OVERVIEW
Algorand is a self-sustaining, decentralized, blockchain-based network that supports a wide range of applications. These systems are secure, scalable and efficient, all critical properties for effective applications in the real world. Algorand will support computations that require reliable performance guarantees to create new forms of trust. The Algorand mainnet became live in June 2019, and was able to handle almost 1 million transactions per day as of December 2020. Algorand transaction metrics can be viewed here. Algorand initial coin offering (ICO) was held in June 2019, with the Algorand price of $2.4 per token.
FOUNDERS
Silvio Micali is a professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the founder of Algorand. He is a recipient of the Turing Award (in 2012) for his fundamental contributions to the theory and practice of secure two-party computation, electronic cash, cryptocurrencies and blockchain protocols. This makes him one of the foremost creators of crypto in the world.
WHY ALGORAND IS UNIQUE
Algorand was invented to speed up transactions and improve efficiency, in response to the slow transaction times of Bitcoin and other blockchains. Algorand is designed so that there are lower transaction fees, as well as no mining (like Bitcoin's energy-intensive process), as it is based on a permissionless pure proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain protocol.
COMPATIBILITY
On Feb. 17, 2022, the Algorand Foundation announced a $10M grant to Applied Blockchain to develop the London Bridge, a trustless bridge that will bring Ethereum compatibility to the Algorand blockchain. Algorand has struggled to attract liquidity to its ecosystem, despite promising low cost transactions, low latency and high scalability. Having a bridge to Ethereum, which currently has the most robust DApp ecosystem, would allow Algorand to connect to these applications and attract more liquidity. In the long-term, the Algorand Foundation aims to have verification of other chains be performed on Alogrand’s smart contracts, by incorporating state proofs in the form of Compact Certificates into the Algorand Consensus. The foundation’s goal is to eventually solidify the DeFi ecosystem on Algorand.
EXCHANGES TO BUY ALGO
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