Skycoin Investment: Is It A Smart Move?

Skycoin is a cryptocurrency that has been around since 2011. It was founded by early bitcoin and Ethereum developers to address the drawbacks of Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus by introducing a Web-of-Trust consensus protocol called Obelisk. Skycoin makes decentralized and free payments possible within seconds, enabling decentralized global remittance at speeds that could rival any established payments network or an e-wallet. It is considered one of the coins with the highest potential to grow. However, it has also faced challenges such as a home invasion of one of its founders and a drop in its Coin Market Cap ranking. So, is Skycoin a good investment?

Skycoin's price history and future predictions

Skycoin (SKY) is a cryptocurrency that enables decentralized and free payments within seconds. It was founded in 2011 by early bitcoin and Ethereum developers to address the drawbacks of Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus by introducing a Web-of-Trust consensus protocol called Obelisk.

Skycoin's price history has been volatile. In 2019, it was hovering around the $1 USD mark. In 2020, Skycoin was trading at $0.523, with a market cap of USD 8,906,502 and 17,000,000 SKY in circulation. In 2024, Skycoin's price dropped further, with a current price of $0.06099 USD.

Despite the recent price decline, some experts remain optimistic about Skycoin's future price predictions. Crypto Ground believes that Skycoin might reach $1.1058 in a year and soar up to $44.52 in five years. Coin Fan also showed optimism, projecting that Skycoin might reach $6.99 by the end of 2020. However, Wallet Investor gave a bearish prediction, forecasting that Skycoin might drop to $0.0324 by the end of 2020.

It is important to note that cryptocurrency investments are inherently risky, and it is challenging to predict future price movements with certainty. Conducting thorough research and understanding the risks involved is essential before considering any investment in Skycoin or other cryptocurrencies.

Skycoin's unique blockchain technology

Skycoin is a third-generation blockchain platform that fixes the security issues of other networks and decouples the coin-creation process from mining. It was founded in 2011 by early Bitcoin and Ethereum developers to address the drawbacks of Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms by introducing a Web-of-Trust consensus protocol called Obelisk.

Skycoin's blockchain doesn't use mining, so user power can't be concentrated in a few large mining pools, as is the case with Bitcoin. Instead, Skycoin transactions use Coin Hours, a separate currency accrued by holding Skycoin in your wallet. Coin Hours are earned at a 1-to-1 ratio per hour and serve as an anti-spam mechanism.

Skycoin is infinitely scalable, with each project getting its own blockchain. This means no sidechain or sharding, so there's no competition with anyone else for transactions, and full control over what you do with your blockchain. It's also lightning-fast, with transactions taking as little as 2 seconds, and completely free, with no fees.

Skycoin is also highly secure. Built from the ground up in Golang, it makes full use of time-tested cryptographic standards to ensure transactions can't be tampered with. It renders threats such as 51% attacks, reversal, duplication, and malleability useless.

Finally, Skycoin is sustainable. Without the enormous computational energy requirements typical of PoW and PoS processes, Skycoin can run on a 30-watt cell phone processor.

Skycoin's founding team and history

Skycoin was first conceived in 2013 by Brandon "Synth" Smietana, who claims to have been an early developer in the Bitcoin community. Smietana decided to create a new consensus algorithm that would be both truly decentralised and impervious to malicious attacks or takeover attempts.

Skycoin's consensus protocol is called Obelisk, which is based on a web of trust algorithm. Each node in the network has its own blockchain that acts as a public broadcasting channel, and the density of a node's network of subscribers determines its influence on the network. The system distributes influence over the network and makes consensus decisions based on the influence score of each node.

Skycoin was officially launched to the public in late 2013, and the Skywire mesh network was launched in 2019. The Skycoin team has included developers from Bitcoin and Ethereum, and over the years, there have been over 450 developers working on the project. The company has offices worldwide, including two in Shanghai, China, one of which is its headquarters.

Skycoin's competitors and market share

Skycoin's competitors and similar companies include GK8, BitGo, PolySign, and PrivacyShell.

GK8 is a blockchain cybersecurity company that provides financial institutions with an end-to-end platform for managing blockchain-based assets. BitGo, on the other hand, is a security-as-a-service provider for Bitcoin and other digital currencies. PolySign, a fintech company, enables organisations to protect their digital assets and make transactions across the capital markets and payments sectors. Finally, PrivacyShell builds crypto-blockchain startups that incorporate privacy, security, and quality by design.

Skycoin has been described as a "revolutionary" blockchain ecosystem. It aims to provide a "new internet" that is global, decentralised, and not controlled by any country, corporation, or government entity. It has its own blockchain, built from scratch, and is focused on security, usability, and ease of use.

As of September 2024, Skycoin is ranked #2806 on CoinGecko with a market cap of BTC16.6051. Its price has increased by 0.10% in the last 24 hours and its trading volume is $0.023210737776. Skycoin is up 3.23% in the last 24 hours, with a live market cap of not available and a circulating supply of not available. Its all-time high was recorded on December 29, 2017, when the price was BTC0.004802.

Skycoin's market share is difficult to determine due to the lack of available data on its circulating supply and live market cap. However, as mentioned, its market cap is BTC16.6051, and it makes up 0.01% of the 113 billion USD cryptocurrency market cap as of January 2019.

Skycoin's investment risks and benefits

Skycoin Investment Risks and Benefits

Skycoin (SKY) is a cryptocurrency that has been described as a "once in a lifetime investment opportunity". It is a third-generation blockchain platform that was founded in 2011 by early Bitcoin and Ethereum developers. Skycoin aims to address the drawbacks of Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms by introducing a Web-of-Trust consensus protocol called Obelisk.

One of the biggest benefits of Skycoin is its focus on decentralization. Skycoin's flagship application, Skywire, is a decentralized peer-to-peer internet platform that aims to give control of internet access back to the people. This will not only protect users' privacy but also offer fairer pricing for access, especially in areas with restricted content or limited choices of providers. Skycoin also offers the ability for applications to be built on top of the Skywire network, utilizing their own scalable chain called "Fiber".

In addition, Skycoin has developed its own "miners", which can be purchased to earn mining rewards. They have also created a second currency called "Coin Hours", which is given to Skycoin holders to ensure stability within the ecosystem.

However, investing in Skycoin also comes with certain risks. One of the main concerns is the low market cap of Skycoin, which makes it susceptible to price manipulation. At the time of writing, Skycoin is ranked 93rd in market cap among all cryptocurrencies. Skycoin is also not available on many major exchanges, which may make it less accessible to potential investors.

Another risk to consider is the controversial history of Skycoin's CEO, Synth. In 2018, Synth was the victim of a home invasion by some of Skycoin's Chinese marketing contractors, who stole a significant amount of Skycoin. This incident caused a drop in Skycoin's price and led to fears that Synth would leave the project. While Synth remained with Skycoin and beefed up security, the negative publicity may have damaged Skycoin's reputation.

In terms of price predictions, opinions are mixed. Some analysts believe that Skycoin has the potential to reach $6.82 by the end of 2020, while others predict a bearish outcome with the price dropping to $0.0324. It is important to note that cryptocurrency investments are inherently risky and that investors should do their own research before investing.

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