There are many ways to earn free bitcoin. The most popular method is the faucet, which can give people a few Satoshis. Other methods include apps that pay users to do certain things like walking or playing a game, but none of them pay as well as Byteball does. But what is Byteball and how does it give you free bitcoin? There is a long answer and a short answer to both questions.
What is Byteball?
The short answer to the first question is that Byteball is a system that brought a new cryptocurrency – Byte – into the world of altcoins. The distribution system, as well as the principles that underpin the Byteball system are entirely different from those of other altcoins thus far. Byteball is basically a decentralized system that allows for tamper proof storage of data. For this system to work, its users pay to transfer the data they want to store with Bytes.
The Long Answer
This allows any user to store any kind of data and pay for each byte of data they want to transfer with 1 Byte. The data is then transferred and uploaded into a DAG – Direct Acyclic Graph. Therefore, Byteball doesn’t have a blockchain; the DAG replaces the function of the blockchain. Without a blockchain, transaction authentication processes and the creation of Bytes both follow a different logic:
- There is one quadrillion Bytes in the system – that is 10^15 Bytes – and no one can create more. This altcoin is thus deflationary just like bitcoin.
- This limited supply of Bytes all came into circulation through a single “Genesis” emission.
- The inventor of Byteball, Anton Churyumov, is responsible for the initial distribution of all the Bytes.
- Anton Churyumov will keep 1% of all the Bytes in circulation and proceed to distribute all the remaining Bytes.
- Users who have bitcoin will be able to get a proportional amount of Bytes. The Byteball system will distribute the Bytes to them if these users prove that they have bitcoin (this is part of the free bitcoin with Byteball system. You can just scroll down and read how to get it without going into technical details).
- Byteball prevents double spending and keeps a record of transactions through a system that pays fees to witnesses who authenticate and store the transaction.
- For a transaction to be authentic, witnesses must store the history of all the transactions. That is why users pay a fee for data storage.
- There is no double spending because the system will always regard the earliest transaction as the authentic one and disregard the second one.
- Transactions will add the hash of the previous transaction, to keep record of all the transactions involving each Byte to the origin.
Other Services that the System Offers
Byteball users can use the system to transact with any other asset, or make private, untraceable transactions with “Blackbytes”. They can issue debt in Bytes and disclose their identities so that a third party can verify and prevent fraud. Users will then be able to make a transaction in fiat currency or in any other natural unit such as a kWh or an ounce. Well known third parties will then be able to conduct a multi signature transaction for the debt on Byteball.
How can I Get Bitcoin with Byteball?
All these transactions are added onto the DAG no matter what their nature is. Therefore, the name of the system is Byteball. As more users make more transactions, these appear on the DAG which creates a data snowball effect, hence Byteball. Nevertheless, the key to earning free bitcoin with Byteball lies in the initial stages of this data snowball.
The Short and Long Answers in One
To earn free bitcoin with Byteball, the only thing a user needs to do is to connect their bitcoin addresses to the system. Given that all the Bytes on Byteball were created already – Genesis emission – the only thing left to do is distribute them. Periodic Byte distributions will take place until 99% of the Bytes are distributed. To enjoy a reward from the next distribution, users must do the following:
- Download and install the Byteball wallet.
- Visit the official website and chat with the transition bot.
- The transition bot will ask the user to prove a bitcoin balance.
- Users will be able to prove a balance through a small bitcoin transaction or through the signature of a message (if their wallets allow this). The Byteball system will then be able to verify that a specific user indeed owns the amount of bitcoin in that wallet.
- Byteball will determine the amount for the reward based on the amount of coins that the bitcoin blockchain shows are in that wallet.
- Any user who links a bitcoin wallet to Byteball through a transaction, will probably have to talk to the bot again, to link the wallet from which the payment came from to the Byteball system, and return the payment there.
- Anyone who wants to link their bitcoin wallets to get Bytes, will have to do so before May 10th, 2017, 21:42 UTC.
- The distribution will take place after this date and time.
I have a Byteball Wallet Linked to my Bitcoin Wallet. Now what?
Now the only thing left to do is wait for those Bytes to come in. Once they do, users will be able to go to any exchange that supports Byteball and exchange them for bitcoin. They might want to keep the Bytes, given that the currency could appreciate, but that can be the topic of another article. Those who want to exchange their Bytes for bitcoin, will get free bitcoin just for using Byteball.
Conspiracy Theories
This might all sound a little too good to be true. Many could think that giving currency away with no need to prove anything other than having bitcoin, is odd to say the least. In the cryptocurrency space, people are used to working – to be more accurate, getting their computers to work for them – in order to get their rewards. But Anton Churyumov has a different idea about how to create a system that supports cryptocurrency transactions.
Churyumov sustains that Metcalfe’s Law applies to Byteball as much as it applied to bitcoin. He sustains that bitcoin’s market cap is proportional to the square number of active bitcoin users, and Byteball’s market cap will thus follow. This means that by giving out most of the altcoin he created, for free, the price of each coin will increase and so will the value of the system, because it will gain more users. Those who don’t buy the Metcalfe’s Law explanation, are already building their own conspiracy theories.
Russian Intelligence Services behind Byteball
Metcalfe’s Law is a perfectly logical explanation, but many would say that ulterior motives could be behind a cryptocurrency that doesn’t require either proof of work or proof of stake, and is given out for free. In fact, some have suggested that Byteball is a ploy from Russian or other intelligence agencies to link bitcoin wallets to users, therefore helping identify who these users are. This could be true, or it could be a classic case of conjecture.
In the meantime, those who are not worried about the conspiracy theories, will have a wonderful opportunity to participate in a very innovative cryptocurrency project and will also be able to get some bitcoin for free. In fact, this might be better than any other free bitcoin schemes and faucets out there, in terms of the potential amount of bitcoin that users can earn. We will definitely link our bitcoin wallets to Byteball, and we will be able to earn free bitcoin!
Click here to read the Byteball white paper.
