Over the past few weeks, the price of the Factom token (FCT) has increased a whopping 300%. Why is this? Big partnership announcements have been coming out, recent Forbes coverage, a new protocol website, and amazing new developments funded via Factom’s grant pool and unique authority node incentive model.
What is Factom?
Factom is a decentralized protocol currently consisting of over 25 ANOs (authority node operators), maintaining 51 infrastructure nodes. ANO’s receive FCT tokens for the operation and maintenance of their designated servers.
The protocol is designed to leverage the security and immutability of blockchain for the purpose of proving data. The Factom protocol uses its own blockchain to publish data proofs.
Every 10 minutes, the merkle root of the Factom blockchain is committed to another blockchain (currently bitcoin) in order to leverage the security of that other chain.
The Factom protocol does not use a Proof-of-Work or Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm but rather uses distributed authority servers to cross check work with other nodes as information is submitted onto the blockchain.
Factom has a unique 2 token system. FCT tokens are converted into Entry Credits (EC) and the Entry credits are then spent to write data into the blockchain. EC tokens are created at a fixed price of $0.001 each.
This clever 2 token system means users of the protocol don’t need to worry about the current price of FCT because they can budget based on usage, and companies who cannot hold cryptocurrencies for regulatory reasons will be able to buy EC tokens from third parties to avoid holding FCT.
Eventually, there will be a total of 65 ANOs operating one authority node each.
ANOs are chosen via an application process consisting of several rounds; where applicants compete against each other; with a final decision made by a panel of guides. As the protocol develops further, the guides will be phased out and on-chain voting will be done by standing parties within the Factom ecosystem.
Those interested in joining Factom®’s vibrant community, there are currently still 39 ANO spots available in the coming months. Additional information and resources for joining can be found on Factom®’s Discord Community.
What Has Been Happening With Factom?
2018 has been a huge year for Factom, leading to some significant new partnerships and increased media attention.
Equator, a business unit of Altisource and leading provider of residential loan default software and marketing solutions for many of the country’s top servicers, real estate agents and vendors, officially announced its partnership with Factom® Inc. to use Factom® Harmony blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform into the Equator® PRO solution.
The partnership offers a blockchain technology solution to help address the complexities of the default mortgage process within the billion dollar mortgage industry.
Laurie Pyle, COO of Factom® had this to say about the partnership:
We look forward to working with Equator, who shares the vision of using blockchain technology to bring transparency and efficiency to the default servicing process.
Recently, Paul Snow, the CEO of Factom®, Inc. was invited to take part in a discussion panel exploring the intersection of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence as it relates to political elections.
The event was written about in a Forbes article, Inside The Hot Discussion On Blockchain And The Chaos Of Mid-Term Election Recounts, where he had this to say:
.. blockchain can document the processes for voting to ensure all procedures are followed correctly. Parties involved would be held responsible for the steps under their control, and the steps would have to be performed in order to match the audit trail maintained in the blockchain. Additionally, votes can be blocked and hashed, and those hashes added to the blockchain make the votes very hard to change or alter. “Impossible even,” he adds, “depending how close to vote collection the blockchain can be used to collect the ‘fingerprints’ (hashes) of the proper data, processes, and steps. A recount might still be needed, but the recount would amount to a full review of the voting process, not just the votes that ended up collected at the end point of the election process.
Snow was quoted in another Forbes article Influencers Weigh-In On Big 2019 Predictions For The CryptoBlock Arena on the rising importance of digital rights management in the U.S:
Also watch for blockchain to begin to scale with more pegged assets enabling more payment application, and expect a leveling of opportunity between the first-world and the developing world, to great economic benefit.
Last weekend, Factom® ANOs joined together to host another AMA on Reddit to answer questions on all things Factom®.
As the protocol continues to evolve and individual ANOs further develop out the platform; many exciting advances are currently taking shape within the community.
Highlights include:
- The integration of Factom® technology as a data integrity solution for deepfake technology for the purpose of proving authenticity and integrity of images and videos.
- What current projects ANOs are most excited for, including what keeps them motivated to continue taking risks as early participants utilizing the Factom® Protocol.
- Which industries the ANOs are targeting and how their products can be positioned better than existing ones.
- Factom®’s approach to succeed with companies coming from failed POCs using Ethereum, Steller, and Hyperledger.
An Exciting New Announcement
The Factom® ecosystem is proud to announce the launch of factomprotocol.org to coincide with our expanding role as a world-leading decentralized open-source data integrity protocol.
The goal of the new website is to provide a place for companies, developers, and the general public to learn about all aspects of the Factom® protocol with a low barrier of entry.
The new site introduces a wide range of content, including a Factom® discussion forum to allow community members and developers to discuss the protocol and conduct protocol governance.
In addition, a developer portal hosts a library of developer documentation, tutorials, enterprise solutions, and general information, to help visitors from all backgrounds understand why the Factom® protocol is so powerful.
Going forward, the Factom® protocol website will regularly expand with the addition of articles, blogs, announcements, and helpful information and tutorials in the developer portal. A newsletter will also be launching to provide subscribers with the latest news and enterprise solutions built with the Factom® protocol.
The launch of the Factom® protocol website is a big step forward for the Factom® ecosystem as it moves to reach full decentralization of both the protocol and the organization structure.
To become of a part of the growing Factom® community, join our Discord as well as our official forum.
Contributed by Cyndi
Cyndi is a freelance writer and worldwide explorer pursuing unconventional life paths in order to live more purposefully in a complex world. This is illustrated through her varied interests and experiences in publishing, cryptocurrency/blockchain technology, and as a holistic practitioner helping people create change in the world.
