Top Things You Should Know About DigiByte (DGB)
Hey guys, Today I’ve covered something that might be of interest to you, a comprehensive Q&A piece on the highly popular community-driven digital currency – DigiByte (DGB).
DigiByte is an open-source blockchain protocol and digital currency that has evolved into one of the safest, fastest, longest, and most decentralized UTXO blockchain projects in the space. The coin has a huge following, a supportive community, and is doing some really interesting things.
That said, this piece is similar to my latest articles on Aave (LEND), Status (SNT), and Ontology (ONT) so if you haven’t already seen those, be sure to check them out as well.
Hope you enjoy!
The list of Q&A is kind of long so first comes the list of questions that I have prepared the answers to:
- What is DigiByte?
- Who and When Created DigiByte?
- How is DigiByte Different from Bitcoin?
- Can You Mine DigiByte?
- Did DigiByte Have an ICO?
- What is Digi-ID?
- Where to Store DigiByte?
- Where to Buy & Sell DigiByte?
1. What is DigiByte?
DigiByte website homepage
DigiByte is a more secure, faster, and forward-thinking digital currency and blockchain platform. It’s built on a decentralized global UTXO PoW based blockchain (like Bitcoin) but is far more innovative and advanced.
DigiByte is not only a digital currency, it’s also a state-of-the-art blockchain protocol that can be used for digital assets, smart contracts, decentralized applications, and secure authentication.
See what makes DigiByte (DGB) so special below:
Important DigiByte Aspects
Truly Decentralized
DigiByte is a rapidly growing open-source blockchain maintained by a global community of passionate volunteers and blockchain enthusiasts and the DigiByte blockchain has had over 280,000+ full nodes downloaded since April 2017.
Also, DigiByte has no CEO or company controlling the project and it has never been funded through an ICO or significant amount of pre-mined coins.
Forward Thinking
Since DigiByte’s inception in 2013, the blockchain project has innovated on multiple fronts by repeatedly setting itself apart from other leading digital currencies. DigiByte was the first to implement SegWit and other protocol upgrades including the security ones mentioned above.
Easy-to-Use
DigiByte is a user-friendly digital currency with widespread support from some of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets. Using DGB is as easy as sending an SMS, all you need is a DGB supported wallet on your smartphone or computer, then you can scan a QR code and send or receive DGB.
Privacy-Enhanced
The Dandelion++ privacy protocol helps to keep DGB users safe by obfuscating the sender's IP address and physical location.
Important DigiByte Features
- Payments
- Digital Assets
- Digital Identity
Payments
DigiByte (DGB) is a highly scalable peer-to-peer digital currency with industry-leading transaction speeds and negligible fees making DGB an ideal currency for payments. Also, DGB is already supported by 19 different payment gateways and is accepted at numerous websites and merchants around the world.
Digital Assets
DigiByte can be used to create and issue digital assets in a simplified way. DigiAssets can be used to securely represent anything in the physical world, whether it's real estate, cars, or digital pieces of art. Also, DigiAssets benefit from DigiBytes' truly decentralized, secure, permissionless, and scalable nature.
Digital Identity
DigiByte features a built-in security protocol (Digi-ID) which empowers users to effortlessly sign-in to websites, applications, and into the internet of things (IoT). It’s an innovative piece of technology that allows for fast, effortless sign-ups and sign-ins for users.
2. Who and When Created DigiByte?
Founder of DigiByte - Jared Tate
Digibyte (DGB) was created by Jared Tate, aka “DigiMan”, who started developing the project full-time in October 2013 and released it in January 2014.
At a very young age, Jared learned the basics of computer programming and web design from his mother, a computer scientist who worked for the US Government. Following in his mother’s footsteps, Jared became involved with the US government and served six months on the US Senate floor.
Following high school, Jared attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, attended the Army ROTC at the College of Idaho, and contracted with the Idaho National Guard.
Jared's accomplishments include:
- 2008 graduate of the US Army Leaders Training Course
- Certified personal trainer (ACSM)
- Major in Psychology & Business Administration
- Founder & Creator of DigiByte Blockchain Network
- Co-author of the book Blockchain 2035 The Digital DNA of Internet 3.0
- Invited by MIT, Harvard, and the US Capitol to speak on blockchain tech
Prior to creating DigiByte, Jared was involved with Bitcoin since 2012 and decided to make several improvements to the Bitcoin protocol which culminated to the launch of DigiByte in 2014.
Important DigiByte Development Milestones:
- October 2013 - Full-time development on DigiByte began
- January 10, 2014 - DigiByte Genesis block successfully mined
- February 28, 2014 - DigiShield activated
- September 1, 2014 - MultiALgo activated
- December 10, 2014 - MultiShield activated
- December 4, 2015 - DigiSpeed activated
- April 28, 2017 - SegWit activated
- May, 2018 - Digi-ID launched
- April 2019 - DigiAssets launched
- May 3, 2019 - Dandelion++ protocol implemented
- July 21, 2019 - Odoscrypt activated
3. How is DigiByte Different from Bitcoin?
Bitcoin logo
DigiByte is different from Bitcoin in the following ways:
- Faster/Slower
- Different
- Better
- Improved
- Cap/Amount/Size
- Adaptable
Faster/Slower
DigiByte blocks are processed and verified on the blockchain every 15 seconds which is 40 times faster than Bitcoin’s 10-minute blocks.
Different
DigiByte uses 5 cryptographic mining algorithms and real-time difficulty adjustments to prevent mining centralization and hash power fluctuations while Bitcoin uses 1 cryptographic mining algorithm, SHA-256. Also, DigiByte mining is resistant to certain specialized ASIC miners while Bitcoin mining is not.
Better
DigiByte has implemented the Dandelion++ privacy protocol to help keep DGB users safe by obfuscating their IP address and physical location when transacting DGB. Bitcoin has not implemented any privacy features. It is simply pseudonymous by default, just as DigiByte is as well.
Improved
DigiByte is capable of processing up to 1066 on-chain transactions per second with negligible fees while Bitcoin is capable of processing up to 7 on-chain transactions per second with arguably hefty fees.
Cap/Amount/Size
DigiByte has a total supply of 21 billion DGB while Bitcoin has a total supply of 21 million BTC. Therefore, DGB has a 1000:1 ratio to BTC. Also, DigiByte block rewards are reduced by 1% every month instead of Bitcoin’s block rewards halving every 4 years.
Adaptable
DigiByte is open to upgrades and changes that improve its blockchain protocol. It’s willing to change and adapt to remain relevant while Bitcoin is very resistant to change and takes an extremely conservative approach to protocol upgrades.
4. Can You Mine DigiByte?
ASIC Miner
Yes, you can mine DigiByte. It’s a 100% Proof-of-Work (PoW) blockchain that can be mined with 5 different algorithms that are equally weighted (5x 20% each = 100%). DigiByte’s mining algorithms include SHA-256, Scrypt, Skein, Qubit, and Odocrypt.
Each of the above-mentioned mining algorithms has its own difficulty adjustment that is weighted against the other algorithms in a dynamic process known as MultiShield, which is an advanced version of DigiByte’s DigiShield.
DigiByte blocks are mined every ~15 seconds and as of May 2020, the block reward is 665.6398 DGB which will be reduced by 1% every month until all 1 billion DGB are mined by the year 2035.
DigiByte (DGB) can be mined by users in the following ways:
- One-Click Miner (GPU mining on Windows)
- Mining Pools (Pooling of resources by miners)
- Supported ASICs (Application-specific integrated circuit miners)
- Supported GPUs (Graphics processing unit)
- Supported FPGAs (Field-programmable gate array)
- Running a DigiByte Scrypt ASIC Miner Rig with a Raspberry Pi (ASIC mining)
- DigiByte CPU Mining with a Pine64 Rock64 (For fun or testing, not for profit)
5. Did DigiByte Have an ICO?
DigiByte has never been funded through an initial coin offering (ICO), nor has it been funded through a significant amount of pre-mined coins.
The DigiByte (DGB) digital currency was brought into existence through Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining algorithms in which anyone could run to mine DGB.
The first DigiByte block was mined on January 10, 2014, and it included a message from USA Today hashed into the Genesis block. The message read: “Target: Data stolen from up to 110M customers," and it was meant to mark the importance of security in digital transactions.
6. What is Digi-ID?
Digi-ID is a security protocol built on DigiByte blockchain technology that allows for fast and effortless sign-ups and sign-ins for websites, applications, and the internet of things.
Digi-ID Features
- Easy Authentication
- Safe and Secure
- Simple and Free
Easy Authentication
Digi-ID provides users with easy authentication by eliminating the need for a username, password, or 2FA requirements for authentication. Instead of using these things, Digi-ID simply uses public/private key cryptography which not only protects the consumer, it also protects the services that the consumer uses.
Safe and Secure
Digi-ID does not store any user data on the DigiByte blockchain, there is no external point of failure for a hacker to exploit, and users can remain confident that their data is neither tracked nor at risk by others negligence.
Simple and Free
Digi-ID is a free service with no subscription or maintenance fees for both users and integrators. There’s also no annoying ads and the service works in 4 simple steps:
1. Generation - the website/application/service generates a unique Digi-ID QR code and presents it.
2. Scanning - The user scans the QR code from the DigiByte Mobile app or any other Digi-ID supported app.
3. Authentication - The user authenticates the request by typing in a PIN code, or scanning their fingerprint/face.
4. Confirmation - Digi-ID processes the cryptographically signed-signed request and the user is successfully logged in.
Who Integrates Digi-ID?
Digi-ID has been integrated into the following services and applications:
7. Where to Store DigiByte?
DigiByte Mobile wallet
DigiByte (DGB) is a popular cryptocurrency with widespread support from a lot of reputable cryptocurrency wallets. However, not every DGB supported wallet is the same.
Some crypto wallets only allow you to store, send, and receive DGB, while others allow you to do all that with support for innovative DigiByte features such as SegWit, Digi-ID, DigiAssets, MultiSig, and more.
That said, see the most popular DigiByte Community developed wallets and their supported features below:
DigiByte Core (desktop)
- Full validation
- Support the network
- High stability
- SegWit support
DigiByte Mobile (mobile)
- SPV wallet
- Digi-ID support
- DigiAssets support (Android)
- Multi-Language support
DigiByte Go (web)
- Cloud wallet
- Easy to use
- MultiSig support
- DigiAssets support
8. Where to Buy & Sell DigiByte?
DigiByte (DGB) can be bought and sold on a peer-to-peer (P2P) basis but the most popular way to buy, sell, or trade DigiByte is through cryptocurrency exchanges.
You can buy DGB with cryptocurrency or fiat at the following top exchanges. In most cases, you will have to fund your account with fiat, buy Bitcoin or Ethereum, and then use BTC or ETH to buy DigiByte (symbol DGB).
- Bittrex - BTC, ETH,USDT, USD, GBP, EUR
- KuCoin - BTC, ETH, USDT
- Bitfinex - BTC, USD
- Huobi Global - BTC, ETH
- OKEx - BTC, ETH, USDT
In addition to the exchanges listed above, DigiByte (DGB) is also traded on a wide array of other exchanges and platforms that enable people to buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrencies.
Hope you enjoyed that read, Let me know if I have missed something in the comments
Cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) Blockchain DigiByte (DBG) digital currency
✍️ Originally Posted: Publish0x
