5 Highlights From ‘Stablecoins Are Killing It’ #23 — Featuring Algorand
By: Lou Kerner
Tags: Algorand, Crypto, Cryptocurrency, Ethereum, Bitcoin

We had a great show featuring David Markley, Director of Business Solutions at Algorand. You can watch the show in it’s entirety below:

Or you can read our five highlights :

1. Algorand Set Out To Solve The Blockchain Trilemma

Silvio Micalia is an MIT professor best known as a co-inventor of Zero-Knowledge Proofs, for which he won the 2012 Turing Award (aka the “Nobel Prize in Computing”).

In 2017, Silvio set about ​​creating a new consensus algorithm that would solve the “blockchain trilemma”, which Vitalik coined to refer to the need to make tradeoffs between scalability, security and decentralization:

Two years later, on June 11, 2019, the first block on the Algorand blockchain was mined.

Another unique aspect of Algorand is that forking is virtually impossible due to protocol settings.

2. Algorand Is A Pure Proof of Stake

As opposed to other proof of stakes, Algorand has no tradeoffs between scaleability, security, and decentralization.

For example, in bonded proof of stake, node validators have to post collateral in order to validate transactions, thus introducing a layer of centralization.

Anyone can validate and participate in consensus on Algorand.

Algorand is extremely energy efficient, as evidenced by the fact that it can run on Raspberry Pi’s

Algorand is also cost efficient. The average transaction to date has cost just $0.0003.

3. Over 500 Companies Have Integrated Algorand In To Their Stack

The Algorand ecosystem includes global exchanges, asset issuers (including stablecoins USDT and USDC), and supporting infrastructure including custodians, wallet providers, and identity providers.

Algorand now averages over 500,000 transactions a day vs. a little over 1,000,000 transaction a day on Ethereum.

The two most active consumer applications are Props, which provides a currency across rewards program, and PlanetWatch, which connects and monetizes iOT devices,.

4. DeFi & CDBCs Are Areas Driving Algorand’s Growth

DeFi starts by having a a solid and stable medium of exchange. Stablecoins are the onramp/offramp that are often the first step to getting in to other investments. Algorand’s Solution Architecture team helps DeFi projects think through architecture and integration with legacy systems. Meld just issued a gold back stablecoin listed in Australia, with over $1 million of traded volume to date.

On the CBDC side, Algorand is working with the government of the Marshall Islands. While the Marshall Islands doesn’t have a central bank, so it’s not technically a CBDC, the government is working with Algorand to create a digital currency dubbed SOV (short for sovereign). Via it’s own token offering, Algorand has learned to leverage dutch auctions to drive price discovery when bringing assets like SOV to market.

5. The Algorand Ecosystem Includes Algorand Inc & The Algorand Foundation

Algorand Inc. been chartered to build the core consensus mechanisms and technology that underpin the Algorand network. Algorand Inc. also provides infrastructure and consulting to enable others to build on top of the base layer.

The Algorand Foundation is the steward of the Algo, which is the cryptocurrency used to pay for transactions or store assets on the network. They are set up of technical oversight and governance of the economic engine Algorand Inc. has built.

Click here to register for “Stablecoins Are Killing It — Episode #24”, featuring a discussion of The STABLEAct.

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This content is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute trading advice. Past performance does not indicate future results. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose. The author of this article may hold assets mentioned in the piece.