What you need to know about Komodo cryptocurrency (KMD)

Today, most cryptocurrencies do not constitute any new technology, but merely a modification of another coin. So, at the moment there are an infinite number of Coins, which are a complete copy of Bitcoin. Some altcoins went further and changed or added new features, such as Litecoin, but the technology has not changed significantly. Others, for example, Zcash took the main cryptocurrency code only as a basis, and the key technologies were developed practically from scratch.

Komodo (KMD) is one of the most interesting cryptocurrencies, which is not the usual Zkash fork, but a unique project in which the dPoW (Delayed Proof-of-Work) consensus algorithm was first implemented. Komodo is a decentralized ecosystem that includes a number of innovative tools.

History of creation

Komodo cryptocurrency was created by the developers of another open-source project called Bitcoin Dark. Since the beginning of 2018, Bitcoin Dark support (BTCD) has been discontinued, but holders of this cryptocurrency can exchange their tokens for KMD at the rate of 1 BTCD = 50 KMD. Komodo is a bitcoin dark rebranding of sorts.

Komodo is run by well-known Internet user jl777, who recently changed his nickname and now calls himself James 'JL777' Lee. The coin was released in October 2016. As in most cases, the release of tokens was preceded by an ICO, which lasted a month - from October 15 to November 16, 2016. It turned out to be quite successful, considering that at that time (before the hype of 2017), attracting investments in blockchain projects even in the amount of several million was rare, and raised almost two million dollars ($ 1).

Total created 200 million KMD coins, which were distributed as follows:

• 50% - reward to miners for network maintenance;
• 45% - to investors participating in the ICO;
• 5% are in the company's fund and are intended for future developments and advertising campaigns.

Interestingly, Komodo is only part of a global ecosystem called SuperNET, which was also created by James 'JL777' Lee and launched in the 2014 year. SuperNET is a decentralized platform aimed at providing tools that help make Internet use anonymous and secure. SuperNET itself is designed as a mobile VPN application that allows you to open blocked sites, “cover up” traces of Internet use, establish a secure connection to open WiFi-points. The global SuperNET ecosystem includes:

• Komodo blockchain and KMD cryptocurrency;
• Multicurrency wallet Agama;
• BarterDEX decentralized exchange, embedded in the Agama wallet;
• Iguana codebase, which is part of the Komodo platform.

Interesting fact! Virtually all Komodo tools are named after lizards.

Team

Since Komodo cryptocurrency is anonymous, the development team, just like the support team, does not disclose their personalities.

There is very little information about the developers. The creator of the project is known under the pseudonym James 'JL777' Lee, and the chief technology officer is ca333.

Technology

Delayed proof-of-work

Perhaps the most interesting part of Komodo is a unique consensus algorithm that was developed by the project team from scratch. Delayed Proof-of-Work is a two-tier algorithm, which is a kind of “hybrid” of reaching consensus in two networks at once - directly in Komodo and in the Bitcoin blockchain.

Each level has its own network of nodes (nodes). The consensus in Komodo is achieved in the following way: first, transactions are collected in one pool and verified by normal Komodo nodes, which anyone can become an operator. After this check, transactions are sent to specific nodes for verification in the Bitcoin network. They are called notarial and their number is only 64 node. These nodes are controlled by verified operators, which are selected by several parameters:

• Technical characteristics of the equipment;
• Geolocation of the notary;
• The number of users on the KMD test network;
• Experience and interest in the field of blockchain, mining and cryptocurrency.

As for the equipment, it should meet the following minimum parameters: 64 GB of RAM, 1 TB SSD-drive and a channel with a bandwidth of more than 100 Mb / s.

The principle of achieving consensus on the Komodo network is depicted in the picture below:

Such a system allows for double protection and security. Additional verification in the Bitcoin network allows Komodo to be one of the safest cryptocurrencies, if not the safest. Because in order to crack the Komodo network, it will be necessary to crack Bitcoin, and in the ten years of its existence no one has yet succeeded in doing this.

Jumblr

Jumblr is Komodo's privacy feature, which was developed by the team through the use of one of the Zcash technologies. The principle of operation of Jumblr is that it sends KMD tokens from an open address through a series of non-monitored private addresses, which makes the tokens “invisible” to the address that the user specified. Such a system makes transactions completely anonymous - you cannot track the recipient's address, the sender, or the amount of the payment.

As a base for Jumblr, the zk-SNARK protocol (zero knowledge proof) was used, which is the key technology of the anonymous cryptocurrency Zcash (ZEC). Simply put, the work of zk-SNARK is based on the fact that two computers coexist in the system - a "controller" and a "verifier", which makes it possible with a 100% probability to confirm the presence of the required number of tokens to send a payment on the sender's account without the need to disclose transaction data (address of the sender, recipient, amount). This avoids double spending. You can find more information about zk-SNARK in our article on Zcash Cryptocurrency (ZEC).  

However, in addition to anonymous transactions, Jumblr technology also involves sending regular payments, including without the need to download the blockchain, using the Lite Mode (SPV Mode).

Equihash

Equihash hashing algorithm is another feature borrowed by Komodo from Zcash, in which it was first used. The Equihash hash function is based on “The paradox of birthdays” - one of the basic mathematical laws used to calculate the probability.

The peculiarity of this algorithm is that, unlike SHA-256, for which the speed of performing calculations per unit of time is of decisive importance, for Equihash the indicator of the amount of RAM of the device is important. Thanks to this, engage mining KMD (as a standard node) is possible not only on ASIC devices (Antminer Z9 mini and A9 ZMaster models), but also on AMD or NVIDIA video cards. If you want to learn more about the Equihash algorithm, read our article on cryptocurrency hashing algorithms.

Infrastructure

Purses

The official multi-currency wallet Komodo is called Agama. Currently available desktop version for all major operating systems - Windows, MacOS, Linux. The wallet supports all the basic functions of Komodo, including atomic swaps. Backup of seed-phrase is available. For users who keep their coins on the Komodo Wallet, the developers have provided a nice bonus - a bonus in the amount of 5% per annum of the deposit amount. To do this, you need to make a transaction at least once a year.

At the moment, Agama is at the testing stage, so the developers do not recommend storing large amounts on this wallet. For this, a paper wallet is suitable, which can be downloaded from the official website of the project.

Barterdex

BarterDEX is a decentralized exchange that will be integrated into an Agama wallet in the future. A protocol for sending atomic swaps is integrated into the site, which has already allowed for more than 100 thousands of successful cross-transaction transactions.

The picture below shows a comparison of the capabilities of sending atomic swaps Komodo and other cryptocurrencies:

At the moment, developers regularly carry out work to improve the platform:

• Liquidity multiplier - allows you to simultaneously create several orders for different coins, using the same personal funds for payment;
• Lightweight swaps - Electrum is used for processing, so there is no need to download the entire blockchain to use BarterDEX;
• Decentralized Orders - Orders are created in a decentralized and secure order register.
• Atomic swaps - users can send atomic transactions directly from their wallet.

In addition, BarterDEX provides the opportunity for dICO - decentralized primary offer of coins. So far, the platform holds no more than one dICO at the same time, but in the future, developers plan to develop the platform into a full-fledged platform to launch Dapps.

Pirchany

The platform allows you to create Pyrcheyna - blockchains that can use individual cryptocurrency capabilities or not use them, but simply exist in the Komodo ecosystem. The same applies to various changes and upgrades of the "parent" cryptocurrency - pyrcheyny not required to implement the update.

For example, a user can create his own cryptocurrency, in the ecosystem of which consensus will be achieved according to the Komodo principle. Thus, you can create not a double, but even a triple network protection system, since the newly created cryptocurrency will certify transactions in its own blockchain, in the Komodo and Bitcoin networks.

Advantages and disadvantages

As you can see, Komodo is not just another fork. Therefore, it is quite fair to say that this cryptocurrency has the advantages inherent in not all coins:

• High level of security - the use of a two-tier transaction verification system provides a level of network reliability and security that none of the other cryptocurrencies have.
• Atomic swaps - the ability to send cross-transaction transactions is one of the “trends” at this stage in the development of cryptocurrencies.
• Anonymity and confidentiality - thanks to the use of the zk-SNARK protocol in Komodo, it is possible to send both regular and encrypted transactions that do not reveal the data of the sender and recipient.
• Innovative solutions - Komodo developers were the first to suggest decentralized ICOs, which are anonymous and more secure than traditional primary coin offerings. Also, users can create their own pyrcheyna based on Komodo.
• High speed network - Komodo network is fast and productive, even with a fairly high load. Some explain this by the fact that the cryptocurrency is still young, and the network is not yet very busy.

In technical terms, the project is fine, but KMD cryptocurrency is not very popular, and one of the main reasons is poor marketing promotion. The team pays little attention to brand promotion and community expansion.

In addition, the developers want to develop the project in several directions at once: ICO, atomic swaps, and the creation of anonymous and cheap cryptocurrency. However, given the small team and not as serious financial opportunities as other cryptocurrencies, the big question arises, will everything be implemented in the best possible way? We'll see.

Cooperation

Komodo is a fairly new cryptocurrency, so the list of partners is not long yet:

• SuperNET - the ecosystem was developed back in 2014, and Komodo, which emerged in 2016, was conceived as one of its parts.
• The University of Texas is an educational project, under which the Komodo Foundation will sponsor the blockchain course, as well as provide funds for issuing scholarships to the best students of the University.
• EduBlock is a project that involves the creation of a blockchain that unites Puerto Rico universities in one network. Komodo also sponsored scholarships and cash prizes for the most successful students.
• ValueNet Capital is one of the famous Chinese venture capital funds. The focus will be on dICO. ValueNet Capital will conduct a risk assessment and provide Komodo strategic consulting services.
• Bitnation is a startup that proposes the creation of decentralized nations and states with the provision of all standard public services, such as legalization of documents, marriage registration, etc. The project was the first organizer of dICO on the Komodo platform.
• Monaize is the first decentralized platform providing KYB (Know Your Business) services. Companies and individuals can register an existing business in five minutes using a regular smartphone. Monaize was supposed to be the first project that would have spent dICO on Komodo platform in the fall of 2017. However, the launch of dICO was postponed to October 2018 of the year (the sale of tokens will continue until the end of March 2019 of the year).

Course and capitalization. Where can one buy

At the time of this writing (end of October 2018), the cost of one KMD coin is $ 1,37, and the capitalization is a little more than $ 151,45 million. In the Coinmarketcap Komodo (KMD) rating, it takes the 50 place.

The chart and capitalization of the coin from the beginning of 2018 of the year looks like this:

The maximum price of Komodo for all its existence was $ 11,61 - like most other cryptocurrencies, its maximum price KMD cost in January 2018, when all the coins rose sharply. Now the cost has fallen almost 8,5 times compared to the peak winter price in winter.

Komodo is a relatively new cryptocurrency, so you can not buy it on all exchanges. However, the coins won the trust of the community, so it was added to popular and reliable exchanges such as Binance, Upbit, Bitrex, HitBTC. You can buy KMD exclusively for the popular cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, and for steylbcoin USDT.

At the moment, the storage of coins and sending transactions KMD supports only the official wallet Komodo Wallet (Agama). However, the developers themselves recommend large amounts to be kept on a paper wallet, also developed by the Komodo team. You can also use a hardware wallet Ledger.

Development prospects

Komodo was born relatively recently, but the team has already managed to prove the seriousness of their intentions. Developers are constantly improving their products and implement the latest “trend” blockchain development.

One of the main directions of development of Komodo is dICO. This, in particular, is indicated by the prisoners of cooperation and the technical “roadmap” of the project. So, in the coming year, developers plan to pay attention to adapting products for mobile devices. The decentralized exchange and wallet, which will be used for decentralized trading and launching dICO, is waiting for the introduction of useful tools such as APIs and bots for trading.

In addition, some startups are already interested in the new feature offered by Komodo. So, the BitNations project successfully completed dICO, collecting almost $ 1,4 million, and another startup called Monaize started dICO with October October 1. At the moment, the platform has limitations in the form of the ability to carry out only one dICO at a time, but in the near future, the developers promise to expand the capabilities of the site.

Also, Komodo management is thinking about the future of the blockchain, donating funds to develop training courses and scholarships, thereby encouraging future professionals to work for the “decentralized Internet”.

So far, cryptocurrency in popularity is much inferior to other coins, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, DASH or Monero, but the Komodo team clearly follows the Roadmap and is constantly improving its creation. It is difficult to say how far Komodo will progress, however, we can already say with confidence that the project offers a number of original technological solutions. But whether they will be in demand by the market, time will tell.