DigiByte

DigiByte (DGB) is an open-source cryptocurrency running on the DigiByte blockchain ^[1]^[2]^[3].

History

Digibyte was first developed in 2013 and released January 2014. It was initially created by Jared Tate who was dissatisfied with the security and speed of Bitcoin ^[4].

In 2016, Digibyte was added to Microsoft's cloud computing platform Azure. Microsoft also nominated Digibyte for BizSpark, which is their program to assist blockchain projects with software support and services^[5].

In 2017, John McAfee tweeted about Digibyte which resulted in a 120% rise in price in 12 hours.

Features

DigiByte is based in Bitcoin but with several adjustments to its code including functionality differences and 15-second block times making it the fastest UTXO blockchain today. DigiByte uses five secure and advanced cryptographic mining algorithms to prevent mining centralization compared to single algorithm blockchains^[6].

Within the first month of DigiByte's release, the DigiShield hard fork was initiated, which allowed for the DigiByte blockchain to protect against multi-pools that mine large numbers of DigiByte at a low difficulty. This technology was adopted by other cryptocurrencies such as Dogecoin and Zcash with the help of the DigiByte team^[7].

DigiBytes are digital assets that are designed not to be destroyed, counterfeited, or hacked, making them ideal for protecting objects of value like currency, information, property, or important digital data.

The company also seeks to promote a community of decentralized apps.

The applications layer hosts dApps, Digi-apps, and smart contracts. DApps are software utility applications developed for the blockchain; Digi-apps are centralised software that is native to the DigiByte blockchain; Smart contracts are digital obligations that are enforced by coding for asset-based agreements without middleman intervention. The digital asset and public ledger layer provide security and administration to the value of data tokens and assets on the blockchain. The core protocol and global network layer provide communication channels for nodes to talk across the network. Any server, computer or mobile phone connected to the DigiByte network becomes a node and helps to relay transactions^[8]^[9].

Digi-ID
The Digi-ID is an authentication method developed for the Digibyte blockchain that features security and speed in a method that replaces the need for passwords to sing into applications.

It works through the use of a blockchain-based signature, similar to the way transactions are signed when transferring assets. So in essence users can utilize their private keys as a way to authenticate themselves to an online application or other platforms^[10].

Digi-Assets
The Digi-Assets system sits in the secondary layer of the Digibytes blockchain as a secure and scalable way to issue tokens, assets, smart contracts, digital identities, and so much more. Anything you find in the real world can be digitized and represented cryptographically using Digi-Assets^[11].

That includes the obvious like equities, bonds, and currencies, to legal documents such as mortgages, deeds, and wills. It is also useful for things such as purchase orders and bills of all kinds, and can even be used in the protection of trademarks, copyrights, and advertising data^[12].