Civitas: Community Coin Releases White Paper

                                    

One of the most interesting new cryptocurrencies has had a busy two weeks. If you missed my initial expose on Civitas, you can check it out here. Since then, it has been listed on a second exchange (crypto-bridge) and today, the development team released their highly anticipated White Paper. 

My initial reaction to the White Paper? This is a professional document. From the cover to the final page of references, meticulous care was given to each and every detail. In addition to the graphic design, sprinkled throughout the White Paper are quotes by great people that adds a measure of efficacy to the branding of Civitas. 

But enough about how pretty this lady is. Let’s dive deeper into the content: 

Civitas comes from the ancient Roman concept that community is not just the collective body of citizens, it is the contract that binds them all. The “together we are stronger” philosophy… - Abstract, Page 4 

A quick explanation for the name of the coin. A call back to my earlier article about the why behind its creation. Community, community, community; did I say it enough yet? People are tired of investing in something and wondering what’s going to happen next. A community helps ease that worry by engaging in daily conversations about the hows and whys of the direction of its cryptocurrency. 

…Civitas begins its journey by forking from the Pivx repository, a cryptocurrency based off Bitcoin’s core 0.10x code base and running Blackcoin’s Proof of Stake (PoS) 3.0 protocols.  - Abstract, Page 5

Originally, Civitas was created as a Proof-of-Work (PoW)/Proof-of-Stake (PoS) hybrid but it’s nice to see that the coin has moved solely to PoS. Mining cryptocurrencies may have been the standard for quite some time, but I’m happy to see more and more PoS coins emerge.  

Mining is a huge draw on capital (equipment) and resources (heavy electricity usage). It’s not a sustainable option for mass adoption. Whereas PoS can and should be the future of cryptocurrency. 

In a 2-tier system such as Civitas, its incentive structure is split between MNs and traditional (PoS) staking wallets. MNs require 10,000 Civitas collateral and a minimum downtime of 1 hour per day connectivity. They receive 65% of the block reward for their contribution. The remaining 35% of the block reward goes to traditional staking wallets.  - Section 2: Dash Masternode Theory, Page 7

I love this part of Civitas’ structure. 65% of the rewards go to Masternode (MN) holders. Rightfully so, given their investment-heavy commitment to the health and longevity of the cryptocurrency. Masternodes, in general, have become a preferred option for passive income vehicles. As an investor, this is an attractive attribute of the Civitas coin. 

However, the Civitas development team knows that the whole philosophy behind cryptocurrency is its decentralized and inclusive structure. Including the split between MN holders and staking wallets provides a relatively fair opportunity for smaller volume coin holders to also receive rewards for holding and supporting the Civitas community. 

Once the MNs reach consensus on a transaction, the inputs of that transaction become locked and become non-transferable elsewhere on the network. The process takes about four seconds and is a decentralized means in allowing near instant payment for real world commerce as well as peer-to-peer exchanges. - Deeper Dive: Faster Transactions, Page 8 

What is the biggest complaint about Bitcoin you hear every damn day? Besides the transaction fees… it is brutally slow. Bitcoin transfers and transactions can take anywhere from a few minutes to more than a day. One of the pitfalls to PoW coins, especially one as established as Bitcoin. PoS aims to cut those transaction times into seconds. 

Civitas continues this objective, addressing it directly in their White Paper. Having done a few Civitas transactions myself, I can attest to what is written here. Mere seconds will pass from when I am told coins were sent and when they arrive in my wallet. What a relief after spending two hours looking at my computer screen earlier today waiting for my Bitcoin transaction to show up. 

Users of the Civitas network can choose to convert their normal Civitas (Civ) coins into a denominated amount of zCiv coins, thus dissociating any of their wallet information from the transaction ID.  - Section 3: Pivx/Zerocoin Privacy, Page 9 

Anonymity is one of the most attractive characteristics of cryptocurrency. Unfortunately, true anonymity is hard to find today. Most currencies can be tracked, no matter how many wallets they pass through. Thanks, blockchain!

But there are some good anonymous coins out there and Civitas made the decision to build that option into its code. By giving their users the freedom to choose, it provides a greater sense of security while transacting. As the community continues to grow, so will the breadth of preferences of its users. It’s forward thinking like this that turned me on to Civitas in the first place. 

Civitas seeks to empower its network by starting from a robust framework (Masternodes), removing previous made additions, and allowing the network users to vote and choose which protocols they want to see or problems they want addressed by the project.  - Summary, Page 10

The underlying message here is kaizen. One of my personal favorites; it’s a Japanese word meaning “small, incremental improvement.” Developed during the 1940s through the ‘Training Within Industry’ service, it helped build the foundation for many workplace training programs we often see today. 

Personally, it’s one of those attributes that people should strive to develop within themselves, whether it be their careers, hobbies, relationships, etc. Having a team of developers that also embody this core value is a great first impression for the reader. 

Conclusion 

Civitas isn’t a groundbreaking cryptocurrency; it was never intended to be. But its features are current and attractive for any investor. And they have more coming in the next week or two. In the end, Civitas is a cryptocurrency that was designed by honest, integrity-driven developers that is backed by a community that have all come together for one reason or another. 

However, one thing that is important to everyone involved is the desire to “stop being surprised.” There have been more than enough surprises in cryptocurrency in the past nine months. Mostly bad, and it has left a lot of people with some serious scars. 

So you’re invited to Civitas for the investment opportunity; it’s a good one. But stay for the relationships you’ll build with people who know exactly how it feels to have an investment fall through. It’s rarely talked about; there is an unspoken understanding that everyone is here to experience something good. Something neighborly.  

Website: http://www.civitascoin.com/
Civitas-based Discord Server: https://discord.gg/HzkyX5s