[ANN] e-Peso: the government-backed currency for the Philippines (launch 30-oct)

[naplam]

UPDATE: launch cancelled

re-quoting so it's visible

Shurugwi, in the aspects you've mentioned it's no different than other altcoins or Bitcoin itself. Placing the premine in escrow makes no sense, it has to be distributed according to our plan anyway (see how placing a premine in Moolah's hands worked out for Syscoin by the way...). And I've demonstrated I'm trustworthy with Spaincoin before and I wouldn't be taking any of the premine for myself.

Anyway, it doesn't matter any more because I'm cancelling the launch of this currency. With the lackluster support from the community and the lack of understanding about cryptocurrencies from the Ph govt, it's really not worth my time. I'd rather launch a cryptocurrency with some innovative features (you had a point there) and I do have a couple of good ideas I'll eventually execute.

________________________________

e-Peso
The government-backed electronic currency for the Philippines

e-Peso is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency made according to the specifications set by the Philippine House Bill 4914.

What currently exists in the Philippines is a patchwork of methods using traditional
 credit systems, which act in place of money on the Internet.
The E-peso will be the electronic equivalent to the paper peso.

See on Philstar: http://www.philstar.com/business/2014/10/05/1376516/solon-pushes-e-peso-act

We are launching this cryptocurrency so that the Republic of the Philippines can adopt a stable and robust cryptocurrency without having to start from scratch. We're ready to work with them when they decide to adopt it officially and enforce parity with the Philippine peso. This is advantageous to them as we'll bring promotion among crypto enthusiasts and investment into the currency thus making it easier for the Philippines to adopt it.


Websites: the ePeso web is online now!
http://epeso.co
http://e-peso.org

Links / social networks:
Twitter: @electronicpeso


Downloads:
To be announced at launch (30th october 2014)


Specifications:

Proof of Work algorithm: SHA256
Total coins: ~1 billion
Block target: 1.5 minutes (90 seconds)
Difficulty adjustment: every block (DigiShield)
Block reward halving every ~4 months (non-linear, recalculated every block to avoid big jumps in block reward)
All coins will have been mined after 2 years
Mined coins mature in 120 blocks
Premine: 15% to be distributed among Philippines citizens
When the Republic of the Philippines adopts the currency, the specifications can be altered to suit their needs.

Pools:

• To be announced

Exchanges:

• To be announced

Services:
There will be a block explorer and more services at launch


Contact:
If you want to collaborate send us a tweet or private message here on the forum
Twitter: @electronicpeso
IRC: #epeso on Freenode

We're looking for merchants interested in accepting e-Peso! get in contact with us if you want to accept it after launch.


Cheers!

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[totoy]

didn't even ask me to do escrow. pfft. fake.

[flapman1]

Be careful, this isn't official, read this carefully: "We're ready to work with them when they decide to adopt it officially and enforce parity with the Philippine peso." This looks to be another Mazzacoin, it seems official but it really isn't at all.  

It seems like the Philippines passed a law to set-up an official e-currency but hasn't implemented anything.  Someone somewhere found out about this and hopes via some miracle to be the coin the Philippines uses as the e-currency.  

They don't understand the Philippines at all, obviously.  A giant contract like this would go to a business group controlled by one of the 4 or 5 leading families who basically own 90% of the bloody country and all married to each other and never to random fellows on Bitcointalk .  Outsiders haven't a chance at a look in.

[tagbond]

There was no law passed, it was just a bill proposed to try and introduce the E-Peso, which like many bills go absolutely nowhere.

The fact that someone anonymous wants to create this, with no clear indication of how it will be given out to Philippines citizens, and that mining can take place by anyone, will push this into oblivion. There is no way that the government would take it over when there is no clear path of where the coins were made or distributed. That's aside from the fact that the BSP have no regulations at all for crypto currency, but if this is abused, it may push the government into putting more controls and regulations in place that may impact on the future of Bitcoin and crypto currency in general. You can also be assured that the Bitcoin community already established in the Philippines will squash this in many different ways.

To do this successfully, you need stakeholders to support it from the start ie: BSP, banks and and a large community of merchants.

If this is to go anywhere, transparency is needed. Who is behind this (with real names and organization), how much backing there is, how much premine / instamine if any, and how exactly are coins given to the people, with ways to track that.

So, to the OP - who are you and what is your background in finance, business etc? It appears you are not even based in the Philippines and operate a P2P mining pool, which of course you can use to mine any coin you launch. This sounds like an opportunistic stab at taking advantage of the bill proposed here. At the moment, this is a coin that I would treat with extreme suspicion.

However, if you change the algo to a totally premined coin, with only PoS mining to keep it stable (a la Blackcoin), with a clear method of giving it ALL away to Philippines residents, and total transparency as to where the coins go, then I might support it. I am based here in Philippines, own various companies, including one that is a Paypal / Gcash competitor, and we talk with the BSP quite often. If you want this to go anywhere, do it properly. If not, then you will be damaging the future acceptance of crypto currency in the Philippines.

[tagbond]

You cannot have a currency that will ever be accepted by government if it is available for just anyone to mine. It's like giving people the ability to print money with no controls in place. So therefore the BSP will never adopt or countenance support of it.

Unless the OP has a network of contacts here in the Philippines, then how are the merchants going to be persuaded to use it?..You need face to face meetings with them, with a sales force in place. I know, because I have already gone through the process with TAGcoin. It's an uphill slog.

And who cares about the miners in this case? It should be supported by the people who will CPU mine it using their wallets for a return that is not above what the banks locally give as interest. It then becomes the people's currency and will enjoy much more success.

[idol]

yes philippine government don't have any money or own coders

so they need you to make it on BCT

[forever21]

subaybayan ang susunod na kabanata at ang nalalapit na bagong pagkakaabalahan ng pulitiko   

[Dabs]

didn't even ask me to do escrow. pfft. fake.

[erwin45]

  you sure this is a government backed?this is a good news to cryptocurrency tho, but 15% premine is too large

[tagbond]

No..of course it is not government backed, this is a pipe dream to even think they would back it..:-) - Sounds like the usual pump and dump scam coin.

@Dabs - think someone in the Philippines should create something that would be a bit more real?..:-)... Be interesting to see how escrow would be handled in this case..

@Forever21 - There are very few politicians who know what crypto is or how it works, they usually have more interesting ways to make real money..

[naplam]

Asked by Dabs to post this here as well as Philippines area:
If the BSP don't work on the epeso I idea, I might do it anyway, just as an experiment to see if it can be done - These are the general ideas:

So now you think it's a pipe dream? hmmm didn't sound that way when you posted that a few days ago! Anyway, you're welcome to make suggestions and colaborate with ePeso.

[naplam]

you sure this is a government backed?this is a good news to cryptocurrency tho, but 15% premine is too large

Not government-backed YET, but the hope is that it will ease the government's effort greatly to introduce a cryptocurrency in the Philippines. The House has expressed their interest in creating a Bitcoin-like electronic currency for the Philippines but they seem not to have the expertise. The pre-mine is a way to make sure coins go to merchants and users and not just miners, in a fair way.

[naplam]

And who cares about the miners in this case? It should be supported by the people who will CPU mine it using their wallets for a return that is not above what the banks locally give as interest. It then becomes the people's currency and will enjoy much more success.

A CPU coin is mined by crooks who own botnets. There is simply no way for the little guy to mine them competitively.

[naplam]

(...)
The fact that someone anonymous wants to create this, with no clear indication of how(...)

ePeso has just been announced... you'll have more details in due time. The official website will be up next week.

So, to the OP - who are you and what is your background

I'm a software engineer. Some recent cryptocurrency-related experience: I've run some pools (CrunchPool currently), I helped patch stratum for maxcoin, I helped patch NewYork coin and I created a block explorer for it. I've also created and maintained SpainCoin.

However, if you change the algo to a totally premined coin, with only PoS mining to keep it stable (a la Blackcoin), with a clear method of giving it ALL away to Philippines residents, and total transparency as to where the coins go, then I might support it.

What? now calling for a 100% premine?? PoS is not secure in its current form as implemented in the many PoS coins in existance. Among other things,it needs constant checkpointing to prevent attacks. That's why the ePeso won't be a premined PoS coin.

[forever21]

you sure about this bro??? 

[totoy]

[mcin5174]

(...)
The fact that someone anonymous wants to create this, with no clear indication of how(...)

ePeso has just been announced... you'll have more details in due time. The official website will be up next week.

So, to the OP - who are you and what is your background

I'm a software engineer. Some recent cryptocurrency-related experience: I've run some pools (CrunchPool currently), I helped patch stratum for maxcoin, I helped patch NewYork coin and I created a block explorer for it. I've also created and maintained SpainCoin.

However, if you change the algo to a totally premined coin, with only PoS mining to keep it stable (a la Blackcoin), with a clear method of giving it ALL away to Philippines residents, and total transparency as to where the coins go, then I might support it.

What? now calling for a 100% premine?? PoS is not secure in its current form as implemented in the many PoS coins in existance. Among other things,it needs constant checkpointing to prevent attacks. That's why the ePeso won't be a premined PoS coin.

Seriously? They, the PI Govt, are either going to create their own or use Counterparty. This "E-PESO" project was contracted out over a year ago by USAID. Google it. That contract specification is everything you would expect from a Government entity, out of touch, with old data and hopelessly and needlessly complex. Eventually the PI Govt will either use just BTC or go with a tokenized system they can control completely until they can make the transition to BTC. This coin of yours is not going to fly. Try the Ecuador Sucre that is about to be launched next month. The E-peso you have is DOA.

[tagbond]

@Naplam - If I thought PoS on it's own could work, we would have done this already. Too many problems with the technology as you pointed out, although central checkpointing would be done by government anyway as part of government control.

If you lived in the Philippines you would understand how things are here. Have you even talked or communicated with the BSP for their feedback?...Do you know how they feel about crypto currencies in general. What do most people here who are involved with crypto currency think of an E-Peso - do you know, have chatted with or met with the congress lady who put this bill forward, and understand the reasoning why she did so. I don't think you understand any of these issues, and therefore this coin will be like all the other country coins. Good for you to mine, convince some newbies to buy and pump the price, and then eventually to dump and take your profit.

I would love to see an E-Peso, but done the right way, for the good of the people, not for miners outside of the country to make a quick buck. It wouldn't even benefit Filipino miners either, since the power costs here are so expensive. We've already discussed the different ways to create it (hence my postings on the subject), but it's just not worth the hassle technically and economically.

If it gets done at all, it will be on the back of Bitcoin, and centrally controlled as is usual with Central Banks. It won't happen for years, and you can guarantee that they will not even think about using a coin you create. So admit to yourself that this is what it is and don't make people think that it is anyway connected to government backing as you have done at the top of your initial posting. It's false advertising and points you out as an opportunist and scam merchant.

If you lived in the real world, and understand banking rules and regulations, then you would understand the reasons why the central bank would not touch this, and in fact may move to ban the use of this and other crypto in general in the Philippines if it is abused and Filipino citizens are affected in a negative way. None of us here want to see that. Think very carefully about what you are doing.

You have tried this already with SpainCoin and it has not gone anywhere. I see a few pumps and dumps in the history since launch, as well as a premine. I also do financial business in Spain and no one I talk to has ever mentioned it, so what makes you think you can do anything in the Philippines when you are not even based here.

If you really want to go through with it, then skype me and we can talk more about the realities on the ground. If you want to launch something, do it properly and take some time without rushing into it based on a random bill pushed by just one government representative.

[doremi]

well..no need to say too much for this is absolutely 100% fake

[naplam]

Like I said, we're open to suggestions. But naysaying doesn't help anyone and I don't see any valid suggestions here. ePeso will be launched as planned!