FTM(Fantom): A High-performance, DAG-based Platform

2022-08-22 22:32:02

In the blockchain space, there is a famous trilemma called the impossible trinity. The trilemma means that a blockchain network cannot excel at security, scalability, and decentralization at the same time. In other words, blockchains must sacrifice one aspect to accommodate the other two.

 

For example, Bitcoin is almost the best blockchain in terms of both security and decentralization, but it suffers from poor scalability because the network trades scalability for security and decentralization. Its poor scalability makes Bitcoin unsuitable for areas like daily payments and data transmission that require fast transactions, which is one of the major factors restricting the mass adoption and growth of the Bitcoin network.

 

That being said, to achieve the extensive commercial use of blockchain technologies, developers must solve the scalability problem without sacrificing security or decentralization. This demand triggered the birth of Fantom.

 

Fantom is a high-performance, scalable, EVM-compatible, and secure smart-contract platform. Moreover, it is also a leaderless, asynchronous, and byzantine fault-tolerant Layer 1 blockchain protocol favored by many DeFi users, corporate applications, and EVM developers.

 

 

Unlike other solutions, Fantom does not sacrifice its security or decentralization performance for greater scalability. Instead, it uses LCA (Lachesis Consensus Algorithm), which relies on asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT). This algorithm aims to use DAG-based distributed ledger technology to make the blockchain more efficient and secure. It not only prevents attacks due to node failures but also enables extremely high transaction throughput, which allows users to confirm and complete transactions within seconds (normally).

 

The fundamental tech and features of Fantom

 

1. How Fantom is run

Fantom is modular

Lachesis represents the consensus layer of the blockchain stack and can be plugged into any distributed ledger. Lachesis is what powers Fantom’s Opera mainnet, which uses EVM and is compatible with Ethereum.

 

Such modularization gives Fantom exceptional flexibility, which allows developers to port their existing Ethereum-based dApps to the Opera mainnet in minutes and boosts Fantom’s performance while lowering the cost.

 

 

Fantom is secure and environmentally friendly

The Fantom network is secured through Proof-of-Stake, which differs from the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism used by Bitcoin and Ethereum: PoS prevents centralization and saves power.

 

Lachesis can provide institutional-grade security for distributed networks, as well as absolute finality. This means that transactions can never be reverted like they would in networks with probabilistic finality.

 

Moreover, the PoS consensus mechanism scales the network to hundreds of nodes, making it more decentralized and secure.

 

Finally, there is no leader node in the decentralized Lachesis. Anyone can join the network, and its security no longer depends on a small number of participants.

 

 

2.Advantages and features

One of Fantom’s key strengths is its performance and efficient transaction processing, namely thousands of transactions per second. Furthermore, transactions are settled in 1-2 seconds, and the cost is only fractions of a cent per transaction. As a result, Fantom provides higher scalability yet at a lower cost.

 

The Fantom architecture is divided into three layers.

 

The bottom layer (the OPERA Core Layer) is responsible for creating projects and maintaining consensus across all nodes via the Lachesis Protocol. Projects use the Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) for confirmation, which allows nodes to process asynchronous transactions.

 

The middle layer, named the OPERA Ware Layer, is used to implement such functions as making payments, issuing rewards, and writing the “Story Data”.

 

The top layer is called the OPERA Application Layer and provides publicly available APIs for applications to use the middle layer. One special aspect of nodes is what Fantom refers to as the “Story Data”.

 

Although Ethereum features a limited capability of tracking past transactions, Fantom solves this issue by leveraging Story Data, which allows all past transactions to be tracked. Every transaction and smart contract execution can store a piece of data in this way to enable functions such as tracking items. For utilities such as supply-chain management where indefinite records of data are essential, this type of architecture offers immense value.

 

The three-layer architecture adopted by the OPERA chain handles large-scale transactions through the core layer, enables the running of smart contracts through the ware layer, and provides support for third-party applications through the application layer. Such a design allows Fantom to operate in a clear, structured way and maximize its performance in an orderly manner.

 

Fantom also features on-chain governance where users vote with FTM tokens (one token equals one vote). In particular, users have the right to express the degree of agreement/disagreement on a scale from 0 to 4.

 

The application scenarios of Fantom

Smart cities

The Fantom DAG platform is uniquely positioned to become the IT infrastructure backbone for smart cities. To be more specific, it can collect large amounts of high-speed data transmission through scalable solutions across various smart city service providers. In smart cities, there will be an increasing number of IoT devices that send data, which will need to be securely stored and made available to stakeholders to drive smart contracts and decentralized applications with the data provided by smart cities.

 

Utilities

Utilities include renewable energy, electricity, water, gas, telecommunications, and waste management. In the future, the utility market will evolve into a two-way system covering billions of interconnected endpoints, IoT devices, and APIs. This will grant consumers direct access to data and make it easier to control and manage individual utilities. In addition, such a system will help businesses and government departments in smart cities better manage these resources and data-driven information to achieve growth.

 

Smart living

Essentially, smart living aims to improve people’s quality of life by achieving the connectivity, transparency, and management of information in homes, cities, communities, and offices. The interoperability and engagement with IoT products and service providers will significantly improve the quantity of data collected and empower innovation. With smart contracts and distributed applications, we will be able to better control and manage resources and home-life quality.

 

Healthcare

Service providers, government agencies, and the relevant stakeholders work together for the implementation and management of a secure, immutable electronic health record (EHR) system. This will provide a concise and comprehensive summary of the patient’s most recent health history (controlled by the patient directly) for all health practitioners. Healthcare could be significantly improved by, for instance, making medical appointments with patients in advance according to the pre-defined eligibility requirements (age, medical history, medications taken, etc.). This also applies to automated payments and insurance claims enabled by smart contracts.

 

[More Information]

Website: https://fantom.foundation/

Whitepaper: https://fantom.foundation/fantom-research-papers/

Block explorer: https://ftmscan.com/

Market cap ranking: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/fantom/

Buy FTM: https://www.coinex.com/info/FTM

Manage FTM: https://wallet.coinex.com/download

 

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