Fantom Network
Fantom does not receive the attention it truly deserves. It was formed in 2018 by the Fantom Foundation, which raised $37 million, and went online in the midst of a bear market where hype and publicity were meaningless.
Fantom plans to build a network of smart contracts to serve as the foundation for future smart cities. Fantom was able to process 25,000 transactions per second on a test net towards the end of December 2018, with the goal of reaching 300,000 tps by the time the main net is deployed, but that TPS has yet to materialize.
Fantom Under the Hood
Phantom employs a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) instead of a blockchain, which is fundamentally different from a blockchain. In contrast to other blockchains, this is a sort of distributed ledger technology that allows any computer connected to the network to execute transactions in parallel. Each computer linked to a DAG “gossips” its transactions to a random collection of neighboring nodes (computers), and these nodes “gossip” the message to another random set of nodes, and so on. Those transactions, like rumors, spread like wildfire over the network, with measures in place to ensure that none of them clash or overlap.
This configuration allows for the processing of thousands of transactions per second and, theoretically, indefinite scalability. Although Fantom is not the quickest blockchain available, finality is more important than transaction speed.
Finality, in essence, is the length of time it takes for a transaction to be declared “final.” On Fantom, transaction completion occurs in a matter of seconds and costs a fraction of a penny. This is a lot faster finality time than other blockchains with far higher transaction per second speeds.
Smart Contracts
Fantom is compatible with smart contracts and uses EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine), making it interoperable with Ethereum. This implies that Ethereum developers will find it simple to deploy apps on Fantom. Although there are TPS limits, they will be handled via Fantom Virtual Machine, which is currently under development.
Consensus
“Lachesis” is Fantom’s own proof-of-stake consensus mechanism in which validator nodes must put down one million Fantom tokens (FTM) and cannot stake more than 50 million FTM on their node. Fantom has a zero tolerance policy for “bad behavior,” and will forfeit 100% of the staked FTM on a misbehaving validator. Staked FTM may also be used in Fantom’s DeFi ecosystem owing to its liquid staking functionality. Fantom intends to provide additional 1,000 to 2,500 validators to further distribute its ledger.
Andre Cronje
Fantom has one of the most well-known DeFi architects, a tech genius, who built one of the finest leading DeFi protocols, Yearn Finance, which has TVL exceeding $6.5 billion in user money. After Yearn’s July “fair launch,” in which all YFI governance tokens were assigned to liquidity providers and none were reserved for the founding team, including himself. What began as a personal endeavor to automate decentralised finance yield generation developed into a near-mythic institution. This has earned the creator cult-like adoration and comparisons to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
Andre joined Fantom in 2018 and is one of the network’s main developers, which adds to the network’s credibility as well as its true future potential.
Fantom’s Future Potential
Since July 2018, the total value locked in Fantom’s DeFi has increased by 800%. Currently, Fantom has over $5 billion in value locked up on its DeFi ecosystem. Furthermore, Fantom has surpassed 1 million active wallet addresses since its launch.
Fantom is committed to extending its decentralized apps (Dapps), and has put up a nearly 370 Million FTM incentive program fund ($1 Billion market value) to incentivize developers to build on the Fantom network. With this in place, we are certain that Fantom’s ecosystem will attract a greater number of developers and Dapps.
At the end of September, the Fantom Foundation unveiled the Artion FTM NFT marketplace, which was designed by Andre Cronje in collaboration with celebrity Pierre Gasly, who would be releasing his own NFT collection.
The project has a strong road map, with aims to extend the Fantom community and form new alliances.
Institutional Interest
Alameda Research, one of the major liquidity providers, has invested $35 million in Fantom. Its creator, Sam Bankman Fried, previously built one of the most successful exchanges, FTX and is a major investor in Solana.
Hyperchain, a prominent digital asset management business focused on blockchain projects and decentralized protocols, announced the purchase of FTM, the platform native token, for an extra $15 million investment in the Fantom ecosystem.
Fantom was recently listed on the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, which foreshadows future listings on additional US exchanges. Coinbase appears to be the next in line, as it’s already supported by Coinbase custody.
Fantom Central Asian Partnerships
Fantom is the only blockchain that has partnered with governments in Central Asia. Fantom has partnered with Tajikistan to power e-government infrastructure, as well as Pakistan’s Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority and an Uzbekistan consulting firm with close ties to the government, with the Uzbek government potentially receiving blockchain solutions in the near future. If Fantom continues on its current path, it will be a force to be reckoned with.
Summary
Fantom is a blockchain project that combines the greatest aspects of its smart contact competitors, with the majority of Fantom tech based on peer-reviewed research, much like Cardano. Fantom’s uses the Ethereum virtual machine and has thus far done an excellent job enticing Ethereum native DeFi protocols to build atop Fantom’s DAG. Fantom’s staking, whose rewards are dependent on how dedicated someone is to the project and whose high slicing penalties guarantee that its consensus is not manipulated, makes it incredibly secure.
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by Wheatstones, and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or refraining from making) any investment decisions.
Join Coinmonks Telegram Channel and Youtube Channel learn about crypto trading and investing
