Software:Bytecoin (cryptocurrency)

BYTECOIN (BCN)

Original author(s)	PACIFIC_SKYLINE, AMJUAREZ and others.
Initial release	2014
Written in	С++
Platform	Windows, Mac, Linux, FreeBSD
Type	Payment system
Website	bytecoin.org

Forks tree for CryptoNote coins. February, 2016

Bytecoin (ticker symbol BCN) is the first cryptocurrency based on the CryptoNote technology with an open source code designed for anonymous cash settlement. BCN protects the user's privacy with impassive and anonymous transactions.

This is a completely independent currency, developing separately from Bitcoin and its forks. The basis for the creation of Bytecoin was the unique CryptoNote technology.

History

Bytecoin (BCN) was released to the public on March 2014. Developers of the cryptocurrency had faked its discovery in 2014, claiming it was up and running from 2012. The dated signatures in the whitepaper were later proven to be fake. By the time the 'discovery' took place, a little over 80% of Bytecoin's maximum supply had already been mined.

Since the launch, several improvements have been made, including multi-valued transactions and several security updates. In 2013, the original implementation of CryptoNote Java was rewritten using C++. As of 2015, Bytecoin has been forked more than 25 times. Bytecoin blockchain contains additional information not directly related to remittances: several blocks include the geographical coordinates of universities, educational institutions among other buildings.

On March 31, 2015, Bytecoin developers announced their road map for several future releases. Among others, the following improvements were mentioned:

• payment gateway capable of receiving and sending thousands transactions simultaneously
• desktop GUI wallet software (released few weeks later in April 2015)
• several API layers for integration with other software
• blockchain-based aliases system
• blockchain-based assets
• smart contracts with embedded turing-complete language

Features

Bytecoin is an open source software. Crypto currency uses the principle of Proof-of-work ("Proof of work performance").

The algorithm for mining in Bytecoin differs in that it actively uses the AES command system for x86 microprocessors and a large amount of memory, which makes mining on the GPU less efficient than for Bitcoin.

It uses the unique CryptoNight algorithm. The essence of the algorithm is in the ring signature, which provides the maximum program anonymity for today. The cryptographic basis for the protocol was created by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Yael Taumann in 2001, and finalized by E. Fujisaki and K. Suzuki in 2007. The EdDSA scheme proposed by the American mathematician Daniel Bernstein is used as the signature algorithm. Additional transaction obfuscation was added to this basis.

Transactional obfuscation in the CryptoNote protocol

Due to CryptoNote and the obfuscation added to the protocol, passive mixing is provided: all transactions in the system are anonymous, and all participants in the system can use plausible deniability in the event of a capture.

Bytecoin advertises itself as a completely anonymous altcoin. Bytecoin offers the following features:

• Unlimited instant payments globally: the Bytecoin network works as fast as the Internet. Confirmation is required for payment and Bytecoin transactions are processed in about 2 minutes.
• Security: Bytecoin "protects the user's money with secure and modern cryptographic algorithms" which "can not be hacked." The creators of Bytecoin agree that breaking a cryptocurrency in the form of what is known as a 51% attack or majority attack, will require a lot of expensive electricity and the computing power of supercomputers.
• Secure personal data: Bytecoin states that "it is absolutely impossible to obtain information about your financial transactions and the balance of your wallet" if you do not want to disclose your data. Only the user can manage data that partners and third parties can see.

See also

• OpenBazaar - peer-to-peer decentralized trade protocol

References

• Official site

• The source code for Bytecoin on Github