How BlockPay is transforming IPFS!
What separates ‘Champions’ from ‘Almost Champions’?
The team at BitShares Munich believes they have found the answer to the above question with the latest ground-breaking union of their product BlockPay and IPFS. We only ask that you read on till the end of the article to be enlightened on why BlockPay is the Connor McGregor of the digital currency universe.
IPFS (Inter-Planetary File System) is defined as a peer-to-peer hypermedia distribution protocol. Simply put, IPFS allows for the efficient distribution of high volumes of data. It is also decentralized, meaning that if a server goes down somewhere in the world, you won’t have to worry about not having access to your data, BlockPay or your digital currencies. It does this by allowing IPFS nodes to download or stream files from multiple servers simultaneously, much like how a torrent has seeders and leechers. The more seeders there are, the healthier the torrent is.
The fourth quarter of 2016 brought with it a breakthrough for the team at Bitshares Munich. They have since started to host core elements of their software on IPFS. Everything that is static will be hosted on IPFS which will reduce the amount of data that will be stored on mobile phones, eliminate down-time and guarantee higher security standards for blockchain-based payment systems. This is due to the fact that the network is not stored in one central server, but in many. Another benefit of IPFS is that it is DDOS and censorship-resistant. This is particularly significant for countries with tough internet restrictions.
Updating the BlockPay app also becomes a lot more seamless through IPFS. “All we have to do is update one or more of our IPFS full-nodes and the Android, iPhone and partner installations will be automatically updated. An easy one-step solution.” explains BitShares Munich CEO Christoph Hering. “With IPFS you are also safe from the grasp or ‘protection’ of Apple or Google if they deem BlockPay too ‘disruptive’ to the established order,” adds Hering.
He further continues that if Google and Apple were to pull the BlockPay app from the Play Store or Apple Store, thousands of small businesses, merchants and business partners would, in normal circumstances, lose their access to a free point-of-sale system but not with IPFS. Even if it was pulled from the Stores, the app would still be available on their systems, update automatically, and keeping their digital currencies secure.
It is, however, a challenge to run an IPFS full-node from a smartphone. In fact, it has never been done before. Not until now that is. With the new update, BlockPay Core now uses the IPFS implementation in C language. And that has just transformed the entire industry.
“We are very excited to contribute to the global IPFS movement and to present the first app truly decentralized down to its Core through the use of our C-IPFS implementation. This enables any wireless-enabled electrical device such as smartphones, TV’s, BlockPay-enabled point of sale systems, routers, and any IoT device to also serve as an IPFS node, eliminating the need for HTTP, SSL and existing DNS systems” explains tech team leader Ken Code. “By using our C-IPFS implementation, apps and content can no longer be restricted or censored. Even meshnet integration is already in the works. IPFS is now faster, more flexible and scalable than ever before.”
We asked Christoph Hering, CEO, what this means for BlockPay.
“We can now install BlockPay on almost any kind of hardware. For example, you’re at the train station and you want to buy a soft drink from a vending machine. Said machine can run the BlockPay api on its existing firmware, invite the customer to place their order, present the customer with a QR code or NFC signal, they whip out their phone and pay with the mobile wallet and digital currency of their choice such as Bitcoin, Smartcoins, Dash, Ethereum, etc.”
“Just think of the possibilities when we marry BlockPay, the Internet of Things and the sharing economy altogether. Smart devices are all connected online, sharing data. We are contributing to it by adding in the digital currencies support. BlockPay enables any merchant to accept one or more digital currencies at zero cost. The possibilities and business models are endless and we’re excited to be at the forefront of enabling this,” summarizes Christoph.
The BlockPay revolution is coming soon, as early as spring 2017.
Stay tuned for more updates!
For more information on BlockPay visit our website or for any inquiries send Chris an e-mail at [email protected]
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Thanks a lot!
Stay tuned, more interesting content is coming very soon.
If you'll have any question about BlockPay write us an email or just send a message on any social media. We would be happy to answer them!
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Super hyped for Blockpay! So glad I participated in the ICO :)
Keep up the excellent work! :D
Thanks so much for supporting us, we really appreciate that!
Stay tuned because more interesting things are coming next year ;)
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Blockpay will use bitShares as a backbone right?BitShares UIA proxy tokens to other cryptocurrencies aren't really decentralized, which minimizes benefits of having a blockchain as a backbone. please correct me if I am wrong.
UIA's (User-Issued Assets) are created by people (and companies), so you are correct in the sense that you must trust the entity that creates that token. Don't buy it if you don't trust them.
MPA's (aka: Smartcoins) are owned by the graphene chain itself and is pegged to a real-world asset via the Bitshares Witness nodes for tokens such as bitUSD, bitEUR, bitARS, bitSilver and more (http://cryptofresh.com/assets).
BlockPay doesn't care which digital currency you use, as it supports them all, and enables the merchant to accept one or more of them at zero cost. This includes UIA's, Smartcoins, Bitcoins, Ethereum, Dash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Steem Dollars.....
but those open.x are using centralized gateway... isn't it?Blockpay accept Bitcoins on BitShares network I guess then that merchant should trust open.btc gatekeeper right?
Yes, you are correct that assets like Open.EUR , Open.BTC are Bitshares UIA issued by OpenLedger and should have the same amount of backing in a bank account or cold storage. This is the typical exchange counterparty risk that you have with any Bank or Bitcoin exchange.
However with BlockPay the standard configuration is that merchants get MPA, so BitEUR, BitUSD etc. that only have the BitShares blockchain as counterparty. You will always keep your BitEUR even when BlockPay, OpenLedger or any other party goes bankrupt. This is why we decided to primarily use MPA´s and give our users the total control over their money.
In this way, BlockPay is also completely different to other bitcoin payment processors like Coinbase or BitPay that manage the merchant funds. We have no access to the funds at all.
cheers Chris
Then BTC will use bitBTC and it will certainly help BitShares price I guess. But ETH has no bitETH , will BitShares make bitETH, bitDASH if there are high demand?
The BlockPay platform will exchange BTC to BitEUR in the standard setting. The merchant can choose which currency they want to receive at the end. IF the merchant really wants BitETH, he could get it, but the markets needs to exist first.
The Bitshares Exchange is decentralised, in the sense that if the exchange entity that backs them, which is currently Open Ledger, becomes insolvent, then any other person or group is able to create a new User Issued Asset that they back with external cryptocurrencies. Centralised exchanges are not able to do this, for example, who can create new "Bitcoins" on Poloniex's servers if Poloniex were to become insolvent? No one. If Open Ledger became insolvent tomorrow and decided to stop accepting withdrawals out to crypto, anyone could come along and replace them on the BitShares network. There is open competition to create User Issued Assets that are solvent, which no other exchange offers.
Blockpay leads the way! So exciting to be at the forefront of such innovative development!
Thanks!
We're very excited to and working really hard to have the best product possible.
Stay tuned, more interesting things are coming pretty soon!
The things at the Palace go slow.
Good job!
Resteem and twitter
Thanks a lot!
Stay tuned, more interesting things are coming!
This is freaking awesome!
Thanks a lot!
Fantastic. Very well done:)
Thanks a lot!
More interesting posts are coming :)
Fantastic:)
Great work of our team at Bitshares-munich. BlockPay is leading the Crypto World POS and the world need to know this. Congrat and support!
Thanks a lot for your support!
We are working really hard to produce the best content posible.
We are so excited for everything that's coming next year and can't wait to share with all of you guys!