The Loom Network: Everything You Need To Know

Scalability is one of the main bottlenecks that blockchains of today’s world face.

Most would agree, wouldn’t you?

But at the same time, some won’t. Some of you might argue that blockchains like NEO, LISK, and EOS have solved the scalability problem. Reason being the fact that they are scalable to do 1000s of transactions per second.

I do agree with that.

But the lesser known fact is, many of these blockchains have compromised decentralization to achieve that scalability.

Ethereum, however, stands out amongst them and keeps the base layer decentralized.

Also, pioneers like Vitalik Buterin are working on scalability solutions such as Sidechains, Sharding, and Plasma.

Are you wondering why I suddenly started brought up Ethereum when I should actually be talking about the Loom Network?

Well, the reason is Loom is the second layer scaling solutions for Ethereum.

In this analysis, we will discuss:

What Is Loom Network
How Loom Network Works
Loom Token Utility
Loom Network Team
Loom Token Supply & Loom Market Cap
Where To Buy Loom Network Token (aka LOOM)
LOOM Token Wallets
Conclusion
Loom Network Resources

What Is Loom Network?

If I were to put it in simple terms, I’d say:

Loom Network is a second layer Ethereum scaling solution that makes it possible for Ethereum to host highly scalable DApps and smart contracts on its sidechains.

Loom Network leverages the concept of Plasma (also a second layer Ethereum scaling solution) to make highly scalable DApps.

Another unique thing about Loom is, they are specifically focused towards building social network DApps and online games using the blockchain technology as the spine.

The advantage they see in building such DApps is that such micro-communities and games built on top of blockchains will be uncensorable.

And in the words of its creators:

“Loom Network is a PaaS (Platform as a Service) that allows Ethereum based Solidity applications to be run on the main chain and on private, and semi-public chains. The goal is to allow app developers to have smart contracts that can access more computing power when necessary or the same computing at lower costs for tasks like free trials for onboarding new users or applications that don’t need the full security of the blockchain.”

How Loom Network Works

Loom Network enables the building of DApps on sidechains called DAppchains.

These DAppchains are linked to the Ethereum mainnet smart contracts which keep recording the state of DAppchain periodically.

These DAppchains also have their native assets which can be transferred to Ethereum mainnet provided you have Loom tokens.

Here, LOOM tokens act like a usability tokens that give you access to the DApps on the Loom network.

Daunting much? Stick around. I will simplify it further.

Loom has an SDK that makes it simple for developers to build and deploy their games and apps on Loom DAppChains, a type of application-specific sidechains for Ethereum. This network of DAppChains collectively makes up the Loom Network where you get access through LOOM tokens. (Source: Loomx.io)

It is like having:

1 DApp = 1 DAppChain

And in this way, the DApp gets a dedicated chain where it can implement its own datasets and consensus rules at the same time not facing the bottlenecks of the Ethereum main chain.

This also prevents Ethereum blockchain from bloating and thus helps Ethereum to scale while keeping its base layer decentralized.

Loom Token Utility

Loom token is an ERC20 token used for buying all the services and products offered by the Loom network.

And as I said before, Loom network is a collection of DAppchains which can be games or various social networks on the blockchain like Quora, Twitter, or Facebook but uncensorable.

For now, Loom token can be paid to use its SDK, to get exclusive membership of its games and also to earn other DAppcoins by participating on those DApps.

For more detailed insight into its utility, check out this post.

Loom Network Team

The Loom team is made up of blockchain enthusiasts, specifically Ethereum enthusiasts, who envision a decentralized world where we will have blockchain-based social communities.

Currently, there are roughly 40 members working on the Loom project with the following faces as its founders:

See team profiles here.

Loom Token Supply & Loom Market Cap

Loom had an interesting beginning, and unlike other projects in the blockchain space, it didn’t start with an ICO or a token sale.

Instead, it is privately funded and is a part of a start-up accelerator Techstars NYC.

Its total supply is fixed to 1 billion ERC20 LOOM tokens. Here is the distribution break-up:

35% of the total supply as a reserve fund is with the company.
10% is for the team and advisors

According to CoinMarketCap, the total circulating supply is 605,832,044 LOOM, with the current price of each unit at $0.04 which values it at approximately $100 million (at the time of writing this article).

Where To Buy Loom Network Token (aka LOOM)

Due to the scalability USP that Loom brings with itself, Loom has attracted quite a few exchanges to list its LOOM token. Here are some legit exchanges where you can buy LOOM tokens if its technology appeals to you.

Binance: Supported pairs are LOOM/BTC, LOOM/ETH, LOOM/BNB
KuCoin: Supported pairs are LOOM/BTC, LOOM/ETH, LOOM/NEO, LOOM/USDT
Bittrex: Supported pairs are LOOM/BTC

LOOM Token Wallets

LOOM is an ERC20 token, so you have plenty of options for storing your LOOM tokens safely. Some of these options have been listed below and will help you keep your LOOM safe.

Mobile Wallets: Coinomi (Android), Jaxx (Android, iOS)
Browser/Web Wallets: Jaxx (Chrome Extension)
Desktop Wallets: Jaxx (Windows, Linux, Mac), MyEtherWallet
Hardware Wallet: Ledger Nano S, Trezor

Note: Avoid, at all costs, keeping your tokens on the exchanges listed above.

Conclusion & Latest Happenings At Loom Network

I like Loom’s approach of implementing Plasma, the MVP of which was proposed by Vitalik Buterin first for Ethereum.

Even Vitalik commended this step by Loom.

Great to see more Plasma adoption: https://t.co/QIIbqaULHP
— Vitalik Non-giver of Ether (@VitalikButerin) April 13, 2018

In addition to that, Loom did not publish their whitepaper like other blockchain projects. Instead, they started building the product first.

Their first scalable DApp that went live in March 2018 is called DelegateCall.com. It is similar to Steemit but in a Q&A form where one can discuss Ethereum, Bitcoin and DApp programming to earn cryptographic rewards that can be redeemed in ETH.

Plus, their SDK launch has been launched with improvements and more games/DApps are in the pipeline.

Loom SDK Release 330 – July 30th
* Fix for consensus problems on EVM
* Updates for ZombieChain Testnet
* Added more telemetry to measure performance
* Range queries on Go Contracts
* Added ChainID to loom.yamlhttps://t.co/FhvfntCaQp
— Loom Network (@loomnetwork) July 30, 2018

They have not re-invented the wheel again and have chosen to stick to Ethereum for developing their game and social network specific DApps, which is indeed a good approach given Ethereum’s huge developer network effect.

Don’t you think so?

Also, it looks like it will soon become a go-to platform for launching such niche DApps where one can optimize DAppchains according to the needs of the DApps.

Oh, here is something rather interesting.

Their free code school (CryptoZombies.io) where developers can learn to build games (and other DApps) on Ethereum and learn Solidity is growing by leaps and bounds.

CryptoZombies.io has now had over 207,623+ users since it was launched in last November and this number has been growing consistently by over 30,000+ users per month, with no signs of slowing down. (Source: Medium Loom Network)

But there is one thing I’d like to see changed. Any guesses?

Well, I would like them to improve their pricing structure as there is a huge difference between the token price in which they are selling LOOM tokens on their main website and its partner crypto exchanges. Don’t you agree?

Loom Network Official Resources

Some official links that will help you stay updated on the Loom Network:

If you have any questions regarding Loom, feel free to ask in the comment section below!

Also, don’t forget to share the post On Twitter & Facebook!!

Further suggested readings:

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