Quark is a decentralized digital currency based on an open-source peer-to-peer internet protocol which allows instant, irreversible, pseudo-anonymous transactions using a public ledger system secured by a proof-of-work system using advanced cryptography.
How it works?
Quark is a digital currency, a protocol, and a software that enables
When someone on the network makes a transaction (sends money to a quark address) it is broadcast throughout to everyone on the network, who then update their ledgers to indicate the change (address x now has this balance)
- Instant transactions across the globe
- Sending payments directly to another peer without relying on third-party systems like banks or money transfer services
- Low or zero processing fees
Quark uses the Proof of Work system which is one of the defining characteristics it has as a cryptocurrency. This means that Quark network is protected by a process called mining by adding transaction records to Quark's public ledger of past transactions. Miners independently try to solve the next block, and once they do that they transmit the solution throughout the network. Now, the rest of the network is being told that the solution for the next block is X, but with Quark, they don’t have to redo all of the work that the miner solved – they just need to perform a single check that proves the miner completed the work, and the block it found is in fact legitimate.
With Quark everyone can become a miner directly by using the core wallet(use this guide) or by using other mining software. Mining is intentionally designed to be resource-intensive and difficult so that the number of blocks found each day by miners remains steady. Each block that a miner solves must contain a proof of work to be considered valid by the rest of the network.
So what are Quark advantages ? Quark is based on the Bitcoin software which was introduced in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. However it offers several improvements which makes Quark a more reliable digital currency for day-to-day transactional use:
- Fast transaction confirmation in average of only 30 seconds vs Bitcoin 10 minutes.
- The miner's reward for solving a block will never drop below 1 quark and along with the fast solving time of each block, it creates a medium of incentivizing the miners without requiring a fee for transmitting transactions, meaning that the majority of Quark transactions are free and don't cost anything to transmit, unlike Bitcoin in which if you send a transaction without a fee you will have to wait more than 10 hours for a miner to accept your transaction.
- Quark was first to implement the 9 rounds of cryptographic hashing algorithms from 6 hashing functions (blake, bmw, grøstl, JH, keccak,skein) with 3 rounds applying a random hashing function which makes Quark a unique & secure protocol vs Bitcoin single hash function(SHA-256);
Quark multiple hashing algorithms, aside from keeping the blockchain safe against brute-force attacks which might be possible in the future with Quantum computers, also helps preventing specialized mining hardware from easily obtaining an advantage over CPU miners. Bitcoin mining is currently done in a majority by dedicated mining companies, defeating the purpose of 1 vote per CPU that was originally envisioned by Bitcoin's creator. Using Quark everyone will have an relative equal power in the network.
- Quark offers protection against 51% attacks
A 51% attack is very large flaw in the design of digital currencies because hypothetically, if a single entity contributed the majority of the network’s mining hashrate they would have full control of the network and would be able to reverse transactions they send during the time they are in control(allowing double spend transactions). As a solution Quark has implemented an automatic checkpointing system which monitors and prevents this behaviour even when the network power (combined hashrate of all miners) is low.
- 98% of Quark supply has been distributed in the first 6 months since inception. This has created initially an unbalanced ratio between early and late miners, however this was intentional designed in order to create better distribution once the initial miners sold out their Quarks. Unlike Bitcoin which helds favouritism towards early adopters, Quark strategy of fast emission of coins allows late adopters to have a buying power similar with the early adopters due to the lack of market price influence from big mining consortium which had left a negative mark around Bitcoin.
- Quark has an fair inflationary model with only 0.42% annual inflation which was meant firstly to cover the lost coins though human error and hardware failure, and secondly so that the miners are continually rewarded for keeping the network protected. Bitcoin's limited supply of 21 million means that eventually the miners will only keep the Bitcoin network protected in exchange for high fees which will render the principle of sending value in a digital and cheap way, obsolete. Quark offers incentive for miners to keep the network healthy while their fees for processing transactions will be kept low or zero.
The inflationary model is also the most used economic system on the planet making Quark's adoption as a global currency far more likely than a deflationary currency like Bitcoin.
- Quark has some truly devoted members of community starting from its creator that maintains and constantly improves our Quark protocol, to other coders/developers that help Quark in ways others cannot, to simple supporters that help promote and educate regular people about Quark. In its relative small community Quark already has an healthy democratic environment in which wide ranges of opinion are being propagated but the decision always lies with the majority.
- Quark is an open source software therefore it can be copied and modified which had already happened with the release of multiple coins offering the quark-alike protocol, however Quark was the first to introduce the above protocol & economic features therefore even if its copied and a new coin enters the market with the same features, the network effect will keep Quark above other copies.
- Finally this 9th point is a reminder of Quark most important advantage: providing security by using 9 round of cryptographic hashes for solving the blocks. Bitcoin will be left defenceless if and when the SHA-256 hashing will be cracked. The attacker will be able to solve blocks on-spot before the network will get a chance to upgrade their hashing algorithm. Quark however will have plenty of time to escape the attack because the attacker will have to crack 6 different hashing functions on top of SHA-256.
As a new user, you can get started with Quark without understanding the technical details. Once you have installed a Quark wallet on your computer or mobile phone, it will generate your first Quark address and you can create more whenever you need one. You can disclose your addresses to your friends so that they can pay you or vice versa. In fact, this is pretty similar to how email works, except that Quark addresses should only be used once.
The block chain is a shared public ledger on which the Quark network relies. All confirmed transactions are included in the block chain. This way, Quark wallets can calculate their spendable balance and new transactions can be verified to be spending quarks that are actually owned by the spender.
To get yourself more accustomed with Quark read the following guides: http://www.quarktalk.cc/resources/categories/newbie-guides.5/
Welcome to Quark Community
Quark is an open source software used mainly as a digital currency that employs multiple cryptographic algorithms, which unlike fiat/national currencies provides the platform for a decentralised monetary system.
Quark was launched in 2013 with the belief that the control of money should not be in the hands of the few, but in the hands of the many. This forum tries to build on that ideology by distributing Quarks in the hands of those that are active in the community. By posting quality articles and contributing to general discussions you will earn Quarks.
Sign up Learn more about Quark