The proliferation of centralized exchanges in the early days of blockchain technology were the natural successor to online trading exchanges. There has always been a thirst to trade actual currency pairs, evidenced by the millions of ‘ordinary’ online traders dotted around the world wherever there is an internet connection. The forex market alone is worth over 3 Trillion dollars a day. So, when cryptocurrencies became ‘a thing,’ and even more of ‘a thing’ in the gold rush days of 2017, centralised exchanges sprang up to cater for the growing demand to trade or exchange digital currencies.
Crypto exchanges of all sizes and their users, found themselves vulnerable to hackers. Mt. Gox (Magic The Gathering Online Exchange) was by far the biggest bitcoin exchange in the world., when it got hacked and $473 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) was stolen. Earlier this month, Binance reported more than $40 million in Bitcoin was stolen in a large scale security breach.
Whilst the negative side to the high-profile hacks has been to somewhat quell the thirst for centralized exchanges that keep most of the funds in hot wallets. The positive has been the development of solutions that take away the need for vulnerable and easily hacked hot wallets, and the necessity for inconvenient cold wallets, whilst all the time providing a low cost and secure P2P transaction method.
One such solution garnering some attention is the Element Zero Network. Created by Jointer, Inc. a blockchain startup based in Silicon Valley, US, Element Zero provides its users a solution for stable, decentralized cryptocurrency payments. The not-for-profit next generation payment network based on an algorithmic stablecoin creation platform, is designed to protect against the effects of long-term inflation and negating the possibility of any volatility.
Smart Contract Security
Operating via smart contract, Element Zero provides a true Peer-2-Peer (P2P) alternative to exchanges. It offers the scalability, the security and stability needed for there to be some sort of widespread adoption.
Stablecoins and cryptocurrencies offer international investors a way to lower their fees compared to the charges they were forced to pay by the previous more traditional routes. Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have enabled institutional investors to save millions of dollars due to the increased speed of the transactions and the low transaction fees crypto offer. No longer do transactions take days. Now, transactions are achieved within just a few minutes.
As investors tentatively wait for news of the next big exchange hack, it’s important to for them to know that true P2P alternatives are already out there. We all like the security of a cold wallet, but let’s face it, none of us like the inconvenience. Hot wallets remain vulnerable, and its vulnerability is making us all wary of the security within the crypto revolution.
However, the Element Zero Network, stands out as a not-for-profit eco-system that intends to distribute any profits to community-elected not-for-profits or charities. Its stablecoin provides the solution to many of our P2P needs, whilst opening up as a viable alternative or extension to, existing exchanges suffering from the loss of confidence by many crypto holders around the world.
