in-depth thread on #PowBlocks, a new GPU POW network!
We'll cover everything from Tokenomics ,tech specs to governance and what red flags we found.
So whether you're a miner or investor, this thread has something for you. 🧵
@PowBlocks
Introduction:
The @PowBlocks whitepaper serves as a foundational document for a decentralized layer-1 proof-of-work blockchain tailored for the mining community. the whitepaper outlines so many subjects but doesn't explain the project's technical aspects.
Technical Specifications
• Consensus Mechanism: @PowBlocks employs a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, utilizing the #Ethash algorithm.
• Scalability: Yes
• Security: The network is secured by a proof-of-work mechanism.
Smart contracts: Yes
Mining Information:
• Number of Pools: 18 active mining pools
• Hashrate: The total network hashrate stands at 491GH/s.
• Difficulty: The current mining difficulty is 7.25T.
• Block Height: The blockchain has been mined up to block 18,427.
Vision:
The project is driven by a bold vision to become the largest Proof of Work blockchain, carrying forward the legacy of PoW blockchains like #Ethereum. It aims to provide a fair and transparent platform for miners and users, strengthening the PoW community.
• Tokenomics:
Token Symbol $XPB
Initial Supply: 0.
Block Reward Reduction @PowBlocks implements a 5% block reward reduction every 200,000 blocks that reduces the rate of emission over time.
Network Security:
The whitepaper highlights the successful mainnet launch, which utilized a 1T (1 terahash) difficulty level to avoid challenges like instamine and chain forks. This high initial difficulty level is intended to deter miners from quickly accumulating tokens.
Social:
-The first post of @PowBlocks in Bitcointalk.org was in Sep 5th (6days ago).
-Twitter followers: 93
-Discord: 163 member
-website registered: 17 july 2023
Governance and Community Involvement
@PowBlocks places a strong emphasis on community-driven governance. holders and miners are given a significant say in the project's development, ensuring transparency and alignment with the community's interests.
*but they dont explain how.
Emission Model:
The whitepaper details how the emission rate decreases over time, aiming for a total supply of 36 million $XPB that can be mined. This approach is designed to balance supply and demand while encouraging decentralization.
powblocks.com/emission/
GitHub Repository Analysis:
• Commit Activity: The repository has only one commit message.
• Documentation: While there's a README.md file, it lacks a description, website, or topics related to the project, making it hard to understand its purpose or functionality
GitHub Repository Analysis:
• Languages: The primary language used is Go, making up 89.5% of the codebase.
• Code Structure: The repository contains multiple directories like accounts, beacon, etc., but the lack of documentation makes it hard to understand the role of each.
Red Flags:
Most Significant Concerns
• High Project Funding Percentage: Approximately 11.11% of the maximum supply (4M out of 36M $XPB) is allocated to the development treasury during the first 2M blocks. This high allocation could be a major red flag for miners and investors.
•Significant Allocation in Early Blocks: By block 2M, the development treasury will hold 4M coins out of a total of 14,445,470 coins mined. This equates to 27.68% of the coins mined by that point, which could be a major concern for potential investors and miners.
Other Concerns:
• Limited GitHub Activity: The repository has only one commit message, "code upload," suggesting that the project might be in its initial stages.
• Inadequate Documentation: Both the whitepaper and the GitHub repository lack comprehensive documentation.
• High Initial Difficulty Level: The 1T difficulty level at launch sets a high barrier to entry for smaller miners.
• Limited Technical Details: The whitepaper focuses more on vision and governance rather than providing in-depth technical details.
Final thoughts:
there are several red flags that cannot be ignored.
The most significant of these is the high percentage of tokens allocated to the DEV treasury in the early blocks, which raises concerns about the centralization and the project's long-term sustainability
Additionally, the lack of comprehensive documentation, both in the whitepaper and the GitHub repository, makes it difficult to fully understand the project's technical aspects and governance structure.
Given these concerns, I have decided not to mine @PowBlocks and would not recommend others to do so at this time. The project needs to address these red flags and provide more transparency and documentation to gain the trust of potential miners and investors.