Nimiq: Past, Present & Future
Blog Series — Ecosystem
While working on upgrades to performance and scalability of the Nimiq Network, we are pursuing improvements to the Nimiq user interfaces in parallel. As part of these efforts, we decided to:
- Use Vue.js for our future UI development and
- Rewrite the Nimiq Keyguard to be free of dependencies for better code review and
- Open the Nimiq Keyguard to third parties
Next, we want to rewrite the Nimiq Safe using Vue.js, implement the Nimiq Wallet for convenient day-to-day use, and last not least also provide some form of styling and branding guide for the Nimiq Ecosystem.
Vue.js
Following a period of research, we have decided to use Vue.js for our upcoming front-ends. React was another consideration due to its larger market share, but Vue.js ended up convincing us for the following reasons:
- Clean separation of code and markup
- Open source governance, no dependence on a company
- Shorter learning curve
- Focused on simplicity: better presets, less configuration
- Smaller file size
- Support for calculated and cached values on top of state values
Nimiq Keyguard
As major step in the near future, we plan to rewrite the Nimiq Keyguard. It is responsible for encrypting and storing the user’s private keys as well as signing and securing transactions. It is the Nimiq Ecosystem’s component with the highest security requirements.
By focusing the rewrite on security hardening, our goal is to simplify the architecture as well as removing all dependencies and thus inherently also simplifying continuous code review. Additionally, we consider making use of code signing in the future so that malicious code manipulation becomes more preventable.
After the rewrite and successful code review, we expect to open up the Nimiq Keyguard for third-party applications allowing Nimiq payment to be integrated into other applications as smooth and simple as payments with PayPal.
Nimiq Safe
Working towards highly usable UIs, the onboarding process of the Nimiq Safe has been improved by adding an introductory welcome and guiding less experienced users by explaining what the Nimiq Safe is and how it can be used.
As future improvement we want to rewrite the Nimiq Safe using Vue.js which will allow more efficient interface changes of future releases as well as code sharing with the upcoming Nimiq Wallet. Both, the future Nimiq Wallet and Safe are planned to have multi-language support taking full advantage of our in-house native speakers covering English, Chinese, Spanish, and German (in addition to our motivated and very helpful community members!).
Nimiq Wallet
The vision for paying with NIM is that it can be used as part of every day payment routines, in a most convenient way. While the Nimiq Safe is focused on safety and consequently geared towards desktop use, the idea for Nimiq Wallet is to be more focused on ease-of-use for smaller transactions, directly from your smartphone and mobile platform. In the long run, our ambitions are to compete with contactless payment systems such as Visa PayWave or Apple Pay in terms of speed, simplicity, and user experience.
Branding and Styling Guide
On our way to mainstream adoption and upon requests from the avid Nimiq community, we intend to provide a style guide for systems, applications, and information using or refering to Nimiq. This guide will look to include resources such as the Nimiq font, logo, and signet.
P2P Exchange
Efforts on getting Nimiq listed on exchanges — some of which are P2P — have lead to first results and are still in progress. In parallel, community efforts such as Nimex.app have been set up making use of the atomic swap ability with Ethereum. Both approaches allow Nimiq users to buy, sell, and exchange NIM already. Given this fact, we have decided to lower the priority of building another custom P2P exchange platform in favor of putting resources towards essential payment interfaces and processes such as the Nimiq Safe, Wallet and NIM check-out process.
Follow Nimiq on Twitter, Discord and Telegram to be notified about updates on Nimiq Keyguard, Safe, and Wallet. The next planned post in this series will cover most recent upgrades and research efforts.
DISCLAIMER: None of the statements must be viewed as an endorsement or recommendation for Nimiq, any cryptocurrency, or investment product. Neither the information, nor any opinion contained herein constitutes a solicitation or offer by the creators or participants to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service.
