KuCoin AMA With Beldex (BDX) — Enabling Privacy and Decentralization on the Internet
Dear KuCoin Users,
Time: January 10, 2023, 10:30 AM - 11:58 AM (UTC)
KuCoin hosted an AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) session with the Chairman of Beldex, Afanddy Bin Hushni, in the KuCoin Exchange Group.
Official Website: https://beldex.io/
Whitepaper: https://beldex.io/whitepaper.pdf
Follow Beldex on Telegram and Twitter.
Guest
Afanddy Bin Hushni — Chairman of Beldex
Mr. Afanddy Bin Hushni is an investor and economist with more than 20 years of experience in traditional finance & investments. He has a profound passion for cryptocurrencies, decentralized tech, and privacy. He currently serves as the chairman of Beldex. Under his guidance, the Beldex project was able to bootstrap itself, overcome a couple of bear markets, and keep building its ecosystem. His vision is to build a scalable, interoperable, cross-chain, privacy-first and decentralized ecosystem with Beldex.
Q&A from KuCoin
Q: What is Beldex?
Afanddy: Private blockchains are not a dime a dozen. And Beldex is a private blockchain. To be precise, Beldex is a private network building a decentralized, private ecosystem of interoperable dApps with BChat, BelNet, Beldex Browser, the Beldex Privacy Protocol, the Beldex wallet, and more.
Let's look at a bit of Beldex's history. The Beldex network was founded in 2018 to enable privacy and decentralization on the Internet. Beldex adds privacy to your transactions, communication, browsing, and other online activities with its suite of private Web3.0 applications. Then, Beldex used a Proof of Work consensus. But now, the network uses a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism to validate transactions. This is eco-friendly as it reduces our need for power-hungry miners. The Beldex chain transitioned from a Proof of Work consensus to a Proof of Stake consensus on Dec 10, 2021, at the blockheight 742421.
You can learn more about the Bucephalus POS hard fork and the changes it introduced here.
👉 BeldexPOS Bucephalus Hardfork: It's Happening Today!
Q: What is the main difference between transparent blockchains and private blockchains like Beldex?
Afanddy: Indeed, blockchain transactions were thought to be anonymous, but they were pseudonymous. So can anybody do some on-chain analysis to trace the origin of transactions? They could also form links to the address you interact with the most.
But on a privacy-enhanced blockchain network like Beldex, the sender and receiver identity is preserved. As a result, you do not have to worry about your on-chain data or metadata being exposed to the outside world.
Nobody, and we mean nobody, except for the sender and receiver, knows the details about your BDX transaction. The transaction can be verified on the network using the transaction hash/ID on the Beldex explorer.
However, we continue by adding privacy layers to your transactions. Beldex goes further by adding privacy to your messages (via BChat) and browsing (via BelNet and Beldex Browser).
Q: Can you explain more about the dApps in the Beldex ecosystem?
Afanddy: We're used to sharing our email, phone number, and usernames. That's what built today's data economy. But we're changing that with our decentralized private ecosystem.
The flagship app in our ecosystem is BChat. BChat is a private decentralized messaging service on the Beldex network that you can use to send truly anonymous messages. With BChat, you don't need a phone number, email address, or username. You can create an account anonymously and connect with your friend using your BChat ID (a unique on-chain ID)
The second dApp that we're building is BelNet. BelNet is an onion routing protocol-based decentralized VPN service. It is a fast and free VPN for anonymous internet browsing. BelNet helps you stay anonymous by routing your connection through a network of masternodes and exit nodes.
Both BelNet and BChat are live, and here's a quick video explaining BChat and why you should use it.
And here's a video tutorial explaining BelNet and its uses.
👉 What are Decentralized VPN | Best Blockchain VPN | Belnet fast and scalable Dvpn
The other dApps we're working on include the Beldex browser and the Beldex privacy protocol.
The Beldex browser is an ad-free Web3 browser with a built-in dVPN service. It aims to reward user content and protect user privacy. Meaning no cookies, no trackers, and no personal information
Why and how are we developing a privacy-focused browser? Check out this video to know more about it.
👉 Beldex Browser - Privacy Decentralized Web Browser | AD Free Web Browser
The last of our dApp, the Beldex privacy protocol, is a cross-chain asset anonymizing protocol to anonymize the transactions of crypto assets like BTC, ETH, etc. We're building more, so keep tuning in with Beldex!
Q: What is the utility of the Beldex (BDX) coin?
Afanddy: As you may already know, BDX is a privacy coin. And so it can be used to make private and anonymous payments using the Beldex wallet.
You can also stake BDX on Beldex masternodes and earn rewards for validating blocks on the Beldex network. This is a great way to participate in our network. While we're at it, here are the top 5 reasons to set up a Beldex masternode.
BDX is truly at the heart of our ecosystem. So new utilities for BDX on BChat and BelNet are currently being researched. The Beldex team is also partnering with several payment processors and merchants to add more real-world use cases of BDX.
Q: Where are you currently in your Roadmap? What are your plans for 2023?
Afanddy: In 2021, we transitioned our network to a POS consensus and made core changes to it in preparation for developing an ecosystem of private dApps. In 2022, we launched BChat and BelNet. We're also constantly adding new features to both applications.
We added the peer-to-peer voice and video call feature to BChat last September. The next major update for BChat will come out in a few days.
For BelNet, we announced BDX rewards for exit node operators. A bit of a background about Exit Nodes here. Exit Nodes on BelNet help our users surf the Internet anonymously.
We will continue to add additional features, such as BDX utility, to BChat and BelNet in 2023.
Another major addition to BelNet this year will be BNS. BNS is the Beldex Name Service, a decentralized namespace on the Beldex network with two use cases. One is that you can use the .bdx domain to host MNApps (web and mobile applications) within BelNet. Second, you can get a decentralized username for your alphanumeric BChat ID on BChat.
👉 You can learn more about BNS here.
The other major dApps that we're working on, the Beldex Browser and the Beldex privacy protocol, are scheduled to launch in 2023.
The Beldex Research Labs, our research wing, is working to enhance the scalability of the network and add EVM compatibility to it.
Q: What is a masternode validator, and how many validators are there on the Beldex network?
Afanddy: Presently, there are 1295 masternodes on the Beldex. We hope that we reach more than 1500. After all, the more masternodes there are, the more secure the network is. Therefore, we encourage our community to set up masternodes as it helps to decentralize our network.
A Beldex masternode is a node that validates blocks of transactions on the Beldex network. Masternodes also act as storage servers that help store and transmit messages on BChat. With BelNet, masternodes are the routers that help securely route your connection.
Masternodes are not limited in access. Anyone can host a Beldex controller node. The collateral for hosting a Beldex masternode is 10000 BDX. Masternode rewards depend on the blocks validated and the total number of masternodes in the network. Check the BDX masternode rewards here.
You can self-host masternodes or host them on a partner platform like Nodehub, Pecunia Platform, Higlan, or Perfect Nodes. Self-hosting requires technical knowledge. But hosting it on a partner platform is pretty straightforward.
Here are a few video explainers and guides about Beldex Masternodes
👉 What are Masternodes and how does it works - Part 1
👉 What is Beldex masternodes and how to set up Beldex masternode - Part 2
Masternodes are the backbone of our network.
Q: How do you plan to compete with other blockchain networks?
Afanddy: The future is cross-chain. So, we don't plan on competing but rather complement other networks by providing necessary privacy solutions. Certain aspects of smart contracts today make them vulnerable to exploits, as we've seen time and again in the past. The Beldex network will create an ecosystem for privacy-enhanced DeFi, NFT, or Metaverse platforms that will ensure both the security and privacy of its participants.
Moreover, businesses will require data-sharing privacy, which is impossible with transparent smart contracts. Thus, our private smart contract solution will create new and innovative use cases.
Q: Could you share more details about your R & D activities?
Afanddy: The Beldex Research Labs is researching the scalability of the Beldex network, enhancing the POS consensus, and the integration of EVM to enable private smart contracts. For this reason, we have partnered with researchers from Geometry Labs and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Q: Do you have any burning mechanism currently? Will you introduce any burn mechanism in the future?
Afanddy: Yes, we do. Transactions on Beldex are classified into normal and Flash transactions. The fee from Flash transactions is burned. On the Beldex wallet, almost all transactions are Flash transactions by default.
As we add more utilities for BDX on BChat and BelNet, we will introduce more burning mechanisms. One notable burn mechanism that we're researching is burning the BDX used to purchase BNS names, which will be implemented later this year.
Q: How can the community participate in the Beldex network? Can you build on the Beldex network?
Afanddy: Thank you again. Yes, the community can participate in the Beldex network by holding BDX, staking BDX on masternodes, setting up exit nodes (which helps BelNet users get a faster connection), testing new features on our dApps, and providing feedback to the team.
But that's not all. You can also participate by spreading the word and helping others learn about Beldex. You can create content, share it with your community and help translate our content into your native language. You can also form localized Beldex communities in your region/country.
You can join our contributor program here.
Free-Ask from KuCoin Community
Q: Can you tell us the long-term motivations and benefits for investors to hold your token?
Afanddy: Yes, that's true, and we should acknowledge that. Unfortunately, most investors in crypto have been holding coins for the returns they offer. However, if we can move past that, I believe in crypto and decentralized tech. It can provide us with solutions that help us in our day-to-day lives. That's why we're building products like BChat and BelNet that people need.
Q: What are the plans to raise awareness about your project in the non-crypto space?
Afanddy: Yes, we will. And that's the whole point of us developing our dApps. Every new technology goes through an adoption cycle. First, there are the innovators (the cypher punks) and early adopters (which is you), and then, there's a deep chasm that we must cross. Then, later on, come the early majority, the late majority, and the laggards.
To cross this deep chasm, we must ensure that we help onboard people onto crypto, one way or another. BChat and BelNet will serve this purpose well.
Q: Are you a global project or local project?
Afanddy: We're a global project with a local touch. We aim to bring crypto to the whole world in a way they can understand. We also emphasize localization. That's why, recently, we've been building International communities so that people can learn about Beldex in their native languages.
Q: What strategies do the project employ to mitigate possible losses during bear market?
Afanddy: Two bear markets tested us. Our project was launched in a bear market. We will surely get through this one too. Our success thus far can be attributed to our team and community always believing in our vision. We've got one simple strategy: Build, no matter what, bear or bull.
Q: Have you been audited ?
Afanddy: Yes, we've been audited by Certik, our audit partner. You can find the results of the audit here.
Furthermore, we will partner with more auditing firms as we develop our ecosystem and integrate EVM.
KuCoin Post AMA Activity — Beldex (BDX)
🎁 Participate on the Beldex AMA quiz now for a chance to win 250 BDX!
The form will remain open for five days from publishing this AMA recap.
Giveaway Section
KuCoin and Beldex have prepared a total of 50,000 BDX to give away to AMA participants.
1. Pre-AMA activity: 10,000 BDX
2. Free-ask section: 1,250 BDX
3. Flash mini-game: 10,000 BDX
4. Post-AMA quiz: 28,750 BDX
. . .
If you haven’t got a KuCoin account yet, you can sign up here!
Follow us on Twitter, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit.