1. SUMMARY

Decentr is a protocol designed to make blockchain/DLT mainstream by allowing DeFi applications built on various blockchains to “talk to each other”. Decentr is a 100% secure and decentralised Web 3.0 protocol where users can apply PDV (personal data value) to increase APR on $DEC that users loan out as part of of our DeFi dLoan features, as well as it being applied at PoS when paying for stuff online. Decentr is also building a BAT competitor browser and Chrome/Firefox extension that acts as a gateway to 100% decentralised Web 3.0

Allows DeFi Dapps to access all Decentr’s dFintech features, including dLoan, dPay. Key innovation is that the protocols is based on a user’s ability to leverage the value of their data as exchangeable “currency”.

1. KEY CONCEPTS

• Decentr is building foundational chain-agnostic protocols that will support “true” 100% DeFi Dapps, a 100% secure and decentralised, user-centric alt economy. DeFi dApps inter-connected by Decentr can talk to each other and share PDV (personal data value) of their users. PDV is best described as a personalized “exchange rate” (in a sense social reputation where more effort leads to more rewards and NOT more capital to more rewards. ) between currencies that users apply at point-of-sale to make the cost of goods and services cheaper online. PDV is applied to the APR users earn on $DEC (native token) that they hold that they loan out as part of the investing pool. PDV will also allow uncollateralized loans on their dLoan platform, and also on platforms like Aave and Compound.
• Decentr will implement ZKsync to get super cheap and super fast transactions across the ETH network. It is also working with HoloChain and Tomochain to allow connect their DeFi ecosystem to the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem. Decentr has DEEP TIES and a PARTNERSHIP with Holochain: https://medium.com/@DecentrNet/decentr-holochain-ama-29d662caed03
• Decentr is also building a browser and Chrome/Firefox extension - a gateway that “transitions” Web 2.0 into a 100% decentralised Web 3.0 via their suite of decentralised dFintech and dCommunications features. The browser adds a 100% decentralised “user layer” to current blockchain protocols so that applications built on blockchain can actually “talk to each other”. The browser uses encryption all the time and the power of blockchain to keep private keys safe. Browser will offer a more robust and innovative type of blockchain storage and caching that is much faster than VPN or TOR. It will allow surfing .onion addresses as well as the regular ones. >>BAT browser 400m marketcap, DEC marketcap 4m<<
• Decentr is researching a hardware application, powered by Decentr software, that would greatly enhance current IoT networks. It’s called a “Smart Chip Node” (SCN) and will adhere to 4G LTE standards (with in-built 5G capability), which means connectivity between devices will match or exceed current speed and connectivity, dramatically improving stability and coverage of standalone devices, such as a laptop or tablet, as well as IoT devices, such as home routers and modems.
• Decentr uses Coinbase API to optimise integrated implementation of the user layer and Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) to allow users to leverage cloud-based solutions to build, host and use their own blockchain apps. Tierion’s technological infrastructure, the Chainpoint Proof protocol, will come into play whenever a user adds something in Tierion’s data store. Hyperledger Fabric and R3 Corda private blockchains are used as an immutable transaction database for data transfers, including the following tech: R3 Corda, Hyperledger Fabric, Ansible, Bitbucket Pipelines, AWS, Node.JS, GoLang, Kotlin and CouchDB.
• Implements a system of layered security protocols based on a radically-new software architecture that combines Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)4 and Sobol sequencing with a n-dimensional chain as part of AI-enhanced, platform-wide community consensus mechanism — a mechanism that assigns mutually agreed value to data and user security protocol upgrades (further encouraging enhanced data integrity) by deploying a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) protocol.
• Decentr has a very STRONG supportive community. This includes the Chad Gang STRONG Community: https://t.me/decentrtrading, Community News Channel: https://t.me/chadnews. Community Built Uniswap trade tracker: https://t.me/dectrades, Community built wallet holder tracker: https://t.me/DEC_WALLETS_COUNT
• Bank of England has reached out to Decenr to discuss the potential of a UK CBDC upon hearing about the potential of their tech. Decentr is consistent with their own R&D into a "dGBP" and they requested a top-level document for review >> Decentr created this proposal: https://decentr.net/files/Decentr_Consultancy_Doc_UK_CBDC.pdf

​

1. REVENUE MODEL

A fee is charged for every transaction using dPay whereby an exchange takes place between money (fiat and digital) and data, and vice versa, either as part of DeFi features or via a dApp built on Decentr. They are launching pilot programmes in the following industries:

1. Banking/PSP Industry: On Product launch, due to Decentr’s powerful PSP connections (including the worlds #2 PSP by volume), a medium-scale pilot program will be launched, which will seed the network with 150,000 PSP customers in primarily the Spanish/LAC markets, generating revenue from day one.
2. “Bricks and Mortar” Supermarket/Grocery Industry: Decentr aims to ensure the long-term competitiveness of “bricks and mortar” supermarkets against online-only grocery retailers, such as Amazon, by a) building secure tech that allows supermarkets to digitise every aspect of their supply chains and operational functions, while b) allowing supermarkets to leverage this incredibly valuable data as a liquid asset class. Expected revenue by Year 5: $114Mn per year.
3. Online Advertising Industry: Decentr’s 100% decentralised platform credits users secure data with payable value, in the form of PDV, for engaging with ads. The Brave browser was launched in 2012 and in 8 years has reached over 12 million monthly active users, accented by as many as 4.3 million daily active users.
4. TOKEN $DEC AND SALE

Decentr recently complete their token sale on a purchase portal powered by Dolomite where they raised $974,000 in 10 minutes for a total sale hardcap of 1.25M. The $DEC token is actively trading on multiple exchanges including Uniswap and IDEX. Listed for free on IDEX, Hotbit, Hoo, Coinw, Tidex, BKex. Listed on CoinGecko and Coinmarketcap. Listed on Delta and Blockfolio apps.
➡️ Circulating supply: 61m $DEC.
➡️ Release schedule and token distribution LINK -> NO RELEASE UNTIL 2021.

• Coinmarketcap: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/decentmarkets
• Coingecko: https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/decentr

➡️Contract Address - 0x30f271C9E86D2B7d00a6376Cd96A1cFBD5F0b9b3
➡️Decimals - 18, Ticker - DEC
➡️Uniswap link: https://uniswap.info/pai0x3AEEE5bA053eF8406420DbC5801fC95eC57b0E0A
⭐️ HOW TO BUY VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iloAiv2oCRc&feature=youtu.be
$DEC Token utility:

A tradeable unit of value that is both internal and external to the Decentr platform.A unit of conversion between fiat entering and exiting the Decentr ecosystem.A way to capture the value of user data and combines the activity of every participant of the platform performing payment (dPay), or lending and borrowing (dLend), i.e a way to peg PDV to tangible/actionable value.Method of payment in the Decentr ecosystem.A method to internally underwrite the “Deconomy.

1. NOTABLE SUPPORTERS

Simon Dedic - chief of Blockfyre: https://twitter.com/scoinaldo/status/1283787644221218817?s=20https://twitter.com/scoinaldo/status/1283719917657894912?s=21
Spectre Group Pick : https://twitter.com/SPECTREGRP/status/1284761576873041920https://twitter.com/llluckyl/status/1283765481716015111?s=21
Patrons of the Moon/Lil Uzi: https://t.me/patronsofthemoon/6764
CryptoGems: https://twitter.com/cryptogems_com/status/1283719318379925506?s=09t
tehMoonwalker pick who is a TOP 5 influencer per Binance:https://twitter.com/tehMoonwalkestatus/1284123961996050432?s=20https://twitter.com/binance/status/1279049822113198080
Holochain was one of their earliest supporters and they share a deep connection (recently an AMA was conducted in their TG group): https://medium.com/@DecentrNet/decentr-holochain-ama-29d662caed03

1. UPCOMING NEWS

• Partnership with worlds #2 PSP by volume: https://t.me/chadnews/27
• Roadmap UPDATE coming. Rich James has CONFIRMED that the MVP will be released in 2020.
• Blockfyre Report coming
• CryptoDiffer AMA coming up.
• CryptoDaku AMA coming up.
• Series of CEX exchange listing starting this week: https://twitter.com/bitcoin_brown/status/1285502234156032007?s=19

--------------------------------------------

1. RESOURCES:

Website: https://decentr.net
Telegram: https://t.me/DecentrNet
Medium: https://medium.com/@DecentrNet
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DecentrNet
Whitepaper: https://decentr.net/files/Decentr_Whitepaper_V1.4.pdf
Technical Whitepaper: https://decentr.net/files/Decentr_Technical_Whitepaper_Data_As_Economic_Currency.pdf
Recent Articles:
⚡️- https://medium.com/@DecentrNet/decentr-token-sale-metrics-and-distribution-483bb3c58d05
⚡️- https://medium.com/@DecentrNet/how-decentrs-defi-dloan-function-benefits-dec-holders-97ff64a0c105
⚡️- https://medium.com/@DecentrNet/3-vertical-revenue-streams-decentr-is-targeting-4fa1f3dd62de
⚡️- https://medium.com/@DecentrNet/brave-browser-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fundamentally-misguided-8a8593b0ff5b
⚡️- https://medium.com/@DecentrNet/how-decentrs-dfintech-replaces-swift-sct-inst-clearing-house-and-other-payment-solutions-78acacbb4c3f
Chad Gang STRONG Community: https://t.me/decentrtrading
Community News Channel: https://t.me/chadnews
Recent Uniswap trades: https://t.me/dectrades
Wallet holder tracker: https://t.me/DEC_WALLETS_COUNT

Alright guys, Ive been working on this for a while and a post on here by a guy describing his portfolio here was the final kick in the ass for me to put this together. I started writing this to summarize what Im doing for my friends who are beginners, and also for me to make some sense of it for myself
Hopefully parts of it are useful to you, and also ideally you guys can point out errors or have a suggestion or two. I'm posting this here as opposed to investing or canadianinvestor (blech) because they're just gonna tell me to buy an index fund.
This first section is a preamble describing the Canadian tax situation and why Im doing things the way that I am. Feel free to skip it if you dont care about that. Also, there might be mistake regarding what the laws are here so dont take my word for it and verify it for yourself please.
So here in Canada we have two types of registered accounts (theres actually more but whatver). There is the TFSA "Tax Free Savings Account", and RRSP "Registered Retirement Savings Account"
For the sake of simplicity, from the time you turn 18 you are allowed to deposit 5k (it changes year to year based on inflation etc)in each of them. That "room" accumulates retroactively, so if you haventdone anything and are starting today and you are 30 you have around 60k you can put in each of them. The prevailing wisdom is that you should max out the TFSA first and you'll see why in a minute.
​
TFSA is post tax deposits, with no capital gains or other taxes applied to selling your securities, dividends or anything else. You can withdraw your gains at any time, and the amount that you withdraw is added to the "room" you have for the next year. So lets say I maxed out my TFSA contributions and I take out 20k today, on January of next year I can put back in 20k plus the 5 or whatever they allow for that year. You can see how powerful this is. Theres a few limitations on what is eligable to be held in the TFSA such as bitcoin/bitcoin ETFs, overseas stocks that arent listed on NYSE, TSX, london and a few others. You can Buy to Open and Sell to Close call and put options as well as write Covered Calls.
​
The RRSP is pre-tax deposits and is a tax deferred scheme. You deposit to lower your income tax burden (and hopefully drop below a bracket) but once you retire you will be taxed on anything you pull out. Withdrawing early has huge penalties and isnt recommended. You are however allowed to borrow against it for a down payment as a first time home buyer. The strategy with these is that a youngperson entering the workforce is likely to be in a fairly low tax bracket and (hopefully) earns more money as they get older and more skilled so the RRSP has more value the greater your pre-taxincome is. You can also do this Self Directed. Its not relevant to this strategy but I included it for the sake of context.
Non registered accounts ( or any other situation, such as selling commercial real estate etc) is subject to a capital gains tax. In so far as I understand it, you add all your gains and losses up at the end of the year. If its a positive number, you cut that number IN HALF and add it to your regular pre-tax income. So if I made 60k from the dayjob and 20k on my margin account that adds up to 70k that I get taxed on. if its a loss, you carry that forward into the next year. Theres no distinction between long term and short term. Also physical PMs are treated differently and I'll fill that part in later once I have the details down.
The reason why all that babble is important is that my broker Questrade, which isnt as good as IB (the only real other option up here as far as Im aware) has one amazing feature that no other broker has: "Margin Power"
If you have a TFSA and a Margin account with them, you can link them together and have your securities in the TFSA collateralise your Margin account. Essentially, when it comes to the Maintenance Excess of the Margin Account QT doesnt care if its in the TFSA *or* the Margin!
You can see how powerful this is.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So as you can tell by the title, a lot of this is heavily inspired by Chris Cole's paper "The Allegory of the Hawk and the Serpent". You can read it here: https://www.artemiscm.com/welcome#research
Between it, his interviews and my mediocre options skills at the time my mind was blown. Unfortunately I didnt know how to do the Long Volatility part until after the crash in March but I've since then had nothing but time to scour the internet and learn as much as I could.
The way I interpret this isnt necessarily "what you should have right now", but what abstracted model they were able to backtest that gave them the best performance over the 90 years. Also, a lot of my portfolio I already had before I started trying to build this.
As such my allocations dont match the proportions he gave. Not saying my allocations are better, just showing where they are at this time.
I'm going to describe how I do Long Volatility at the end rather than the beginning since the way *I* do it wont make sense until you see the rest of the portflio.
​
Physical PMs 22%
I'm not sure wether he intended this to be straight up physical gold or include miners and royalty streaming companies so I will just keep this as physical.
I consider Silver to be a non-expiring call option on gold, so that can live here too. I am actually *very* overweight silver and my strategy is to convert a large portion of it to gold (mostly my bars) to gold as the ratio tightens up.
If youre into crypto, you can arguably say that has a place in this section.
If an ETF makes sense for part of your portfolio, I suggest the Sprott ones such as PHYS. Sprott is an honest business and they actually have the metal they say they have. If you have enough, you can redeem your shares from the Royal Canadian Mint. The only downside is that they dont have an options chain, so you cant sell covered calls etc. Simple enough I suppose.
One thing to bear in mind, there is a double edged sword with this class of assets. They're out of the system, theyre nobody's business but your own and theres no counter party. That unfortunately means that you cant lever against it for margin or sell covered calls etc. You can still buy puts though (more on that later)
​
Commodity Trend (CTA) 10%
https://youtu.be/tac8sWPZW0w
Patrick Ceresna gave a good presentation on what this strategy is. Until I watched this video I just thought it meant "buy commodities". A real CTA does this with futures also so aside from the way he showed, there are two other ETFs that are worth looking at.
COM - This is an explicit trend following ETF that follows a LONG/FLAT strategy instead of LONG/SHORT on a pile of commodity futures. So if they get a "sell" signal for oil or soybeans they sell what they have and go to cash.
COMT- Holds an assortment of different month futures in different commodities, as well as a *lot* of various related shares in producers. Its almost a one stop shop commodities portfolio. Pays a respectable dividend in December
If you want to break the "rules" of CTA, and include equities theres a few others that are also worth looking at
KOL- This is a coal ETF. The problems with it are that a lot of the holdings dont have much to do with coal. One of them is a tractor company. A lot of the companies are Chinese so theres a bit of a red flag.
Obviously Thermal Coal, the kind used for heating and powerplants isnt in vogue and wont be moving forward...but coking coal is used for steel manufacturing and that ain't going anywhere. The dividend is huge, pays out in December. A very very small position might be worth the risk.
Uranium- I'm in URA because thats the only way for me to get exposure to Kazatoprom (#1 producer), which is 20% of the holdings. The other 20% is Cameco (#2 producer)and then its random stuff.
Other than that I have shares in Denison which seems like its a good business with some interesting projects underway. I'm still studying the uranium space so I dont really have much to say about it of any value.
RSX- Russia large caps. If you dont want to pick between the myriad of undervalued, high dividend paying commodity companies that Russia has then just grab this. It only pays in December but it has a liquid options chain so you can do Covered Calls in the meantime if you want.
NTR- Nutrien, canadian company that was formed when two others merged. They are now the worlds largest potash producer. Pretty good dividend. They have some financial difficulties and the stocks been in a downtrend forever. I feel its a good candidate to watch or sell some puts on.
I'm trying to come up with a way to play agriculture since this new phase we're going to be entering is likely to cause huge food shortages.
​
EURN and NAT- I got in fairly early on the Tanker hype before it was even hype as a way to short oil but I got greedy and lost a lot of my gains. I pared down my position and I'm staying for the dividend.
If you get an oil sell signal, this might be a way to play that still.
​
Fixed Income/Bonds 10%
​
Now, I am not a bond expert but unless youre doing some wacky spreads with futures or whatever... I dont see much reason to buy government debt any more. If you are, youre basically betting that they take rates negative. Raoul Pal of Real Vision is pretty firm in his conviction that this will happen. I know better than to argue with him but I dont see risk/reward as being of much value.
HOWEVER, I found two interesting ETFs that seem to bring something to this portfolio
IVOL- This is run by Nancy Davis, and is comprised of TIPS bonds which are nominally inflation protected (doubt its real inflation but whatever) overlayed with some OTC options that are designed to pay off big if the Fed loses control of the long end of the yield curve, which is what might happen during a real inflation situation. Pays out a decent yield monthly
TAIL- This is a simpler portfolio of 10yr treasuries with ladder of puts on the SPX. Pays quarterly.
​
Equities 58% (shared with options/volatility below)
This is where it gets interesting, obviously most of this is in mining shares but before I get to those I found some interesting stuff that I'm intending to build up as I pare down my miners when the time comes to start doing that.
VIRT- I cant remember where I saw this, but people were talking about this as a volatility play. Its not perfect, but look at the chart compared to SPY. Its a HFT/market making operation, the wackier things get the more pennies they can scalp. A 4% dividend isnt shabby either.
FUND- This is an interesting closed end fund run by Whitney George, one of the principals at Sprott. He took it with him when he joined the company. Ive read his reports and interviews and I really like his approach to value and investing. He's kind of like if Warren Buffett was a gold bug. Theres 120 holdings in there, mostly small caps and very diverse...chicken factories, ball bearings all kinds of boring ass shit that nobody knows exists. Whats crucial is that most of it "needs to exist". Between him, his family and other people at Sprott they control 40% or so of the shares, so they definitely have skin in the game. Generous dividend.
ZIG- This is a "deep value" strategy fund, run by Tobias Carlisle. He has a fairly simple valuation formula called the Acquirer's Multiple that when he backtested it, is supposed to perform very well. He did an interview with Chris Cole on real Vision where he discusses how Value and Deep Value havent done well recently, but over the last 100 years have proven to be very viable strategies. If we feel that theres a new cycle brewing, then this strategy may work again moving forward.
​
I want to pause and point out something here, Chris Cole, Nassim Taleb and the guys at Mutiny Fund spend a lot of effort explaining that building a portfolio is a lot like putting together a good basketall team. They need to work together, and pick up each others slack
A lot of the ETFs I'm listing here are in many ways portfolios in and of themselves and are *actively managed*. I specifically chose them because they follow a methodology that I respect but I can't do myself because I dont have the skill, temperament or access to.
The next one is a hidden gem and ties into this. I'm not sure how much more upside there is in this one but man was I surprised.
SII- Sprott Inc. I *never* see people listing this stock in their PMs portfolios. A newsletter I'm subscribed to described this stock as the safest way to play junior miners. Their industry presence, intellectual capital and connections means that they get *the best* private placement deals in the best opportunities. I cant compete with a staff like theirs and I'm not going to try. I bought this at 2.50, and I liked the dividend. Since then they did a reverse split to get on the NYSE and like the day after the stock soared.
When it comes to mining ETFS I like GOAU and SILJ the best. None of their major holdings are dead weight companies that are only there because of market cap. I dont want Barrick in my portfolio etc.
SGDJ is a neat version of GDXJ.
Aside from that my individual miners/royalty companies are (no particular order)
MMX
SAND
PAAS
PGM
AUM
AG
MUX
RIO- Rio2 on the tsx, not rio tinto
KTN
KL
Options/Volatility: varies
So this is where we get to the part about options, Volatility and how I do it. I started out in the options space with The Wheel strategy and the Tastytrade approach of selling premium. The spreads and puts I sell, are on shares listed above, in fact some of those I dont hold anymore.
Theres tons of stuff on this in thetagang and options so I wont go into a whole bunch (and you shouldnt be learning the mechanics from me anyway) but theres one thing I want to go over before it gets wild.
If I sell a Cash Secured Put, from a risk management perspective its identical to just buying 100 shares of the underlying security. You are equally "Short Vol" as well, it just that with options
its a little more explicit with the Greeks and everything. But if I use my margin that I was talking about earlier, then I can still collect the premium and the interest doesnt kick in unless Im actually assigned the shares.
But if I sell too many puts on KL or AG, and something happens where the miners get cut down (and lets be real, they all move together) my margin goes down and then I get assigned and kaboom...my account gets blown up
So what I need to do, is balance out the huge Short Vol situation in my portfolio, be net Long Vol and directly hedge my positions. Since the overwhelming majority of my equities are all tied to bullion this is actually a very easy thing to do.
​
Backspreads
https://youtu.be/pvX5_rkm5x0
https://youtu.be/-jTvWOGVsK8
https://youtu.be/muYjjm934iY
​
So I set this up so the vast majority of my margin is tied up in these 1-2 or even 1-3 ratio put spreads that *I actually put on for a small credit*, and roll them every once in a while. I run them on SLV, and GDX.
I keep enough room on my margin so I can withstand a 10% drawdown before it sets off the long end of the spreads and then I can ride it out until it turns around and we keep the PM bull market going.
Theres another cool spread I've been using, which is a modified Jade Lizard; if already hold shares, I'll sell a put, sell a covered call, and use some of the premium to buy a longer dated call. Ive been running this on AG mostly.
I have a few more spreads I can show you but Im tired now so it'll have to wait for later.
As I said multiple times, I do intend to trim these miners later but now isnt the time for that IMO. I'm also monitoring this almost full time since I have an injury and have nothing better to do until I heal :p

Previous Part | Table of Contents / Reviews | Next Part
  "Mmmmm," Rika sighed contentedly, leaning back in the corner booth.
  Alden had to agree with the sentiment. It was a greasy place, sure, but Alden couldn't deny the excellent taste of the burgers and fries. He wasn't normally partial to fast food, either. Whether it was the exhaustion or the company, in that moment, it was divine cuisine.
  The place was so small, he was surprised it even had booths. There were four, lined up along the side, with red vinyl cushions slowly decaying from years of overuse. The main counter was only a few steps away, so close that it was practically impossible to get up if anyone was walking down the aisle. Behind the counter, the proprietor grilled the next few burgers for a family of three who walked in not long after Rika and Alden. From their friendly conversation with the genial balding man, Alden judged the place a local favorite.
  "You've been here before," he stated, looking back at Rika.
  She frowned. "Lucky guess?"
  "No way you picked this place at random. The guy sounded like he knew your order too."
  "You got me," Rika brushed her hair out of her face. "I've been to Rallsburg a few times before, to visit a friend. I met Dan around that time. We hit it off pretty well." The man behind the counter glanced up as he heard his name. Rika waved him off, before munching down a fry. "Why so suspicious, Zack?"
  Alden took a sidelong glance at the family seated at the counter, far down at the opposite end of the tiny restaurant. He lowered his voice. "Can I trust you?"
  "Is it possible to answer that question usefully?" Rika raised an eyebrow, chewing on a fry in the corner of her mouth while she spoke. "Either I say yes and I'm a great liar, or I say no and you're out of luck anyway. You gotta decide that one yourself."
  "Well, uh, but…" he spluttered. He wasn't sure what answer he'd expected, but to hear her so frankly point out the flaw in his question broke his concentration. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Why did you ask me to join you?" he finally settled on.
  "Because I don't believe in coincidence. Not anymore," Rika said calmly. "Look, Zack. You seem like an okay guy. You're clearly on a mission. And for whatever reason, you've shown up here in this dead end college town. And you ran into me. Twice." Rika munched down another fry. "Trust me on this though: the shit that goes down here, it's hardcore. You'd better be ready to commit if you're gonna head down this road any further."
  Alden swallowed hard. He glanced at the envelope inside his coat pocket once again. Was he ready for whatever Rika was describing?
  "Let me put it this way, kid. Have you read from the book?"
  "Have I what?" Alden repeated, confused.
  She shook her head. "Forget it. Nevermind."
  "No, what does that mean?"
  "I said forget it." Rika looked over at Dan. "Hey, can we get some more fries?"
  "You got it, flower," Dan's deep voice rumbled from behind the counter.
  Alden's mind was too easily sidetracked. "Flower?"
  "It's one of the kanji of my name," Rika explained. "The second character means flower. Dan thinks he's super clever for knowing that, but he doesn't know a lick of Japanese otherwise. Anata wa bakadesu," she called to Dan, who just waved cheerily in return as he focused on his cooking.
  Alden cleared his throat again, trying to get back on topic. "What did you mean by the book?"
  Rika sighed. "Look, I'm probably not the one you want explaining that to you, okay? You could do a lot better than me if you really want to awaken."
  "If I want to what?" Alden asked, even more confused. The family of three at the bar stood to leave. Alden glanced at them involuntarily as the door opened, feeling a compulsion to keep track of them at all times.
  "You're paranoid as shit, aren't you?" she noted. "Probably smart, 'specially these days."
  "Give me a straight answer," Alden asked impatiently.
  Rika started to answer, but the door to the place suddenly burst open, slamming hard against the wall.
  Three guys walked in clearly looking for trouble. They were college age, probably late college by Alden's estimate. The leader was remarkably handsome and well-built—a typical good-looking college guy. Blonde hair, tall and strong figure, and warm, large brown eyes. Alden was surprised he wasn't perpetually wearing a polo shirt and khakis with the physique and complexion he had going on. His friends had the look down, but instead he seemed to be sporting the same basic attire as Rika—dark hooded sweatshirt and jeans, with a pouch fastened at his waist. His was much less elaborate than Rika's, consisting of a single black velvety bag with a white string holding it tightly closed.
  Rika had to twist around to see them. "Shit," she murmured.
  "What?" Alden asked in a low voice.
  "Let's just say I know them," Rika whispered back. She sank low in the booth, and slowly began to put the hood over her head to hide the distinctive blue streak in her hair—but it was too late.
  "Hey, bitch!"
  The lead man's eyes locked on their booth. Alden could have sworn he grew a few inches as he approached, and not just from perspective.
  "Hi Ryan. How's life?" Rika asked brightly, turning to face him. As she did, she sniffled a bit, and grabbed a napkin to wipe at her nose.
  "Better than yours," Ryan glowered down at them. "You owe me. Time to pay up."
  "For what?" she asked innocently.
  "Two dozen shards of topaz that you bought off me at the market. You never delivered your end before you bailed. Who's this guy?" Ryan added, nodding at Alden.
  "He's not awakened." Ryan seemed to take this odd statement without question, and didn't give Alden so much as a second glance. "Where the hell am I supposed to find nature-laid twin lizard eggs?" Rika added.
  "Internet?" Ryan suggested, half-sarcastically.
  "Screw that, I'm not ordering that shit online. Get them yourself."
  "So use bitcoin or something. I don't care, but you're not leaving this dump until I get what's mine."
  Alden didn't dare move a muscle. He was completely out of his depth in this confrontation, whatever it was about. Out of the corner of his eye, Alden saw Rika's hand gently unclasp one of the pouches on her belt, out of sight for Ryan or his cronies.
  "Bitcoin's traceable as fuck, and besides, how am I supposed to get it to you when I can't leave this dump?" Rika asked pointedly.
  "So give me my gems back."
  "How'd you know I was back in town, anyway?" Rika deflected.
  "We've got a guy," one of Ryan's guys piped up. Ryan shot him a look and he fell silent.
  "Ooh. Ryan's moving up in the world. Got himself a reader," she taunted. Ryan glowered at his companion.
  "Look, I—" Alden started. He wasn't sure why he was inserting himself into a heated and suddenly quite vulgar argument for the sake of a girl he'd just met, but he couldn't help himself.
  "Stay out of this," Rika and Ryan said in unison. Alden quickly fell silent.
  "Give me the eggs, or give me the topaz back. Simple as that," Ryan said.
  "Oh Ryan. Is this because I stopped sleeping with you?" Rika teased.
  "Why would you bang a board that flat anyway?" one of Ryan's cronies sneered, which quickly devolved into a back-and-forth about Rika's physical appearance between his minions.
  "Maybe he's more of an ass-man."
  "She doesn't got that either! Maybe he's a weeb."
  Alden half-expected Rika to jump him then and there. She seemed like the quick-to-violence type. To his surprise, she ignored the jabs entirely, her eyes still locked on Ryan.
  Ryan shook his head. "Just want the topaz," he grunted. Alden thought he detected a bit more anger in his voice after Rika's last comment, or maybe it was the catcalls from his friends. He couldn't help but think Rika was deliberately antagonising them and it couldn't be going anywhere healthy.
  Still, what on earth were they arguing over? That was the weirdest part for Alden. The conversation and tone was clear, but the subjects made no sense. Gemstones and lizard eggs? What the hell was this? Alden was beyond confused. He decided to just stay silent. Hopefully it would end up making sense before much longer.
  He was about to be very, very wrong.
  Rika's hand began to move down to her belt, presumably to grab the topaz.
  "Shit!"
  One of Ryan's guys reacted. Ryan began lifting a hand to stop him, but it was too late. The guy reached into his pocket and tossed something into the air. A few tiny rocks that glinted as they caught the light hanging above them.
  Alden watched the crony's hand make a small gesture in midair, but it was too fast for him to see from a distance. More importantly, as the guy's fingers moved, the tiny objects he'd hurled started glowing.
  Not just glowing. They were on fire. More importantly, they were hurtling right at Alden and Rika.
  Alden froze in place. There were actual fireballs flying at him. Tiny, bright orange fireballs whizzing through midair at his chest.
Am I that tired?
  Just as suddenly, he felt his hair stand on end. A blur of motion across from him—Rika's hand had flown up to point at the licks of flame. Alden would have sworn her hand teleported from the pouch on her belt, it moved so fast. The little fireballs were only halfway to his face when Rika made her move.
  Tiny arcs of electricity crackled around her fingertips. Their appearance sounded like a whipcrack echoing through the entire restaurant. Alden instinctively flinched, as did the trio opposite.
  A brilliant blue arc spiked through the air, forming tiny connections with anything nearby as it whipped across the table to impact on the fireballs. The bolt crackled and split into three. Each branch struck a fireball directly, a strange mixture of glowing red and sharp blue.
  It felt like slow motion as the three orbs of flame were pushed aside. A sparkle of what looked like dust fell from Rika's hand. The fireballs knocked into the wall all around them both, tiny impacts that quickly dissipated into small blackened rocks.
  All of it happened in only a second, but Alden still felt the wash of heat and the rush of adrenaline in his head.
  "Seth, what the fuck?" Ryan shouted at his companion, but they were both staring at Rika in terror, who had stood up. Even though he was presumably on her side, Alden was scared—but also thrilled. There was a low crackle of electricity, tiny arcs whipping along the streak of blue in her hair, like a cloudless storm hovering on the side of her face. He could feel the air around them energized from the activity, as the smell of ozone drifted past his nostrils, intoxicating and foreboding.
  With her right hand still outstretched and her jacket sleeve having fallen away, Alden could see an intricate tattoo adorning her wrist. Two flowers, one black and one light pink sat on the back of her hand, with their stems intertwined and stretching back up her forearm a short distance. As he stared, another crackle accompanied a small brilliant bolt of lightning curling and snapping between two of her fingers.
  "Get the hell out before I throw you out," Rika growled with such fury that Alden recoiled involuntarily in his seat.
  Ryan didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed the arm of the guy who had fired at Rika and dragged him out of the restaurant, their other companion following. Dan stood stock still at the grill, his eyes wide. Alden would never forget the look on Rika's face at that moment—utterly suffused with fury. She was breathing heavily, as if she'd just run a fair distance.
  "Zack, toss me those rubies," she said calmly, returning to her seat. She tried to relax into the chair, though it was obvious she was still worked up.
  Alden spluttered back to life. With what he'd just witnessed, there was no way he was going to refuse anything she asked. He looked around and grabbed up the three blackened stones set into the wall, shaking the ash off of them before setting them on the table.
  "Thanks." Rika picked them up, looking at them closely. "Nope." She tossed the first into one pouch. "Nope. Well, this one's not bad. Eh, one's better than nothing." She took out a small cloth from another pouch on her bag and started on the rock, wiping away the blackened edges as best she could. "Gonna have to get this a real polishing later. Hey Dan," she called out without looking.
  "...Yeah?" Dan asked nervously.
  "Those fries ready yet?"
  "Oh. Yeah, one sec." Dan looked enormously relieved to have something normal to focus on. He turned around and busied himself with his cooking.
  "Hope this is obvious, Dan, but please don't say anything about what you just saw. Yeah?" Rika said matter-of-factly.
  "No shit," Dan muttered.
  Rika grinned at Alden. "You good there, Zack?"
  "...What are you?" Alden asked.
  "O-positive. You?"
  "I… What?"
  "I'm human, idiot." Rika looked back at the gem, which was beginning to show small shades of red again, though many of the charred portions were clearly too much for her simple cloth to remove.
  "But… what—"
  "That's the best I'm going to get." Rika tossed the ruby into another pouch, then began looking around the table for something. Alden didn't know how to react to her statement. A few moments of silence passed before he finally spoke up again.
  "What are you looking for?"
  "I was hoping some of that topaz hadn't cracked, but it's all dust. Waste of perfectly good shards," Rika sighed.
  "Are you going to give me a straight answer?" Alden asked angrily.
  "You gonna tell me your real name?" Rika shot back.
  He cleared his throat. Screw it, he decided. Better her than anyone else I've seen so far. "Alden. Alden Bensen."
  She held out her hand. "Rika Nishimura. Pleasure." He shook it, and distinctly felt the electricity coursing through her body. It felt like her skin was thrumming with movement and energy. He grasped it firmly this time, and felt the current weave its way through him.
  "How did you do that?" Alden asked, excitement and fear mixing pleasantly in his chest.
  Rika grinned. "Short answer? Magic is real."
 
 
 
Previous Part | Table of Contents / Reviews | Next Part
thanks for reading! 💙
Patreon - writing blog, advance chapters, other goodies
Discord - come hang out!
Want more? Try my other stories!

This post is for those who are new to Cryptocurrency or want to find out more about VeChain. The text "VeChain" has been banned in this subreddit for the last 30 days. For more details about the ban itself, please visit this cryptocurrencymeta post. Changes have been made and official channels of communications have been opened up to prevent this from happening in the future.
All feedback is welcome, and all discussion is encouraged, but please no moon-posting, ridiculous price speculation or baseless FUD. Looking forward to answering any questions you guys have :) VeChain Foundation COO Kevin Feng is holding a Business AMA with Boxmining today, so new information is coming very soon.

TL:DR.

• VeChain is more than a supply chain solution
• VeChainThor is a global enterprise level public blockchain platform
• Focus on enterprise & government level adoption
• Focus on safety and security
• New DApps: VeVid, VeVOT and VeSCC - Foundation layer for new ecosystem
• New ICO: BitOcean - Fiat/VET on-ramp
• New partners: BMW, Yida Group, Australian 188 Business Alliance Association
• New VeResearch partner: Awaiting formal announcement from University
• New initiative: Carbon Bank alongside DNV GL, Tsinghua University, and government agencies
• New Website: https://www.vechain.org/
• Potential for further growth: 180 business opportunities in the pipeline for 2018
• Currently: DNV-GL at Global Food Safety Initiative - live real-world use case for wine tracking and cold chain logistics solution
• X series node program - Additional rewards to early adopters, staking and long term investment

Updates from the last 30 days

It's been a big month for VeChain as they have continued to work and share with the community. Here are the updates from their Official Medium channel and Reddit Rebrand Post

• 8th Feb - VeChain’s First Official Public Infrastructural Decentralized Application — VeVID
• 12th Feb - VeChain partners with Australian based 188 Business Alliance Association
• 13th Feb - VeChain COO Kevin Feng’s blockchain lecture transcript in English
• 13th Feb - VeChain Tech Sneak Preview
• 20th Feb - VeChain Signs A Partnership Agreement With Yida Group’s IT Management division, Yida Future
• 21st Feb - VeChain Technical AMA — Hardware Questions Part 1
• 23rd Feb - VeChain Technical AMA — Hardware Questions Part 2
• 24th Feb - VeChain Technical AMA — Software Questions Part 1
• 26th Feb - VeChain Technical AMA — Software Questions Part 2
• 27th Feb - VechainThor Rebrand Event: BMW, DApps, BitOcean ICO & More
  
  • BMW still under formal NDA. More information will follow, stay tuned.
• 2nd March - VeChain Financial Executive Report vol. 2
  
• 7th March - VeChain pledges 50M VET to create the X Series Node Program
  
• 8th March - My Story, The First Ever 3rd-party Initiated, Developed And Managed dApp On VeChainThor
  

New website - https://www.vechain.org/

It has loads of useful information and a well produced introduction video. I would highly recommend reading through the website to get an idea of the scope of what VeChainThor is trying to accomplish.

"We are controlled by the few, the powerful and the greedy. We should be free. Free to choose, to trade, to create. It is time for a new world, a world founded on safety and security. A world where everything you do creates power, power for all. And you, you will decide the shape of this world. The power to change the future, is in your hands. VeChain." VeChain Introduction Video

What is Blockchain X?

Blockchain X is a global enterprise level public blockchain platform. VeChainThor is referring to their network/protocol as Blockchain X, to differentiate it from Bitcoin (Blockchain 1.0) and Ethereum (Blockchain 2.0 = Blockchain 1.0 + Smart Contracts).

Blockchain X = Blockchain 2.0 + IoT + AI + VET/VeThor = A living digital ecosystem

• Blockchain = structure - bones, muscle etc (immutable trustworthy network)
• IoT = senses - touch, vision, taste, smell, sound (collect real world information from RFID/NFC/QR etc.)
• VET/VeThor = bone marrow/blood - generate blood & circulate (value transfer on the network)
• AI = brain - information synthesis (automation of network with deep learning)
  

VeChainThor: the top candidate for enterprise and government level adoption of Blockchain

VeChainThor has an extremely strong development plan geared towards enterprise and government level adoption. If successful in their execution, I see VeChain being the leading cryptoasset comparable to Ethereum in size. The reasons I believe they will succeed are due to their ecosystem development, innovative governance model, robust economic model and strong strategic partnerships. The evidence of their success is snowballing with each new enterprise level partner and client.

DApps & Ecosystem development

The infrastructure layer has adoption in mind at the very core. Governments and enterprises will prioritise safety and security before venturing into blockchain adoption. (Mentioned in the introduction video.) The core DApps, VeVID (Verified identity, KYC/AML), VeVOT (Voting, Governance tool) and VeSCC (Smart Contract Certification, Regulatory compliance) provide the safety and security that governments and enterprises will demand. Blockchain X will have built-in KYC/AML, Governance and Regulation compliance. This sets it apart from other protocols and ICO platforms.

Governance model

The governance model is a balanced mix of decentralisation and centralisation. With problems such as Bitcoin's scaling debate, it appears that a purely decentralised governance structure may be inefficient. VeChain will use a new model of a decentralised system through centralised channels. The final decisions will be made in a decentralised democratic process through VeVOT by stakeholders with voting authority. I believe this model will be more widely adopted as it retains some of the efficient centralised channels that enterprise & government are familiar with, while still giving overall control to the network participants via a democratic voting system.

Economic model

The two-token economic model splits the value in the network into VET and VeThor. VET's primary function is to generate VeThor. VeThor represents the underlying costs of using the VeChainThor blockchain. All smart contract execution and transactions will require payment with VeThor. Through the dynamic rate of VeThor generation, the fiat value of VeThor can be kept relatively stable. For example, if the VeThor price was too high due to an increase in enterprise demand, the VeThor generation rate can be increased, which increases supply, and brings the price back down. The opposite is also true if the VeThor price is too low. The way I see VET is a store of value, a representation of ownership of part of the network and the right to use the network. Whereas VeThor is the perfect medium of exchange and a pure utility token. By using a two-token system, VeThor can have a stable fiat value over a long period of time. A company will be able to calculate how much VeThor will be needed for a consistent fiat value year after year and will be able to budget for this. This is extremely useful for enterprise and government level adoption since it removes the inherent price volatility from a nascent market like crypto.
VeChain also has a Node system, whereby holding VET generates additional rewards. Nodes of different levels will generate up to 200% additional VeThor compared to the base rate. This encourages long term staking in the network and decreases volatility. See the Apotheosis Part II article and X Series Node article for more information. A portion of VET supply will be locked up when nodes activate. Long term VET holders will not sell and downgrade their status. This decreased supply will lead to price increases. Early adopters (Deadline to stake: Before 20th March 2018) will be rewarded in the new X Series Node system. Features include exclusive participation in VeChain ecosystem project whitelists. (Something I'm excited about since I believe there will be a handful of reverse ICOs from traditional enterprise clients)

Technology

VeChain is planning on adding more than 100 additional full-time developers by the end of 2018.
For those interested in the technology of Blockchain X, I would direct you to the Medium AMAs where the VeChain team have provided detailed answers to common questions. Hardware 1, Hardware 2, Software 1 and Software 2 are worth a read.

Strategic partners

The three strategic partners each play a key role in VeChainThor's expansion. PWC has clients which make up 85% of the Fortune 500. DNV-GL is the preferred provider of those Fortune 500 companies for management systems certification services. PWC and DNV-GL will serve to introduce their enterprise clients to VeChain and increase adoption. BitOcean is positioning itself as a Fiat on-ramp for Crypto in Japan through physical ATMs and online exchanges, with approval by Japan's Financial Services Authority. BitOcean also plans to operate in China when regulations are finalised. BitOcean represents a Fiat/VET pairing that may serve to decouple VET/BTC and lead to independence of VET from the whims of BTC price.

Evidence of adoption to date: Existing clients & Investors

VeChain currently has 180 business opportunities in their pipeline for 2018 (compared to 4 use cases in 2016 and 22 in 2017). They have real uses cases and existing clients that range from medium to large enterprises. Revealed clients include Chinese Government Gui'an New Area project, BMW, Groupe Renault, DIG, Kuehne + Nagel, China Unicom, NRCC - State Tobacco, MLILY, Sunshine culture, Hubei Sanxin Cultural Media, Fanghuwang, YIDA future, Madeforgoods and iTaotaoke. Each of these partnerships deserve a detailed post on their own, they are all available on VeChain's Medium page. Taken together, it becomes clear what type of Ecosystem VeChainThor is trying to build.
Jiangsu Printed Electronics and Xiamen Innov Information Technology are technology partners and I suspect will be mass producing the RFID/NFC chips.
Breyer Capital and Fenbushi capital are the two featured investors on VeChain's website. Jim Breyer generally makes some pretty smart investment decisions. His only other crypto investments are Circle and Ethereum.
Bonus news: This week they are presenting with DNV-GL a cold chain supply chain solution at the Global Food Safety Initiative conference 2018. Zoom in and you'll see VeChain Intelligent Control Display System. DNV-GL have also launched their new digital assurance solution, My Story™. Four top Italian wine producers are using My Story™ under supervision of the Italian wine authorities. Twitter and DNVGL link.

China's potential

China is widely known to be anti-cryptocurrency but extremely pro-blockchain. China's "13th Five year plan 2016-2020" focuses on moving up in the value chain by abandoning old heavy industry and building up bases of modern information-intensive infrastructure, with blockchain and Smart Cities being a key technological focus. VeChain has achieved approval from the Government of the People's Republic of China with Gui'an New Area project, multiple mentions on state owned media (CCTV) and deals with state owned enterprises (China Tobacco). China will not fall behind in the international Blockchain race, they will finalise regulations and adopt Blockchain rapidly in the coming years. VeChain appears to be one of the leaders in the field, with their largest office in Shanghai and existing government connections.

Leader in the field

Last but not least, VeChain is leading the field in a number of areas.

1. Academic research: VeResearch with Michigan State University #1 for supply chain management and another university to be announced
2. Transparency: quarterly financial reports, regular social media updates, multiple AMAs, response to cryptocurrency ban, directly addressing FUD in official Telegram channels
3. Corporate responsibility: cryptocurrency disaster recovery plan
4. Environmental responsibility: Carbon bank initiative with DNV-GL

Skeptics section

In the interests of balanced discussion, I will update this section with skepticism I find in the comments below.

1. "No whitepaper"
   
   • VeChain are working on a Whitepaper as part of their Q1 2018 goals. Information normally found in a Whitepaper has been made available through the development plan. I'm actually not too fussed about not having a whitepaper. For me evidence of enterprise adoption is a more useful indicator of how successful VeChainThor could be.
2. "No official wallet" "No Mainnet"
   
   • VeChainThor has been operating as a private blockchain since June 2016. Public VeChainThor Blockchain Launch, VeChain Wallet with VeThor Forge Function will be released in Q2 2018 according to the roadmap.
3. "VeChain are dumping their VET on the open market"
   
   • False FUD. Addressed by VeChain Foundation directly in the Official Telegram channel.
   • Telegram quotes from Sunny Lu CEO
   • Telegram quotes from Kevin Feng COO
4. "Can we talk about the fact that the BMW "partnership" is not really a partnership? VEN is allowed to participate into a startup program hosted by BMW. BMW is not a client. http://www.bmwstartupgarage.com/partner " - u/DutchDolt
   
   • "BMWstartupgarage" has neither been confirmed or denied by BMW or VeChain, it has been spread by a youtuber called "Crypto Gem"
   • Going to the website linked, BMW refers to successful participants as both partners and clients
   • This is still a developing partnership with details under NDA, however the VeChain/BMW link has been confirmed at the VeChain rebranding event and by Sarah VeChain Country Manager
5. "Vote manipulation" "Shilling" "Brigading" "You're a paid shiller"
   
   • In the past VeChain Telegram Moderators wilfully participated in brigading, leading to the ban on the word "VeChain" for 30 days in cryptocurrency
   • It is difficult to differentiate manipulated behaviour and organic behaviour on Reddit, the moderators here do an amazing job getting rid of spam and detecting vote manipulation
   • The Official VeChain Foundation has stepped in to help Reddit moderators prevent VeChain vote manipulation
   • Official Telegram Rules: Brigading & Reddit links: We have a new policy regarding Reddit and 'brigading'. No brigading of any kind will be allowed. If you want to post a Reddit link, do so with the "np." prefix added to its URL, for example "np.reddit.com /CryptoCurrency". No spamming for upvotes, as it hurts both of our communities.
   • This is strictly enforced by Telegram moderators and results in a warning then an insta-ban for repeat offenders
   • https://imgur.com/a/sOva9 is being copy-pasted en masse by detractors as evidence of brigading
   • Image shows Boxminig feeling sorry for WTC PR team and a "np" link to a different thread
   • I wish I got paid to shill VeChain, I made this post to share a fundamentally strong crypto with the community _________________________________________________________________________________________

An interesting perspective supported by CEO Sunny Lu

NTSpike: VeChain Thor Is Positioning to Become THE #1 Enterprise dApp Platform, and Here's Why - A Systems Analyst's Perspective

Disclaimer: My holdings are 80% VEN and remainder in NEO, WTC, TKY, XRB, AMB

What’s up everyone! (TL:DR at the end this time, I've learned from my past mistakes haha)
 
Yep, it’s me again! New case for a new coin that seems to have taken off lately (and for good reason!) I’ve been researching it deeply lately. For those of you wondering (and in a voluntary spirit of being transparent), I do hold nice bags of the coins I post about. However I do not dump them. I’m a HODLER at heart, and love to invest in and hold coins that have a purpose. You know, like, an actual purpose. I have a Phore masternode, which i intend to keep running indefinitely. I also have a decent chunk of COSS, which I also intend to keep for a very long time (3+ years, until they are a full crypto one-stop-solution).
 
If you’ve missed my previous post, you can find it here:
 
A Lost Gem In A Sea Of Shitcoins, Vol. 1: https://www.reddit.com/CryptoCurrency/comments/7h69xa/a_lost_gem_in_a_sea_of_shitcoins/
 
For those who do not know me, or haven’t read my previous post, here’s my intro: I come from a business & logistics management background. I started investing in cryptocurrencies and trading a little more than six months ago. I am very detail oriented and I’ve been researching all kinds of cryptos, for hours a day, for the past six months. Cryptocurrencies went from a simple hobby to a burning passion during that 6 month period.
 
I’ve spotted great coins at great prices, and it seems I keep doing so! Firstly, Ethereum at 150$. Then NEO when it was antshares (sub-3$), Gas when it was antcoin (sub-30c), OMG when it was sub-1$, ETP at 1$ (ended up selling at 5$, too many wallet issues and kind of lost faith in it), COSS at 6 cents, that ended up getting a lot of visibility due to my last post (23K+ views), and finally, Phore at 60cents.
 
It took me less than an hour of research to understand Phore’s potential. I immediately purchased and setup a Masternode after seeing how undervalued it is compared to coins like Dash, PivX, and other privacy/masternode coins. I must admit, i FOMO’ed in really fast, but then kept on researching after I had secured my cheap PHR, and the more I researched, the more I saw the vision.
 
For those of you that don’t know, Phore is a fork of PIVX. It is a Masternode/Proof of Stake hybrid (MN + PoS), meaning 60% of the block reward goes to Masternodes, 30% to stakers, and 10% is left for the “development fund”.
 
For the newbs reading this (welcome, by the way!), a masternode is basically a node that you deploy on a virtual server (or on your own computer) and it basically verifies the blockchain and maintains concensus alongside the other nodes. You need to “lock” 10000 phore to deploy a Masternode. Proof of Stake, on the other end, basically means you can purchase coins and “Stake them” (aka put them in your wallet) and they will also be used to validate the blockchain. Both masternodes and staking will give you rewards, in Phore coins. Masternodes more than staking, obviously, as you “lock” a rather high amount of coins to deploy one.
 
Allright, so, what’s so good about this Phore coin? Isn’t it just a PivX knock-off?
 
1) Well, first of all, The MN/PoS structure is simply genius IMO. Dash’s value has gone up a lot simply because there is so little in circulation and most of the coins are locked up in masternodes. But Dash is MN/PoW, basically Masternodes + Mining. Miners do not have as big an incentive to hold unlike MN’s, it’s their mining equipment that generates them Dash. In Phore’s Case, yes, we do have the Masternodes locking up most of the supply, but we also have the stakers that are incentivized to lock up their coins to stake, and generate some extra coins.
 
2) Which brings us to point 2. There is a BIG incentive to buy and hold this coin. Masternodes are being deployed at a rate of 5 to 10 per day. This means 50 to 100k phore are being purchased and locked up, every day. On top of that, people that cannot afford a costly masternode, can still buy a few thousand coins and earn “interests” as they help validating the blockchain too! This basically drains the order book, fast, and skyrockets the price.
 
3) What happens when the vast majority (65%+) of the coins are locked up in masternodes, and from the 35% remaining, most of it goes into “staking”? Here’s what happens: the supply becomes increasingly low, the demand increasingly high. People that own masternodes or own decent amounts of coins don’t wanna sell, as the “interests” they make double, triple, quadruple in value, incentivizing them even further to hold.
 
4) What I’ve described in points 1 to 3 is pretty basic stuff. Economics 101. It’s a positive feedback loop: More MN’s/stakers = less coins in circulation = higher price = higher “interests” earned = more people want in = even less coins in circulation = even higher price = even higher “interests”, and it repeats itself until an equilibrium is reached (judging from PivX, equilibrium is at or around 425M market cap). Everybody wants in early on PoS coins, even moreso with MN coins, because of that simple fact. Early dash masternode owners are pretty much laughing right now. Everyone FOMO’s a good masternode coin, and that’s a fact, pure and simple.
 
5) Alright, now let’s dive into the actual “technical” merits of Phore. Phore is developed by an anonymous team. The same team that created Kryptcoin a few years ago (a coin with a decentralized marketplace). The team performed in a stellar fashion with kryptcoin, as well as their marketplace. Unfortunately, they were way ahead of their time with the marketplace. Most people didn’t even know what a bitcoin was back then. Phore definitely has this “old school, underground project” feel to it, and you will notice a good chunk of its community on discord are crypto believers from well before crypto was even talked about. They are “remaking” Kryptcoin from scratch, with tons of added features, and an even better marketplace. The fact they pulled it off back then only further reassures me that they will pull it off even better this time. This team actually has something under its belt.
 
6) Phore will have SegWit, as well as Smart Contracts. Yep, you read that right, smart contracts and dApps will eventually be running on PHORE. Zerocoin protocol as well for completely anonymous transactions.
 
7) Phore is integrating a Decentralized marketplace based on OpenBazaar’s codebase. They aim to have it running smoother, with a better UI and make it very intuitive. If there’s one team you have to believe can pull it off, it’s definitely the Phore dev team (They already did it in the past!) And the best part is that it’s not for late 2018 unlike some other coins. Nope. We are already in the testing phase, and it should launch somewhere in Q1 2018.
 
8) Although it is obvious, I thought I’d mention it for the less familiar: 10% of each block reward goes to the development fund. This means the project has a constant flow of money to hire new devs, grow the marketing team, grow the project, pay for exchange listing fees, etc. (They’ve already added an extra dev & an extra marketing team member, just this week, and are already hiring right now for another dev position. So, if you are a talented dev, feel free to apply!)
 
9) They have applied for Binance today. Although this does NOT mean it is guaranteed, at all, it’s good to see them applying to a variety of exchanges. It is currently only available on cryptopia and is skyrocketing. Getting added to Binance, Bittrex and the likes would make it explode in a ridiculous way.
 
10) Point number 10 will be a little off topic, to put us in context for point #11. Personally, I like to contribute feedback to projects i truely believe in. One example I came up with was a cool idea for COSS and I let Rune (COSS founder) know about it. Basically, when COSS will get FIAT trading, it is impossible for people to get USD and EUR “fee split” from holding COSS, as USD and EUR are not compatible with the DAO, which is an Ethereum Smart Contract.
 
My way around this was to create a “COSSusd and a COSSeur”, basically an ERC20 token that’s automatically created/destroyed as FIAT is deposited/withdrawn from the exchange. People sending fiat over to COSS would basically be credited with the “COSSusd or COSSeur”, trade with it, and then when they want to withdraw they would exchange their ERC20 for FIAT and withdraw it via wire transfer. The whole thing would be smart-contract powered and transparent so there is always the same number of COSSusd and Real USD on COSS.
 
Basically, this would result in COSS holders receiving “fiat dividends” as well, and not only “crypto dividends”. Rune is currently in the process of getting legal opinion on this idea as he is an adamant believer in compliance and wants to do everything by the Book.
 
11) Well, for Phore, I’ve also contributed a few ideas to attempt to make the marketplace go viral. Viral as in mainstream viral, not only viral in the crypto-space. The devs, advisors, marketing team, advisors and even the community were all very impressed and took notes of everything. Now I cannot comment on what will and what won’t be implemented, but overall my feedback was received in an extremely positive manner. Here goes:
 
To get the mainstream we need something like: https://www.reddit.com/vertcoin/comments/7ixkbf/vertbase_a_vertcoin_to_usd_exchange/
 
Basically an easy gateway that's only fiat > phore. Coded in a way that when you purchase with fiat it automatically sends it to your wallet (and obviously we'd need to have a phore mobile wallet app).
 
This is how Phore will go mainstream, no way around it, unless we wanna wait 10+ years for every crypto "newbies" coming in to actually go through the lengthy process of learning about crypto, how they work, familiarize themselves, etc. So many newbies flooding in, we definitely need easy one-click fiat > phore solution.
 
Plus it would be super easy for me or phore marketing team (or both, working together) to put up a small nice and concise "press release kit" and send it out to all the major media outlets (all the big blogs, bloomberg, yahoo finance, lifestyle blogs for the libertarian / marijuana users / all the people that are into the whole “freedom thing” as well as all media outlets targeted to the 18-30 crowd).
 
Facebook advertising campaigns (targeting 18-35 age range, people interested in crypto, people interested in "online commerce", etc etc.) as well as google advertising campaigns (people search amazon or ebay, and they find our sponsored paid ad on top saying "thinking of trying amazon? Check out the phore marketplace, it's cheaper, blockchain-powered and 100% decentralized".
 
*Instagram campaigns as well, lots of the 16-30 crowd there. Instagram, google, Facebook and Reddit campaigns and any other viable channels. We can do all these things AND succeed at them quite easily, all we need is 1) an intuitive marketplace, which the devs are busting their asses off to achieve and we KNOW it'll be phenomenal, and 2) a fiat > phore gateway integrated. That second point will make or break it in terms of mainstream adoption, hence why it's indispensable to have it before we tackle "mainstream marketing" via FB, IG, Google, Reddit, Twitter, Blogs & Other Media outlets.
 
Ideally the fiat > phore gateway would be on the website itself, so people get credited their phore directly on their marketplace account. With a mobile wallet being a nice add-on of course so they can keep the extra phore in there when not in use, and 1-click transfer from marketplace to mobile wallet and vice versa, "a la paypal/dash evolution.
 
TL;DR for the lazy: Masternodes + PoS // Self-sufficient project due to the “treasury fund” // Stellar team who has ALREADY DONE THIS before // Currently underserved (cryptopia only) // Team applied to exchanges including Binance // Segwit + Smart Contracts + Strong privacy features // Decentralized Marketplace being beta tested as we speak and launching Q1 2018 // Strong incentive to hold as both Masternodes AND stakers dry up the supply for staking purposes, which creates a positive feedback loop (coins get bought, price goes up making the “staking & MN rewards go up”, making more people want a MN or Stake, more people buy, price rises again, “interests” earned go up, rinse and repeat in an endless loop until equilibrium is reached).
 
Currently, a masternode generates roughly 120phweek. Calculate Phore’s current price multiplied by 120 and you’ll get a pretty solid estimate of the weekly revenue generated from a Masternode.
 
Lastly, here’s a cool pic comparing Phore to other privacy coins, for you visual folks: https://i.imgur.com/ZVVEqyH.jpg
 
As well as a cool short video from one of the winners of the community video contest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4veIgQmmBs
 
Well, that’s it for now folks! As usual, not investment advice, and always do your own research before coming to conclusions. I am just a random internet stranger after all.
 
Cheers! :)

^{Last updated 2018-01-29}
This post is a collaboration with the Bitcoin community to create a one-stop source for Lightning Network information.
There are still questions in the FAQ that are unanswered, if you know the answer and can provide a source please do so!

⚡What is the Lightning Network? ⚡

Explanations:

• Lightning Network
• Lightning Labs
• Lightning FAQ - Audun Gulbrandsen
• Lightning FAQ - Rusty Russell
• Rusty Russell's Coding Blog
• Andreas M. Antonopoulos - Mastering Bitcoin
• Elizabeth Stark - What is the Lightning Network
• BitMEX - The Lightning Network

Image Explanations:

• billycoin - Practical use examples
• @patestevao Lightning Series Infographic - What is a multisig wallet
• @patestevao Lightning Series Infographic - What are the bitcoin timelocks
• @patestevao Lightning Series Infographic - Lightning - part 1 - payment channels
• @patestevao Lightning Series Infographic - Lightning - part 2 - shaping the network
• @patestevao Lightning Series Infographic - Lightning - part 3 - going off chain

Specifications / White Papers

• Lightning Network White Paper - The protocol has changed since this original paper, but covers the mid-level mechanics of the Lightning Network with an emphasis on the smart contracts that make it trustless
• Lightning Network Summary
• Lightning Network Technical Summary
• Lightning Network Specification
• Deployable Lightning White Paper
• Scalable Funding of Bitcoin Micropayment Channel Networks

Videos

• Bitcoin's Lightning Network, Simply Explained! [5:33]
• The Lightning Network Explained (Litecoin/Bitcoin) [8:13]
• Zap: Lightning Network Wallet (Jack Mallers - Demo Walkthrough) [3:38]
• Cross-Implementation Lightning Payment on Bitcoin's Mainnet (Laolu (a.k.a roasbeef) - Demo) [2:51]
• Bitcoin Q&A: The Lightning Network (Andreas Antonopoulos) [7:55]
• Lightning Network Deep Dive with Laolu "Roasbeef" Osuntokun [48:10]
• SF Bitcoin Devs Seminar: Scaling Bitcoin to Billions of Transactions Per Day [54:40]
• Bitcoin, Lightning, and Streaming Money (Andreas Antonopoulos) [27:38]
• Bitcoin Q&A: Running nodes and payment channels (Andreas Antonopoulos) [10:14]
• Lightning Network Tech Talk at Coinbase (Thaddeus Dryja and Joseph Poon) [58:11]
• Elizabeth Stark - Lightning and the Importance of Layer Two [14:15]

Lightning Network Experts on Reddit

• starkbot - (Elizabeth Stark - Lightning Labs)
• roasbeef - (Olaoluwa Osuntokun - Lightning Labs)
• stile65 - (Alex Akselrod - Lightning Labs)
• cfromknecht - (Conner Fromknecht - Lightning Labs)
• RustyReddit - (Rusty Russell - Blockstream)
• cdecker - (Christian Decker - Blockstream)
• Dryja - (Tadge Dryja - Digital Currency Initiative)
• josephpoon - (Joseph Poon)
• fdrn - (Fabrice Drouin - ACINQ )
• pmpadiou - (Pierre-Marie Padiou - ACINQ)

Lightning Network Experts on Twitter

• @starkness - (Elizabeth Stark - Lightning Labs)
• @roasbeef - (Olaoluwa Osuntokun - Lightning Labs)
• @stile65 - (Alex Akselrod - Lightning Labs)
• @bitconner - (Conner Fromknecht - Lightning Labs)
• @johanth - (Johan Halseth - Lightning Labs)
• @bvu - (Bryan Vu - Lightning Labs)
• @rusty_twit - (Rusty Russell - Blockstream)
• @snyke - (Christian Decker - Blockstream)
• @JackMallers - (Jack Mallers - Zap)
• @tdryja - (Tadge Dryja - Digital Currency Initiative)
• @jcp - (Joseph Poon)
• @alexbosworth - (Alex Bosworth - yalls.org)

Medium Posts

• Announcements related to interoperability
• Lightning Resources
• Lightning FAQ
• Lightning Network Explorer
• Bitcoin Lightning Network — 7 Things You Should Know
• A Primer to The Lightning Network (Part 1) - (Part 2) - (Part 3)
• A Scale Free and Private Lightning Network

Learning Resources

• Lightning Network Bitcoin Wiki
• Hashed Timelock Contracts
• LN as a Directed Graph; Single-Funded Channel Topology (Slides)
• How to Do "2-of-3 Multisig Contract" Equivalent on Lightning (From LN Mailing List)

Books

• Mastering Bitcoin, 2nd Edition
• Owning Bitcoin

Desktop Interfaces

• lightning-app - Cross-platform Lightning Desktop Application
• lnd-gui - Lightning MacOS GUI Wallet
• eclair-node-gui - Cross-platform desktop GUI for Lightning
• zap-desktop - Lightning Network desktop application

Web Interfaces

• lncli-web - Light-weight web client for the lnd daemon written in NodeJS / Angular
• lnd-chrome-extension
• kugelblitz - A simple UI for the c-lightning daemon lightningd and bitcoind

Tutorials and resources

• Install bitcoind + lnd
• Develop an application of bitcoind and lnd
• Setting up and Testing LND with the Testnet Lightning Faucet
• Setting up a local Lightning cluster
• Using the LND Web Client
• Using the LND gRPC Client
• Integrating Lightning into a server-side web application
• How to use a Python gRPC Client with LND
• How to use a Javascript gRPC Client with LND

Lightning on Testnet

Lightning Wallets

• HTLC Web Lightning Wallet
• Eclair wallet (for android)
• Eclair (Linux, macOS, Windows)
• Zap wallet (Linux, macOS, Windows)
• lightning-app - Cross-platform Lightning Desktop Application
• lnwallet - Android Wallet based on eclair

Place a testnet transaction

• Y'alls - Read and write articles, with Lightning Network micropayments.
• Starblocks - Grab a Blockaccino!
• Bitrefill - Bitrefill LN Site - Top up prepaid mobile phones
• Lightning Gem - Game using Lightning Network Testnet

Altcoin Trading using Lightning

• ZigZag - Disclaimer You must trust ZigZag to send to Target Address

Lightning on Mainnet

Warning - Testing should be done on Testnet

• Jack Mallers Paying with LN - Instant Payment, 0 Fees.
• Alex Bosworth Paying with LN - Instant Payment, 0 Fees.
• TorGuard accepts MainNet Payments - They will also cover loss of funds
• Coffee Purchasing using Lightning
• My First Mainnet Lightning Network Payment
• Lightning Network Physical Purchase of VPN Router

Atomic Swaps

• Lightning cross-chain swap from Bitcoin to Litecoin!
• Instant Cross-Chain Transactions On Lightning

Developer Documentation and Resources

• Lightning Overview
• LND Developers Site
• LND Developer Guide
• LND API Reference
• Rusty Russell's BOLT Blog Series

Lightning implementations

• LND - Lightning Network Daemon (Golang)
• eclair - A Scala implementation of the Lightning Network (Scala)
• c-lightning - A Lightning Network implementation in C
• lit - Lightning Network node software (Golang)
• lightning-onion - Onion Routed Micropayments for the Lightning Network (Golang)
• lightning-integration - Lightning Integration Testing Framework
• ptarmigan - C++ BOLT-Compliant Lightning Network Implementation [Incomplete]

Libraries

• lightning-integration - Lightning Integration Testing Framework
• lightning-charge - A simple drop-in solution for accepting lightning payments (Javascript)
• lightning-charge-client-js - JavaScript client for lightning-charge
• lightning-charge-client-php - PHP client for lightning-charge
• lightning-payencode - Minimal QR-code-ready encoding for requesting lightning payments
• lseed - A DNS seed for the Lightning Network
• woocommerce-gateway-lightning - A WooCommerce gateway for lightning payments
• lnrpc-client - Javascript RPC Client for LND
• ln-service - Lightning REST Service

Lightning Network Visualizers/Explorers

Testnet

• ACINQ Testnet Explorer for Lightning

Mainnet

• Recksplorer - LN Mainnet map
• Bitcoin Exchange Rate - LN Mainnet Map
• Robtex Explorer

Payment Processors

• BTCPay - Next stable version will include Lightning Network

Community

• Lightning Blog for lnd
• Lightning Labs Twitter Feed
• Lightning Labs Blog
• Lightning Network Mailing List
• Lightning Network Podcasts

Slack

• LND Community Slack - Invite Needed

IRC

• #lightning-dev (on Freenode) - Lightning protocol development
  • Channel Archive
• #lnd - Channel for lnd development that also has a bot for github commits.

Slack Channel

• https://lightningcommunity.slack.com

Discord Channel

• LN Mainnet Discord - Warning - Testing should be done on Testnet

Miscellaneous

• Lightning Emoji ⚡
• lightning-faucet - A faucet for the Lightning Network
• ln-dice - Dice gambling service using the Lightning Network for deposits and withdrawals
• ln-tip-slack - Lightning Slack Tipbot
• lightning-cat - Cat pictures via Lightning

⚡ Lightning FAQs ⚡

If you can answer please PM me and include source if possible. Feel free to help keep these answers up to date and as brief but correct as possible

Is Lightning Bitcoin?

Yes. You pick a peer and after some setup, create a bitcoin transaction to fund the lightning channel; it’ll then take another transaction to close it and release your funds. You and your peer always hold a bitcoin transaction to get your funds whenever you want: just broadcast to the blockchain like normal. In other words, you and your peer create a shared account, and then use Lightning to securely negotiate who gets how much from that shared account, without waiting for the bitcoin blockchain.

Is the Lightning Network open source?

Yes, Lightning is open source. Anyone can review the code (in the same way as the bitcoin code)

Who owns and controls the Lightning Network?

Similar to the bitcoin network, no one will ever own or control the Lightning Network. The code is open source and free for anyone to download and review. Anyone can run a node and be part of the network.

I’ve heard that Lightning transactions are happening “off-chain”…Does that mean that my bitcoin will be removed from the blockchain?

No, your bitcoin will never leave the blockchain. Instead your bitcoin will be held in a multi-signature address as long as your channel stays open. When the channel is closed; the final transaction will be added to the blockchain. “Off-chain” is not a perfect term, but it is used due to the fact that the transfer of ownership is no longer reflected on the blockchain until the channel is closed.

Do I need a constant connection to run a lightning node?

Not necessarily,
Example: A and B have a channel. 1 BTC each. A sends B 0.5 BTC. B sends back 0.25 BTC. Balance should be A = 0.75, B = 1.25. If A gets disconnected, B can publish the first Tx where the balance was A = 0.5 and B = 1.5. If the node B does in fact attempt to cheat by publishing an old state (such as the A=0.5 and B=1.5 state), this cheat can then be detected on-chain and used to steal the cheaters funds, i.e., A can see the closing transaction, notice it's an old one and grab all funds in the channel (A=2, B=0). The time that A has in order to react to the cheating counterparty is given by the CheckLockTimeVerify (CLTV) in the cheating transaction, which is adjustable. So if A foresees that it'll be able to check in about once every 24 hours it'll require that the CLTV is at least that large, if it's once a week then that's fine too. You definitely do not need to be online and watching the chain 24/7, just make sure to check in once in a while before the CLTV expires. Alternatively you can outsource the watch duties, in order to keep the CLTV timeouts low. This can be achieved both with trusted third parties or untrusted ones (watchtowers). In the case of a unilateral close, e.g., you just go offline and never come back, the other endpoint will have to wait for that timeout to expire to get its funds back. So peers might not accept channels with extremely high CLTV timeouts. -- Source

What Are Lightning’s Advantages?

Tiny payments are possible: since fees are proportional to the payment amount, you can pay a fraction of a cent; accounting is even done in thousandths of a satoshi. Payments are settled instantly: the money is sent in the time it takes to cross the network to your destination and back, typically a fraction of a second.

Does Lightning require Segregated Witness?

Yes, but not in theory. You could make a poorer lightning network without it, which has higher risks when establishing channels (you might have to wait a month if things go wrong!), has limited channel lifetime, longer minimum payment expiry times on each hop, is less efficient and has less robust outsourcing. The entire spec as written today assumes segregated witness, as it solves all these problems.

Can I Send Funds From Lightning to a Normal Bitcoin Address?

No, for now. For the first version of the protocol, if you wanted to send a normal bitcoin transaction using your channel, you have to close it, send the funds, then reopen the channel (3 transactions). In future versions, you and your peer would agree to spend out of your lightning channel funds just like a normal bitcoin payment, allowing you to use your lightning wallet like a normal bitcoin wallet.

Can I Make Money Running a Lightning Node?

Not really. Anyone can set up a node, and so it’s a race to the bottom on fees. In practice, we may see the network use a nominal fee and not change very much, which only provides an incremental incentive to route on a node you’re going to use yourself, and not enough to run one merely for fees. Having clients use criteria other than fees (e.g. randomness, diversity) in route selection will also help this.

What is the release date for Lightning on Mainnet?

Lightning is already being tested on the Mainnet Twitter Link but as for a specific date, Jameson Lopp says it best

Would there be any KYC/AML issues with certain nodes?

Nope, because there is no custody ever involved. It's just like forwarding packets. -- Source

What is the delay time for the recipient of a transaction receiving confirmation?

Furthermore, the Lightning Network scales not with the transaction throughput of the underlying blockchain, but with modern data processing and latency limits - payments can be made nearly as quickly as packets can be sent. -- Source

How does the lightning network prevent centralization?

Bitcoin Stack Exchange Answer

What are Channel Factories and how do they work?

Bitcoin Stack Exchange Answer

How does the Lightning network work in simple terms?

Bitcoin Stack Exchange Answer

How are paths found in Lightning Network?

Bitcoin Stack Exchange Answer

How would the lightning network work between exchanges?

Each exchange will get to decide and need to implement the software into their system, but some ideas have been outlined here: Google Doc - Lightning Exchanges
Note that by virtue of the usual benefits of cost-less, instantaneous transactions, lightning will make arbitrage between exchanges much more efficient and thus lead to consistent pricing across exchange that adopt it. -- Source

How do lightning nodes find other lightning nodes?

Stack Exchange Answer

Does every user need to store the state of the complete Lightning Network?

According to Rusty's calculations we should be able to store 1 million nodes in about 100 MB, so that should work even for mobile phones. Beyond that we have some proposals ready to lighten the load on endpoints, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. -- Source

Would I need to download the complete state every time I open the App and make a payment?

No you'd remember the information from the last time you started the app and only sync the differences. This is not yet implemented, but it shouldn't be too hard to get a preliminary protocol working if that turns out to be a problem. -- Source

What needs to happen for the Lightning Network to be deployed and what can I do as a user to help?

Lightning is based on participants in the network running lightning node software that enables them to interact with other nodes. This does not require being a full bitcoin node, but you will have to run "lnd", "eclair", or one of the other node softwares listed above.
All lightning wallets have node software integrated into them, because that is necessary to create payment channels and conduct payments on the network, but you can also intentionally run lnd or similar for public benefit - e.g. you can hold open payment channels or channels with higher volume, than you need for your own transactions. You would be compensated in modest fees by those who transact across your node with multi-hop payments. -- Source

Is there anyway for someone who isn't a developer to meaningfully contribute?

Sure, you can help write up educational material. You can learn and read more about the tech at http://dev.lightning.community/resources. You can test the various desktop and mobile apps out there (Lightning Desktop, Zap, Eclair apps). -- Source

Do I need to be a miner to be a Lightning Network node?

No -- Source

Do I need to run a full Bitcoin node to run a lightning node?

lit doesn't depend on having your own full node -- it automatically connects to full nodes on the network. -- Source
LND uses a light client mode, so it doesn't require a full node. The name of the light client it uses is called neutrino

How does the lightning network stop "Cheating" (Someone broadcasting an old transaction)?

Upon opening a channel, the two endpoints first agree on a reserve value, below which the channel balance may not drop. This is to make sure that both endpoints always have some skin in the game as rustyreddit puts it :-)
For a cheat to become worth it, the opponent has to be absolutely sure that you cannot retaliate against him during the timeout. So he has to make sure you never ever get network connectivity during that time. Having someone else also watching for channel closures and notifying you, or releasing a canned retaliation, makes this even harder for the attacker. This is because if he misjudged you being truly offline you can retaliate by grabbing all of its funds. Spotty connections, DDoS, and similar will not provide the attacker the necessary guarantees to make cheating worthwhile. Any form of uncertainty about your online status acts as a deterrent to the other endpoint. -- Source

How many times would someone need to open and close their lightning channels?

You typically want to have more than one channel open at any given time for redundancy's sake. And we imagine open and close will probably be automated for the most part. In fact we already have a feature in LND called autopilot that can automatically open channels for a user.
Frequency will depend whether the funds are needed on-chain or more useful on LN. -- Source

Will the lightning network reduce BTC Liquidity due to "locking-up" funds in channels?

Stack Exchange Answer

Can the Lightning Network work on any other cryptocurrency? How?

Stack Exchange Answer

When setting up a Lightning Network Node are fees set for the entire node, or each channel when opened?

You don't really set up a "node" in the sense that anyone with more than one channel can automatically be a node and route payments. Fees on LN can be set by the node, and can change dynamically on the network. -- Source

Can Lightning routing fees be changed dynamically, without closing channels?

Yes but it has to be implemented in the Lightning software being used. -- Source

How can you make sure that there will be routes with large enough balances to handle transactions?

You won't have to do anything. With autopilot enabled, it'll automatically open and close channels based on the availability of the network. -- Source

How does the Lightning Network stop flooding nodes (DDoS) with micro transactions? Is this even an issue?

Stack Exchange Answer

Unanswered Questions

How do on-chain fees work when opening and closing channels? Who pays the fee?

How does the Lightning Network work for mobile users?

What are the best practices for securing a lightning node?

What is a lightning "hub"?

How does lightning handle cross chain (Atomic) swaps?

Special Thanks and Notes

• Many links found from awesome-lightning-network github
• Everyone who submitted a question or concern!
• I'm continuing to format for an easier Mobile experience!