Coin Spotlight: Nano
A feeless, distributed cryptocurrency network.
What is Nano?
Nano is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency developed to solve two problems identified in typical cryptocurrency transactions: (1) lengthy transaction times and (2) unnecessary transaction costs. It solves the problems of slow transactions by employing a block-lattice infrastructure, rather than being based on a blockchain, in a directed acyclic graph (DAG) algorithm. This allows each account on the network to have its own blockchain (account-chain) that keeps track of that specific account’s entire transaction and balance history.
Instead of resource-intensive computers required to update a single blockchain, the Nano architecture requires only the sender and receiver to communicate and update their respective blockchains to complete a transaction. Individual blockchains can be updated asynchronously and that allows the network to perform real-time, ultrafast transactions and unlimited scalability without sacrificing security.
Nano transactions take, on average, under a second to complete and the only cost is a small proof of work that amounts to 0.032 Wh/Tx, or 30 million times more efficient than Bitcoin.
Every sent or received Nano transaction is broadcast to the entire network and recorded in historical ledgers. The Nano network can also automatically resolve conflicts caused by malicious actors, for example, two new blocks referencing the same previous block in a blockchain.
The platform uses a unique application of delegated proof of stake (DPoS) to ensure consensus. The nodes answer through balance-weighted voting equal to the amount of Nano a user holds or that is delegated to them by users. Each account holder has the option to freely assign their votes to a ‘representative’ so that their voice can still be heard when they are offline. Representative nodes perform tasks such as verifying block signatures and voting for valid transactions in the event of a conflict.
The voting process occurs within a matter of seconds and the winning transaction is kept while the losing transaction is discarded.
Block Lattice Infrastructure
Nano uses a directed acyclic graph (DAG) algorithm in conjunction with something called block-lattice infrastructure. This architecture operates similarly to a blockchain but with a few key differences.
As stated earlier, each individual account on Nano’s protocol has its own blockchain called an account-chain. Only the user for that account-chain can modify their individual chain and this allows each chain to be updated asynchronously to the rest of the block-lattice network removing the need for miners.
Funds sent on Nano’s block-lattice network require two transactions: a sender transaction and a receiver transaction. The receiver must sign a block confirming receipt of the funds for the transaction to be settled. However, if only the sending party’s block is signed, the transaction remains pending as unsettled.
Every Nano transaction is its own block and each new block replaces the previous one on a user’s account-chain. For the ledger to maintain proper account history, the new blocks take a record of the account holder’s current balance before processing the transaction.
Example:
If a user sends Nano to another party, the transaction is verified by calculating the difference between the ‘send’ block and the current balance on the preceding block. At the other end, the receiving block will then add the amount to its account-chain’s preceding block. This results in the new block recording the updated balance of each user.
Using this system, the Nano network keeps a record of a user’s account balance on its ledger rather than the full history of transactions like a traditional blockchain.
The network is completely decentralized and is set up in a way that allows for massive scalability and almost instantaneous fund transfer without any fees.
Current number of nodes and statistics at the time of this writing can be seen below:
495 Online Representatives Around the World*
80 Online Rebroadcasting Representatives**
*pulled from Nano Ninja
**pulled from Nanocharts
Coinplan is very excited to feature Nano because they are one of the most innovative digital currencies with the mission to become a global currency with ultrafast transactions and zero fees over a secure, decentralized network. The team and the community are driven by the desire to see true change happen in the arena of global financial transactions. They are both pushing hard for increasing adoption, developing support applications, and fine-tuning the protocol.
Wirex just recently integrated Nano allowing for seamless spending where Visa is also accepted and creating the fastest decentralized bridge between cryptocurrency and real-world spending. Nano’s third Dolphin, RC3, was released a few weeks ago and is brought with it general bug fixes and addressed build issues as well as better management for unchecked table entries.
You can view Nano inside Coinplan’s Financial Services and Alliance Portfolios.
To learn more about Nano, please take a look at these helpful links:
