Follow us on 
or join ours 
The race for position number 1 continues
Many players in the blockchain world are struggling to build a solid platform for smart-counterattacks (Algorand, Polkadot, Cardano or Tron) that will address the problems that Ethereum currently has, namely low network bandwidth and high network transaction costs. Not only the challenge is how to get it right, but also how to stay decentralized. Anyway, addressing these challenges is not enough to beat Ethereum anyway. You still need to build your position, recognition, brand and trust, broadly enough to attract businesses and projects that decide to build on such a platform.
Ethereum itself - although it is the most recognizable platform for dApps, it has a problem with attracting and maintaining quality projects and active users to its ecosystem.
Algorand has an interesting approach to building technology in this area, a platform that not only maintains the spirit of decentralization, but additionally has a well-thought-out development environment, enabling the creation of efficient applications that can use the wider Algorand achievements and ecosystem, thanks to the co-chains architecture, and soon also thanks to bridges that will ensure interoperability with other networks . I have talked about this in my previous articles, including:
- Algorand, description of platforms and basic functionalities,
- Algorand, as a DeFi platform,
- Algorand, co-chains architecture,
The biggest challenge, however, for all these platforms is to get real users, from outside the world of cryptocurrencies, who would like to use the unique achievements and functionality of these solutions, adding usability and security to the platform and confirming their position here.
Props platform can be such a solution that brings usability and users for Algorand.
Props and Algorand
in mid-May 2020, Props received a grant from Algorand to build its solution on the Algorand platform.
Props is an environment for many applications (social media, games, communication platforms), which, combined into a kind of ecosystem provided by Props, can reward their users for involvement in their applications (interaction, comments, supplementing data, active participation in events) and such users for their commitment to Props Token. Props Token is a kind of loyalty token, which has its value not only within the scope of a given application, but also within the range of the entire ecosystem of applications connected to the Props network (thus making this token even more useful).
I'll elaborate a little more on how it works in a moment, but let's think about it first why Props chose a network like Algorand, and why did Algorand allocate a Grant to an application like Props? So where does the mutual benefit come from?
The initial choice for Props development was the Ethereum network, but the exponentially growing number of users of this ecosystem made the bandwidth, cost and scalability offered by Ethereum not sufficient. As a result, Props (and specifically YouNow, the company behind the Props platform) had to look for an alternative. To support the growing activity, PropsChain moves to the Algorand network.
The public Algorand network will increase the speed and reliability of Props while increasing the number of possible transactions and providing a higher level of security. Algorand combines the features of a private and public network, attracting the interest of players like Props, while helping them to address specific challenges that Props faced on the Ethereum network in this case. Algorand has a chance to become the most used public blockchain, perhaps thanks to Props and similar solutions.
Props already has over 5 million users on its network, who receive Props Token for their activities, and generate up to 700 transactions a day, based on the blockchain, which serves as a communication bus for sending and storing Props Token banners.
Perhaps Props will prove to be one of the first and key applications to drive the adoption of the Algorand platform at an exponential pace?
Usually you need one very powerful use case that will attract enough users to the network, creating a kind of network effect. Due to the fact that a given network already has a user base, new users are more likely to join such a network. A kind of snowball effect is created, which at some point takes on such a size and speed that the effect of this ball becomes visible and attractive to a wider group of users, and the leading position in a given area is therefore undeniable and clear. We could observe such an effect in the case of many social media platforms, that I will cite the example of FB, which in 2005 and 2006 was still an unnoticeable phenomenon, only to become an undeniable leader in its area a few years later.
A similar path may be followed by YouNow, which already has tens of millions of users, and the Props token may make this ecosystem even more attractive and attract the base of new applications and new users, thus increasing the attractiveness of the Props ecosystem to an even wider audience. The success of Props will certainly be a success for Algorand as wellas Props transactions are recorded in real time on the Algorand blockchain, increasing the usefulness of the Algorand network.
Ethereum has the ability to save 10 transactions per second. I have 86,400 seconds a day, so with its current architecture, Props will "jam" the Ethereum network at this point, because Props already generates 700 transactions on its network per day.
The Algorand network can process 1000 transactions per second (i.e. 100 times more than Ethereum), so Props will easily find enough bandwidth on the Algorand blockchain. In addition, transactions on Algorand cost 0.001 Algo (a fragment of a cent) and transactions on Ethereum can cost specific dollars and the price of these transactions is unpredictable (depending on the level of network use) - so for more serious business applications for Ethereum it may be too early, while Algorand is an interesting alternative here.
We can already see transactions on the Props + Algorand network for applications such as YouNow, CamFrog, PalTalkor Listia.
How PropsChain works
Without going into unnecessary detail, Props built what is called the Props Reward Engin.
Props Reward Engine automatically assigns tokens to applications based on their activity in the Props economy, in accordance with the transparent and public record in PropsChain, verified by independent validators. Props uses the Algorand blockchain in this regard. Applications that decide to join the Props ecosystem (like YouNow, Listia, PalTalk etc ..) have an incentive to extend the usability and functionality of Props as much as possible, as this will affect the amount of rewards that the Props protocol will allocate to them.
Apps by joining the Props ecosystem, they define the type of user activity (interaction, profile completion, leaving a comment, etc.) for which they want to reward their users in the form of a Props Token, which tokens have been received by the application thanks to the Props Reward Engine protocol. So we have programming freedom here, which the creator of a given application deems valuable within his platform (programming a remuneration for such action in the form of a Props token), encouraging the user to increase activity.
User earns Props Tokens for interacting with the application. Users collect tokens and thanks to these tokens they can use additional functionalities in all applications (not only in which they earned the token) participating in the Props ecosystem. In time, they will also be able to withdraw the Props token outside the Props ecosystem and convert it to another token or maybe even Fiat.
Regulations and surroundings
In July 2019, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) gave the United States the green light (Reg A +) so that Token Props could be distributed to end users of the Props ecosystem, confirming that The Props token is a utility token and does not bear the characteristics of a security.
In the Algorand ecosystem, we see the importance of operating in accordance with the light of regulators. Algorand is a platform that sees its use cases in such areas as:
- CBDC - digital currencies of central banks (Marshall Islands)
- DeFi - solutions for decentralized finance (Blend)
- Insurtech - insurance systems (Attestive)
- Gaming - transferring aspects of games to blockchain (BGA)
- Real estate tokenization, giving fluency (AssetBlock)
- Or even platforms for fundraising (Republic)
Some of these applications will sooner or later come across questions from regulators in individual countries. Early thinking about the design of a solution in terms of regulation may turn out to be key to surviving in this market in the long run.
Investment funds, such as Union Square Ventures, carefully select projects in this regard that they support with their capital. USV has invested in both Props and Algorand, being a kind of bridge between these ecosystems.
Among other investors worth mentioning is VenRock (Venture Rockefeller), the Rockefeller family fund, which also previously supported the birth of such giants Apple or Intel. Is he picking the winning horse well this time?
These types of investors could help such a platform to flourish. I am seeking help here not only with capital, but also by combining many solutions within my investment ecosystems into one larger whole.
6 x Apps and what's next?
At the moment, Props has 6 applications with a total base of several dozen million users who have decided to join PropsChain:
- YouNow, i.e. a livestreaming platform,
- Camfroga video chat platform
- datingcoma platform to connect people
- XSplita video streaming platform
- Listiaa kind of auction system for the sale of second-hand items,
- PatTalk, instant messaging and a simple system for video calls.
Each of these platforms has its own product that is already operational, its users who already use the application and interact with other users as part of this application, and some achievements in terms of recognition and market share.
The use cases studied and analyzed by Props (a YouNow product) show that by connecting the application to their ecosystem and using the Props token, it increased both user engagement within the given application (higher audience on YouNow) as well as increased revenues, platforms (in -app purachases).
Time will show how it will continue to develop, but certainly such use cases have a promising prospect. We are used to receiving all kinds of points and loyalty coupons - so why not extend the operation of such "coupons" by making them interoperable in a wider environment, thanks to platforms such as Algorand + Props?
Summary
Algorand is a promising platform that has a plan to attract 2020 million users to its ecosystem by the end of 10, who would be active on-chain (i.e. active on the Algorand public chain)
Algorand also wants to reach 1 million transactions by the end of the year that would take place on the Algorand public chain every day.
Both of these numbers are a very bold goal. Brave, because at present, in principle, no blockchain platform can boast of such achievements, despite the fact that the cryptocurrency technology has been developing for (only?) 11 years.
Will Algorand, which has been on the market with its mainnet since June 2019, manage to be the first platform to gain such wide adoption (millions of users, millions of transactions)? Not that, but Props certainly seems to be a promising use case that could actually be the dream “Killer App” for the cryptocurrency world.
Dlaczego?
- Well-established product with real traction of use,
- A smart approach to combining multiple applications into a wider ecosystem,
- Reasonable approach to the regulation and construction of the Props token,
- Perspective choice of a platform (Algorand) that ensures scalability,
- non-negligible aspect = a clever and non-invasive way to reach new users, offering them the benefits of blockchain and cryptocurrencies (Smart = not charging these users with a mass of unnecessary passwords, tools and secrets, which today are such an overwhelming and dominant narrative in this industry)
Blockchain and Tokens will reach hundreds of millions of users only if they do something 10x better than traditional technologies, so it is undoubtedly necessary to use them wisely and "cut off" the end user from the sophisticated secrets of these platforms = read = lowering the entry threshold + innovation.
The topic of this article is discussed in more detail in my video material on the channel Daily Dose of Discomfort.
You might also consider taking a look at mine Twitter.
Andrzej_0xa0
