The Internet achieved greatness largely due to open protocols that allowed people to build functionality that core developers could not have dreamed possible.
Decentralized protocols give developers the opportunity to add layers of functionality on top of barebone networks. As time goes on, the value of that network increases dramatically.
There are several altcoin projects now working on the basic framework of providing open standards. One entrant is Stellar, a project that involves heavyweight backers and principals. The list of backers includes Keith Rabois, a cofounder of PayPal who wants this protocol to go further than PayPal ever did. He said in a Tweet that PayPal never accomplished its initial vision of altering the payment landscape - but that Stellar would.
Stellars builds on many of the ideas that were outlined by Ripple. This is not surprising because the lead developer of Stellar is Jed McCaleb, who is building on much of the work he did with Ripple.
Gateways And Decentralized Exchanges Open Up A Range Of Currency Trade Possibilities
When the Stellar network is in full swing and enough decentralized exchanges are open, currency conversions will be possible from any locale with one click.
Users will literally be able to send a payment in USD and it will arrive in YEN! As you can imagine, the possibilities presented by this are limitless. Stellar users can create offers for any currency they want. Other users can accept these offers and the currency conversion will be handled transparently. For people using the network the process will be seamless and automatic.
This opens up a global peer to peer decentralized network that makes currency conversion completely trivial. A world without financial borders can help foster freedom in every corner of earth. The revolution is possible, but it will take tons of users to make real change happen.
As we’ve stated many times, in order for a protocol and network like this to achieve maximum valuation, it needs users.
So how is Stellar doing when it comes to gaining interest?
The early results are remarkable, as outlined in this post.
Over 240,000 people have signed up to get free Stellars in the first week! Considering that the initial reward of Stellars for signing up was approximately $18 USD it’s not surprising that a feeding frenzy of account signups occurred. Since the deluge of new signers proved too much for the Stellar team’s Facebook gateway, they have moved to a ‘wait list‘ approach in the interim. Now you can sign up and authorize your account with Facebook and you’ll receive a notice that your Stellars have been rewarded.
If this initial launch is any indication, the distribution of Stellar is much better than most altcoins (to say the least). The amount of the giveaway has been lowered to around $10 USD. This amount is still more than enough to attract hordes of people from lower GDP countries as well as erstwhile bot networks. In any event, the scale of the project and the rapid adoption of Stellar indicates this project will likely dwarf many other projects in short order.
After the ‘Summer of Scams‘ for altcoins it now appears that numerous heirs to the altcoin throne are now vying for attention in a marketplace that is maturing on a daily basis.
You can get started on Stellar now. You can choose to download the client from their Github. If you’re not a developer, you can register to receive your free STR now.
These are exciting times for crypto enthusiasts. Thanks for stopping by. Please share this post with anyone who would benefit from free Stellars. If you have any comments, leave them below.
