April 22, 2018, 3:30 pm April 22, 2018
Perhaps you’ve heard of the Loom Network, but before we delve into that, here’s a snippet of the crypto market . For both aspiring and existing crypto investors, volatility remains one of the biggest hurdles to overcome, often determined by investor sentiment.
The cryptocurrency market continues to baffle and amuse its proponents in equal measure, even as coins experience an upsurge in prices followed by sudden drops for no apparent reason.
When market sentiment dominates, it’s common to find new coins coming up the rank to replace older coins, some of which might disappear completely. While there is no guarantee that the new arrivals will become successful investment options, those that stand the test of time emerge the most profitable. This is where the Loom Network comes into play. Background
With offices in Thailand, the Loom Network started in October 2017. The objective of the program was to initiate an easy and secure way to deploy, scale, and manage solidity decentralized apps.
A typical example is Heroku for Ethereum .
While considered new to the crypto space, Loom has moved up the ladder considerably.
As of this writing, the Loom token ranks 103 according to CoinMarketCap, with a market capitalization of more than 157 million dollars. The current circulating supply is over 500 million LOOM, while the targeted token supply is 1 billion LOOM tokens. The token currently trades at $0.298 against the U.S.
dollar. The Aim of the Network
The Loom network seeks to develop a PaaS (Platform-as-a-service) application for Ethereum-based solidity applications . The idea is to enable the applications to run on the main chain and on other private and semi-public chains.
The reason for establishing the network was to solve various problems noticed on the Ethereum network, in which there was an absence of adequate “layer 2” solutions to assist developers. The previous operations such as bootstrapping were time-consuming, which called for the need for a faster solution with scalability . Loom Network Goals
The network seeks to accomplish the following goals: To initiate free trials to attract newer users to the platform.
To accept decentralized applications from other developers to run faster and with lower costs. To provide a trusted channel of communication with the off-chain world by using “oracles,” to enhance security . To provide timely notifications to users in case of state changes.
Loom seeks to accomplish this by using SMS or push messages. Loom Network Sidechains
One notable feature of the Loom platform is the use of side chains. By this, the network aims at addressing the multiple issues witnessed in the original Ethereum chain, together with the problems to optimize for scaling data instead of financial transactions.
By introducing the Loom Network side chain, only data that require security will utilize the Ethereum main-net. Other functions will operate off-chain.
In simple terms, the side chain will operate independently from the Ethereum main-net, operating on a different set of rules.
This will provide the opportunity for high-speed operations while enhancing security at the same time. Sidechains offer solutions to scalability problems in a decentralized and most efficient manner.
How Will It Impact The Gaming Industry?
In addition to improving scalability, the Loom Network seeks to support developers to initiate massive games like “World of Warcraft” directly on the blockchain.
The network’s blockchain “DAPPChain,” will run parallel to a smart contract. This will allow a substantially larger number of applications or bigger applications such as online games to run effectively on the network without creating congestion. Market Performance
Since it joined the market in March 2018, the Loom Network has maintained a fairly steady price level, compared to the overall crypto market that was recovering from the price slump witnessed in the first quarter of the year.
All the same, investor sentiment plays a crucial role in the crypto market. The massive price surges and drops hinge on this aspect.
To illustrate the point, a fitting example took place on March 22, when the Loom Network announced the introduction of “Cryptozombies” hard fork into the DAppChain. A day after the announcement, the price of Loom token increased massively, hitting a market cap of more than $69 million.
Is It The Next Ethereum?
The crypto market has caught the attention of the global investing community in the past few years. In fact, the hype for cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology is at its peak, even as the overall market recovers from the massive price dips experienced at the beginning of the year.
However, even with all the hype and publicity around the crypto market and the blockchain technology, many investors still do not fully grasp the blockchain concept. With limited knowledge, they choose to concentrate only on top three coins— Bitcoin , Ethereum, and Ripple.
In 2017, many projects emerged to address the questions associated with the major cryptocurrencies such as the three already mentioned. The Loom Network is one such project. Concept
The Loom Network is among the specific use cases based on the blockchain. It focuses on providing an improved blockchain platform that targets online gaming and social interaction.
Besides, the network seeks to initiate a “coding” school in which developers can create their own games based on the “smart contract” technology. While the network is still at infancy stage, it has a lot of potential to disrupt the gaming and social interaction industry. How it works
The Loom Network operates on the Ethereum blockchain but focuses on large-scale online games and social interaction. The Ethereum network had problems in these areas. Since Loom operates on an Ethereum sidechain, it will enhance trust and security, and incorporate computing resources ideal for running commercial-scale services. To that end, Loom is one of the rare projects, which had no whitepaper when it started. Despite that, the network is backed by several projects, one of which is “Cryptozombies.” Recent Developments
Recently, developers of Loom Network updated the public on the creation of Plasma Support for Loom DApp Chains.
According to the developers, the DApps need trust assumptions to effectively reach their target level of scalability.
By introducing the plasma technology, specifically the Plasma Cash, the network aims at addressing the scalability issues. Analysts already strongly believe that by utilizing the Plasma technology , companies will ensure automatic security for their private or public chains. How Plasma Technology Works
Unlike the existing sidechains, Plasma Cash will enable developers to move assets across sidechains securely. The network will accomplish this by linking the assets with specific serial numbers.
An asset can be a token, which is non-fungible and comes with its own transaction history . This leads to a zero-confirmation transaction. The Plasma technology will greatly enhance the efficiency of the sidechains, which is a great step for the gaming community and exchanges in the crypto space.
Besides, it will provide an additional layer of security, giving users the freedom to reclaim their funds through ‘Plasma exits.
’ This is important in the event of a data breach on the main-chain. The Plasma Technology and Loom Network DAppChains
Previously, developers secured the DAppChains through DPos, a process that is not fully decentralized. Besides, it requires the users to trust the witnesses running the network. With the enhanced security brought by the Plasma technology, more operations will be able to run on the network without the need for high trust level. The Plasma Cash constructs will secure the sidechains.
In addition, Plasma Cash will enable the DAppChains to report “Merkle proofs,” which serve as control points directly to the Ethereum main-net. The Loom Network seeks to improve the existing Plasma MVP so it can better suit the needs of the online gaming community.
Online gamers already received the news about the Plasma with appreciation, giving credit to the Loom Network for setting the pace for DApp development. Closing Remarks
As more blockchain-based projects continue to fill the crypto space , there is an urgent need for investors to observe the viability of upcoming projects. The completion of the Loom Network is a win not only for the crypto space but also for the blockchain technology, which is set to take over the world in the near future. In fact, future expectations for the network are pretty high, with a good number believing that it could be the next Ethereum.
Do you think the Loom Network could oust Ethereum from its current position? Join the conversation over at Telegram ( https://t.me/coinstaker )
Images Courtesy of CoinStaker Library
Author info
Tony is a writer for the crypto space. He presents cryptocurrency and blockchain topics to the public in a way that he only can.
While carefully researched, this article should not be taken as an express investment guide. Do your own research and consult a financial advisor before you invest in cryptocurrency. .
