THE YEAR IN REVIEW FOR SKYCOIN 2018 PART 2

charles bivins
15 min readDec 30, 2018

SKYCOIN COMMUNITY (SKYFLEET)

The Skycoin community witnessed an exponential growth in the year 2018. The telegram group grew from about two thousand to ten thousand people within the year while the twitter group grew from about four thousand to over about 13. 9 thousand followers.

Metcalfe’s law is often cited in cryptocurrency circles. The law states that the value of a network increases proportionally to the number of participants in the network. For example, if there are two people in the world who have phones, they can only call each other. As more and more people join the network, the utility and overall value of owning a phone increases. With a cryptocurrency, this value translates directly into economic value.

The Skycoin community has presence, engagement, relevance, motivation, and sincerity. Newcomers in the Skycoin community are often surprised by the friendliness and helpfulness of the core supporters, which is a testament to the sincerity of the intention behind the project.

The Skycoin community also known as Skyfleet is probably the most active, intelligent and technical project group you will find in the space.

They are allowed to build their own DIY Skyminers and they are all whitelisted if they are built to specification.

It is a community that has grown organically under the able leadership of Sudo, Evan, K, Levitys, therealssj, MrHodlr, Mooj, professor, Lawful, Jialee Caribou, Red Pilster, Falcone District and many others who work round the clock to maintain respect and civility and to disseminate accurate information in all the social media fora from Reddit to Facebook, from steemit to bitcointalk and from YouTube to Twitter giving Skycoin an active presence in all these media.

These hardworking individuals in Skycoin organize all kinds of contests from time to time and reward the community with a lot of gifts from Skycoins to apparel. They organized a video competition to show how creative the group was and also organized completions for the most creative DIY miner. This way they keep the community engaged and informed.

The following CryptoLifeCrisis, NotMacroBusiness, SadKen, Deus Nero, Mr. C worked relentlessly promoting Skycoin on Twitter and spreading the Skycoin message.

The Skywire Telegram chat is now over 2000 members, with K, asxtree, Mr. Hodlr & BigOokie patiently helping newcomers and experienced Skyfleet with all their Skyminer questions.

Skycoin Meetups Worldwide chat continues to grow as the hub of Skycoin information material with Daken and Lauren ensuring people have high-quality material to run and host successful Skycoin meet ups. They have been several meet ups this year from Cuba to Ireland, from Holland to Italy and many more will be coming up in the following year

Special mention must be made of the community bloggers who have continued to churn out quality articles informing the investing public about the Skycoin ecosystem. These include Juan Pablo, Christian Ott, MacSkyver, Lawrence Qholloi, CryptoDiscipulus to mention but a few.

SKY EVENTS /CONFERENCES

It has been a flurry of activities and monumental year for the Skycoin event team. For the first time in their 7-year history, they started active marketing of the project this year.

The Skycoin project organized, sponsored and attended a lot of conferences, meetups and promoting seminars to educate the members of the public about the project.

These included consensus conference (World biggest blockchain conference), Blockchain Unbound and Coin Agenda both held in Puerto Rico, International Blockchain Application & Strategic Development Summit Forum in Rome, Italy, The Blockstars conference in Paraleni Polis in Prague, ChainXChange conference in Las Vegas, The US-China blockchain Digital currency conference in Los Angeles, California, BLOCKCHANCE Conference Hamburg 2018, Germany, The Global Assets and Wealth Forum 2018 in Singapore, The Tech Crunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, The Malta blockchain summit, Cryptoyacht California, Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal to mention but a few .

These conferences attracted the crème de la crème of the crypto both in the technical, economic and business world. Some of the conferences also involved a lot of government and non-governmental organizations that see the direction the cryptocurrency and blockchain world is going.

The Skycoin event team under the able leadership of

Daken Freeborn — Director of Events

Ed Vilderman — Videographer and Marketing Coordinator

Mark Smith — Marketing and Accounting
Lauren Smith — Planning, Support, and Online Sales
Drew MacGibbon — Events Lead for Skycoin in Asia put in a lot of hard work and preparation to make sure that Skycoin was able to attend, present and make lasting impressions on the minds of participants.

These events were perfect occasions to educate the audiences about what the Skycoin project is all about.

They also informed the audiences that Skycoin is a very ambitious cryptocurrency project that has a lot of different moving parts. Instead of a single coin, it is actually a whole ecosystem of solutions to problems that the blockchain aim to solve. It is a complete platform that is powered by Skycoin to perform different functions and contribute to the network of interdependent systems. The foundation of the Skycoin ecosystem begins with Skywire.

In all the events, the Skyminer was the showstopper. Everyone was fascinated by the machine, the hardware of the new decentralized Internet.

These conferences also provide a lot of opportunities for interactions and partnerships with other projects that align with the aims and objectives of Skycoin.

At the Malta blockchain summit, The Skycoin project struck a strategic partnership with John McAfee, the most influential person in the cryptocurrency world, former founder of the world’s first antivirus software and a former NASA computer programmer and a vocal libertarian cryptocurrency advocate, in partnering with Skycoin in his 2020 campaign for the American presidency.

McAfee wants to use Skycoin’s social media platform BBS for his presidential campaign.
Skycoin BBS is going to become a viable alternative to the big social media giants. It will work on Skycoin’s “flagship application,” the Internet platform Skywire.

MEDIA/MARKETING

The Skycoin Project made a lot of media headline in the year 2018. The year began with the Huffington post naming Skycoin as the top cryptocurrency to watch out for in 2018 and if all the development the project underwent is anything to go by, People should keep a very close watch on this.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-top-5-crypto-projects-to-watch-in-2018_us_5a4c6a77e4b06cd2bd03e359

Immediately after the Consensus blockchain conference, Skycoin especially the Skyminer became the cynosure of all eyes.

This brought so much attention to the project that NASDAQ had to do an interview with the Marketing Director of Skycoin Danish Chaudry ( The gentle Giant) .

Jill Miladrino the host of global trade on Nasdaq TV was fascinated by the fact that she could quit her job at NASDAQ by just getting one Skyminer, plug it and become a cryptocurrency millionaire.

A few days later, it was the turn of the United Nations to recognize the tremendous benefits Skycoin project brings to the world. While it is obvious the Governments of the world are fighting a losing battle with what the technology of blockchain and its applications can bring to the world, They have quietly been looking for a better alternative to bitcoin and no one could put it better than Professor Stefan Brunnhuber during the UN Talk: Blockchain — Financing the Future — Sustainability

Professor Brunnhuber of the UN proposes directing 5 trillion dollars (with the help of all the central banks) directly into these SDGs with a parallel financial system enabled by blockchain. Supposedly for every dollar, you spend in SDG, the world as a whole generates a 7x return for the investment.
Blockchain allows the UN (United Nations) to ensure that there will be no room for these funds to go towards corruption. He stated that currently it is estimated 30% of all funds spent goes towards corruption.
He explained how Skyfiber blockchain could help finance the future of the world and singled out Skycoin technology as a complete and working solution.

The Project also got a lot of media attention immediately after the Malta blockchain summit when Synth and John McAfee got on stage to discuss the dark side of the web.

This has culminated in the most respected personality and biggest influencer in the cryptoworld, John McAfee openly endorsing the coin and taking it as its official partner for its US presidential campaign under the libertarian party for 2020.

Libertarian represents five percent of the American voting population.

Forbes Magazine also recognized Skycoin, as the top project the world should be looking up to in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space in 2019.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewrossow/2018/10/04/trick-or-treat-13-blockchain-companies-by-industry-that-will-have-your-cauldrons-bubbling-for-2019/#7a283f99760b

Another major influencer that has joined the Skycoin team is Joe Blackburn.

Currently the CEO and Co-founder of Crypto Coin Trader. Joe Blackburn has been involved with many projects within blockchain and the cryptocurrency space.

A lot of YouTube influencers who are interested in the project did a series of interviews with Synth the lead developer and special mention include Coin Interview, Cryptorich, Cryptojewtrading, Cryptopotato, free-for-all, and many others.
It was a year that the project garnered a lot of media attention because of the various developments, which could no longer go unnoticed.

KIDNAP OF SYNTH

This was probably the lowest point of the Skycoin project in the year under review.
The trigger for the events was the discovery that the previous Skycoin China marketing team (EVOLAB) had embezzled approximately 100,000 Skycoins over the course of the past half-year. In light of this discovery and their failure to return or account for the embezzled coins, the relationship with this team was terminated.
On 12 June 2018, nine individuals from the marketing team in China broke into Synth’s home. Sam Sing Fong Sam Sing Fong, Mary Li (李臻/李敏), Xiangdong Yan (闫向东) and Jesse Sun Fei (孙飞) led the team in holding Synth’s family hostage for close to 6 hours. During this period, they caused the couple bodily harm by beating them up and robbing them.

The stringent security measures that had been taken by the wallet security team they only managed to steal 18.88 Bitcoins. They also stole 6,466 Skycoins during the robbery. Fortunately, the gang’s attempt to steal the design framework for the ecosystem belonging to Skycoin failed.
The team also established a blacklisting function, which was set to protect the Skycoin holders.
In addition, the accounts of the criminal suspects were temporarily frozen by the exchange they were trying to sell the stolen coin to allow thorough investigations to be carried out. The accounts created by EVOLAB on social media platforms were requested to move to the Skycoin’s website.
This created a lot of bad publicity and FUD as they came screaming with headlines like “Skycoin Employees Kidnap CEO, Steal His Life Savings “ ‘Skyconnect “ etc.
The good thing is Synth survived and negative attention turned to positive as it brought a lot of attention to the project as a lot of people thought the project was going to go under.
Competing whitepaper projects were behind the negative energy generated towards Skycoin and despite a Police report of the Incident, The naysayers were of the belief that Synth had arranged his own the kidnap and torturing of his wife to pull an exit. Unfortunately for them, Synth is still here, Skycoin is waxing stronger with developments while some of the other projects have either packed up or resorted to trading with company’s assets to survive the bear market as their end is near.

The Chinese team responsible for this were not going to lie low, They fought back and got impostors in the Sskycoin telegram group to create fear and panic by accusing Synth and some administrators in the skycoin group of insider’s trading based on a voice recording made by Synth that was available to everyone who was a member of the telegram group.
The messages received on the main skycoin telegram group from June 14th to June 18th far exceeded all the messages that have been received since the beginning of the year.
A lot of them were paid and sponsored attacks from detractors and competitors.
Their message was clear. To create fear, uncertainty, and doubt intentionally in order to put a competitor at a disadvantage.

For doubters, If Synth wanted to pull an exit scam that would have been the perfect scenario. For gullible people, I will advise that you do your research.

The Kidnap team are spending time in jail after conviction and will remain there for a considerable length of time.
The Lesson learned here is Humans cannot be trusted to make decisions as absolute power corrupts absolutely. They will always make decisions to either cheat the systems like Government or for personal gains This is where the consensus algorithm of the Skycoin project is going to cut all these excesses and become the real game changer once mainnet is established.

QUALITY DEVELOPERS

The Skycoin team showed the world that they have some of the best developers in the world with all the achievements they have made this year.
The first and most important characteristic of any coin is the quality of blockchain developer. Without a high-quality developer team, the other necessary features of a quality blockchain project will be absent.

The Skycoin development team has shown they are top tier by displaying skills like knowing standards and ecosystems, understanding blockchain security, knowing the platforms, ability to learn to simplify, a full understanding of blockchain architecture patterns, distributed ledger expertise and master of interoperability.
The team has shown that they understand the fundamentals of object-oriented programming, cryptography, system architecture, and test-driven development.

This can be seen in the amount of Active GitHub code repository, having their own blockchain and active involvement of community participation, which use and provide provides feedback on the development of the project.
At the end of the day, it’s coins that have experienced developers and their own blockchain that will lead the way in the space.

From Synth to Steve, from Olemis to Leonardo, From Iketheador to StdevStark, from Stdevkoky to Andrey, from Mykel to Eduardo, from Briancane to jaggedsoft, from Bunny to Simelo, Skycoin have the best of developers who have proved their mettle beyond a reasonable doubt.

In recognition of this, other top developers who have been quitting other projects for lack of funds are all drifting to Skycoin as they see the amount of work and knowledge been exhibited.
One investment advice I will give to potential investors in Skycoin is if you have a friend who is a developer, get him or her to check the Github activities of Skycoin.

SKYCOIN APPAREL AND PHYSICAL COIN SHOP

The year also witnessed the establishment of an online store for Skycoin apparel from tee shirts to caps, from hoodies to socks. These can be purchased directly from Amazon.

The store is also responsible for sending out merchandise for Skycoin meet-ups worldwide.

The Skycoin project did a kick-starter project with four crypto-enthusiasts with an entrepreneurial mindset and a love for collectible coins who discovered Skycoin and was fascinated with the unique and ambitious project Skycoin was.
They met with the Skycoin team and the result was the creation of Skycoin Physical collectible coins from funds that were raised for the project.

The project that had 104 backers raised and raised €13,945 in 30 days.

They have created gold, silver crystal glass limited collectibles of Skycoin.

You can make crypto payment in Bitcoin.
You can get these coins from https://melloo.io
you can join their telegram @ https://t.me/PhysicalSkycoins

This year has been a very eventful year for Skycoin and why the price at the moment is a gross undervaluation of where the coin should be, it pretty obvious that Skycoin probably has the greatest fundamentals in the cryptocurrency market.
While fundamentals and prices do not align most often, there is mostly a delay on higher or lower prices. At the proper time, the alignment will come. It may take another 6, 12 or even 18 months before this occurs but Holders believe they are in a very good position considering all the developments going on.

The video below is a short story of skycoin since its inception.

After all the bloodletting of this year, there are clear signals that 2019 will be the year in which institutional money finally will enter the cryptocurrency market. This is one of the cryptocurrency predictions for 2019 that will be a game changer for the crypto market, without any doubt.

The one thing that the cryptocurrency crash in 2018 succeeded in doing very well is to clean up the sector
As said many times 90% of cryptocurrencies will die. It seems that we are already at 50% right now: only the cryptocurrencies that deliver real added value like Skycoin will do very well starting in 2019, and do extremely well in the 2020–2022 period. Yes, I am talking 100–200 baggers similar to last December.

2019 will be the year Skycoin gets the adoption and traction needed once the Mainnet is launched and people start hanging their antennas. Within the next 2 year when Skycoin gets to implement backhaul, it would become the investor’s delight in the cryptocurrency market.

While it may be all doom and gloom now despite all the developments, it is obvious that Skycoin will the ones that will replace Bitcoin as the number one cryptocurrency because its tech is vastly superior to Bitcoin through these characteristics

  1. Instant transactions
  2. Zero fees
  3. Near infinite scalability and decentralization through side-chain/off-chain/horizontal scaling
  4. 1 millionth the energy usage of Bitcoin.
    Remember the Apple story.

Don’t accept anything I wrote as a trading or investment recommendation. Do your due diligence and when you do, please join the revolution.
In the meanwhile let me use this opportunity to wish my numerous readers a belated Merry Christmas and a happy new year while keeping the faith.

Find out more at https://www.skycoin.net

Telegram: https://t.me/Skycoin

Buy Skycoin directly from the website @

https://www.skycoin.net/buy/
Join the meetup worldwide group @ http://t.me/MeetupsWorldwideSkycoin

YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzLASufel2No4vSt4rudHSQ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skycoinproject

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/skycoinproject

Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/Skycoin

Follow me on twitter https://twitter.com/bivins1

--

--