Quantum Foundation Combines Bitcoin and Ethereum to Create Qtum
Singapore-based Quantum Foundation announced that it is working on a new project called Qtum, which combines the technology of both bitcoin and ethereum to facilitate blockchain technology adoption for corporations. Qtum is an open-source blockchain project that aims to build smart contract functionalities that can be implemented at an enterprise level.
The initial financial backing of $1 million by several industry leaders is a testament to the validity of the technology that the Qtum project is creating but also demonstrates full faith in its team of developers. Early-stage angel investors in the project include ethereum co-founder Anthony Di Iorio, Fenbushi partner Bo Shen, and OKCoin CEO Star Xu, among others. The Qtum project also intends to launch its native cryptocurrency to support the project through a crowd sale to raise further funds.
The Qtum developers are taking different aspects of both the bitcoin and the ethereum blockchain to create both smart contracts and master contracts for corporations. While “smart contracts” are pure on-blockchain digital contracts, “master contracts” will also be able to incorporate off-chain input data (Oracles and DataFeeds) to create smart contracts that are fully applicable to the real world business scenarios of corporations. The Qtum blockchain will, therefore, allow developers to build more versatile DApps and smart contracts.
The project started in March 2016 as a proof-of-concept designing a cryptocurrency that will be the first that can execute smart contracts using proof-of-stake censuses based on bitcoin’s Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) model. According to Qtum’s whitepaper, the Qtum blockchain is a fork of Bitcoin Core 0.13 but also incorporates ethereum’s virtual machine that enables smart contract execution and, thereby, addresses limitations that blockchain developers face with both these blockchains.
The Qtum development team has already launched two blockchain projects: Qloha and SpringEmail. Qloha enables users to send Qtum tokens and interact with chatbots to buy products and services using Chinese messaging platform WeChat’s “mini programs” platform and SpringEmail’s aim is to allow users to send and receive small cryptocurrency payments by combining the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) with blockchain technology.
Its developers are currently working on a desktop and mobile wallet for Qtum users and are working on merging the Ethereum Virtual Machine with PoS branches of Qtum, according to an update on the Qtum project’s blog. Furthermore, Qtum is close to launching its final testnet, called ‘Sparknet,’ before officially releasing Qtum to the public.
Qtum’s crowdsale is planned for March, where it aims to raise $10 million to cover the development costs of the platform.
