A beginner's guide to PulseChain (PLS), the cheaper, faster Ethereum fork featuring the largest airdrop in history.
If the hype is to be believed, Pulsechain and its native PLS token, could very well be the next big thing in crypto.
Created by HEX founder Richard Heart, Pulsechain and HEX are forever going to be talked about in the same breath.
While Heart first created Pulsechain to allow HEX holders to transact on Ethereum without paying the ridiculously high gas fees, Pulsechain is not HEX.
It’s a completely separate, new blockchain project that now stands on its own two feet.
Pulsechain is an Ethereum hard-fork that sees a snapshot of the entire blockchain taken, before being converted into a Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain.
It’s by converting to PoS that PulseChain can offer users the energy-efficient, cheaper, faster, fee burning properties that make it so exciting pre-launch.
This PulseChain (PLS) guide will discuss what is PulseChain, how it works and ultimately guide you toward making your own investment decision.
Introduction to PulseChain
An introduction to PulseChain (PLS), the energy-efficient, cheaper, faster, fee-burning Ethreum fork featuring the largest airdrop in history.
Let’s start this guide by making it crystal clear that PulseChain is forking the Ethereum blockchain as a direct copy.
This differs from the way that for example Binance Smart Chain went about their launch, instead choosing to fork the source code.
So PulseChain users will have not only full compatibility with the Ethereum network, but also a snapshot of the blockchain.
Did somebody say airdrop?
Introducing the PulseChain airdrop
By searching for our guide to PulseChain (PLS), you’ve most likely heard about what is being billed as the largest airdrop in history.
By taking a snapshot of the Ethereum blockchain before launching, all ERC-20 tokens, and most importantly your balances, will also exist on PulseChain.
This means that you and everyone else using Ethereum, will receive PulseChain versions of all their ERC-20 holdings.
Yep, big is an understatement.
Keep in mind that how much the PulseChain versions of each ERC-20 token will be left entirely up to the market at launch.
Some could bang, some could tank.
We just don’t know what’s going to happen yet.
Just like each of the PulseChain versions of each ERC-20 token, there is currently no PLS token price to share within this introduction but stay tuned for updates.
Introducing the PLS token and “the sacrifice”
Richart Heart and PulseChain have also tried to position themselves as somewhat of a crypto philanthropist, not wanting to benefit from the hard work of others.
A huge part of this was integrating a pre-launch campaign which they’ve named ‘the sacrifice’, into the initial launch of the PLS token.
The sacrifice involved transferring your ERC-20 tokens to a centralised address, with the goal being that you’d receive only the PulseChain version of the coins back.
How noble, right?
Those who sacrificed tokens will ultimately receive a share of the total supply of newly launched PLS tokens.
While the sacrifice phase has now ended, there were two ways to sacrifice your ERC-20 tokens:
- Pulse.info: Essentially transferring your coins to Richard Heart and trusting that he will transfer you them back.
- SENS.org: Making a tax-deductible donation to this medical research charity.
While we should be naturally sceptical of centralised events such as this, The SENS.org charity has released numerous statements thanking the PulseChain community for the money raised.
Here’s Aubrey de Grey, the Chief Science Officer of the SENS Research Foundation:
While the jury is still out on what will happen to the PulseChain versions of each ERC-20 token as well as the PLS token itself, it’s hard to fault a $25 million donation to medical research.
Kudos where kudos is due.
Now you have an overview of the project, let’s jump right into the meat of our guide to PulseChain (PLS).
How does PulseChain (PLS) work?
PulseChain is an upcoming Ethereum Hardfork that is more energy-efficient and provides a better user experience through lower costs and quicker transaction speeds.
Although Ethereum has a huge userbase and processes large transactional volumes, transactions take a long time to execute and GAS fees can go as high as $100 or more during times of peak network congestion.
Among many other Layer-1 and Layer-2 scaling solutions or alternatives to Ethereum, PulseChain is now the latest to join the party.
It will take a snapshot of the Ethereum blockchain and airdrop all Ethereum based assets on PulseChain.
The major difference between Ethereum and Pulsechain is that the PLS token is deflationary by eliminating inflation risk with a token burn mechanism.
It is also famous for doing the largest Airdrop in the history of crypto.
In this section of our PulseChain (PLS) guide, we are going to see how PulseChain works.
Let's start!
The mechanics of PulseChain
PulseChain will use a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) algorithm to reach its consensus.
This will provide 4x faster block generation times than Ethereum (i.e 3 second block times).
To put this into perspective, Ethereum's average block time is around 13 seconds.
A set of validators will be selected to create the highest number of blocks and others will be able to delegate their stake or vote for them as top validators.
Validators who have the largest stake will earn more from transaction fees for keeping the blockchain secure and running at all times.
25% of the transaction fees are burnt to reduce the circulating supply.
As compared to PoW, DPoS is much faster and energy efficient too although Ethereum is undergoing the transition to PoS.
Right now, PulseChain is under development and there is no set date of launch but we might expect the testnet to go soon.
The Roadmap and the Whitepaper related to the project are not available to understand how and when the whole system will go live.
We still don't have any information about how the tokenomics going to work but it's going to be deflationary, unlike Ethereum which has an unlimited supply.
The Eventual PulseChain Bridge
How the PulseChain Bridge will work.
As stated on the official PulseChain website, the bridge will provide users with the ability to send ETH to the Pulsechain contract on Ethereum and lock it.
This will then provide pETH (pulseETH) on PulseChain at a ratio of 1:1.
Alternatively, users can also send PLS to the ETHbridge contract on PulseChain and be issued ePLS(ETHPulse) on the Ethereum Network.
Also at a ratio of 1:1.
The creator of PulseChain has the goals of increasing the value of Ethereum and in turn reducing the fees as the load will be shared by many.
Heart’s other goals with PulseChain are to make the PulseChain network easy to use, remove or grossly reduce waste from burning by replacing PoW with PoS, and enrich ETH, ERC20 and NFT users.
The PulseChain airdrop explained - Date and time revealed
How will the PulseChain (PLS) airdrop, including the sacrifice period, work?
A copy of all Ethereum assets will be airdropped on PulseChain when it goes live.
This means all the tokens and NFTs you have on Ethereum will receive an exact copy on PulseChain as well.
Something that can be seen as free money for ETH and ERC-20 token holders!
It's going to be the largest airdrop in crypto history.
You don't have to do anything but wait for it to go live and there will be a procedure and a set of tools to claim your airdrop you can follow.
We’re standing by for further information.
What is the PulseChain sacrifice?
Let’s start by just making it clear that the sacrifice period is now over.
Apart from the copy of Ethereum's assets, one could also 'sacrifice' their other ERC-20 cryptocurrencies to get what they’re calling ‘sacrifice points’.
The collected cryptocurrencies worth $25 million were donated to SENS medical research foundation.
Please note:
- The PLS supply increases with the amount sacrificed. One sacrifice point would give you 1 free PLS.
- Ethereum holders only get 1 free PLS per ETH. And its value is deducted from their address after 30 days.
- A genesis address gets 1% of the total PLS supply at launch. Not sure what's going to be the use of this.
- At the launch, if the total supply isn't 10k times higher than Ethereum's supply, then everyone receives bonus coins on a pro-rata basis.
- As soon as the chain launches, an automated ratio fixer contract will mint around 2.5% of supply, in order to correct the PLS to ETH ratio
As we mentioned above, the sacrifice period ended on the 2nd of August 2021.
The sacrifice points were given out as bonuses using a set of rules to the existing addresses who participated in the sacrifice process.
If someone made a bigger sacrifice early on during the period, they would have got more points.
The total points across all chains were totalled and a list was created in descending order.
According to this list, PLS tokens will be distributed once PulseChain goes live.
What are PulseChain's goals?
As we’ve already discovered within this guide, PulseChain is an upcoming energy-efficient Ethereum Hardfork, that provides a better user experience through lower costs and faster transactions.
It will take a snapshot of the Ethereum chain and airdrop all Ethereum based assets on a new blockchain, called PulseChain.
It will be the largest airdrop in the history of crypto.
The major difference between Ethereum and Pulsechain is that the PLS token is deflationary and eliminates inflation risk with a token burn mechanism.
In this section of our Pulsechain (PLS) guide, we are going to discuss the different goals of PulseChain, as well as what it wants to achieve.
The goals of PulseChain
There are a number of goals listed on PulseChain's official website.
We’ve combined them in the following points with a very simple explanation of each:
1. Expansion of Web 3.0
Instead of directly competing directly with Ethereum, Pulsechain wants to become another entry point to Web 3.0.
Their goal is to support Ethereum's ecosystem by taking off some of its load.
Through their largest airdrop in crypto history, they aim to reward the current holders of Ethereum based assets and simply add more value to their ecosystem.
This means the assets (Tokens & NFTs) you have on the ETH chain, will get a copy on PulseChain when it goes live.
2. Better User Experience
PulseChain aims to provide faster, cheaper and higher throughput (4x) transactions when compared to Ethereum.
It aims to be easy to use, with the goal of simply adding the PulseChain Network in your MetaMask to begin using the chain.
ETH holders can transact for free with freemium PLS.
3. Energy Efficient
PoW mining takes up too much energy and investment.
Pulsechain will use a Delegated Proof of Stake algorithm which is more energy-efficient and eco-friendly.
Validators will create blocks and it won't depend upon hashing power, but instead their PLS stake.
4. Game Theory
Pulsechain (PLS) is going to be a deflationary coin and will have a limited supply, unlike Ethereum.
Validators will earn fees paid in PLS.
25% of the fee is also burned, taking those PLS tokens out of the supply forever.
This could result in an increase in PLS price when demand rises and more transactions start happening on the network.
5. Staking
PulseChain aims to provide staking opportunities to PLS holders.
They will be able to stake and delegate PLS tokens to other validators who will get the fees to produce blocks.
Delegators will get a share of the rewards, depending upon the staking pool.
6. Interoperability
Pulsechain will provide a bridge to Ethereum that will work in both directions.
For example, you will be able to send ERC-20 assets like ETH to PulseChain and there will be a wrapped version called pETH that gets created.
Similarly, PLS will have a wrapped version called ePLS on the Ethereum Network.
This will bring more liquidity to both networks.
Also, ETH is connected to many other popular blockchains, so PulseChain has a chance to get more exposure and benefit from the ever-expanding ecosystem of Ethereum.
Is PulseChain (PLS) on track to reach its goals?
We hope this gave you a nice little overview of the goals of PulseChain.
The PulseChain testnet is already up and running and hopefully, we will soon get to see the mainnet released.
PulseChain vs Ethereum
In this section of our guide to PulseChain (PLS), we compare two similar blockchains:
- PulseChain (PLS)
- Ethereum (ETH)
PulseChain vs Ethereum comparison table
This section is designed to show you an unbiased feature set comparison of each blockchain within the discussion.
The below table shows you our main comparison points between PulseChain and Ethereum:
| PulseChain (PLS) | Ethereum (ETH) | |
|---|---|---|
| PulseChain has gone through Airdrop and sacrifice launch level phase and it'll launch it's working mainnet soon. | Ethereum released it's whitepaper in 2013 and it'd be going live with mainnet in 2015. | |
| PulseChain has total 800,000,000,000 coins and circulation is yet to take effect as mainnet is not yet released as of writing this post. | Ethereum has 117,046,619 coins in circulation and $365,186,415,050 coins in supply. | |
| PulseChain has been designed with Proof of Stake as it's consensus algorithm. | Ethereum has both Proof of Work and Proof of Stake and it has plans to completely shift into the Proof of Stake model in near future. | |
| PulseChain being the fork of the Ethereum has the similar model for the development along with the option to be a cross chain bridge. | Ethereum has EVM which allows you to create smart contracts, DeFi and other infrastructure like layer-2 solutions on the blockchain. | |
| PulseChain can make use of the Solidity on it's blockchain and it can also make use of the external languages for the plugins and extension. | Ethereum makes use of the Solidity as it's primary language for the development. | |
| PulseChain has cheaper transaction cost for per block verified through validators. | Ethereum has expensive transaction cost as of now due to the mining model. | |
| PulseChain being Ethreum fork can create solutions which run on and off Ethereum. | Ethereum supports layer 2 solutions through which tokens, NFTs and cross chains can be created. | |
| PulseChain being the Ethereum fork it can also be used in cross chain and parallel chains. | Ethereum can extend the blockchains with cross chain and parallel chains through layer-2 solution. | |
| PulseChain has 3 second block time with ability to serve more transactions. | Ethereum has transaction per second rate of around 15 to 30 TPS. | |
| PulseChain has PLS as it's token designed for staking and validators rewards. | Ethereum makes use of the ETH token where it has it's mining and POS rewards. | |
| PulseChain has no inflation in it's ecosystem and validators get the network fee reward of around 25%. | Ethereum goes through annual inflation rate of about 1.11% each year. |
PulseChain or Ethereum - Which should I choose?
You may want to think twice before blindly sacrificing your ERC-20 tokens.
Pulsechain is new and it has yet to demonstrate it's solutions towards the Ethereum chain.
As of now most of the features of the Pulsechain are untested and they are yet to meet any real world demand.
Ethereum on the other hand has slowly moving from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake, designed to address its network fee and scalability issues in near future.
The choice between PulseChain and Ethereum seems pretty clear for now, but everything could soon change once PulseChain’s mainnet launches and the market reacts.
Is PulseChain (PLS) a scam or legit?
The purpose of this subsection of our PulseChain guide is to attempt to answer the difficult question as to whether or not PulseChain is a legitimate project, or just another scam.
While no definitive answer exists for this question, there certainly are factors present that add weight to both sides of this debate.
While the content found within this subsection will not give you a definitive answer, let's take a look at some of the undeniable factors.
This presentation is made with the intent to present you with all the available information, before letting you reach your own investments decisions based thereupon.
Factors pointing toward PulseChain being a scam
Pulsechain employed a unique pre-launch 'sacrifice period' where you could effectively burn tokens that you already owned and replace them with a greater amount of PLS when PulseChain blockchain finally launches.
This effectively operated as a pre-launch sale.
This 'sacrifice period' operation is new to the blockchain paradigm and accordingly is suspicious and questionable.
The 'sacrifice period' in question ended August 2, 2021, but so far, any investor who 'sacrificed' has received nothing but unspecified 'sacrifice points' as the blockchain has yet to be launched.
Terming this pre-launch operation a 'sacrifice' is a mischaracterization.
The associated term 'sacrifice' must be questioned in light of the fact the launch is to be at zero value (supposedly so there will be no profit from the work of others) and that it will not consist of a taxable event upon issuance of the revived coins.
Where is the 'sacrifice' in this?
A relatively shady and novel (to blockchain parlance) disclaimer concerning this 'sacrifice period' is presented by PulseChain on its official website.
This disclaimer is set forth below and it is up to you, the potential investor, to determine the weight you wish to place upon it:
You are sacrificing to prove how strong you believe that blockchains are speech and speech is a protected human right. This is an important political statement. You must have no expectation of profit from the work of others. The set of people who have sacrificed to show their commitment to this political statement makes a great set of people to airdrop free things to. This sacrifice points are not meant to have any monetary value. Remember, you're not buying anything, the world is just noticing you are amongst a group of people that sacrificed to make a political statement. Some countries tax their citizens when they receive things of value. PulseChain and all the coins on it are designed to start with no value, which is ideal. Consult your own legal and financial professionals, as nothing written here should be considered professional advice. The only thing we know of set to be airdropped for free to this political group so far is PulseChain (PLS.) If we hear about other cool things, we'll let you know.
With the exception of the sacrifices going to the SENS Organization, a designated charity, it appears that all other sacrifices go directly to the developer, Richard Heart.
Factors pointing toward PulseChain being legit
Before Pulsechain, the developer, Richard Heart, was the developer of the Hex Blockchain project.
Controversy surrounded the Hex project as Heart had the potential to make and take a lion's share of the 'claimant bonuses' through his potential access to Hex's 'origin address'. [Parenthetically, Richard Heart has been quoted as saying with a chuckle: "Whoever holds the keys to the origin address is going to be happy,”].
Based on the foregoing, will the same activity (regarding Heart and the Hex claimant bonuses) carry forward to PulseChain relative to Heart and the sacrifice monies?
It is too soon to say and only time will tell. (But time, as of yet, has not erased the Red Flag in this instance).
Final verdict on whether PulseChain is a scam
As stated at the onset of this subsection, the relevant and available information has been presented to you relative to the legitimacy of the PulseChain project.
It is now up to you, the potential investor, to digest this information, do your own diligent research on the topic, and reach your own conclusion as to whether or not PulseChain is a legitimate project or a scam.
Any time red flags appear in discussions concerning a potential investment, it is highly recommended that you proceed with extreme caution and full knowledge prior to making an actual investment.
In saying that, we’ll leave you with the following point from the factors pointing toward PulseChain being a scam above:
“With the exception of the sacrifices going to the SENS Organization, a designated charity, it appears that all other sacrifices go directly to the developer, Richard Heart.”
PulseChain (PLS) pros and cons
PulseChain will be a brand new blockchain ecosystem when launched that currently is receiving much hype.
According to PulseChain (PLS), this new blockchain will offer significant enhancements over the current Ethereum blockchain.
Additionally, the launch of this new platform is claimed to be based on the biggest Airdrop or initial coin distribution in blockchain history.
So, is all this hype justified?
In this subsection of our guide to PulseChain (PLS) let's give a look at the pros and the cons associated with this project with a view toward aiding you in your investment decision.
PulseChain (PLS) pros
It is one of PulseChain's many claims that it does not consider itself to be an Ethereum killer nor to directly compete with Ethereum, but rather desires to decrease the burden upon the Ethereum main ecosystem.
PulseChain claims that it will be more energy efficient than Ethereum.
PulseChain claims that it will, in fact, increase Ethereum's value by causing a decrease in Ethereum transaction fees by sharing Ethereum's transactional load.
PulseChain's utility token, PLS, is designed in a fashion to be deflationary through token burn mechanisms.
Blockchain validators in the system will receive fees and 25% of said fees will likewise be burnt.
PulseChain is designed as a hard fork of Ethereum. As such, PulseChain will replicate each and every ERC-20 existing on the Ethereum chain on to its chain with all assets starting with a zero value. So even if you have not invested in PulseChain, you will receive a copy of all ERC-20 assets you own on PulseChain.
PulseChain will operate on a Delegated Proof of Stake model (DPoS) thereby reducing transaction fees compared to Ethereum.
The DPoS model employed by PulseChain also permits optimization of block times to 3 seconds compared to Ethereum's block times of 13 seconds.
PulseChain makes somewhat of an incomprehensible claim that it will enrich ERC-20 and NFT users:
The launch of PulseChain is the largest airdrop in history. Thousands of Ethereum based tokens and NFTs receive their free PulseChain versions. This new gold rush contains the value discovery of thousands of tokens and NFTs on PulseChain. If you always wanted to be a whale in a certain ERC20 or NFT, maybe now you can be.
Pulsechain claims that it is easy to use with a MetaMask wallet and all a user needs to do to utilize MetaMask with PulseChain is to change a single setting.
The PulseChain native utility token PLS, can be staked and delegated to various validators for a reward of a large percentage of fees.
Pulsechain will offer interoperability options for chains with smart contract capabilities.
PulseChain (PLS) cons
A rather shady disclaimer is presented by PulseChain on its official website. This disclaimer leaves it up to you, the potential investor, to determine the weight you wish to place upon the sacrifice.
Pulsechain's 'sacrifice period' (where users effectively burn tokens they already own to be replaced by a greater amount of PLS when PulseChain ultimately launches) is unique to the blockchain paradigm and accordingly is suspicious and questionable. Said 'sacrifice period' ended August 2, 2021, but those sacrificing have only received points as the chain still as yet has not launched.
It is an interesting fact the naming of this as a 'sacrifice'. The associated term 'sacrifice' must be questioned in light of the fact the launch is to be at zero value (supposedly so there will be no profit from the work of others) and that it will not consist of a taxable event upon issuance of the revived coins.
With the exception of the sacrifices going charitably to the SENS Organisation, it appears that all other sacrifices go directly to the developer, Richard Heart
PulseChain claims its launch is imminent, but given the folowing long and technical list of pre-launch conditions posted on Telegram, it is hard to conclude that it will be launching in the near future:
Puslechain Main Net Minimum Viable Product:
Testnet:- go.hex.com working with pHEX
- Bridges with ETH, and other large Ethereum ERC20s
- A possible Uniswap Frontend for Pulsechain….huge.
- Block explorer for Puslechain and PLS.
And now we get to post Minimum Viable Product Release:
- Trading: Pancake Swap, a fork of uniswap with LP rewards. Both ERC20 and Pulsechain 20 pairs.
- Coin ranking sites for Pulsechain network coins/tokens. (Think Nomics, coinmarketcap).
- Wallet to replace metamask. (who will operate this?)
- Uniswap but doing it across chains
- Stablecoin from Richard Heart’s own exchange.
Do the PulseChain pros outweigh the cons?
There are still too many what-ifs hanging over PulseChain and the PLS token for a final call either way to be made.
Is PulseChain ever going to launch?
One of the most anticipated aspects of PulseChain is its launch, which has been eagerly awaited by many cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
While the launch date has not yet been officially announced, the development team behind PulseChain has provided updates on its progress.
In January 2022, the team announced that the PulseChain testnet had been successfully launched, and that they were working on the mainnet launch.
The team has stated that the mainnet launch will occur when it is ready and will be done in a way that is secure and reliable.
As with any blockchain project, there can be unexpected delays or obstacles that arise during the development process.
However, the PulseChain team has emphasised their commitment to ensuring that the platform is launched in a way that is sustainable and successful.
It's also worth noting that PulseChain has attracted a lot of attention and interest in the cryptocurrency community, and there are many investors and developers who are eagerly anticipating its launch.
This suggests that there is a strong demand for the platform, which could help drive its success once it is launched.
Overall, while the launch date for PulseXhain has not yet been announced, the development team has provided updates on its progress and is committed to launching the platform in a secure and reliable way.
As such, it seems likely that Pulsechain will eventually launch, though the exact timing remains uncertain.
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