SmartCash is a relatively new cryptocurrency that is run by the community. It works on the zero cash protocol of bitcoin, in which the miners have zero knowledge of the senders and recipients names and addresses. Its core value is complete user privacy and of course speed. The Key feature of this project, which differentiates it from currencies such as Dash and BitCoin is its lack of centralization and a founding/core team.
SmartCash is similar to Dash in some ways, such that it aims to gain mass adoption with privacy and speed maintained. But the difference here is that Dash is a centralized currency form, with the use of its masternodes and the Dash Foundation which runs it. SmartCash aims to forego a core/foundation team altogether and remain a decentralized currency.
To fulfill this goal, SmartCash implements some decentralized governing and development features such as SmartHives and SmartVoting. It also spends a lot on development appointed by the community. As a result of these tactics, SmartCash’s popularity has steadily grown. Although it has a long way to go before it reaches the levels of Zcash and Monero, which are its competitors, SmartCash does provide a new and fresh viewpoint on a form of cryptocurrency that is anonymous, fast and usable.
SmartCash community members believe that a currency run by a founding team will always end up being inefficient and fraud will be common. This is because the founders will work on making money instead of focusing on making the platform better. New policies will be to favor their money-making process. This has repeatedly happened with Initial Capital Offerings and excess token allocations for the founding members.
To counteract this, the members of Smartcash came up with the idea of decentralized governance, inspired by the way ants and bees organize, hence the name ‘Hive.’ Individuals will make teams of 8 people and work separately to contribute.
Each token holder, of a SMART token, will be allotted a single vote. The members who own SmartCash currency will each be entitled to vote on matters. The subsequent projects that will be decided from the proposals will receive funding from the SmartHive Fund. Hive members will receive payments for finishing those proposals.
The money for the SmartHive fund comes from a portion of Block reward that is allocated for it. Currently, the fund holds more than$250 million.
Once the hive has voted to get a project done, the task will be taken up by a team. There are a number of teams such as development, outreach, and support. Each team has its own budget, eight members, and a team coordinator. Once the team is formed, it will work anonymously and independently to complete the task, as there is no control structure in place to regulate the teams.
The SMART token, which was launched in July 2017, is currently at $0. 20/SMART coin.
To encourage members to hold SMART tokens, members who hold above 1000 SMART tokens will be given SMART rewards over a 30-day time period. This increases the stability and reduces the volatility of SMART coins.
One of the most important goals for SmartCash is fast transactions. They aim to make payment via SmartCash online and in stores possible, to rival MasterCard and VISA payment methods. Currently, they’re developing Smart nodes to allow for instant verification.
Parts of SmartCash say that its new attractive idea of complete privacy, transparency, and decentralization will attract customers and maybe the opening of a new archetype of decentralized governance. However, opponents argue that this democratic and open approach may be the cause of its descent into disorganization.
If we look at the results, and what SmartCash has delivered so far, we see that it has till-date failed to deliver on its promises of instant transactions and complete privacy. Despite this, the project has a huge fund for future developments. This year 2018 will soon prove whether SmartCash is up to the challenge or the funds will be futile.
