Nano

What is Nano (XNO)?

Nano is a peer-to-peer platform that provides secure, free, and almost instant payments that can be made from and to anywhere in the world.

One of a range of older cryptocurrencies focusing purely on payments and transactions, Nano addresses some of the major obstacles that face financial infrastructure with significant success.

Formerly known as RaiBlocks under the ticker XRB, Nano was initially founded in 2014 and launched via a public faucet. Anyone with access to a computer or smartphone could access this faucet and claim a small amount of XRB after completing a “captcha” challenge.

The project was rebranded in 2018, bringing focus to its capabilities in speed, simplicity, and suitability toward smaller transactions—the sort unfeasible on mainstream cryptocurrencies at the time thanks to the fees involved.

Who are the Founders of Nano?

Nano was founded by Colin LeMahieu, an experienced developer with previous stints at Dell, AMD, and Qualcomm.

LeMahieu was the lead developer when Nano was still known as RaiBlocks and pushed the majority of the project’s commits to its Github repo. He began working on Nano full-time in 2017, shortly before the rebrand.

How Does Nano Work?

Nano isn’t a blockchain. However, it uses a similar distributed ledger technology called a directed acyclic graph (DAG). It is a peer-to-peer, decentralized network that uses a block-lattice data structure to allow users to transact with each other.

The Nano network needs a lightweight proof-of-work value for every transaction. This establishes the minimum amount of computational resources needed for a transaction to be added to the ledger.

Before a transaction is confirmed, it has to be voted on by the network. The network algorithm considers capacity, voting activity, account balance, and other details to schedule these elections.

The resources required for the transaction PoW and the frequency of elections are the two means by which the network is throttled when required.

How is the Nano Network Secured?

Nano uses a consensus mechanism called “Open Representative Voting” (ORV) for consensus. It uses delegated weight-based voting so that security and consensus can be achieved with minimal resource usage. Aside from being a highly efficient system, this also means the Nano network consumes very little energy.

The representatives who vote when consensus is required are chosen by XNO holders via delegation. This mechanism protects Nano against double-spend attacks and several other attack vectors.

The low costs for handling transactions at volume using the ORV system remove the need to incentivize participation with on-chain rewards. This is why Nano is unique among blockchains in how it offers completely free transactions to users.

What is the Use of XNO?

The XNO cryptocurrency is intended to be a means to transfer value, with the Nano network serving as a global payment system. Much as Bitcoin was intended to be, XNO is a form of peer-to-peer electronic cash.

Who Controls Nano?

Nano is stewarded by the Nano Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that encourages the growth and usability of Nano as a secure and decentralized payment network.

The Nano Foundation is part of the Financial Technology Service Providers’ Association and a member of Crypto UK and the Global Blockchain Initiative. The Foundation is directed by Nano founder Colin LeMahieu alongside University of Liverpool graduate George Coxon.

How Much XNO is In Circulation?

Nano has a defined maximum number of tokens that will constitute its supply, numbering just over 133 million. The project began with a much higher maximum, but the supply was burned down to this limit. It is also fully diluted, with the entire 133 million XNO already in circulation.

How Do You Buy XNO?

Given how long Nano has been around, it may come as no surprise to find out that it is listed on most, if not all, of the top exchange platforms. XNO is one of the easier cryptocurrencies to buy and is often traded against the US dollar or Bitcoin.

Is It Possible to Buy XNO Instantly?

Buying any cryptocurrency on an exchange is instant, so Nano doesn’t stand out too much in that way. What’s important is that it’s practically instant to send XNO from one wallet to the other and doesn’t involve any fee.

These performance characteristics make Nano an excellent choice as a global payment system, although it doesn’t quite have the network effect that Bitcoin and Litecoin enjoy.

How Do You Store XNO?

You can store XNO on various wallets depending on your device of choice and preferences when it comes to storage. A paper wallet is always an option for crypto, and Nano allows you to do it in style with the community-built Nano Paper Wallet project. You can also use multi-asset wallets like Trust Wallet, Exodus, and Guarda if you want to add XNO to your portfolio. On the other hand, wallets like Natrium offer a full range of features unique to Nano. A full list of supported wallets is available on the Nano website.

Is XNO a Good Investment?

As far as digital payment systems go, it’s very difficult to beat Nano. On top of sub-second finality and a network that can process up to 1000 transactions per second, transacting on Nano is absolutely free.

This alone makes Nano extremely suitable for almost all sorts of payment processing applications, from commercial to microtransactions. Fees have been one of the biggest problems with using “blue-chip” cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum for payments, and Nano solves the problem handily.

However, Nano has been around for a long time and has enjoyed nowhere near the same level of adoption as a whole slew of other decentralized networks. This lack of adoption may hurt Nano as the technology continues to mature. And yet, for many in the crypto community, Nano is the best and fastest way to transact.