SmartCash (SMART) is a Proof-of-Work coin with a second-layer masternode network. It was launched in July 2017. The goal of the SmartCash project is a cryptocurrency focused on instant payments, user/merchant adoption, and a decentralized governance structure.

SmartCash is described as a community governed, growth-focused cryptocurrency and decentralized economy.

5 billion SMART will ever exist, this is a hard supply cap. This will be reached in 2144.

SmartCash uses the Keccak hashing algorithm. The block time is 55 seconds. The block size is currently 4mb but the blockchain will be changed to use adaptive blocks.

In December 2018, Smart Cash announced that they would launch an airdrop for a different coin they developed, Bitcoin Confidential (BC). SmartCash holders were eligible for 10 BC for each SMART that they held. The airdrop snapshot took place on December 15th, 2018. SmartCash treasury addresses were excluded from the airdrop.

SMART is available on exchanges like Exmo, Stex, CoinBene, and Switchain.

SmartCash releases brief weekly updates on their website.

Let’s learn more about SmartCash.

Block Rewards

SmartCash does not have a halving event like some PoW blockchains, Bitcoin and Litecoin for example. Instead, the block reward is reduced gradually. Each new block gives a slightly smaller reward than the previous block. So, less and less SMART is created in each mined block. This gradual decrease produces a smooth emission curve.

The equation used can be seen below.

Block rewards are distributed differently than most traditional PoW blockchains. Miners get 100% of the block reward on chains like BTC, LTC, BCH, etc.

The SmartCash allocates 5% of the block reward to miners. The rest is distributed to a variety of different places. The purpose of this distribution is to use the block reward to fund development, merchant adoption, and outreach.

It’s supposed to encourage grassroots growth and benefit the community as a whole, rather than the miners reaping all of the block reward.

As mentioned above, miners get 5% of the block reward. Let’s see where the rest goes.

46% goes to the SmartHive’s Project Treasury. This is used to fund the SmartHive’s goals and community projects.

24% goes to Hive Structuring Teams (HSTs). Each of the 6 teams gets 4% each. These teams are responsible for things like outreach, support, and development.

15% is used for SmartRewards

10% is distributed to SmartNodes.

Some of these concepts might be foreign to people interested in SmartCash. These topics will be explored below.

Hive Structuring Teams (HST)

The SmartCash philosophy is opposed to a “core team”. SmartCash believes that core teams can be inefficient and are prone to corruption.

Instead, SmartCash aims to distribute the workload across multiple Hive Teams. They believe that this system will be more effective.

Hive Structuring Teams focus on outreach, support, and development. Each Hive Team is meant to operate autonomously. This lack of central command is to ensure that SmartCash is a truly decentralized ecosystem.

Hive Structuring Teams are an essential component of the SmartHive. There are currently 6 different HSTs.

The Outreach team focuses on growth, attracting new users, and community building. There are seven members. The Web Hive team is responsible for building web applications. The team is made up of 5 members. The Development team is “Responsible for building SmartCash and supporting applications.” The Outreach Two team focuses on outreach in South America. Support & Web is responsible for on-boarding & generalized SmartCash support Quality Assurance makes sure that developments meet quality criteria.

SmartRewards

SmartRewards is a mechanism to stabilize the price and reward SmartCash holders.

It encourages long-term holding while allowing users to earn passive income for doing so. This is essentially a way for users to stake SmartCash. There are three ways to earn passive income from SmartCash: SmartRewards, SmartMining, and SmartNodes. SmartNodes keep track of which addresses are eligible for SmartRewards.

To be eligible for SmartRewards, you have to meet a few requirements.

You need to have an address with at least 1000 SMART. This isn’t a lot of money. 1000 SMART is currently worth $2.27 USD.

You cannot have any outgoing transactions from the address to remain eligible.

There are a few things to keep in mind. Most exchanges do not issue SmartRewards. You should have custody of your private keys if you want to guarantee a payout. You also need to have 1000 SMART in your wallet before the snapshot takes place.

The SmartRewards snapshot is every 47500 blocks (about every 30 days). It typically falls around the 25th of each month. To be eligible for SmartRewards, you need to have at least 1000 SMART in an address before this happens.

There are currently 20,233 addresses eligible for SmartRewards.

How Much Can You Earn From SmartRewards?

SmartRewards currently pays 0.2% monthly, or 2.43% yearly if compounded. This is subject to change because it depends on the number of eligible addresses.

15% of the block reward is set aside and distributed each month. They are split between all eligible addresses in proportion to their balance. As of now, 20,414 addresses are eligible for smart rewards. Check the SmartRewards calculator to see updated an updated ROI.

Keep in mind that SmartRewards will be upgraded. When this happens, holders will be required to vote on SmartHive proposals to be eligible for payouts. The idea is to increase rewards and to keep inactive addresses from receiving payments.

SmartNodes (SmartCash MasterNode)

SmartNodes enable a variety of services/features. InstantPay, SmartRewards, Electrum Servers, and the SmartCard SDK are all powered by SmartNodes.

Running a SmartNode is a way to earn passive income within the SmartCash ecosystem.

The process is more involved than simply receiving SmartRewards. You need the client wallet to setup your Masternode. You can use Electrum or the Node Client.

You also need to host the SmartNode somewhere. This can be done using a VPS or it can be hosted locally (for the technically inclined).

SmartNodes can also be hosted with masternode hosting service. Some even allow you to send only a portion of the collateral needed (shared hosting). Remember, forfeiting custody of your coins comes with risk. No service is officially recommended by SmartCash.

The amount of SMART needed to run a SmartNode is higher than receiving SmartRewards. 100,000 SMART is required to host a SmartNode, currently $226.80. SmartNode addresses are not eligible for SmartRewards.

There was a SmartCash core upgrade that increased the collateral requirement from 10,000 to 100,000. This happened in February 2019. There was a two-week grace period after the upgrade. SmartNodes had to increase their collateral, or they stopped receiving rewards.

The motive was to increase the quality of the servers on the SmartNode network. It was claimed that the quality of nodes is more important than the quantity.

There are currently 2416 SmartNodes with 1900 of them being enabled.

Don’t forget to look at the SmartNode page for help setting up

How much can You earn from SmartNodes?

The current ROI based in SMART is 13.66%. The amount you earn from hosting a SmartNode depends on the number of active nodes.Check an up-to-date ROI with this calculator.

Some changes are coming to SmartNode. The bottom of this article explains things to come.

SmartHive

This automated funding mechanism is an essential part of the SmartCash governance structure.

SmartHive is described as the “lifeblood” of the SmartCash project. Almost half of the block reward goes to the SmartHive treasury.

Funds from the Treasury are spent on proposals submitted and voted on by the SmartCash community. This can fund outreach, development, branding, etc. Anyone can submit a proposal for 100 SMART ($0.23).

The voting process is called “SmartVoting”. Each SMART you have equals one vote. You don’t have to spend your coins to cast your vote. To clarify, your SMART balance is equal to your voting power, but it’s free to vote.

A submitted proposal undergoes a two-week voting period. If you vote, you must wait until the voting period ends before you have an outgoing transaction. Sending coins during this time will render your votes invalid.

There are currently no proposals up for voting.

The current Treasury balance is over 149 million SMART

Other Features and Characteristics

SmartCash attempts to achieve its goals of growth and community governance with a few other different mechanisms. Let’s dive into some examples.

SmartMining

SMART uses the Keccak mining algorithm, also known as SHA-3. It allows the community to mine SMART with GPUs. It isn’t ASIC resistant but ASICs haven’t been created for Keccak yet. The SmartCash team claims that “it’s probably safe to assume no ASICs will be created for quite some time.” The SmartCash community refers to this as “SmartMining”.

They believe that this form of mining will allow normal users to wield hashing power, not just a small group of massive mining pools.

SmartCash uses BRNDF for difficulty management.

SmartCard and SmartPay

SmartCard allows you to store SMART on a physical card. You can use it to buy products/services from merchants that have SmartPay. This is part of the drive to create an alternative global payment system and SmartCash adoption. You can load your card via mobile application.

SmartPay is a point of sale application for businesses to accept SMART. Registering your business is relatively simple. SmartPay doesn’t charge any fees. This app also allows you to take advantage of InstantPay.

Over 10,000 SmartCard transactions have occurred. Check out the locations accepting SMART.

InstantPay

It allows merchants to accept SMART without the risk of chargeback or double-spending. The second-layer SmartNode network enables these features.

SmartCash claims it’s even faster than Visa/Mastercard. Transactions are locked in about a second.

Misc

Wallets – There are a variety of SmartCash wallet options for managing your funds. The Trezor hardware wallet is compatible with SMART.

Send SMART Via SMS or email

SmartCash ATMs

SmartBand – This is a partnership between Smartcash, Stratum, and ATAR. Over 85% of point-of-sale machines in Brazil accept SmartCash as a result of the ATAR Band.

Let’s look at the future of SmartCash.

What’s Next

Here are some of the things on the roadmap.

Starting SmartNodes from the web wallet, rather than installing the SmartNode client.

On-Chain SmartVoting

Cold Voting Keys

Atomic Swaps

Required voting for SmartRewards eligibility

SuperNodes

About Switchain

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