At exactly 8:00:09 am UTC on June 30, 2018, the first block on the VeChainThor blockchain was mined. This signifies the successful launch of the VeChain mainnet. This development follows the timeline of the revamped development plan released in May 2018.
Now VeChain is looking forward to a smooth transition of VEN tokens from the ERC-20 standard to the VET token, a token based on their own blockchain. This token swap is already supported by a number of major crypto exchanges.
VeChainThor is a Blockchain-as-a-Service company (BAAS) that aims to build a trust-free and distributed business ecosystem focusing on supply chain management. This is achieved by real-time tracking of physical goods from the producer to the point it gets to the consumer.
This is done through hardware tracking devices (like the RFID tags, NFC chips, and QR codes) embedded in the product and blockchain technology monitoring the product until it gets to the consumer. This allows products to be identified instantly and solves the problem of counterfeiting, which often occurs in luxury goods and prescription medicine. VeChain also has its own decentralized application environment where other applications can be built on the platform.
The founder of VeChain is Sunny Lu, formerly the CIO of Louis Vuitton in China. He also worked on the blockchain platform known as Qtum. The VeChain team boasts of over 90 employees, most of which are developers. They have offices in Tokyo, Paris, Singapore, and Shanghai, and have been working on VeChain for over 2 years. Gu Jianliang is the CTO and has over 16 years experience in IoT related technology development.
VeChainThor has a Proof-of-Authority consensus model, which is similar to Proof-of-Stake. All nodes will be approved and validated by approved accounts (known as validators). Proof-of-Authority links the identities of validators to their reputation so as to incentivize them to act honestly to uphold the network.
Before the VeChain mainnet launch, over 100 third-party security experts and auditors assessed the VeChain code. Shortly after the genesis block was mined, the founder of VeChain went on Twitter to express appreciation to Ethereum and its co-founder Vitalik Buterin, and also expressed excitement for the future of VeChain.
The anticipated VeChain token swap will reportedly start on July 24, and will run until August 1. This swap exchanges the ERC-20 VEN tokens to VET tokens based on the VeChain blockchain. The token migration is supported by Binance, Bithumb, Huobi, Kucoin, and CoinSpot.
Token holders who have their tokens on these exchanges don’t have to do anything, as the exchange will carry out the swap for them. However, keep in mind that the exchange will be in the ratio 1:100. This means that for every 1 VEN, 100 VET will be issued. The price of VEN will definitely not be the same as the price of VET. This distribution ratio is to increase the availability of VET tokens.
The block explorer for the VeChain blockchain was also released by a community member, at about the same time as the mainnet launch. This is where transactions on the VeChain network can be searched, seen and tracked. This is similar to ethplorer for transactions on the Ethereum Network.
The VeChain blockchain uses 2 tokens, one as a store of value (VET) while the other as a utility for the blockchain (THOR). This is similar to the token structure of NEO, where NEO is the store-of-value and GAS is the utility token that basically fuels the NEO blockchain. Just as token holders are rewarded with GAS for holding NEO, holders are rewarded with THOR for holding VET.
VET is designed to be an asset that can be migrated, and easily integrates with third-party wallets. Instructions on how to integrate VET tokens with other wallets during this period of token migration have been officially stated by VeChain.
The VeChainThor mobile wallet was released on July 9. This release is consistent with the goal and intention of VeChain to adopt the “go mobile strategy.” The wallet will be the portal on the VeChain blockchain for all kinds of dapps on the platform. Users will be able to control their VeChain assets through the wallet. The wallet is now available on Android and iOS.
Security is made a priority on the VeChainThor wallet as third-party auditors went through every aspect of the code to make it absolutely secure.
It is important for token holders to note that the wallet is not for the ERC-20 VEN tokens. Users have the option of sending their tokens on any of the crypto exchanges that supports the token swap and then send the new VET tokens to the wallet.
For instructions on how to migrate the tokens yourself, see the video below:
VeChain already has a long list of partners compared to its competitors. Partnership relations have been announced with PwC, Renault, DNV GL, Chinese Tobacco, etc. Direct competitors of VeChain include Waltonchain and Modum, however, VeChain is currently ahead of both of them in development.
How VeChain complies with the GDPR regulation is also worthy of note to its users. VeChain has worked with a professional service firm and law firm to assess its current practices and develop a sustainable model to stay ahead of regulatory requirements. This include establishing a series of privacy and security policies, defined roles and responsibilities concerning privacy and security, providing users with the right to be forgotten and data erasure, implemented additional security measures, etc.
The VeChain token (VEN) is currently priced around $2.50 and the market capitalization is about $1.39 billion. The recent changes and development by VeChain will create a positive sentiment that may drive up the price of the equivalent amount of VET tokens over the next few days and weeks.
One thing is certain though, the future looks bright for VeChain.
Related: 5 Reasons To Invest in VeChain (Opinion)
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