First cryptocurrency out of Britain. First to go all-in on mobile ubiquity.
Electroneum (ETN) represents a disruptive technology combining blockchain, cryptocurrency and mobile ubiquity, which Electroneum Ltd hopes will accelerate the global uptake of crypto – and indeed the distributed ledger technology (DLT) underpinning the blockchain. For all its breathtaking innovation, Electroneum realises that when it comes to mass adoption, the crypto space has really struggled to win over the masses.
The British-based startup aims to break down barriers by helping laypeople grasp the concept of cryptocurrency. More or less, Electroneum are gamifying the process of mining cryptocurrencies via their Electroneum mobile app – which came to Android on March 5, 2018.
By having users partake in what is basically a simulation of crypto mining, they’ll receive – in their Electroneum mobile wallet – whatever amount of $ETN their patent pending algorithm deems necessary.
Remarkably, despite Electroneum having not yet existed for five months, there are over 1.1 million users registered with an ETN wallet. For comparison’s sake, it took Facebook and Twitter all of 10 and ~24 months, respectively, to achieve this.
Let’s now cover some key talking points about Electroneum…
The Minable Electroneum
Mined using the CryptoNight proof-of-work hashing algorithm, Electroneum hard-forked from the Monero (XMR) codebase. Like Monero, Electroneum looks to be ASIC-resistant, and as such, $ETN has become a popular coin to mine for CPU/GPU crypto miners. Highlighting this is the fact that there are roughly thirty community-run $ETN mining pools.
Of note, the company’s value proposition (i.e., being financially compensated for simulated ‘mobile mining’) is unaffected by how $ETN is being mined (i.e. CPUs, GPUs, or ASICs).
Patent pending technology
In April, Dentons (allegedly the world’s largest law firm) publicly stated that they’d taken on Electroneum Ltd as a client. Indeed, Electroneum had long made clear their intentions to patent protect their crypto-related technology. Now, with the help of Dentons, they look set to achieve this, for in early April they announced that their application was now officially “patent pending” (Patent Application No. 1805708.3).
If subsequently granted, this would prove an attractive ‘economic moat’ for Electroneum Ltd. This runs contrary to a slew of blockchain-based protocols operate based off open source algorithms.
Min. 22x Returns For 120,000 ICO Participants
Last year, the initial coin offering (ICO) of Electroneum was scheduled for September 14 through 31 October. This was cut short, however, for the company – whose head office is in Kent – met their hard cap of US$40 million with days to spare after 120,000 contributed (>300,000 ICO registrants).
In a tactic that successful fostered virality, Electroneum sequentially lowered their bonus rate offered to investors (50%, 40%, 30%, etc.) up until October 19, where investors were forced to purchase $ETN at its base rate of 100 ETN per $1.
With such strong demand for its ICO, $ETN rose astronomically to ~$0.22 in early November when it began trading. For ICO participants, this meant a ~22x return on their investment made just weeks prior! This is without taking into account the generous ICO bonuses that timely investors received.
Shady Beginnings
Notably, $ETN was the first altcoin controversially endorsed by John McAfee on December 21. Unfortunately for Electroneum Ltd, it’ll take some time for them to shake the tag of having kicked off McAfee’s infamous series of tweets that saw daily ‘pump and dumps’. Worse still for the reputation of the British startup, McAfee – via the McAfee Crypto Team – has made public that he charges “$105,000 per tweet”.
To our knowledge, Ells has never commented on whether Electroneum paid to have their coin more or less ‘shilled’ by the crypto celebrity. Granted, McAfee Crypto Team may have used December’s ‘Coin of the Day’ Twitter series as a proof-of-concept, before subsequently opting to begin charging ICOs for this mass exposure.
What’s Getting Patented?
In an effort to protect their intellectual property (IP) (i.e., deter future copycats), Electroneum Ltd successfully filed a two-fold patent for their technology; seeing it be legally considered as patent pending. The first, regards instant cryptocurrency payments, and the second is to do with their cryptocurrency subscription payment methods. Dentons highlights their central importance to Electroneum:
“Firstly, Electroneum has a hybrid model, based on a centralised app combined with a decentralised blockchain. Electroneum says this enables it to instantly confirm payments. Secondly, the hybrid model means Electroneum can prompt a user for permission and then set up a subscription to make a regular payment to a vendor.”
Does Apple Hate Electroneum?
Not really, but many believe so. You see, whilst the Android mining app has been live since March 5, iOS users are still going without. Electroneum have repeatedly acknowledged this, and since early 2018, have had to explain to angry followers many times over that they “have the iOS written and prepped and are still waiting for Apple to OK it.”
Whilst Apple users are forced to begrudgingly wait, when (if) news emerges of Electroneum having been approved by the Apple App Store, $ETN will undoubtedly soar.
In the interim, Electroneum’s business development will be untroubled. This is because the Western countries are where the bulk of Apple users are located. Yet, Electroneum is firstly engaging less-developed nations (i.e. Latin America, Indian subcontinent); where Android use is far more prominent.
Signing Spree
Electroneum is the only cryptocurrency to have joined the GSM Association (GSMA), a London-based industry trading body that represents the interests of some 1,200 mobile network operators.
Regarding partnerships and MOUs, Richard Ells (Electroneum Founder) and his team have been active. Those officially announced, per mid-April, are:
Nov 8: Electroneum Working With Hackerone.com
Dec 16: Effortel MOU
Dec 19: BMedia MOU
Jan 5: Electroneum Signs Agreement With Telecommunications & Payments Giant Xius
Jan 21: FanFare Global MOU
Feb 12: Electroneum Announces Partnership With QUOINE
Final Thoughts
Whilst they copped plenty of criticism for delaying what their ICO promised, Electroneum Ltd has proven that they arise out of adversity. Indeed, we’ve seen over half a million Android users install the Electroneum miner app just five weeks after launching.
By targeting mobile operators, Electroneum Ltd appears set to gain access to hundreds of millions of mobile users. Eventually, expect to see the startup shift focus to the lucrative mobile gaming space. Indeed, Ells has spoken previously of how Electroneum had been poised to target gaming from the outset. However, they soon realised that it made much more commercial sense to firstly go via mobile operators, instead of approaching individual gaming enterprises.
Further Research
Whitepaper (Technical) | Team | FAQ | YouTube Channel | /r/Electroneum | Blog | Telegram | Twitter | Facebook | Bitcointalk | Blockchain Explorer | GitHub | Electroneum Android App | Hacker Bounty Program
Listed Exchanges
KuCoin | Cryptopia | TradeOgre | Qryptos | Vebitcoin | CryptoHub | Bitbns
