Decred is a multi-platform digital currency with support for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Easy-to-use wallet apps enable sending, receiving, and mining Decred with just a few clicks.
For those who like to tinker, Decred provides a full suite of command line tools allowing customization of the Decred experience.
There are three main ways to interact with Decred:
The Wallet - For sending and receiving funds as well as participating in PoS voting.
Proof-of-work Mining - Using computing power to validate transactions on the network and generate new Decred tokens.
Proof-of-stake Voting - Using funds to vote on important network development matters and validate transactions for rewards.
Decrediton is a cross-platform GUI wallet for Decred. Available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux users.
Command-line wallet and utilities are also available for a variety of platforms.
For help getting started you can visit our Beginner’s Guide.
An address is the only thing needed to send or receive funds. It can be easily generated from any Decred wallet. Decred addresses always begin with D and contain 26-36 alphanumeric characters.
After a transaction is made, funds will usually clear in about 5 minutes. There is a small fee to help with the upkeep of the network. This fee is in addition to the transaction amount. That is, a transfer of 100DCR would incur a fee of about 0.006DCR.
The block explorers mainnet.decred.org and explorer.dcrdata.org allow users to search all the blocks and transactions in the Decred blockchain.
In Proof-of-work (PoW) transactions are grouped into blocks. These blocks are validated by PoW miners. When a block is validated it becomes a permanent part of the Decred network.
You can become a miner by dedicating spare computing resources to the network. In return miners are rewarded with Decred.
For efficiency and convenience you can join mining pools. The pools are groups of miners who share the work and split the reward. Joining a mining pool is an excellent way for smaller contributors to receive consistent payouts for their work.
Unlike PoW, Proof-of-stake voting (PoS) requires little computing resources. Decred funds are used to purchase voting tickets on the network. In every block, five tickets from the pool of live tickets are chosen at random to vote on the validity of the previous block.
PoS adds an extra layer of decentralization to Decred and allows users to vote on suggested network changes. Pools - called Voting Service Providers (VSPs) - are also available for PoS to ensure your tickets are ready to vote whenever they're called.
Decred is still new, and at this time, the easiest way to purchase it is with Bitcoin. Once you have some Bitcoin, it can be traded for Decred at digital currency exchanges.
Through decentralized processes, people with different ideas, goals, and opinions can help shape the future. You will likely have some questions, so come join our growing community, where you can connect with developers and other users, get information, ask questions, or just hang out. We have a Telegram channel, and Slack channel where you can chat with the developers and other users in real time. Don't forget Twitter and Reddit.We can't wait to meet you!
Part of the reward from new blocks goes towards the development of Decred to ensure that it will continually evolve to meet the needs and wants of the community now and in the years to come. These are just some of the features planned for 2018 and early 2019:
Read about these and more on our blog. Welcome to Decred: the future of autonomous digital currency
