What Is Mina

Mina is a layer one, open-sourced, permissionless, succinct type blockchain in which each state transition (block) can be efficiently verified in constant time regardless of the number of prior transitions on the ledger. On-chain payments can be executed in roughly 200ms, making Mina an ultra-fast, truly decentralized payment-orientated blockchain. It is the first provably secure proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus protocol for succinct blockchains called Ouroboros Samasika. Being a succinct blockchain means that it is only a fraction of the size of traditional blockchains and always remains the same size no matter how many users.

What Does Mina Solve

➤ Verification mechanisms – this is the main root of the problem with blockchain technology as it directly prevents scalability
➤ Privacy issues
➤ True decentralization
➤ On-chain security issues

The Magic Behind Mina

Mina Protocol replaces the blockchain with an easily verifiable proof called a zk-SNARK (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge)

While traditional proofs rely on verifying all previous transactions on the network as part of the verification process, zk-SNARKS cryptographically guarantees that the state is accurate while maintaining the privacy of the user – this is also known as the Zero-Knowledge-Proof-Protocol

zk-SNARKS operate by; instead of each participant on the network verifying historical transactions, the network collaborates to generate proofs-of-correctness for transactions (zk-SNARKs) and then shares those around the network. These Zk-SNARKS can be considered to be an unforgeable certificate that can validate the current state of the blockchain

The “Non-Interactive” in “zk-SNARKS” means that there is no interaction between the sender and the verifier – SNAKRKS can verify any computation and pass this to the verifier on your behalf while protecting your privacy. This enables Mina Protocol to help the user provide, e.g., a company with the data they require (identity verification, credit score, financial worth, etc.) without actually providing the data itself

Regardless of how many transactions the network has processed, users can fully verify the current state with a small zk-SNARK. This makes Mina Protocol super-fast and lightweight, enabling full nodes to run on cellular devices, desktops, browsers, etc. Due to this technology, no matter how much the network usage grows, the blockchain always stays the same size – about 22kb

Snarketplace – SNARK producers (Snarkers) help compress data in the network by generating SNARK proofs of transactions. They then sell those SNARK proofs to block producers on the Snarketplace in return for a portion of the block rewards – https://minaexplorer.com/snarketplace

SNAPPS vs DAPPS

Mina uses a new type of decentralized application (DAPP) called SNAPPS. SNAPPS use advanced cryptography to conduct trustless blockchain transactions. SNAPPS prove knowledge (asset ownership, identity, personal records, etc.) without exposing all pieces of information. To complete the transaction, only the bare minimum of details need to be shared, no more than is required. Users have complete control over which data they want to share and under what terms or conditions they want to share it. Amazing technology.

SNAPPS  have many unique advantages over traditional DAPPS. Since that SNARK and verification requires less computational power and resources, verifying the execution of a Snapp is fast and energy-efficient, no matter how complicated the proof is. SNAPPS are also highly scalable and have impressive privacy features, which is the heart of Mina’s robust architecture.

Mina Use Cases

➤ End-To-End Data Privacy, From Online To On-Chain / DAPPS
➤ Permissionless Web Oracles
➤ One Private Internet Login
➤ Power Enterprise Interoperability
➤ Enable Private & Auditable Elections With Minimal Transaction Fees

Tokenomics

The current total token supply is 852 million tokens.

It is important to point out Mina is an inflationary project, meaning there is no cap to the MINA token supply. This is to incentivize staking participation in the early years of the protocol, which will increase the level of decentralization. The token supply will increase every year that goes by due to staking reward distribution. Token inflation will be generated by block rewards. Block rewards are awarded to all network participants who stake or delegate their tokens. Mina’s nominal inflation will begin at 12%. Then, over the first five years, the inflation rate will fall to 7% and remain at 7% after that by default, subject to changes via the chain’s governance.

NOTE: If you have your MINA staking, inflationary will not have a negative impact on you because due to the additional rewards, you will still own the same proportional share of the total supply. Please see Inflationary Token Release chart and 4 Year Expected Circulation Supply chart.

Token Utility / Incentives

You can earn Mina tokens from several different methods, please see below:

➤ Staking Rewards
➤ Governance Votes
➤ Block Producer Rewards
➤ Snarketplace – payments SNARKS / Block Producers
➤ SNAPPS

Mina Team

Total Team Members – 52+
Developers – 14+
Marketing – 12+
Owners / CEO – Evan Shapiro – https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-shapiro-451731176/. Evan Shapiro is also the CEO if 0(1)) Labs.

Mina has Josh Cincinnati (former director of ZCash) on their board of directors. As ZCash also had incorporated “zk-SNARKS” technology, Josh will bring a lot to the table.
The MINA Board of Directors shown in image below.

Partnerships / Funding

Mina community sale was sold out in four hours on Coinlist with a total of $18.75M in tokens ?
Current Partnerships include – Chain Safe Systems, Teller Finance, Fiona – lots more to come!

Mina has many high-end investors, including Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital and Three Arrows Capital – each of which would have done thorough due diligence before investing. Please see below image for full list of current investors.

Conclusion

One of the primary key factors is that Mina’s blockchain is extremely lightweight (@ 22kb) and will remain like this regardless of increased network usage. This is important because it will allow the blockchain to scale at ease, unlike many blockchains in use today. In addition to this, Mina also offers a privacy feature to its clients that other blockchain infrastructure projects neglect.

Mina has a solid community, one of the key indicators that is important in any project. The highly engaged team, with their community across all social platforms. In addition, 42% of the total supply of the tokens have been allocated to the community, and this is always a good sign.

I firmly believe Mina Blockchain is a unique project, and I consider it an excellent long-term hold.