the miner other than the initial configuration. You can now mine Bitcoin, Litecoin, Vertcoin, or Darkcoin and it’s corresponding Umbrella currency in parallel. Pool operators can take advantage of this as well, possibly eliminating pool fees in lieu of keeping mined Umbrella cryptos. This would add a layer of protection to the exchange with little modification to its core infrastructure. So the only question remains: Why wouldn't you mine peace of mind alongside your primary coin?
Hedging can’t help us escape the hard reality of the risk-return trade off that is the cryptocurrency markets, but we can limit our exposure through insurance. By definition, Umbrella means any kind of general protection. Umbrella is a currency that is insured and scarce by design, a currency that is designed to be acquired and held like a contract. These properties will lend itself to low volatility and a stable market price. We also believe this winning combination will lead to a good store of value. This will play an important role if the asset ever needs to be sold to offset the loss of another cryptocurrency. In the unregulated world of cryptocurrencies, few tools exist to protect the miners who are the backbone of the industry; we intend to change this.
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How does it work?In a nutshell, Crypto-Asset Backed Insurance or (CABI) is what makes Umbrella possible with no premium required from the exchange or miner. A portion of Umbrellas block reward is automatically allocated into an insurance fund as it is mined. The insurance block reward is set to decrease geometrically, with a (TBD)% reduction rate, every (TBD)# of blocks. The CDIC will use proprietary algorithms to calculate the decreasing insurance allocation block reward/rate or (diaBR/r). A byproduct of reducing the insurance block reward is an increased reward, for standard blocks. One of the models used for calculating the (diaBR/r) is a modified Monte Carlo Method (VaR) or Value-at-Risk measure algorithm. This algorithm factors in the historical data of failed exchanges, the amount of Umbrella holdings per exchange, and it’s distribution on the network. Unlike the Greeks, duration and convexity, or beta, which only pertain to certain asset classes, value-at-risk is general. This generality makes it suitable for our application. These metrics will yield the rate at which insurance block rewards are generated and halved.
The allocated cryptocurrency is then held as collateral by the CDIC for insurance claims. The CDIC fills the role of underwriter, insurer, and escrow. The CDIC will also process and investigate all claims made against cryptocurrency exchanges that hold active policies. Exchanges can apply for free coverage, provided they meet all the
*criteria. Umbrella is considered a beta product until sufficient data is available to complete our metrics and code in the (diaBR/r). Until that time, Umbrella is launching with a 1:1 ratio between standard and Insured block rewards. This will kick-start the insurance fund and pave the way for every miner to reduce his or her exposure to risk. For more information please visit
www.cdic.us.
The CDIC modified Monte Carlo Method (VaR); value-at-risk measure for calculating the (diaBR/r) is specified in three items:
• Historical data for exchange failures and hacks resulting in lost funds.
• Amount of Umbrella holdings per exchange.
• The distribution of Umbrella holdings on the network.
* Exchanges must provide proof of liabilities and pass a series of penetration tests before being insured.
Coming Soon.
Umbrella Website:
http://umbr.la/CryptocurrenciesUmbrella Press Release:
http://umbr.la/p_RCDIC Website:
http://umbr.la/Cryptsurance
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/UmbrellaCryptosFacebook:
https://www.facebook.com/umbrellasecuritiesGoogle+:
http://umbr.la/googlePluS
Umbrella Forums:
http://umbr.la/forumSUmbrella Q&A:
http://umbr.la/QanAReddit:
http://umbr.la/ReDiT
Umbrella-BTC Windows
Macintosh
OSX
Source Code
Umbrella-LTC Linux:
https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/umbrellaholdings/Umbrella-LTC/umbrella-ltc-5.3.5.1-linux64.ziphttps://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/umbrellaholdings/Umbrella-LTC/umbrella-ltc_5.3.5.1.debWindows:
https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/umbrellaholdings/Umbrella-LTC/umbrella-ltc-5.3.5.2-win32.zipOSX:
https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/umbrellaholdings/Umbrella-LTC/Umbrella-LTC-Qt-5.3.6.5.dmg.zipSource:
https://github.com/UmbrellaHoldingsUmbrella-VTC Windows
Macintosh
OSX
Source Code
Umbrella-DRK Windows
Macintosh
OSX
Source Code
rpcuser=user
rpcpassword=password
rpcallowip=127.0.0.1
rpcport=13801
daemon=1
server=1
gen=0
addnode=104.131.135.126
addnode=162.243.240.231
addnode=128.199.148.246
addnode=104.131.135.122
addnode=104.131.227.173
addnode=128.199.148.245
|
Umbrella-LTChttp://give-me-coins.com/http://myriad.p2pool.geek.nz/mergeMine Litecoin/Umbrella/Pesetacoin in parallel. No loss of hash.
Mine Doge and Umbrella-LTC.
http://www.simpledoge.com/http://x11-x13-pool.org/umbrella-ltc/public/index.phphttp://www.flash-mine.com/Merged-Mining Poolhttp://simplemulti.com/https://vert.composedchaos.net
Exchanges with active CDIC policies (Fully Insured):
Exchanges without CDIC policies (Not Insured):
http://umbr.la/ULTCBCE
http://umbr.la/BountY
http://umbr.la/hELPhttp://umbr.la/QanA
Cold storage is provided free of charge by the CDIC. Paper wallets are stored in a class TRTL-30 - 4,875lb safe. Safe is located in a secured undisclosed data center. Get in touch with them for more details, we understand it’s a pretty simple process. You send in your paper wallets (Registered Mail) and they send you a monthly statement. The CDIC prefers if you send in the aluminum BIP38 cards like these:
http://cryptocards.ca/ as they are fire resistant.
http://umbr.la/cldStor
CDIC donations encouraged. BTC: 1D4gSjWgo3Hp1JPuu9RL73gbFW8hopzRHJ
http://umbr.la/pressKIT
I am a compulsive gambler, where are the gambling websites?Sorry, Umbrella cryptos are not meant to be used in this fashion. People may choose to develop these websites, but we will not actively seek out these types of projects. On the flip-side, gambling websites would benefit from Umbrella products as an added layer of protection. We would encourage these types of sites to hold Umbrella as a way to protect it’s customers and self.
Why aren’t we buying our way onto exchanges?Umbrella is not looking to become the next pump and dump alt-coin. We are here to fill a gap in the market that has existed for some time. We will not support buying our way onto any exchange. The CDIC is currently reaching out to a number of exchanges in an effort to make they’re work more transparent. We anticipate exchanges who are onboard to have access to a larger customer base. Coexisting as partners would be beneficial to all.
Where is the IPO?We believe in letting the market determine a securities price (as it should be). No IPO, ever.
Why POW and not POS?Proof of work has stood the test of time. We have always attributed POW coins to being more akin to a commodity. We feel this element is irreplaceable. This was one of the driving forces for our initial involvement in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. With that being said, we have no plans to release a POS coin.
Why release multiple cryptocurrencies, huh?We took notice of the gargantuan amount of hash pointed at Bitcoin, Litecoin, and other popular cryptocurrencies. We were not looking to compete with these giants. We didn’t believe our currency would displace dominant industry leaders with large followings, large cash influx, and entire ecosystems built around them. We had to be honest with ourselves and figure out a way to coexist with them. Coming from a use-case perspective, we knew we had something unique that would bring value to the ecosystem. By taking the secondary, or auxiliary blockchain role, we would allow ourselves to break into a large market with the path of least resistance. By not forcing the miner to sacrifice his hash for Umbrella, we feel we have put ourselves in the best position to succeed. Choosing one leader from each algorithm allows almost anyone access to Umbrella, no matter what they mine.
Why is the term “Hedging” used when referring to Umbrella?Let’s first look at the definition of “hedge”.
(Taken from investopedia.com & investinganswers.com) Hedge: Making an investment to reduce the risk of adverse price movements in an asset. Normally, a hedge consists of taking an offsetting position in a related security, such as a futures contract.
How it is used: Hedging is like buying insurance. It is protection against unforeseen events, but investors usually hope they never have to use it. Consider why almost everyone buys homeowner's insurance. Because the odds of having one’s house destroyed are relatively small, this may seem like a foolish investment. But our homes are very valuable to us and we would be devastated by their loss. Using options to hedge your portfolio essentially does the same thing. Should a stock or portfolio take an unforeseen turn, holding an option opposite of your position will help to limit your losses.Umbrella uses the term to describe a risk management strategy. By owning two different cryptocurrencies; Bitcoin and Umbrella-BTC for example, you are reducing your exposure to risk by diversifying. Umbrella takes this one step further by being a fully insured cryptocurrency, this transfers the remainder of risk to the CDIC. Since Umbrella borrows various methods and strategies from a host of securities, it is hard to classify it as solely insurance.
Example: John owns 1 BTC and an equal amount (in value) of Umbrella-BTC. Bob owns 1 BTC. Both are held on Exchange XYZ. Exchange XYZ fails and declares bankruptcy protection. John opens up a claim to the CDIC and gets his Umbrella-BTC returned to him. John is still out 1 BTC, but not completely wiped out by the exchange collapse. On the other hand, Bob has lost all his money and has no where to turn for help. He posts a sympathy thread on reddit hoping for donations :-(
Why do I need Umbrella?As a community we have embraced autonomous digital currencies and have driven them to great heights. We have enjoyed all the benefits they provide, from decentralization, to a certain amount of anonymity for everyday purchases. The achilles heel is they are only as good as the exchange who holds them. A look at history begins to paint a picture of extreme loss, fraud, and other misuse by these “trusted” exchanges. Exchange fraud and insolvency have all too frequently become common headlines. We want to see Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies flourish, these irresponsible acts are inexcusable as they tarnish the image of something we truly believe in. The miner is almost always in the crosshair and has no where to turn for help. We envision decentralised exchanges helping to solve some of the problems. Other issues will not be solved anytime soon, such as the conversion to fiat. Since fiat is not on a blockchain, we see no way for a complete decentralised exchange.
Enter Umbrella, the merge-minable aspect makes it effortless to mine your own insurance without sacrificing your hash. Move it to a trusted CDIC approved exchange, or offline to the CDIC’s cold storage vault and you are covered, simple as that.
How Can I Get Involved?We are always looking for people to get involved in any way possible. We would like to take this opportunity to start the Umbrella Ambassador Program. We have set aside a portion of pre-allocation funds to compensate these team members. What does an ambassador look like? They are the ones populating our Q&A’s, forums and Sub-Reddit. They are the ones tweeting away helping Umbrella gain traction. They are the bounty hunters and the advocates. Everyone can contribute, we understand people from all walks of life with a host of skillsets subscribe to these forums. PM us for more details. Let’s build something great together!
Much to Do...We have a long road ahead of us. Product development includes a single multi-algo wallet once all Umbrella cryptos are finalized and out of beta. The wallet will include in-app updates and a host of other features. We are also working with the CDIC to insure Umbrella crypto’s while being held locally in their wallet. We are working on several ways to satisfy their security requirements. We have a number of test environments setup that include two factor authentication via a token for the wallet, an Umbrella Linux distro similar to Qubes which would secure the wallet by isolation (Based on a secure bare-metal hypervisor - Xen). Also, we are playing with some facial recognition API’s!
Coming soon.
Thank You!We are happy with our progress thus far. At this point we have thousands of hours invested with no plans on slowing down. Part of the 1.5% pre-allocation is going to fund further development of our products, services, and the Umbrella ambassador program. Stay tuned, and a deep thank you for taking to time to read this (we know it’s a lot).
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