The time has come to do an article about a very popular new altcoin called UtilityCoin.As you would expect from its very name, this coin should offer quite some utility for digital currency enthusiasts. Whether or not that is the case, is something we will find out at the end of this article.
Introduction
During its very short Proof-of-Work phase,which only lasted for two days, a total of 3,700,000 UTIL were mined. Ever since, the coin is in its Proof-of-stake stage, awaring users holding their coins with 10% interest per annum.
I did mention UtilityCoin has been incredibly popular ever since its release, and that has a lot to do with the trading volume on exchanges such as Bittrex and C-Cex. I have seen UTIL on the front page of top trading pairs on BitTrex for days on end now. (The 24 hour trading volume on BitTrex as of this writing is 48 Bitcoin.)
All of this wouldn’t be possible without some interesting features, you would say? Very true, but you have to keep in mind there are currently no working services for UtilityCoin yet. Some interesting announcements have been made though, so let’s take a closer look at those.
Development Roadmap
Dan Metcalf, who you might know as the XCurrency developer, will take part in the effort to make Utility the most advanced platform for blockchain 2.0 functionality. Three additional external developers will also aid in these efforts.
“When I learned that Utility coin was created with a vision that seeks not only to be a currency or to build on features of other coins, but rather be a launching pad for advanced blockchain features through collaboration of multiple and potentially unlimited development teams, I was intrigued to learn more.
After discussing the long term plans with the Utility team I decided to join the initiative. We as cryptocurrency developers must answer the call and to realize the potential of this platform. I encourage other developers to join in the effort as well and I look forward to working with the Utility team and other collaborators.”
-Dan Metcalf, XCurrency Developer
Later this month, we should see UltityCoin’s anonymity feature being implemented. Even though there is no official release date announced yet, it should be available over the coming two weeks. We will keep an eye out for any further information in this regard.
November will the month where we will see the UTIL extensible wallet. While that might sound a bit scary, it’s a customized Node.js wallet with an API allowing for new features to be added a lot easier. Talk about open sourcing a digital currency wallet! I’m definitely looking forward to finding out more about this.
On the other hand, we will see UTILnet by the end of November. UTILnet is UtilityCoin’s HTTP Wallet Proxy/VPN with peer-to-peer connections. Looks like besides anonymity, user privacy is also a priority for the UTIL developers.
December 2014 will be the month during which all of the current UTIL features will be reviewed and refined. The usage of UtilityCoin in the traditional business environment will also be heavily promoted, which I’m curious to find out more about.
What might be the most unique feature to be released is UtilityOS, a Linux-based operating system with hardened security and services. It does kind of remind me of KeyOS , but we will see how it plays out once released.
Proof-of-Developer & Introductory PDF
These days, a proper altcoin has to have some sort of development vetting. Most digital currencies turn to CryptoAsian to go through his Proof-of-Developer process, and so has UtilityCoin. In the end, UTIL came out with a 5/5 POD rating, and you can find out more details by clicking here.
As UtilityCoin is released during a time where there are more altcoins than most people care to learn about, it’s a good idea to have some sort of introductory guide. The team has put together an informative PDF file, including fancy colors for different pages, which you can find here.
Technical Specifications
– No pre-mine, No IPO, no controlled instamine.
– PoW Algorithm: X13
– PoW + PoS
– PoW ends at block 5000, approx 3.8m coins mined.
– PoS interest 10% per year
– 60 second block target
– Built in nodes
– Unique features and software implementation announced.
Exchanges
As of this writing, UtilityCoin can be traded on BitTrex and C-Cex.
Find Out More
BitcoinTalk : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=797900.0
Twitter : https://twitter.com/UtilityCoinTeam
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.