What is Qtum?
Qtum pronounced Quantum. is a China based blockchain project offering a smart contract platform which can be used to develop Decentralized applications. The Qtum Foundation is registered in Singapore and is a global project with a team located in Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Europe. The reason for its popularity is its USP – providing Ethereum’s EVM with Bitcoin’s secure UTXO model. On top of that, they secure consensus with the Proof of Stake 3.0 (POS 3.0) algorithm.
The main idea of Qtum is to make smart contracts easier and more secure while offering the ability to exchange information with major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The Qtum codebase is the Bitcoin blockchain, but the Qtum developers have added layers to the Blockchain that allow an Ethereum virtual machine to run Bitcoin smart contracts. Qtum benefits from all the new developments in both the Ethereum and Bitcoin communities and smart contracts, it can be said that it has the best of both worlds.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is an open-source platform that uses blockchain technology to create and run decentralized digital applications, that enable users to make agreements and conduct transactions directly with each other to buy, sell and trade goods and services without a middle man.
Ethereum is operated by a global network of computers that function as one. This network executes the smart contracts that in theory are independent of any interference or censorship from third parties since the blockchain is resistant to manipulation.
These smart contracts are executed as scheduled, which reduces the risk of fraud and their execution is automatic, as a machine would execute them automatically once certain terms and conditions have been met, such as the transfer of a payment that would release the merchandise to be transported to buyer
Ethereum Pro’s & Con’s
Some of the reasons why Ethereum is overwhelmed by large industries are:
– Its high security, acceptance and authenticity of Ethereum throughout the world of cryptocurrencies, this makes it obtain the different virtues that the blockchain network can offer
– Buteri’s support and participation in the cryptocurrency environment gives security to this system.
– They have a large number of investors who support Ethereum, with the fact that they carry elements like the dApps as well as the DAO organization and also the blockchain smart contracts that make it useful for the job. Ethereum also has reliability in regulatory responsibilities.
Reasons why Ethereum is not favored in its application are:
– A long-standing reputation for process delays that have influenced your network activity. He has to face the new challenges that come out every day in the world of cryptocurrencies.
– The great fame that Buterin possesses. It causes an extraordinary devotion that with problems totally obvious Buterin’s image makes them ignore them for idolizing him so much.
Qtum Pro’s & Con’s
There is a great attraction to the Qtum blockchain that motivates developers and leaders to experiment with Qtum. Some of these attractions are:
– Proof of Stake 3.0 in all cryptocurrencies there is a mechanism that keeps the entire network synchronized. When bitcoin first introduced the PoW Proof of Work system, this mechanism is what makes bitcoin so safe and reliable.
Proof of Stake was invented to solve some of the problems that PoW had, by allowing users to create and extract new blocks with which they obtained a reward, just by having the coins in their virtual wallets allowing it to staking automatically. And with a fairly severe method of punishment towards malicious users who, when identified as trying to break the rules, will be punished by losing all the stacked coins.
– Best of Both Worlds the two blockchains that have been successful in the world of cryptocurrencies that are Bitcoin and Ethereum. They can be used in Qtum. These blockchains that are highly known, populated and accepted in the world of cryptocurrencies are implemented in Qtum, getting the best out of each version, since Qtum is compatible with previous versions of either Bitcoin or Ethereum.
For example, QTUM is compatible with both the Lightning Network and Raiden. For this reason, the improvements applied to blocks of both Bitcoin and Ethereum can be incorporated into Qtum, this with the consent of the Qtum community.
– More Secure and Scalable UTXO Model, Bitcoin’s blockchain follows a UTXO model and Ethereum follows an account model, many crypto gurus argue that UTXO model is better because it’s more scalable and secure.
– Account Abstract Layer, Qtum is not just a Bitcoin and Ethereum fork. Qtum’s solution is the Account Abstract Layer that serves as an interface layer between the blockchain and the EVM. The AAL not only allows the EVM to live on top of a UTXO blockchain, it also means that Qtum is not confined to using the EVM as a smart contract’s platform.
All new technologies have disadvantaged the more advances they make, some of these are:
– Infinite growth, Qtum has a modality that will keep giving rewards to its users while they have their virtual wallet active, which generates a large amount of new coins ready to be spent, which generates high inflation, which could cause a failure in their economy.
– Minimum staking, there is no minimum to do staking, something that if you have Ethereum that requires a minimum of 32 ethers to participate in it. By not having a minimum, they can put a minimum amount and start accepting malicious transactions.
– Bugs with EVM, being a platform under development, daily errors and failures are found that can affect the operation of the platform.
final thoughts
In the end we can say that Ethereum is an already established platform that has a few flaws but has already traveled a great path that will hold for the future we can only hope, while Qtum is a relatively young platform that has a lot to offer by applying the best of both worlds you can have the best the only thing left is to see how it improves.
