Projects team up to offer custom tokens, fast payments and privacy

A scalable blockchain allows transactions to be completed quickly and cheaply — and allows anyone to create their very own token for fun.

Hathor says its infrastructure is so simple that a 13-year-old can launch their own token in under a minute… and the process takes just a few clicks. This could pave the way for companies to issue stock to investors, retailers to offer cutting-edge loyalty programs, votes to take place digitally and democratically, and for tokens to serve as proof of ownership.

The project boasts novel architecture combining side-DAGs and blockchain that was inspired by the PhD thesis of founder Marcelo Salhab Brogliato. Hathor’s code was built from scratch — meaning that it hasn’t forked from another cryptocurrency.

Usability is at the heart of Hathor’s offering, and the blockchain can comfortably handle upwards of 200 transactions per second. Another unique selling point lies in the introduction of nano contracts. Hathor characterizes this technology as a simplified yet powerful version of a smart contract that reduces the need for computing power, cuts transaction costs, and helps eliminate the bugs that inevitably arise when smart contracts get too complicated. The project says this innovation has been crucial in the pursuit of its vision to deliver “feeless transactions” to the world.

Hathor says that nano contracts are “perhaps the most highly anticipated feature among our community.” Work on their initial design has been taking place in Q1, and implementation is scheduled to begin in Q2. This will pave the way for a slew of extended capabilities to emerge in Q3.

HTR tokens have been available on KuCoin for the past two months, with pairings available against Ether and USDT. A BTC/HTR pairing is due to follow in the coming days.

New products and programs

Hathor’s goal is to deliver a much more cost-efficient blockchain when compared with the likes of Ethereum, where some DeFi protocols have been crippled by sky-high transaction fees. A suite of products is being rolled out atop of this new blockchain — and HathorSwap, a decentralized exchange that uses wrapped tokens and delivers zero gas fees, is set to make its debut in the first half of this year.

Other products coming soon include a Chrome extension, a virtual debit card enabling HTR token owners to spend their crypto without hassle, an e-commerce offering that’s set to offer 10x less fees than Stripe while settling transactions in seconds, and a merchant directory enabling consumers to search for shops that accept Hathor tokens.

On March 1, Hathor released its grants program to encourage development. The first products to be built using this financial support generated by the #BuildonHathor campaign could emerge towards the end of Q2, the project believes.

Preserving privacy

Hathor says that its concerns also extend beyond transaction speeds — and privacy has been a key concern as it builds its payment-focused blockchain.

To this end, it has entered into a partnership with HOPR, which offers a cutting-edge privacy solution that’s far more sophisticated and secure than end-to-end encryption. HOPR’s incentivized mixnet will provide metadata private data transfer while rewarding node runners with HOPR tokens. Both parties hope that their collaboration will appeal to privacy-aware individuals and compliance-driven corporations.

Given how the world of cryptocurrencies can be fiercely competitive — with rivaling projects jostling for dominance — it’s refreshing to see two projects with similar perspectives join forces in order to make a bigger impact.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, HOPR and Hathor recently participated in a live AMA where they set out their plans for the future. Both firms believe that data privacy is going to be a dominant theme in 2021 and beyond — amid ongoing concerns about how tech giants use personal data, and a series of high-profile hacks that have affected consumers.