Improving the Utility of NAV & xNAV Over 2021

As 2021 gets underway, we remain focused on providing easy to use, user centric solutions that allow anyone to transact freely and maintain their own personal privacy as they desire. Navcoin allows anyone to make peer to peer (P2P) transactions that are either public (via NAV) or completely anonymous (via xNAV), and we are working to enhance the utility of both coins through the following upcoming developments and integrations that will benefit the entire Navcoin community.

With the latest protocol upgrade featuring our new private token likely to be activated on February 19th, it is time to look at the plans of the coming months for the Navcoin Core development team.

Creating wNAV, a wrapped version of Navcoin

We are currently working to unify our currencies with the myriad of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) solutions on the Ethereum network, and are developing an ERC-20 bridge that will allow the creation of wrapped representations of both NAV and xNAV. Thanks to the compatibility of other blockchains with the ERC-20 standard, we plan to get wrapped Navcoin supported in other chains besides Ethereum, like Binance Smart Chain.

The bridge will facilitate the creation of a “Wrapped NAV” token, and our platform users will simply deposit NAV or xNAV in order to receive wrapped NAV (wNAV). The wNAV token will function as any ERC-20/BEP-20 token and will be able to integrate fully with popular DeFi platforms and Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs).

Wrapped NAV will also be able to be staked with a portion of the staking rewards being delivered as additional wrapped tokens to wNAV holders, with the other portion being redirected to the Navcoin Community Fund in order to increase the resources available to fund projects. The exact ratio to be used regarding the staking reward split has yet to be decided, and we will announce the ratio as soon as it has been finalized after discussing it in the community. Furthermore, the bridge will remain under the control of the Navcoin community, and the keys of the bridge will be managed in a multisignature wallet controlled by community members.

The development of an ERC-20 bridge and wNAV token will naturally lead to DEX integrations and we will actively seek to integrate wNAV with DEXs and DeFi platforms in order to allow our community members to use Wrapped NAV to engage in activities such as trading, providing liquidity, and staking on popular decentralized platforms.

In addition, we have recently renewed our partnership with AtomicDEX, and the Atomic team plan to integrate xNAV when we complete support for it in the Electrum wallet.

xNAV Electrum Support & BTCPay Server Integration

As a result, when the ERC-20 bridge has been completed we plan to develop xNAV support for Electrum which will see the coin added to AtomicDEX and will also allow light wallets to use xNAV as Electrum is a lightweight wallet solution that doesn’t require downloading and synching with an entire blockchain network.

This helps to improve the usability and functionality of xNAV and we plan to integrate with BTCPay Server to further enhance the NAV/xNAV user experience.

BTCPay Server is a free and open-source P2P payments processor for Bitcoin and a range of cryptocurrencies which makes it easy for both real world and online merchants to accept and process payments in digital currencies.

The platform is non-custodial and privacy respecting with users retaining control over their private keys, while payments made via BTCPay are sent directly to user wallets. This cuts out unnecessary middlemen, fees, and transaction costs, and provides merchants with a viable alternative to the universal payments processing networks controlled by financial giants such as Visa and MasterCard who provide completely centralized services.

There are also no KYC/AML requirements and anyone registering only needs to provide an email address, the platform has grown significantly over the last year, and is compatible with leading e-commerce platforms such as WooCommerce, Magneto, PrestaShop and Drupal.

The integration with BTCPay Server significantly enhances the ability for NAV and xNAV to be used to purchase a wide range of goods and services and allows us to integrate with a growing platform which focuses on privacy, security, and facilitating the adoption of digital currencies.

There is much more to come

Over the coming weeks and months we will work on completing the ERC-20/BEP-20 bridge and securing DEX integrations before moving onto completing xNAV support for Electrum and finalizing integration with BTCPay Server. There is much more to come and we are always looking to secure new partnerships, collaborations, and integrations that push our platform forward and enhance the user experience for the entire Navcoin community.