An OPEN approach to payments

For a whole lot of reasons, the internet of now is very different from that of the past. Smartphones, high-end laptops and tablets have now replaced the large and clunky computers that used dial-ups. Spotify, Soundcloud and Apple Music — apps that download and play tracks from any location with internet connection — have taken over from CDs and Cassette tapes.

In the coming years, a lot of industries — including banking, supply chain management and agriculture — will use blockchain technology to enhance their performances. A lot of people will want to know what the future holds for blockchain technology. Since the establishment of bitcoin in 2009, the blockchain industry has grown from strength to strength.

Problems with cross-chain communication

Fabric Ventures

The biggest problem crypto faces in terms of achieving greater adoption is the problem of connectivity. In 2017, there were a staggering 435 successful ICO’s that raised $5.6 billion. Many of these new projects had to create a whole new ecosystem with its own technology, dapps, and even its own native currency. Existing blockchains usually exist in isolation and do not communicate with each other. Switching and transferring assets between different chains is hard, if possible at all. Such lack of interoperability is a big impediment to the mass adoption of the technology.

OPEN is the cross-chain payment solution

In the same way the old internet rose to prominence, there are a lot of factors that will improve blockchain’s functionality in the future. An instance of this is the creation of cross-chain technology that allows the communication and transaction between various blockchains. Several companies and platforms are making significant progress in this area, but the one that stands out among the rest is OPEN.

With the help of OPEN, applications will be able to easily integrate and accept cryptocurrencies as payments. OPEN allows developers to plug and play blockchain technology automatically on their apps without the need to completely change their already established backend processes.

OPEN assures that its users can have access to a cross-chain platform that will enable regular apps to accept most cryptocurrencies as payment. Through OPEN’s Scaffold system, once a payment has been authenticated, the smart contract will instantly transfer the funds to the developer’s wallet. This gives the developer instant liquidity while also ensuring that the volatile nature of cryptocurrency doesn’t affect the payment. This also benefits users in that they can use the payment system they are most comfortable with.

Cross-chain payment: OPEN vs the Others

There have been many attempts at cross-chain communication and interoperability but none have come close to the success and breadth of options that OPEN can offer.

Lisk was one of the first projects to introduce sidechains. A sidechain is a separate blockchain that is attached to its parent blockchain that allow tokens and other digital assets from one blockchain to be securely used in a separate blockchain and then be moved back to the original blockchain if needed. However, the concepts and technology associated with Lisk are now far too old for the current needs of developers.

Nano, formerly known as Raiblocks, is a newer project and uses a data structure called DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph). Unlike blockchain, individual DAG transactions are linked to each other directly, rather than being grouped together and processed in blocks. This is great for scaling but offers little for cross-chain payments and interoperability.

Shapeshift supports exchanging between multiple coins and cryptocurrencies. Shapeshift is a good service that allows a fast and easy way to transfer between different cryptocurrencies but its scope is very narrow. It is essentially limited to being an exchange. OPEN offers all that as well as providing developers many other options as well.

There are several platforms looking to solve cross-chain problems, but not all of them are as innovative as OPEN. With its ease of use and great technological features, OPEN is placing itself at the forefront of cross-chain payment solution leaders.

Christian Ng is an entrepreneur and investor with experience in cryptocurrency and global financial markets. He enjoys identifying opportunities and getting involved with blockchain projects to bring them to scale and profitability. Follow him on twitter https://twitter.com/kfchristianng