What is Stratis? (STRAT)

Bitcoin is starting to look like a seasoned player in cryptocurrency game and starting to show its age. Transaction times simply lack pace on the Bitcoin network and transfers are grinding to a halt while transaction costs are sky high, it's like signing Neymar everytime you move your BTC. In the other corner, the number 1 contender Ethereum has its own problems to deal with and a possible hard fork to navigate.

As top 2 battle it out and begin to show fatigue they leave room for other altcoins to catch up. In the midst of all the chaos, quietly working its way up the ranks is a Bitcoin cloned called Stratis. Could it be a contender for those covered number 1 or 2 spots?

Let's find out.

What is Stratis (STRAT)?

Stratis is a powerful and flexible Blockchain development platform that aims to help businesses, financial services and companies to develop, test and deploy new apps. Stratis will act like a blockchain-as-a-service (BAAS) platform for corporations and institutions, and it will help them to implement blockchain technology for various use cases across industries very fast.

STRAT's main is to introduce businesses of all sizes to the power of the blockchain and make it easier for everyone, to build applications that use this revolutionary technology. The vision of the Stratis platform is to become a one-stop shop for all things blockchain. Technology-wise, it is a clone of Bitcoin’s core code.

However, it has a few enhanced features and it is written in C# language instead of C++. It can also make use of Microsoft.Net Framework while at the same time taking advantage of the powerful Stratis API’s and framework.

Stratis helps users in defining the blockchain strategy and integrating capabilities and solutions according to the requirements of each business, which means that the blockchain could potentially become accessible to the wider developer community.

Cloud Stratis

Stratis also provides something similar to a test net called the Cloud Stratis platform which allows developers to test their applications. Cloud Stratis makes provision for a range of blockchain nodes such as Bitshares, Ethereum, and Bitcoin to name a few. In this way, users don’t have to maintain a full client or the network by themselves and blockchain implementations can be modified according to user needs before it is deployed.

Stratis token

As with all cryptocurrencies, the Stratis network has a ‘Stratis Coin’ to underpin all these advantages, their token called STRAT. STRAT is the native token that runs the Stratis platform. This token is a digital currency based on a PoS consensus process with low inflation and limited emission.

Why you should pay attention to Stratis?

Secure networks

Since Stratis makes use of the Bitcoin blockchain it has the benefits of all their security protocols. At this point in time Bitcoin still remains the best known and the most secure cryptocurrency network. But with Stratis you can develop applications on top of the Bitcoin blockchain.

Affordable networks

Stratis tokens will be required to create and propel a public or private blockchain because it is the native value token in the Stratum platform. The advantage of developing apps using private blockchains compared to public blockchains such as Bitcoins is the fact that private blockchains can be customized to perform exactly how you want it.

In addition, using private blockchains will allow companies to bypass owning expensive mining hardware to run nodes for their private blockchains since Stratis will be proof of stake.

Sidechains Stratis allows for complete sidechains that are non-disruptive to the primary blockchain. Meaning they one up on the senior, Bitcoin currently does not allow for any sidechains. Although there have been attempts at implementation, the results have been messy and the code is a tacky add-on band-aid solution.

Smart Contracts Ethereum has been the pioneer of smart contracts but they all exist on the primary blockchain. While Stratis allows you to build smart contracts on sidechains making it more attractive than the ER20 for large corporates.

Do you really think that large corporations with billions of dollars to lose are really interested in creating projects that will co-exist with other ICO's that could bring the network into disrepute? Certainly no. Running Smart contracts on Stratis side chains eliminate this risk. So Companies can rest assured that their token cannot be compromised by a failed token on the network.

Breeze Wallet

One of the most impressive and game-changing features to come out of Stratis is the Breeze Wallet. This is a Bitcoin wallet which, for the first time, will have Tumblebit built in. TumbleBit is an anonymous payment protocol that acts as an additional encryption when saving transactions to the blockchain similar to what Monero and Zcash are currently offering.

Masternodes

Operating a Stratis masternode will be an incredibly lucrative venture, as it is the core backbone of the Tumblebit functionality in the upcoming Breeze wallet. Why is this a big deal? Because it takes 250,000 Stratis coins to operate one.

Meaning there is a major incentive for large Stratis holder to hold their coins, thus decreasing available supply. So my advice is to start buying those Stratis coins and start hodling kids.

Segwit Ready

The Stratis developers foresaw the potential need for Segwit integration and did not wait. It is built right into the codebase and ready to be activated with the flip of a switch. For those not in the know surrounding Segwit, it is an extremely controversial subject.

It is a different take on the transaction protocol that speeds up transfers by splitting the transaction into two segments, removing the unlocking signature ("witness" data) from the original portion and appending it as a separate structure at the end.

What is Stratis being used for?

Stratis allows the creation of distinct, private blockchains, which can be launched by third-party organizations which can customize them to their needs. These blockchains (sidechains) are secured on the main Stratis blockchain.

They can be accessed via lite clients and APIs. Corporations can take advantage of the Stratis sidechains to launch their blockchain applications without the inherent costs and complications of building and maintaining their own blockchain network infrastructure. Furthermore, these companies can also take advantage and combine pre-existing features found in other blockchains like Ethereum or Waves.

Can you mine Stratis?

Since Stratis uses POS you cannot mine it in the traditional sense and will have to make use of staking. You simply hold your Strat coins into your native software wallet and you will be rewarded by more Strat as you stake your existing coins. STRAT is issued at a rate of 1 token per block, and a new block is mined every 60 seconds.

Can you earn Stratis?

Trading

Stratis users can earn digital currency via exchanges, Users can earn tokens through trading on different fiat and cryptocurrencies and take advantage of market fluctuations.

Staking

Staking is like earning interest or dividends on your holdings. It is 0.5-1% per annum returns on your “staked” amount. Staking helps to secure the Stratis network. There are special staking wallets for this purpose, which I will explain to you further in this post.

Masternode Staking

If you have 250,000 Stratis coins you will be able to set up and operate a Masternode, this allows for additional income as you provide the POS for preferential transactions like Segwit and Tumblebit.

Should you invest in Stratis?

Stratis definitely has a few interesting features that could make it a big player in the cryptocurrency market. A solid development roadmap, a niche target audience, additional security measures as well as reduced risk of hodling through mining all add up to a viable and lucrative ecosystem. As for the future of Stratis no one can really tell with open source projects.

Features are copied and migrated across currencies all the time and it's solely up to how well they establish themselves in the market. If more and more people and companies open their eyes to the blockchain and the potential of it, Stratis needs to make sure that they will be the gateway.

For more on Stratis check out their official website

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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide any investment advice and is for educational purposes only. As of the time posting the writers may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency as all investments contain risk.

Tags: Cryptocurrency, blockchain