We are Blockchain Foundry Inc, creators of the Syscoin cryptocurrency, Blockmarket, the World's First Decentralized Marketplace and soon: A revolutionary blockchain token/asset development platform. Ask us anything: AMA!

How does Syscoin make money if there are no transaction fees ("middle man")?

Syscoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency, it does not in effect make money and does indeed have transactions fees which go to miners (although very-low-cost in comparison to marketplaces and even other cryptocurrencies). Syscoin users can gain Syscoin by mining, selling their goods/services on the marketplace or with simply by being a host via the upcoming masternode release

How is this different than any other blockchain cryptocurrency?

I think there's a bit of confusion. Syscoin is the underlying blockchain/currency that the Blockmarket leverages. The public company (BCF) produces the Blockmarket which is your interface with the blockchain. Syscoin (the blockchain) is decentralized and censorship free, this provides trustless services to end users regardless of whether the Blockchain Foundry exists or not. You don't have to trust the company because the real work is performed on the blockchain in a trustless fashion, and if a competitor to BCF comes along you can use their UI to interface with the blockchain, it doesn't matter.

As /u/today2017 mentions, I'm guessing they're going to leverage consultancy fees and other ways to make money for the public company.

Ok. so syscoin is supposed to be a better blockchain? Really we'd need a better blockmarket that could interface across chains, right? I'm a noob, so I'm trying to understand some of this.

Yeah. Considered a "currency", Syscoin is a blockchain that delivers all of the capabilities advertised. Identities, certificates, currency exchanges, arbitration, literally everything. All of this is delivered in a way which does not require you to trust anyone: when you send money to a person, save a certificate, create a listing, etc. it is irreversible and a part of a ledger which is impossible to censor.

Blockmarket is basically the GUI that you use to access the data on the blockchain. If Blockchain Foundry chose to stop operating or someone else wanted to compete another UI could made to interface with the blockchain (syscoin).

The purpose of Syscoin is not to make money, it is simply the trustless middleman that connects you with the guy who owns the lambo you want to purchase. He posts the lambo listing on the Syscoin blockchain, you read it through the Blockmarket application, you send him money on the syscoin blockchain (using the blockmarket).

It's confusing to get started with. It helps to think of Syscoin as the backend programming language and Blockmarket as the operating system with all of the pretty pictures and fancy buttons.

Got it. Syscoin has more extensibility than a bitcoin variant because it supports more functions? I have much reading to do it seems.

I understand the Blockmarket as a gui layer on top of the coin I was lost on the how the coin managed the functions. So maybe a better question would be how is syscoin different than etherium? Would that be a fair ask?

Thanks again for explaining all this. It is much appreciated.

Sure, that's a good way to look at it. Syscoin offers many additional features from the blockchain on top of simply being a "currency". Ethereum offers other features, primarily related to hosting ICOs. They're all different from one another, the online marketplace is one of the features which makes Syscoin truly unique. Think Ebay and Amazon, except Ebay and Amazon aren't companies and there are no (significant) merchant fees for being the middle man. The blockchain is an agreement between parties, you and I agree that if the blockchain says the original listing said "$20 for two snakes and a taco" and it also says that I sent you $20 then you should be sending me two snakes and a taco. The underlying infrastructure required to process all of the transactions, listings, etc is also decentralized (miners and masternodes), the incentive for them to provide the infrastructure is an increase in Syscoin value as users adopt the platform (and of course small miner fees).

I would say start by just learning about Bitcoin and blockchain technology, and then go from there. Syscoin is one of the most extensive projects in the space, it will be hard to jump right in without a good understanding of the fundamentals it uses. Check out eli5bitcoin.com.

Edit: Also, enjoy your new addiction.

Thanks for your detailed response! This is all correct. In addition as u/Squeevey asked to compare to Ethereum. The next version of Syscoin core will not only have everything we've stated, but will also have an asset/smart contract service like Ethereum, allowing companies to launch ICOs/tokens with a faster network.

The decentralized marketplace is completely built-in to the blockchain, there are also many other features that do not exist with any other cryptocurrency. You asked how Syscoin makes money.

would oracles be needed for selling stuff ?

We don't rely on oracles or any other forms of magic to secure your transaction :) Your transactions are secured by the Blockchain and there's also a decentralized escrow service that allows buyers to select a trusted arbiter to ensure that the transaction is legitimate.

Hello there. Are partnerships with Dangstons.se and Partsavatar.ca still valid? Are there any other big vendors who will use BM after web release? How much items are you expecting to be listed on Blockmarket from big vendors few weeks after BM web release?

Dangston & Partsavatar are definitely still our partners as well as other partners that haven't been disclosed yet. We are expecting at least hundreds of thousands of items to be listed, however we do not have an exact count to provide you. Keep an eye out for future announcements regarding partnerships.

Will there be a beta for Blockmarket web? If so will it arrive before or after the hard fork in Q1?

We had a public beta for Blockmarket Desktop because we were so resource constrained relative to our development objectives. Since getting funded a lot has changed. While we do plan on a Blockmarket Web beta we don't plan on it being public, we have the resources internally to properly test and weed out any bugs.

We will need to let the network stabilize following the Q1 hard fork, as such the Blockmarket Web release will come after the hard fork.

Awesome, that's best outcome I could have hoped for! Bring on that Q1 release :-D

Thanks for your interest and support!

masternodes when?

We haven't released a date yet, masternodes are targeted to be released via our next Syscoin core update, scheduled for the first quarter(Q1) of 2018.

What's the difference between Blockmarket and Open Bazaar?

We released the world's first publicly available decentralized marketplace via the Syscoin protocol in August 2014. Openbazaar released their first public decentralized marketplace in 2016.

A quick answer would be that they are very different. Openbazaar uses a Peer to peer service like torrents, while Syscoin's decentralized marketplace is built-in to the provable blockchain.

Openbazaar isn't a cryptocurrency and is developed by OB1, they've had a couple of rounds of private funding, our company, Blockchain Foundry Inc, has received over CAD $5m in private funding (and we are working on going public in Canada very soon) and our token is currently has a $337 million marketcap.

We appreciate and commend all innovations in the cryptocurrency space.

Hey guys

First off, congratulations on your successful capital raise at the end of last year!

Are you considering raising more money through similar channels after your RTO is complete? How was the experience with the Bay Street crowd and are they hungry for more placements like this in the space?

If we can demonstrate growth in the company and show investors that we are executing on our roadmap, then we should have ample opportunity to raise more money in the future which we will certainly consider doing. We will evaluate the merits of any transaction at that time, but in general the capital markets are receptive to blockchain opportunities and there are many investors in Canada who have done well in the space already. We would also note that investors are becoming more knowledgeable about blockchain deals which is a benefit for everyone in the industry.

Question: What makes it so difficult to finally come up a coherent website with all the relevant information and communication channels integrated? Currently we have information on no less than three websites, no community forum, etc.etc...

All of our information is on Syscoin.org and the official Blockchain Foundry blog (https://medium.com/@BlockchainFoundry). For realtime chat we also have Slack (http://join.syscoin.org) and we use reddit in place of a community forum (http://reddit.com/r/syscoin). We use these channels as we've found them to be the most well recieved for communicating with the community. We also mirror the information on these sites to our various social channels. We are working on major improvements to the Syscoin and Blockchain Foundry websites as part of the rebranding effort we're in the midst of. The Syscoin website will become a hub for information around the Syscoin protocol for both consumers and developers. The Blockchain Foundry website will focus on the products we're building on top of the Syscoin protocol.

What is the the thing that you guys are most excited about for syscoin BEYOND blockmarket?

There are so many exciting things coming up! Blockmarket is really just one use-case for Syscoin's infrastructure(although obviously an important one). The protocol and it's infinite possibilities is really what keeps us excited. Every time we consult with a company for their blockchain requirements, we discover several new usecases for Syscoin. Productizing these use-cases is a main focus for 2018.

How's the team dynamic, have you guys been getting along?

The core team has been working together for almost four years! Most of us are lifelong friends, and those that aren't haven't met each other IRL yet :wink: We're all meeting up at Polycon18 this week!

Most of the new hires we already knew as well. These are people at the top of their fields that we've been wanting to get on board for some time.

That's awesome, thanks!

No problem :)

Has a release date been set for the web-version of Blockmarket?

We have not announced a release date yet. We plan on sharing an update relative to the progress on Blockmarket Web with the Q1 masternode release. We need to let the network stabilize following the hard fork that will accompany the masternode release, after which we'll be in a better position to set dates.

Once you complete the current roadmap (Q1/2), can you disclose what your next priorities are going to be for the second half of 2018?

Our priorities for the second half of 2018 are currently pilots and products focused on B2B Marketplaces, Supply Chain, Remittence Networks and consulting work as appropriate.

How come there wasn't any ICO ? How did you fund the project in the first place ?

Syscoin was Publicly announced on 16 April 2014 at 12:15pm PST on Bitcointalk. The Presale began on 19 July 19 2014 at 0.00000465 BTC/SYS, with Moolah.io as escrow agent. The ICO price was .00000518 BTC/SYS. The ICO raised 1500 BTC of which 250 BTC was used for "buy support." Moolah (Ryan Kennedy aka Alex Green), only provided 500 BTC of the collected funds and stole the remaining 750 BTC. Syscoin has been in litigation against Moolah since October 2014 to recover the stolen BTC. The Syscoin team carried on with no funding. Developing, managing the community and marketing while holding regular jobs for over three years. The team finally went full time on January 15th and has been restructuring to make the best use of our resources, we also received private funding recently.

Could you discuss the relationship between Blockchain Foundry and Syscoin? How does going public with Blockchain Foundry affect Syscoin?

Blockchain Foundry is a blockchain products and services company that focuses on building products on top of the Syscoin protocol and enhancing that protocol as needed to facilitate as much business as possible. Going public with Blockchain Foundry will likely bring more attention to the great work we're already doing with Syscoin.

So, why use Syscoin at all versus USD?

This is of course a question that applies to most cryptocurrencies, but some currencies like Etherium have features fundamental to the blockchain that make it's application potential interesting, even if only theoretically.

So with that in mind, why? Why is Syscoin not just digital gold that ends up manifesting as some kind of distributed ponzi scheme?

Like Ethereum, Syscoin has a large number of features that vastly distances it from the rest of cryptocurrencies. Pre-made and hardened smart contracts allow developers to create blockchain applications without requiring blockchain developers, through an API. Offers, Identity, Digital Certificates, Escrow, Encrypted Messaging and more all support multisig and can be combined so that a good web developer could create a basic blockchain application in a few days. Unlike most projects, ours is currently working, and in action. You can download the Blockmarket Desktop and begin buying and selling using Syscoin now. https://github.com/syscoin/blockmarket-desktop-public/releases/tag/1.2

SYS isn't a Ponzi scheme at all. There is no one "at the top" creating new Syscoin as there is with regular fiat or ponzi schemes. The argument that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are a Ponzi scheme does not have any real basis; Syscoin was first fairly distributed in 2014 and has become extremely widely distributed since. This is all verified by the blockchain. Syscoin also has lower transactions fees than you have with USD , Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Stripe, Money Orders, etc. and eliminates the middlemen from the equation.

I want to participate in masternodes but I don't have a big enough bag. Can we get a commitment from the team around the timeline (versioning or roadmap format is fine) for a shared MN release?

Masternodes V1 require 100k SYS. "Trusted" masternode pooling services may be available after V1 launch through the Syscoin community but we have no plans for a trustless masternode pool.

One of the adoption challenges will always be the need to purchase Bitcoin and have it exchanged before purchasing goods. We have seen this even recently in the reddit community, users who are new to crypto and want to purchase SYS but don't know where to start. What is the team's plan to overcome this? Are there any goals to leverage non-crypto funding sources somehow?

We have begun to address this with the in-wallet instant exchanges Changelly and flyp.me. With our Funding Manager, we can quickly add any funding source to the wallet. We are working to enable fiat-to-sys purchasing either through partners or other Blockchain Foundry products.

Me pingi?

We haven't seen any Pingi's on Blockmarket yet.

When will products developed by BCF, other than Blockmarket, be unveiled leveraging the Syscoin network?

We are already developing additional products using the Syscoin protocol for customers. We're targeting to release several products in 2018. The exact release date of these products hasn't been set.

As a gamer who would like to upgrade their GPU without paying a thousand dollars for a mediocre one, is it ok for me to tell you guys to fuck right off?

Syscoin cannot be mined with a GPU, we understand that GPU mining has considerably increased the cost of certain video cards and we can certainly sympathize with the unfortunate price increases.

Regarding adult or legally questionable items for sale in the blockmarket: does the team intend to completely remove these from the UI (obviously impossible to do in the blockchain), or will you be considering an "adult" filter? If not, will you be releasing the source for either BM versions?

There are currently three levels of SafeSearch built into the Syscoin Core:

1) Public - Open to the public and any UI 2) Safesearch - Listings or Aliases marked as potentially offensive or explicit are hidden behind the safesearch wall 3) Banned - Listings or Aliases can be eliminated from appearing on our UI. Because of the nature of blockchains, we cannot censor anything from appearing on the blockchain. We can only control what appears on our UI. On all Syscoin User interfaces, such as the Blockmarket and the current Syscoin wallet, the user does not see items marked as sensitive by default, but they can choose to display them by turning SafeSearch off.

SafeSearch is VOLUNTARY. Vendors who are selling sensitive or offensive things are encouraged to put their listings behind the SafeSearch wall.

The Sycoin team can also manually move a listing behind the SafeSearch wall. If someone fails to put offensive material behind that wall, we can do it for them. For illegal or immoral things, the Syscoin team can block a listing from being viewed in our interfaces altogether. These blockages would be initiated the instant we become aware of them.

How much cake could you eat in a single sitting?

We would need more data to accurately answer your question. It really depends on the size of each cake, fat/sugar content, caloric value per bite and flavor of course.

Why was 100k SYS chosen as the amount for masternodes?

By looking at Dash distribution and masternode participation numbers, we decided to optimise the Syscoin network for 6000 masternodes. Based on 600million tokens at 100k SYS each, this would keep incentives at full participation so they are not overly high or too low.

I know /u/sebastian123 has already stated that a marketing roadmap could not be shared due to competitors, but could one of you elaborate or at least confirm that some marketing agenda is still being pushed for 2018? I've been excited to see, as a longtime supporter of SYS, that it has steadily grown without any marketing. The little bit of hype I have sent over to /r/cryptocurrency is almost always well-received, and there is virtually no one trying to spread FUD; this to me a great sign that you guys have been going above and beyond to make SYSCOIN hit each of its marks. With that said, I can't wait to see what impact that legitimate marketing will have!

P.S. Can you reveal whether a significant change to the logo is in fact being considered?

We try to be as fiscally responsible as possible with our funds, and use our marketing resources in the most economical and effective ways as possible for the continued evolution of Syscoin and have been working at building our brand for the last 4 years with considerable marketing efforts to cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

Large marketing pushes are reserved for (banner, ads, targeting outside of the cryptocurrency industry) take a significant higher amount of funds and will begin once Blockmarket web launches. As our BM Web product will target a far wider audience than just the cryptocurrency audience, we are reserving most marketing funds for that marketing push and beyond.

P.S. Yes, we have new logos coming for Blockchain Foundry Inc. and are working on Blockmarket and Syscoin branding.

Howdy!

Are y'all looking to take market share from companies like Shopify, etc? Or work alongside them?

I've got an online business currently, but would be curious if expanding in to the Blockmarket is the way to think about it, or if it would be something to replace my existing operations.

Thanks for your time!

Thanks for your interest. We are still in the early-days of Blockmarket, the web-version will bring many more options to merchants, however, you already have the tools to sell right now. Many merchants have been approaching us lately and we would love to get your feedback on how we can make the experience even better. Try out Blockmarket and join our slack (you can get an invite by visting join.syscoin.org).

Would you guys consider making the slack public, or allowing an IRC or Discord bridge? It is such a big part of the community that casual members don't participate in.

Since there have been many fraudulent phishing attempts on some of the most prominent cryptocurrency Slack channels such as Syscoin, it isn't possible for us to have an open and public Slack channel. You can, however, send us your email address to get an invite. See: join.syscoin.org.

We also have an open Telegram channel at: https://t.me/Syscoin_Official

In addition, we have a Discord channel as well, but it has very little traffic. We are testing out other alternatives.

That's certainly reasonable, thank you.

Our pleasure!

Are you considering youtube as a means of communicating and giving updates on tech and progress (on a regular basis)?

We use many means of communication and have been working on expanding this to many other platforms as well. With youtube, however, we ran into an issue a few months ago(ban with no explanation) and we are hoping that Google will help us with our requests.

How do I get Syscoin swag?

We aren't currently selling Syscoin swag, as we are currently working on our rebranding process, it wouldn't make sense to release anything now. There are currently a couple of merchants that do offer Syscoin-branded swag, however, we aren't associated with any of them so please use at your own discretion.

We know our community wants swag (and so do we). We are looking at official Swag options for the near-future.

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Are you looking to mine Syscoin?

Syscoin is merged-mined with any SHA-256 coin (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, etc), which means that you can mine Syscoin AND Bitcoin simultaneously without compromising your hash power. Keep in mind, you are competing in one of the fastest blockchain networks after Bitcoin, Syscoin's current hash-power is over 3 exahash/sec (over 10% of Bitcoin's hashrate) so join a pool.

How hard did you guys work to shove as many buzzwords into company and product name?

For Syscoin, it actually wasn't that difficult as we began planning in early in 2014, pretty much everything was available. We are still working on making Blockchain Foundry Inc a household name in the Blockchain industry.