Master Coin, masters them all by rising from out of nowhere!

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Bang!



3

http://coinmarketcap.com/img/MasterCoin.png MasterCoin (http://www.mastercoin.org/)
$ 83,915,177
$ 149.01 (http://www.cryptocoincharts.info#jump-msc-btc)
563,162 MSC
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I am VERY excited to announce that I now have a complete specification for building a protocol layer on top of bitcoin (like how HTTP runs on top of TCP/IP).

The coins of the new layer have


Additional security features to make your money much harder to steal
Built-in support for a distributed currency exchange
Built-in support for distributed betting (no need to trust a website to coordinate bets)
Built-in support for "smart property" which can be used to create and transfer property such as titles, deeds, or stock in a company
Capability to hold a stable user-defined value, such as an ounce of gold or U.S. Dollar, with no need to trust a person promising to back up that value


This is a significant improvement over anything we've had before, including colored coins. This protocol has been my life's work for over two years now, and you can finally get a piece of it today!

The name of the new protocol layer is “MasterCoin” (a name I invented and published long before the alt-coin of the same name), and it is 100% message-based, meaning that it encodes all its protocol data as hidden messages in the block chain which have special meanings, such as placing a bet, or transferring MasterCoins to another address.

Once you own MasterCoins, you have the building blocks for creating GoldCoin, USDCoin, EuroCoin, and any other real-world asset you can imagine! These child currencies will then be “meta stable” (holding their values as long as they remain sufficiently backed by MasterCoins held in escrow). Their target values are maintained by protocol actions which control the available supply.

Want more details?


Readthe complete MasterCoin specification here: https://github.com/mastercoin-MSC/spec
Watch this video of my explaining MasterCoin to the bitangels investor group, in which I use screen-sharing to explain MasterCoin and demonstrate what it could already do at that time (we've come a long way since): https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3nInaIJVqrtc3NqdkloLTZNOXM/edit?usp=sharing
"Let's talk Bitcoin" has an episode in which they interview me about MasterCoin: http://letstalkbitcoin.com/e37-meeting-mastercoin/ (my segment is towards the end)
We now have a wiki with a FAQ: http://wiki.mastercoin.org/index.php?title=FAQ



About me:


I've been a software engineer for over 10 years. Here's my LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jrwillett (connect with me!)
I've been pushing for new bitcoin protocol layers since 2011. Here's a video of me as an expert panelist at the Bitcoin Conference in San Jose in May, talking about this idea (I'm the second guy from the left): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qdr_Z3hrqQ


MasterCoins are intended to be an investment opportunity on par with buying bitcoins when they first came out. However, as with bitcoins, there are a lot of risks too. Before you buy MasterCoins, please take a few minutes to read my summary of some of the ways this could go wrong and you could lose your money: https://sites.google.com/site/2ndbtcwpaper/MasterCoinRisks.pdf

Perhaps you have heard of the Genesis Block, from which the first bitcoins were created. MasterCoins have a similar starting point in the bitcoin block chain, called the “Exodus Address” (http://blockchain.info/address/1EXoDusjGwvnjZUyKkxZ4UHEf77z6A5S4P). MasterCoins were created by sending bitcoins to the Exodus Address during the month of August 2013. That fundraiser is now over, and anyone wishing to buy MasterCoins will have to purchase them from an early adopter.

Bitcoins raised in the fundraiser are being used to fund the development of software implementing the MasterCoin protocol. The fundraiser was structured like a kickstarter, but it is also an investment. If we're successful, the purchased MasterCoins could be worth a tremendous amount of money someday. Thanks to everyone who participated, helping us raise over half a million dollars worth of bitcoins. We're tracking every every expenditure of that money in a public ledger: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtCyUJvk_IyNdGpVcnpBN2tOczFmbVRnck5TWjZuR FE&usp=sharing

Again, the fundraiser is over, and bitcoins sent to the Exodus Address do not create MasterCoins anymore. Until we get the bitcoin/MasterCoin distributed exchange set up, you can purchase MasterCoins (using a very manual process) here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=287145.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=67sko2le46ab62mq367ph3ia84&topic=287145.0)

Do not attempt to purchase or use MasterCoins with a web wallet such as MtGox or Coinbase (YOU COULD LOSE YOUR MONEY). You must use a wallet where you can control a sending address by sending all your funds to that address first, then creating a "message" by sending funds from that address in a special format. Web wallets such as BlockChain.info will work fine, since they give you complete control over the addresses in your wallet.

Many MasterCoin functions are now available online (Note site disclaimers! There may still be bugs!):


http://mastercoin-explorer.com by tachikoma
https://masterchest.info/ by zathras
http://masterchain.info/ by grazcoin
http://mymastercoins.com/ by bitoy


We now have:


Our own subreddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/mastercoin
Our own website: http://www.mastercoin.org
List of tasks on Trello: https://trello.com/mastercoin
Multiple local chapters: http://wiki.mastercoin.org/index.php/List_of_Mastercoin_Foundation_Chapters
A non-profit foundation managing project funds: http://www.mastercoinfoundation.org
A legal / self-regulatory group (CODAP): http://www.codap.co/
An IRC channel irc://irc.freenode.net/mastercoin


We are currently running a 300 BTC coding contest towards implementing MasterCoin's distributed exchange feature. ALL serious entries win a prize. Details here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=292628.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=67sko2le46ab62mq367ph3ia84&topic=292628.0)

Feel free to ask any questions here, although please keep a civil tongue and be aware that I will delete posts on this thread which are off-topic or impolite.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=265488.0

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Mastercoin Foundation Lets Virtual Currencies Use Bitcoin Protocol


The Mastercoin Foundation announced its launch earlier this week. Its development team, let by JR Willet, hope to add a programmable ‘money layer’ on top of bitcoin’s existing block chain.
The development work will allow just about anyone to create their own virtual currencies using the existing Bitcoin protocol. In turn, this would allow new currencies to effectively ‘piggyback’ on bitcoin’s infrastructure and economy.
It isn’t a simple plan, as Mastercoin (http://www.mastercoinfoundation.org/) isn’t just another cryptocurrency, it’s a new protocol – a protocol that could change the way people feel about virtual currencies. In theory, it could allow people to devise new currencies pegged to certain commodities, other currencies or even precious metals.


Tangible assets

Since bitcoin is often criticised for not having an intrinsic value, Mastercoin could lead the way for virtual currencies backed by tangible assets.
It’s an ambitious goal, but the Mastercoin Foundation has plenty of backing already. The foundation has managed to bank about $5m (or just over 4,700 BTC) since fundraising began. The initial sale was organised by David Johnston of BitAngels (http://www.bitangels.co/) back in August. Ron Gross of Bitblu (http://bitblu.com/) was named executive director of the foundation.
Mastercoin’s block chain went live on 1st September and since then its overall market cap has grown to $132m, or roughly 1% of all bitcoins in circulation.
“Bitcoin is not only proving to be a sturdy foundation to support all kinds of commercial activities, but to also support a secondary layer such as Mastercoin,” said Willett. He said:

“While Mastercoin is still at a high-risk stage, and we expect the usual setbacks, we are confident it will continue to grow in usefulness as we build out its service properties through the foundation. That, in turn, will also help the bitcoin ecosystem expand.”


Distributed exchange

One of the more interesting aspects of Mastercoin is the creation of a new, distributed exchange.
This exchange allows traders to deal in bitcoin through the Mastercoin layer. Since the foundation is taking an open-source approach, developers could potentially introduce new software to address specific needs of certain investors.
“While Mastercoin itself is decentralised, the Mastercoin Foundation will be instrumental in helping to continue to make Mastercoin the conduit through which people can practically apply and use bitcoin,” said Gross.
“Whether it’s personal money transfer, payment fulfilment, issuing user currencies and future event triggers, or simply conducting and recording bitcoin transactions, Mastercoin is the perfect operational unit, and its continued growth will proceed to drive the overall value of Bitcoin at large,” he added.
The emphasis seems to be on more serious transactions, fulfilment and transfers, and this is understandable.
E-commerce

Bitcoin is possibly one of the best ways to transfer vast amounts of money at next-to-no cost, but many businesses simply refuse to embrace it, due to its frequent price fluctuations.
The Mastercoin layer could address this problem, at least in theory.
For example, e-commerce businesses could start using stable virtual currencies pegged to gold or a quasi-currency board in lieu of traditional transfers, thus eliminating currency issues in cross-border trading.
Mastercoin has three basic features that make it stand out. Firstly, it has a decentralised exchange that should speed up trading and simply exchanges between different currencies and Mastercoin.
It also has block chain price feeds that could be used to publish price data that can be used in virtual currencies. Lastly, it has an added layer of security, as it saves addresses and bolsters security for high-value savings accounts.

http://www.coindesk.com/mastercoin-foundation-virtual-currencies-bitcoin-protocol/