Hash Notes

Tezos

• Founded in August 2014 by Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, Tezos became one of the earliest PoS-implemented platform using its native cryptocurrency, XTZ. According to the whitepaper, XTZ enables Tezos' smart contract functionality and gives holders the opportunity to participate in on-chain governance (i.e. Tezos blockchain operates as a decentralized autonomous organization, DAO). Other functionalities include decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized applications (Dapps) and non-fungible token (NFT) projects.

• Unlike the Ethereum blockchain (ETH), which requires significant effort to change from PoW to PoS consensus mechanism, Tezos was one of the first, if not the first, to use pure Proof of Stake model. Not only did it show how valuable PoS structure can be in term of energy efficiency, it showed the community how it can be done. The benefits lead to low carcon footprints and gas fees for many DeFi protocols, decentralized exchanges (DEX), Dapps, and other projects connected to the Tezos blockchain.

• With over 1.2 million funded wallets. Tezos has the second-largest NFT ecosystem only to Ethereum as well as the second largest use cases for institutional securities (e.g. STOs and tokenized assets). The Central Bank of France is using Tezos for its central bank digital currency. There are so many use cases across every possible vertical, from asset tracking to financial services to arts and culture that are leveraging Tezos.

• Uncommon among the various blockchains, Tezos stands out for its forkless upgrades capability. Upgrades can occur without the need for a fork, leaving developers and users uninterrupted. Forkless upgrades set Tezos apart from other blockchains because of its ability to self-upgrade and eliminate disruption for the users. When major upgrades are required on other blockchains, a fork is required for the features to be implemented. Developers and node operators are required to transition over to the new fork or risk losing funds or being left behind. With Tezos, the transition to a new version is seamsless.