## What Is Quant (QNT)?

Quant launched in June 2018 with the goal of connecting blockchains and networks on a global scale, without reducing the efficiency and interoperability of the network. It is the first project to solve the interoperability problem through the creation of the first blockchain operating system.

To learn more about this project, check out our deep dive of [Quant](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/what-is-quant).

The project is built as an operating system distributed ledger technology— and Overledger Network — for connecting different blockchain networks. The project is billed as the first OS to be built for blockchains.

The main aim of Quant — using Overledger — is to bridge the gap that exists between different blockchains. The backbone of the project is the Overledger network, which Quant bills as the ecosystem on which the future digital economy ecosystem will be built. 

Overledger allows developers to build decentralized multi-chain applications (known as MApps) for their customers. For developers to build a Mapp on the network, they must hold a certain amount of Quant tokens (QNT).


### Who Are the Founders of Quant?

Gilbert Verdian, one of the founders of the Quant network, had the idea for the blockchain project while he was working in the healthcare sector. Verdian identified the importance of interoperability in ensuring that patients registered on different platforms are covered.

Verdian has over 20 years of industry experience in upgrading the security, technology and business strategies of businesses around the globe in order to achieve tangible results. 

Prior to the Quant Network, Verdian served as the chief information security officer (CISO) of Vocalink, a Mastercard card company, the chief information officer of NSW Ambulance, the CISO of eHealth NSW, and the security lead of the Ministry of Justice, UK.

The second co-founder, Dr Paolo Tasca, is an entrepreneur, digital economist who specializes in distributed systems. Dr. Tasca has served as the special advisor on blockchain technologies for the EU Parliament, the United Nations and numerous central banks worldwide.

He is also co-author of several books on fintech and is the co-founder and governing board chair of Retail Blockchain Consortium.


## What Makes Quant Unique?

Since the introduction of blockchain and the distributed ledger technology, innovators have found use cases in almost every known industry. However, there has been the problem of seamless interoperability between these projects. Quant was created to be the missing link between the “different” blockchains.

Quant’s operating system, Overledger, was designed to act as a gateway for any blockchain-based project to access all other blockchains. It also works in connecting an application to other applications in the same blockchain ecosystem, like Ethereum.

More than multiple blockchain interactions, Quant creates different layers for apps to interact at different levels. Quant has different layers for transactions, messaging, filtering and ordering, and an application for sharing and referencing identical messages related to other applications.

The Quant App Store has the ability to read and monitor transactions across multiple ledgers. Using Overledger, developers write smart contracts across a wide variety of chains including those that don’t support them — such as Bitcoin. Developers can also use the store to create and release multi-chain applications (MApps).


#### Related Pages:

Find out about [Chainlink (LINK)](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/chainlink/).

Find out about [Polkadot (DOT)](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/polkadot-new/).

Learn how to use [Uniswap](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/categories/how-to-guides).

Read up to date crypto news on the [CoinMarketCap blog](https://blog.coinmarketcap.com/).


## How Many Quant (QNT) Tokens Are There in Circulation?

QNT is a utility token. It is a method of payment for Quant services, particularly as a means for Overledger users to pay their fees.

Every client and developer must buy a licence and can use QNT to pay for transactions. This requires tokens to be locked up for 12 months. The cost of running the Gateways and performing read/write operations on Overledger requires the use of the QNT tokens.

The max supply of QNT tokens is set at 14,612,493 tokens. The QNT tokens were split in the following way:



*   9.9 million QNT tokens were sold to the public during the ICO;
*   2.6 million QNT tokens were assigned to the company reserve, to keep the project running;
*   1.3 million QNT tokens were reserved for the company founders;
*   651,000 QNT tokens were issued to the company advisors.

Currently, the circulating supply of the token is 12,072,738 QNT. The extra 2 million tokens are held by the company. These tokens are unlocked and could be sold or issued at any time.


### How Is Quant Secured?

Overledger forms the backbone of the Quant Network. Overledger ensures communicability among DLT networks and interacts with different blockchains.

The Overledger Network includes gateways for linking different blockchains. Similar to Ethereum’s proof-of-stake blockchains, the Quant Network community is involved in handling treasury smart contracts.

The community handles QNT payments flowing from users to the gateways. They do this in a manner where people are held accountable to any observer.


## Where Can You Buy Quant (QNT)?

Quant tokens can be purchased, sold, and traded on several exchanges, including;

[Bilaxy](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/bilaxy/)

[Bittrex](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/bittrex/)

[Bithumb Global](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/bithumb-global/)

[1inch Exchange](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/1inch-exchange/)

[Uniswap (V2)](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/uniswap-v2/), and

[Hotbit](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/hotbit/). 

QNT can be traded against[ cryptocurrencies](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/what-are-cryptocurrencies) such as[ Bitcoin](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin) (BTC) and[ Ether](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum) (ETH),[ stablecoins](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/what-is-a-stablecoin) such as[ Tether](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/tether) (USDT), and fiat currencies such as the euro.

Check out the real-time price of QNT live by downloading the [CMC mobile app](https://coinmarketcap.com/mobile/).


Binance

Quant

Ledger

Trust Wallet

MetaMask

Atomic wallet

Ethereum

Shiba Inu

Chainlink

UNUS SED LEO

Pepe

Mog Coin

Ethena

Lido DAO

Ethereum Name Service

Gala

Decentraland

Tether Gold

Ondo

The Graph

Worldcoin

Tipcoin

Forgotten Playland

Hippo Wallet Token (HPO)

QANplatform

Froge (ETH)

Hedera is the most used, sustainable, enterprise-grade public network for the decentralized economy that allows individuals and businesses to create powerful decentralized applications (DApps).

It is designed to be a fairer, more efficient system that eliminates some of the limitations that older blockchain-based platforms face — such as slow performance and instability.

It was funded through an initial coin offering (ICO) in August 2018 and first launched open access to its mainnet just over a year later in September 2019. As part of the ICO, investors were able to purchase the platform’s native utility token (HBAR) at the lowest possible pricing.

The HBAR token has a dual role within the Hedera public network.

First and foremost, HBAR the fuel that powers Hedera services, such as smart contracts, file storage and regular transactions. Second, it's used to help secure the network, since HBAR users can stake their tokens to assist with maintaining the integrity of the platform.

Hedera (HBAR) is the native cryptocurrency of Hedera Hashgraph, a platform that is positioned as an alternative to traditional blockchain technology and aims to excel in speed, efficiency and security.

Older blockchains tend to use a consensus mechanism like proof-of-work (PoW) to validate transactions, while younger blockchains opted for proof-of-stake (PoS). The Hedera Hashgraph system has a structure that was created from scratch particularly for the project. Hedera is based on a PoS model that is believed to increase the efficiency of transaction verification in the network, provide a high level of security, and protect the network from hacker attacks. Its ecosystem has the underlying hashgraph consensus algorithm and the global enterprise governing body.

Hedera Hashgraph is a distributed ledger technology (DLT). According to the project website, Hedera differs from other blockchains because it uses a new consensus algorithm called hashgraph. It intends to process and execute transactions faster, eliminate delays, and smooth out the TPS (transactions per second) indicator. Hashgraph is claimed to be an upgrade in transaction speed, cost, and scalability.

Core network services by Hedera:

Consensus Service (HCS). With HCS, clients send messages to the network to negotiate consensus timestamping and order. In this case, the state is stored offline, and users can define privacy and access control.

Hedera Token Service (HTS). Thanks to HTS, token creation and management are available to customers. It supports built-in tokenization.

The goal of Hedera’s hashgraph is to increase the speed of transactions. Moreover, the network is also focused on high-volume operations: micropayments, data integrity and tokenization.

Like the EVM, the Hedera network maintains a virtual machine that writes smart contracts in the Solidity programming language. On top of that, Hedera offers a set of built-in KYC and AML checks.

From a technical point of view, Hedera is a form of distributed ledger technology. It is a hashgraph, or consensus algorithm, where users agree on the order in which transactions should be performed. However, Hedera is not exactly a blockchain. It has its own distinctiveness and works differently. With hashgraph, all transaction branches are merged, no block equivalent is thrown away, and each is used to reach consensus.

One of the most noticeable features of the network is the Gossip-about-Gossip protocol. According to Dr. Leemon Baird, Hedera's inventor, within the system nodes randomly transmit data about themselves to other nodes via hashgraph using the Gossip protocol. Soon, all nodes in a cluster become familiar with each other. Then a certain data structure is formed. It consists of a payload of transactions, a timestamp, a digital signature, and hashes to the previous structures.

HBAR is Hedera's native token that powers applications on the Hedera network. HBAR is utilized to pay for network services, transaction fees, in-app payments and micropayments. Developers can pay network fees with HBAR tokens, namely: work with smart contracts, file storage and currency exchange. HBAR is used to incentivize and pay network nodes.

Hedera Hashgraph has a decentralized governance system that is set apart. All critical decisions about pricing policy, software updates, and wealth management are made by the Governing Council.

Hedera

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

The XDC Network is a blockchain developed to support trade finance and the tokenization of RWAs. A highly optimized, EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, XDC Network reaches consensus through a delegated proof-of-stake (dPoS) mechanism, which allows for a transaction time of mere seconds, near zero gas fees, and a high number of transactions per second (TPS).

Secure, scalable, and highly efficient, the XDC Network powers a wide range of novel blockchain use cases and provides state-of-the-art infrastructure for enterprise-grade blockchain applications. With architecture that enables the creation of sovereign sub-networks, XDC Network is uniquely equipped to support those who require dedicated blockchain environments for enhanced permissions and control, such as government agencies, financial institutions, and businesses.

As of April 25, 2024, there are 312 XDC Network validator masternode candidates, of which 108 actively operate as validator masternodes, and the remainder are standby masternodes. Each masternode operator is required to stake 10M XDC.

A forthcoming upgrade to the consensus mechanism, dubbed XDC 2.0, is currently running on testnet. It and subsequent iterations of the XDC Network protocol will further enhance the security of the consensus mechanism and incorporate a novel "judiciary branch" into the consensus mechanism.

Developed by Princeton University's Pramod Viswanath, Hash Laboratories' Fisher Yu, and their team, XDC 2.0’s cutting-edge compliance technology will ensure unprecedented Byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) by holding validators accountable for their actions on an automated yet discretionary basis.

XDC Network

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

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.

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

RenderToken (RNDR) is a distributed GPU rendering network built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, aiming to connect artists and studios in need of GPU compute power with mining partners willing to rent their GPU capabilities out. Conceived in 2009 by OTOY, inc. CEO Jules Urbach and launched in 2017, RNDR held its first public token sale in October of that same year, followed by a private sale period lasting from January 2018 – May 2018, wherein a total of 117,843,239 RNDR were sold at a price of 1 RNDR = $0.25 USD equivalent of token.
During the private sale period, early adopters were onboarded onto the RNDR Beta Testnet, where beta node operators and artists worked collaboratively with the RNDR team in building and testing the network, up until its public launch on April 27th 2020.

Render

Polygon (previously Matic Network) is the first well-structured, easy-to-use platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development. Its core component is Polygon SDK, a modular, flexible framework that supports building multiple types of applications.

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

Using Polygon, one can create optimistic rollup chains, ZK rollup chains, stand alone chains or any other kind of infra required by the developer.

Polygon effectively transforms Ethereum into a full-fledged multi-chain system (aka Internet of Blockchains). This multi-chain system is akin to other ones such as Polkadot, Cosmos, Avalanche etc. with the advantages of Ethereum’s security, vibrant ecosystem and openness.

The $MATIC token will continue to exist and will play an increasingly important role, securing the system and enabling governance.

Polygon (formerly Matic Network) is a Layer 2 scaling solution backed by Binance and Coinbase. The project seeks to stimulate mass adoption of cryptocurrencies by resolving the problems of scalability on many blockchains.

Polygon combines the Plasma Framework and the proof-of-stake blockchain architecture. The Plasma framework used by Polygon as proposed by the co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, allows for the easy execution of scalable and autonomous smart contracts.

Nothing will change for the existing ecosystem built on the Plasma-POS chain. With Polygon, new features are being built around the existing proven technology to expand the ability to cater to diverse needs from the developer ecosystem. Polygon will continue to develop the core technology so that it can scale to a larger ecosystem.

Polygon boasts of up to 65,000 transactions per second on a single side chain, along with a respectable block confirmation time of less than two seconds. The framework also allows for the creation of globally available decentralized financial applications on a single foundational blockchain.

The Plasma framework gives Polygon the potential of housing an unlimited number of decentralized applications on their infrastructure without experiencing the normal drawbacks common on proof-of-work blockchains. So far, Polygon has attracted more than 50 DApps to its PoS-secured Ethereum sidechain.

MATIC, the native tokens of Polygon, is an ERC-20 token running on the Ethereum blockchain. The tokens are used for payment services on Polygon and as a settlement currency between users who operate within the Polygon ecosystem. The transaction fees on Polygon sidechains are also paid in MATIC tokens.

Polygon

Launched in 2021, the XRP Ledger (XRPL) is an open-source, permissionless and decentralized technology. Benefits of the XRP Ledger include its low-cost ($0.0002 to transact), speed  (settling transactions in 3-5 seconds), scalability (1,500 transactions per second) and inherently green attributes (carbon-neutral and energy-efficient). The XRP Ledger also features the first decentralized exchange (DEX) and custom tokenization capabilities built into the protocol. Since 2012, the XRP Ledger has been operating reliably, having closed 70 million ledgers.

Gala is a web3 ecosystem powered by a layer-1 blockchain (GalaChain) built to power the Gala entertainment ecosystem that originally included Gala Games, Gala Music and Gala Film. More recently however, GalaChain has opened its doors to external developers and projects from any applicable industry, providing open source developer resources to simplify the process.

On a mission to empower users and creators across multiple industries throughout the world, Gala’s goal is to become the first billion user blockchain in the world. Innovators can extend the benefits of web3 to their users and communities more easily than ever before by leveraging open source tools like the GalaChain SDK and Creator Portal.

By elevating their ideas to web3 through GalaChain, developers can create custom tokens, smart contracts, reward opportunities and node networks for their communities and projects. Assets built on GalaChain can also be bridged to other blockchains, such as Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and more. Developers who wish to learn more about getting involved with GalaChain are welcome to reach out via GalaChain.com.

The core of GalaChain is powered by its DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) of Founder’s Nodes, whose operators earn daily $GALA rewards for actively providing resources to the ecosystem and enjoy governance voting rights on certain core Gala decisions. In addition to the Founder’s Node network’s foundational workload, individual projects can also create Node networks on GalaChain with more specific workloads.

Gala.com
News.Gala.com
Games.Gala.com
Music.Gala.com
Film.Gala.com

The Internet Computer blockchain incorporates a radical rethink of blockchain design, powered by innovations in cryptography. It provides the first “World Computer” blockchain that can be used to build almost any online system or service, including demanding web social media, without need for traditional IT such as cloud computing services. As such it can enable full end-to-end decentralization.

Internet Computer

Avalanche is a layer one blockchain that functions as a platform for decentralized applications and custom blockchain networks. It is one of Ethereum’s rivals, aiming to unseat Ethereum as the most popular blockchain for smart contracts. It aims to do so by having a higher transaction output of up to 6,500 transactions per second while not compromising scalability.

This is made possible by Avalanche’s unique architecture. The Avalanche network consists of three individual blockchains: the X-Chain, C-Chain and P-Chain. Each chain has a distinct purpose, which is radically different from the approach Bitcoin and Ethereum use, namely having all nodes validate all transactions. Avalanche blockchains even use different consensus mechanisms based on their use cases.

After its mainnet launch in 2020, Avalanche has worked on developing its own ecosystem of DApps and DeFi. Different Ethereum-based projects such as SushiSwap and TrueUSD have integrated with Avalanche. Furthermore, the platform is constantly working on improving interoperability between its own ecosystem and Ethereum, like through the development of bridges.

Avalanche

Founded in 2017 and launched via IEO on Binance in March 2019, Fetch.AI is an artificial intelligence (AI) lab building an open, permissionless, decentralized machine learning network with a crypto economy. Fetch.ai democratizes access to AI technology with a permissionless network upon which anyone can connect and access secure datasets by using autonomous AI to execute tasks that leverage its global network of data. The Fetch.AI model is rooted in  use cases like optimizing DeFi trading services, transportation networks (parking, micromobility), smart energy grids, travel — essentially any complex digital system that relies on large-scale datasets.

Artificial Superintelligence Alliance

Launched on mainnet on March 30, 2021, Casper is the first live proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain built off the Casper CBC specification. The Casper platform is designed to boost the adoption of blockchain technology, smart contracts, and DApps on a global scale.

With its future-proof architecture, Casper is designed to ensure the platform is continually developed according to the evolving needs of its users, and that it’s maximally accessible to developers of all backgrounds. As per the official whitepaper, Casper is optimized to suit both enterprise and developer needs. Casper’s mission is to usher in a new era for Web3, as demand for intuitive, interconnected services continues to grow across the board. Casper does so by solving the adoption trilemma: offering enterprise-grade security, scalability and decentralization all within the same blockchain protocol.

Casper

MultiversX is a blockchain protocol that offers true horizontal scalability by using all aspects of sharding (Network, Transaction & State). The project describes itself as a technology ecosystem for the new internet, which includes decentralized finance, real world assets and the Metaverse. Its smart contracts execution platform is reportedly capable of up to 100,000 transactions per second, 6-second latency and a $0.002 transaction cost.

MultiversX is governed and secured through the EGLD token. EGLD, or Electronic Gold, is MultiversX's native token. It acts as a store of value currency to pay for network usage. The coin also serves as a medium of exchange between platform users and validators. Users pay transaction fees in EGLD and validators participate in the consensus process.

EGLD allows developers to deploy smart contracts, protocols, and dApps on the platform. It empowers participants to perform any network action. Through staking and validation rewards, as well as transaction fees, EGLD manages the MultiversX network. Plus, EGLD is endowed with the functionality of a governance token, so its holders can vote on network decisions.

MultiversX

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

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

The Graph is an indexing protocol for querying data for networks like Ethereum and IPFS, powering many applications in both DeFi and the broader Web3 ecosystem. Anyone can build and publish open APIs, called subgraphs, that applications can query using GraphQL to retrieve blockchain data. There is a hosted service in production that makes it easy for developers to get started building on The Graph and the decentralized network will be launching later this year. The Graph currently supports indexing data from Ethereum, IPFS and POA, with more networks coming soon.

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

To date, over3,000 subgraphs have been deployed by thousands of developers, for DApps like Uniswap, Synthetix, Aragon, AAVE, Gnosis, Balancer, Livepeer, DAOstack, Decentraland and many others. The Graph usage has been growing at over 50% MoM and hit over 7 billion queries during the month of September 2020.

The Graph has a global community, including over 200 Indexer Nodes in the testnet and more than 2,000 Curators in the Curator Program as of October 2020. To fund network development, The Graph raised funds from community members, strategic VCs and influential individuals in the blockchain community including Coinbase Ventures, DCG, Framework, ParaFi Capital, CoinFund, DTC, Multicoin, Reciprocal Ventures, SPC, Tally Capital and others. The Graph Foundation also successfully completed a public GRT Sale with participation from 99 countries (not including the U.S.). To date as of November 2020, The Graph has raised ~$25M.

Fantom is a directed acyclic graph (DAG) smart contract platform providing decentralized finance (DeFi) services to developers using its own bespoke consensus algorithm.

Together with its in-house token FTM, Fantom aims to solve problems associated with smart-contract platforms, specifically transaction speed, which developers say they have reduced to under two seconds.

The Fantom Foundation, which oversees the Fantom product offering, was originally created in 2018, with the launch of OPERA, Fantom’s mainnet, coming in December 2019.

Fantom is an open-source decentralized smart contract platform for DApps and digital assets that was created as an alternative to Ethereum. Fantom has the goal of overcoming the limitations of previous generation blockchains and balancing three components: scalability, security and decentralization. The project offers a set of tools to simplify the process of integrating existing DApps, as well as a detailed staking reward system and built-in DeFi instruments.

Fantom is a Layer-1 blockchain that uses a scratch-built consensus mechanism and independent consensus layer, Lachesis, to facilitate DeFi and related services on the basis of smart contracts. Lachesis provides security for other layers as well, including Opera, Fantom's EVM-compatible smart contract chain. The long-playing mission of the project is to “grant compatibility between all transaction bodies around the world.”

One of Fantom's key strengths is its performance and efficient transaction processing, namely thousands of transactions per second, where transactions are settled in 1-2 seconds, and the cost is fractions of a cent per transaction. As a result, Fantom provides higher scalability but at a lower cost.

The ecosystem is based on two main technologies: Lachesis protocol and Opera.

The Lachesis protocol is the core consensus layer that secures the Fantom network by providing both transaction speed and security.

Lachesis is an aBFT consensus engine that uses a directed acyclic graph (DAG) algorithm. How it works: network data can be processed at different times, and the network filters the participants, allowing only one third, which are allocated due to erroneous or malicious behavior, without compromising network processes.

Fantom's Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerant (aBFT) Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism maintains the efficiency of the entire network, its design provides security at maximum speed. Fantom developers emphasize that the PoS mechanism is a leaderless phenomenon — there are no leaders of blocks and participants, and anyone can join (or leave) the network of nodes at a convenient moment.

The key qualities of Lachesis are: asynchronous, leaderless, Byzantine fault-tolerant, and near-instant finality.

As for Opera, it's an application development layer or Fantom's mainnet deployment platform, permissionless and open-source hosting DApps. Thanks to EVM integration and support for the Solidity programming language, Fantom has a full set of smart contract capabilities, which allows users to seamlessly interact with Ethereum platforms while maintaining the advantage of Fantom's transaction efficiency.

The Fantom Foundation concluded that removing block leaders improves network security, so Opera uses a PoS model and leaderless validators (validators do not determine which blocks are valid).

In addition to being a fast, secure and cheap payment platform that enables to make fast and secure payments at minimal cost, Fantom also features on-chain governance where users vote with FTM tokens (one token equals one vote). Of the features: users have the right to express the degree of agreement / disagreement on a scale from 0 to 4.

FTM is the native utility in-house PoS token of Fantom that powers the ecosystem and is applied for payments, network fees, staking, and governance. FTM forms the backbone of transactions, and allows fee collection and staking activities, along with the user rewards the latter represents.

Fantom

Cardano is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform that says its goal is to allow “changemakers, innovators and visionaries” to bring about positive global change.

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

The open-source project also aims to “redistribute power from unaccountable structures to the margins to individuals” — helping to create a society that is more secure, transparent and fair.

Cardano was founded back in 2017, and named after the 16th century Italian polymath Gerolamo Cardano. The native ADA token takes its name from the 19th century mathematician Ada Lovelace, widely regarded as the world’s first computer programmer. The ADA token is designed to ensure that owners can participate in the operation of the network. Because of this, those who hold the cryptocurrency have the right to vote on any proposed changes to the software.

The team behind the layered blockchain say that there have already been some compelling use cases for its technology, which aims to allow decentralized apps and smart contracts to be developed with modularity.

In August 2021, Charles Hoskinson announced the launch of the Alonzo hard fork, causing Cardano price to surge, gaining 116% in the following month. On Sept. 12, 2021, the Cardano ‘Alonzo’ hard fork officially launched, bringing smart contract functionality to the blockchain. Over 100 smart contracts were deployed in the following 24 hours after the launch.

Cardano is used by agricultural companies to track fresh produce from field to fork, while other products built on the platform allow educational credentials to be stored in a tamper-proof way, and retailers to clamp down on counterfeit goods.