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BSV Blockchain: Building trust at scale
The BSV blockchain is a “secure and stable” peer to peer technology, designed for scalability and enterprise-level use cases, according to a new report by BSV’s Swiss-based custodian organization, the BSV Association, in collaboration with strategic management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group.
Titled “Navigating Digital Transformation: Building trust in an automated world,” the report outlined trust issues that the new digital age has created for businesses, how blockchain can address some of these issues, and real-world uses cases that demonstrate the advantages of applying the blockchain to the novel problems of life and enterprise in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT) and Web3.
In the last article in our series of deep dives into the report, we explore how and why the report posited BSV blockchain as the go-to technology to solve the trust problems of the new digital age whilst also looking at and hearing from a diverse range of businesses already utilizing the BSV blockchain.
Unique features
The report suggested that certain unique features of the BSV blockchain make it particularly well suited to the challenges of the new digital age and to adoption by enterprises. Specifically:
- Efficient scaling – The overlay networks and unbounded block size of BSV achieve 14,000 transactions per second (tps), and with the blockchain’s Teranode update, it seeks to reach more than one million plus tps. This would be “much faster than traditional payment processors such as Visa, who, by comparison, can execute only about 65,000 tps,” said BSV Association.
- Low transaction costs – The BSV blockchain offers a cost-efficient solution, with transaction fees as low as $0.0000006 (as of May 17, 2024). By comparison, the report suggested that Stripe, an online payment processing and credit card processing platform, has transaction fees of 1.5% to 3.25% of payment value plus a flat fee of $0.27.
- Resilience and reliability – According to the report, the BSV blockchain has been “reliably operating for more than 5 years and processed over 3.6 billion transactions.”
- Sustainability – On average, the BSV blockchain emits about 0.03kg of CO2 per transaction and consumes less than 500 MWh of energy daily. “This performance demonstrates greater energy efficiency compared to other Proof of Work (PoW) blockchains,” argued the report.
- Security – BSV blockchain is anchored in a “battle-tested” PoW mechanism and an unspent transaction output (UTXO)–based token model, this forms what the report called a “trustworthy and immutable blockchain architecture.”
- Regulatory compliance – BSV is, technically, not classified as a security and implements legal rules to govern its nodes.
On this latter point, the report quoted Cozen O’Connor legal firm, who said:
“The SEC has stated that Bitcoin is not a security under the federal securities laws in the United States due to its function as a substitute for fiat currency as a medium of exchange. The BSV Association maintains that BSV restored the Bitcoin protocol to its original design – and therefore its concept as a medium of exchange.”
The SEC comments were in reference to BTC. It has not commented on whether BSV is a security other than to suggest that all blockchains other than BTC are likely securities. However, considering what Cozen O’Connor pointed out, it may be fair to conclude that the SEC would not view BSV as a security.
As noted by the report, another key selling point of BSV is its scalability, and Teranode continues to up the stakes in this regard.
1 million transactions per second
Teranode, which began its initial six-month sustained test in January, is a major upgrade for BSV’s node software. It is designed to scale horizontally and provide new microservices for developers, applications, and users—while still following all the fundamental rules set forth in the Bitcoin white paper.
The Teranode upgrade, theoretically, allows the BSV blockchain to scale unboundedly, making it faster and cheaper for everyone to use.
“Teranode, a significant upgrade for BSV, supports 1 million transactions per second — more than 10 times the maximum theoretical transaction rate of Visa,” said the report.
“Uniquely, Teranode reduces transaction fees as usage increases, thanks to its ability to process more transactions in each block, efficiently spreading costs. This feature presents a clear economic advantage, particularly for high-volume businesses aiming to enhance efficiency and cut operational expenses.”
To show that such innovations as Teranode—as well as the various other unique features of BSV outlined—are not simply hypothetical, the report provided several examples and supporting testimonials from businesses currently employing the BSV blockchain.
8 companies explain why they use the BSV blockchain
Blockchain could provide innovative platforms for enterprises in every sector to support applications in AI, IoT, gaming, and more. In its report, the BSV Association made the case for how its namesake blockchain is already demonstrating this utility for a number of diverse enterprises.
Finance
Centi B2B Solutions uses the BSV blockchain to simplify stablecoin transactions, companies such as online payment platform Payrexx trust Centi to handle the transactions of its 50,000 clients. In addition, Centi has enrolled more than 250 merchants and recently achieved a milestone by processing more than one million micropayments in just 24 hours, each transaction amounting to one cent.
“For Centi, scalability is the most crucial element. And yes, this may also be achieved with Proof of Stake (PoS) protocols like Solana. But besides scalability, it was crucial for us to build our services on a protocol that has a granted legal classification as currency since otherwise, Centi’s business cases might be at risk when the underlying token is classified as a security,” said Centi, in a statement quoted in the report.
The report further argued that BSV’s platform is uniquely suited to support financial applications, like Centi, that require scalability and compliance compatibility.
Internet of Things
Rekord IOT is a hardware monitoring and analytics solution for IoT infrastructure, which uses the BSV blockchain to streamline data management and security for IoT devices, addressing critical issues in scalability and interoperability. The project has attracted funding and interest from major clients, highlighting its potential to transform IoT infrastructure on a large scale.
One of its key benefits is the storage and encryption of data from IoT sensors, which increases the trust, integrity, and security of IoT-generated data.
Supply Chain
Gate2Chain is a company building enterprise solutions which employs the BSV blockchain to increase transparency and efficiency in supply chain operations and solve traceability and security issues.
For example, its BSV blockchain-based platform Trace is designed to combat fraud and counterfeiting in the supply chain by providing digital twins and certification. The initiative has formed partnerships with large multinational corporations, including a significant collaboration with IBM in Poland.
In this case, the key benefit offered by the BSV blockchain is a transparent and immutable audit trail of supply chain-related activities for improved data trust and security.
The report quoted Bart Olivares, CEO at Gate2Chain, who said:
“The first reason why we chose BSV is the stability of the protocol. BSV is working with a locked protocol. We need stability in the protocol; otherwise, we need to change (our applications) all the time. The second reason is that we need scale. We work with retailers, where you need to record every delivery, and every return, and map every relationship with suppliers, which equates to millions of transactions each year. Thirdly, we need to scale at an affordable price. We cannot pay the high fees of the rest of the protocols. Now our gas fee is so cheap, we can meet the level of scalability our customers need at affordable cost.”
This sentiment was supported by Dr. Agata Slater of IBM (NASDAQ: IBM), who commented that a “solution such as Trace can drive trust and traceability across all industries. Trust and traceability are becoming more and more important as the world pushes for more sustainability and a circular economy.”
Invoicing, Storage and Identity
mintBlue, on the BSV blockchain, offers a scalable infrastructure for building and managing blockchain applications. Its largest customer, Visma | Yuki uses mintBlue for e-invoicing, and it has also worked with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce to explore instant tax payment solutions.
In March 2023, MintBlue successfully processed 50.53 million transactions in a single day at a cost of only €400 ($434), with each transaction containing a simulated document.
“We believe that UTXO architecture (BSV’s architecture) is more suitable for real-world enterprise solutions that need to be compliant and private and support commercial scale without offloading workload to other systems,” said Niels van den Bergh, CEO at mintBlue. “Secondly, BSV is a public protocol with the mandate to keep it set in stone. This gives me confidence in selling solutions using the protocol because I know it will always work as intended.”
This glowing testimonial was mirrored in a use case report published by the Dutch Tax Office, which stated:
“Powered by mintBlue, the Dutch Tax Office built a plug-in that connects bookkeeping systems and connected POS devices to an encrypted ledger. This enables business owners to share transactions in real-time, making tax reports as easy and effortlessly as possible.”
Gaming
Gaming is a booming market, and FYX Gaming is “at the forefront of merging Web3 benefits with traditional Web2 gaming experiences through the BSV blockchain,” according to the report.
The company’s FYX Gateway product allows seamless asset exchange among different gaming platforms. The flagship game, CryptoFights, showcased more than 10 million transactions per day on the BSV blockchain.
BSV Association claimed this highlights the business benefits of trading and monetizing in-game assets and diversifying revenue streams.
“Choosing BSV as our blockchain platform was an initial strategic decision driven by its exceptional scalability and low transaction fees, which enable us to subsidize gas costs for our users, enhancing their gaming experience,” said Adam Kling (CEO of FYX Gaming). “Additionally, the BSV blockchain’s robust tooling, including a ready-to-use marketplace, and the cost-efficient on-chain storage capabilities for assets like NFTs, make it ideal for FYX Gaming’s needs.”
XR Metaverse
Using the BSV blockchain, Transmira developed its Omniscape platform, which monetizes XR (combined augmented reality and virtual reality) for spatial computing and experiential marketing.
Immersive XR paired with blockchain can potentially increase fan engagement, expand customer bases, and drive sales.
Robert Rice, CEO of Transmira, claimed, “There’s only one blockchain that can handle this: it’s the BSV blockchain.”
In his testimonial, he argued that “BSV is fast, it’s scalable, it’s very inexpensive, and it gives us the security, trust and verification we need.”
Ticketing and Events
At its latest event in Hong Kong, ComplexCon, a series focused on pop culture, music, art, fashion, food, and technology, gave its attendees “superior experiences” with an app powered by BSV’s blockchain and built by BSV’s partner nChain.
Users could import their tickets into the app, turning them into digital collectibles that granted them access to exclusive perks such as merchandise, artist appearances, and exclusive drops.
Bonnie Chan Woo, CEO of Complex China, said of the collaboration:
“At the event, guests were able to register their tickets for a digital version minted on blockchain. This then allows us to process gift redemption efficiently and securely on-site using the event app. We see the potential of offering future benefits to these inaugural edition digital ticket holders, and we won’t be surprised if the anticipated future stream of benefits will be valued by the market, resulting in the active trading of these digital tickets on open markets. This will transform the fan experience from a series of unconnected one-offs to a deeper engagement that keeps rewarding the most active fans.”
Tokenization
The final use case provided was Tokenovate, which is built on the BSV blockchain and streamlines the creation and management of digital tokens for businesses. The company aims to address the need for a more accessible and scalable tokenization process, allowing companies to issue, manage, and trade digital assets at an affordable cost.
“It’s unrealistic to think about building a smart contract trading platform or a lifecycle engine if every event in processing costs me, you know, $1.50 or $2 more,” said Richard Baker, CEO of Tokenovate (as quoted by the report).
“Ultimately, that isn’t a proposition that I can take into the traditional finance market. It would be too cost-prohibitive to run on a digital ledger technology with high transaction fees and low throughput. So, the BSV Network is bringing scalability. It brings affordability.”
These diverse projects and real-world examples demonstrate how BSV’s robust and scalable architecture can be applied in enterprises across every sector.
“As these projects proliferate, increasingly demonstrating the power of BSV, they open a world of possibilities for companies looking to blockchain technology to drive their digital transformation and solve complex business challenges,” said the BSV Association.
Trust and opportunity
The report rounded off by reemphasizing the importance of trust and how the blockchain can provide the much-needed reassurance many businesses seek.
“Enterprises are increasingly integrating blockchain into their digital processes and applications, and reaping rewards – which, taken together, come down to one key enabler: trust,” the report read.
“As blockchain converges with other emerging technologies such as AI and IoT, it’s not just meeting expectations; it’s exceeding them. At last, companies can use their technologies and the data they generate with confidence.”
The BSV Association also challenged readers to get involved, inviting them to join its Proof of Concept or co-creation initiatives to explore the possibilities for blockchain:
“The best way to experience the transformative power of blockchain technology is to start developing and building blockchain-based solutions. Join us in shaping this technology’s future!”
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