MobileCoin
Denominations
CodeMOB
Development
White paperMobileCoin
Initial releaseDecember 6, 2020; 3 years ago (2020-12-06)
Code repositoryhttps://github.com/mobilecoinfoundation, https://github.com/mobilecoinofficial
Development statusActive
Written inRust
Developer(s)Sara Drakeley H. (CTO), Henry Holtzman (CIO), part of a team of ~50 engineers
Source modelFOSS
LicenseGPLv3[1]
Ledger
Circulating supply250,000,000[2]
Website
Websitehttps://www.mobilecoin.com/

MobileCoin is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency developed by MobileCoin Inc., which was founded in 2017 by Josh Goldbard and Shane Glynn.[3]

Technology overview

MobileCoin claims to focus on transactional anonymity (fungibility), ease of use, transaction speed, low environmental impact and low fees.[4] MobileCoin's mechanics build on Stellar (for consensus) and Monero (for privacy), using CryptoNote alongside zero-knowledge proofs to hide details of users' transactions.[2]

The MobileCoin company claims the cryptocurrency can facilitate decentralized payments for everyday transactions more quickly than most other cryptocurrencies.[5]

MobileCoin is a one dimensional cryptocurrency blockchain. Blocks use a consensus protocol originally developed for the Stellar payment network. Transactions are validated in SGX secure enclaves and are based on elliptic-curve cryptography. Transaction inputs are shown to exist in the blockchain with Merkle proofs of membership and are signed with Schnorr-style multilayered linkable ring signature, and output amounts (communicated to recipients via ECDH) are concealed with Pedersen commitments and proven in a legitimate range with non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs.[6][non-primary source needed]

Much of MobileCoin's technology comes from previous privacy focused cryptocurrencies like Monero and has been re-written in Rust for MobileCoin.[6][7][non-primary source needed]

History

MobileCoin Inc., the entity behind MobileCoin, was founded in 2017 by Joshua Goldbard and Shane Glynn.[3] Signal's Moxie Marlinspike assisted as an early technical advisor.[8][9][10] The coin is intended to be an accessible form of cryptocurrency with a focus on fast transactions. In May 2018, MobileCoin secured $29.7 million in a funding round led by Binance Labs, in exchange for 37.5 million tokens.[11][12] The foundation raised $11.35 million in venture funding in March 2021[13] and $66 million in Series B funding in August 2021. Investors include Alameda Research, Coinbase Ventures, Gaingels, and Marc Benioff.[8]

Payment and trading

In-app payments via Signal and Mixin Messenger support MobileCoin for peer-to-peer payments worldwide.[14] The cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex currently lists MobileCoin for trading.[13]

Criticism

The integration of MobileCoin wallets into the popular security focused messenger app Signal received criticism. Security expert Bruce Schneier, who previously praised the app, stated that this would bloat the app and attract unwanted attention from the financial authorities.[15]

References

  1. ^ "MobileCoin". October 7, 2021 – via GitHub.
  2. ^ a b Greenberg, Andy (April 6, 2021). "Signal Adds a Payments Feature—With a Privacy-Focused Cryptocurrency". Wired. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "About MobileCoin". mobilecoin.com. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "MobileCoin's Mission". MobileCoin. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  5. ^ "MobileCoin raises $66M for cryptocurrency payment platform". August 18, 2021.
  6. ^ a b MechanicsOfMobilecoin. "mobilecoinfoundation/Mechanics-of-MobileCoin" (PDF). github. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  7. ^ "mobilecoinofficial". github. April 19, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Loizos, Connie (August 18, 2021). "MobileCoin closes on $66 million in equity in Series B round". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  9. ^ Newman, Lily Hay (December 15, 2017). "The Creator of Signal Has a Plan to Fix Cryptocurrency". Wired. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  10. ^ Goldbard, Joshua (April 8, 2021). "Comment". Reddit. Retrieved December 16, 2021. Moxie is not and has never been an employee, he's not an officer, he's not on the board of directors, he isn't a person who has worked day to day on the project, he gave us advice, which we are very thankful for because it was helpful to figure out what to build, but Moxie didn't write a single line of code in MobileCoin.
  11. ^ "MobileCoin, a cryptocurrency advised early on by Signal's Moxie Marlinspike, has raised venture funding". TechCrunch. March 9, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  12. ^ "New Privacy Coin, called MobileCoin, Launches Mainnet, Might have Ties to Chat App Signal". Crowdfund Insider. December 10, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Loizos, Connie (March 10, 2021). "MobileCoin, a cryptocurrency advised early on by Signal's Moxie Marlinspike, has raised venture funding". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  14. ^ Mixin [@Mixin_Network] (January 18, 2021). "Mixin Network supports the 33rd public chain @mobilecoin, $MOB, that focuses on Building Secure Payment Systems for Mobile. We'r the 1st project connected the its Layer2 network, and also contribute codes for Node in Golang. Deposit & withdrawal are available on @MixinMessenger" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ "Signal Adds Cryptocurrency Support". Schneier on Security. April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
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