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.
Algorand is aim to build the technology to power the Future of Finance (FutureFi), the convergence of traditional and decentralized models into a unified system that is inclusive, frictionless, and secure. Founded by Turing Award-winning cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand developed a blockchain infrastructure that offers the interoperability and capacity to handle the volume of transactions needed for decentralized finance (DeFi), financial institutions, and governments to smoothly transition into FutureFi. The technology of choice for more than 500 global organizations, Algorand is enabling the simple creation of next-generation financial products, protocols and exchange of value.
The Algo is the native token of the Algorand blockchain with a maximum total supply of 10 billion, and is one of the most versatile tokens in crypto. It is used to:
- pay for transactions
- purchase on-chain items such as NFTs
- purchase goods and services
- participate in DeFi as an investor
- participate in governance, and earn rewards
- secure consensus among participation nodes
The main projects built on Algorand are Opulous ($OPUL), Carbon Credit ($CCT), Buying.com ($BUY), Xfinite Entertainment Token ($XET), and Defly ($DEFLY).
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.
The Algorand Foundation operates independently from Algorand Inc. The Algorand Foundation is a not-for-profit, community organisation focused on protocol governance, token dynamics and supporting grassroots, open-source development on the Algorand ecosystem. Algorand Inc is focused on layer-1 development of the Algorand Protocol and enabling Enterprise adoption of Algorand blockchain technology.
In Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and permissioned blockchains, a committee of verifiers agrees and sign every new block of transactions. These blocks are validated, propagated, and stored by all users in the network. However, posterior corruptions pose a common threat to these designs, because the adversary can corrupt committee verifiers after they certified a block and use their signing keys to certify a different block. Designing efficient and secure digital signatures for use in PoS blockchains can substantially reduce bandwidth, storage and computing requirements from nodes, thereby enabling more efficient applications.
Algorand present Pixel, a pairing-based forward-secure multi-signature scheme optimized for use in blockchains, that achieves substantial savings in bandwidth, storage requirements, and verification effort. Pixel signatures consist of two group elements, regardless of the number of signers, can be verified using three pairings and one exponentiation, and support non-interactive aggregation of individual signatures into a multi-signature.
Pixel signatures are also forward-secure and let signers evolve their keys over time, such that new keys cannot be used to sign on old blocks, protecting against posterior corruptions attacks on blockchains. We show how to integrate Pixel into any PoS blockchain. Next, we evaluate Pixel in a real-world PoS blockchain implementation, showing that it yields notable savings in storage, bandwidth, and block verification time. In particular, Pixel signatures reduce the size of blocks with 1500 transactions by 35% and reduce block verification time by 38%.
A Byzantine Agreement is a communication protocol that allows the users of a distributed system to reach consensus in the presence of malicious actors.
Algorand’s Byzantine Agreement is uniquely efficient thanks to its novel use of Verifiable Random Functions (VRFs).
The Algorand network has two types of nodes to simultaneously optimize decentralization and high transaction throughput. Relay nodes allow for highly efficient communication paths. Participation nodes propose and vote on blocks.
Founded by Turing award winner and MIT professor Silvio Micali, Algorand is a permissionless pure proof-of-stake blockchain protocol. Unlike first-generation consensus mechanisms, Algorand's technology finalizes blocks in seconds and aims to provide immediate transaction finality while preventing forks. Algorand does also not reward validators with newly minted tokens.
With a focus on developers and their needs, Algorand's node repository has been open sourced and is publicly available. Algorand provides a robust set of developer tools, dApp analytics through a partnership with Flipside Crypto, and has a number of partners building on its blockchain, including OTOY, Syncsort, TOP Networks, Asset Block and more.
