Introduction

Private Instant Verified Transactions (PIVX) is an open source, privacy focused cryptocurrency. Originally forked from the privacy coin DASH, it aims to provides a community focused coin with real world uses cases.

What is PIVX?

PIVX was originally launched on January 2015 as DarkNet (DNET). In January 2017 was relaunched as PIVX. Anonymity of PIVX users during transactions is provided through the use of the zPIV protocol. PIVX has used the privacy protecting protocol called Zerocoin. This separates specific transaction from the history of that particular coin. This avoids the problem of a single transaction revealing identifying information about either the recipient or sender from any particular transaction.

In PIVX the Zerocoin protocol is implemented in the form of zPIV. zPIV is a combination of z for Zerocoin and PIV for PIVX. zPIV differs from other privacy coins that have implemented the Zerocoin protocol due to its used of an accumulator checkpoint system. The accumulator system lowers computational requirements providing zPIV with some of the fastest transaction speeds of any cryptocurrency.

PIVX originally used a Proof-of-Work (PoW) protocol until 2015. It then switched to implementing a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol. PIVX was the first coin that allowed for transaction anonymity and also used a PoS protocol. Due to the much lower electricity requirements PoS protocols tend to avoid the problem of the blockchain being dominated by large server farms. PIVX uses the PoS 3.0 protocol which provides for fixed block rewards. On top of this is a seesaw reward mechanism that act to rebalance block rewards between the staking nodes and the master nodes. The remaining 10% of block h rewards is used for PIVX own budgeting. The end consequence is that there is little difference between the block rewards for staking and master nodes.

Transactions through the PIVX protocol must be double validated .This double validation is performed by a randomly selected masternode and staker. On top of this the transaction is then confirmed by 101 randomly chosen contributors. PIVX PoS model helps to avoid tracing users through electricity consumption. This is because staking can be evenly distributed by all of the users in the system.

PIVX uses a self-funding model based on a decentralised reward system. This means that PIVX has been able to fund operations without requiring an ICO.As previously detailed 10% of block rewards are made available for funding community projects.

Where to buy PIVX

PIVX is listed on a many of the major cryptocurrency exchanges. These exchanges include:

• Binance
• Bithumb
• Bittrex
• VCC Exchange
• Hotbit
• KuCoin
• YoBit
• Crex24

Step 1: Create a Coinbase account

Select the “sign up” tab and complete the form by entering the requested information, including:

1. Your name (exactly as it appears on your photo identification)
2. Email address
3. Password
4. Location

Step 3: Select the “Buy/Sell” option on the menu, once our account is verified

After verification, select the “Buy/Sell” option on the menu

1. Choose “Ethereum”
2. Input how much you would like to purchase
3. Select the “Buy” button

Step 6: Register your Binance account

1. Enter your email address and a strong password
2. Agree to the terms of use
3. Select “Register”
4. You’ll receive an email to confirm your account

Step 7: Login to your Binance account

Step 10: Select the “Buy” button

• Once you have chosen the amount of PIVX you would like to purchase, select the “Buy button”
• Your PIVX order will be immediately filled; your ETH will be transferred into PIVX

Why buy PIVX

It has been shown that in order for a there to be a 1 in 2 probability of double spending, that a user would need to hold 70.7% of all staked coins. This makes PIVX less vulnerable to attack than many other coins.

At the same time as providing strong privacy protection for its user. PIVX also uses a PoS mechanism that more fairly rewards stakers and masternodes. It also has the added benefit of avoiding the issue of electricity analysis used to identify heavy users.

zPIV also provides a number of benefits over other coins using the Zerocoin protocol. As already mentioned, zPIV provides for extremely fast verification. It also delivers on average a 25% smaller transaction size compared to any other coin using the Zerocoin protocol.

Another benefit of PIVX is in scalability. It is estimated that PIVX can currently provide as much as ten times the transaction capacity as that provided by Bitcoin. This will be further supported by the introduction of Elastic Block Sizes. These update the transaction capacity based on current demand.

How to sell PIVX

PIVX can be sold on any of the cryptocurrency exchanges where the digital token is listed. Note that this process could potentially be used to self-identify, so use with caution if privacy is of concern. To sell the PIVX token follows these steps:

1. Transfer your PIVX token to one of the cryptocurrency exchanges listed above
2. Exchange your PIVX token for BTC
3. Send your BTC to a platform like Coinbase
4. Exchange your BTC for fiat currency and transfer the funds to your bank account