Qortal 2 Year Anniversary!
The Qortal Project has reached another milestone. Genesis was launched on June 29th 2020, so we’ve made it through a second year! We’ve managed to overcome a lot and make large strides in certain areas of development. While it may be true our current proof of concepts have much room for improvement, we keep moving forward to make this dream a reality! “We” means all of us. Every single person that chooses to run a node and take part in the Qortal Network is important, as together we are the chain, and together we can make change.
Qortal is envisioned to become an unstoppable platform that can outlive us all. With blockchain technology we can build together and leave behind a legacy for future generations. In a world where virtually everything relies on the Internet, it’s important that we create viable alternatives sooner rather than later. Decentralization is a worn-out buzzword in the crypto space, but Qortal is surely meant to deliver true decentralization, including:
Peer-to-peer solutions such as our Trade Portal and Q-Chat, where no middleman is needed or capable of intercepting the transaction! Local wallets that the individual has complete and sole control over in a world with an increasing interest to diversify asset portfolios with cryptocurrency. Website and data hosting that removes reliance and governance by third parties, where free trade of information can thrive! A decentralized platform on which anyone can build without the worry of the base infrastructure being subject to compromise; a place where we can build new systems to empower lives. Internet service replacement with mesh networking and satellite bridging to alleviate the reliance associated with existing service providers.
With the current ‘crypto winter’ among us, now is the time where projects like Qortal shine. Development of our project has no reliance on the rest of the crypto space, although trade value of QORT has decreased substantially. It certainly has more to do with third party markets than it does Qortal directly. With that said, it’s important to remember that QORT is only a small part of the overall platform, and its value will hopefully move more independently compared to other markets, as it has already. Quite often we look at ‘current price’ of QORT in fiat terms, and often only based on the fiat bridge with LTC; QORT’s trade value as displayed on exqlorer.com is based on the average of the last 5 trades and is displayed in USD value based on LTC’s direct value to USD. This is an indirect fiat value for QORT that’s determined by a third party’s market value (LTC-USD). The actual trade value is between QORT-LTC, and not QORT-LTC-USD. In other words, QORT’s direct ‘current price’ or trade value average in the LTC market could be 0.01 - 0.02 LTC per QORT, and much higher or lower depending on P2P trades! This means the value of QORT is determined by the buyers and sellers, and please remember that there are no ‘sell walls’ so you can buy any listed sell order!
QORT can also be obtained via minting! Now is a great time to get started if you haven’t already! It’s important to note that minting is totally optional and is not required to use the rest of the platform such as the local wallets, Trade Portal, Q-Chat, QDN, and Q-Apps when launched. Minting is only required if you’d like to level up your account, earn QORT rewards, and gain weighted influence in the voting system once that goes live.
This project is all about perspective, and we hope that the massive roadmap for Qortal resonates with those who take the time to study. Qortal is meant to be so much more than surface-level features. Our technology can be utilized to rebuild virtually every aspect of our digital lives. This includes the ability for the entire world to begin transitioning into a safe haven where collective consciousness and individual sovereignty can thrive. Qortal removes the controlling grip of the elitists who get in the way of the common good of the people. We are not anarchists per se, but we do believe in building an anarchistic platform that is free of regulation by outside forces. With that comes the future plans of greater security and privacy features such as support for privacy coins, private transaction types, obscuring IP addresses, and more. The world is our oyster with a decentralized platform like Qortal, and time will tell an amazing story.
Imagine a world where the people are in complete control of their banking, communications, trade of information, and building systems that make the conventional options subpar. These capabilities allow us to get off old systems, and regain control of what is rightfully ours. Qortal will evolve into a thriving e-commerce and collaborative space where many dreams can come true, such as rebuilding critical aspects of infrastructure including education, food supply, logistics, warehousing, off-grid capabilities, and beyond. You are taking part in the very beginning of a humanitarian project to put the power back into the people’s hands worldwide. Qortal is bigger than ‘crypto’.
The current state of Qortal is progressing quite well with all things considered. Qortal did not launch with an ICO or any real source of funding (as seen in the crypto space where projects raise millions in funding). Most of our developers work full time jobs and work on Qortal in their free time. This of course means that the rate of development is not as fast as we’d like, but is a testament to how genuine people can come together, and build together despite the less-than ideal circumstances. The same can be said about the rest of the team and community who find ways to contribute however possible. The majority of us share the same vision for what Qortal can become, and/or have our own ideas on how we’ll carve out our own space to see our own concepts through. As Qortal is the base platform, with a suite of default plugins, and eventually Q-Apps where anyone can build out their ideas freely (excluding projects seeking asset issuance which requires DevTeam and community approval to prevent scams on our platform).
A lot of work is happening in the background, as developers fine tune existing features, and work towards the grander scope of the project. Sometimes it may appear that not much development is underway, but trust and believe that a lot of work goes into coding our infrastructure which is not a clone of any other project and requires out-of-the-box thinking. Qortal will soon be recognized across the crypto space as the right platform to build upon, rather than platforms like Ethereum. Qortal will also soon be recognized as the superior codebase for projects to clone and build their own chains with (if desired). The latter would be quite the compliment as we concluded long ago Qortal would have to be built from scratch (there were no existing codebases sufficient for Qortal to clone and build off of - other than some basic snips of code taken from QORA and built upon).
We’re still in ‘Phase 3’ which is the era of core 3.0+ including the Qortal Data Network (QDN). This was a massive step in the roadmap where we launched a proof of concept that empowers individuals to host their own websites and data from their nodes (free of any reliance of third parties). There are current limitations, and the platform overall can be a bit clunky, but things will only improve further over time. The development team is working on the governance system to combat those gaming the minting system. Thereafter the voting system can be launched fairly. Soon we’ll launch Q-Apps, as well as Q-Chat enhancements and a mobile app for Android. One of the soon-to-come milestones will be the moment we are able to host all of our GitHub code repository on Qortal’s infrastructure and show the world a viable decentralized solution for their repos too!
If you haven’t already, be sure to read the wiki in your spare time to grasp the scope of the project. Start with the video on the homepage to familiarize yourself with the general layout, then dive in! The wiki contains overview information, help guides, links to all the interviews and podcasts, and more! Cheers to all of our fellow Qortians in the virtual land of Qortia!