Feb 25 2019
Blockchain Helping Rento as Sharing Economy Platform
Nowadays technology is growing rapidly from year to year. Almost in every aspect of life, there are technologies that can help human life. One of the goals of technology is to make it easy for humans to do their jobs. Every day, more and more creativity arises that gives new innovations in existing technologies.
The development of technology today is inseparable from the demands of living. Humans are required to carry out various kinds of activities by not using too much time, space and money. This is what makes humans turn to use modern tools. However, it still requires humans to operate it.
Smartphone is one of the technology that is very close to humans and help in everyday life. Nowadays smartphone has a very important role in human life. Although its function as a communication tool, smartphone also simplify the business and work affairs of its users. As the name implies, you can do business with only one finger. Things like making a letter, sending an email and even transferring money, all can be done on one cellphone. You don’t have to bother opening a laptop to send an email or going to a bank to send money because it has been helped by the presence of a smartphone.
One of the technologies that have created and brought major changes is blockchain technology. Blockchain was introduced in 2009 which also coincided with the introduction of bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto. The blockchain is a decentralized system where each transaction does not require an intermediary. To be simpler, at this time every time you make a transaction, you need a bank as an intermediary in sending or receiving money. Meanwhile for the blockchain, there is no intermediary on the transactions made so that it speeds up the process and can be accessed by anyone because the blockchain does not belong to a company or individual. Everyone can access if there is an internet.
The blockchain technology is actually created because of a centralized software work system. When it is compared to centralized systems, the blockchain has many advantages. The strength of the blockchain is that it faces strong attacks and hacked servers. The transaction activity will not stop because there is another server handling the transaction unlike the centralized system that will be cut off once the system is being hacked.
These advantages make blockchain technology adopted by several digital platforms. There is a statement that if the global sharing economy of the industry is combined with blockchain technology, it will change the state of the human economy. One of the example is Rento. Rento is a global sharing economy application that offers loans for underutilized products or assets. The Blockchain offers transparency that can be accessed by anyone and that also applies to Rento in running its platform.
Ann Thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5076209.0
Website: https://rento-app.io/
White paper: https://rento-app.io/assets/whitepaper.pdf
Blockchain changes the global sharing of the industrial economy
Using blockchain technology is the right choice for Rento because the blockchain has the advantages of transparency, smart contracts, and irreversible records. This certainly provides an opportunity for Rento to be able to change the industry of sharing economy to become more advanced and trusted. If you are curious about what can be done by blockchain technology to change the industry of sharing economy, here are the list:
- Blockchain introduces transparency
One of the advantages of the blockchain is the transparency that occurs in every transaction. You can see and access information and transactions that occur. Data that is accessed and available is not possible to be manipulated because every changes in the data must be in accordance with the actual transaction. That is what will be applied to the Rento platform.
The sharing economy can run well if you get trust not only from the borrower but also from the product or asset lender. The blockchain technology will provide all relevant information about the assets or products to be lent. The information can also be accessed by each party easily just by connecting to the internet. With the transparency of the sharing economy, it can also minimize interactions between potential borrowers and lenders to maintain transparency in the ecosystem.
- Low transaction costs
If you make a transaction through a bank, there is an additional fee if you transfer to different bank. Usually each bank has its own set of costs for each transaction. Likewise, if you do an overseas transaction, you will be charged a huge fee which will automatically be deducted from your balance. This is because banks also consider the conversion costs of foreign exchange, transfer fees, and the cost of sending money.
On the blockchain, the transaction fees charged are far lower than centralized systems like bank. You do not need to pay more when doing every transaction on the blockchain even the cost is cheaper than through the traditional bank. Besides being cheap, the transaction process is only a fraction of a second. Unlike traditional bank transactions that take a long time to be processed. The ease, speed, and transparency of this transaction can occur also because of the digital cash.
- Fraud is less likely to happen
A transparent blockchain system makes all people who access can see all the relevant informations. So the possibility of crime and fraud is getting lower. The openness of the blockchain structure also complicates the movement of fraudsters to commit crimes. In addition, with the validation methodology, it will ensure the authenticity of each feedback provided. Therefore, there is little possibility of fraud on a transparent blockchain structure and every information is validated.
- Risk protection facilities with smart contracts
The smart contract exists with the aim of creating a binding agreement or agreement consisting of several parties. The smart contract was first conceived by a cryptographer named Nick Szabo. If you usually store the information in the form of documents, then in the blockchain smart contract takes the form of a code. Contracts that occur later are of a permanent nature that cannot be changed again.
Smart contracts are actually made to overcome trust problems that usually arise if people make a transaction or borrow goods or products. With the existence of a smart contract, payments and transactions will be guaranteed and deposits will also be saved when the goods are being lent. It certainly provides protection against financial risks that may occur when goods are lent. The smart contract also offers efficient risk priority mechanisms.
Rento was created to provide convenience and speed in borrowing goods. But besides that, Rento also wants to grow the sharing of the economic ecosystem more broadly than the existing industry. Like hotels and transportation that have already run the industry. Therefore, Rento wants to cover other fields that have potential in this sharing economy industry. One of them is daily products or services. The platform is created to facilitate all lending and borrowing activities using blockchain technology. The technology also will ensure international transactions run safely and smart contracts that facilitate goods collateral.
Ann Thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5076209.0
Website: https://rento-app.io/
White paper: https://rento-app.io/assets/whitepaper.pdf
The Key Components of Rento Ecosystems
As previously explained, Rento wants to expand its ecosystem to exceed the existing industry. To be able to run it all, of course, it requires the consistency and development of the main components of Rento so that the desired ideals are achieved. Therefore there are three key components of the Rento ecosystem. The three are:
- Rento Application
The application is one of the key of Rento Ecosystem. The aims of Rento is to share the industrial economy in a larger scope. So it will not only focus on transportation, real estate, and hospitality industries but also other industry which also is useful for people. Such as daily use items, office rooms, meeting rooms, equipment tools, hardware devices, construction tools, cameras, and other items, goods, or service that will likely be useful and needed. There are features available on the platform in order to make the rentals getting easier. Those are the feature for the users or the borrower:
a) The listing page
Listing page is one of the important feature available in the platform. In this section, there is a list of all the available products and services ready for being rented by the borrower. It also supports many classifications such as searching filter and geo-filters that will help you in searching relevant items needed.
b) Search Engine
This feature will help the customers to search what the product or service that they need. In addition, It also has the filter and sorting capabilities to make the customer easier searching product.
c) The Renting calendar
The calendar feature in the Rento application is used to see whether the product and service they need is available or not. Every product and service its availability can be seen in this feature. In addition, later Rento will launch its new feature called “Book-in-advanced” once the platform is launched. Users can also approach a product based on their listed opening.
d) Feedback
Rento provides feedback features where borrowers can give their ratings and feedback after renting the product or service that they need based on the experience that they get while using it. In this case, blockchain technology is very helpful in preventing and minimizing the feedback manipulative provided on the platform.
After knowing the feature of the users, there are also features available for the listing owner. The feature available helps the listing owner to monitor its active product or service which is being rent. Therefore, it is different from the users. These are the features for listing owners:
a) Active Listing
This feature will help the listing owner or the lenders to find its active listings in one location. The listing owners can also see the renting schedule for its product or services on the active listing page.
b) Listing and Advertising package details
For listing owners, they can access the details package on the dashboard. In addition, Rento will provide points to service providers or businesses if they have finished registering. Later, Rento will also introduce ad positions and premium listings after 2020.
c) Customer Insight
Customer insight feature is available for listing owners so they understand how the customers behaviour. In addition, this feature can also provide rental preferences and some parameters so that the business can develop better.
- Rento Blockchain
The advantages of blockchain technology seem to be suitable for the application of the global sharing economy. Rento is one of those who has used the technology on its platform. Rento creates an ownership blockchain that has different features for sharing the global economy. In addition, Rento made the chain specifically for the global sharing economy. Making sure that it is the best database needed for Rento ecosystem.
a) Custom Smart Contract Facility
At present, Rento requires a special smart contract that has the flexibility to be able to expand the functionality to face challenges in the future. It is because on the blockchain platform there are currently no special smart contracts that Rento needs.
b) Handle dispute resolution
When disputes between borrowers and lenders occur, Rento must have full control of the blockchain system. So it needs its own blockchain so that problems can be resolved in accordance with local regulations. This cannot happen if Rento uses a blockchain from a third party.
- Store Model Store
As the name implies, Rento Model Store is a rental shop that will provide various rental products such as household appliances, lawn tractors, and scooters. All rental transactions remain through the Rento platform. The presence of Rento Model Store can also strengthen credibility and promote the vision of sharing economy directly. Another advantage gained from using this service is that feedback will be immediately heard by Rento from the customer after they use the product or asset they rent.
The Rento Model Store service also opens up the possibility of becoming a franchise brand where if there are people who are interested in operating the Rento Model Store under the Rento franchise, they must achieve a number of conditions in accordance with the franchise agreement.
Ann Thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5076209.0
Website: https://rento-app.io/
White paper: https://rento-app.io/assets/whitepaper.pdf
Posted by: kurniawan05
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1187741
May 22 2019
Harmony: a Breakthrough platform for a better future
The emergence of bitcoin in 2008 has brought various changes in the world of blockchain technology. After the rise of bitcoin, the concept of blockchain has spread across the globe. With the popularity of bitcoin from year to year, automatically many people also find out the idea of blockchain, which is the supporter of the cryptocurrency.
To be reminded, bitcoin appeared in 2009 where there was someone named Satoshi Nakamoto, and many people claimed he was the one who discovered the digital currency. Bitcoin is the first digital money that is implemented, and then, the other cryptocurrency appears.
The bitcoin blockchain is created as a peer-to-peer payment system that makes it easy for users to make transactions because the system is decentralized. In other words, when someone makes a purchase or payment using bitcoin, there is no intermediary to complete the transfer of value. Unlike current transactions, there are conventional banks that are intermediaries between senders and recipients who make operations run longer than using bitcoin.
It should be noted that cryptocurrency is one of the blockchain representations whose presence and the impact can be enjoyed directly by the wider community. It is not without reason why many people invest their money on cryptocurrency because the blockchain system offers advantages that are not found in other systems.
The advantage offered by the blockchain system is a distributed storage system. Blockchain can be said to have no loopholes for failure because data storage is scattered in devices whose networks are spread. Besides, the data storage network can replicate and store copies of the database so that security is also very tightly maintained. Unlike storage systems found in conventional banks whose data is stored only in one center, which is very vulnerable to attack so that when the order is hacked, the data will be more easily spread.
Another advantage is the cost savings when using the system. In transactions or payments made via the blockchain, there are no third parties involved in the transaction. Conversely, every transaction that is carried out only involves related parties. It is because every person or user has access to the same single data permission. Of course, this saves costs for almost all businesses because they don’t need to recruit intermediaries.
Blockchain is a system that has a lot of potential going forward so that it can still be explored to be better. One of them is when, in 2014, Vitalik Buterin developed a new blockchain infrastructure called Ethereum. Ethereum is almost similar to the blockchain that relies on peer to peer networks intending to make Ethereum a smart contracts platform.
Website: https://harmony.one/
White Paper: https://harmony.one/whitepaper.pdf
Scalability as the problem
When ethereum was developed, it was found that no solution could solve the problem of the previous infrastructure. The problem in question is about scalability, where ethereum fails to support high-throughput applications such as decentralized exchanges.
With the obstacles that occur, improvements are, of course, continuously carried out to get a system that can improve the precise application. Many blockchain projects have sprung up offering solutions that are claimed to enhance the quality of operation such as replacing Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus Proof-of-Work (PoW) and several other projects that unfortunately cause significant performance. In fact, among the plans, the security and decentralization aspects were ignored.
Until the first public blockchain appeared and claimed to be able to overcome the problem of scalability by using sharding. The blockchain is called Zilliqa. But Zilliqa stumbled by two issues that made him fail to offer a solution. The first is that Zilliqa does not share storage on blockchain or sharding data. The second is that Zilliqa relies on Proof-of-Work, which can cause him to be sensitive to single-shard takeover attacks.
With all the projects that have been tried and the claims of each party that carried out the plan that they have found a perfect solution to the problem of scalability, in fact, nothing has been said to be successful or even close to solving the problem.
Website: https://harmony.one/
White Paper: https://harmony.one/whitepaper.pdf
Blog: https://harmony.one/
Harmony is the answer.
Scalability is certainly still a problem even when the blockchain was first created. Many parties are curious to provide solutions to the issues that can be said to be one point of the blockchain weakness. But it seems that the presence of this one blockchain answers anxiety about scalability. It claims to be the next generation blockchain based on sharding that has been tested to be safe, energy efficient and is undoubtedly fully scalable. The generation of this blockchain is named Harmony. Let’s find out more about Harmony.
Harmony comes as a response to the problems of the previous blockchain infrastructure. Harmony comes by combining the results of the best research that has been done before, and the system practices that are adjusted optimally. The notion of Harmony one itself is an open consensus platform which will be expected to become a driver of a decentralized economy in the future. Unlike the previous blockchain platform, Harmony offers a platform with low-latency, high throughput, and low cost.
As the name implies, which is Harmony, this platform is undoubtedly expected to be a platform that unites all needs and becomes a harmonizer for many people’s lives. This platform can be a consideration for people because Harmony does not only offer a blockchain whose scalability problems are solved but also becomes an infrastructure that can later be a place to build various types of applications that require high throughput and decentralization. Applications that can be made on Harmony one are games, decentralized applications, to the AI data market. All of that can be realized thanks to the presence of Harmony.
Harmony has stated that its platform not only resolves scalability issues but also the number of nodes participating in the network of decentralized nodes. Some of you might be curious about how Harmony handles the issue of scalability and what approach the platform does so that the problem can be resolved. So the answer is Harmony using a sharding-based consensus protocol that is adopted, which scales according to the number of nodes that are increasing in the network. That makes Harmony different from other blockchains. Harmony cares about the number of nodes participating in a decentralized blockchain network.
When talking about the technology used by Harmony, another reason why Harmony is the answer to people’s anxiety about the issue of scalability in the blockchain infrastructure is that Harmony believes that maximum optimization is needed that crosses several layers to complete scalability. That is why Harmony takes an approach by applying innovation in networks, systems, and consensus algorithms that are done ten times than what is usually done.
Harmony chooses sharding and pipelining designs because they can effectively handle connection latency and allow throughput to scale to the size of the harmony network. To get a broader range of devices participating in a more decentralized system, they also widened mission lean kernels explicitly made to run their protocols. The way it works is by increasing CPU performance and security.
With the explanation is given about Harmony starting from the issue of scalability to the technology developed and run by them, it seems very appropriate to choose Harmony as a blockchain platform that can support a decentralized economy. It is seen that Harmony is not only a project created only to solve the issue of scalability but also bring the blockchain to a more advanced era.
The breakthrough offered by Harmony
As a platform created to become the next generation of blockchain, Harmony certainly offers breakthroughs in several aspects that are expected to be maximized well to achieve a radically good economy. The following is a breakthrough made in several aspects:
a. Fully Scalable
Harmony’s first breakthrough is on the element of scalability. As we have already known, the issue that is being sought out is the scalability. What makes Harmony is a fully scalable blockchain is the fact that it shards the blockchain states, unlike the previous blockchain which claimed can handle the scalability issue.
b. Secure Sharding
The second breakthrough is safe sharding. One way to solve the issue of scalability is by sharding. Sharding is creating many groups of validators and making them conduct transactions simultaneously. It certainly requires a secure system to process transactions simultaneously, and Harmony has proven that the process of sharding in their platforms is safe due to distributed randomness generation or DRG processes. The function of this DRG is to make the sharding process unpredictable, unbiased, valid, and last but not least scalable.
c. Efficient and Fast Consensus
The third breakthrough that Harmony made is a practical and fast consensus. Harmony Consensus is dynamic because it uses Proof-Of-Stake or PoS, which provides the advantage of saving energy. Whereas the other blockchain uses PoW, which requires them to choose a validator.
d. Adaptive Threshold PoS
The next breakthrough is an adaptive threshold PoS. In this aspect, so that a node can join the network, a bet threshold is adjusted based on the total bet volume. This method is done so that the malicious stalker cannot concentrate on one shard.
e. Scalable Networking Infrastructure
The next breakthrough is scalable networking infrastructure. In this aspect, Harmony uses an Adaptive Information Spreading Algorithm whose function is to spread blocks quickly in fractions or across networks. As for achieving an algorithmic scale cross-shear transaction with a specific amount, Harmony uses the adopted Kamdelia route.
f. Consistent Cross-Shard Transaction
The last aspect of making a breakthrough is regular Cross-shard transaction. In this aspect, the factor that influences the consistency of cross-shard operation is the atomic locking mechanism used by Harmony.
Those are some of the breakthroughs made by Harmony in several aspects of the blockchain. The innovations presented by Harmony are undoubtedly able to provide applications that were previously not feasible on the blockchain to be something that can support a newly emerging decentralized economy. Increasing the trust of billions of people is one reason why Harmony made innovative breakthroughs.
Website: https://harmony.one/
White Paper: https://harmony.one/whitepaper.pdf
Blog: https://harmony.one/
Sharding and Consensus
Consensus protocols are a vital element of each blockchain because it plays a role in determining how safe and fast blockchain validators one is to be able to reach consensus on the next block. The commonly known consensus protocol is Proof-of-Work, which is used for cryptographic solutions. Whereas the other consensus protocol, Proof-of-Stake, was used by Harmony as the basis for the selection of the Harmony consensus Validator.
A little explanation about sharding, scalability is an issue of concern in the world of blockchain technology. Every new project that will be launched tries to solve the problem by claiming to have found the answer. But, when Zilliqa, which is the first sharding-based public blockchain, appeared and claimed to have found a solution, the solution offered was not proven to solve the issue of scalability. It should be noted that the issue of scalability is not only a concern for those who work in the blockchain industry but also those in the academic world. This issue has attracted a lot of attention since 2017.
Describing sharding as a solution to scalability problems, before claiming to have found a solution, Harmony has tried various approaches to assign nodes to fractions which of course have been proposed first. Portions referred to are random-based sharding, location-based sharding, and centrally controlled sharding. After going through the process of this approach, it was found that randomness-based sharding was the safest and most recognized solution.
To determine sharding tasks on each node, a mutually agreed random number is needed, and the number must have several properties. Among these are random numbers. Which means that no random number can predict before it is produced. Other features are unbiasable, which means that there should be no bias by any participant when the process generates a random number running. The third property is valid. The meaning can be verified is the observer can verify the validity of the random number generated. Last but not least, the previous property is scalable. Randomness generation algorithms must scale a large number of participants.
Website: https://harmony.one/
White Paper: https://harmony.one/whitepaper.pdf
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By admin • Blockchain Technology 373 • Tags: Blockchain, breakthrough, buidl, Crypto, cryptocurrency, data storage, deepsharding, DRG, ethereum, harmonyprotocol, money, presence, Social Media, technology, White Paper