January 2017 (III)
Here are some of the latest news about Nxt over this past week in January:
NXT COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
- Ardor – Child Chain’s Bundlers Operation
- Ardor – New Leaked Images
- Nxt Kit – Software to Manage Your VPS Nodes
- Docker Image – Nxt 1.11.2
NXT IN THE MEDIA
PRICE EVOLUTION
Below, are more details about these news pieces:
NXT COMMUNITY
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Cold Storage – Offline Transaction Signing
Recently, there were some Nxt users who have shown some interest in offline transaction signing, which consists of operating a device that isn’t connected to the internet when using the Nxt wallet in order to achieve a higher level of security against viruses and trojans.
ScripterRon, a Nxt core developer and member of Jelurida, has shared some instructions to developers who are interested in using the Nxt API to achieve this objective:
…Take a look at https://github.com/ScripterRon/NxtCore to see how to sign a transaction. The Transaction() class creates a signed or unsigned transaction…
…I took a different approach for Ardor which might be simpler to understand. Take a look at https://github.com/ScripterRon/Nxt2API. Look at Nxt.broadcastTransaction() which takes the unsigned bytes returned by the server, signs the transaction, and then broadcasts the transaction…
Moreover, with the recent release of the NRS mobile app, it’s now easier for all Nxt users to sign the transactions while being offline.
Riker, also a Nxt core developer and member of Jelurida, commented on this when he introduced the latest NRS version:
One interesting use case for the mobile app is to use an old phone or tablet completely offline only for signing transactions. This way you never have to expose your passphrase to online computer. See https://nxtwiki.org/wiki/Offline_Transaction_Signing
…When the mobile device is offline, the device settings modal allows signing transactions and generating tokens to support cold storage functionality.
For those of you who are interested in this feature, we’d like to remind you that there is a step-by-step tutorial at the Nxt Wiki in order to achieve this.
Source and more information: https://nxtforum.org/general-discussion/how-to-sign-a-transaction-locally-and-then-send-it-to-a-server
https://nxtforum.org/index.php?topic=12990.msg227076#msg227076
https://nxtforum.org/nrs-releases/nrs-v1-11-1e
https://nxtwiki.org/wiki/Offline_Transaction_Signing
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BetterBets – Successful ShapeShift Integration
As we announced in previous newsletters, BetterBets.io, the platform that was created in the past by some members of the Janus team, has successfully implemented ShapeShift on its system, which allows anyone who is interested, from this moment on, to exchange any cryptocoin accepted by ShapeShift for NXT and be able to place bets on this platform.
Bjorn_bb has been the one in charge to make this announcement on Janus’ channel on Slack, and has shared an image with us to show the results:
More information: https://nxter.org/nxt-news-december-2016-iii-the-future-belongs-to-those-who-believe-in-the-beauty-of-their-dreams/#BetterBets
https://nxter.org/nxt-news-january-2017-i-every-beginning-is-cheerful/#Janus
https://nxtchat.slack.com/archives/janusproject Link to join Nxtchat on Slack
DEVELOPMENT
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Ardor – Child Chain Bundler Operation
Damelon, of the Nxt Foundation, has shared some details about the future ways child chains on Ardor will operate, as well as information of the bundlers that will bundle these chains with the Ardor main chain. Anyone who meets the requirements can be a bundler. The child chain issuer and the bundler don’t have to be the same person.
Damelon says:
– Block submission is paid for in Ardor on the main chain. If you want your transaction to be validated, they will need to be sent to a bundler who will then offer them to the main chain…
– Payment to the bundler is in the child chain token. Bundlers will exchange child chain tokens to Ardor. That’s where their economic incentive is…
– …But a child chain without a bundler cannot exist. It needs a bundler for transactions to get into the main chain…To start a complete child chain, you need a bundler…
– Bundlers handle two tokens. Users on a child chain will only need one.
– If the business model is correct, though, you can bet you can find a bundler who would see value in bundling it.
– Here are multiple hierarchical tokens: Top token is Ardor, then come the child chain main tokens. One each child chain, you also can have tokens specific to that child chain, like MS currencies which are tied to the specific child chain. Assets are global on the Ardor system and can be traded across chains…
– Ardor does the forging, the child chains do the pooling of transactions. Bundlers pool the transaction and then submit them to a block, but in order to be included in the ledger, you will need the main chain.
ScripterRon, Nxt Core Developer, has also given us an example of the operational details of a bundler:
The child chain fees are determined by the bundlers for that chain. For example, an IGNIS bundler could accept transactions with a fee rate of 0.01 IGNIS. That means a transaction which costs 1 ARDR will cost 0.01 IGNIS. So a transaction costing 40 ARDR would cost you 0.4 IGNIS and the bundler would pay 40 ARDR. Obviously, the bundler wants to also be a forger or have some way to recover the 40 ARDR cost…
Source and more information: https://nxtchat.slack.com/archives/general/p1483904127002759
https://nxtforum.org/index.php?topic=13176.msg229127#msg229127
https://nxt.org/nxt-2-0-overview/
https://nxter.org/ardor-blockchain/
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Ardor – New Leaked Images
Damelon, of the Nxt Foundation, has again shared some previews with us regarding the Ardor platform, of which its testnet is expected to be launched during this first quarter of 2017. This time, Bas has showed us a screenshot of the Coin Exchange, which allows us to exchange tokens in one child chain against tokens in another child chain, or against Ardor. Here it is:
A preview of the dialog window for bundlers has also been shared. You can find more information in this same newsletter:
If you want to keep up with all the previews published about Ardor, you can check this summary by wolffang, a Nxt community member, at: https://nxtforum.org/general-discussion/summary-of-ardor-platform-teasers/
Source: https://nxtforum.org/general-discussion/(ardor)-coin-exchange-and-bundlers’-screenies/
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Nxt Kit – Software to Manage Your VPS Nodes
User EmoneyRu has announced an update to his useful application to manage Nxt nodes on VPS servers.
EmoneyRu says:
With the latest commit, I’ve migrated to ‘chain-original-conf.ZIP’. It means that from now we can use snapshots from peerexplorer.com (or, of course, we can pack the similar archive).
Usage block was updated correspondingly.
This open source software, is an easy way to deploy or update Nxt on any of your VPS or Dedicated Servers that run Linux (Redhat, Debian, Ubuntu, etc). Among its features include easy Hallmarked nodes deployment (it changes its config to make the node public), malfunction detection, and automatic client restart (when needed). Moreover, it lets you download the blockchain straight from peerexplorer.com, thus speeding up this part of the set up process of your node.
For more details about installation and usage, you can read the readme file included with the application. If you are planning to make a donation to the developers of this application, here is their Nxt account: NXT-VPP6-RFBG-WMAH-54SDX
Source and more information: https://nxtforum.org/index.php?topic=306.msg229089#msg229089
https://github.com/nxt-ext/nxt-kit
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Docker Image – Nxt 1.11.2
User chevdor has uploaded the latest NRS in a Docker open source container with version version 1.11.2
Docker is a tool that can package an application and its dependencies in a virtual container that can run on any Linux server. This helps enable flexibility and portability regarding where the application can run, whether on-premises, a public cloud, a private cloud, bare metal, etc.
As we mentioned in previous newsletters, running NRS in a Docker container can be even easier than running it “the normal way”. It’s especially useful when running Nxt on a VPS: No java required, no download, no specific configuration… In addition to this, in spite of being a type of “virtual machine”, it does not decrease performance.
Source: https://nxtforum.org/general-discussion/nxt-in-a-docker-container
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docker_(software) y https://www.docker.com
NXT IN THE MEDIA
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InfoMarket Daily- Does Blockchain Really Matter?
InforMarket Daily wrote a piece about the first Moldovan Blockchain Laboratory, which we already announced in a previous newsletter, organized by Drachmae, instigator, among other initiatives, of Nautilus Coin, which uses the Nxt Monetary System.
The article states:
The… Moldova’s first Blockchain Laboratory… will study the possible benefits and use cases of the technology, and will afford opportunities to students and non students for internships where they will gain knowledge and work experience in this exciting new field….
Lee Gibson Grant, of Drachmae, says:
With… our partnership and Officially Moldova’s First Blockchain Lab “Drachmae Project Lab 2.0” hosted at ASEM, Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova…Hopefully EvilDave can attend 23rd to 24th…
The panel discussion: “Innovative and Creative Economies: how Blockchain creates microeconomics start-ups”
What has not been announced publicly but the First Three projects in the Lab by Three different companies, are based on NXT:
- Land Registry
- Digital Identity Tools
- E-voting
Source and more information: https://nxtchat.slack.com/archives/general/p1484670854003735
http://infomarket.md/en/infomarket/Does_Blockchain_Really_Matter_Moldovas_First_Blockchain_Laboratory_Drachmae_Project_Lab_20
https://techannouncer.com/drachmae-project-laboratory-2-0-partnership-it4ba-innovative-incubator-asem-university-chisinau-moldova/
PRICE EVOLUTION
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Weekly NXT/ARDR Price Evolution
The following graphic shows the NXT / Bitcoin exchange price at Poloniex over this past week:
The following graphic shows the ARDR / Bitcoin exchange price at Poloniex over this past week:
Del mismo modo, también se han publicado una imagen del cuadro de diálogo del funcionamiento de los Bundlers o Conectores, acerca de los cuales puedes encontrar más detalles en 
