eGold is the native currency of the Elrond economy. The company aims to use eGold and eGLD interchangeably where users will be able to use the token for all of the native ElRond services such as general staking and delegation, and various DeFi options.
The History of EGLD
Initially launched in 2016, EGLD is designed to be an Ethereum-based currency with a unique background story. The unique part of the coin is that it was conceived during the infamous DAO hack, and decided to be a token of economic value during the Ethereum Hardfork when the native currency split. Developers are currently hard at work on the DAGER protocol which will function as an underlying protocol to deal with the scalability issues of the Ethereum network. This system will be used for data storing, distribution, and decentralized execution of smart contracts. Can ElRond Address Scalability Issues of the Ethereum Network? “It is easy to hack, and has had issues with scaling. There needs to be a major re-thinking of how we can handle large numbers of transactions over the blockchain.
What is EGLD?
EGLD is the native asset on the ElRond marketplace. EGLD is the native currency of the ElRond economy and an open standard currency with different value and capabilities. EGLD is supported and built upon the ERC20 Ecosystem. What are EGLD functionalities? Ethereum smart contracts are used to enable the conversion of EGLD to EGLD & eGLD to EGLD and provide easy transfers and payments between users. For example: Buying assets (like PLEX) in any amount: eGLD is traded on the egold decentralized exchange, and when purchased with PLEX it will be converted to EGLD (the native ElRond token), and then transferred to the user's EGLD wallet. Buying assets (like PLEX) with EGLD: Once the user has bought the asset with EGLD, the EGLD will be released back to the ElRond treasury.
How to buy eGold and eGLD
The EGLD tokens are bought from one of the company’s trading partners which include exchanges such as Bittrex. Currently, there are two markets available for trading ElRond tokens on the various exchanges with the company planning to add more in the future. On Bittrex, EGLD tokens can be purchased for $0.24 with a 70% market cap. On the other hand, on the largest ERC20 token exchange by volume, Poloniex, EGLD tokens are being traded at the price of $0.27 with a 65% market cap. Both platforms are centralized exchanges. The EGLD tokens on the exchanges can be traded freely for a limited number of tokens which includes: XEM, BID, STEEM, ETH and STEPS. ECED Token Sale Once launched, Elrond hopes to start an ICO and sell eGold tokens to investors.
General usage of EGLD
EGLD is intended to be used as a means of payment on Elrond services, such as delegate hosting, staking, and payment processing. Using EGLD you will be able to send and receive payments using Ethereum's native payment services, with the ease of use of credit cards. For example, you can send an eGLD payment from your Android app to the Ethereum wallet of your eGold wallet. The website also recommends linking your Ethereum wallet to eGold if you use the service for many of your functions. Once a transaction is complete, the funds can be returned to you or sent to a user's ElRond wallet if you choose to delegate them. You can delegate as many functions on Elrond as you would like, but remember that all delegates must be 'alts' of the delegate of the address of the delegate’s ElRond wallet.
eGold vs. e-Gold
e-gold, which was launched in 1997, was a precursor to eGold. e-gold provided investors with an alternative to investing in Gold bullion. eGold seeks to replace the gold model entirely by implementing blockchain technology to facilitate 24/7 centralization. The Ethereum blockchain and the eGold token are the same, meaning that the same functions can be applied on eGold as on eGold. As EGLD holders, users are the direct shareholders of the Ethereum blockchain and the eGLD token which are both owned by the eGold Foundation. As of writing, Ethereum’s market capitalization is worth approximately $30B USD. It is likely that eGold’s market value will increase after the token sale. With a significant number of tokens already purchased, the token sale is off to a good start. When Is the ICO?
Conclusion
eGold is a stable token, it is value guaranteed and tradable within its native economy. eGold is one of the few cryptocurrency projects to offer a smart contract library of capabilities that can be embedded into other projects for staking, payroll, governance, or token conversion. With its unique blockchain architecture and various planned use cases, eGold is primed to become a sustainable blockchain alternative for the financial industry.