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The Ultimate Guide to WAVES – Features, Performance, and Tokenomics
As of October 15th, 2021, we have 7.800 existing cryptocurrencies. And, while you’re reading this, more of the surface on the blockchain. In addition, you can discover at least one new, promising project every 24 hours. And, today we look closer at one of these up-and-coming crypto initiatives, Waves.
Read on to discover how this new crypto jumped straight to the 49th position in the market cap hierarchy. Then, find out how it works, if it’s worth the investment, and where to buy WAVES.
What is Waves?
While Waves has entered the spotlight recently, the project has been around since 2016. That’s when Russian physicist Sasha Ivanov launched it as a blockchain platform. His goal was to create a secure and speedy blockchain, even if that would reduce scalability.
Its role is to enable developers to create custom tokens and trade them in its proprietary decentralized exchange, Waves DEX.
Additionally, Waves has a native coin by the same name. Most importantly, WAVES should facilitate various operations on the blockchain. Lastly, similar to Bitcoin, this token has a limited cap supply of 100 million tokens.
Like decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), on Waves, the token holders decide the next steps in development. For instance, they get to say who can add new blocks to the blockchain. Also, token holders determine who receives a commission from the transaction fees.
Alternatively, users can pay on the platform with any cryptocurrency. However, they have to pay the transaction fees in the platform’s tokens.
Lastly, users can become full nodes on the network if they pay 1,000 WAVES. However, they can also lease nodes and mine for tokens if they do not have enough coins. Mining on the platform costs 0.002 tokens.
Features
Waves is a decentralized network with public access, making it fully visible to anyone. It supports peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions peer-to-peer free of third-party involvement.
The blockchain currently allows two types of nodes, full ones and lightweight nodes. The former creates a book-like ledger that keeps the entire history of transactions on the platform. On the other hand, the latter depends on full nodes for transaction confirmations and interactions.
On this blockchain, you can create tokens and store them. For instance, the platform’s wallet allows users to store various tokens and safely exchange them into fiat currencies. Furthermore, it will enable users to include smart contracts in their transactions. This mechanism helps ensure that all transactions are safe and efficient.
Smart Assets
Smart Assets is a feature on Waves using a script named Ride. Through it, users can create a Smart Asset with the help of the Issue Transaction feature.
Anyone can launch their tokens after the process completes, but they have to pay 1 WAVES as a minting fee.
The blockchain uses a variation of the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism to keep the distributed network in sync. In this regard, it uses a WAVES-NG protocol that ensures fast and safe transactions. And, the language it uses is Scala.
The WAVES-NG protocol assigns blocks to specific nodes. It is a hybrid version of the first protocol proposal for Bitcoin and other industry developments. Its primary role is to split the blockchain into micro and key blocks. Miners create these data units through the proof-of-stake mechanism.
The Project in the Market
Waves launched in April 2016 through an Initial Securities Offering (ISO) and raised around $16 million. When trading started, the cryptocurrency’s value itself reached $1.55.
In December 2017, the token’s price jumped to $16.03, only to drop to $4.5 two months later. Finally, the ATH was in May 2021, reaching the cost of $35.9. At the time of writing, it was trading at around $35.
This is one of the few blockchain projects collaborating with Microsoft. Since May 2017, when their contract started, the project used TestNet nodes with Microsoft’s cloud services.
How to Buy Waves?
Anyone can buy WAVES on popular exchanges like Kraken, Binance, Coinbase, KuCoin, Gate.io, etc. Also, they can do so either via BTC/ETH or fiat currencies.
Apart from the options above, you can also use Coinswitch. This is a crypto trading platform with multiple exchange rates that you can select. Lastly, Waves has its platform where you can buy their cryptocurrency.
Where to Store Waves?
Waves provide its proprietary crypto wallet, where one can also store Bitcoin and Ethereum besides WAVES.
How to Create Tokens with Waves?
Creating tokens on Waves is convenient for most users. In addition, the platform provides a feature to create custom tokens for those with minimal technical knowledge.
Here’s how it works:
- Go to exchange or download the WavesLite app.
- Choose the Token Creation option and customize your new token.
- Then, submit your token for minting.
A few things worth remembering include:
- Your token will be tradable on the Waves DEX exchange straight away.
- You require only minimal technical knowledge.
- Token creation can take place without smart contracts.
- Token Monitoring/Maintenance is not necessary.
How does the Waves-NG protocol work?
Waves aims to become a solution for users looking for speedy, cost-effective blockchain operations. To reach its objective, the platform has created the Waves-NG protocol.
This consensus algorithm should complete thousands of transactions per minute, and the technology of Bitcoin-NG inspired it. However, the main difference between those two is that the Waves-NG protocol allows selecting the miner in advance. Additionally, it creates a fundamental block with no extra proof-of-work data. Thanks to that, the platform can confirm transactions much quicker.
Another issue Waves-NG wants to solve is its scalability. The network should reach the highest throughput only depending on its current state while ignoring reduced block intervals.
Is Waves Safe?
The team behind the Waves project has been working hard on preventing any form of cyberattacks. To this day, there was not even a single report of a successful attack on Waves. Furthermore, they are constantly coming up with new features that make the platform more “hack-proof.”
The use of the proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol also plays a big part in Waves’ security. By allowing only full nodes to confirm transactions, the chances of attacks drop significantly.
Waves and Monero have something in common. For instance, they both grew large and loyal communities around them by promising anonymity. Also, both make personal data extraordinarily secure and difficult to hack.
A decentralized exchange will never give your details away to third parties. Also, Bitcoin or Ethereum will require you to work with centralized operations when exchanging. However, Waves keeps your details safe and sound.
How to Restore Lost Tokens?
Users can restore Waves depending on how they lost their tokens.
For example, if the digital wallet received damage, you could restore your tokens by reinstalling the backup. Next, you would have to install a new wallet while using the private keys.
Unfortunately, if you sent WAVES to the wrong address, you wouldn’t be able to get them back.
If you lose your private keys, you can generate new ones. And, you can do so by using the seed phrase you saw when you first opened the wallet.
What Makes People Trust this Project?
Waves has over 200,000 followers on their Twitter accounts and around 60,000 members on Reddit. In total, its users create a strong community supporting an alternative to more popular blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
But why do people choose to invest in Waves?
Top companies have shown their interest in collaborating with this platform. One example is the tech giant Microsoft. Also, Waves has a decentralized exchange. This means that people don’t have to register with personal details to trade.
Furthermore, the platform has a unique ICO offer for businesses. Their network lets you lease your stake and earn tokens without having to send them. Lastly, the proof-of-stake (PoS) model helps to eliminate the danger of split.
WAVES Price Analysis & Prediction
At the time of writing, Waves had a market capitalization of $3,164,882,766. Additionally, it had a circulating supply of 106,442,752.00 WAVES. Lastly, it traded at around $30 and had a 24h trading volume of $130,274,057.
According to its one-year historical data, WAVES may continue to surge long into the following year. Also, as long as Bitcoin and Ethereum surge, projects like it can benefit from extra attention. As a result, it could increase significantly in both value and market capitalization.
Final Thoughts
Waves is a solid blockchain platform with plenty to offer to its users. While it lacks the popularity of Bitcoin or Ethereum, it makes up for it with high-security standards. Further development should see its transaction speed increase significantly. Only time will tell if this network will challenge the market authority of more famous blockchains.