The developers of the altcoin SPR have revised the protocol to encourage users to run Bitcoin nodes

From the hashrate chart, we can see that the Bitcoin network is expanding. However, the number of Bitcoin nodes, which play an important role in supporting the Bitcoin network, has been declining.

While the technical skills required to run a Bitcoin node are decreasing, the resource requirements and obligations are moving in the opposite direction. While the Bitcoin network is still in good shape, more nodes will help maintain the decentralized, distributed trust characteristics of the Bitcoin network and make it more resistant to network attacks.

There have been various proposed solutions to the Bitcoin node decline problem, including low-cost dedicated node-running hardware such as BitSeed, Bitcoin Mini, several BIPs that attempt to incentivize nodes, and various other third-party, free-market solutions such as BitNodes.

The latest proposal to solve this problem, “Proof of Bitcoin Node,” comes from the developers of a new altcoin called Spreadcoin (SPR).

Spreadcoin was launched in July 2014, and its original white paper was mainly to ensure the decentralization of mining pools and resist centralized mining pools.

The coin’s original developers abandoned development in May, and now the new takeover has decided to choose a new and different approach to restarting it.

The new Spreadcoin 2.0 white paper proposes an incentive mechanism for running Bitcoin nodes by creating a secondary network called “ServiceNodes.”

The new Spreadcoin 2.0 white paper states:

“Rather than finding a mechanism on the Bitcoin network directly to incentivize users to run Bitcoin nodes, the SPR network nodes themselves are used as a means to incentivize users to run Bitcoin full nodes. SPR intends to utilize a secondary network node system to handle decentralized operations and transactions.”

“Every user running a ServiceNode is required to run a full Bitcoin node. Otherwise, the ServiceNode is not considered part of the SPR network.”

This concept borrows heavily from the architecture of Dash (DASH), implementing a similar two-tier node system. This concept is called "Masternodes" in Dash and "ServiceNode" in SPR.

The white paper states that once a large number of Bitcoin nodes are created, Spreadcoin will be able to easily access Bitcoin's blockchain and conduct commercial data mining. This data can be sold to companies, and the money earned can be re-entered into the Spreadcoin system, thereby attracting more people to participate.

The white paper also predicts that 10,000 nodes will generate more valuable data about transactions on the Bitcoin network. A successful Spreadcoin incentive program could be used to support both Bitcoin nodes and Bitcoin miners, which would create "a barrier to entry" for anyone who wants to launch a competing private service.

Data mining and data analysis businesses such as Tradeblock, blockchain.info, Blockstream, and those seeking to support Bitcoin through commercial enterprises can benefit from this data by helping to create data specifications for the types of data they need. However, businesses and institutions that reveal user IP addresses will be at a disadvantage.

Spreadcoin’s new administrators also plan to run Spreadcoin as a sidechain on the Bitcoin network, “once the technology to run a secondary decentralized network of nodes is built, the sidechain technology will be implemented.”

However, they are currently focusing on methods to generate revenue through data mining to ensure that Spreadcoin can incentivize users to run Bitcoin full nodes.

Original article: http://bravenewcoin.com/news/spreadcoin-was-an-abandoned-altcoin-until-new-developers-assumed-control-a-new-direction-attempts-to-incentivize-spreadcoin-holders-to-run-bitcoin-nodes/
By Luke Parker
Translator: printemps
Editor: printemps
Source (translation): Babbitt Information