There is no shortage of cryptocurrency and blockchain projects as of right now. Dero is one of those concepts that will either be very big or pretty small in the long run. This new blockchain technology project uses the Golang coding language to improve overall privacy and smart contract technology.

What is Dero Exactly?

If there is one “issue” most people have with blockchain and smart contract technology, it is that developers often have to learn a brand-new coding language. While it is true some projects are compatible with JavaScript or Java to a certain extent, there is still a barrier to entry in this regard. 

What does it do?

There are several aspects of Dero which are worth keeping an eye on. First of all, there is its smart contract technology. While smart contracts are mostly used on Ethereum, various blockchain projects offer quite similar technology in this regard. At the same time, the current implementation of this technology lacks in the security, reliability, and portability departments. This is where Dero wants to differentiate itself, as there is a strong focus on improving the reliability of these contracts, while still keeping sensitive information private.

Secondly, Dero will also provide virtual machine technology, similar to Ethereum and a few other projects. The DVM is Turing complete and provides a runtime environment for developers to explore new opportunities. It is also worth mentioning that Dero uses the CryptoNote protocol, which is how the project achieves privacy and fungibility of the identities involved in its smart contracts.

Because Dero uses CryptoNote, some people may draw parallels to Monero. That is completely understandable, as Dero was an initial code fork of Monero. However, it seems both projects are heading in completely different directions as we speak, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Monero does not have smart contract capabilities – not yet, anyway – yet the CryptoNote algorithm is seemingly compatible with this technology.

The DERO Currency

As one would expect, this new blockchain ecosystem also has its own native currency. More specifically, Dero has the DERO currency, which is used to power all of the transactions and features of the network. It doesn’t have any unique use cases just yet, but that may come to change in the near future.

The Road Ahead

A lot of things have yet to be completed before Dero can become a “big” project. As of right now, its team is finalizing the implementation of CryptoNote in Golang, with GUI wallets, smart contract testing, and atomic swaps to come in the second quarter of 2018. Later this year, we will see the official integration of smart contracts on the Dero blockchain, which will mark an important milestone for this company.