Syscoin (SYS) is a blockchain project whose main focus is building a fully decentralized e-commerce marketplace that offers users unlimited inventory, arbitrated escrow, encrypted messaging, and instant transactions at almost zero cost.
Syscoin wants to eliminate the high fees charged by corporations like Amazon and give merchants and consumers direct control over their relationship without needing middlemen. To facilitate fast transactions with near-zero fees, Syscoin has a native cryptocurrency called SYS that is used to pay for goods on the marketplace.
The project is being developed by Blockchain Foundry, a tech company that provides blockchain development services and products for individuals and businesses. Through Syscoin, Blockchain Foundry wants to create the decentralized equivalent of Amazon, Alibaba, or eBay.
SYS Pricing, Market Cap and Volume
SYS has a maximum supply of 888 million tokens. It was first released in a presale held in July 2014 with the now infamous Moolah.io acting as an escrow agent. The ICO raised 1500 BTC, but Moolah reportedly stole half that amount (750 BTC). Syscoin is still involved in litigation with Moolah to try and recover the stolen BTC.
Syscoin’s market cap plummeted because of that scandal and remained under ~1 million USD for the next two years. In 2016, the Syscoin development team created the Blockchain Foundry to spearhead the development of e-commerce platforms based on the Syscoin network.
Blockchain Foundry received $3.3 million in funding from private investors to bring Syscoin to its fullest potential by December 21, 2017, and that led to the release of Blockmarket Desktop in Q4 2017. The developers now have the resources to work on the project full-time and Syscoin’s market cap has grown by 400% to reach ~$250 million USD after a three-year slump.
How Syscoin Works
Syscoin was first described in a 2014 draft whitepaper that envisioned a decentralized marketplace with smart contracts, certificate issuance and transfer, and data storage and retrieval.
It was brought to life in 2014 via a fork of the Bitcoin code base and was designed to remain compatible with the parent source code to ensure it is as easy as possible to rebase Bitcoin into Syscoin upon major code releases.
The goal was to innovate on top of Bitcoin’s code while remaining backwards compatible to leverage the network effect of Bitcoin in a manageable way. Since Syscoin is fully complaint with Bitcoin, all of the external tools and processes meant for Bitcoin can also work with Syscoin.
The key differences between the two projects is that Syscoin’s block time is 1 minute for faster transaction settlement, and Syscoin supports 1 MB blocks and can process 10 times more data than Bitcoin. Syscoin also implemented merged-mining so miners can earn both SYS and BTC, and users can enjoy a secure network protected from double spends and other network-related attacks.
Syscoin’s Key Features
Alias Identity System – Certificates, offers, messages, and escrow all require actors to use their aliases to sign off on any updates or changes. The alias identity system makes it easier to integrate Syscoin services into real-world scenarios that require identity-based work flows, such as partnerships, power of attorney contracts, etc.
Masternodes – The system will be upgraded with masternode infrastructure in Q1 2018. Syscoin’s performance will scale out with the added nodes, making it possible to theoretically process 100,000 transactions per second for every 1,000 masternodes.
Smart Contracts – Developers can use the Ethereum Virtual Machine to create and execute Turing-complete smart contracts on the Syscoin network.
Anonymous Transactions – Coin mixing and shuffling enables anonymous transactions. Additional tech will be added in the future to compound the degree of anonymity provided.
Asset and Token Issuance – Syscoin has a token issuance service that enables the creation of custom asset tokens that can be sent anyone on the network. This will facilitate a variety of use cases, including loyalty programs, ICO token issuance, supply chain management, and reward points.
Instant Send – Syscoin has sending capability similar to Dash and transactions made on the network can be completed instantly.
Blockmarket Desktop
Blockmarket Desktop is a decentralized marketplace built right into Syscoin’s QT wallet. It is the first of a series of ecommerce applications Blockchain Foundry plans to release on Syscoin. Users can use Blockmarket to securely and reliably buy and sell items, and create stores where they can sell their own products or resell other people’s products for a commission.
The use of blockchain technology eliminates middlemen, maintenance fees, credit card fees, downtime, and political interference. Blockmarket is also very secure; it was independently audited by Digital Boundary Group and was given a “low risk” assessment. You can read about the results of the audit here.
Blockmarket Desktop went live in September 2017 with the following features:
Price Pegging – The prices of goods sold on Blockmarket can be pegged to real-world currencies like USD, EUR, CAD, CNY, and GBP.
Bitcoin and Zcash as Payment Options – Blockmarket will accept BTC and ZEC as payment for goods bought on the platform.
Arbitrated escrow – The marketplace holds buyer’s tokens in escrow until the terms of the sale are met and the buyer releases payment to the seller.
Encrypted Messaging – Blockmarket has an email-like inbox and outbox for communicating with other users on the Syscoin network.
KYC/AML Compliance – The platform is designed to comply with regional anti-money laundering and fraud prevention laws.
Unlimited Inventory Items – There is no limit to the number of items a seller can have on their Blockmarket store.
Name Aliases – Instead of using wallet addresses that are hard to memorize, Syscoin allows users to create a unique alias for their wallet address. An alias can be a name, title, or username, and it can be used to securely send SYS to other wallets.
Digital Certificates – Users can issue, authorize, and exchange digital certificates of any kind (diplomas, receipts, warranties, tickets, software licenses, etc.) using Syscoin.
Integrated Exchanges – Syscoin is integrated with two crypto exchanges: Flyp.me and Changelly. They can be accessed directly within the core wallet and facilitate the exchange of 30+ cryptocurrencies.
Blockmarket Web will be the web-based version of the marketplace that can be accessed without having to download the QT wallet. It will be launched in Q1 2018.
Syscoin vs. Other Cryptocurrencies
Syscoin isn’t the only blockchain project attempting to take on the e-commerce industry. OpenBazaar, for example, operates a fully decentralized open-source marketplace where users can trade goods and services without using middlemen.
The difference between the two is that Syscoin builds on Bitcoin’s code base, while OpenBazaar leverages P2P technology and uses Bitcoin for payment only. They provide similar but different services using very different technologies.
Syscoin has also had time to establish itself and develop a good following. It has proven that its goals are realistic through Blockmarket Desktop. Regardless of its similarities to other projects, competition in the crypto space is a good thing and will benefit end users.
Buying, Storing and Selling SYS
The most popular exchanges where SYS tokens can be acquired from are Binance, Bittrex, Poloniex, Upbit and YoBit.
The Syscoin QT wallet is the best choice for secure storage. It’s available on Windows and OSX. Third-party wallet options include Coinomi and HolyTransaction.
Liquidity of Syscoin
Despite having a rocky start, Syscoin appears to have regained investor confidence with the launch of Blockmarket Desktop, the implementation of masternodes, and other critical system upgrades. This activity has bolstered the value of SYS and has given Syscoin good market liquidity.
