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Original author(s) | Meni Rosenfeld Yoni Assia |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Chromaway Coinprism |
Initial release | 2012 |
Written in | C++ |
Engine | Bitcoin (software) |
Operating system | Cross-platform |
Platform | CCP, Chromaway EPOBC, Colu’s Colored Coin Protocol |
License | Open-source licenses |
Website | www |
Colored Coins is an open-source protocol that allows users to represent and manipulate immutable digital resources on top of Bitcoin transactions. [1] They are a class of methods for representing and maintaining real-world assets on the Bitcoin blockchain, which may be used to establish asset ownership. Colored coins are bitcoins with a mark on them that specifies what they may be used for. [2] Colored coins are also considered the initial step toward NFTs built on top of the Bitcoin network. [2]
Although bitcoins are fungible on the protocol level, they can be marked to be distinguished from other bitcoins. These marked coins have specific features that correspond to physical assets like vehicles and stocks, and owners may use them to establish their ownership of physical assets. Colored coins aim to lower transaction costs and complexity so that an asset's owner may transfer ownership as quickly as a Bitcoin transaction. [3] [2]
Colored coins are commonly referred to as meta coins because this imaginative coloring is the addition of metadata. [4] This enables a portion of a digital representation of a physical item to be encoded into a Bitcoin address. The value of the colored coins is independent of the current prices of the bitcoin; instead, it is determined by the value of the underlying actual asset/service and the issuer's desire and capacity to redeem the colored coins in return for the equivalent actual asset or service. [5] [6]
Colored coins arose due to the necessity to generate new tokens and move assets on the Bitcoin network. These tokens can be used to represent any asset in the world, including equities, commodities, real estate, fiat currency, and even other cryptocurrencies. [7]
Yoni Assia, the CEO of eToro, was the first to suggest Colored coins in an article published on March 27, 2012. [8] [9] In the article titled bitcoin 2.X (aka Colored bitcoin), Assia claimed that the initial specifications that bitcoins transmitted using the "Genesis Transaction" protocol are recognizable, distinctive, and trackable on the ledger. The idea was growing, and on forums such as Bitcointalk, the concept of colored coins started to take form and gain traction. This culminated in Meni Rosenfeld releasing a whitepaper detailing the colored currencies on December 4, 2012. [10]
The next year, in 2013, Assia collaborated with Buterin and five others, Lior Hakim, and Meni Rosenfeld, Amos Meiri, Alex Mizrahi and Rotem Lev to write Color Coins — BitcoinX, which explored the potential possibilities of colored coins. [8] [11] [12]
In 2013, the New Scientist magazine first acknowledged Colored Coins where Meiri describes for the first time the actual issuance of a share or a gold bar on the blockchain. [11] In 2014, Colu was the first company to raise venture capital money to develop the Colored Coins protocol. [13] [14]
Colored coins originated as an afterthought by Bitcoin miners. The blockchain's data space had been utilized to encode numerous metadata values. This unexpected data caused processing issues, causing the network to slow down. The Bitcoin team fixed the problem by including a 40-byte area for storing data as a transaction, as well as an encrypted ledger of transactions and information about the coin's genesis. [15]
While bitcoin was developed to be a cryptocurrency, its scripting language makes it possible to associate metadata with individual transactions. By precisely tracing the origin of a particular bitcoin, it is possible to distinguish a group of bitcoins from the others, a process known as bitcoin coloring (a term that served as a basis to the name of the Colored Coins protocol). [16]
Through the oversight of an issuing agent or a public agreement, special properties can be associated with colored bitcoins, giving them value beyond the currency's value. One way of looking at this is from the abstraction that there are two distinct layers on top of bitcoin: the lower layer referring to the transaction network based on cryptographic technology and an upper layer that constitutes a distribution network of values encapsulated in the design of colored coins. [17]
Due to the fact that colored coins are implemented on top of the Bitcoin infrastructure, allow atomic transactions (exchanged for each other in a single transaction) and can be transferred without the involvement of a third party, they enable the decentralized exchange of items that would not be possible through traditional means. [10] [5]
To create colored coins, "colored" addresses must be created and stored in "colored" wallets controlled by color-aware clients such as Coinprism, Coloredcoins, through Colu, or CoinSpark. [5] The "coloring" process is an abstract idea that indicates an asset description, some general instructions symbol, and a unique hash associated with the Bitcoin addresses. [5]
In 2013, Flavien Charlon, the CEO of Coinprism, developed a Colored Coin Protocol that permitted the generation of colored currencies by employing specified settings in transaction inputs and outputs. This was Bitcoin's first working Colored Coin Protocol. This protocol, also known as the Open Assets Protocol, is open source and may be integrated into existing systems by anyone. [18]
On July 3, 2014, ChromaWay developed the Enhanced Padded-Order-Based Coloring protocol (EPOBC), which simplified the process of manufacturing colored coins for developers, and was one of the first to employ Bitcoin Script's new OP RETURN function. [19]
In January 2014, Colu created the ColoredCoins platforms and Colored Coins protocol allowing users to build digital assets on top of the Bitcoin blockchain using the Bitcoin 2.0 protocol. [18] In 2016, Colu announced integration to Lightning Network expanding its Bitcoin L2 capabilities. [20]
Colored coin functions by adding a 4th layer to the Bitcoin blockchain.
Before ERC token standards were created, the concept of using tokens to represent and monitor real-world items existed. Colored coins were the original notion for representing assets on the blockchain. [22] They are not widely used because the transaction structure required to represent colored coins relies on unspent transaction outputs, which Ethereum-based blockchain systems do not support. [17] The primary concept is to add an attribute (the color) to native transactions that specify the asset it symbolizes. For example, for the Bitcoin blockchain, each Satoshi (the lowest potential value of Bitcoin) might represent a separate item. This notion is mostly used to monitor ownership of tokens and, by extension, assets. There is promise in using colored coins as an effective way of tracing in production situations since the transactions can be merged or divided into new transactions and the color can be readily altered after each transaction. Finally, current tools, like as blockchain explorers, make it simple to view and analyze transactions. [23]
The nature of colored coins makes them the first non-fungible tokens to be created on the Bitcoin blockchain, albeit with limited features. Colored coins are transferrable in what is known as atomic transactions. Atomic transactions are transactions that permit the direct peer-to-peer exchange of one token for another in a single transaction. [24] In this way, colored coins allow traditional assets to be decentralized. [10]
Colored coin uses an open-source, decentralized peer-to-peer transaction protocol built on top of WEB 2.0. Despite being created to be a protocol for monetary transactions, one of the Bitcoin's advantages is a secure transaction protocol not controlled by a central authority. This is possible through the use of Blockchain, which maintains track of all Bitcoin transactions worldwide.
A transaction consists of:
The manipulation of colored coins can be performed through several algorithms, which create a set of rules to be applied to the inputs and outputs of Bitcoin transactions: [26]
Among these algorithms, the best known of them is the EPOBC. The EPOBC algorithm colors the coins by inserting a mark in the nSequence
field of the first input of the transaction. It is important to note that the nSequence
field is always present in Bitcoin transactions, but it is not used, so it does not generate an overhead for the coloring process. Examples of companies driving the EPOBC are ChromaWallet, Cuber, LHV and Funderbeam. [19]
To issue new colors, it is necessary to release coins of that color through genesis transactions. In general, there are two cases to consider about genesis transactions: [27]
Transfer transactions are used to send colored coins from one address to another. It is also possible to transfer coins of multiple colors in a single transfer transaction. Tagging-based coloring is the most well-known algorithm for this operation.
If colored coins are used as input for transactions that do not follow the transfer protocol, the value associated with their color is lost. Furthermore, their value can also be lost in a malformed transaction. [9]
There are one or more colored inputs in a transfer transaction. Inputs do not need to be of the same color, e.g. "gold" and "silver" can be transferred within one transaction, which is beneficial for peer-to-peer trade. [28] The order of inputs and outputs within a transaction, as it is used for non-ambiguous decoding. [29]
Determining a way to transfer colored coins from one Bitcoin address to another is the most complex part of the colored coins protocol. For transactions with only one input and one output, it is easy to determine that the color of the output coins is the same color that was received by the input address, since a Bitcoin address can only handle a single color value. However, in transactions with multiple inputs and outputs, determining which colored coins of inputs correspond to which outputs become a more complex task. For that, there are several algorithms that propose to solve this problem, each one with its peculiarities. [8]
The Bitcoin network's decentralized nature indicates that its security does not need dependence on trusted parties and that its players may operate anonymously provided adequate safeguards are adopted. [30] Colored Coins [10] protocols adoption enables the integration of decentralized stock exchanges and other financial functionality into Bitcoin such as certifying credentials (like academic certificates), or establishing the existence of digital documents. [31]
As long as the provider's identity is protected by the legal framework, colored coins may be used to transfer any digitally transferable right. The circulation is based on a cryptographic signature. The contract and any payments linked to it are recorded on the blockchain using a unique cryptographic key that identifies the rightful owner of the currency. Parties may use an alias to sign up for the protocol under legally permissible circumstances. In reality, the secret cryptographic key enables the system to validate subscribers' digital identities without disclosing any personal information. [33]
Private key holders might then transfer the asset directly to other persons or corporations through a public blockchain.
Users may trade and manage all asset classes in a somewhat decentralized framework with a minute amount of colored Bitcoin, according to marketing literature, rather than needing to send hundreds or even thousands of bitcoins in return for an item or service. [34]
Colored coins can be handled through wallets in the same manner as Bitcoin monetary resources can be managed through bitcoin wallets. Wallets are used to manage the addresses associated with each pair of keys (public and private) of a Bitcoin user, as well as the transactions associated with their set of addresses. Rather than dealing with cryptocurrencies, colored coin wallets add a layer of abstraction, managing digital assets, such as stocks, altcoins, which are created on the Blockchain, intellectual property and other resources.
While bitcoin wallets are required to use a unique Bitcoin address for each transaction, colored coin wallets frequently reuse their addresses in order to re-issue coins of the same color.
To issue colored coins, colored addresses must be generated and stored in colored wallets administered by a color-aware client such as Colu or Coinprism. [5]
Protocol implementations are associated with wallet software, so that the end user does not have to be concerned about transaction structuring or manual resource manipulation. There is, however, some concern about the interoperability of the existing implementations, as colored coins transactions are operationalized using the variety of different algorithms. Transactions between unsupported wallets may result in the loss of currency coloring features. [35]
Colored coins require a unified wallet that can distinguish between items other than bitcoins. In June 2015, a Torrent-based version of Colored Coins was developed by Colu to cover the protocol's use while Bitcoin has not yet been widely adopted by the market. Making the protocol compatible amongst different Bitcoin implementations is one approach to increase the usage of Bitcoin for digital asset management. [36]
A smart property or an item with an off-chain identifier that is transferred via blockchain remains subject to legal interpretation. Colored coins and other virtual currency are presently not recognized as evidence of ownership by any government agency in the United States. For financial institutions, the lack of an identifiable identity across on-and off-chain settings is still a barrier. [17]
There's a legal challenge with regard to the transfer of common stock ownership using blockchain. Due to the fact that the rights to receive notifications, vote, receive dividends, and exercise appraisal rights are restricted to registered owners, establishing ownership is likely even more critical for blockchain stock. [37]
Due to the extralegal nature of colored coin transactions such as NFTs, they frequently result in an informal exchange of ownership over the item with no legal basis for enforcement, frequently conferring nothing more than usage as a status symbol. [38]
Opposition to the use of Colored Coins for the treatment of abstracted resources on Bitcoin mainly originates in the financial and banking sectors. It is argued that the proof-of-work blockchain-based security system cannot be exported to a regulated financial resolution environment. As a result, there is no legal framework for Colored Coins' transactions. Finally, there are some regulatory concerns with the coin coloring method. According to institutions that criticize the decentralized transaction system, the legal effect of an individual or entity transferring ownership of a given object to another individual or entity through Bitcoin abstractions is still uncertain.
Digital currency is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital currencies include cryptocurrency, virtual currency and central bank digital currency. Digital currency may be recorded on a distributed database on the internet, a centralized electronic computer database owned by a company or bank, within digital files or even on a stored-value card.
A smart contract is a computer program or a transaction protocol that is intended to automatically execute, control or document events and actions according to the terms of a contract or an agreement. The objectives of smart contracts are the reduction of need for trusted intermediators, arbitration costs, and fraud losses, as well as the reduction of malicious and accidental exceptions. Smart contracts are commonly associated with cryptocurrencies, and the smart contracts introduced by Ethereum are generally considered a fundamental building block for decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) applications.
Double-spending is the unauthorized production and spending of money, either digital or conventional. It represents a monetary design problem: a good money is verifiably scarce, and where a unit of value can be spent more than once, the monetary property of scarcity is challenged. As with counterfeit money, such double-spending leads to inflation by creating a new amount of copied currency that did not previously exist. Like all increasingly abundant resources, this devalues the currency relative to other monetary units or goods and diminishes user trust as well as the circulation and retention of the currency.
Bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Nodes in the peer-to-peer bitcoin network verify transactions through cryptography and record them in a public distributed ledger, called a blockchain, without central oversight. Consensus between nodes is achieved using a computationally intensive process based on proof of work, called mining, that guarantees the security of the bitcoin blockchain. Mining consumes large quantities of electricity and has been criticized for its environmental impact.
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It has, in a financial point of view, grown to be its own asset class. However, on the contrary to other asset classes like equities or commodities, sectors have not been officially defined as of yet though abstract version of them exist.
The Bitcoin protocol is the set of rules that govern the functioning of Bitcoin. Its key components and principles are: a peer-to-peer decentralized network with no central oversight; the blockchain technology, a public ledger that records all Bitcoin transactions; mining and proof of work, the process to create new bitcoins and verify transactions; and cryptographic security.
Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain with smart contract functionality. Ether is the native cryptocurrency of the platform. Among cryptocurrencies, ether is second only to bitcoin in market capitalization. It is open-source software.
Counterparty is a peer-to-peer financial platform and a distributed, open source protocol built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain and network. It was one of the most well-known "Bitcoin 2.0" platforms in 2014, along with Mastercoin, Ethereum, Colored Coins, Ripple and BitShares.
Stellar, or Stellar Lumens, is an open-source, decentralized protocol for digital currency to fiat money low-cost transfers which allows cross-border transactions between any pair of currencies. The Stellar protocol is supported by a Delaware nonprofit corporation, the Stellar Development Foundation, though this organization does not enjoy 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status with the IRS.
A blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of records (blocks) that are securely linked together via cryptographic hashes. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. Since each block contains information about the previous block, they effectively form a chain, with each additional block linking to the ones before it. Consequently, blockchain transactions are irreversible in that, once they are recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without altering all subsequent blocks.
A decentralised application is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system. Like traditional applications, DApps provide some function or utility to its users. However, unlike traditional applications, DApps operate without human intervention and are not owned by any one entity, rather DApps distribute tokens that represent ownership. These tokens are distributed according to a programmed algorithm to the users of the system, diluting ownership and control of the DApp. Without any one entity controlling the system, the application is therefore decentralised.
Ethereum Classic is a blockchain-based distributed computing platform that offers smart contract (scripting) functionality. It is open source and supports a modified version of Nakamoto consensus via transaction-based state transitions executed on a public Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Firo, formerly known as Zcoin, is a cryptocurrency aimed at using cryptography to provide better privacy for its users compared to other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
Cardano is a public blockchain platform. It is open-source and decentralized, with consensus achieved using proof of stake. It can facilitate peer-to-peer transactions with its internal cryptocurrency, ADA.
The Bitcoin scalability problem refers to the limited capability of the Bitcoin network to handle large amounts of transaction data on its platform in a short span of time. It is related to the fact that records in the Bitcoin blockchain are limited in size and frequency.
A cryptocurrency wallet is a device, physical medium, program or an online service which stores the public and/or private keys for cryptocurrency transactions. In addition to this basic function of storing the keys, a cryptocurrency wallet more often offers the functionality of encrypting and/or signing information. Signing can for example result in executing a smart contract, a cryptocurrency transaction, identification, or legally signing a 'document'.
In cryptocurrencies, an unspent transaction output (UTXO) is a distinctive element in a subset of digital currency models. A UTXO represents a certain amount of cryptocurrency that has been authorized by a sender and is available to be spent by a recipient. The utilization of UTXOs in transaction processes is a key feature of many cryptocurrencies, but it primarily characterizes those implementing the UTXO model.
A blockchain is a shared database that records transactions between two parties in an immutable ledger. Blockchain documents and confirms pseudonymous ownership of all transactions in a verifiable and sustainable way. After a transaction is validated and cryptographically verified by other participants or nodes in the network, it is made into a "block" on the blockchain. A block contains information about the time the transaction occurred, previous transactions, and details about the transaction. Once recorded as a block, transactions are ordered chronologically and cannot be altered. This technology rose to popularity after the creation of Bitcoin, the first application of blockchain technology, which has since catalyzed other cryptocurrencies and applications.
Decentralized finance offers financial instruments without relying on intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks by using smart contracts on a blockchain, mainly Ethereum. DeFi platforms allow people to lend or borrow funds from others, speculate on price movements on assets using derivatives, trade cryptocurrencies, insure against risks, and earn interest in savings-like accounts. DeFi uses a layered architecture and highly composable building blocks. Some applications promote high-interest rates but are subject to high risk. Coding errors and hacks have been common in DeFi.
Tokenomics is a term that refers to the study and analysis of the economic aspects of a cryptocurrency or blockchain project, with a particular focus on the design and distribution of its native digital tokens. The term is a portmanteau of words token and economics.
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