Note: Recording of livestream available at link below. Giveaway is now closed thank you to everybody for participating and for the mods for letting us have this event! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPQkXF_yVWg
Many are familiar with how blockchain is changing finance, and some incredibly intelligent and visionary people are using it to change the way the scientific process works. There are blockchains that aiming to upend the way research is funded, published, shared, and capitalized on. This movement's goal (“DeSci”) is to “decentralize” the production of science much in the same way that open source did to software development — to produce a patent-free warchest of drugs and treatments for humanity. This literally is already happening, a few months back a volunteer computing project Folding@home discovered and published new patent-free antiviral for COVID which it set to enter human trials in a year. From solving the work replication crisis to reducing the costs associated with publishing research, blockchain technology has immense potential to change the way science is done and create a positive impact on humanity and the planet.
Today's AMA and giveaway features several projects which use blockchain technology to push science forward. We are giving away approx $1500 in crypto with each project represented giving away approx $500 each.
This giveaway is sponsored by the Science Commons Initiative, a non-profit organization which works to rebuild the bridge of trust and participation between the public and the scientific process. If you are interested in ways that blockchain and DLT can help science, check out our subreddit and subscribe to our newsletter on substack. You can find us on Twitter and FB as well. We also produce a weekly podcast covering all the latest updates in the DeSci space. You may also be interested in our friends over at /r/cryptoforscience.
How to claim coins: Post a comment specifying which coin(s) you want and the public key addresses for your wallet for that coin. Each coin below has instructions for how to install their wallet. Note that you do not need to wait for the wallet to fully sync to get your public key and receive coins. Transactions will show up when sync is complete which may take a few hours depending on the coin. We will update this post as supplies run out.
Each coin here has a representative who will have flair designating their status. Absolutely nothing in here should be construed as financial advice.
Gridcoin
Gridcoin is a PoS (proof-of-stake) blockchain which mints currency for people participating in volunteer computing projects tackling humanity's biggest problems from cancer research to climate modeling and mapping asteroids that risk an impact with earth. It also features staking rewards and is the most ASIC-resistant currency in existence due to the constantly changing types of computation required. It was started in 2013 and added Folding@home to its list of rewarded projects this month. Anybody can download the BOINC program, connect to a science project of their choosing, and start earning Gridcoin with their computer's spare processing power. This is done through the BOINC software, many of you may remember it from SETI@Home.
Wallet download: https://gridcoin.us
Wallet instructions: Go to “receive” tab to get your public address
Exchanges: txbit, southxchange, flyp.me (instant account-free swapping)
Website, discord, /r/gridcoin
Curecoin
Curecoin is a digital token designed to reward those who create computing power for [Folding@home](mailto:Folding@home). It uses decentralized blockchain technology to allow unlimited and nearly free exchange of Curecoins on the Curecoin network. Curecoin’s current model was closely designed around Bitcoin's Proof of Work (PoW) model and controlled supply, but with a couple of key differences. Unlike Bitcoins PoW that uses miners to hash mundain mathematical problems to secure the blockchain; Curecoin substitutes an analogue by linking Folding@home's points distribution system through our automated cryptobullionpools.com trusted oracle system – rewarding “folders” who contribute computational power to Folding@home, a fair share based on the percentage of the computational power they give to the network. We then use a Proof of Stake (PoS) system, borrowed from PeerCoin's algorithms, to reward those who open their wallets to contribute to the security of the blockchain – making Curecoin a MUCH more environmentally efficient way to secure the blockchain.
Wallet guide: https://curecoin.net/crypto/team-member-produced-quick-start-guides/
Wallet download: https://github.com/cygnusxi/CurecoinSource/releases
Website, /r/curecoin
Exchanges: bittrex, hitbtc, altquick, btcpop
Etica
Etica is a PoW (proof-of-work) currency started in April 2022 which aims to fund open source medical research. All research conducted through Etica is patent-free and without intellectual property. Etica is based on a fork of Ethereum Classic, EGAZ secures the blockchain and is the “Eth” Ethereum equivalent of the Etica network. ETI is the currency of the Etica Protocol implemented as a smart contract. Anybody with ETI can submit proposals for funding and vote on proposals. Those active in the submission/voting process can earn staking rewards. Etica finances open source research with a built-in fixed supply inflation of ETI. First 10 years there are 2.1 Million ETI issued by the protocol every year, then in 10 years once the 21 Million ETI initial supply is reached there will be a fixed inflation of maximum 2.61803% per year to finance research
Wallet install guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EebNM-4FAQ8
Website, discord, /r/etica
Rules:
- Giveaway begins on Jan 14, 2023 at 4PM EST.
- One comment/claim per person
- While supplies last
- Claims may not necessarily be given out in order, but the sooner you make your claim the more likely it is to succeed.
FAQ:
Will running BOINC or Folding@home slow down my computer?
Each of these tools can be configured to run only while the computer is idle, so no, it will not slow anything down while you're using it.
Will running BOINC or Folding@home harm my computer?
The short answer for desktop computers is no. Crunching will not harm your computer, computers after all are designed to compute! While crunching does utilize your CPU/GPU heavily, every other component in your computer will likely fail first (your hard drive, OS, etc) or become obsolete before your CPU dies. Many computers crunch for a decade plus with no issues, at which point they make most sense to replace from an energy perspective alone.
However, if your machine has a pre-existing problem with heating (like if it's full of dust or running inside a cabinet), crunching can exacerbate this problem or make its symptoms more readily visible.
Laptops, on the other hand, are often built with insufficient heat exhaustion and can quickly overheat at full load. Heat will also shorten your battery life significantly. Setting your PC to only use 50% of your CPU power and not to use your GPU will keep heat manageable. With laptops, remember that warm is fine, hot is bad.