Achain provides developers with a public blockchain platform helpful for those with all levels of experience. With Achain, developers can issue tokens or smart contracts, create blockchain systems, or create applications. Ultimately, Achain hopes to create a global blockchain network designed for value transactions and information exchange.
Who Is Behind Achain?
Achain Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Singapore, originally developed Achain. The Achain Foundation is co-maintained and co-constructed by fan communities worldwide, making this a global project. Achain has been in development for years. In 2015, at the early stages, the project proposed the blueprints of its technological innovations. These included a modular design and a smart sandbox, leading to a more secure, stable network for the decentralized applications on the platform. In 2017, Achain proposed the three-phase development plan based on advancing blockchain tech.
What Is the Development Plan?
This included “Smart Contract Network” followed by “Fork Network” and finally “Interconnected Network.” These are also known as Singularity, Galaxy, and Cosmos, and the project is currently in the Galaxy stage. In Singularity, Achain’s network stability and security were enhanced. The team used modular design to make sandbox simulations, digital assets, and smart contracts available. The sandbox offered the ability to automatically monitor and test the environment for new smart contracts.
Now, in the Galaxy stage, Achain is divided into sub-chains to meet the demand for varying applications in reality. The sub-chains have an interconnected and customized blockchain network that is user friendly and low cost.
Why Is Achain Necessary?
The team behind Achain feels that this platform is necessary for its ability to prioritize extensibility, stability, and security. It can introduce that user-friendly, customizable, and evolving blockchain network thanks to its cutting-edge designs related to forking mechanisms, value exchange protocol, smart sandboxes, and virtual machines. By optimizing the block volume, block interval, and consensus algorithm, Achain can reach up to 1,000 TPS, offering a strong advantage over other existing blockchain platforms.
The team at Achain believes that a new production relation network will solve such issues as trust for interpersonal communications while also integrating individual behavior, social consensuses, and value exchange to create a whole.
How Does Achain Deliver Stability, Safety, and Scalability?
Everyone agrees that network stability is essential for a blockchain solution to function. However, uncertainties can lead to related problems. Achain tackles stability with its Lua Virtual Machine, LVM. This new virtual machine offers upgraded performance rates to protect against the potential for system coupling. It also adopts a structure that was independently built and is run separately, reducing the risk of a local hazard impacting the entire network’s quality.
In terms of safety, Achain opts for DPoS (delegated proof of stake) by building on PoS. That PoS in itself provides security by eliminating the possibility of undesired centralization by a group of miners controlling the majority of computing power in a PoW consensus. PoS models, however, only improve security if they have enough holders for mining. DPoS was an advanced version, but Achain further improved this to RDPoS (result-delegated proof of stake), which increases block responses and is universally accepted. The smart sandbox mechanism further improves security by testing newly written contracts.
Scalability should resolve the issue of incompatible blocks within the blockchain. Achain feels forking and upgrading help with network evolution. The approach of being able to customize each sub-chain created during a fork creates a multiapplication network.
On a related note, Achain also operates on the principle of ease of use. Part of this is achieved via offering Blockchain as a Service, BaaS, so individuals and businesses with a low tech level can still participate. Services include publishing and upgrading smart contracts, forking chains, monitoring asset transactions, and visualization supplementation. Additionally, Achain will make the platform easy to use by offering support for many programming languages, including Lua, Java, and C++.
What Should You Know about Consensus Agreements, Mining, and Transactions?
The Achain platform uses the familiar DPoS consensus mechanism since it uses fewer resources. It then creates an RDPoS consensus mechanism. This second consensus mechanism improves transaction performance across the network. It has theoretically reached at least 1,000 transactions per second. Because of the DPoS consensus mechanism, you cannot mine Achain. Block intervals are 10 seconds, with maximum block sizes of 10 Mb.
The average transaction is confirmed within a minute, but this can vary based on the network traffic. Every transaction costs approximately 0.01 ACT.
What Are Some Applications for Achain?
The whitepaper outlines some potential uses for the platform, including supply chain financing. These solutions are designed to optimize cash flow. In addition, Achain can help companies by rebuilding a credit system that optimizes the supply chain finance efficiency. With an enterprise credit system on the Achain, logistics and warehousing can be on the same solution as financing service providers. All companies within the supply chain could access the data, and e-receipts would prove all transactions.
Achain can also prove useful for authentication, such as that of information listed on products. That commonly listed information, including place of origin, manufacturer, and date of production, is traditionally challenging to verify, leading to the possibility of fraud. Achain can use a combination of IoT and the blockchain to resolve this issue, storing information collected from the IoT on the blockchain, an immutable ledger.
Are There Already Achain dApps?
You can already find several applications released on Achain, showing that this platform offers full functionality. The apps include blockchain-based virtual games, programmatic market-making systems, and an exchange platform for listing talents so individuals can issue their own tokens and raise funds, among others.
Achain Wallets
Achain already has it’s own functioning wallet which you can download from the official website for PC, Phone and Mac.
Achain ACT Tokens
The token used by Achain is known by the ticker ACT and is available to purchase on the following exchanges:
- CoinEgg
- Huobi
- OKEx
- Kucoin
How to Buy AChain ACT Tokens
You are not able to purchase ACT with “Fiat” currency so you will need to first purchase another currency – the easiest to buy are Bitcoin or Ethereum which you can do at Coinbase using a bank transfer or debit / credit card purchase and then trade that for ACT at an exchange such as Binance.
Register at Coinbase
For first time buyers of crypto currency, we recommend that you use Coinbase to make your first purchase – its easy to use, fully regulated by the US government so you know it is one of the safest and most reputable places to purchase cryptocurrency from. Coinbase offers the ability to purchase Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum with a credit or debit card or by sending a bank transfer. The fees are higher for cards but you will receive your currency instantly.
You will have to carry out some identity verification when signing up as they have to adhere to strict financial guidelines.
Make sure you use our link to signup you will be credited with $10 in free bitcoin when you make your first purchase of $100.
To get started, click the “Sign up” button where you will be taken to a registration form where you will need to enter your name, email and choose a password.
Purchase Ethereum
For this guide, we will be purchasing Ethereum to swap for our target cryptocurrency. The reason for this is that it has far cheaper fees than bitcoin for sending and the transaction also happens a lot faster. So in Coinbase, visit the “Buy / Sell” tab at the top, select “Ethereum”, choose your payment method and enter the amount you wish to purchase – you can either enter a US Dollar amount or a number of Ether.
You will then be asked to confirm your transaction, if paying with a card you might have to complete a verification with your card provider. Once that’s complete, your Ethererum will be added to your account.
Purchase ACT at Kucoin
You can now send your Ether over to Kucoin to make your purchase of ACT. To find out more about Kucoin, including how to signup and trade, read our complete review here.
Conclusion
Although Achain still has progress to make before reaching its final goals, it has moved along well on the development plan. Achain should be a useful addition to the offerings of blockchain platforms for developers to use. It is particularly helpful that the platform is set up to be accessible for those of all skill levels, which should help expand the reach of blockchain technology by introducing more developers and companies to it.