Beginners guide to Merit coin (MRT) – An Invite only cryptocurrency

With thousands of Altcoins out there and everyday several new coins are popping out; covering them all is impossible. Also it is unnecessary as most of the projects are just clones. However it is really worth taking note on coins that have an idea which no other coins have implemented before. But often such unique projects become quite difficult to spot in this wild crypto space.

Recently we came through this new Altcoin called Merit (MRT). Not after their recent announcement on Bitcointalk but from the suggestion made by one of our user and that’s how we got our invite to Merit cryptocurrency.

Merit coin – An Invite only cryptocurrency

Merit coin is an invite only cryptocurrency project. Unlike other coins where you setup wallet and start mining right away; in order to join the Merit coin network somebody has to invite you first. If you are curious then use the invite link below which will take you to the wallet creation page. Choose your username and follow the on-screen instructions to complete your wallet setup. Once the setup is over your wallet needs to activated which we’ll take care of.

https://wallet.merit.me/?invite=CoinGuides

But is that it? No, apart from this invite mechanism this project has so many unique features such as growth mining, Cuckoo cycle PoW, cancellable transactions and many others. All these are not upcoming features but is implemented and they have a working product already. Initially all these seems quite difficult to grasp. So here comes the beginners guide to Merit cryptocurrency (MRT).

Here first we’ll see what Merit coin is all about, its technical specifications, what it currently features and what are its future goals. Then we’ll see how the invites, Proof of Growth (PoG) system and other decentralized things that runs on Merit blockchain works. Then finally we’ll show you the setup process of Merit web wallet. In addition to that we’ll also share all the useful links that will help you to get started with this project.

What is Merit (MRT)?

The tech behind cryptocurrency is revolutionary, there is no doubt in that. Even though they have substantial benefits over traditional money one of the biggest challenges digital currencies face today is mainstream adoption. The reason for this and why cryptocurrencies are not put to practical use is mainly because of complications. Cryptocurrencies are focused more towards technology but not on simplifying user experiences and that is what Merit project is working on.

Merit aims to be the world’s most adopted cryptocurrency with a focus on safety, simplicity and community. Merit is a new decentralized open source cryptocurrency that is build with not-technical users in mind. Anybody can manage this currency effortlessly and users can use it on day-to-day basis to buy goods and pay friends/family without any complexity. But, Wait!? Did we say new currency?

Merit currency has been recently announced on Bitcointalk but it is not new. The project started on December 2017 and the genesis block was launched on January 2018. There is a maximum supply of 100 Million MRT coins and out of which 20 Million coins have been premined and is currently locked in genesis block. More information on this can be found below along with the coin specifications. The reason why Merit team delayed the public announcement is to present the project  to public with a working product rather than making just promises.

Alright! But most cryptocurrencies recently come up with this statement saying that we are focused on growth and ease-of-use. So how different is Merit from these projects?

Merit coin features

In order for a cryptocurrency to sustain in the long run it needs to focus on user adoption. To achieve user adoption the project must first have a strong foundation. To build this Merit coin uses an invite system with an incentive model in it.

One of the unique aspect of Merit protocol is growth mining. The blockchain network of Merit uses two consensus mechanism namely Proof of Work and Proof of Growth. Proof of Work is commonly know which requires advanced mining hardware to secure the network. For PoW Merit coin uses an unique hashing algorithm called Cuckoo Cycle which we’ll explain elaborately in our mining guide. But what about Proof of Growth consensus and how does it help grow the network. Before we see about PoG here is what you need to know about the invites mechanism.

Merit Invites explained

As we said Merit coin is an invite only cryptocurrency and is the first coin to build this system. Not anybody can join this project, you must be invited in order to join the network. This model is designed to promote a healthy community and this is what makes the project indestructible. I don’t get it! Once I’m in I can start inviting people and grow my circles. So how does this build the community strong and enables stable growth?

No, not everybody can invite users. In order to invite your friends or family you need to have an invite token. After the activation of your wallet you’ll have zero invite tokens available and so you’ll not be able to invite anyone initially. You need to earn invite tokens first and these tokens are limited in supply. As a result these invite tokens become valuable and people even started selling these invite tokens recently. Due to this scarcity of invite tokens users who own them think about inviting users only who best serve the community.

Now your next question is how do I obtain these invite tokens? Since it will make this post longer we’ll cover this particular topic in a separate article. Okay, but what good does this invite system bring to users who invite other users to the network? This is where growth mining comes in.

Proof of Growth (PoG) – Growth mining aka Ambassador mining explained

In Bitcoin and other Proof of Work coins the miners are rewarded for securing the network. But in Merit coin, in addition to PoW (Cuckoo algorithm) they’ve build a new consensus called Proof of Growth which also known as Growth mining or Ambassador mining. Proof of Growth is an innovative approach that is designed to reward people for growing the network strong. The target block time of Merit is 1 Minute and the block reward is 20 MRT. This block reward is split equally between both security miners (10 MRT to PoW) and growth miners (10 MRT to PoG). Okay, so what is Proof of Growth, how does this growth mining works and on what basis does it rewards people?

Growth mining is a new form of mining created by Merit team to incentivize users for building the community. Just like Proof-of-Work system; growth mining also operates based on a lottery system. However this Growth mining doesn’t require any high end hardware and it has many other advantages to it. Consider Proof of Growth system as Proof of Stake. In PoS the longer you hold coins the more you have the chance to win stake reward. Just like that in Proof of Growth; the more you invite and the more you collaborate with project and the community, the more chance you’ll have to win growth mining reward.

Growth mining is focused on stewardship and the blockchain keeps track of how effective each member has been in growing the network. This whole idea of growth rewards is to not only help build the community strong but also to retain participants on the network.

It really sounds like a good approach to build the foundation strong? Okay, now let’s cover the other two factors that Merit coin aspires to be such as safety and simplicity.

MeritMoney and Decentralized vaults

Apart from growth mining and invite-only system some of the other features of Merit includes: Decentralized Vaults, Cancellable Transactions and an ability to send money via Email, SMS, WhatsApp and Telegram.

Safety:

Since cryptocurrencies are asset class keeping them safe is the most important thing one must consider first.  But think about all those wallet keys that an user have to deal in order to protect their funds. If the keys are lost then all their funds are gone as well. So just like traditionally banking system Merit coin is working on creating blockchain based decentralized vaults (Guardian protocol) which will allow users to recover funds even if they lose their keys. This whole approach offers freedom to users while maintaining high security for their account.

Note: This feature is yet to be implemented so make sure to backup your wallet’s 12 word passphrase / mnemonic seed. If it is lost then there is no way you can recover your funds.

Next comes MeritMoney which is another core feature of Merit coin. MeritMoney protocol enables features such as cancellable transactions and escrows on the blockchain. Using MeritMoney you can password protect your money, set an expiration date and send it to anyone you wish. Also if the sent amount is wrong or if you’ve sent it to the wrong person you can cancel the transaction before it is accepted by the recipient. This particular feature ensures safety.

Simplicity:

Using MeritMoney you can send coins just like you send SMS or text message. You don’t have to deal with any long wallet addresses. You can just enter the username of the recipient, choose amount and hit send.  Or if the user doesn’t own a Merit wallet then send an URL with money in it via Email, SMS, WhatsApp and Telegram. The link will invite them to the network and once they are done with the setup your money is also send to their address. This makes the whole transaction process simpler.

Now as we covered most of the core features of Merit coin let’s see its technical specifications and get started with the project.

Merit technical specifications

• Coin Name: Merit
• Ticker: MRT
• Total Coin Supply: 100 Million MRT
• Block Time: 1 Minute
• Block Rewards: 20 MRT coins
• PoW Reward: 10 MRT
• PoG Reward: 10 MRT
• Premine: 20 Million MRT
• Premine Status: Locked in genesis block
• ICO: No

Now as you have a clear understanding of what this project is all about you might be interested in joining the Merit network. Since it is an invite only cryptocurrency you’ll need someone to invite you to the project. We have some invites tokens available and you can use the link below to join the network.

Get Invite to Merit coin

https://wallet.merit.me/?invite=CoinGuides

or

Use invite code: coinguides

Follow the instructions below to join Merit network.

1. Click on the above invite link which will take you to official web wallet page

2. Choose an username for your wallet, click next and then follow the on screen instructions.

3. Now on the final page you’ll be provided with the wallet passphrase. Make sure to copy this seed word and do note that if you lose them you lose access to your funds.

4. Once you have a backup of this seed word proceed to next screen.

Now you are in, but still your wallet will remain locked and it needs to be activated. To unlock your wallet you need to remain the person who invited you. If you’ve used the above invite code or link then you don’t have to remind us. We are watching our wait list and we’ll send you the invite token which will active your wallet automatically.

Note: At times even after activation the page will alert you stating that your wallet is locked and needs to be activated. If that is the case then we suggest you to reload the page at the top right corner. It should fix and if that doesn’t then please mention your wallet username in the comments section. We’ll make sure to activate your account. Also as we said these invite tokens are limited in supply so kindly use them wisely.

Now once your wallet is activated you are good to go. There are three ways you can obtain Merit coins. You can mine them, or earn by growth mining or you can buy them from exchange. Growth mining is not possible initially. So you can either start mining them or you can buy it from exchange. In the next coming days we’ll make a comprehensive guide explaining how to mine Merit coin. As of now you may opt to buy Merit coins from exchange.

Merit Exchange – Buy / Sell Merit

Due to innovative invite-only approach system exchanges have to go through some extra steps in order to list Merit and as of now Merit has not been listed on any exchanges yet. However they have a internal marketplace (https://market.merit.me/)where you can buy sell Merit for Bitcoins. Also in the near term the team have plans for expanding support with fiat currency trading pairs.

Now before we end this we’d like to remain you that this is just a coin guide for beginners. So before you invest kindly do your own research, get to know the team first and get to know what plans they have for the project ahead. Moreover the community is very helpful so get your doubts cleared and additionally you can learn more information from their website. Following are the links that should help you to get started with Merit cryptocurrency.

• Invite link: https://wallet.merit.me/?invite=CoinGuides
• Bitcointalk Announcement: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5008767.0
• Website: https://www.merit.me/
• GitHub: https://github.com/meritlabs/merit
• Whitepaper: https://www.merit.me/uploads/2018/whitepaper.pdf
• Blue Paper: https://www.merit.me/uploads/2018/bluepaper.pdf
• Market: https://market.merit.me
• Mining Pool: https://pool.merit.me/
• Block Explorer: http://explorer.overcookedpanda.com:3001/
• Blockchain Stats: https://merit.disifi.com/

What’s next? If you found this guide helpful then kindly do share it. If you’d like to support us then use our invite link. We’ll activate them right away and if you got any queries regarding wallet activation then do mention it in comments section. Lastly do remember that invite tokes are scarce so please do not waste them.