Beam

Beam (BEAM) is a decentralized finance (DeFi) blockchain that focuses on privacy-by-default transactions and confidentiality. It was launched on January 3, 2019, with the goal of creating a community-driven project. The developers chose not to hold an initial coin offering (ICO) or token pre-sale, instead encouraging users to mine the coin.

Beam's history is marked by significant milestones, including the introduction of its decentralized exchange (DEX) in May 2023, which facilitates swift and cost-effective token exchanges while maintaining privacy through the concealment of transaction metadata. Additionally, the Beam Bridge was launched in March 2023, allowing for bidirectional connections between Beam and Ethereum, enabling cross-chain asset transfers.

Beam's privacy features are built around the Mimblewimble protocol, which ensures that all transactions are private by default. This is complemented by other technologies like Dandelion and Lelantus-MW, which enhance transaction routing and anonymity. The blockchain is designed to be lean and compact, reducing computational overhead demands and ensuring scalability.

The BEAM token is the native cryptocurrency of the Beam blockchain, with a fixed supply of 262.8 million. It is emitted through a proof-of-work mining process, with block rewards halving annually until the fifth year and then stabilizing at 25 BEAM per block. The token plays a crucial role in the Beam ecosystem, covering transaction fees, ensuring network security, and facilitating governance and ecosystem activities.

Beam's development is overseen by the Singapore-based Beam Foundation, which hires full-time developers and contributors. The majority of the funding comes from venture capitalists. The project aims to provide a fully decentralized privacy DeFi platform, allowing users to have complete control over their money and transactions.

Beam (BEAM) is a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency that uses smart contracts for transactions and asset transfers. It is built on its own blockchain, which is designed to ensure confidentiality and security. Here is a detailed overview of how Beam works:

Blockchain and Protocols

Beam's blockchain is built from scratch using C++, focusing on privacy and confidentiality. It employs two key protocols for anonymity: Mimblewimble and LelantusMW. Mimblewimble ensures that all transactions on the network are confidential, while LelantusMW allows users to create and burn anonymous coins, further enhancing privacy.

Transaction Anonymity

Beam's Mimblewimble protocol conceals the metadata and value of transactions, reducing blockchain bloating and improving scalability. Additionally, the Dandelion++ protocol enables the broadcasting of transactions while preventing the tracing of their origin. This ensures that sender, receiver, and transaction amounts remain confidential.

Mining and Consensus

Beam uses the Equihash proof-of-work algorithm, chosen for its ability to handle large amounts of data and transactions. The network supports custom transactions of different types, such as escrow, atomic swaps, and time-locked ones. The BeamHash III consensus algorithm enables efficient GPU mining.

Virtual Machine and Smart Contracts

Beam's Virtual Machine allows for confidential dApps using WASM execution. Contract Shaders handle business logic, while App Shaders manage presentation layers for easy wallet integration. This enables the creation of private stablecoins, NFTs, AMMs, and other DeFi applications.

Wallets and User Experience

Beam offers user-friendly wallets for desktop, mobile, and web (browser extension). The wallets support interactive wallet communication and simple send-and-forget transactions like Bitcoin. Users can choose between standard privacy transactions and maximum anonymity set transactions with a 64k anonymity set.

Governance and Development

Beam is transitioning to BeamX DAO governance, utilizing on-chain voting. The Beam Foundation oversees the development of the network, hiring full-time developers and contributors. Funding primarily comes from venture capitalists.

Exchanges and Trading

Beam tokens can be bought, sold, and traded on various exchanges, including MEXC, Gate.io, Uniswap, and CoinEx. Wrapped Beam (WBEAM) serves as an ERC-20 representation of Beam coins and can be bridged bi-directionally between the Ethereum and Beam blockchains.

Beam's unique features, such as its focus on privacy, scalability, and security, make it an attractive option for those seeking a confidential DeFi experience.

The token Beam (BEAM) has several strengths that make it an attractive option for users:

1. Absolute Confidentiality: BEAM ensures the absolute confidentiality of transactions and protection of each participant’s data. Transactions are private by default, and users can decide what information to share with other participants.

2. Scalability: BEAM is designed to be scalable, allowing for a large number of transactions without slowing down or increasing fees. This is achieved through the use of the Mimblewimble protocol and the Beam Hash 3 algorithm.

3. Security: BEAM is designed to be secure and resistant to potential attacks and hacks. It uses the Dandelion++ protocol to prevent tracing the origin of transactions and is resistant to 51% attacks and double-spending attacks.

4. Flexibility: BEAM supports custom transactions of different types, such as escrow, atomic swaps, and time-locked transactions. This flexibility makes it suitable for various use cases.

5. Governance: BEAM plays a crucial role in the governance of the Merit Circle DAO, empowering token holders to participate in shaping the future of the gaming industry through decentralized governance mechanisms.

6. Gaming Ecosystem: BEAM is the native token of the Beam network, which is a gaming-focused blockchain. It facilitates transactions and interactions within the ecosystem, including transfers of assets and interactions with smart contracts.

7. Utility: BEAM serves as a gas token for network operations and is required to pay for transactions and interactions with smart contracts on the Beam network.

8. Accessibility: BEAM is available on multiple blockchain networks, including Ethereum and the BNB Smart Chain, making it accessible to a broader user base.

These strengths make BEAM a versatile and secure token with a strong focus on privacy, scalability, and governance, making it suitable for various applications, particularly in the gaming industry.

Yes, the crypto Beam (BEAM) raised funds through several funding rounds. Here are the details:

• Seed Funding: Beam raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Surge, Sequoia Capital India, and Southeast Asia’s rapid scale-up program, with participation from Partech Partners. This funding was used to expand services in Thailand and Southeast Asia, increase hiring, and grow merchant acquisition.

• Series B Funding: Beam secured $27 million in a Series B funding round led by investor Alex Cheiman. This funding aimed to accelerate Beam’s goal of transforming 21st-century payments and marketing by leveraging blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies.

• Additional Funding: Beam Benefits, a related entity, closed a $40 million fundraise to further propel its growth, including investment in its digital platform.

• Eco's Funding: Eco, the developer of the Beam wallet, raised around $95 million across five funding rounds between September 2019 and July 2021, with investors including Founders Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Pantera Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and Coinbase Ventures.

• Alexander Zaidelson: Former CEO of the Beam Foundation and founder of Beam Privacy. He is also a co-founder and board member of various startups, including Nareos, Wikitup, and WeFi.
• Marco Van Den Heuvel: Co-founder of Beam.
• Tommy Quite: Team member of Beam.
• Thale Sonnemans: Team member of Beam.
• Brandon Aaskov: Team member of Beam.
• Andy Bromberg: CEO of Beam, the crypto wallet.