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My fellow steemians<br>
It's yet another interesting lecture delivered by professor @imagen on the topic Bitcoin's Trajectory. Have fun as you read through my post.
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1.) How many times has Bitcoin been "halved"? When is the next expected? What is the current amount that the Bitcoin miners receive? Mention at least 2 cryptocurrencies that are or have halved.
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Halving in the world of crypto currency is a scenario where the reward earned by miners of the coin are slashed into two equal part. Halve means to share into two equal part. This halving is introduce into the crypto world so that the value of the asset will not completely depreciate and also to control the number of the coins in circulation. Now it is important to state here that each coin has a different period which is been halved e.g Bitcoin which is halved after every four (4) years.
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Since the origin of Bitcoin till this moment that I am writing this article, the bitcoin has been halved three different times. Recall that I stated earlier that bitcoin is halved after every four years. Bitcoin came in in the year 2009 and the first halved took place in the year 2012, in this very year the reward of BTC to miners was cut down from 50 BTC to 25 BTC. The second halved took place in the year 2016, in this year the reward of BTC to miners was cut down from 25 BTC to 12.5 BTC. The third and the last halved for now is the halve that took place in the year 2020,
in this year the reward of BTC to miners was cut down from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC.
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Based on the analysis we have carried out above, the halving in bitcoin is always taking place after every four years. The last took place just last year, so the next is expected to take place in the year 2024. Note also, that the reward at that time will be 3.125 BTC.
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The Bitcoin as we have earlier established is experiencing the third phase of halving and the reward at this phase as we have explained above is 6.25 BTC. So therefore the current reward that Bitcoin miners receive is 6.25 BTC per block.
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Cryptocurrencies that are or have been halved are as follows:-
- BitcoinCash (BCH)
- Litecoin
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2.) What are consensus mechanisms and how do proof-of-work and proof-of-staking differ?
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When we talk about consensus mechanism, we are referring to an algorithm that is used to validate the transaction that takes place in a block chain technology. For a transaction to be accept it has to be verified and validate and that is done using the consensus mechanism or algorithm. We will be discussing basically two types of this consensus mechanism below.
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<b>Proof-of-work:</b> This type of consensus mechanism deals with the calculation of complex mathematical problems to validate a transaction. This means that miners here get them selves involve in the calculation of complex mathematical function to obtain a validation of the transaction carried out. Now it is important to mention here that many miners get them selves involve in this act but anyone who first successful solve the problem will be the person given the reward. This is the type of consensus algorithm use by bitcoin.
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<b>Proof-of-stake:</b> Here in this type of consensus algorithm, validation of blocks and transaction are done by investors who holder larger portion of the asset in question. Liquidity is usually provided to help the block chain project to function properly, so those who provide these liquidity in a higher volume are known as wales in that sector hence the validation of transaction lies on their hand. In essence, the highest holders of the coin are usually the validators in this type of consensus mechanism.
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We have clearly state how both PoW and PoS works from our explanation above. The PoW as we have discussed perform it's validation by solving complex mathematical problem whereas the PoS perform it's validation using the highest holders of the coin in the block chain. This means that it involves liquidity providers who act as wales in the block chain.
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3.) Enter the Bitcoin browser and enter the hash corresponding to the last transaction. Show screenshot.
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To access the hash corresponding to the last transaction on the Bitcoin browser explorer, you need to visit the site and then navigate to the section where you can see latest block and latest transaction. Click on the first transaction that appears to get all details of the latest transaction.
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Once you click on it, information about the blog will display and it will tell you whether the last transaction has been confirmed or not and you can view other details of the transaction too. See screenshots below containing the details of the last transaction.
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Transaction hash is given as
6a04fd39e3afbe469bf3af896ec3166b157eec3c5fbc9956caf074f025366cd0
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4.) What is Altcoin season? Are we in Altcoin season? When was the last Altcoin season? Name and show 2 Altcoin charts followed by their growth in the last season. Give reasons for your answer.
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When we talk about altcoin season, we are referring to the season where 75% of other coins perform more better than bitcoin within the period of 90 days. When ever altcoins about 75% in number perform more better than bitcoin within a space of 90 days we say that the said season is an altcoin season.
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**Are we in Altcoin season?**
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Looking carefully in the screenshot above, it is not up to 75% and from our definition of altcoin season we said until up to 75% of these coins perform better than bitcoin before we can say the season is an altcoin season. So clearly we are not in an altcoin season.
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**When was the last Altcoin season?**
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From the chart above, we can clearly see that the last time other coins performed better than bitcoin is around March 2021 and ended in June 2021. Within that period, about 75% of other coins performed better than Bitcoin and hence that made the season an altcoin season.
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Consider the chart below which shows the growth of the altcoins in the last altcoin season. We can clearly notice that AXS I.e Axie Infinity token is the leading asset as at last season and the one that followed it immediately is the FTM
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AXS (Axie Infinity)
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As I have earlier stated, the AXS is one of the altcoin that perform better than bitcoin in the last season. It happens to be the highest in growth. See screenshot of growth below.
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FTM
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Similarly, another altcoin that perform better than bitcoin last season is the FTM. It happens to be the second in the list. It follows the AXS immediately. See screenshot of growth below.
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5.) Make purchase from your verified account of your preferred exchange of at least 15 USD in a currency that is not in coin market top 25 (SBD, Tron or Steem are not allowed). Why did you choose this coin? What is the goal or purpose behind this project? Who is the founder/developer? Show ATH currency and current price. The reason for your answer. Show screenshot.
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This section I want to buy the CAKE token worth 15 USDT. And I will be using my Binance verified account to perform the function.
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My order list screenshot.
**Why CAKE token**
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I choose the CAKE token because of the level of scalability and high speed of growth. It is a native token of the Pancakeswap DEX, and as lunched in 2020.
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**Goal behind the project**
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The major aim of the project is to bridge the gap of communication between Ethereum and finance based application. It aims is to provide passive income to traders by means of staking etc.
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**Who is the Founder**
Founder of the CAKE token is anonymous.
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From coinmarketcap.com, the rank of CAKE as at the time when I was writing this assignment task is #40 and the current price is $19.65, market cap $4,519,080,809 the circusating supply at time is 229,995,605.12.
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All time high
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6.) Conclusion
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The topic is quite an interesting one. I have really been loaded with new knowledge and understanding about the bitcoin block chain and the halving taken place in crypto currency. Note also, I have been able to understand better the clear difference between PoW and PoS. I want to sincerely appreciate the professor @imagen for such an educative lecture because it has helped me to explore more in the world of crypto.
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