Waves is a platform which bills itself as “Blockchain for the people” and is designed to let users store, trade, manage, and issue their own digital assets in a secure and simple manner. The platform provides benefits to investors, traders, developers, and organizations in general, each of which receive advantages in different ways.

The Waves Platform was founded in 2016, by Sasha Ivanov, with the mission of reinventing entrepreneurship across the world via a shared infrastructure. This infrastructure offers tools that are highly functional and simple to use and that allow every person and organization access to the blockchain.

For developers who use Waves, the platform delivers high network throughput capacity along with low transaction fees and low latency. Wave allows traders to store their assets securely in their local lite client. At the same time, they can trade their assets safely and quickly using the decentralized exchange that is built into the platform.

Organizations are able to issue their own blockchain tokens to help jumpstart their business, whether that is via voting, loyalty programs, crowdfunding, or something else.An example of this is seen with the recent release of the “Whopper Coin”, a Cryptocurrency issued by Burgerking in Russia which uses the Waves platform.

Another important part of Waves is their own Decentralized Exchange ( DEX ) which allows users to trade their tokens — including WAVES, BTC and any other assets issued on the Waves platform — completely trustlessly and without having to move their funds to a centralized exchange.

What Are the Waves Client And Wallet?

The Waves Client is an extension for your Google Chrome browser or you can simply visit WavesWallet.io, it acts as the decentralized exchange that lets you release tokens and also stores your Waves tokens.

A user’s wallet is a blockchain address that only that person has access to and control of, ensuring no one else can access these cryptocurrency assets. This wallet can include multiple cryptocurrencies and delivers the strong security of the Waves platform.

You can lease Waves to increase your assets and transfer funds between people.By leasing your waves balance to one of many waves leasing nodes, you can effectively generate an income which is made up of more Waves tokens and Miner rewards. We have put together a complete guide to leasing Waves located here.

Waves Decentralized Exchange

The developers behind Waves created it as a decentralized exchange, sometimes abbreviated as DEX, due to the benefits of this type of exchange. A DEX does not pose a limit on any withdrawals. When you buy cryptocurrency, it appears in your wallet instantly. There is also no high commission fee; the exchange only charges a very small fixed commission on each order. Safety isn’t a concern with a DEX like Waves, either, as the funds are stored in your wallet instead of in the exchange. There is also no risk of losing money as in a centralized exchange, but you still get a high channel capacity and centralized matcher to maximize the speed of deals.

There is a new design for the Waves DEX, created by Etherdesign, which should be released very soon, this will bring a much needed user interface improvement to the DEX and should greatly help the uptake in usage of the platform and should therefore help the price of Waves increase.

Issuing your own Token

As mentioned earlier, the Waves platform allows business to issue their own tokens for whatever need they have. By releasing tokens, a business is able to create an internal digital currency via the blockchain. This way, it can use the blockchain to pay for the services and goods within projects or even crowdfunding. Companies can get creative with tokens, using them for discounts, loyalty programs, or even voting. To date, 4,635 tokens have already been released on Waves, showcasing the popularity and usefulness of this feature.

Issuing your own token on Waves couldn’t be simpler, in the Wave client there is a tab for “Token Creation” where you can give your token a name and desciption, choose the total token and decimals and then create it. It costs just 1 Waves to do so and then your token can be traded on the DEX. You also have the option for a larger fee to “Airdrop” an amount of your token to every holder of Waves so it will show up in their wallets.

What Should Developers Know About Waves?

Developers interested in using Waves will appreciate knowing that its blockchain relies on a proof-of-stake algorithm. This means that participants are rewarded based on the commission from transactions. The new proof-of-stake consensus algorithm increases the network bandwidth so hundreds of transactions can occur each second without any lag.

Transactions on Waves are done natively, so you do not need to create smart contracts in order to release tokens or to make deals using the decentralized exchange. Developers will also appreciate the low transaction fees, which are fixed. Transferring funds only incurs a minimum fee of 0.001 WAVES, which is also the fixed fee for any market orders. It costs 1 WAVES to release tokens, but users don’t have to pay anything to use their own tokens.

The API is the same as the open source client, making it simple for developers to use. Because of this, developers are able to explore the client and create client applications themselves.

What About Using a Waves Node?

Developers can also create their own Waves Node, which lets them build high-load and secure applications on it. Running your own Waves Node is simple, both to install and to run. With a Waves Node, you are able to mine WAVES, as well as MRTs (the Miners Reward Tokens). You can also be a leasing pool for aggregate mining power of other users.

Blockchain nodes validate every single operation within the decentralized exchange for security. Because the DEX is within every node and open source, you can run your own DEX instance. Waves Nodes also have an order matcher that powers the decentralized exchange. This way, token trades that don’t require any transferring of tokens between a blockchain account and a separate exchange can also take place.

Waves Partnerships

As mentioned previously, Waves partnered with Burger King in Russia to create the “Whopper Coin” which acts as a loyalty reward for their customers. 1 Billion Whopper Coins were issued and customers will receive one Whoppercoin for every ruble spent ($1 is 59 RUB). They can redeem one Whopper burger with 1,700 Whoppercoins, which are stored in a digital wallet.

Other notable partnerships are with GPB Digital, the digital arm of Gazprombank, Russia’s third largest bank:

aimed at providing clients with comprehensive initial coin offering (ICO) services and customised blockchain solutions — specifically tailored for the Russian metals and mining sector.

Waves have also partnered with Deloitte:

aimed at providing clients with comprehensive initial coin offering (ICO) services and customized blockchain solutions tailored for specific business tasks.

As you can see, even though Waves is in it’s infancy, it is starting to forge some strong partnerships with large global corporations.

How to Buy Waves

WAVES, the currency of the Waves Platform, are easy to get. You can find them via the Waves decentralized exchange, a number of centralized exchanges, or even via the Waves client with a credit card or paid partnership. Because of this, you can use a variety of cryptocurrencies and FIAT currencies to buy waves.

The easiest way to purchase it at the moment is by buying either Bitcoin or Ethereum and then swapping these for it on an exchange.

In this section we will show you how you can purchase Waves with a Credit or Debit card using the Coinbase website and then swapping it for Waves at Changelly.

Register at Coinbase

For first time buyers of crypto currency, we recommend that you use Coinbase to make your first purchase – its easy to use, fully regulated by the US government so you know it is one of the safest and most reputable places to purchase cryptocurrency from. Coinbase offers the ability to purchase Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum with a credit or debit card or by sending a bank transfer. The fees are higher for cards but you will receive your currency instantly.

You will have to carry out some identity verification when signing up as they have to adhere to strict financial guidelines. Make sure you use our link to signup you will be credited with $10 in free bitcoin when you make your first purchase of $100.

To get started, click the “Sign up” button where you will be taken to a registration form where you will need to enter your name, email and choose a password.

Coinbase will then send you a link via email to verify your email account, once you click the link in the email you will be taken to a verification page. You must then add your phone number and upload a photo of your ID – this can be a passport, driving license etc. You also have to add your payment details, so you can add your bank account or a debit or credit card as required – after a short period your account will then be verified and you can then make your first purchase.

Purchase Ethereum or Bitcoin

For this guide, we will be purchasing Ethereum to swap for our target cryptocurrency. The reason for this is that it has far cheaper fees than bitcoin for sending and the transaction also happens a lot faster. So in Coinbase, visit the “Buy / Sell” tab at the top, select “Ethereum”, choose your payment method and enter the amount you wish to purchase – you can either enter a US Dollar amount or a number of Ether.

You will then be asked to confirm your transaction, if paying with a card you might have to complete a verification with your card provider. Once that’s complete, your Ethererum will be added to your account.

Using Changelly

The next stage, is to use the Changelly website to swap your Ether for Waves. Use this link and enter how many Eth you will like to convert and it will show you how many Waves you will receive in return, if you are happy then go ahead and click the green “Exchange” Button.

On the next screen you will be prompted to register an account which you can do so by using a social media account or entering your email address.

Once that’s done, you will be taken to a page showing the transaction details – check it over and make sure the amounts are correct. Once you are happy click the green “Next” button.

On the next screen, you will be prompted for your Waves wallet address where you will receive the coins. Paste this into the box and click the green “Next” button.

You will then be shown a final confirmation screen, again, make sure all details are correct before proceeding.

Changelly will then provide you will an address to which you mush send your Ether, so copy the address that they give you and then head back to your coinbase account.

Send Your Ethereum or Bitcoin

In Coinbase, click the “Accounts” and Select your Ethereum Wallet on the left and then click “Send”.

Enter the address that Changelly gave you before.

Click “Continue” and then you may have to confirm the transaction with your email or phone if you have 2 factor authentication enabled.

The transaction will now be sent over the Ethereum network and will take a short while to arrive – you can check in your Changelly account where it will notifiy you of the following steps :

Waiting for payment Exchanging Sending to your wallet

Once it’s complete a confirmation message will appear on the screen saying “Transaction Complete”. You can now check your Waves Wallet where you can confirm you now own your Waves.

Conclusion

As Waves is still relatively young, there are already numerous plans to expand it in the future with a range of features. There will be a new UX and UI, along with expanded statistics on the tokens that are released. Waves will add a blockchain messenger for easier communication. There will eventually be smart contracts and multi-signatures for security. The developers will also create new gateways for both cryptocurrencies and FIAT currencies.

Waves is still very much in it’s infancy with a lot of new features to come, at it’s current price of around $4 per Wave ( as of 19 September 2017 ) it looks to be a good investment for the future. With the new DEX UI and Mobile DEX clients launched, more partnerships to come and Smart Contracts which would put it in competition with other platforms like Ethereum and NEO, it should see a substantial rise in value over the next 12 months.