eCash emerges as a cryptocurrency platform, possibly marking the final stage of the Bitcoin Cash project, with the XEC coin tailored for international retail payments.
eCash (XEC) doesn't fit the typical cryptocurrency definition. Instead, it acts as a digital conduit for everyday transactions.
The Genesis of eCash
Amaury Séchet, a former leading engineer at Facebook and a trailblazer in the Bitcoin space, spearheads the eCash initiative. The crypto community recognizes him as a “financial freedom fighter and benevolent dictator”. Séchet played a key role in the construction of the first cryptocurrency blockchain and is the mastermind behind Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
In July 2021, Séchet and his adept team launched the eCash brand into the world. Here, eCash represents the network's moniker, XEC is its indigenous cryptocurrency, and Bitcoin ABC operates as the software that interfaces with and upholds the eCash network. eCash's creation followed a significant hard fork in the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. It was initially named Bitcoin Cash ABC, with the ticker BCHA.
Bitcoin Cash ABC introduced two substantial amendments to its protocol, setting it apart from Bitcoin Cash. These included a novel mining difficulty adjustment algorithm, ASERT, and a mandate that 8% of all newly minted BCHA would be set aside to finance future network development. This led to a rebranding, with Bitcoin Cash ABC metamorphosing into eCash, symbolized by the XEC ticker.
Séchet, as the chief architect of the project, exerted significant effort to distinguish eCash from its predecessor and to dissociate the XEC cryptocurrency from Bitcoin. This decision arose from Séchet's conviction that Bitcoin had morphed into a financial asset, while his newly forged digital currency is meant to serve as electronic cash, facilitating online purchases of goods and services.
The distinctive features of eCash (XEC)
The eCash blockchain employs a hybrid consensus algorithm, a symbiosis of PoW and PoS mechanisms. This unique algorithm, known as Avalanche, boasts several advantages:
- Rewards for staking.
- Processing transactions in real-time.
- Adjustable block size.
- Low transaction fees.
Miners within the network extract XEC by amassing blocks, while transaction validity is entrusted to stakers. This innovative approach has drastically reduced the confirmation waiting time compared to the Bitcoin blockchain, reducing it to a mere few seconds.
This newfound approach has empowered the developers to assert that their invented digital currency can be employed in the same manner as conventional fiat currency. This bypasses the need for bank accounts and credit cards.
Furthermore, for user convenience, the decimal places were limited to two, just as with fiduciary money. Séchet rationalized this decision by stating,
No other money has 8 decimal places. Why should crypto? Cryptocurrencies with a lower unit price also enjoy higher bull market appreciation. Because the eCash team is incentivised by both tech and price improvement, this improvement was a no-brainer.
By utilizing the base unit 'bit,' eCash evades cumbersome decimal figures when processing payments.
The eCash Project Tokenomics
XEC, the cryptocurrency of eCash, upholds most of Bitcoin's constraints. Following the Bitcoin release and distribution model, every 210,000 blocks (approximately every four years), the miner's reward is halved. eCash adopts a similar halving model.
The total supply is 21 trillion XEC. Currently, 92% of all possible coins have been mined, totaling 19,349,004,673,303 XEC. The project's market capitalization is slightly over $600 million, which pales in comparison to the premier cryptocurrency. Furthermore, eCash can't claim immense popularity among investors. The daily trading volume of digital XEC amounts to around $5.5 million.
The historical price peak was recorded on September 5, 2021, at $0.0003304. This surge coincides with the developers' announcement that eCash would soon support the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and become compatible with DeFi protocols. Following this, the coin's price gradually fell, and at the time of writing, it stands at $0.000031. The analytical service, 'IsThisCoinAScam', rates the project's reliability and safety at 37%, which is insufficient to invest in eCash without reservations.
