~ Platform, Decentralized exchange, Smart contracts, Exchange, Build DApps, Token issuance.
Waves’ journey into the crypto market began in 2016 when its founder, Sasha Ivanov (a Ukrainian theoretical physicist), launched the project. Ivanov was also part of a fiat-to-crypto platform Coinmat; he was actually a co-founder. He was also deeply involved in developing another blockchain project called NXT blockchain, and he mentioned it as the primary inspiration behind the creation of the Waves Blockchain Platform.
Waves has remained one of the few digital currencies that survived several ups and downs of the crypto market. Waves represent the cryptocurrency “WAVES,” which is the native token of the blockchain and the Waves Blockchain Platform’s name. The blockchain was initially designed to simplify the asset tokenization process as well as crypto and fiat transfer.
However, the platform has since moved on to support smart contracts as well as DApp development, just like Ethereum and EOS. The Waves token is a currency used in minting tokens, processing transactions and rewarding miners within the Waves network. The primary goal of Waves since its creation was to foster the mass adoption of blockchain technologies.
To accomplish the goal of mass adoption, the project focused on user experience in addition to establishing relationships with legacy institutions in the private and public sectors. While he was actively involved in several crypto projects, Ivanov discovered a critical flaw in blockchain and digital currency and that was the ease of adoption. He concluded that the issue is two-fold.
One of the issues has to do with the user experience that involves buying, trading, and storing digital assets, which he believes is very confusing. Learning how to buy, trade and store digital currencies involves a deep learning curve that eventually renders cryptocurrency less attractive to people.
The second issue he noticed has to do with legacy institutions. He feels that they are skeptical of decentralized, open-source blockchains. Many of these institutions regard things like the distributed ledger technology as more of a security risk than an operational benefit. Decision-makers in such institutions responsible for making a decision on integrating distributed ledger solutions into their business end up finding it extremely hard to understand the technology and eventually dismiss it altogether.
Why Wave?
The core developers designed the Wave blockchain to deal with the confusing digital currency user experience and introduce blockchain technology to legacy institutions. The platform intends to achieve this goal by creating the most seamless user experience and making use of interphases that the average person is familiar with. In fact, Ivanov clearly stated that out of the 15 members of the core Waves team, ten are working exclusively on front-end development for the Waves platform.
The ten developers’ focus is to imitate the designs and layouts already existing on the sites of legacy institutions like financial institutions. Waves has also been actively involved in negotiating and obtaining feedback from private organizations regarding how to create the perfect blockchain solution that would appeal to businesses.
To satisfy some businesses’ specific needs, Ivanov has even created separate blockchain projects like Waves Enterprise and Vlostok. As a result of his dedication to this cause, the Waves’ team now enjoys a favorable reputation in Eastern Europe and Russia where the government has strict regulations for blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Is Wave a Crypto?
Waves’ method of gaining mass adoption also raises some questions, especially in the minds of crypto enthusiasts. The founder has always been very interested in partnering with legacy institutions in the financial sector, and this includes banks and payment providers. On the other hand, majority of other cryptocurrency projects are mainly exploring ways to replace legacy institutions, and they may eventually succeed.
While decentralized blockchain technologies consistently erode the very foundation of most legacy institutions, Wave’s centralization and determination to merge with the old systems may not favor them in a new world where decentralization becomes the new standard.
Also, the Waves team’s marketing approach where they simply inform the users not to be concerned about what’s happening beneath the surface of their platforms, would eventually get the attention of the average cryptomaniac. Interestingly, Ivanov would likely respond that the average individual doesn’t really bother about the things happening behind the scenes, and he may be right.
Waves is undoubtedly a rare blockchain project that has achieved so much within a short time. This is possible courtesy of its more centralized structure. One of the things that make Waves different from other cryptocurrency projects is that the core team of developers are in charge of the blockchain.
This makes Waves immune to issues involved in achieving consensus on platforms like Ethereum. The crypto space has over 2,000 cryptocurrencies and there is so much to learn. You can find useful information about some of the top-performing cryptocurrencies by reading “The Digital World of Crypto Riches.” The author has created summaries of over a hundred digital currencies to enlighten the average person on what’s happening in the crypto space.
The team behind Waves has been able to deliver what they have set out to do. One of the Waves blockchain platform’s remarkable points in 2020 was the disclosure that its platform would become interoperable with the Ethereum network by releasing the WAVES token as an ERC-20 standard asset. Waves is listed on several exchanges like Binance, BiKi, OKEx, and Huobi Global.
~ The official website of Bitcoin is https://waves.tech/
