CoinLab Crypto Revolution

If nothing else, the popularity of crypto currency has taught us that success breeds imitation.

Even though Bitcoin and Litecoin are open-source, it is still a difficult task to develop an entire cryptocurrency yourself, as evidenced by the numerous posting on Reddit asking for developers to write the codebase in exchange for ephemeral promises of riches to come once the coin is adopted. Seeing an opportunity, University of North Carolina student Matt Corallo developed a one-stop website for budding crypto enthusiasts. Calling it Coingen he brought the site online in January and soon anyone with $50 was able to have their very own cryptocurrency. Thus we now have Galtcoin (not to be confused with Galt) for the Ayn Rand devotees that populate the crypto space; Jesuscoin was soon made available because the world apparently needs to have a Christian alternative to EVERYTHING; and Dongcoin appeared not long ago because some little boys never grow up and they hate to feel left out.

For the low price of .2 bitcoin Coingen will set you up with a custom coin with a name of your choosing, a 3 character code for exchange listings, and your own coin image. You will allow be able to choose between SHA-256 and Scrypt algorithms, select your block rate, block reward, halving schedule, and set your own port number. Your currency is limited to a mere 21 million units, however.

Apparently Coingen has been successful, because we now have Coin Lab, a more robust version of Coingen. This newcomer, brought to you by the developers of Ruby Coin, allows you to choose from four algorithms, the aforementioned SHA-256 and Scrypt, but also Scrypt-N, and X11. You can also select whether you want your new crypto to be Proof of Stake, Proof of Work, or Hybrid.

Other options include a pre-mine (because who doesn’t like those?) and you can add multi-pool resistance. As if that wasn’t enough, Coiin Lab will also set you up with a Windows wallet, 2 permanent nodes, AND they will get you listed on Bitrex. Neither site will give you the source code for free, but the .2 BTC price I quoted for Coingen includes that fee and both promise your coin in 30 minutes or less, making them the Dominoes of cryptocurrency.

The real difference between these services, however, aside from enhanced options offered by Coin Lab is that the latter only accepts payment in Ruby Coin. This, in addition to the other features they offer, should give them a leg up on their competitor in the race to fuel the Internet’s apparently insatiable appetite for altcoins. (Or, at the very least, give you a reason to buy Rubycoin because God knows I can’t think of any other reason to want them.) I will admit that it was a clever marketing decision on the part of the Ruby Foundation as the world has already seen other examples of brand-specific “currency” that could be used to purchase goods: Pepsi Points, Marlboro Miles, and Camel Cash are all examples of the successful employment of this strategy. In each of those cases consumers had the option of receiving the promotional “currency” by purchasing the company’s product, or they could simply send cash for a set amount of them. This is what led to one of the most frivolous lawsuits in history as John Leonard spent $700,000 on 7 million Pepsi points trying to get a Harrier fighter jet valued at roughly $23 million.

There is always the possibility that something useful might come out of this endeavour, but I don’t think it’s altogether likely. While there is always room for a new crypto to emerge, their likelihood for adoption is always minimal due to their niche-market nature. Most altcoins are better suited for a pre-mined gimmick than an innovative new enterprise. Especially when the currency is being generated by a stock website as opposed to a dedicated development team with a vision.

source: http://www.followthecoin.com/crypto-revolution/

CoinLab Crypto Revolution