Cube Chain, a South Korean company with an upgraded version of blockchain, is changing how e-commerce works. Source: Pixabay

Is Cube Chain really a better blockchain for e-commerce?

SOUTH KOREAN Cube Chain wants to change how e-commerce companies do business by making blockchain faster and more effective.

Ever since the Bitcoin boom, blockchain has been garnering much attention, especially for business. What is it, why is it important, how exactly can it help boost your business in e-commerce?

The basics of the blockchain 

Blockchain, in simple terms, is data that has been grouped and encrypted together into a block, and that block is linked (chained) to other blocks. Each chain has a cryptographic hash of the previous block, relevant timestamps, and all transaction data.

The cryptographic hash is a mathematical algorithm that ensures the data transfer is valid. This is the thing that makes blockchain trustworthy. Once the algorithm has ran, and a new block of information has been added, the information in the chain cannot be altered. Changing one will require changing the entire chain of information, which takes too much time and computing power.

The data doesn’t live in any central servers; it lives in nodes, which are connected to the block chain network. Users connect to the nodes, which act like administrators. This means that if a hacker were to hack the network, it’s going to take a lot of work. They’d have to hack every single node, as there are multiple copies of the data across the network.

How is Cube Chain different?

What Cube chain does, is group 27 of these blocks together to form a cube. The cubes are linked together like how a blockchain is, creating the CubeChain Open Network (CubeON). Three of the blocks within the cube have special functions, namely statistics block, indexing block and escrow block.

  • Statistics block percolate all the data in the other 24 blocks to check for useful statistical data. This block helps find data faster, and because of how the data is structured, it can build the database faster.
  • Indexing blocks act like the content page. They organize data on the same subject and records what data is available within the 24 blocks. Any data processing can refer to this block, instead of all the 24 blocks, which is what blockchain does.
  • Escrow block is the encryption, mainly used for validating the transaction. This means, for a cube to talk to another cube, you don’t need an intermediary acting as a trustee. Users can do peer to peer transfer, without the need for a bank to validate individual transactions.

In a nutshell, Cube Chain processes information faster, build new blocks faster and allow for faster transaction.

In the e-commerce world

By using blockchain or cube chain, you are not tied to the marketplace or e-commerce platform as a “verified” vendor. There is no need to pay an administrative fee to sell on a particular platform. There is also no algorithm that prioritizes listings by bigger vendors or “sponsored” products over yours.

Cube Chain comes with a built-in payment capability, where merchants and buyers can transfer money directly on the platform, without needing to wait for transaction approval by banks, or credit card issuers etc.

All of that, means Cube Chain gives users a lower entry point, so any users can use the platform. That doesn’t mean sacrificing quality; the platform is a fair playing field, that works faster, and supports more secure transactions as compared to traditional e-commerce sites.

What exactly does Cube Chain do then?

Concept of what CubeChat will look like. Source: Cube Chain

What Cube Chain is offering, is two applications: a social network marketplace called CubeChat, where merchants can showcase and sell their products; and an AI service manager.

The marketplace has an e-wallet and its own cryptocoin. Participants can send messages to merchants, and merchants can create live videos to showcase their products, not unlike home shopping on TV.

The AI service manager will be integrated with the platform, where users can talk to a chatbot for any queries. Further queries can then be transferred to the call centre where an officer can clarify any further issues that the AI is unable to rectify.

Juyun Kim, Communications Manager of Cube Chain, said that this is more than just a marketplace. “For small businesses, it’s hard to pay a lot for marketing or promotions. We want to help them to communicate as much as they can with our platform.”

“Anyone can be the creator of online content, and anyone can do their business on our platform. That includes selling content as a product. We will help as many small businesses as we can and reach out to as many customers as we can,” she explains.

Having said that, many companies are still unsure about trading with cryptocurrencies, given the high volatility.

Cube Chain states that they will integrate common currencies into the platform as soon as they are able.

Being a relatively new technology, Kim notes that it’s often difficult for people to imagine how the system will work. At the moment, the company is working on educating the market.

Although Cube Chain has its own platform, the technology can be integrated into a company’s existing e-commerce website. Cube Chain also acts as a system integrator, helping individual companies build the software that suits their marketplace needs.

Cube Chain will be launching end of this year.