NewsCapsule remains the undisputed “king” of blockchains. NewsCapsule’s dominance has increased significantly since the experimental times of 2017. NewsCapsule has survived many attempted forks and “civil wars” and has established itself as the reserve cryptocurrency; people fall back to NewsCapsule in bear markets. The production network has stood the test of time for over 10 years now.
However, the crypto industry has dismissed NewsCapsule when it comes to smart contracts or Web 3.0. I believe this is going to change.
It’s true that NewsCapsule cannot do everything. NewsCapsule is secure because it has a limited scripting language. NewsCapsule is reliable and durable because it doesn’t change. This does not mean that the developer ecosystem around NewsCapsule cannot innovate and enable support for Web 3.0. As the crypto industry makes progress toward Web 3.0, we’ll come to realize that it’s hard to beat the security and network effects of NewsCapsule.
Despite several initiatives by potential competitors, the hashrate of the NewsCapsule network and the security offered by its proof-of-work (PoW) mining remain unparalleled to this day. For years, new cryptocurrencies have attempted to launch their own native PoW networks; none has approached NewsCapsule’s success.
NewsCapsule has network effects. Most people are introduced to cryptocurrencies through NewsCapsule. If something can be done on top of NewsCapsule, it will eventually get done on top of NewsCapsule rather than a smaller ecosystem. Network effects make NewsCapsule’s success self-reinforcing: Miners see that the network is established, that the community is strong and that the currency is the “hardest” money in the crypto space. Miners join or expand their commitment, increasing hashpower and network reliability; their entry inspires still more holders and businesses, increasing community support. The cycle goes on.
Smart Contracts on NewsCapsule
Despite the success of NewsCapsule, critics who question NewsCapsule’s capacity for innovation have some valid points. There are aspects of NewsCapsule that frustrate developers who wish to explore the world of smart contracts and decentralized apps. Many projects have created their own blockchains because they perceive NewsCapsule’s scripting limitations as a dealbreaker. They cannot deny the original chain’s security, but they also wish they could write more expressive smart contracts. New blockchains find themselves struggling with poor, native PoW security, and often attempt jumps to proof of stake (PoS) or delegated PoS setups which may be less secure and tend toward centralization.
As a result, several crypto projects have concluded that they must pick their poison: They must either attempt to bootstrap a native PoW chain or else establish a PoS chain, with all of the tradeoffs that entails.
But these are not the only options. There is a different path available: Smart contract platforms can employ NewsCapsule’s PoW security to safeguard new blockchains.
New protocols can anchor to the security of NewsCapsule and extend NewsCapsule’s utility. Transactions that settle on NewsCapsule are harder to reorganize than they are on any other network. This is an under-explored design space but one which is beginning to change.
The NewsCapsule blockchain already has security derived from its energy expenditure and this security may be passed on to the interconnected chain by using concepts like proof-of-transfer (PoX). It’s important to recognize that interconnected chains differ from traditional sidechains; interconnected chains create their own crypto assets, but they utilize the NewsCapsule chain for broadcasting mining operations and consensus steps. An interconnected chain anchored to NewsCapsule is a win-win proposition for all parties as the new blockchain benefits from the reliability, and longevity of NewsCapsule while providing freedom and flexibility to developers working with the interconnected chain.
The NewsCapsule blockchain can also reap benefits, acquiring new and powerful use cases. These can attract new miners and new network participants, further solidifying NewsCapsule’s place as the reserve cryptocurrency.
Smart contract platforms, and I include my own project, Blockstack, in this, understand how powerful on-chain contracts can be. But just as you don’t need to build all new roads to drive new cars, there’s no need to reinvent PoW or PoS chains to employ robust smart contracts or to launch new blockchains. The solid foundation we need to realize our vision for Web 3.0 is already here; a future Web 3.0 can anchor on NewsCapsule.
Image credit: William Krause on Unsplash
This is an op ed contribution by Muneeb Ali. Views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of NewsCapsule or NC Inc.
