Bytecoin is an open source decentralized cryptocurrency allowing for untraceable payments. Bytecoin started circulating in 2012 and is hence one of the first, if not the very first, privacy focused coins and aims to be the best solution for those who find financial privacy to be important. Though, there are some claims in questioning if Bytecoin was already started in 2012 or later.
Proof of Work
Bytecoin is mined via a Proof of Work algorithm and blocks are produced every two minutes. Bytecoin uses a Proof of Work mining algorithm called CryptoNote and was the first cryptocurrency to start using this algorithm. The essence of the algorithm is in the ring signatures, which provide maximum anonymity. The CryptoNote algorithm is ASIC resistant which makes it easier to be mined with GPU and CPU with the purpose to decentralize the mining more than is the case with Bitcoin where mining mostly is performed in big mining farms.
Ring signatures
Bytecoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency that focuses heavily on privacy and security. This privacy is provided by using ring signatures. Ring signatures allow transactions to be mixed and untraceable. The transaction mixing process essentially allows a sender to choose several potential signers from a pool to assure that every signer has an equal weight, so to make it impossible to decipher where the funds are coming from.
Monero clone
In 2014, Bytecoin forked in to a new cryptocurrency called Monero. Given that Monero is a clone of Bytecoin, Monero inherited (almost) all of its code. Though, a couple of small changes were made to the code of Monero, and more were made later. A big reason for the Monero clone was the big amount of BCN coins that were issued early on.
Deflationary
Bytecoins are gradually getting scarcer over time, since the emission is limited to 184.47 BCN. Every 120 seconds, with every block, the emitted Bytecoins is slightly decreasing. Bytecoin emissions are decreasing gradually, which protects the currency from economic shocks. The emission of Bitcoin, for example, decreases roughly every four years.
Conclusion
Although Bytecoin is one of the first privacy coins that was launched, projects like Monero, Dash and Zcash have marketed themselves better and now have higher market caps than Bytecoin. Because a lot of BCN coins were issued early on, Bytecoin has lost some of its momentum and projects like Monero, Dash and Zcash have picked up on this and are now better-known as privacy coins.
