Qtum Claims World’s First Proof-of-Stake Smart Contracts Platform

Blockchain.com talks with founders of Qtum Blockchain Foundation on the launch of Sparknet

The Qtum Foundation  has announced the launch of Sparknet, the first public test of its innovative Blockchain platform, which combines crucial advantages of Bitcoin, Ethereum’s Virtual Machine and proof-of-stake consensus.

The Qtum Blockchain model was inspired by the rivalry between proponent developers of the world’s most active Blockchain communities, said Qtum co-founder Patrick Dai. He added, “We want to illustrate efficient scalability and compatibility between Blockchain technologies,” said Dai. Qtum raised $15.6 million in a crowdsale in March.

The Qtum Blockchain operates according to the Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) model, which ensures consistency in transactions and the traceability of tokens. At the same time, a virtual machine for smart contracts is layered on top of Qtum’s Blockchain, which presents to developers a best-of-both-worlds architecture for the construction of decentralized mobile applications and other Blockchain-based ventures.

Co-founder Jordan Earls, who leads Qtum’s team of almost two-dozen developers, said the testnet would feature an Ethereum Virtual Machine smart contract implementation along with Qtum’s PoS protocol.  “The Qtum team continues to execute, and build what can be one of the most exciting and innovative railroads in the Blockchain ecosystem,” said Matthew Roszak, Qtum Angel investor and co-founder of Bloq.

Six decentralized applications are already being built for the Blockchain, Dai said. Among the applications are a peer-to-peer mobile streaming platform and a prediction market. While these applications are geared to the Chinese market, the Qtum Blockchain will appeal to a global audience, accessible to all developers.

To get developers familiar with Qtum, the Foundation is sponsoring a hackathon in Moscow on July 1-2. For more information, visit Blockchainhack.ru Those interested can also visit qtum.org.