Did you realize that there are four main categories—which number at least a thousand—of blockchains?
There are many different blockchains available on the market today, and each one seems to provide a distinctive solution to a particular issue. But which blockchain initiatives should be trusted, and which should be avoided?
In this article, we’ll look at some of the key considerations when evaluating various blockchain types and blockchain-powered applications. We’ll go through the key characteristics that trustworthy blockchains should have as well as how to avoid falling for con artists.
When analyzing blockchains, the first thing you should be aware of is that there are primarily two varieties available: public and private blockchains.
Public blockchains are typical; they are typically open, totally decentralized, controlled by public nodes, and independent of any one entity (company, individual, organization, etc.). Contrarily, private blockchains DO have a single governing body, are controlled by private nodes, and are typically extremely use case-specific – that is, they are utilized for a very specific reason and are not always accessible to the general public.
All of this means that in this section, we’ll concentrate on the most typical and well-liked kind of blockchains: public ones. These blockchains are used by the vast majority of the big cryptocurrency projects, therefore you’ll see them far more frequently than private ones.
Security
This shouldn’t surprise you at all if you have any knowledge of crypto, though. After all, as experts constantly say, a project should not even be considered if it lacks security measures.
Always make sure that the blockchain’s underlying technology is cutting-edge, safe, and potentially unbreakable. On terms of security, reading up on the project in the forums, checking out what the core developers have to say, speaking with your colleagues, and looking at all of the products built on this blockchain should be helpful.
Flesh Out Your Goals
When looking for the top blockchains, the second important thing you must determine is what it is that you are actually interested in.
Some blockchains have excellent user and novice friendliness. In other words, they are incredibly easy to use, invest in, and navigate around. Consider Bitcoin as an illustration; the blockchain is mostly utilized for investment purposes and lacks any inherent functionality.
On the other side, there are blockchains like Polkadot, which is a very complicated network designed to assist other blockchain initiatives and enable communication across other blockchain networks. That’s some high-end developer-related material, for sure!
DYOR on The Blockchain Use Cases (Do Your Own Research)
The final stage is to locate a blockchain that will enable you to materialize your objectives into reality once you have all of your goals defined and clear. Let me give you an illustration of what I mean.
As a result, for instance, Ethereum is the primary blockchain on which various dApps are developed, in contrast to Bitcoin, which is a “dumb” blockchain that lacks DeFi capabilities and is mostly purchased by investors who view it as a form of digital gold with a long-term price prediction of appreciation.
Is There a Strong Community Supporting the Blockchain?
The presence of an engaged community and how simple it is to navigate the network are the final two factors you should look at when evaluating the top blockchain networks.
Imagine that you come across two blockchains: one that is extremely well-known and established, and another that is completely unknown and has very little functionality.
With the well-known blockchain, you may access a variety of projects, identify the various token kinds, and then trade them easily because they are supported by a number of exchanges. Additionally, since the community forums are active, you can have all of your questions answered.
This is not the case with the lesser-known blockchain. There aren’t really any well-known applications being created on it, and if you wanted to exchange tokens, you’d need to utilize a sophisticated, complicated switching technology that is only accessible within their ecosystem. Everything is kind of “up in the air.”
Keeping Away From Scams
So far, we’ve discussed the many factors you should take into consideration while evaluating various blockchain protocols and networks. You should also be able to research, comprehend, and learn how to avoid a potentially dubious blockchain for step number five.
You should start by finding out who established the blockchain network. Are the founders private people? If not, are they reputable and well-known in the field? The answers to these queries can actually aid you in eliminating a sizable number of dubious blockchain networks from your list.
The foundations follow. The blockchain is safe, right? Do the programmers who created it follow all recommended procedures? Is there a purpose for the project, if so, what is it?
You may then go to some of the more specific topics, such as project finance, a plan, a whitepaper, and other issues, once you have all of that figured out. In the end, trust your instincts; if something seems odd, it’s usually best to stay cautious and steer clear of the endeavor.
We’ve discussed some of the most crucial factors in this area that you should consider while looking for and evaluating the top blockchain networks. Now that you know how to distinguish between trustworthy blockchains and those that you should stay away from, you can protect your money with confidence!