For this weeks post I want to ask, where is PIVX going? And more importantly, why is it going there?
Higher Goals
When Amazon.com first launched its original online storefront, it sold only one thing – books. This was true for quite a long time. Out of its Seattle headquarters, Amazon.com quickly became a favorite place to buy books online during a time when online shopping was still considered to be on the far fringes of society. In the world of the late 90s, large bookstores reigned supreme in the US, with juggernauts like Barnes & Noble and Borders reigning supreme. Today these companies are mere shadows of their former glory, with Borders having gone out of business entirely years ago. We all know what has happened since then, however. Amazon.com has become the ultimate juggernaut in online shopping and sells pretty much everything from lawn mowers to UHT milk. But what does that have to do with PIVX? Allow me to explain. Amazon.com was successful because they chose a simple target – to be the best online bookseller in the world – and they did it. It was only after they were successful in selling books that they branched out to selling CDs and movies. Then it was only after this proved successful, too, that they branched out into selling pretty much everything. In many ways, PIVX is the same. Its creators set out with one goal in mind. That goal was to create an easy to use, lightweight and low-cost proof-of-stake coin that provides the best private financial experience. In short, the goal was to make the best privacy coin, period.
Forging Our Own Path
What makes the story of PIVX fascinating is that unlike other “me too” coins that merely copy and rebrand the technology of an existing project, we have been breaking new ground day after day ever since the project launched. We’ve accomplished things that were otherwise impossible before our team found the solutions. For instance, no one else had managed to create completely anonymous transactions through a proof-of-stake consensus model. Other privacy coins have relied on costly and wasteful proof-of-work. And that’s just one example of dozens. All of these goals and accomplishments that we have achieved are all leading up to one primary target. That is, of course, our original plan – to create the world’s best privacy coin.
Stay Focused, Stay True
What you may have noticed is that many coins today seem to be constantly reinventing themselves. Perhaps they started out by saying that they were “the next Ethereum” before quickly shifting into saying that they are a “bitcoin killer,” or maybe even that they are a foundation to the future Internet-of-Things infrastructure. These projects keep changing and shifting their messaging because the truth is they lack conviction. They don’t have one core defining principle that guides them to an ultimate goal. But unlike them, we have conviction. We know what we are, and where we are going. Not only that, but we want to help foster a community and team that is open, friendly, and welcoming to newcomers. Back in 2017 we did a major shift in our branding, and as a consequence, have made major strides towards making PIVX a friendly and inclusive project. In the current cryptosphere social climate, this is by itself already a huge accomplishment. While other projects suffer from having toxic communities, we’ve managed to become just the opposite.
Next Stop – Freedom
It might seem like pursuing privacy is merely a technical issue. It’s a hurdle of computer code and nothing more. On the surface, this may seem true, but there is so much more to what we are doing than merely stringing together some of the most advanced blockchain code in the world. Instead, what we are doing is building a network that could someday provide true financial, digital, and online freedom through total privacy. That might sound like a lofty or even overstated goal, but it’s not. In recent months, payment processors like Stripe, PayPal, and Patreon (via MasterCard) have shown that they are more than willing to censor free speech that comes in the form of financial transactions so that they can keep up appearances and signal their virtue. Bitcoin represents a compelling alternative, but it still suffers from the fact that all bitcoin transactions can be traced indefinitely and unconditionally. With PIVX, we believe that privacy and the freedom of expression are human rights and should not be taken away based on the whim of a corporate office trying to show off and say “look how virtuous we are by shutting down the speech of others.” We believe that financial freedom belongs in everyone’s pockets and should be available every day of the year (screw you, bank holidays). And last but not least, we believe in the freedom that comes from using a currency that is not state-controlled, that is immune to hyperinflation, and that answers to no one and nothing for any reason, without exception. But as I mentioned above, we are treading new ground, and that means there is still some ways to go before we truly reach our goal set out in our guiding principles. Once that’s done, like Amazon.com, we will begin to build and expand on our guiding principle until we have achieved absolute alignment with our goals for the future. Why struggle and strive so hard to be the best? Because we think you deserve it. Does PIVX have goals that are too lofty? Does conviction and adherence to principals matter in cryptocurrency, or does only price matter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
