$0.007173

NKN, which stands for New Kind of Network, is a decentralized and open-source network protocol designed for blockchain-based peer-to-peer networks. Its purpose is to enable the sharing of network bandwidth and internet connectivity. The project aims to tackle issues like centralization, scalability, and security that are prevalent in the current internet infrastructure.

The founders of NKN are Yanbo Li, Bruce Li, and Yilun Zhang. They bring expertise in networking software and blockchain technology. The project also benefits from advisors such as Stephen Wolfram, known for creating Mathematica and Wolfram|Alpha, and Whitfield Diffie, who is recognized for inventing public-key cryptography.

NKN's mainnet launched in July 2019 and can support up to 25,000 full consensus nodes. Its whitepaper outlines three primary objectives: decentralizing internet infrastructure, improving scalability, and enhancing network security. The project aims to provide a cost-effective platform for decentralized applications by leveraging community resources. Use cases include a content delivery system with iQIYI, edge computing with China Mobile, a secure messaging app called D-chat, and nShell for remote terminal access. Its consensus algorithm uses Cellular Automata to achieve system-wide convergence quickly, and it employs a global addressing scheme based on public keys with Chord DHT for routing.

NKN is the native token of the NKN network. The maximum supply is 1 billion tokens, and currently, about 754.8 million NKN are in circulation.

NKN uses a consensus mechanism called Proof-of-Relay (PoR), which is described as 'useful Proof-of-Work'. Unlike traditional PoW that rewards computational work, PoR rewards miners for relaying real data across the network, making the process more practical and beneficial.

NKN is available on several centralized exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, KuCoin, Bittrex, Huobi, Gate.io, Bitget, and Crypto.com. Coinasity shows the live NKN price, averaged across major exchanges.