Elastos (ELA) - The New 'New Internet' 🌐 Decentralized Smart Web 🌐 Now on Kucoin

Today the popular Elastos (ELA) token is finally available for purchase to western investors on the Kucoin exchange. Time to take a closer look at what makes this project so exciting!

The New New Internet

Elastos is a complicated blockchain project that is hard to grasp at first, but which might end up being revolutionary in the long run. The project has older roots than blockchain itself, originating in the year 2000 when former Microsoft senior software engineer Chen Rong first conceptualized a new and improved internet.

The old internet has many problems. These problems range from (software, music, video) piracy to privacy violations, DDoS attacks and malware/spyware. It was because of these security problems that the Elastos developers decided to reenvision the web which they call the Smart Web, which utilizes Elastos as a base-layer on top of the existing internet to provide safety and security for every application built on top.

Elastos has jokingly been called The New 'New Internet'; a reference to the hit HBO show Silicon Valley, where the main protagonists are building a similar 'New Internet' (which is later stolen/copied by a Chinese rival who in turn builds a New 'New Internet').

The difference between Elastos and the competition

Without going into the technical details too much, there are significant differences between Elastos and other smart-contract platform-oriented blockchains. The main difference is in its design approach. The Elastos blockchain is built for both speed and security from the ground up.

Elastos, like many competitors, tries to differentiate itself by being a high throughput blockchain which is capable of handling a large amount of transactions at a high speed. Some ways in which Elastos seeks to solve the scaling problems facing blockchain are similar to other projects, such as the inclusion of side-chains and high hardware specs for nodes to achieve a higher rate of transactions.

Another way in which Elastos achieves a faster speed is more innovative: it seperates the computational aspects of running a dApp from the blockchain it operates on. Instead of running the entire dApp code on the blockchain like Ethereum does, Elastos operates in such a way that the majority of the code is executed on a(ny) device locally. Only the core functionality, which is transacting with the ELA token, happens on-chain. Through this method Elastos offers the same user experience as traditional apps do, but with the added functionality and security of the blockchain. Users should not suffer in terms of speed compared to what they are used to. Removing computations from the blockchain means that significantly less stress is put on the blockchain itself.

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When it comes to blockchain security Elastos also has an interesting approach. Instead of opting for Proof-of-Stake like we see in many other projects, Elastos uses Proof-of-Work together with merged mining with Bitcoin. Because of this any Bitcoin miner can choose to also mine ELA tokens at no additional power or electricity cost. Essentially, every Bitcoin miner will be highly incentivized to also mine ELA on top of their Bitcoin mining operation - there is very little reason not to.

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The concept is interesting because in theory it might mean that the Elastos blockchain might enjoy the same level of security and decentralization as the Bitcoin blockchain, which is a feature that very few crypto projects are able to offer.

These two features combined imply that Elastos may be able to offer speed without sacrificing security and decentralization - impressive!

The Elastos main net is currently already up and running.

dApp security

Of course, there's more than just the security of the blockchain when it comes to the internet. In order to combat common problems like piracy, privacy and malicious attacks the Elastos blockchain exists as a layer in between the users and their dApps and the outside internet.

DApps on Elastos are unable to communicate to the rest of the internet without going through the Elastos blockchain first, and outside communications cannot come in without going through (and being verified) by Elastos. The design philosophy is such that apps can only perform those actions for which they are meant, and no other because Elastos does not allow them. Similarly, Elastos acts as a verification layer for both the identity of individuals, but also the identity of apps or assets. Elastos knows who owns what and who doesn't, but it also knows what a dApp is supposed to be able to do, and what it isn't. It is very hard, if not impossible, to perform malicious attacks in an environment such as this.

Elastos replaces the old methods of communication, and instead of connecting through IP it will instead of possible to connect through the Elastos P2P network. Instead of securing every possible connection to the internet you make, in the Smart Web only the connection to Elastos needs to be secure.

The X-Factor

Besides boasting impressive technological features Elastos has some significant partnerships and alliances going for it. On their advisory board sit two of the most notable figures in the Chinese blockchain space: NEO's Da Hongfei and Bitmain's Jihan Wu. Both Bitmain and the NEO foundation were angel investors of Elastos.

These two powerhouses bring more than just their knowledge to the table, obviously. Bitmain's position as the biggest producer of Bitcoin mining ASICS is a very good sign for the adoption of Elastos by the Bitcoin mining community, and it reduces the chance of any friction in the merged mining process. Da Hongfei's advisory role surely brings both NEO and Ontology on-board, and fans of these projects have heralded NEO-ONT-ELA as 'the' Chinese blockchain trinity, where each project seeks to complement the other. In this vision each of these blockchains will utilize the others for it's operations: NEO for digital assets, Ontology for identity and private blockchains, and Elastos as the Smart Web Operating System to access it all.

The Token

The ELA token is the native currency of the Elastos blockchain, obviously, but because the Elastos main chain is designed to be used minimalistically to avoid congestion it is likely that the amount of actual transactions on the main chain might be relatively limited compared to other blockchains which are prone to congestion.

The ELA token will also be used to build dApps in the eco-system, but dApps themselves will also be able to spend ELA tokens for added functionality (like domain registration or search engine services). Additionally, ELA will be the native token for ICO's on the platform.

There is a total token supply of 33.752.109 ELA, of which only 5.266.331 ELA is currently in circulation. About half of the total supply is dedicated to fostering and growing the eco-system - essentially for paying developers to build on top of Elastos through a democratic DAO-like system they call the Cyber Republic.

Elastos currently sits at about $100 million in market cap, and about $20.30 at the time of writing, which makes it a small mid-cap cryptocurrency with a fairly large potential upside. Elastos has been trading for several months, but only became available to western investors when Kucoin added it to their markets today. There are rumours of ELA being added to 5-6 more exchanges in the short term.

source: Twitter

Personally I've been waiting for months for a chance to get my hands on some ELA! I know it had been on Huobi for a while, but I didn't want to go through the hassle of potentially getting stuck at some KYC procedure or risking not being able to withdraw my tokens. Fortunately, Kucoin is a more friendly exchange for westerners and it is now likely the go-to place for anybody who wants some ELA tokens in the west.

There is a lot of hype surrounding the project and the alliances with Bitmain and NEO are very promising to say the least. Yet I have to remain critical. There are, after all, many great blockchain projects out there looking to compete with the top dogs and each and every one of them has it's advantages and unique selling points. Adoption remains key, and while Bitmain may be able to play an important role in securing the miner side of the equation, it remains to be seen if the wider developer and user community will eventually choose Elastos over existing (and continuously improving) blockchains such as Ethereum.

Still, I just couldn't help myself - I bought some ELA. Elastos has the 'X-factor' that I've felt with many other projects before - some undeniable attraction that I know other crypto-investors must be feeling as well. At $100M market cap, it feels like this project could easily double, triple or more with some patience (bring on the next bull-run!). And, being an avid crypto-enthusiast, you know how it goes... Gotta collect 'em all!

Click here to visit the Elastos website