Have you ever wished for a multi-purpose blockchain? The blockchain industry spawns new projects every day. Why not have a blockchain applicable in all situations? So,  what is Stratis and its relevance?

Stratis is an ambitious project. The top slots in the crypto verse are filled with Bitcoin and Ethereum. But these have their shares of challenges, leaving new projects to catch up. One potential contender for the top slots is Stratis.

You may have heard of ‘something-as-a-service’. Stratis is a prime example of exploitation of this concept. Its resourcefulness is in the financial services.

Stratis is way much unexplored. How did it start? What is the team behind Stratis? What makes it tick? So, what is Stratis?

Stratis will allow firms to build their customized blockchain applications. And you cannot mention Stratis while excluding Microsoft`s technologies.

What is Stratis: The In-depth Exploration

What is the History of Stratis?

With little known of its history, the platform was founded in the UK and launched in August of 2016.

Along its journey, Stratis has faced hiccups. One incidence that will strike you is the rejection and acceptance by Nicolas Dorier. Dorier was then an obsessed Bitcoin developer. Uniquely, the incidence is documented to show how Stratis has struggled to be where it is.

They often say when the time of an idea has come, then no one will stop it. The journey of Stratis has followed this thought. At one time, Chris Trew, the Stratis` CEO, approached Nicolas Dorier for help. Unfortunately, Nicolas turned him way but stuck in Bitcoin development.

Chris would not despair. Instead, Chris saw an opportunity. The opportunity was in the millions of computers that used the Microsoft’s .Net and C# language. Moreover, another motivation was that Microsoft had open sourced .Net and C#. He knew he would reach the millions of business computers.

Later on, Nicolas saw Chris` vision, changed his mind and agreed to talk to him. So for 2 years, Nicolas worked to develop a Bitcoin node in C#.

Additionally, Nicolas had no compensation and no proper balance of life. So, Chris opted to pay Nicolas to complete the Bitcoin work. In the plan, Stratis would not only benefit the Bitcoin community but also itself.

The end result of this arrangement was a clone of Nicolas work. Specifically, the clone would speed up Stratis development.

After launch, let us look into the team that advances and maintain this project.

The Stratis ICO

The Stratis ICO launched in June and ran through to July of 2016.

The project managed to raise in excess of $600, 000 value of 915 BTC. This amount valued and issued the Stratis token (STRAT) at $0.0073 per token.

In the first 5 days of the ICO, the investors enjoyed a 20% bonus. In effect, the bonus gradually decreased in the last 11 days to zero. Still, that did not hinder, investors contributing 561 BTC on the last day.

Coupled with a development aim, the project distributed a total of 98 million tokens. The project shared 85.7% of STRAT among the investors. But the team kept the remaining 14.3% for development and advancement.

To achieve the fete Stratis has, then it must have a visionary and strong team behind it. Let us now look at what is Stratis Team.

The Team behind Stratis ?

Chris Trew will easily come into your mind after a suffering a rejection. And later getting an inspiring acceptance. Despite the incidence, you still have to know his roles and also other members.

So, the team is comprised of:

1. Chris Trew

Chris is the CEO and founder of Stratis. He has vast experience in Enterprise IT. He previously worked for top financial institutions as well as Legal, Aviation institutions. In the recent past, Chris has had his hands on the Blitz project.

2. Krushang Patel

Krushang is the head of communications. His first encounter with blockchain was with Bitcoin in late 2013. This technology fascinated him to the point he has grown to have a strong belief in blockchain.

3. Carlton Pringle

Carlton is the Project Lead. He is a veteran in the matters of the software industry. He focuses on building projects that employ Microsoft`s technologies. And so, he is passionate about C#. Coincidentally, C# has made Carlton available for Stratis.

4. Nicolas Dorier

Nicholas is the Bitcoin Development Adviser. With vast experience in Bitcoin development, Stratis needs his useful insights. Remember he took part in cloning Bitcoin node, thus accelerating Stratis growth.

5. Dan Gershony

Dan is a Stratis developer. He is a software engineer abled mainly in C# and .Net framework. So, these skills expose him to abilities in Stratis development. Dan encountered the blockchain technology in 2013. And has been a part of it ever since.

6. Pieterjan Vanhoof

Also, a Stratis developer with experience in .Net framework. He has been active in the blockchain realm. Clients have tasked him with tailoring solutions in the blockchain sphere. His involvement in the industry has been through the first meeting with Bitcoin in 2013.

7. Jeremy Bokobza

Jeremy is also a .Net and C# Stratis developer. Active participation in Enterprise Application of more than 10 years gives him the experience. His interest in blockchain started in 2013. In Stratis, he working on Cloud Stratis, Full Node, and Wallet.

8. Benoit Philibert

Users of Stratis interface must be comfortable and happy. Benoit is the UI and UX designer at Stratis. Being top in his field, he is working to deliver Stratis interfaces.

The Stratis Features

Let’s now know the inside working of Stratis and what it brings forth to you the user.

C# Programming Language

Stratis is a software platform. And mind you, the team must choose a language to develop Stratis in. The language is C#.

Ethereum a frontier in smart contracts uses Solidity. One of the hurdles of Solidity is that is complex to learn. While the team used C#, a highly trusted and well-known language.

An advantage to using C# is that companies do not want to incur an extra cost in training their in-house developers. So, they rather use the already accepted and better C#.

Therefore, Stratis launched their development framework that allows programming in C# and .NET. Hence, developers can use the simple and powerful language.

Proof of Stake

Stratis implements the Proof-of-Stake algorithm. Earlier on in the early stages, Stratis minted STRAT tokens using the Proof-of-Work.

The POW provided the only way of minting new STRAT tokens into existence.

With POS, new blocks are secured by validators. The validators are selected randomly by native coin holders on the network.

Sequentially, they are added to the blockchain. In this process a node participates by staking some of the existing funds towards solving a block similar to placing a bet.

The POS algorithm work to limit a user validate new blocks of the same value as the number of coins they stake. So, then that means if you have more coins then you can validate more transactions. And the reward is more coins.

The network selects stakers from a pool of nodes that have some amount in wallets. To stake special staking wallets are needed.

Proof-of-Stake method provides an easy way to get more coins. Bitcoin and Ethereum use the strenuous POW which causes prices to soar. But the POS makes Stratis efficient and easy to acquire.

Think of it as hodling your STRAT in your wallet and being rewarded more for staking your existing coins.

Smart Contracts

This is arguably the in-thing in the blockchain sphere. It has significant benefits when used. And now every blockchain wants to include this concept.

Thankfully to Nick Szabo, this concept has also become a reality in Stratis.

Smart contracts allow execution of transactions without the need of third parties.

All smart contract implementations are similar the only difference comes in the efficient development. Stratis smart contracts are written in C# which is common, easy and powerful. This gives developers easy time to advance the smart contracts in Stratis.

Another edge is people can create systems of smart contracts on the same blockchain. And the existence of the smart contracts will not disrupt the primary blockchain.

The Stratis team will in a later release add support for F#. A language popular in the financial sector.

Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS)

Stratis is implemented as a service. It thus becomes a BaaS platform. In effect, the blockchains running on the network are accessible through the cloud.

So, for corporations, there is no need to have a complete full node to access their specific blockchain. The edge is the system frees up a corporation`s resources.

This development is promoting the blockchain adoption across businesses. The businesses leverage the cloud-based blockchain, smart contracts, and applications.

Secure networks

This is the inherent property of blockchains. A twist to this property exists for Stratis.

The team developed Stratis on Bitcoin. Thus, it carries the security benefits of Bitcoin with it. From there Stratis try to mitigate Bitcoin`s shortcomings. For instance, with Stratis developers can deploy applications on Bitcoin.

Affordable networks

The spike of blockchain development is at its highest. It will remain so for the foreseeable future as every entity seems to have its blockchain. Stratis foresees into this insight.

As a result, Stratis has the advantage to propel both public and private blockchains. This is made possible with STRAT tokens which have native value for the platform.

There is an edge to having a private blockchain. You can create and customize applications with regard to your needs.

Additionally, there is the reduced cost of running hardware to mine tokens due to the Proof-of-Stake.

One-click deployment

Another good property for almost all levels in development. Your business does not want to take all the time trying to configure a blockchain.

With this feature, the developer will use a one-click blockchain deployer. The feature promises an entire network in one click. Who would not want such Stratis convenience?

The one-click feature will generate a blockchain sourced properties from the parent chain. You can easily deploy a customizable sidechain.

This ability further extends to other blockchains. You can deploy a blockchain to other platforms like Ethereum and Bitcoin. Further, the features that are natively offered in the other blockchains can be exploited.

ICO Platform

In the past, most ICOs have been running on Ethereum. And it saw bloating of the network due to the many ICOs running on the main blockchain. There is a new and better option in Stratis.

In May 2018, Stratis released the full product with a rich feature to use. It guarantees deployment in minutes using the Deploy to Azure click.

The Stratis ICO platform has:

• Customizable design which will easily conform to your unique branding
• Use of fiat, BTC, STRAT and other over 50 additional altcoins
• Know-Your-Customer service to screen against money laundering use
• Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) wallets to secure collection of funds
• Free use of the ICO platform reducing the high cost of crowd-funding

The platform drastically improves the user experience for both ICO issuers and contributors – Chris Trew, CEO Stratis

The efficiency on Stratis ICO will see businesses using it and in turn causing a larger traffic. Thus, a beneficial surge in the value of the STRAT token

Sidechains

Additional blockchains that people deploy on Stratis are private sidechains. They allow customization taking advantage of the parent blockchain`s properties. Furthermore, you can also make updates to your sidechain without affecting the others.

In June 2018, Stratis released the Federated Sidechains Alpha.

Businesses will have the ability to deploy their sidechain. The sidechain feature has:

• Customizable sidechains with flexible functions like consensus, block size and privacy
• Scalable blockchain
• Cross-chain transactions between Stratis parent chain and the sidechains

The team is working on a later release to enable smart contracts on sidechains.

The project has marked the current feature with a test environment. The team names the environment Apex. The testing has shown that Apex interacts with the main chain in a seamless way. And users can try this with TSRAT and TAPEX coin transactions.

Sidechains provide a means to quickly provision, sandbox and deploy a bespoke blockchain tailored to specific enterprise processes – Chris Trew

Fiat gateway integration

This feature is designed into Stratis from the onset. Financial institutions will transfer value readily accepted by mainstream consumers. The value therein transferred will be subject to damaging volatility.

In the end, businesses can enjoy the best of both worlds with compliance in policy. Thus, the businesses will enjoy transactional speed, cost, transparency, and currency stability.

Breeze Wallet

Breeze wallet is aimed at increasing financial privacy to users of Stratis and Bitcoin. The wallet adds to it the innovations of TumbleBit.

Also, for the privacy enhancements, there is the Full Block Secure Payment Validation system.

The project team also extends the Stratis Financial Privacy protocol. The protocol ensures a trustless and decentralized protocol in the blockchain and sidechains.

TumbleBit was selected after several considerations because:

• Transactions are un-linkable and private
• Secure: No one can steal payments – thus the untrusted property
• It is compatible with bitcoin`s protocol
• Trustless exchange as a secure exchange of Bitcoin-STRAT pair

The relation of Stratis and Bitcoin will see an influx of Stratis use from the Bitcoin community. It will turn this wallet to the default wallet for use within the two crypto communities.

Masternodes

Stratis masternodes at an inevitable point in the industry. The blockchain will provide useful services while maintaining the services decentralized and tamper-proof. The early implementation is the Breeze Privacy Protocol. But there is anticipation in addition to services.

The masternode feature includes:

• Live Masternode running on Microsoft Azure
• Support of the Service Discovery Protocol configure to run the Breeze privacy Protocol
• Collateral verification feature that requires the operator to have 250000 STRAT in watched address incentivizing supply of appropriate resources required by the network.

The masternode feature delivers an advertisement and discovery mechanism resistant change.

Segwit Ready

Though controversial, this feature can be activated with ease. The developers built it within the Stratis codebase.

It is a significant feature in increasing transaction speeds. It achieves the speeds by splitting a transaction into two sectors. And it removes the unlocking signature. It further appends the signature as a new structure at the end of the transaction.

Stratis Identity

The Stratis development envisions identity management. A requirement for the regulation of cryptocurrencies has been the motivation for this concept.

In response to that Stratis has built an application for identity management in KYC. And the app validates your identity once and later on, only the attestation is needed. The application is a partnership between Stratis and Escalate Group.

The application runs on the Stratis using the Proof-of-Concept. In effect, identities are an immutable ledger which can be shared with others.

Beware that no personal data will be shared without your prior permission.

Uniquely, the app leverages Microsoft`s business solutions. And these are the incurred benefits:

• Social accounts, emails, and custom IDs use
• There is support for open standards and all platforms
• Security and scalability are assured
• Promotion of your brand using a white label solution
• You can customize the identity experience

They have the iOS and Android app. But the Android app exists as a beta.

Social Responsibility of Stratis?

Stratis Academy

Social responsibility is an aspect Stratis is looking at. That is to say, Stratis wants to help the immediate society.

Stratis opened doors to their academy. The goal of the academy will be a hub where developers learn. Developers will learn invaluable skills relating to blockchain technology.

The hub is online at the moment. It exists as a library of content that covers the foundations of blockchain. Besides, it also has learning modules for individual features on the Stratis platform.

The learning material is arranged in chapter format for each of the product offerings of Stratis.

Forms of Stratis Token Acquisition

Stratis market

According to CoinMarketCap, each STRAT has a value of $2.70. At the moment the market capitalization is over $250 million.

With the potential of enormous growth, you may incline to acquire it. But questions about mining and buying it will hover in you.

Now, you learn the ways into getting it.

Is mining Possible?

At the initial stages, mining was possible on Stratis. But as of now the POS algorithm has is being used. Hence, you cannot mine. Rather you can stake your existing coins to get more.

Remember staking involves holding coins in your wallet. And the blockchain will reward you in form of interest. As staking helps secure the network, the system caps the interest rate at 0.5-1% per annum.

The existing coins predispose you to have acquired them through prior buying.

So, how does one buy?

How to buy Strats

You can buy STRAT on established crypto exchanges like:

• Bittrex
• Binance
• Poloniex
• GDAX
• Gemini

On the exchanges, the common pair listing is with Ethereum and Bitcoin. This then means you have to exchange your fiat currency for either Ethereum or Bitcoin.

The acquired ether or BTC is then exchanged for STRAT.

After you have your Stratis tokens, you need to use or store them depending on your strategy. Storage depends on your preference. Here are the options:

• Electrum – Stratis wallet
• Stratis-QT wallet for staking
• Breeze wallet
• Ledger Nano S wallet (hardware for maximum security)

Stratis Road Map

The Stratis road is full of ambitious features and product releases. Some of the features are in progress while others the team has managed to release full versions.

Here is the listing to their roadmap details:

The team has released the full version of the:

• ICO platform has been fully released
• Stratis Identity iOS app
• Stratis Academy with the community section

The team is working on the:

• Full Node and its GUI in Mainnet beta version
• Stratis Identity Android app in beta release
• Sidechains in alpha release
• Breeze Privacy Protocol in Mainnet Beta release
• Smart Contract in alpha release

They are not limited to the features listed. The team will want to make sure Stratis is outstanding and clutches as the top blockchain. So, look out for new features as their roadmap is based on quarters of the year.

Stratis Partnerships

In the crypto, verse projects need to partner with others to increase influence. Stratis has managed invaluable partnerships in Escalate Group, Gluon, C# Corner, Beyond Global Trade, and Earth Twine.

The Stratis- Earth Twine partnership creates a dedicated blockchain for data tracking of the international seafood industry. The system also includes SPARKL. Also,  provides means for tracking data for IUU compliance.

Beyond Global Trade deals in manufacturing. It has a presence in China, Singapore, USA, and Taiwan. So, the engagement with Stratis was hosting their ICO on the platform.

Together with Stratis, we can further optimize processes, fight counterfeits and improve trust in trade. – Peter Chin, founder, and CEO Beyond Global Trade

Stratis Competitors

The competition for Stratis exists in Ethereum, Ark, Lisk, and Rise.

Lisk is arguably the biggest direct competitor to Stratis in offering sidechains. However, unlike Stratis, Lisk is written in JavaScript. The blockchains are also public and use the delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPOS).

Ark and Rise are also competitors to Stratis. They not only support multiple languages beyond C# but also sidechains. Also, they use DPOS which is potential to centralization and attacks.

Final Thoughts

The Stratis platform is in itself great potential.

STRAT as a token has hit all-time-high of about $20. This shows the team has put a lot of effort to advance Stratis.

Moreover, the real world uses Stratis. The applications include the provision of medical research, internet business logistics, and fintech solutions.

In the BaaS niche, Stratis has a lot to offer in possible near future ass the development continues.

Find more details on their website and twitter.

*Disclaimer:  The article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide any investment advice. Claims made in this article do not constitute investment advice and should not be taken as such. Do your own research!