The project's model is unlike anything else that exists in the so-called 'crypto space'. It is so much different in fact, that the users of Qortal do not even like to consider it a 'crypto project'.

The users of Qortal are nicknamed 'Qortians', and they are a very diverse, world-wide group of individuals with a wide range of backgrounds, goals, and reasons for using Qortal. All of them, though, are here to build a better future through the use of truly decentralized technology that puts the power back into the hands of the people, worldwide.

Like other projects in certain regards, Qortal DOES have a 'primary coin' called QORT. This coin is NOT a 'token', it is the primary coin of a custom layer 1 blockchain (The Qortal Blockchain).

QORT is a required component in order to leverage the power of the Qortal Blockchain, and Qortal Network. QORT is utilized for many aspects of the platform's functionality, from transaction fees (which are paid to the MINTERS of the network), to name registration, QDN publishing, and powering various Q-Apps (Q-Shop for listing items and services for sale, Q-Fund for automated decentralized CrowdFunding, and 'tipping' QORT to publishers on Q-Blog and other 'social media' Q-Apps. It has been said that QORT can be viewed as a stock of sorts, in the 'new internet' and everything built on top of it, at the same time.

As you might imagine, this concept is a bit much for people to grasp immediately, but as they get through the installation, and start using Qortal, they will see what exactly this means. As more Q-Apps and further additional features get developed, this will be demonstrated further.

QORT is the only coin that can be utilized for things like buying names as well, on the Names Market of Qortal. This is a VERY powerful feature that allows buying and selling of entire digital presences at once. A user registers a name, and builds a website, Q-App, and garners many 'follower nodes' with the services provided. They then decide they wish to sell their operation, so they post the name for sale on the Names Market.

Another user can come and buy the entire operation at once. with a single purchase on the Names Market, the new owner picks up where the old one left off. There are no 'servers', 'domains', 'DNS', or 'user accounts' to deal with. The new user simply takes over. Welcome to the future of digital 'company' sales.

The distribution of the coin, has been designed to be as fair as possible. This means that there were no QORT coins on the network when it launched. Many other platforms do things like 'ICOs' or 'pre-mines' in order to generate coins that the initial 'team' holds at the beginning, (in a similar fashion to a 'company going public' in the old system.) This, however is NOT the way that Qortal chose to do things.

With Qortal's focus on 100% decentralization, the coin HAD to be launched from block 0 with 0 QORT and allow users to mint it from there. So that is how Genesis took place. Qortal launched with 0 QORT, and users minted from there.

The distribution model of QORT is also unique, as are many aspects of the platform in both design, and functionality. The distribution model was built to be a 'slow' release, that started a little higher, then slowed down over time at an interval (as opposed to the 'halvings' of Bitcoin and many others, that cut the distribution in half, literally).

QORT's distribution model started at 5 QORT per block. With an average block time of 60-75 seconds. This means that every 60-75 seconds a new block is created, and at Genesis in June 2020, 5 new QORT was also created.

The model then 'slows down', every '6 months' (calculated in number of blocks) by .25 (a 'qorter') QORT per block. Creating a gradual slowing of the overall coins being newly created by minters.

The model continues in this fashion, reducing every '6 months' in blocks by .25 QORT, until the overall block reward reaches 2 QORT, at which point it stays there unless a specific type of vote by the community takes place, which has the potential to modify the block reward by up to 1 QORT in either direction.

This concept gives the community the decision making power on the number of newly minted QORT that can be created per 'year' in blocks.

There are some 'limitations' as well, so that the community cannot just keep increasing or decreasing the reward indefinitely. There is an absolute minimum and absolute maximum. The absolute minimum is 1 QORT per block. The absolute maximum is 5 QORT per block (the Genesis amount). This allows people to do simple math to calculate the potential number of newly generated QORT that could exist over a period of time (blocks).

The Qortal Data Network or QDN, is a completely custom, encrypted, and chunked distributed data network. QDN is VERY powerful, and allows for some very unique things to take place.

Since QDN published data is NOT stored on-chain, the Qortal Blockchain doesn't have the concern of 'bloating' as other on-chain data storage models do.

However, QDN wouldn't be nearly as powerful if the data wasn't at least secured by the chain. So, instead of storing the DATA on-chain, QDN stores only a 'hash' of the data on-chain. This gives the same level of SECURITY to the data, thanks to the chain, but doesn't bloat the chain with the actual storage of the data itself.

This model also gives a lot of other functionality and flexibility that other models do not have. Such as the fact that the QDN data does not rely upon being 'confirmed' in order to be usable. An unconfirmed QDN 'arbitrary' publish transaction is sufficient to make the data available. This allows for near-instant data access.

Data published on QDN, is done so by way of an 'arbitrary transaction' on the Qortal Blockchain. This transaction lets the chain know of newly published data, and allows it to be kept track of.

Anyone publishing on QDN must obtain a registered name on the Qortal Blockchain in order to publish. This registered name is then able to be sold to another, along with all of its data, websites, applications, and followers, at the same time. Eliminating the concerns of 'the internet' in regard to things like 'selling a digital company with its digital presence'.

With QDN, a digital presence can be sold in a single transaction, allowing the new owner to simply 'pick up where the old one left off' without changing anything else. There are no servers involved to be concerned aobut, no 'domains' to be swapped, and no 'user accounts' to worry about. Simply a clean transition of one owner of the name, to a new one. That's that.

QDN is extremely powerful. Allowing the publishing of content that cannot be hacked, shut down, blocked access to, or censored on behalf of anyone. Only the user, on their own node, may block access to content for themselves, by their own choice. Even the Qortal development group has no ability to 'block' anything on behalf of anyone. This makes a censorship proof data network unlike anything that has ever existed before.

Q-Apps are applications pubished on QDN. They can range from a simple app to display data, to a fully featured social media platform or an automated CrowdFunding platform leveraging the other features of Qortal, such as its 'ATs' (Automated Transactions).

There are multiple 'demo' Q-Apps launched on QDN now.

Q-Apps are NOT published by the Qortal Development group only, they can be published by any user with a registered name. With no 'approval' from anyone required.

QDN websites are similar to Q-Apps, but they are meant to be websites. Users may publish any 'static content' as a Qortal website. Many existing websites are available to see demos.

Websites may 'cross-link' to any other content published on QDN, whether they be Q-Apps, or data published by other Q-Apps, on Q-Chat, or anywhere else in Qortal. As long as the data is published on QDN, it is accessible.

Qortal Minting is the process of creating new QORT, and securiing the blockchain by way of Qortal's custom consensus mechanism. Qortal's Minting is NOT the same as other minting you may have heard of, and can also be referred to as Proof of Contribution Over Time, and Memory Proof of Work.

Any user may become a minter, if they have a computer that they are willing to keep running and connected to the Qortal network.

All that is required to become a minter, is a computer and a minting key. In order to start minting, minters must obtain a temporary key (nicknamed 'sponsorship key') they utilize for 7200 blocks until they reach level 1. This temporary key is created for them by another minter who is level 5 or higher and the one creating it gets nothing for creating it.

The temporary key is utilized until the new minter reaches level 1, then the new minter creates and assigns their own 'minting key' and continues the process of leveling up. Only level 1+ minters are allowed to share in the rewards of the blocks, including the newly minted QORT, and the transaction fees of the block.

Read more about Minting HERE

The project's overall goals are to provide a secure, distributed infrastructure to build the future digital world. Allowing individual control over every aspect, and making many things a lot SIMPLER.

Such as the fact that a single account, carries a 'profile' that follows them from one Q-App to another, one website to another, etc… Meaning there is no longer a need to have a new username/password for every service you use on your computer.

Combining this with the security of a blockchain, to provide a network unlike anything that has ever existed before, and allowing users to gain rewards by simply helping to grow the network, and running on their normal computer.

This was the original goal of Bitcoin, but Bitcoin was focused only on being a 'coin' or a 'currency' whereas Qortal is focused on being an entirely new, totally secure, digital infrastructure for everything you use your computer for on a regular basis. Eliminating the monopolies that currently control 'the internet', the ability for them to harvest your data to use against you without your consent, and much more.

A totally secure digital future, where the people really are in the position of strength, and are allowed to deal directly with one another to obtain what they need, and carry on their digital lives.