Emercoin, a leading digital currency and blockchain platform, has been making significant strides in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space lately. From partnership with Microsoft’s Azure Blockchain-As-A-Service, to recent announcement about plans of opening a blockchain R&D lab and its own fully fledged development platform: Blockchain Engine.



Emercoin (EMC) is a decentralized, open-source cryptocurrency created in late 2013 and based on technologies from Bitcoin, Namecoin and Peercoin. It utilizes both Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake mining. According to latest statistics from Coinmarketcap.com, Emercoin’s market cap is currently a little over $7.7 million, which places it at the 16th spot (at the time of writing).



In an email response to EconoTimes, Jason Cassidy, Chief Communications Officer at Emercoin, told us more about EmerLabs, Blockchain Engine and Emer’s future plans. He also shared his views on blockchain revolution, potential of Ethereum and more.



1. Emercoin is going to launch its own blockchain development platform. How long has the team worked on the development? Where did you face the most difficulties?



JC: The idea behind the Blockchain Engine development platform has been around for some time. We started taking a serious look at it last year once we decided the time had come to bring in community development to the Emer blockchain. The amount of innovation that can be realized on our platform is tremendous and we are very excited about what developers are going to be able to create via the Blockchain Engine.



2. Emer Blockchain Engine aims to remove barriers of entry into blockchain space. Can you elaborate? What other factors were considered while developing the platform?



JC: There is a lot of talent out there right now looking for ways to enter into the blockchain industry. Given that Emer is looking to foster community development on Emer blockchain, creating an easy to use tool to allow for the creation of apps and services was the next logical step. The Blockchain Engine provides just that tool to the public now and we encourage developers to download, install and start harnessing the power of the Emer blockchain today. The easier it becomes to take part in technological revolution that is blockchain, the better it is for the entire industry. This is Emer's way of taking that next step.



3. Emercoin recently announced that it has started the process of launching blockchain R&D lab. Would you like to tell us about the progress made so far?



JC: EmerLabs is a major endeavor in that it will be synergizing all of our current technologies and projects with many new, cutting edge projects starting later this year. Several years in the making, the scope of EmerLabs is multi-faceted and thus it takes a little longer than would be the process of a basic incorporation. We are progressing nicely as we bring the proper people together to begin Emer's new projects while exploring ways to enhance the adoption and utility of our current suite of blockchain services.



4. Within a short span, Ethereum has taken the second slot in terms of market cap. Do you see it beating bitcoin and why?



JC: Personally, I do not think any coin, token or other type of blockchain offering will usurp Bitcoin. It has the first mover advantage and for all of its well publicized shortcomings, Bitcoin has proven to be highly resilient and adaptive. Ethereum is a smart contract based platform that allows for many new and useful applications revolving around these contracts locked into the Ethereum blockchain. A tremendous amount of computational resources is going to be required to facilitate a turning complete system that executes long-running scripts. There is potential there from the technology side, and from the marketing side I would give them an A+.



Ethereum is unproven currently so while it has a lot of hype around it and some interesting applications being developed on top of it, the jury is still out. That being said, if any alternative blockchain has a shot at holding that coveted #2 position, it is Ethereum.



5. There are over 600 cryptocurrencies in the market today. How do you see the market evolve into? (Will there be a central exchange, or auditing authority to vouch for different currencies?) How would you describe the cryptocurrency ecosystem in size and volume in the next 5 years?



JC: The amount of blockchains will continue to grow year over year for a considerable amount of time. Expect no less than an order of magnitude increase in the number of blockchains five years from now. The global consciousness for blockchain is still in its infancy with many industries yet to take a serious look at it. There needs to be some time allowed for integration of technologies into legacy systems while increasing innovation in new areas that are ripe for disruption. The education and accompanying adoption will come, this is simply too powerful an idea that brings positivity to many key areas of human life.



You will see all ranges of control and transparency in blockchains coming soon. Central banks will create their own blockchains as will governments, universities and all manner of industries. Some will choose to adopt an existing blockchain while others will form their own or join a consortium blockchain. The level of innovation is just beginning and we must be prepared for new concepts coming forth that will challenge our current understanding of what a decentralized World should look like.



6. What other announcements can we expect from you this year?



JC: Emer has some major partnerships forming as well as some industry defining projects in the area of IoT. Once EmerLabs launches later this year, expect to see some of these projects officially take form which will open up blockchain technology to many untapped markets and industries.



We thank Jason for giving us his precious time and sharing details about Emer’s upcoming ventures.