PIVX is a new cryptocurrency which has been rocketed into the top 20 in less than a year. Investors have jumped on the opportunity to invest in a PoS (Proof of Stake) currency which incorporates masternodes. Pivx set of advantages give it robustness in terms of governance and long term stability. In this interview the Pivx team gives us a full and interesting birds eye view of this cryptocurrency.

What are the origins of PIVX?

PIVX is a multifaceted community-centric endeavour in the blockchain tech and cryptocurrency realms. What we mean by that is this:

There are many components of what and who PIVX is and why PIVX was manifested.

To start with the basics though:

What is PIVX?

PIVX is an acronym for Private Instant Verified Transaction(X).

PIVX was initially launched under the name DNET (Darknet). The brand transition has been successful after the website launch in February 2017.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1262920.0

Ok, so that’s the name. PIVX is a transactional security and privacy-focused decentralized open source cryptocurrency. What does that mean? It means that at its core, PIVX is designed, engineered, and evolving with the best practices and developments to ensure your transactional security and privacy. Ok, so what does that mean? It means we believe that you have the right to exchange privately and securely, without interference from corporatocracy pressures, governmental influences, prying eyes, and nefarious individuals and movements. It means that we believe in this modern age it’s time to allow individuals to exchange and use their wealth how and when they want, with a peace of mind that their transactions are occurring in a rapid fashion, and in a private and verified manner. Launched on Feb 1st, 2016 under the name of Darknet (DNET), after developments and increased community involvement, it was decided to professionally rebrand and officially change the name to PIVX to more accurately reflect the underpinnings of the community ideals and ideologies being hard coded into the cryptocurrency. The main goal of PIVX is to achieve near instant private transactions and a governance that helps sustain the network for the benefit of all of the users involved. While we are well on our way to achieving this, some of the features are under development and should appear in the near future.

PIVX, Private Instant Verified Transaction, is an open source cryptocurrency that is a fork of DASH v0.12.0.x core with a custom Proof of Stake (PoS) code implementation for achieving block consensus.

What is the fundamental difference between PIVX and other Cryptos?

Fundamental difference between PIVX and other cryptocurrencies are following:

1. PIVX was the first PoS cryptocurrency running on Bitcoin core v0.10.x and above at launch and still is the only one. This makes PIVX one of the most up to date alternate cryptocurrency.
2. PIVX is planning to create a more inclusive decentralized governance system that allows both masternode owners and stakeholders to vote on proposals.
3. PIVX development team will be implementing the libzerocoin protocol with full time truly untraceable transfers to replace the current semi-private transfer system that was inherited from DASH.
4. PIVX has an open community model encouraging every member of the community to be able to participate and make a difference.

What will the future with PIVX look like?

Don’t we all wish we knew 🙂  That being said, we are seeing an amazing influx of talent into the community, which is certainly speeding up timelines and opportunities.  The vision – a true common-currency where “power” is distributed amongst the community and not centralized, a coin that protects privacy, and of course some really slick tech developments that make PIVX easier for more people to use.

Why should anyone use PIVX over any other currency?

Well – nobody “should” do anything 😉  Why do we say that?  Well, because we want folks to explore and make an informed decision about what they would like to do. The information is readily available to digest (thanks interwebs) about anything really.  Some folks go off gut instincts, some go DEEP into github and code.  That being said, here are a few reasons folks are adopting PIVX, sticking with the community, and beginning to make it their own:

1. Fast transactions – it’s pretty wicked fast to transact.  A nice breather from some of the issues surrounding BTC right now.
2. Tons of support  – the community is super helpful and engaged, so there is a lot of personal help when it comes to getting started with PIVX.
3. Price – having an entry level still of less than $1 is pretty nice for folks.
4. Vision – folks are sensing and believing in the community driven vision of this endeavor, in that we are working towards a community governed model.  That seems to reverberate with many who have been burned or disenfranchised with a lot of the centralization that seems to occur within cryptos.
5. Proof of stake means a much less harmful impact on the environment from staking as opposed to PoW which is a drain on resources.

What is the PIVX Manifesto?

• PRIVACY is non-negotiable, it’s a basic human right.
• FREEDOM is everything.
• TECHNOLOGY is advancing, GOVERNANCE must also.
• Privacy ALLOWS the freedom to share what you wish with EVERYONE, but also the freedom to RESTRICT who sees your information.
• We believe this is each person’s CHOICE.
• GOVERNANCE is used to further objectives and FUND development.
• The DAOS are untouchable.
• Join us WHEN you like, WHY you like, and, for AS LONG as you like.
• Let’s explore ALL the options TOGETHER.
• You are IMPORTANT to US, It’s TIME we harnessed our FULL potential.

What is the total amount of PIVX coins planned for circulation?

No current max (but please note that the inflation rate is currently set at 2.6 million coins per year, which means inflation trends towards zero).  In 100 years there will be around 300 million coins at the current rate.  That being said, as this is a community governed coin, in theory at some point if enough of the community elected, they could adjust that.

What is the role of masternodes in PIVX?

This is a great question.  There are many roles for masternodes.  We’ll try and outline them here (and we also have a site dedicated for masternodes here: https://pivxmasternode.org/)

1. Masternodes are mighty elements of the PIVX network. On the one hand, you can think of them as your very own private savings account (you put 10,000 PIVX into a locked account, and in return you are rewarded with interest). On the other, Masternodes are what help secure the community and relay transactions across the network.  
   • Masternodes are nodes running the same wallet software on the same blockchain to provide extra services to the network. These services include coin mixing for increased privacy of transactions, instant transactions and a decentralized governance that provides a decentralized budgeting system with an immutable proposal and voting systems.
2. From PIVX’s perspective, another great place to get a feel of where we are going with masternodes is here: The relationship between voting and cost in PIVX 
   • This was developed off the back of our first governance hangouts, which is available to everyone to watch:

What is the ROI for masternodes?

ROI can vary due to the seesaw reward balancing mechanism that is dependent on the number of masternodes in the network.

Real time profitability can be seen from this Masternode Payment Stats page.

What is the difference between the ROI when staking and that of a masternode?

So, again, that is largely hinged on PIVX’s novel “see-saw reward balancing system”.  If the number of masternodes is large, the percent of the block reward awarded to staking rewards increases.  Conversely, if the number of masternodes decreases, the percent of the block reward awarded to the masternode increases.  That ratio is calculated ongoing in an attempt to keep the network balanced.

Checkout here: http://pivxtv.azurewebsites.net/

As I understand it, masternodes are hosted in wallets, do these wallets need to be online to earn their staking share?

That’s correct.  The node needs to be online in order to help secure the network and be eligible for a reward.

What happens when a PIVX wallet with a masternode goes offline and then online again, will it lose it’s place in the queue?

This depends on the time the masternode is offline.  If the MN is offline for less than 50 minutes, it will hold it’s place.  If it’s more than 50 minutes, it will lose its place in the queue.

Can a PIVX node be hosted on a 3rd party hosting service without losing control of the coins?

Yes they can!  There are a few full service hosting providers available.

Can a PIVX masternode be hosted on a Raspberry PI?

Yes!

What are some common PIVX misconceptions?

• PIVX is not a direct DASH clone due to multiple core differences. PIVX has a newer Bitcoin core 0.10.x base, uses a completely different Proof of Stake consensus algorithm and has a unique seesaw reward splitting algorithm.
• PIVX is not “a new coin”.  It’s been under development for over one year (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1262920.0) and has have solid development for that time (and continues to do so).  
• PIVX is not a “pump and dump” scam.  Again, see above – there are some highly, highly dedicated devs on this project, and that’s reflected into some highly engaged and supportive (and expanding) community.  Will the price fluctuate..well, it is crypto after all right?

What is the PIVX community in terms of size and attitude towards the project?

This is a wild question.  In the past week, the slack channel has exploded from 200 members to over 1000.  This growth is being sustained by a massive amount of work being done by volunteers and community members all pitching in to help new members with their support issues and questions.

There is an uncanny sense of positivity in the community.  We’ve had numerous folks end up in our slack saying “this is unlike any other crypto community we’ve experienced so far” (or literally say the only reason they started using slack was because of PIVX and the news about the community)

Is PIVX currently offering bounties?

At the moment, no.  That said, come into the slack…you’ll probably end up being tipped a ridiculous amount of PIVX as you get involved.  We’re a crazy bunch of people who believe in the flow of energy.  No sense hoarding everything.  The more we share and give, the bigger it seems this thing grows all on it’s own.

Which features are planned for the next wallet update? 

1. PIVX will be updated to DASH v0.12.1.x core
2. PIVX will be updated to Bitcoin v0.13.x core or newer
3. PIVX will re-enable the budget system and 10% block reward coin emission
4. PIVX will implement a modified libzerocoin protocol with non-optional minting
   • It will be the first PoS cryptocurrency to achieve this, if successful.
5. PIVX will have an improved decentralized blockchain-based governance system
   • We aim to have non-masternode owners to be able to vote on proposals. For this end, masternode owners will be asked to give away their privilege to vote to the whole PIVX community, and therefore strengthen the inclusivity of the community.

Is it possible to accept PIVX as a form of payment? 

We are currently on coinpayments.com 

What are the PIVX staking profits?

Well, this isn’t as straightforward as some other coins, which might be at first a pain for some adopters, it’s actually a really GOOD thing it’s not “easy” at first glance.  Here’s why:

Reminder: Remember that we (PIVX) also have Masternodes in the mix with each block.

The majority of crypto currencies that make use of masternodes, split their block reward per block equally between the mining and masternode distribution mechanisms. The intended fairness of this reward distribution can be subverted by the growth of masternodes held by large investors without limits leading to potential centralization of the budgeting system much like having a majority shareholder in a company.

To promote an even ratio between staking nodes and masternodes in the network, the PIVX team has developed a variable Seesaw Reward Balance System that dynamically adjusts its block reward size between masternodes and staking nodes. Each PIVX PoS block reward is split with 10% dedicated to the budgeting system and 90% dedicated to both the masternodes and stake mining reward.

The reward portion is further split dynamically via the Seesaw Reward Balance System between masternodes and staking nodes. The logic is simple in its roots.

The higher the masternode count, the smaller the reward portion of each PoS block that will be paid out to the masternodes and the larger the reward portion for staking nodes.

Conversely, when the masternode count falls, the masternode reward portion is increased and the staking node reward portion decreased.

The PoS block reward starts with a ratio of 9 to 1 towards masternodes when the amount of coins locked to masternodes is lower than 1% of the total coin supply. But as the number of coins locked to masternodes go above 41.5% of the total PIVX coin supply, the block reward amount will shift with more than 50% of the block reward going to staking nodes.

This has the effect of making it less attractive to provision more masternodes as it has the potential to significantly lower its profitability compared to staking that has less upkeep cost. This threshold was selected as it would allow a strong network of profitable masternodes while creating incentive for approx. 60% of the total coin supply to be available for staking to secure the network and to maintain liquidity.

To read more, please visit here: Seesaw Reward Balance System Whitepaper 

Where can those interested in PIVX find out more information?

More information can be found at pivx.org

• forum.pivx.org (official forum. Still young but content is increasing)
• pivxmasternode.org
• pivx.wiki
• reddit.com/r/pivx
• slack.pivx.org  (highest activity for community discussions & support)

Investitin.com thanks the Contributors

• Written by: snappysnap, sarah, elisha, jakiman
• Edited by: cryptosi

Further info on PIVX emissions rate:

90% distributed to stake wallet and master node

• Blocks 259,201 – 302,399 50 PIV
• Blocks 302,400 – 345,599 45 PIV
• Blocks 345,600 – 388,799 40 PIV
• Blocks 388,800 – 431,999 35 PIV
• Blocks 432,000 – 475,199 30 PIV
• Blocks 475,200 – 518,399 25 PIV
• Blocks 518,400 – 561,599 20 PIV
• Blocks 561,600 – 604,799 15 PIV
• Blocks 604,800 – 647,999 10 PIV
• Blocks 648,000 – Until 5 PIV

Additional information: