Who Governs Peercoin?
Peercoin is one of the original pioneering cryptocurrencies, launched in 2012 and responsible for the first implementation of Proof-of-Stake consensus. At the moment it’s the fourth oldest active cryptocurrency — after Bitcoin, Namecoin and Litecoin. Peercoin was started in the early age of cryptocurrency when the only people dwelling around crypto and Bitcoin were technology enthusiasts who were dissatisfied with the existing centralized monetary systems of the world.
Peercoin is a decentralized p2p payment blockchain network based on a proof-of-stake consensus algorithm. The network also uses hashcash style proof-of-work for continual coin distribution. No one party controls the peer-to-peer Peercoin blockchain network, the consensus algorithm or the distribution.
Before we start, it’s important to define what “Peercoin” is. It’s a complex topic to describe in just a few lines, but here is a high-level introduction (in topological order):
- the Peercoin Network
- the Peercoin Blockchain
- the Peercoin Project & Open-Source Code
- the Peercoin Community
- the Peercoin Team
- the Peercoin Ecosystem
And, externally:
- the Peercoin Foundation
Collectively, all the above form what we usually call “Peercoin”.
The Peercoin Project (Github hosted) at its base, is an open-source code (MIT, BSD and GPL license agreements) from which the binaries for the nodes are compiled. All internet connected nodes make up the Peercoin Network, which collectively reaches consensus and forms the Peercoin Blockchain. The Peercoin Community is a loosely collected group of individuals and organizations who take interest in the Peercoin Project and the Peercoin Blockchain. One can take interest in Peercoin for ideological, technical, speculative or other reasons. There is no common denominator to all these interests as everyone is around for different reasons. The Peercoin Team moderates the community and provides supporting infrastructure to help these individuals come together for the common good of Peercoin.
The Peercoin Ecosystem is all the above combined, plus all the projects and services that revolve around Peercoin, but are not directly tied to it. Services include 3rd party wallets, block-explorers, exchanges, and projects including PeerAssets, Perpera and others.
The Peercoin Foundation is the legal face for all the above — more on that below.
The Peercoin Network and Blockchain
The Peercoin Network is a p2p computer network organized via the Peercoin Blockchain.
In blockchain-based networks like Peercoin, code is the law. The protocol is described in the Peercoin Project’s open source code. Developers publish new code in response to the RFC process when it comes to major features, maintaining the codebase and fixing bugs. Stakeholders are responsible for operating the node software that creates new blocks via the Proof-of-Stake process. Code changes are ratified when nodes accept the new code, which happens when stakeholders update their wallet node software in a process called ‘distributed consensus’.
Changes that fundamentally alter the protocol, in an event called a “hard fork”, require the entire network to accept the new code. When this happens, it is important that a large majority of nodes upgrade to the new protocol together, otherwise the changes risk being rejected or causing the network to split. In this way, by voluntarily updating their node software to the most recent code, stakeholders are in a sense voting in favor of the new protocol, making them an active participant of the Peercoin network’s governance system.
Distributed consensus cannot happen in a vacuum, as stakeholders responsible for voting on protocol changes need to be aware of protocol updates and be ready to act when called upon to collectively perform a hard fork. This communication is done by the Team and the Community.
Role of the Peercoin Team and Community
The Peercoin Team consists of a pool of developers and contributors that have been selected by the larger Peercoin Community to lead the project.
The Team is a group of people that have volunteered to take an active role in the Peercoin Project, and historically, it is the main source of support and values that Peercoin has always strived to achieve since its inception. This group handles all the daily tasks which keep the project running. These tasks include: operating and moderating the community communication channels (the forum, telegram, discord, twitter…), implementing new open-source code for the Peercoin Project, deploying network upgrades, inventing new proposals for protocol upgrades, monitoring the health of the Peercoin Network (making sure the network upgrades go smoothly), and many other tasks.
The Peercoin Community is a vast set of individuals interested in Peercoin that come from all walks of life. They bring new ideas and inspiration, spread the word, create conversation, have fun, and provide a pool of interested participants for the Team to draw from when looking for new leadership roles to fill. Some are only part of the Community for a short time, contributing what they can before moving on. Others are here to stay and will root for Peercoin’s success in the long term. All are welcome, and the Team ensures discussion remains civil and productive.
Role of the Peercoin Foundation
The purpose of the Peercoin Foundation is: to support the Peercoin project and community under open source licensing terms.
The Peercoin Foundation was legally established in 2018 by the members of the Peercoin community, approximately six years after the Peercoin Network was launched. The Peercoin Foundation is a non-profit entity established in, and governed by the laws of the Republic of the Netherlands. The purpose of the Peercoin Foundation is to advance the Peercoin project while respecting its open source nature. The Foundation funds development of the Peercoin protocol, but has no control over the direction of development. That control ultimately rests with the Peercoin Team, Community & Stakeholders. The Foundation has no rights or claim of ownership over the intellectual property surrounding the Peercoin project.
The founding of the Foundation was a spontaneous act, following the realization that an “official” legal entity was necessary to represent the project where circumstances demanded it. We came to the realization that the “crypto” scene was quickly commercializing and most of the newcomers were actually commercial projects. To keep up with them, we needed a “legal face” that could interact with the rest of the world.
The Foundation does not “tax” the Peercoin Network/Blockchain in any way. All contributions to the Foundation are 100% voluntary. The costs of establishing the Foundation were covered by its founding members with no expectation of profit or reimbursement from the remainder of the Peercoin Community. The Foundation board members fulfill their duties without any compensation.
The eventual success of the Peercoin project ultimately depends on the open-source community. The Foundation is only there to provide logistics and legal support where needed.
RFC Process
Peercoin protocol upgrades are organized through the “RFC” process, which is completely open and allows for anyone to submit a new proposal at any time.
The “RFC” (request for comments) process is intended to provide a consistent and controlled path for new features to enter the network, so that all stakeholders can be confident about the direction in which the network is evolving. The author of an RFC is not obligated to implement it. The RFC author (like any other developer) is welcome to post an implementation for review, or provide an accompanying pull request to the reference Peercoin repository. The Peercoin Team makes final decisions about RFCs after the benefits and drawbacks are well understood, and regardless of whether an RFC is accepted or rejected, the rationale is properly communicated to the Community. Some RFCs represent vital features to be implemented as soon as possible, while others may be less of a priority, but ultimately it is up to the network and the individual stakeholders to accept the proposed code changes by upgrading their nodes and achieving distributed consensus.
The Peercoin Ecosystem
Peercoin is the greater sum of all these parts, as well as its uses and connections to the broader world.
As a well-maintained open-source Project with a thriving Network, Peercoin enables participation in a sustainable Blockchain for a wide Community of individuals and 3rd party participants. The Team and the Foundation provide a central source of communication and interaction for integration with external projects such that Peercoin can stand alongside other more centralized cryptocurrencies on any given platform. Peercoin has maintained its legacy as the sustainable option for decentralized consensus throughout its lifetime, and we hope long into the future. The Ecosystem that has been built around Peercoin is persistent and diverse and will continue to prove itself year after year as a pioneer in efficient decentralized governance.
