The mind behind the project is Prof. Silvio Micali, Turing Prize, researcher, and teacher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Behind the entire project operates also the Algorand Foundation, an entity with different responsibilities. Algorand Foundation is responsible for keeping the ecosystem healthy, especially by managing the aspects of decentralized governance.

There is also a real company: Algorand Inc. It is in charge of managing the technical and operational aspects of the chain, the development of new features, and integration with other platforms and realities.

The main objective of this network is to solve the famous Blockchain Trilemma. To be perfect, a blockchain should be decentralized, scalable, and secure.

A few years ago, it was very difficult to find the correct balance between these three important characteristics. In older solutions, decentralization and scalability are sacrificed by the security component. From these considerations arises the trilemma, mentioned for the first time by Vitalik Buterin, creator of Ethereum. Algorand is specially designed to overcome the trilemma, projecting itself into the future.

Thanks to the innovative consensus algorithm, Algorand offers quick transactions capable of satisfying high demand.

At the same time, security is a cornerstone of the network and is not sacrificed in the name of performance. The use of the TEAL programming language, complex and less known by most, also contributes to it. Therefore, it is more difficult for an attacker to find any bugs or vulnerabilities.

Algorand structure, consensus algorithm, and scalability

Algorand is based on a native dual-layer structure. This means that the chain integrates both layer 1 and layer 2.

Layer 1 is responsible for processing primary operations, which are essential for the proper functioning of the network. However, these functions do not overload the chain.

Layer 2, is dedicated to everything that would burden the network, like normal transactions. Each operation is performed off-chain; so, the result is sent to layer 1, including certification to guarantee the correctness of what happened.

This native architecture allows Algorand to process transactions in seconds. In addition, gas fees are very low, even below 1 cent.

Underlying this technology is the possibility for any ALGO coin holder to validate a block. Stake limits or complex (and expensive) IT supports are not required. Anyone who has at least 1 ALGO has this opportunity.

The selection of the validator occurs randomly. The more ALGOs held, the greater the possibility of being chosen. The principle of proportionality is so maintained.

Not being able to predict who the next validator will be, is an addition to security. The consensus provides for several votes and ensures the regularity of transactions. As long as 2/3 of the total stakes are in safe hands, there is no chance that attackers will take over.

The structure of the chain contributes greatly to its efficiency. The Pure Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm also guarantees the impossibility of proposing two blocks simultaneously in the same slot. So, the chain will never be forked.

Another cool feature is co-chains. Anyone can create additional chains in the Algorand world. These could be public or private, for different needs. Co-chains can interact with all the other chains opening a lot of possibilities.

$ALGO

$ALGO is the native coin of the Algorand network.

The maximum supply is set at 10 billion units. Of these, only 68% are currently in circulation.

The allocation of the ALGO crypto is as follows:

• 3 billion copies were released in the first 5 years of the network’s life. This figure includes the 25 million ALGOs involved in the initial sale.

• 2.5 billion coins destined for distribution over time to Relay Nodes.

• 2.5 billion, is addressed to the reserves of the Algorand Foundation and Algorand Inc.

• 1.75 billion ALGO was released over time as a reward to Participation Nodes. This figure may vary.

• 250 million ALGOs are reserved for grants for end users.

Let’s now see what are the cases of use of this cryptocurrency.

As we already know, the stake allows you to participate in the validation process. Since the probabilities are proportional to the ALGOs held, it will be difficult to be elected as validators with a small stake.

However, the stake produces rewards, so it could be an interesting opportunity for investors in this network.

ALGO is also the crypto required to pay the gas fees of the chain. Therefore, anyone wishing to use Algorand will necessarily have to buy a certain amount of this coin.

Finally, not a use case but still worth highlighting, ALGO can be a means of investing in the project. After all, if the network were to grow, an increase in the value of the related coin is desirable.

Buying ALGO is simple: it is available on many exchanges including Binance, Kraken, and Crypto.com.

Below is the graph of the ALGO Algorand value in the last year. The trend is quite negative, unfortunately for the entire crypto sector.

The Algorand ecosystem

Let’s start with the Defi and Algofi sectors, the main platform for deposited liquidity.

It is a lending protocol with a particular focus on stablecoins, among which we find USDC. The capitals paid in by users are rather low compared to the other chains. However, we must consider that Algorand theoretically has ample room for growth.

Folks Finance is another Defi platform known in the world. Also dedicated to lending, it offers some innovative features such as multiple incentives, Lock & Earn, and a rewards aggregator.

Tinyman, the main decentralized exchange on-chain.

Although limited, the functionalities are what is expected from portals of this type: token and coin swaps, liquidity pools, and farms.

Defi is nothing more than a part of the Algorand ecosystem. Very interesting is AlgoFund, a launchpad designed to encourage the development and growth of new projects on the network.

Again, we are at an early stage, so the possibilities are quite limited. However, those who follow Algorand place a lot of trust in AlgoFund: it could play a leading role in the growth of the entire ecosystem.

Bleumi Payment is another reality that is worth following. It is a solution to allow payments in cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies on e-commerce sites. Because Algorand is a safe and fast chain, fundamental points in payments, this project could grow over time.

There is no shortage of platforms dedicated to NFTs. We point out AB2 Gallery and ZestBloom.

Pera Wallet is one of the best crypto wallets for this blockchain. Available for both mobile and computer apps, Pera Wallet also supports Ledger. It is a fast, easy wallet with clean and modern graphics.

In reality, there are several signs that tell us that we are improving, but sometimes, we don’t recognize them.

Accepting yourself and your mistakes:

We are exposing ourselves to a reality that is difficult to replicate. We see every day the “perfect lives” of our friends on social media, tv actors that never become old, and everyone else’s achievements. When we compare ourselves to all these partial lives, it could seem that we are not good enough and we are the only ones to make mistakes.

Letting go of all of these ridiculous standards it’s good for our mental well-being and a good sign of maturity. We are all humans and we all make mistakes. None of us are perfect, even if we struggle to seem.

Face the causes of your problems:

Avoiding the problems doesn’t help to solve them. It’s easier to distract yourself, but finding the root of your problem, and facing it, can help you learn and grow. It may take time, and it is uncomfortable, but you shouldn’t fix only the symptoms, rather go cure the “disease” itself.

You have power over other people:

Understanding how you affect the world around you is a huge part of being the best version of yourself. You have power over other people! You’re not invisible, so you’re actions are affecting, more or less, the people around you.

This means you have to make the active choice to be polite and try to control your reactions to things that may upset you.

Also, other people make mistakes too! Don’t judge them right away, don’t be too impulsive. You probably do not know what they are going through or the reason why they have done something.

Choose the people around you:

Spending time with people only for their status symbol it’s a waste of time. Try to spend your time with the people that support you, understand you, and love you.

Trust me, there are people who love you but sometimes we are too angry or blind to see them. People that want to help you even if you’re not in your best shape or that are willing to stay with you even in difficult times are one of them.

Self-awareness:

Asking yourself what is your purpose or what kind of person you want to be, and searching for the answer is a sign of a deeper understanding of yourself. And even if does not seems to be, you are making slow progress towards what your desire. It means that you are able to reflect on your past actions to find ways to improve.

Being vulnerable:

Realize that it’s ok to be vulnerable, and this does not mean that you are weak or inferior. It’s normal to be afraid of getting judged or open to others. But suppressing your feelings or refusing to ask for help can become very unhealthy for your mental well-being in the long run.

Asking questions:

Being curious about the world around us is a great way to learn. It helps you become better and more knowledgeable.

It’s all stored on big server farms, and these are usually controlled by a single company. Have you ever wondered what would happen if sites like YouTube or Wikipedia would go offline?

The centralization brings another problem with it, and that is censorship. Because content is hosted on just a few servers, it’s easy for governments to block access to them. China is a good example of how governments could limit and drive the information.

But then why do we keep using such a model? That’s because we have high expectations when it comes to the web. We want pages, images, and videos to load instantly, and we want them of high quality. Centralizing servers allows companies to have complete control over how fast they can deliver all of this content. Another reason we use this model is that there just isn’t a good and fast alternative, but that might be about to change thanks to IPFS (the interplanetary file system).

They have very ambitious goals: they want to make the web completely distributed, by running it on top of a peer-to-peer network that works similarly to how BitTorrent works.

How do we access content on the web? Let’s say you want to download a photo from the internet. When you do that, you tell the computer exactly where to find the photo, in this case, the location of the photo is the IP address or the domain name. This is called location-based addressing. You tell the computer where to get the information, but if that location isn’t accessible, you won’t get that photo. However, when that happens, there is a high chance that someone else has downloaded that picture before, and still has a copy of it, but yet your computer won’t be able to grab a copy from that person. To fix this IPFS moves from location-based addressing to content-based addressing. Instead of saying where to find a resource, you just say what it is that you want.

How does that work? Every file has a unique hash, which can be compared to a fingerprint. When you want to download a certain file, you just ask the network who has the file with this hash, and someone on the IPFS network will provide it to you. Because you use a hash function to request the file, you can verify what you have received.

Another nice feature of using hashes to address content is deduplication. When multiple people publish the same file on IPFS, it will only be created once, and that makes the network very efficient.

How does IPFS store files and makes them accessible to others? Files are stored inside IPFS objects, and these objects can store up to 256 kilobytes worth of data; they can also contain links to other IPFS objects. Files that are larger than 256 kilobytes are split up into multiple IPFS objects that are all 256 kilobytes in size, and afterward, the system will create an empty IPFS object that links to all the other pieces of the file.

IPFS is data architecture is very simple and it can be very powerful; this architecture allows us to use it as a file system. Because IPFS uses content-based addressing, once something is added, it cannot be changed anymore; it’s an immutable data store, much like a blockchain. But then how do we change stuff on it? IPFS supports versioning of your files: let’s say you’re working on an important document that you want to share with everyone over IPFS; when you do that IPFS will create a new “commit object” for you. This object is really basic: it just tells IPFS which commits went before it, and it links to the IPFS object of your file. If you want to update this file, you just add your updated file to IPFS and the software will create a new commit object for your file; this command object now links to the previous commit, and this process can be repeated endlessly. IPFS will make sure that your file plus its entire history is accessible to other nodes on the network.

Like everything, there are downsides to this. The biggest problem that IPFS faces is keeping files available. Every node on the network keeps a cache of the files that it has downloaded and helps to share them if other people need them; but if a specific file is hosted and those nodes go offline, then that file becomes unavailable and no one can grab a copy of it. There are two possible solutions to this problem:

• incentivize people to store files and make them available

• proactively distribute files and make sure that there is always a certain number of copies available on the network.

Here’s where FileCoin comes into play. It’s a blockchain built on top of IPFS that wants to create a decentralized storage market. If you have some free space on your hard drive you can rent it out to others, and make money from it in the process. FileCoin creates a strong incentive for nodes to keep the files online for as long as possible because otherwise they won’t get rewarded; the system also makes sure that files are replicated on many nodes, so they cannot become unavailable.

How IPFS can be used?

• IPFS is distributed and there are no central servers the government can block.

• DTube is a site like YouTube but entirely distributed and hosted on IPFS, anyone can publish videos and anyone can help to support the network, and no government or central authority can censor a video.

IPFS is a very ambitious project that could lead to a truly decentralized internet.