It is an irreversible ledger where transactions are stored as part of network consolidation and security.
No, it was built over a period of several years using Peercoin as a reference implementation for interoperability and backwards compatibility purposes, therefore it brings an alternative codebase to the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Currently at Bittrex or Poloniex.
Interest via Proof-of-Stake is not meant for user incentive instead it used to secure the network and recoup destroyed transaction fees. The chosen percentage along with the destruction of transaction fees makes for long term low inflation.
2019
Yes, all communications pathways are encrypted using strong algorithms. Because of this not even your ISP can decipher the contents of your communications.
TCP was not designed with broadcast networks in mind. Therefore UDP is used to scale the realtime properties of the network. This decreases network latency significantly while easing the load on the TCP channels.
With other crypto-currencies you must wait for some time to pass before the coins are truly yours and spendable. ZeroTime is a breakthrough technology that allows a recipient to immediately not only own the coins but be able to spend them immediately. Furthermore they may be re-spent many times between other recipients before being consolidated into the ledger. Please refer to the white paper for additional information.
In such a competitive space it is natural for people to spread rumors, troll, perform dis-information campaigns (spread intentionally false or inaccurate information deliberately) or DoS attacks in attempt to discredit your project because of their own fears.
The wiki can be found here.