How Top 10 Crypto Rankings Have Changed over Past Year

Is EOS Dead? What Happened to the Ethereum Killer?

The Worst-Performing Altcoins in September

What Is Google Doing with Blockchain?

## Τι Είναι το EOS;

Το EOS είναι μια πλατφόρμα που έχει σχεδιαστεί για να δίνει τη δυνατότητα σε προγραμματιστές να δημιουργούν αποκεντρωμένες εφαρμογές (γνωστές και ως [DApps](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/decentralized-applications-dapps) εν συντομία).

Ο στόχος του έργου είναι σχετικά απλός: να γίνει όσο το δυνατόν πιο απλό για τους προγραμματιστές να υιοθετήσουν την τεχνολογία blockchain — και να εξασφαλιστεί ότι το δίκτυο είναι πιο εύχρηστο από τους ανταγωνιστές του. Ως αποτέλεσμα, παρέχονται εργαλεία και μια σειρά από εκπαιδευτικούς πόρους για την υποστήριξη προγραμματιστών που θέλουν να δημιουργήσουν γρήγορα λειτουργικές εφαρμογές.

Άλλες προτεραιότητες περιλαμβάνουν την παροχή μεγαλύτερων επιπέδων επεκτασιμότητας σε σχέση με άλλα blockchain, μερικά από τα οποία μπορούν να χειριστούν λιγότερες από δώδεκα συναλλαγές ανά δευτερόλεπτο.

Το EOS στοχεύει επίσης στη βελτίωση της εμπειρίας των χρηστών και των επιχειρήσεων. Ενώ το έργο προσπαθεί να προσφέρει μεγαλύτερη ασφάλεια και λιγότερες τριβές για τους καταναλωτές, αγωνίζεται επίσης να αυξήσει την ευελιξία και τη συμβατότητα για τις επιχειρήσεις.

Το blockchain ξεκίνησε τον Ιούνιο του 2018.

### Ποιοι Είναι οι Ιδρυτές του EOS;

Η πλατφόρμα EOS αναπτύχθηκε από την εταιρεία Block.one, και το λευκό βιβλίο του συντάχθηκε από τους Daniel Larimer και Brendan Blumer.

Και οι δύο συνεχίζουν να είναι μέλη της Block.one εκτελεστικής ομάδας, με τον Blumer Διευθύνοντα Σύμβουλο και τον Daniel Larimer Τεχνικό Διευθυντή.

Ο Blumer είναι ένας κατά συρροή επιχειρηματίας και ένα από τα πρώτα του εγχειρήματα ήταν η πώληση εικονικών στοιχείων για βιντεοπαιχνίδια. Στη συνέχεια συνίδρυσε το Okay.com, ένα κτηματομεσιτικό γραφείο με εστίαση στο ψηφιακό χώρο στο Χονγκ Κονγκ.

Ο Larimer είναι προγραμματιστής λογισμικού που έχει επίσης ξεκινήσει μια σειρά από εγχειρήματα για κρυπτονομίσματα. Σε αυτά περιλαμβάνονται η πλατφόρμα διαπραγματεύσεων κρυπτονομισμάτων BitShares και το blockchain Steem.

Οι δυο τους γνωρίστηκαν το 2016 και σχημάτισαν το Block.one την επόμενη χρονιά.

### Τι Κάνει το EOS Μοναδικό;

Ως ένα βαθμό, θα μπορούσε να υποστηριχθεί ότι το EOS στοχεύει να δημιουργήσει εξοικείωση στους χρήστες του. Ενώ το EOS.IO συγκρίνεται μάλλον καλύτερα με ένα λειτουργικό σύστημα όπως τα Windows ή το iOS, το EOS είναι το κρυπτονόμισμα που τρέχει το δίκτυο.

Σύμφωνα με την εταιρεία, έχει την ικανότητα να καλύψει τις απαιτήσεις εκατοντάδων, αν όχι χιλιάδων, DApps — ακόμα κι αν χρησιμοποιούνται από σημαντικό αριθμό ανθρώπων. Η παράλληλη εκτέλεση, καθώς και μια δομοστοιχειωτή προσέγγιση, λέγεται ότι ωθούν αυτήν την αποτελεσματικότητα.

Μια ανατρεπτική λεπτομέρεια είναι ότι οι κάτοχοι token έχουν τη δυνατότητα να ψηφίζουν για τους παραγωγούς μπλοκ — καθώς και άλλα θέματα όπως αναβαθμίσεις πρωτοκόλλου.

Δυστυχώς, μερικά από τα πιο ξεχωριστά χαρακτηριστικά του EOS είναι αυτά που ορισμένοι κριτικοί συμπαθούν λιγότερο. Υπάρχουν εκείνοι που υποστηρίζουν ότι η εκτενής εμπλοκή του Block.one σε αυτό το έργο σημαίνει ότι είναι πιο κεντρικοποιημένο — και ορισμένοι υποστηρίζουν ότι αυτό είναι το αντίθετο από αυτό που είχαν σκοπό να επιτύχουν τα blockchain και τα κρυπτονομίσματα.

#### Σχετικές σελίδες*:

[Βασικά στοιχεία, οδηγοί και βουτιές στα βαθιά: Μάθε για τα κρυπτονομίσματα με το CMC Alexandria](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/)

[Μάθε τη σημασία των όρων κρυπτονομίσματα και blockchain στο γλωσσάρι μας](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary)

[Τι είναι το Steem;](https://coinmarketcap.com/el/currencies/steem/)

[Blog του CoinMarketCap: Ειδήσεις σε βάθος, χαρακτηριστικά και αναλύσεις](https://blog.coinmarketcap.com/)

### Πόσα Νομίσματα EOS Υπάρχουν σε Κυκλοφορία;

Υπάρχουν 936 εκατομμύρια νομίσματα EOS σε κυκλοφορία κατά τη στιγμή της γραφής και μια συνολική προσφορά 1,02 δισεκατομμυρίων token.

Το Block.one είχε μια αρχική προσφορά νομισμάτων για το EOS τον Ιούνιο του 2017 και διήρκεσε για ένα χρόνο — πολύ περισσότερο από πολλά από τα ICO της εποχής.

Συνολικά συγκεντρώθηκαν 4,02 δισεκατομμύρια δολάρια αλλά επενδυτές από τις ΗΠΑ δεν μπόρεσαν να συμμετάσχουν. Εξετάζοντας την ανάλυση της διανομής των token, το 10% κατανεμήθηκε στους ιδρυτές, ενώ το 90% διανεμήθηκε μεταξύ των επενδυτών.

Αξίζει να σημειωθεί ότι το Block.one δεν θα κατανεμηθεί έτσι αμέσως — αντίθετα, η διαδικασία θα ολοκληρωθεί σε μια περίοδο 10 ετών.

### Πώς Διασφαλίζεται το Δίκτυο EOS;

Το EOS χρησιμοποιεί έναν μηχανισμό συναίνεσης εξουσιοδοτημένης απόδειξης συμμετοχής (dPoS). Αυτή η ιδέα ξεκίνησε από τον Larimer και στοχεύει να λύσει μερικά από τα ελαττώματα που εμφανίζονται στα συστήματα PoW και PoS.

Όπως εξηγήσαμε εν συντομία νωρίτερα, όσοι διαθέτουν token EOS μπορούν να ψηφίσουν εκπροσώπους που θα είναι υπεύθυνοι για την επικύρωση των συναλλαγών. Ένα από τα πλεονεκτήματα είναι ότι αυτό βοηθά στην εξάλειψη της ενοποίησης, όπου οι μικρότεροι εξορύκτες εξωθούνται από εκείνους που έχουν μεγαλύτερα επίπεδα υπολογιστικής ισχύος και πόρων.

### Πού Μπορείς να Αγοράσεις EOS;

Το EOS είναι διαθέσιμο μέσω Binance, Coinbase, Kraken και αμέτρητων άλλων χρηματιστηρίων. Δεδομένου του πόσο ευρέως χρησιμοποιείται στον κλάδο των κρυπτονομισμάτων, πιθανότατα θα δυσκολευτείς να βρεις μια πλατφόρμα διαπραγματεύσεων που δεν το υποστηρίζει. Ορισμένες υπηρεσίες θα επιτρέψουν τη χρήση παραστατικών νομισμάτων για την αγορά, είτε μέσω τραπεζικής μεταφοράς είτε μέσω πιστωτικής κάρτας. [Μάθε περισσότερα για τις υπηρεσίες που δέχονται παραστατικά εδώ](https://coinmarketcap.com/how-to-buy-bitcoin/).

Ledger

Trezor

Trust Wallet

Math Wallet

Scatter

Coinbase

Cobo

Safepal

imToken

MetaMask

Binance Chain Wallet

Atomic wallet

As a smart contracts technology, EOS is designed to be super fast, infinitely scalable, and user-friendly for its developers and end-users alike.

Effect AI

Atmos

ModiHost

Tezos is a high-performing blockchain and open-source platform for assets and applications, with a strong focus on code security, on-chain governance, and decentralization. Tezos 2.0, the upcoming step in the evolution of Tezos, aims to improve scalability (via layer 2s), composability, and to implement support to mainstream programming languages (like Javascript, Typescript, Python, and many others).

Initially built with formal verification in mind, the Tezos protocol enables builders to avoid bugs when developing smart contracts, making it particularly suited to applications that require a high degree of security and certainty.

Tezos’ LPoS (Liquid Proof-of-Stake) consensus mechanism enables any stakeholder to take part, directly or by delegation, in the consensus process, and to be rewarded for securing the network. Rather uniquely, Tezos’ on-chain governance system also enables stakeholders to create and vote on protocol upgrade proposals. This pioneering system allows the protocol to self-amend and upgrade itself without leading to a split (or fork) in the blockchain, empowering the community without slowing down innovation.

First proposed in 2014 and launched in 2018, the Tezos Mainnet has a proven track record of running uninterrupted ever since, having earned a strong reputation for technical excellence and a supportive community.

Tezos

Stellar (XLM) is a peer-to-peer (P2P) decentralized network created in 2014 by The Stellar Development Foundation or Stellar.org. The network officially launched in 2015 with the purpose of connecting the world's financial systems and ensuring a protocol for payment providers and financial institutions. The platform is designed to move financial resources swiftly and reliably at minimal cost. Stellar links people, banks, payment processors and allows users to create, send and trade multiple types of crypto.

The basis of the network is its native digital currency - XLM or Lumens. XLM acts as an intermediate currency for operations and is also used to pay transaction fees. How it works: the protocol converts money in a few seconds, first into XLM, and then into the requested currency.

The Stellar payment protocol is based on distributed ledger technology -- an open-source development, community-owned and distributed by community. The crypto asset of the Stellar platform helps with cross-border transactions, overcoming the problems of high fees and slow procedures. XLM is more focused on assisting individuals transfer money than they are with institutions. Thus, Stellar offers access to financial systems, and people can send money at low cost and promptly around the world.

Moreover, Stellar serves as a decentralized exchange and marketplace, with a built-in order book that tracks ownership of Stellar assets. Platform users can manage buy/sell orders, as well as select and set their preferred assets in settlements. XLM is a built-in coin that helps reduce transaction fees.

The network maintains a high level of security.  XLM holders must have at least one token in order to remain active on the network. This nuance performs a global goal - the execution of network transactions efficiently and with minimal time costs. Plus, Lumens offers protection against flood attacks by making microtransactions too expensive for hackers with no chance of profit, which keeps Stellar Network safe from serious threats.

The target audience of Stellar is the inhabitants of developing countries, ordinary users who are provided access to the global economy through fast, simple and inexpensive transactions. Stellar Network makes extensive use of Lumens to produce live convection as well as to send cash in multiple currencies; currency is sent from one peer, and the recipient can receive the amount in another currency. This feature is beneficial when a transaction is made between currencies without widely traded pairs.

Support for multi-currency transactions is another competitive advantage of Stellar, and the ability for cross-currency transactions has only enhanced processes with foreign operations. Moreover, stable speed and low transaction costs are a privilege that users receive.

This functionality is powered by a development called Anchors (a bridge between different currencies and the network), which simplifies the exchange within the network and helps speed up the whole process.

In summary, the benefits of Stellar (XLM) include:

Stellar

IOTA is a distributed ledger technology (DLT) that features unique architecture and an open-source product suite for individuals, businesses, and institutions to use in Web3. It is built on a directed acyclic graph (DAG) called the Tangle, which can be pictured as a multi-dimensional blockchain. It enables the exchange of data and value on a decentralized platform through direct and secure transfers, executed on and immutably recorded on the network.

To learn more about this project, check out our deep dive into IOTA.

Together with its staging network Shimmer, IOTA aims to offer solutions to establish a secure and permissionless infrastructure that can drive the economy of the future. It enables the development of decentralized applications through automated trust in the form of Ethereum-compatible smart contracts, an advanced consensus algorithm, and thoughtfully balanced incentives.

IOTA delivers tools for creating and managing custom Layer 2 (EVM) chains, deploying smart contracts, minting native tokens and NFTs with distinctive features, and introducing digital identities to users.

Launching in 2024, IOTA 2.0 will be a protocol upgrade that rebuilds IOTA’s architecture to deliver full decentralization. You can find more about it here.

IOTA

Dash is an open-source blockchain and cryptocurrency focused on offering a fast, cheap global payments network that is decentralized in nature. According to the project's white paper, Dash seeks to improve upon Bitcoin (BTC) by providing stronger privacy and faster transactions.

Dash, whose name comes from "digital cash," was launched in January 2014 as a fork of Litecoin (LTC). Since going live, Dash has grown to include features such as a two-tier network with incentivized nodes, including "masternodes," and decentralized project governance; InstantSend, which allows for instantly settled payments; ChainLocks, which makes the Dash blockchain instantly immutable; and PrivateSend, which offers additional optional privacy for transactions.

Dash

Litecoin (LTC) is a cryptocurrency that was designed to provide fast, secure and low-cost payments by leveraging the unique properties of blockchain technology.

To learn more about this project, check out our deep dive of Litecoin.

The cryptocurrency was created based on the Bitcoin (BTC) protocol, but it differs in terms of the hashing algorithm used, hard cap, block transaction times and a few other factors. Litecoin has a block time of just 2.5 minutes and extremely low transaction fees, making it suitable for micro-transactions and point-of-sale payments.

Litecoin was released via an open-source client on GitHub on Oct. 7, 2011, and the Litecoin Network went live five days later on Oct. 13, 2011. Since then, it has exploded in both usage and acceptance among merchants and has counted among the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization for most of its existence.

The cryptocurrency was created by Charlie Lee, a former Google employee, who intended Litecoin to be a "lite version of Bitcoin," in that it features many of the same properties as Bitcoin—albeit lighter in weight.

Litecoin

TRON (TRX) is a decentralized blockchain-based operating system developed by the Tron Foundation and launched in 2017. Originally TRX tokens were ERC-20-based tokens deployed on Ethereum, but a year later they were moved to their own network.

Initially, the project was created with the aim of providing full ownership rights to makers of digital content. The main goal is to help content creators (who receive only a small part of the income) and encourage them with more rewards for their work. How: invite content consumers to reward content makers directly (without intermediaries like YouTube, Facebook or Apple).

The TRON software supports smart contracts, various kinds of blockchain systems, and decentralized applications aka dApps. The cryptocurrency platform uses a transaction model similar to Bitcoin (BTC), namely UTXO. Transactions take place in a public ledger, where users can track the history of operations.

Therefore, the platform was built to create a decentralized Internet and serves as a tool for developers to create dApps, acting as an alternative to Ethereum. Anyone can create dApps on the TRON network, offer content, and in return receive digital assets as compensation for their efforts. The ability to create content and share it openly without hesitation regarding transaction fees is an undeniable advantage of TRON.

TRON

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 $0.24 per token.

Algorand

Uniswap is a popular decentralized trading protocol, known for its role in facilitating automated trading of decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens.

An example of an automated market maker (AMM), Uniswap launched in November 2018, but has gained considerable popularity this year thanks to the DeFi phenomenon and associated surge in token trading.

Uniswap aims to keep token trading automated and completely open to anyone who holds tokens, while improving the efficiency of trading versus that on traditional exchanges.

Uniswap creates more efficiency by solving liquidity issues with automated solutions, avoiding the problems which plagued the first decentralized exchanges.

In September 2020, Uniswap went a step further by creating and awarding its own governance token, UNI, to past users of the protocol. This added both profitability potential and the ability for users to shape its future — an attractive aspect of decentralized entities.

Uniswap

Ethereum Classic (ETC) is the original Ethereum (ETH) blockchain that launched in July 2015. Its main function is as a smart contract network, with the ability to host and support decentralized applications (DApps). Its native token is ETC.

Since its launch, Ethereum Classic has sought to differentiate itself from Ethereum, with the two networks’ technical roadmap diverging further and further from each other with time.

Ethereum Classic first set out to preserve the integrity of the existing Ethereum blockchain after a major hacking event led to the theft of 3.6 million ETH.

Ethereum Classic

Chiliz is the leading digital currency for sports and entertainment by the eponymous Malta-based FinTech provider. It operates the blockchain-based sports entertainment platform Socios, which enables users to participate in the governance of their favorite sports brands. Multiple fan tokens by Socios.com are an example of that. For sports clubs and associations, fan tokens offer a way of connecting with their fans and unlocking new revenue streams.

For instance, fans can participate and influence club-related decisions through surveys and polls, such as messages the captain should wear on his armband. The company aims to bridge the gap between being an active and a passive fan. Chiliz has developed partnerships with some of the biggest sporting institutions in the world: FC Barcelona, Manchester City, Juventus Turin, and Paris Saint-Germain. It also boasts partnerships with the UFC and gaming organizations. By purchasing CHZ, fans get access to various fan tokens and literally have a stake in their club.

Chiliz

VeChainThor (VET) is a versatile enterprise-grade L1 smart contract platform whose origins began in 2015. VeChain is known as a pioneer of real-world enterprise applications, and built a distributed platform powered by Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, NFC chips and blockchain to help various industries solve data-related challenges.

VeChain solves major blockchain adoption hurdles. The platform uses an intelligent two token model, VET and VTHO, separating the protocol's Store of Value and gas fee payment mechanisms, ensuring costs can be kept low and stable. Fee delegation allows smart contracts to pay gas fees on behalf of business users, and an advanced transaction model allows data to be packaged more efficiently while ensuring finality of data.

VeChain is focused on delivering a wave of incentive-based sustainability dApps through its new platform, VeBetterDAO, working closely with Boston Consulting Group to achieve adoption across enterprise and individual users, and helping  onboard the next billion users to Web3 over the coming decade.

From supply chains to sustainability, VeChain has continuously demonstrated its leading role as a driver of blockchain in business, and is dedicated to its role as a pioneer of driving real world adoption of blockchain technology.

VeChain

Zcash is a decentralized cryptocurrency focused on privacy and anonymity. It uses the zk-SNARK zero-knowledge proof technology that allows nodes on the network to verify transactions without revealing any sensitive information about those transactions.

Contrary to a common misunderstanding, the majority of cryptocurrencies on the market, including Bitcoin (BTC), are not anonymous, but rather pseudonymous; while they do not explicitly reveal the identities of their users, each user has their own public address or addresses which can be traced back to them via the methods of data science and blockchain forensics.

Zcash transactions, on the other hand, still have to be relayed via a public blockchain, but unlike pseudonymous cryptocurrencies, ZEC transactions by default do not reveal the sending and receiving addresses or the amount being sent. There is an option, however, to reveal this data for the purposes of auditing or regulatory compliance.

Zcash was first released on October 28, 2016, and it was originally based on Bitcoin’s codebase.

Zcash

Polkadot is an open-source sharded multichain protocol that connects and secures a network of specialized blockchains, facilitating cross-chain transfer of any data or asset types, not just tokens, thereby allowing blockchains to be interoperable with each other. Polkadot was designed to provide a foundation for a decentralized internet of blockchains, also known as Web3.

Polkadot is known as a layer-0 metaprotocol because it underlies and describes a format for a network of layer 1 blockchains known as parachains (parallel chains). As a metaprotocol, Polkadot is also capable of autonomously and forklessly updating its own codebase via on-chain governance according to the will of its token holder community.

Polkadot provides a foundation to support a decentralized web, controlled by its users, and to simplify the creation of new applications, institutions and services.

The Polkadot protocol can connect public and private chains, permissionless networks, oracles and future technologies, allowing these independent blockchains to trustlessly share information and transactions through the Polkadot Relay Chain (explained further down).

Polkadot’s native DOT token serves three clear purposes: staking for operations and security, facilitating network governance, and bonding tokens to  connect parachains .

Polkadot has four core components:

Relay Chain: Polkadot’s “heart,” helping to create consensus, interoperability and shared security across the network of different chains;

Parachains: independent chains that can have their own tokens and be optimized for specific use cases;

Parathreads: similar to parachains but with flexible connectivity based on an economical pay-as-you-go model;

Bridges: allow parachains and parathreads to connect and communicate with external blockchains like Ethereum.

Polkadot

Filecoin is a decentralized storage system that aims to “store humanity’s most important information.” The project raised $205 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017, and initially planned a launch date for mid-2019. However, the launch date for the Filecoin mainnet was pushed back until block 148,888, which is expected in mid-October 2020.

The project was first described back in 2014 as an incentive layer for the Interplanetary File System (IPFS), a peer-to-peer storage network where users pay for data storage and distribution services in $FIL. Filecoin is open protocol and backed by a blockchain that records commitments made by the network’s participants, with transactions made using FIL, the blockchain’s native currency. The blockchain is based on both proof-of-replication and proof-of-spacetime.

Filecoin is open-source and decentralized, which means that all governance is in the hands of the community. On the Filecoin platform, developers have the opportunity to create cloud file storage services like Dropbox or iCloud. Anyone can join Filecoin and start storing their data or earn money by providing space for someone else's funds. The creators of Filecoin opted for their blockchain technology to run the network and their token with their own consensus.

$FIL is the native currency of Filecoin that powers the entire network and all processes. Clients pay for transactions in FIL tokens. Miners place FIL as collateral, guaranteeing their services.

The developers claim that Filecoin solves the problem of inefficient file storage and retrieval. Customers can find the right solution with an efficient set of tools and its core development, IPFS.

Filecoin

Decentraland (MANA) defines itself as a virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain that allows users to create, experience, and monetize content and applications.

In this virtual world, users purchase plots of land that they can later navigate, build upon and monetize.

Decentraland was launched following a $24 million initial coin offering (ICO) that was conducted in 2017. The virtual world launched its closed beta in 2019 and opened to the public in February 2020. Since then, users have created a wide range of experiences on their parcels of LAND, including interactive games, sprawling 3D scenes and a variety of other interactive experiences.

Decentraland uses two tokens: MANA and LAND. MANA is an ERC-20 token that must be burned to acquire non-fungible ERC-721 LAND tokens. MANA tokens can also be used to pay for a range of avatars, wearables, names, and more on the Decentraland marketplace.

Decentraland (MANA) is a decentralized virtual world platform with software based on the Ethereum blockchain, where users create, test and monetize content. In short: users buy virtual plots of land as NFTs with MANA tokens on the Decentraland platform. Progress in the game depends only on players themselves, their efforts and their imagination.

The digital platform is completely owned by its users. Within the Decentraland metaverse, participants can explore the virtual world, purchase plots of land that can be monetized, create works of art, own non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and take part in a decentralized autonomous organization of the platform Decentraland DAO. Due to the DAO, the community influences the development vector of the project.

In addition, users have access to interactive applications, in-world payments and peer-to-peer communication. The 3D world resonates with many participants as Decentraland has many applications, both entertainment for gamers and business for investors.

Two types of tokens called MANA and LAND govern operations in Decentraland. They also allow users to interact with the platform.

MANA is the official currency of Decentraland. It’s an ERC-20 standard token that powers the Decentraland platform. With MANA, users can purchase plots of LAND, as well as pay for in-game items and services.

MANA gives its holders the right to vote in Decentraland DAO. MANA can be purchased on a cryptocurrency exchange or by selling collectibles on Decentraland Marketplace. The owner of tokens converts them to wrapped MANA, or wMANA, and then commits them to the DAO. One wMANA equals one vote. MANA can be exchanged for fiat currency and other digital assets.

As for LAND, it’s a non-fungible token (NFT) based on Ethereum (ETH). It is used to track ownership of land parcels aka digital real estate. Like MANA, LAND is part of the protocol and confers voting rights, but LAND does not need to be fixed in the DAO. One LAND is equal to two thousand votes.

Players choose what to do with their land. Owners store tokens in crypto wallets and buy necessities with MANA tokens on the Decentraland Marketplace. Moreover, on the marketplace, participants can manage or exchange LAND tokens (priced in MANA). Holders use the marketplace to transact or transfer in-game items. All transactions are conducted, regulated and registered via the Ethereum blockchain.

Decentraland combines an online gaming space and blockchain technology. All control over the rules is given to the players, and token holders vote on in-game and organizational policies. The original goal was to form a decentralized virtual reality, but in practice, Decentraland has turned into a massive NFT market.

A special role in Decentraland is assigned to NFTs, such as collectibles, virtual equipment and real estate (LAND). However, for new players who want to join the universe and seize NFTs, the entry barrier will be high.

The Decentraland protocol is built on three levels using Ethereum smart contracts. On the consensus layer, the ownership of LAND is tracked and managed. The land content layer displays the content of the Decentraland virtual world. Finally, on the real-time layer, participants interact with each other.

The platform was co-founded by two blockchain experts, Ari Meilich and Esteban Ordano, in 2015. Officially it was launched a year later and became available only in February 2020, gradually turning from a 2D experiment into a full-fledged 3D world.

To sum up, Decentraland is a decentralized game and a 3D virtual reality platform where players own lands and create limitlessly. Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) software is at the core, and governance is in the hands of the community. Through the native token MANA, players participate in any proposals for managing and improving the ecosystem, the auction system, and the in-game policy.

Decentraland

In a nutshell, Cosmos bills itself as a project that solves some of the “hardest problems” facing the blockchain industry. It aims to offer an antidote to “slow, expensive, unscalable and environmentally harmful” proof-of-work protocols, like those used by Bitcoin, by offering an ecosystem of connected blockchains.

The project’s other goals include making blockchain technology less complex and difficult for developers thanks to a modular framework that demystifies decentralized apps. Last but not least, an Interblockchain Communication protocol makes it easier for blockchain networks to communicate with each other — preventing fragmentation in the industry.

Cosmos’ origins can be dated back to 2014, when Tendermint, a core contributor to the network, was founded. In 2016, a white paper for Cosmos was published — and a token sale was held the following year. ATOM tokens are earned through a hybrid proof-of-stake algorithm, and they help to keep the Cosmos Hub, the project’s flagship blockchain, secure. This cryptocurrency also has a role in the network’s governance.

Cosmos

Theta Network

Founded in 2017, Chainlink is a blockchain abstraction layer that enables universally connected smart contracts. Through a decentralized oracle network, Chainlink allows blockchains to securely interact with external data feeds, events and payment methods, providing the critical off-chain information needed by complex smart contracts to become the dominant form of digital agreement.

The Chainlink Network is driven by a large open-source community of data providers, node operators, smart contract developers, researchers, security auditors and more. The company focuses on ensuring that decentralized participation is guaranteed for all node operators and users looking to contribute to the network.

To learn more about this project, check out our deep dive of Chainlink.

Chainlink

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that aims to become sound global money with fast payments, micro fees, privacy and larger block size. As a permissionless, decentralized cryptocurrency, Bitcoin Cash requires no trusted third parties.

Bitcoin Cash was created as an alternative to the first and most valuable cryptocurrency — Bitcoin (BTC). In 2017, BCH developers modified the BTC code, releasing their software version and a full-fledged competitive product, which split Bitcoin into two blockchains: Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. Bitcoin Cash is a result of a hard fork in the blockchain due to differences in the community over Bitcoin scaling and the SegWit upgrade. Moreover, another hard fork, which divided Bitcoin Cash into two parts, Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin SV, took place in the fall of 2018.

The scaling debate involved two sides: small block supporters opposed increasing block size as it could lead to blockchain centralization and vulnerability by making it harder to host full nodes. Large block supporters, however, advocated for a faster solution, concerned that rising transaction fees could hinder growth.