You Could Win US$150 Million Helping Huobi Crypto Exchange Develop A Public Blockchain!

Lambos are the ultimate status symbol in the crypto world. With the Huobi cryptocurrency exchange offering 30 million HT (more than USD150 million at the time of writing) in a contest aimed at building a public blockchain the dreams for developer teams around the globe just got closer to fulfilment! The contest dubbed Huobi Chain Superhero Championship Program is part of the crypto-exchange’s plan to migrate to a decentralized financial platform which will be self-regulating. Registration for candidates wishing to participate in the exercise will start on June 6, 2018 and will close on July 5, 2018. Aiming to be a DAO The founder and chief executive officer of Huobi Group, Leon Li, has stated that the goal of the cryptocurrency firm is to have the cryptocurrency exchange run on a public blockchain. Additionally Huobi Group sees value in being a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) according to Li: “We firmly believe in a decentralized future, and the main goal of the Huobi Chain project is to transform a centralized corporation to a decentralized one...” Besides a cryptocurrency exchange which is ranked third in the world in terms of daily trading volume, Huobi Group also operates a mining pool, a blockchain incubator, a money services business and a blockchain research institution. Wave of the future Huobi is not alone in moving towards a decentralized exchange. Late last month for instance Paradex, a decentralized exchange, was acquired by Coinbase. Part of the reason why decentralized exchanges (DEX) are attractive compared to centralized exchanges (CEX) is the fact that they are considered safer. This is because users of cryptocurrencies trade peer-to-peer and do not entrust their assets to a central organization. In light of the fact that it is estimated between 2011 and 2017 cryptocurrencies worth more than $4 were stolen, majority of which were stolen from centralized exchanges, this is a no brainer. DEX vs CEX One disadvantage though with decentralized exchanges is that trading is limited to cryptocurrencies. Additionally the responsibility of keeping digital assets safe is left to individuals meaning that while risk of using a centralized exchange is eliminated it is really up to the individual to keep their wallets secure. Other challenges that decentralized exchanges have to overcome include blockchain interoperability, liquidity and price discovery. Some of the decentralized exchange platforms which currently exist include QTUM Dex, Airswap, Localcoinswap, Altcoin Exchange, Bancor, Atomicdex, Bisq, Barterdex, Etherdelta, Counterparty Dex, Raiden, and the cheekily named Hodl Hodl.