Hcash (HSR) Review – A Bridge Between Blockchain and Blockless Systems

Hcash is a decentralized and distributed ledger system that aims to bridge the gap between blockchain-based systems, enabling information and value to be freely exchanged between different blockchains. Just as Bitcoin functions as a value of exchange for goods and services on the blockchain system, Hcash aims to do this on all blockchain and block-less systems.

Update: Hcash recently announced the launch of their mainchain and the current supporting exchanges.

The Idea Behind Hcash

As the number of blockchains continues to grow, the challenge of interoperability between blockchain grows as well. For instance, one cannot make transactions directly between the Bitcoin blockchain and the Ethereum blockchain, but rather through an exchange service. To complicate matters further, currencies such as IOTA and Byteball use directed acyclic graph (DAG) cryptography instead of the blockchain, creating multiple transactions that verify one another.

Hcash steps up to this challenge by working as a side chain for both blockchain and DAG currencies. It does this by developing two networks: one that is blockchain-based and another using DAG. These networks will have interoperable addresses so that you can make transactions directly with any cryptocurrencies with your Hcash wallet.

Hcash is headed by Adam Geri, who is the current CEO in addition to being the Vice President of Colinstart Capital, an investment firm focusing on digital currency and blockchain infrastructure. Andrew Wasylewicz, the COO, has extensive experience in finance, having worked as a claims consultant at AMP, a leading wealth management company in Australia and New Zealand. The CTO is Khal Achkar.

The Hcash team is based in China and Australia. It was the first public blockchain established in Australia.

Hcash Partnerships

Hcash has a number of partnerships with universities, including Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Australia’s Monash University. Its investors include CollinStar, Fintech Blockchain Group, and BitAngel.com.

In October of last year, HCash announced a strategic partnership with Unifive, a leading vertical media consulting firm that offers innovative go-to-market solution for Global 2000 enterprises. “Our strategic partnership with Unifive allows the Hcash technical team to create a more forward-looking, transparent and decentralized blockchain system that will give digital businesses social value and trust in a wider range of use cases, truly demonstrating the social impact of our mission,” said CTO Khal Achkar in a statement released to the public.

The company also announced a strategic partnership with UnitedBitcoin (UB), a Bitcoin fork. As part of the agreement, Hcash holders received UB airdrops rewards, while HyperPay in return provided a full payment and support system to the UB network. The goal is to provide HYP and its customers more flexible payment options for purchases on its network via Alipay, Wechat, Unionpay, Visa and Mastercard.

In addition, a number of blockchain companies, including Hyperpay, Hyperlending, Halalchain and ENT cash have launched project on Hcash’s network.

Hcash Token Price History

Hcash launched its ICO in August of 2017. The HSR initial trading price was around $20.00 per token. The token price rose to $43.17 on August 27 of last year before falling and rising again to $37.22 in January. Hcash recently announced the different exchanges supporting its token swap, including Binance, OKEx, Huobi and ZB.com, among others.

The Hcash Technology

The Hcash technology has a number of unique features.

It is hybrid

With the introduction of Instant-Open-Governance, Hcash combined the current governance systems of Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS). In another words, in Hcash’s governance system, voting power is based on a combination of user’s stake and work. This allows coin holders to participated in protocol updates and upgrades, but with smoother execution. Decisions are recorded in the blockchain and enforced, eliminating the challenge of consensus between miners, mining pools, exchanges and wallet service providers to arrive at consensus. The advantage to this system is that it maximizes both user engagement and computing power on the network.

It has a hierarchical, DAO governance

Hcash uses its hybrid PoS and PoW system to create a decentralized autonomous system (DAO) that governs it. Since the DAO is funded by 5% of the total Hcash tokens, it always has a lifeline force for the Hcash community. Due to past incidences with DAO security, the code for Hcash DAO will be audited rigorously and include third-party audits as well.

It is quantum-resistant

Quantaum computing has brought a new threat to cryptography which is currently the foundation of most internet security systems. Hcash has ensured that its technology remains quantum-resistant, unlike many other blockchain projects which remain at threat to quantum attacks. As post-quantum cryptography based on difficult problems in specific mathematics fields, Hcash will strive to provide the highest level of data security.

It has privacy-preserving mechanisms

Hcash will have two different types of wallets: white addresses, which are viewable to the public, and black addresses, which are private. Hcash uses zero-knowledge proofs to allow for privacy features to hide how users move their funds.

In addition, a Ring Confidential Transaction (RingCT) function as a privacy-preserving layer, with one person randomly selected to verify the transaction by signature. All 21 million coins generated by the PoS that go to these dark addresses and called HiddenCoins. The remaining coin will be used for white addresses. Users can convert white addresses to black addresses or vice versa using their own wallet, as long as the total number of Hcash remains the same.

It has a parallel, bifocal, dual-chain ecosystem

Two chains, a main chain, HyperCash, and a new chain, HyperExchange, derived from the main chain, will be able to freely share the different technical advantages and resources with one another. HyperCash’s role will be to provide value tokens, while HyperExchange will be responsible for providing applications, solving inter-blockchain communication and delivering ecological advantages to the whole system.

The Hcash Token

Hcash recently announced that it will begin the HShare (HSR) mainnet token swap (HShare was the previous version of the token during pre-launch). After the mainnet swap, HSR tokens will be invalid.

The Hcash ecosystem has a dual-token system. HC is a value token that maintains the stability of the Hcash network, while HX is a functional token on the HyperExchange chain. The exchange rate of HC to HX will be HC:HX = 1:100.

HC is currently being exchanged with HSR on a 1:1 basis.

There will be a maximum of 84 million Hcash tokens, which have been distributed as follows:

How to Purchase Hcash

The main exchange for purchasing Hcash on Bithumb, which currently has the largest volume of the currency. Hcash can be traded on Bithumb for KWR. At the moment the current daily volume of Hcash traded on Bithumb is above $43 million.

Hcash is also available on the following exchanges:

• OKEx (Trade HSR with BTC on OKEx)
• ZB.com (Trade HSR with BTC on ZB.com)
• OKEx (Trade HSR with USDT on OKEx)
• TOPBTC (Trade HSR with BTC on TOPBTC)
• Huobi (Trade HSR with USDT on Huobi)

How to Store Hcash

Hcash can be stored on the Hcash wallet, which you can download in a desktop version in Mac or Windows or as a mobile app (for ioS or Android) from the Hcash website.

In addition, you can download the HyperPay digital wallet, a multi-digital assets wallet that supports over 70 mainstream tokens. The off-chain mobile wallet also offers multi-language support in both English and Chinese. The idea is that in the future HyperPay wallet will integrate existing mainstream online payment systems such as Alipay, Wechat, UnionPay, Visa and Mastercard in addition to an API for ecommerce, credit and currency loans.

For maximum security, however, you should store your Hcash on hardware wallets such as Ledger Nano S.

Roadmap and Future Plans

Hcash has an extensive roadmap outlined in both their website and Yellow Paper.

For 2018, it plans to complete improvements to Hcash’s mainchain and start the HSR/HC token swap by September. By the end of Q4, it plans to complete its layer and sharding technologies along with the achievement of high TPS DAG side chain development.