The OPAL team has made another major announcement late last night, as they unveiled their Opacity Suite development roadmap. Plenty of things are currently in development, and I have to admit, there are some very interesting bits in there. But we should also take a look at what the Opacity Suite currently offers, so let’s start there.
Opacity Suite Completed Projects
Opal’s Opacity Suite encompasses several interesting features at this point in time, with more additions to come in the near future. The very first feature developed for Opacity Suite was Encrypted Messaging, called OpacityEM. Because of this feature, users can communicate with each other from their OPAL wallet, using public key encryption to safely transmit their messages and leaving prying eyes none the wiser.
Another interesting feature which was added next to Opacity Suite is the implementation of stealth addresses. A stealth address allows both merchants and individuals to request payments without revealing their payment history or even risk de-anonymization. Originally invented by Peter Todd, stealth addresses are one of the strongest forms of transaction privacy the blockchain has to offer. Plus, it is quite easy to generate a stealth address in your OPAL client, as it only requires checking a button.
Opacity Suite Projects in Development
A more recent project using the Opacity features is the Opal Market, a decentralized online marketplace accepting Opalcoin. Don’t be mistake Opal Market for just another clone of what the OpenBazaar team is doing, as this platform has been coded from scratch. Logging in can be done through OpacityEM , and more features will be added to this platform. Opal Market brings real world value to Opalcoin, and it serves as a nice testbed for future Opacity features.
While there is an existing OPAL Android wallet, which you can download here, and OpacityEM has already been built in, the developers are looking to change things up a bit. Development is currently underway to create an intuitive iMessage style system for OpacityEM, giving users an easy way to access secure communications without prior technological knowledge.
HTML5 wallets for digital currency, and more specifically altcoins, is the logical next step in the evolution of cryptocurrency. Opalcoin will have its very own HTML5 wallet in the near future, which will be much easier to use and look a lot cleaner compared to the QT client. On top of that, HTML5 wallets can be themed according to the user’s liking. All of the current OPAL features will be implemented in the HTML5 wallet.
Opal Drive is another project creating quite a buzz in the altcoin sphere. Cloud storage and cloud file transfers are tools most of us use on a daily basis, but there are some inherent flaws with the way most companies are leaning towards centralizing everything. Opal Drive wants to use the power of the blockchain to decentralize cloud storage and file transfers, the way it should be done.
In order to increase user privacy even more, Opalcoin is also developing an alias system. The main advantage of using an alias is the fact it allows users to send coins to any address using a username, which expires after a set time. No longer will you need to remember wallet addresses, as an alias system makes using cryptocurrency a lot easier for novice users.
Lite wallets are also a new trend in the cryptocurrency world, as they offer a lot of benefits when comparing them to traditional wallets. Not having to download the entire blockchain for each altcoin is the most important aspect, as it relies on block headers to run. Opalcoin wants to take lite wallets one step further, by using decentralized staking pools in order to create the world’s first Proof of Stake lite wallet for OPAL.
Furthermore, the Opal team acknowledges not everyone will be using a regular or a lite wallet, and they are working on hierarchical deterministic wallets (BIP32) as well. Protecting key reuse (vital to privacy protection), simplicity and other benefits make this a viable alternative to the other types of OPAL wallets out there. More information on these wallets is expected in the near future.
More recently , the Opalcoin team announced their addition to the SuperNET list of altcoins. As a result, Opalcoin will be integrating the SuperNET API , giving users the chance to enjoy features such as InstantDEX, MultiGateway, Teleport and Telepathy.
Opal has been asked to develop a Teleport web project on top of the basic HTML site pushing mechanism. Opalcoin will be developing an easy to use publishing GUI, and help develop integration with privacy servers. By doing so, Opal will receive credit for actively contributing to SuperNET.
Other ways to attract potential investors
One of the key elements of making Opalcoin a success is finding ways to attract new potential investors. Most of these investors will be looking for a way to purchase OPAL without buying and spending Bitcoin first. A third party Paypal service is being looked at, as we mentioned in this previous article.
A ticket-based helpdesk and support system for Opalcoin is on the development list as we speak. The goal of this project is assisting and supporting new potential investors and current OPAL users alike. This platform will be based on the latest FreshDesk technologies.
Source : http://www.opal-coin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Opal-Roadmap-20141201.pdf
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