Read our beginner’s guide to buying and selling QuarkChain tokens (QKC) in Australia.
A lack of scalability is perhaps the biggest obstacle standing between blockchain and mainstream adoption, and there’s a long list of crypto projects focused on solving this widespread problem.
QuarkChain is one such project. Billed as a high-capacity, peer-to-peer transactional system, QuarkChain is a high throughput blockchain with the ambitious goal of achieving hundreds of thousands of on-chain transactions per second.
QuarkChain’s native token, QKC, was launched during a May 2018 ICO and is needed to transact value in the QuarkChain system and reward miners. If you want to know how and where to buy QKC tokens, keep reading.
Where to buy QKC
QuarkChain is listed on the following crypto exchanges:
Quick guide to buying QuarkChain (QKC)
Here’s an example of how to buy QKC using BTC or ETH on the Binance exchange:- Register for an account with Binance.
- Enable 2-factor authentication.
- Click on “Funds” and select “Deposits”.
- Select the currency you want to deposit.
- Copy the wallet address or scan the QR code.
- Transfer BTC or ETH into your account.
- Click “Exchange” and select “Basic”.
- Search for the pair you want to trade, such as “QKC/ETH”.
- Select a Limit, Market or Stop-Limit Order.
- Enter the amount of QKC you want to buy.
- Review transaction details.
- Click “Buy QKC”.
A step-by-step guide to buying QKC
If you want to buy QKC tokens, you can do so by following a few simple steps:
Step 1. Register for an account with an exchange that lists QKC
Compare the fees and features of the different crypto exchanges that list QKC in one or more currency pairs, and choose the platform which is the best fit for your trading needs. You can then sign up for an account by providing your email address and password, while many platforms will also require you to supply additional personal information and proof of ID in line with Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering (KYC/AML) requirements.
If your exchange supports 2-factor authentication, don’t forget to also turn on this feature.
Step 2. Deposit funds into your account
There’s currently no way to exchange Australian dollars directly for QuarkChain tokens. As a result, you’ll need to first acquire a digital currency that’s listed in a trading pair alongside QKC, such as bitcoin (BTC) or ether (ETH), and then exchange it for QKC. Please note that if you need help acquiring either of these currencies, check out our how to buy BTC and how to buy ETH guides.
To deposit funds into your exchange account, look for the “Deposit” link and then copy the relevant wallet address. For example, if you’re using Binance, click on “Funds” and then select “Deposits”. Select the currency you want to deposit, either BTC or ETH, and copy the wallet address or scan the QR code before transferring the necessary funds.
Step 3. Buy QKC
The final step is to navigate to your platform’s exchange or markets page and place a trade. For example, if you’re using Binance, click “Exchange” and select either the “Basic” or “Advanced” view. Search for the pair you want to trade, such as “QKC/ETH”, and specify whether you want to place a Limit, Market or Stop-Limit Order.
After entering the amount of QKC you want to buy, make sure to review the full transaction details before you click “Buy QKC”.
How to sell QKC
If you want to sell your QKC tokens, you’ll need to follow a similar process to that outlined in Step 3. However, once on the trading page of your chosen crypto exchange you’ll need to look for the “Sell” box rather than the “Buy” field. It’s also worth remembering that QKC is only paired alongside a limited range of coins and tokens, so you may not be able to immediately exchange your tokens for the currency you want.
Which wallets can I use to hold QKC?
For security reasons, it’s recommended that you move your tokens away from an exchange and store them in a secure, private wallet.
QKC tokens are ERC20 tokens on the Ethereum network. As such, they can be stored in any wallet that’s compatible with these types of tokens. Examples include hardware wallets like the Ledger Nano S and TREZOR, or the MyEtherWallet web interface.
Find out more about cryptocurrency wallets in our 101 guide.
How QuarkChain works
Bitcoin and Ethereum’s scalability problems have been well publicised, and producing a blockchain that can scale effectively while still remaining secure and decentralised has become something of a holy grail for many crypto projects.
QuarkChain’s solution to the problem is based on a two-layer architecture and employs sharding. The first layer features elastic sharding blockchains (shards), which partition large databases into smaller and more manageable components and allow transactions to be processed independently. The more shards there are in the network, the more transactions can be processed concurrently.
The second layer is the root chain. The role of this layer is not to actually process transactions but to confirm blocks from the sharded chains. The end result, according to the whitepaper, is “a secure, decentralised and scalable blockchain solution to deliver 100,000+ on-chain transactions per second.”
The aim is for QuarkChain to be able to support a wide range of dapps, particularly those requiring high transaction rates, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence and large-scale games. QuarkChain also supports smart contracts to ensure compatibility with existing dapps.
What to consider if buying QKC
Cryptocurrencies are complicated and volatile assets, and there are myriad factors that can influence their price movements. With this in mind, it’s important to complete a careful and balanced assessment of any crypto project before deciding whether to buy in.
If you’re thinking of purchasing any QKC, remember to consider the following:
- Supply. The total supply of QKC tokens is capped at 10 billion, which are to be distributed as follows:
- Token sale 20%
- Team 15%
- Advisors 5%
- Foundation 15%
- Mining, community and marketing 45%
- Use. QKC tokens are used to store value and perform transactions on the QuarkChain network. As QuarkChain is a proof-of-work currency, QKC can also be mined
- Price volatility. When QKC tokens were listed on Binance in early June 2018, the exchange also published a risk warning advising traders of the possibility of “extreme price volatility”. This was due to the fact that only 3.61% of the total supply of QKC tokens were in circulation. Users were warned to exercise caution when trading QKC pairs.
- Future supply. The above post from Binance also featured details of the future circulating QKC supply according to the QuarkChain team:
- 4 June 2018: 360,888,888 QKC (3.61% of total supply)
- 4 July 2018: 770,500,000 QKC (7.71% of total supply)
- 4 August 2018: 1,069,000,000 (10.69% of total supply)
- 4 September 2018: 1,337,142,857 (13.37% of total supply)
- 4 October 2018: 1,518,976,190 (15.19% of total supply)
- 4 November 2018: 1,921,309,524 (19.21% of total supply)
- 4 December 2018: 2,293,285,714 (22.93% of total supply)
- Early days. QuarkChain is a new project that’s still in its infancy. Though the prospect of 100,000+ transactions per second sounds wonderful, it’s not yet known whether or not QuarkChain will be able to deliver on this promise. The launch of its mainnet, scheduled for Q4 2018, will be a crucial stage in the project’s development.
- Token swap. When the QuarkChain mainnet is launched, the current ERC20 QKC tokens will be converted to mainnet QKC tokens through a pre-mining process. Future QKC tokens will then be produced by mining.
Consider these and a range of other factors before deciding whether or not you should buy any QKC.
Image source: Shutterstock
Disclosure: At the time of writing the author holds ADA, IOTA and XLM.
