Once identified as a transitory phenomenon, digital currency looks like it inevitably will lead the world out of the current financial system and into the next. As countries around the world crank up their printing presses, central banks are experimenting with digital currency to enable the construction of a new system of finance to allow fast, inexpensive transactions without intermediaries, such a MasterCard or Visa. It has been reported that the majority of central banks are likely to issue their own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the next 6 years. In particular, the Central Bank of China has launched and begun testing its Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) system in the cities of Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu and Xunan. Four state-owned banks will be involved in the issuing of this digital asset: Agricultural Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and China Construction Bank.
This is a far cry from just two years ago, where crypto currencies were described by one US Senator (Brad Sherman) as a “crock”, who went on to say “it allowed a few dozen men to sit in their pyjamas on the couch all day and tell their wives they’re going to be millionaires,” and cryptocurrencies “help terrorists, criminals and tax evaders”. Or, Warren Buffet’s likening of cryptocurrencies to “rat poison”. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world forever and accelerated the necessity of a new system. Digital and Cryptocurrency in 2020 has been firmly cemented in the consciousness of the world population, and one thing is for sure, the financial world will never be the same again.
With adoption of CBDC by world banks, it is expected that leading crypto and blockchain protocols will benefit from their introduction, none more so than the Internet of Service Token (IOST). IOST is a highly scalable, smart contract blockchain network and ecosystem with a full array of systems for the new financial world. It encompasses easy to use accounts and wallets, decentralised applications (dApps), staking, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) and Decentralised Finance (DeFi) systems. It is a developer’s dream, compatible with JavaScript, a coding language used almost exclusively today in web page development. IOST utilises a novel consensus algorithm known as Proof-of-Believability (PoB). PoB is a consensus algorithm developed by IOST, which enables high scalability throughput speeds (tested at up to 8000 tps) while ensuring nodes stay compliant.
IOST can be simply described as:
An ultra-fast, decentralised blockchain network based on the next-generation consensus algorithm “Proof of Believability” (PoB).
One gets the feeling it is just a matter of time for this technologically advanced blockchain to be recognised as the industry leader. It is already a seasoned blockchain who’s main net (Olympus, now at V.3.3.6) launched in quarter 1, 2018, demonstrating a bullet proof protocol, that has now been tried and tested safely with over 100M transactions. It’s team of proven founders, highly educated from prestigious universities such as Princeton University and combining real world experience in companies like Microsoft and Uber, ensures its technology is on the cutting edge.
IOST displays an unwavering sense that it will succeed in it is mission to be the “underlying architecture for online services that meets the security and scalability needs of a decentralised economy”, due to the exceptional team and it’s secure funding, being backed by world-class investors, such as:
Due to the strong private funding from the above investors in 2017, IOST has avoided any government non-compliance, it didn’t have the need to raise funds in a public Initial Coin Offering (ICO). Blockchains that were funded through ICOs have come under major scrutiny recently from regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The “DAO Report” from the SEC on the 25th of July 2017, determined that DAO was an unregistered security, leading to a precedent for ICO’s thereafter. Due to this, many popular blockchains in existence today still have an uncertain future, who’s investors risk making hefty losses, IOST however, is not one of them.
Rather than avoid regulators, IOST has chosen to invest in compliance and regulation, a move that is likely to see major benefits in the near future. A recent benefit has been the listing on the largest compliant exchange in Japan, CoinCheck. IOST was already listed on all major exchanges, having major liquidity for traders, but CoinCheck was a particularly important listing.
This is due to the stringent government compliance requirements for Japanese exchanges. The listing made IOST the 14th compliant token on CoinCheck and the 29th compliant token in the Japanese market. While this was a significant achievement, it pales in comparison to the unique opportunities that exist for IOST, particularly in China and Asia in general.
IOST was first given a unique opportunity in China on the 21st of December 2019. IOST’s Chief Technical Officer Terry Wang, was invited to speak at the inaugural Blockchain Forum, in China’s Great Hall of the people. The Blockchain Forum included China’s state leaders, mayors, trade reps, national strategists and over 400 state-owned and private companies. This led to further invitations by the Chinese government. On the 19th of June 2020, again Terry was invited by the
Chinese Government. This time, the National Archives Administration invited him to lecture on blockchain technology development. The attendees totalled in excess of 350 government staff including Chen Shiju, deputy director of the Central Office and members of the leadership team of the Chinese government’s National Archives Bureau. This was another significant event, given IOST was the first blockchain project invited to lecture to the Chinese Government in this manner.
Heavy scrutiny has been implemented on public decentralized blockchains by the Chinese Government in recent years due to the threat of cryptocurrencies to the monetary sovereignty of the Chinese currency. IOST’s exemplary record in compliance was proven again, by being selected to be included on the Chinese Government’s Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN).
The BSN is a Chinese standardized services provider for decentralized applications. IOST has become a public permissioned consortium chain and paves the way for the people of China to utilize IOST, just one of 24 public chains to be accepted.
Other notable IOST involvement with the Chinese Government are as follows:
- On the 23rd of June 2020, the BSN officially selected IOST’s charity information publicity platform as its officially designated application;
- IOST along with Alipay, was selected as the Outstanding Blockchain Program contributing to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by the Chinese Mobile Communications Association; and
- Currently IOST is ranked third overall in China’s Centre for Information and Industry Development (CCID) cryptocurrency project.
DeFi or decentralised finance is a new buzz word in the Crypto space, and adoption is growing rapidly. The goal of DeFi is to reconstruct the financial system using digital assets. Even though DeFi is growing quite rapidly, the traditional finance sector is a behemoth that is controlled by centrally governed banks and other financial institutions, which is unlikely to change anytime soon. For cryptocurrencies to be successful in the mainstream it is expected that good compliance will be essential. DeFi competes with traditional financial markets by offering benefits when compared to the current system in the following ways:
- Inclusive access globally to financial services;
- Efficient Cross-border payments that are affordable;
- Improved privacy and security;
- Censorship-resistant transactions; and
- Frictionless Transactions.
IOST has many benefits when compared to its competitors. IOST has an ease of use in its design with simple account names and transactions that are exceptionally fast, fractions of second fast. This coupled with free transactions based on its intelligent resource system including igas and iram, makes it a formidable contender in the DeFi space. In 2020, IOST is making its inroads in
the nascent DeFi space and cultivating the growth of its robust DeFi ecosystem through deepened co-operations with emerging DeFi projects, and comprehensive incubation support for potential DeFi products. IOST has created the Noah Oracle Fund bringing the total investment into DeFi, to USD 7 million.
Additionally, IOST provides technical support and recommendation letters to support listings on the finest crypto exchanges in the industry. There is a Utopian notion by Cryptocurrency entrepreneurs that crypto DeFi can re-create traditional financial architecture, outside of regulation by governments and without intermediaries. However, the protection of national interests will always be paramount. The control of money and finance is extremely important to a country, particularly in places like China. It is unlikely that the winner and hence the controller of the new financial system will unlikely be a private cryptocurrency, however there are many opportunities for blockchains who are willing to play ball and comply with government requirements. Like it or not, a new liberal and decentralised financial system is on the horizon, how it plays out depends on many moving parts. IOST’s regulatory prowess and unique relationship with the governments, cannot be understated. IOST certainly has positioned itself to minimise the risk and spread the potential benefits through this brave new world of digital currency transformation.
Article written by: Braddozack