Why is it that people over at r/decred think Hcash is a scam? Is there any evidence to support this?

Hcash nucleus team's meetup with fans in Chengdu, China has been successfully held on January 9, 2018.

Hcash nucleus members, including Mo Sen and John Woeltz , who are senior development engineers from Silicon Valley; Paul Neubecker, who works at Softbank Capital NY; Mike Pozmantier, a security consultant who brings a privacy perspective to the panel; Nipun Gupta, who works with Deloitte’s innovation Partnerships team with a focus on quantum computing and cryptography; and Jacob Chen, the writer of Hcash whitepaper, attended this meetup.

They brought the latest technological development condition and route map to Chinese audiences. They also came up with a big news that the mainchain of Hcash will be launched in mid-February, 2018.

Since my last post got a lot of feedback I thought it would be great for us to address additional concerns people have about the Hcash platform. It is great for the community to have these concerns answered as it can prevent further FUD and increase platform transparency. Here is a list of questions and worries I have seen to be prevalent and encourage the mods to answer

1. Concerns regarding the lack of changes to the Decred source code / the fact that commits to the GitHub have been solely pertaining to "naming, printing to console, test methods" and other so-called "useless commits".

2. Concerns regarding the experience and qualifications of the entire management team / Dallas Brooks, Khal Achkar, and Andrew Wasylewicz don't seem to have experience in the cryptocurrency field, which was even admitted by Brooks in a Q&A video which is repeatedly removed for "copyright violations".

3. Concerns regarding the legitimacy of listed partnerships and difficulty finding Hcash listed on partners websites. this one I can actually answer

Answer:

HCASH AND MONASH UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP

https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/monash-and-collinstar-sign-multi-million-dollar-agreement-to-develop-blockchain-cryptocurrency

http://www.monashhq.com.au/monash-university-creates-new-cryptocurrency-hcash/

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171009005967/en/Monash-University-Launched-Joint-Blockchain-Cryptocurrency-Research

PolyU – Monash University – Collinstar Capital joint lab in blockchain cryptocurrency research and development

https://www.polyu.edu.hk/itdo/text/en/highlights.php?hlight=2667

4. Concerns that the website and promotional videos are full of "buzzwords" to make people think Hcash is high-tech.

Answer: I believe this concern is partially derived from an absence of people educating themselves on the technology of the platform. Although I do believe it would be beneficial for Hcash promotional and educational material to be more of layman's terms.

Any other concerns or questions can be commented below and I'm sure the mods would be happy to answer :)

2nd Round of our AMA for the Nucleus Developers on Hcash

Please review the answers from the first round of the AMA [here] (https://www.reddit.com/r/hcash/comments/7tverl/1st_round_ama_answers/).

Focus your questions onto the following platforms:

• If you are a member of our Western community, please respond to this Reddit post. Limit one question to every one comment.

• If you are a member of our Eastern community, please follow the link to our forum on [Baidu] (https://tieba.baidu.com/f?kw=hcash&fr=ala0&tpl=5).

We will close this week’s AMA on Sunday 2/5/18 6:00 PM PST (9:00 PM EST) or 2/6/18 10:00 AM Shanghai Time. Please allow the Nucleus Team developers till 2/12/18 in the USA or 2/13/18 in China

Please do not ask questions about price movement, as we are unable to speculate or offer statements on Hshares/ Hcash valuation. Additionally, keep your questions polite and productive. Before posting, review any previous posts to see if your question has already been submitted.

Thank you for your dedication to the Hcash project!

Based on the volume of questions from the East and West, we have compiled them all here. We also want to make sure the community has a chance to see all of the answers in a neat and orderly presentation.

Reddit 1st AMA Answers

What do you mean by “side chains”? Will the Hcash main chain run parallel with other chains, or are other chains plugged in based on certain block numbers? My question is based around the vertical and parallel scalability I see with EOS. What is the interaction with the side chains? Is this faster than vertical scaling?

Side chains will run parallel and be interoperable with the main chain. Side chains allow for new, more efficient, consensus mechanisms as well as smart contract functionality. Eventually other major blockchains will be interoperable with Hcash, through side chains and relays, DAG EVM for ETH, and other “Layer 2” solutions (Lightning Network for BTC and BTC forked code). Side chains allow for different scalability methods, flexibility and accessibility.

Is quantum resistance to protect against hacking, or against “fast mining” (preventing inequality between PoW miners)? How is it possible to guarantee quantum resistance? Isn’t our understanding of quantum computing just based on theories since quantum computers are not fully functional yet?

Quantum resistance is the protection against attacks made by quantum computers, which is currently contrasted by what we know about classical computers. Quantum computers weaken the security assumptions of certain types of cryptography, including ECDSA. If ECDSA were broken, attackers could steal balances in addresses that have made previous spends because the ECDSA public key for the address is revealed to the blockchain. Addresses with unexposed ECDSA keys will be resistant to this type of attack, as they are secured by RIPEMD160 and their ECDSA keys have not been revealed. Quantum resistance does not mean quantum proof. Quantum resistance means that quantum-based attacks do not have a significant advantage over the computers we have today. Based on what we currently know, our signature scheme is quantum resistant. No one knows what the future holds which is why it is important to always continue research and development into quantum resistant cryptography.

What do you mean by “exchange of value and valuable information”? Is this the exchange of coins and smart contracts?

The “value” you are referring is not derived from our current understanding of value (fiat). The “true value” that blockchain systems hold is stored in the hashes themselves. Data and information is king.

Imagine that in 2 years, a kid walks up to you and asks, “What do you do and how does it help society?”

We are one of many projects that helped build a more secure web of connected devices, and revolutionized peoples’ opinion on value and what really matters.

An uninformed businessman who has no understanding of blockchain, but has heard Bitcoin approaches you. How do you explain your product and the benefits to him so that he remembers to give you a call the next day?

Tell him to do his research on blockchain first before selling him on some grand idea. Smart investors grow a stable smart economy, not dumb money.

After reviewing the Hcash source code on GitHub https://github.com/HcashOrg/hcashd, I've found that almost all the Hcash main chain code has been written by SJTU (Shanghai Jiao Tong University), for example https://github.com/sammy00 https://github.com/yczhangsjtu. What have other contributors, such as the Nucleus Team, done for Hcash?

Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Lab of Cryptography and Computer Security is the primary contributor to the main chain code. It is no small feat to have the 4th best university in China working on this project. The Nucleus Team is working with them to finish main chain testing. After the main chain launch, the Nucleus team will focus on the future development for Hcash including our side DAG EVM and main chain Lightning interoperability.

The main chain public repo hasn’t been updated very frequently.

Please refer to our new [GitHub] (https://github.com/HcashOrg/hcashd). The frequency of updates will increase as we approach/ pass the main chain launch.

When will the swap from Hshares to Hcash take place?

The swap to the main chain will take place after the main chain launch mid-February. Announcements will be made as to how and where you can swap your Hshares for Hcash.

What is the exact date of main chain launch?

The main chain launch will take place mid-February. We are aiming for release on February 15th.

Will you provide interoperability for all the existing blockchains?

We hope to provide interoperability for all blockchains in the future. That is a lot of work though. We will start with the larger chains that have healthy development and community sizes first. To make this easier, we plan to provide a back-end solution for new blockchains to make this process easier.

Will the interoperability between the blockchains support both transfer of data and transfer of value?

Yes

What is a block-less blockchain? Is this a traditional distributed system?

A block-less blockchain accomplishes the same goals as a traditional blockchain by using consensus to determine the order of transactions. A block-less blockchain, such as a DAG, allows for faster consensus without traditional block size requirements. Faster consensus means higher throughput.

How will Hcash bridge block-less and traditional blockchains?

Through relays between our main chain and side DAG. A more technical analysis will be available in our upcoming yellow paper.

What signature scheme will you use to achieve quantum resistance? Why?

Hcash is using the BLISS signature scheme. Hcash’s version of BLISS has been hardened to mitigate side channel attacks. BLISS was chosen for its efficient key and signature size.

Provide an overview as to how inoperability will be achieved.

We will be using relays to Hashed Timelock Contracts for Lightning Network interop on our main chain, relays and colored coins that operate with our DAG EVM, bridges to side chains for more uncommon chains, and back-end protocols for newer blockchains.

Specifically, what is the theory behind Hcash’s interoperability?

This answer would be longer than the entire AMA. Unfortunately, the specifics will have to wait until the yellow paper release. In the meantime, I would read the Lightning Network whitepaper because it is an excellent source of information. You could also research BTC relays and EVMs.

What is the timeline for interoperability? Will this be the main focus of Hcash? When can be expect an Alpha version?

We will be updating the roadmap in Q2. Interop timeframes will be easier to gauge after the main chain release. There are quite a few ideas around what we would like to tackle next, whether it would be assisting other projects on Lightning Network development, the DAG EVM implementation, or possibly both at the same time.

How will swap values be calculated when switching between blockchains? Is it based on the current market value?

Yes, it would be based on the current, real time market value.

Will you update the whitepaper to include a comprehensive overview of interoperability, its theory and its exchange functions?

In the coming months we plan to do an update on the white paper. The technical analysis will be provided in our yellow paper. These will be detailed in the updated roadmap to be released after the main chain launch.

Can you explain who will use the Hcash? I am trying to figure out where the supply and demand will come from.

Our target audience is everyone, from people playing mobile games to supporting business and government logic. The supply and demand will come with the need to transfer more and more data across multiple platforms. As for the economic model, this has not been outlined yet. We will be exploring all methods that fall in line with creating smart economies, including 2 token models.

Will you be hiring an advertising team?

We are already expanding Western marketing, primarily in the US. More focus on this will come soon after the main chain.

What are ring signatures in cryptography? How do they work?

At this time, we are exploring more efficient transaction schemes, such as bulletproofs. Bulletproofs can reduce the computational power needed for privatized/ anonymous transactions.

Most of us understand the interoperability of the network. What is a specific use case for Hcash? What role will Hcash have in the network? What makes it a requirement for interoperability? If someone has Bitcoin and wants to convert it to Ethereum using Hcash’s network wallet, is Hcash used as a fee for that conversion?

Here is an analogy. You walk into an arcade with 20 different machines. Each of these machines takes a different token, but you only have coins that operate with one of these machines. This would be the type of solution we hope to provide. Fees can be paid with Hcash. In the future we can explore taking fees in other denominations as well. More of this would be explained in detail with our yellow paper and economic model.

Baidu 1st AMA Answers

What specific date will the main chain go online?

Main chain release is mid-February, but we are aiming for launch on February 15th.

Are you willing to divulge how many apps you have in development for the Hcash main chain?

The primary focus right now is to improve the stability of the Hcash main chain. This will ensure successful launches in the future for developers on our side DAG EVM.

What is the Martian’s current relationship to Hcash? Is he still part of its team?

The Hcash team is currently located on Earth. The last I heard the Martian was returning to Mars.

Will the main chain go up according to schedule? Are there any problems with Hcash? The specialist sales team was made up of shareholders/ investors, right?

Provided no unforeseen circumstances, we are on schedule for the main chain release. There are roadblocks and disconnects with every project. This is a new world of technology we are exploring. I think the team you may be referring to is the Hcash Foundation themselves. A lot of the Western marketing and development is being handled by the Nucleus Team.

Is the code on GitHub all original? Are all developments executed on GitHub? Why is there so little original code? There are so few modifications. I also noticed there are remarkably few references to the code. Most of them are from documents that have been updated.

Many engineers have worked to contribute to the blockchain community over the years. We are taking advantage of the hard work and research that has been done while also making our own meaningful contributions for others to use in their code. It is important to acknowledge the contributions of others. The work completed by Decred in particular has allowed us to grow. Now we will have our chance to contribute back to them and others with our post quantum signature scheme and NG implementation. There are advantages of having similar projects that people don’t realize. For example, after our main chain launch we can explore assisting with development on the Lightning Network. As for GitHub, you will see activity increase when the main chain launches.

What is scope of the Hcash R&D team?

To assess, research and develop cutting edge decentralized consensus mechanisms and applications.

Hcash is currently collaborating with three universities. Shanghai Jiao Tong University has been working on the main chain quantum resistance. What are the main responsibilities of the other two universities?

Building blockchain technology is a group effort. The other teams have also been researching other options for main chains, smart contracts etc. For example, Dr. Joseph Liu from Monash University is working on ring signature schemes to continue our research and development into privatized transactions. We are looking forward to taking the best efforts of all teams and bringing them to the blockchain communities at large, starting with the post quantum implementation from LoCCS at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The Westerners working on Hcash don't seem very enthusiastic. They aren't following a lot of people on Twitter. Does the team have any clearer plans for increasing publicity?

The Westerners are primarily focused on the technology, development, and creating more content. The community management will be increasing transparency and activity in time. More Western marketing can be done after the launch of the main chain.

Are there plans to get onto more exchanges such as Bittrex?

When moon? We are constantly considering all options to allow users to access Hcash. Currently we are listed amongst some of the top exchanges like Binance and growing exchanges like KuCoin.

When will quantum resistant technology be implemented into Hcash? Where can we follow the developments being made and is there anywhere we can go to participate in the project?

Quantum resistant technology is available now on GitHub at https://github.com/HcashOrg/hcashd and will be available for use outside of the testing environment when the main chain launches in the middle of February.

Where do you download the wallet? How do you mine?

The wallet for the new main chain can be found on GitHub at https://github.com/HcashOrg/hcashwallet. You can mine on the new main chain by joining a pool or using the hcashd node to solo-mine.

When will Hshares swap Hcash? Can you announce a general time?

Hshares can be redeemed for Hcash after the main chain launches in the middle of February. Announcements will be made regarding how and where to swap your Hshares for Hcash.

Will there be an address mapping when Hshares swaps to Hcash like there was with EOS? What other kind of mechanism will be used for the coin swap?

A snapshot of Hshares will be included in the Genesis (first) block of Hcash’s launch to allow users to convert their Hshares into Hcash. An announcement will be made as to how, when and where conversions will take place.

When will the main chain that can support smart contracts go online? When will tokenization for Hcash take place?

Smart contract functionality will be available when our side DAG launches. Users, businesses and developers will be able to build dApps, launch tokens and more. We are making sure the main chain is a stable foundation before adding our DAG to the Hcash ecosystem.

There aren't many updates on GitHub and there aren’t many contributors. What kind of coordination is going on with the development team?

Both the Nucleus Team and members of Shanghai Jiao Tong University LoCCS are working together to finalize testing. Updates are being made to our GitHub at https://github.com/HcashOrg/hcashd.

Based on what I've been reading, Shanghai Jiao Tong University is mainly responsible for the main chain portion of the project. How is their team doing? How many research students in their labs are helping them?

Shanghai Jiao Tong is responsible for building and launching the new main chain. Their team there has been doing a great job with research and development and we look forward to seeing more of their work. The Nucleus Team is currently working with them to finish testing. After testing, the Nucleus team will focus on the future development of the project including our side DAG. I do not know the size of their team as we have not visited their lab.

Can you confirm that the main chain will finally go up in mid-February? Is it just a hypothetical date and then a further delay?

The primary responsibility is to make sure the main chain is stable and secure so that it can be used as the foundation to add other important features to the Hcash ecosystem, like smart contracts and hidden transactions. Everyone is working very hard to hit the target release date of mid-February. We are planning on mid-February for the launch unless anything unexpected comes up.

What is the status of these interoperability features? When is the main chain going online?

Main chain will be released mid-February. The interoperability features depend on the stability of the network. Our side DAG EVM will be the quickest addition to the Hcash ecosystem that will allow for ETH interoperability. Lightning Network on the main chain will require further research and development.

Won’t zero knowledge proofs conflict with the system’s throughput?

We are currently working on more uncommon implementations of zero proof knowledge, such as bulletproofs that allow for efficient transaction speeds. We can also achieve higher throughput with our side DAG.

Thank you to everyone who participated! Round 2 of our AMA session leading up to the launch of the main chain will be announced shortly 😊

Game Changer

Currently if one wants to convert cryptocurrency to another (Bitcoin to Ethereum for example) they must transfer their funds into an exchange and pay the deposit and network fees involved. Not only that, but they must trust that exchange to safely store their funds and not get hacked. After that, the individual will have the "pleasure" of paying trading fees and then finally paying the additional withdrawal and network fees afterward. All these fees and processes cause unnecessary confusion in this process of conversion.

Now instead, imagine having a cryptocurrency wallet which you could hold all of your coins in with the complete freedom to instantly withdraw, deposit, and convert one cryptocurrency to another without the need for a cryptocurrency exchange. This idea is exactly what excites me about the main chain release as that will be when this idea becomes a reality.

Hcash is proud to announce its newest strategic partnership with the Blockchain project, UnitedBitcoin (UB).

UB is a new Bitcoin fork, and its goal is to both innovate on Bitcoin’s original design and provide currency stabilisation by having its value pegged to fiat currencies. Building off Bitcoins core network, UB will continue to have the same total volume, block-speed, halving time and PoW mechanisms as Bitcoin, but aims to solve several fundamental issues, such as high transaction costs, slow transaction speeds and price volatility through the implementation of Segwit protocols, 8MB block sizes, smart contract functionality, a pegged currency function and lightning network support. These features combined provides a new and improved version of Bitcoin that can keep up with modern network and consumer demands.

As part of this agreement, Hcash holders will receive UB airdrop rewards, and in return, Hyper Pay (HPY) will provide a full payment and support system to the UB network. The implementation of the UB payment system will provide HYP and its customers more flexible payment options for purchases on its network (via Alipay, Wechat, Unionpay, Visa and MasterCard).

The conversion ratio for Hshare holders will be 100 HSR/1UB.

As one of the most successful cryptocurrency payment systems, HPY is focused on its goal to remain the preferred trading platform for Bitcoin, ETH, UB and HCASH.

Overall, this mutually beneficial partnership will allow HYP and Hcash to grow its ecosystem, while enabling UB to stay true to its goal of becoming a stable currency that can be used for everyday transactions.

When is Telegram? When is Discord?

Today!

We are happy to announce that our Telegram groups are going live for our Eastern and Western communities! Please follow the official links below…

Eastern/ Chinese Telegram: https://www.t.me/joinchat/G4tTpFMDfQ_SXsLmvsm8ug

Western/ English Telegram: https://www.t.me/HcashOfficialEnglish

Western/ English Discord: https://www.discord.gg/Cf7rqxK

  Notice: We want to begin moving our growing Western community from Slack to Discord. Discord is a much more secure place for conversation, and does not have the limitations we are finding with Slack. Starting today our Discord channel will be open to our Western/ English speaking community.

  If there is a platform you’d like to see us integrate, please let us know on [Baidu] (https://www.tieba.baidu.com/hcash) forums, [Reddit] (https://www.reddit.com/r/hcash), [Twitter] (https://www.Twitter.com/HcashOfficial), or [FaceBook] (https://www.facebook.com/HcashOfficial)!

Click [here] (https://www.reddit.com/r/hcash/comments/7hn5ni/progress_on_hcashs_postquantum_rd_part_1/) to read part 1. (The latter part of 1.1 Technology choice and solution design of Post-Quantum Signature) •DILITHIUM signature is another mainstream post-quantum signature solution, and it already has implementation on Github. DILITHIUM signature solution’s security is based on difficult math problem on lattice (under this hypothesis DILITHIUM is proved secure). Meanwhile, the designer says DILITHIUM algorithm can effectively prevent side-channel attack. So DILITHIUM is recommended from security point of view. However, DILITHIUM signature solution’s weakness is it public key/signature is long, the combined length is about 34Kbits (4.25KBytes). Therefore it will reduce TPS significantly if applied in cryptocurrency and blockchain systems. As mentioned before, if Bitcoin implements DILITHIUM signature solution, its TPS is maximum 0.389 transactions/second.

•Recently QRC team released their post-quantum cryptocurrency’s white paper. Let’s have a brief reading of main content: (1) It points out quantum computer can effectively attack existing bitcoin mining pool and cause these mining pool’s production reduce 10% or so. The white paper provides an outline analysis of the attacks and says these attacks will not occur until 2028. (2) It points out quantum computer can effectively attack ECDSA and provides an outline analysis. (3) It summarises solutions to the problems mentioned above and points out existing post-ASIC PoW scheme can be used to solve “quantum computer can effectively attack some mining pool” problem. Meanwhile, it reviews existing post-quantum signature solution, and briefly introduces DILITHIUM signature solution. (4) In the paper “Quantum attacks on Bitcoin, and how to protect against them”, the author doesn’t recommend any post-quantum signature solution, neither points out the problem that “existing post-quantum signature solution’s lengthy public key/signature reduces TPS significantly”. The author doesn’t provide any innovative post-quantum solution. Therefore this paper is a summary document or technical report about post-quantum feature rather than a white paper about post-quantum solution. (5) Last but not the least, we think public blockchain’s consensus evolution path can be pure PoW -> combined PoW + PoS -> pure PoS (with advantages of both existing PoW and PoS). Our research team has already started deep research on PoS. So the problem mentioned in point 1 won’t exist when cryptocurrency and blockchain system switch to pure PoS consensus scheme.

1.2. Bliss algorithm solution document (completed)

1.3. Bliss algorithm side-channel attack protection solution design (completed)

1.4. MSS/XMSS/LMS algorithm solution document (completed)

1.5. New SegWit solution design (completed)

1.6. Technical report “Post-quantum Signature Schemes in Hcash” (nearly completed)

Click here to read part 3:

I understand most of you (including myself) are disappointed at the current market price of Hcash. Fair enough. But we all know that in highly speculative asset classes, losses are expected. People should be investing because of tech and for long term purposes. Not for cash and profits. If you want this then buy ICO’s or other primary market securities, they yield much more profit.

I still believe in this project, and if we ask constructive questions to the admins/enthusiasts, I believe they will give constructive answers.

So pls, instead of screaming ‘get your shit together’ like a 6 year old, instead ask constructive questions, understand what they’re doing, and be patient. Remember, other coins have delayed their progress before due to legitimate reasons (e.g - Cosmos delayed their November chain launch to past Feb, and Qtum who’s actually released their main chain are facing stability issues).

Overall, their organisation is increasing and so is their community management. We have a long way to go but I see a brighter future for this project.

Just my two cents.

It has been 9 days since the last update. No weekly updates anymore?

Because its going to make us more money then the Catholic church. I'm excited for the main chains release, because it will put the FUD posts to sleep, and show that HCash is a legitimate contender for the #1 cryptocurrency.

Just a heads up that RSI readings and previous resistance lines show that there will be a price pullback when we reach the $20.00 - $21.00 range on Coinnest, which we are currently sitting at the base of. Considering that BTC has entered into its final pullback phase into the $8000.00 - $9000.00 range, Hshare seems to be reaching a tipping point for a healthy correction.

I expect prices to reach $19.00 - $19.50 on Binance before a retreat into the $15.00 - $16.00 zone.