What is Decred (DCR)?

Decred (DCR) is a blockchain-based cryptocurrency distinguished by its emphasis on community involvement, open governance, and sustainable funding for development. The Decred blockchain incorporates hybrid Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mining systems to prevent a small group from monopolizing transaction processes or amending Decred rules without community input. Similar to Bitcoin's, Decred's blockchain integrates significant elements of governance into its protocol.

What are the Uses and Features of DCR?

In Decred, stakeholders, who are essentially the DCR holders, play an active role in shaping the consensus rules of the blockchain, directing its future development, and deciding how the project's treasury funds are utilized.

To align incentives, Decred splits the block rewards between PoW miners, stakeholders, and the Decred Treasury, which funds the project. PoW miners have a role comparable to that in Bitcoin, but in Decred, they receive only 10% of the block reward.

Stakeholders can time-lock or "stake" their DCR to acquire voting tickets, which are randomly selected to vote on-chain. This voting includes both approving the work of PoW miners and voting Yes/No on any pending rule change proposals. The stakeholders who hold the tickets that voted in a given block earn 80% of the block reward.

The remaining 10% of the block reward is allocated to the Decred Treasury. Through Politeia proposals and voting, holders of live tickets decide how this treasury is used. The Decred Constitution, which can be amended via Politeia proposals, lays out guiding principles for the project.

Who Created Decred (DCR)?

Decred was launched in February 2016 by a group of co-founders including brothers Alex and Jake Yocom-Piatt, along with Dave Collins, David Hill, John Vernaleo, and Josh Rickmar. The Yocom-Piatt brothers, along with their team, had previously contributed to the creation of btcsuite, an alternative full-node Bitcoin implementation written in Go (golang). Their aim was to create a truly decentralized cryptocurrency with an engaged community actively participating in its governance.