Here's i of the cooler things to striking the blockchain to date. The 21 Inc API marketplace.
Since this is a larger article for our platform we'll explicate what it contains. In this slice we're going to become over who 21 Inc. is as well as what they do, explicate what the bitcoin reckoner is, walk through an illustration API telephone band (
from a developer perspective), as well as finally become over why
this could endure big
.
Who Is 21 Inc?
The mysterious as well as notoriously tranquility 21 Inc has raised to a greater extent than venture capitol than whatever other companionship inward the bitcoin/blockchain industry. Starting alongside $5 Million inward 2013, their in conclusion seed inward 2015 topped them at $116 Million USD. To pose that into perspective, Coinbase raised only about $106 Million across 4 rounds, the bulk of that coming inward their serial D funding of $75 Million.
What Do They Do?
They don't become out of their means to nation anyway as well as at that spot is no populace occupation organisation plan. According to the California based company, 21 is working on a serial of undisclosed products for the blockchain (bitcoin). One of those products came to lite inward belatedly 2015, the bitcoin computer. The BC is a hardware based USB interface to connect to as well as educate on the blockchain, basically a reckoner that accesses the bitcoin blockchain, thus the name.
21 is edifice "..the full-stack infrastructure for Bitcoin, from silicon to software. Backed past times Andreessen Horowitz, Qualcomm, Cisco, as well as Peter Thiel..."
The BC was exciting to take in when it came out, but beyond the hype at that spot didn't seem to endure much there. You basically plug it inward as well as access the blockchain easily as well as it self mines pocket-sized amounts of bitcoin to pay for transactions.
At start glance it appears every bit if it was only a ASIC chip alongside some embedded firmware to telephone band RPC's running on a Raspberry PI as well as for the most component that's what it is. However, the technology is advanced as well as its ASIC chip is constructed past times some move past times recruits inward integrated circuitry. We know they had previously built a serial of these ASIC chips as well as at i betoken accounted for only about 5% of the blockchain's power. Next came the start populace production offering, the bitcoin computer, which is available on Amazon.com.
More importantly it seems to endure component of a bigger puzzle. Now nosotros guide hold some other slice as well as 21's game conception is starting to brand to a greater extent than sense.
The 21 Marketplace
The beta Marketplace allows for developers (at to the lowest degree every bit it appears at the moment) to access API's (Application Programmers Interface) on the blockchain. As a developer is putting together that side past times side blockchain based killer app they may demand to access a subset of information or perform a occupation that some other developer may already furnish much similar edifice spider web applications function today.
For illustration when you lot purchase something off of eBay as well as you lot come inward your transportation address, eBay goes out as well as validates that address to brand sure its a known address that is valid according to the USPS. They don't telephone band upward the U.S. of A. of America post service component when you lot striking submit as well as they don't guide hold a drone flight only about your surface area to swing past times as well as banking concern check you lot out, they role an API. That API is called past times the eBay platform to a companionship that does telephone band the post service component periodically as well as may or may non guide hold a drone flight only about to banking concern check you lot out. They store that information inward a database as well as sell access to its information for infinitesimal amounts of money equating to a few pennies per transaction.
The same primary applies hither yet instead of a monthly occupation organisation human relationship to fill upward alongside occupation organisation human relationship "plans" as well as billing invoices alongside credit cards existence charges at unknown points inward fourth dimension plain of written report to running out of credits, each transaction is paid for past times bitcoin. Tiny amounts of bitcoin.
This could endure large beyond only blockchain applications. This could pose regular developers on the playing plain alongside their API's. Even API's that exercise non necessarily guide hold anything to exercise alongside the blockchain. We'll salve that give-and-take for now.
Let's stick to blockchain.
Example API Usage
With only a few lines of code as well as a bitcoin reckoner your blockchain application tin access an API to perform a occupation or obtain some information for a tiny amount of bitcoin.
Here is an illustration to obtain bitoin's historical price:
First nosotros brand the telephone band through the 21 BC using the next model.
Inline Model [ Value
]
Value { date (string, optional),
value (number, optional)
} Call as well as Result
The solely parameter hither is to define the currency code formatted every bit
ISO-4217 in this instance
"USD"
Values{ currecny_code = "USD"
}
$ 21 purchase "https://mkt.21.co/bitcoin/price?currency_code=USD" --maxprice 2000 # Output: # { # "price":415.521 # } We teach dorsum the return:
Output{
price = "415.521"
}
Range Restricted Call
Here the telephone band is made alongside a appointment arrive at betwixt 1/1/2015 as well as 1/15/2015.
The appointment is formatted every bit "YYYY-MM-DD" and nosotros likewise demand to specify the ISO currency code every bit nosotros did inward the previous example.
Values{
start_date = "2015-01-01"
end_date = "2015-01-15"
currecny_code = "USD"
}
$ 21 purchase "https://mkt.21.co/bitcoin/historical_prices?start_date=2015-01-01&end_date=2015-01-15¤cy_code=USD" --maxprice 2000
Result
We have this render (JSON):
# Output: # { # "historical_prices":[ # { # "date":"2015-01-01", # "value":313.9247 # }, # { # "date":"2015-01-02", # "value":314.5916 # }, ... # { # "date":"2015-01-14", # "value":177.2795 # }, # { # "date":"2015-01-15", # "value":210.4636 # } # ] # } In this instance nosotros guide hold a JSON structure of: Output{historical_prices:[{date,value}]}
Output{
historical_prices:[
{
date = "2015-01-01"
value = "313.9247" } {
date = "2015-01-02"
value = "314.5916" } {
date = "2015-01-14"
value = "177.2795" } {
date = "2015-01-15"
value = "210.4636"
}]
} This is i illustration as well as a uncomplicated one, at that spot are many to a greater extent than API's already available as well as you lot tin explore them on the
21 Marketplace.
Opportunity as well as Productivity
The marketplace is a platform for both buying as well as selling API calls (access to reckoner programs that access other information or perform tasks that the calling programme demand to access or perform).
Productivity (buying) as well as Opportunity (selling).
From a developer standpoint this is a no-brainer. Developers role API's all the fourth dimension to growth productivity as well as refrain from reinventing the bike because its fourth dimension consuming as well as unproductive. H5N1 companionship selling lawn tennis shoes is non inward the occupation organisation of validating address information (see the ebay illustration above). This allows one-time calls for pennies on the dollar as well as non solely comparable to existing spider web API's on the market, truly cheaper when volumes province nether huge cost breaks (see why this is large below).
For the most part, however, this only makes feel for developers so that they tin remain on-point alongside their specific evolution efforts may they endure blockchain or otherwise, yep this tin endure a realistic use-case exterior of the blockchain/bitcoin world (again, see why this is large below). This is where the productivity comes in.
Where the chance comes inward is likewise from a developers as well as occupation organisation standpoint. The 21 Marketplace offers a means to sell API calls. You tin issue your evolution to the marketplace as well as developers calling your API pays you lot a few Satoshi to so so.
Seemingly uncomplicated as well as seemingly non a large deal. You tin exercise this already alongside web-service API calls, can't you?
No. Not exactly. Not the means the 21 Marketplace or bitcoin as well as the blockchain inward full general allow you lot to exercise this.
Why This Could Be Big
Each telephone band costs a tiny combat of bitcoin, the telephone band inward the illustration for instance would guide hold cost almost 0.0083 cents USD. We made 2 calls so 0.0166 which a combat over 1 penny. If you lot were taking orders of some variety that required validation of a zip code for transportation for illustration ... there's a telephone band for that at 0.0115 cents per telephone band or 0.00002750 XBT (bitcoin). grand orders would cost almost $11.50.
Compared to a criterion spider web API telephone band like
SmartyStreets who offers grand calls for $30/mo. That equates to only about 0.04 cents per call, so obtaining similar information would cost $30 yet that's on a monthly based rate. If you lot guide hold 700 orders you lot soundless pay the $30.
For the blockchain developer needing to brand calls or i that wants to sell calls, this is the novel golden ticket.
However, this is where this concept could teach interesting for other evolution efforts. Development efforts that are non blockchain or digital property related. Just everyday organizations who wish to plug inward as well as brand or sell API calls through the blockchain
Right at nowadays to brand the aforementioned telephone band on SmartyStreets the minimum is $20. On a lower scale using other payment services such every bit PayPal the minimum accuse is $1. There are some that are less but the of import matter is that what ends upward happening is that developers guide hold to either only hand the start 100 calls or so away for gratis inward hopes the client volition grow into a bigger conception or accuse at to the lowest degree $1 for a telephone band using a credit card.
Other solutions similar PayPal brand to a greater extent than feel since at that spot is piddling involved to teach started for a pocket-sized developer as well as you lot tin accuse every bit piddling every bit $1. Of that $1 the developer receives 0.97 cents. The developer
should receive 0.971 cents but PayPal rounds as well as keeps that other 0.001 cents or the guys from "
Office Space" siphon it into their banking concern accounts. Everything existence on the other side of five cents makes allot of cents to somebody charging 2.9% for short town since $19.99, $9.99, $5.95, etc... ever ends upward favorably to the i charging the 2.9% due to the rounding, but non the betoken for this example.
What is the betoken is that PayPal as well as similar types of payment systems (eg. Strip, Skrill) makes feel for a pocket-sized companionship or developer because of the mightiness to accuse nominal amounts similar PayPal's $1 or Stripe's minimum accuse of l cents. That as well as the relative ease of setting upward the service for use.
Going through payment processors gets expensive to the betoken it makes no sense. Braintree for illustration charges 2.9% +30 cents per transaction. Great for large purchases considering the vast array of payment instruments they tin convey on your behalf, but for the $1 accuse on behalf of the pocket-sized developer that equates to 67 cents.
Some companies guide hold gotten only about this past times pooling charges until the encounter the minimum as well as and so charging the aggregate. In the aggregate instance at that spot is no guarantee of payment as well as if you lot authorize your client $1 for a telephone band that costs 1 cent, that's that's going to piss them off rather quickly.
This is where the 21 Marketplace comes in.
One telephone band costs precisely x amount of bitcoin. Period. The bitcoin is sent alongside the telephone band at the fourth dimension of the call. The developer making the telephone band gets what he paid for. The developer selling the telephone band gets what they sold for. There is piddling uncertainty that 21 gets something out of this every bit good but at the terminate of the 24-hour interval 1 unmarried telephone band tin endure achieved as well as settled instantaneously as well as everybody's happy.
This is large because you lot cannot exercise this today alongside conventional payment systems. This opens novel doors for developers both buying as well as selling API calls. The calling developer wins because he gets what he pays for when he/she needs it as well as the selling developer gets what he sold for as well as opens a marketplace previously non available to him/her.
Beyond that this likewise opens upward markets to enterprise offerings. Currently almost every API has a bound which is essentially a limited amount of API calls a unmarried developer tin telephone band to cut spam, abuse, bandwidth costs, etc... This tin solve component of that occupation or at to the lowest degree teach inward expensive to attain for a hacker non making anything of the call. Hackers typically wish to brand money as well as non pass it.
It likewise mitigates adventure to enterprise API providers currently charging x amount for x amount for calls. You cannot teach an API telephone band dorsum since it's a digital product. If a credit carte accuse is charged dorsum the money is gone as well as the services as well as resources to back upward them guide hold already been consumed. This is why Microsoft as well as other game providers similar to have bitcoin for gaming products when it makes sense.
In the previous illustration $30 is soundless $30 as well as that adds upward over time. That tin equate to allot of money to a startup or micro-company if its non utilized 100% so this puts pocket-sized or independent developers inward the game past times allowing them to purchase solely what they demand or sell API calls whereas they otherwise may non endure able to adequately as well as profitably describe this off. It puts the larger developers inward a potential marketplace they currently cannot access since at that spot is non slowly means to resolve payments exterior of the aggregate or subscription methods.
Exploring Other Potential
Imagine a world where you lot used the amount of software you lot eat past times paying for solely the amount of fourth dimension you lot eat it. Adobe Photoshop for example. Everyone has needed to convey this for a spin from fourth dimension to time. You either demand the gratis trial or you lot guide hold to pony upward $49 for a calendar month of use. In a world apace moving to monthly subscriptions for software something similar this could advise a solution to an existing marketplace currently untouched exterior of gratis depression role plans or trial periods to attract customers.
That as well as the previous examples are only a few use-case possibilities that could come upward to fruition if folks on world so desired them to. Obviously the blockchain developer is going to similar a shot endure able to convey the most wages of the 21 Marketplace but at that spot is much to a greater extent than to endure considered hither as well as whether or non that was/is the intention of 21 is anyone's guess. With the marketplace as well as the bitcoin reckoner 21 is sure enabling others to build that "killer app" on the blockchain.
Inadvertently yet ... they may guide hold only created that "killer app" on the blockchain.
Is this all proprietary? No, non really. The BC is similar zero else on the marketplace as well as if at that spot was this would sure endure considered the best-in-class. That said, you lot could theoretically build software to access the blockchain through its RPC or role third political party API's for integration, store bitcoin that tin endure accessed through API or setup a receiving scheme depending on your intention of buying or selling the calls, solicit the sales for role of your API, so on as well as so forth yet inefficient that may terminate upward being. With the bitcoin reckoner as well as the 21 Marketplace ... it's all already here. Today. Now. Its hither as well as its backed past times the best-funded blockchain companionship on the map.
...and it all comes laid upward to become as well as packaged upward inward i piddling dark box ... the bitcoin computer.
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