What is the new blockchain “Aptos” developed by former Meta engineers?
Even in 2022, which is called “cryptocurrency winter” and “bear market”, one of the projects attracting the attention of the industry with a total investment of more than $ 45 billion from major investment institutions is the L1 chain. We have Aptos.
Aptos is an L1 (Layer 1) blockchain that focuses on security and scalability. I'm here.
In this article, we will explain in detail from its features and use cases to its future roadmap , and see how Aptos differs from other L1 chains such as Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche.
Development background — Founding of a former Meta employee
Aptos is a project with the motto “Building the fastest and most scalable L1 blockchain”, developing a decentralized blockchain that can be accessed by billions of internet users around the world. The project started in earnest in 2021, but its origins go back even earlier.
Founders Mo. Shaikh (CEO) and Avery Ching (CTO) are former Meta (formerly Facebook) employees who were involved in the early development of Diem (formerly Libra) and wallet Novi.
Diem is the name of the blockchain and its stablecoin originally developed by Meta . The goal was to build a digital currency and economic network that could be used worldwide by anyone, even those without a bank account.
Originally called “Libra,” it planned to issue a multi-fiat stablecoin backed by multiple fiat currencies, but the name was eventually changed to Diem due to regulatory concerns and changed the policy to only use US dollars as collateral assets.
After that, after many twists and turns, in February 2010, all intellectual property rights related to Diem were sold to Silvergate Capital, which operates banks, etc., and the Diem business as Meta was dismantled.
Both Shaikh and Ching took over Diem's half-hearted mission and technology and launched Aptos after leaving Meta. Therefore, Aptos has adopted many technologies developed by Meta (see below), and has unique features that are different from other blockchains.
Features—Security and Scalability
Based on the co-founder's idea that "user experience must be improved for blockchain to spread'', Aptos was developed with "security'' and "scalability'' in mind. Security in blockchain means resistance to code vulnerabilities and malicious attackers in the network.
Scalability refers to the ability to function well as the size of the network (number of users, number of transactions, number of Apps, etc.) increases.
As of July 2010, only the testnet is running, but it takes less than 1 second to form finality, and it is said that the number of transactions that can be processed per second (TPS) is currently about 1,000. I'm here.
Compared to Ethereum, which has a TPS of 12-15, and Bitcoin, which has an average of 7, this is a very large number, but AptSteam plans to expand this number to 10,000 in the near future, with a maximum of 160,000. It is said that it may also reach TPS. (This is an experimental figure and may not be exactly as shown in reality.)
The technology used by Aptos to improve security and scalability, which are essential aspects of blockchain's mass acceptance, is called the 'Move Language' and 'Diem BFT', which was also adopted by Meta's Diem. It's a consensus mechanism.
Move
One of the biggest features of Aptos is that a programming language for blockchain is used in a language called “Move”. Move is also a technology that was developed at Meta at the same time as Diem.
Move stores token information and smart contracts as resources (data used by the program), but the design is built directly into the language to prevent copying or loss of resources, so double spending ( illegally sending the same token twice) or duplicate ownership bugs. Therefore, it is said that security is higher than the language “Solidity” used in Ethereum etc.
Diem BFT
Along with Move, the technology that ensures Aptos' security and scalability is a consensus mechanism called "Diem BFT", originally developed by Diem.
A consensus mechanism in a blockchain is like a “predetermined rule for consensus building”. In a decentralized network, transactions are not approved and recorded by specific people or organisations, but anyone who meets certain conditions can participate in the network as an approver and recorder.
Precisely because of the open nature that anyone can participate, in order for the network to function, it is necessary to enact various rules in advance, such as who approves and records transactions.
Network participants approve or disapprove of transactions according to these predefined rules, thereby forming a consensus for the entire network.
Diem BFT is based on a Byzantine fault-tolerant protocol called 'HotStuff' (the ability to function even if some nodes in the network are not functioning properly).
HotStuff is, in short, "a system in which an elected leader manages cooperation between nodes instead of all nodes communicating with each other". As a result, the number of messages exchanged between nodes can be greatly reduced, shortening the time required for consensus building.
In pursuit of further scalability and security, Meta mainly improved HotStuff's leader election process and developed Diem BFT. Aptos uses the latest version of Diem BFT, version 4.
Other technologies
In addition to Move and Diem BFT, Aptos has an engine that separates the consensus protocol from transaction execution and enables parallel processing of transactions based on an optimistic way that a transaction will be valid (" Block-STM”), we are working to improve scalability while maintaining security by installing technologies that are not often seen in other L1 chains.
ecosystem
Aptos, which has the above characteristics, is expected to be used in various fields such as DeFi , NFT, and games, and even at the time of writing, when the mainnet has not yet been launched, there are already more than 100 projects in the ecosystem. is built to
Liquid Swap (AMM)
The largest project on Aptos is “Liquid Swap,” an AMM (automated market maker) type DEX (distributed exchange) developed by Pontem Network. Similar to Uniswap, traders execute trades against a pool of tokens.
In 2021, Pontem Network raised $4.5 million (approximately 600 million dollars) from more than 30 investors, including Delphi Ventures, Alameda Ventures, Animoca Brands and Republic, in a funding round led by DeFi investment firm Mechanism Capital. yen) was procured.
In February of the same year, we also received a grant from the Web3 Foundation, which develops Polkadot, for the purpose of expanding the Move-based virtual machine and its ecosystem into the Polkadot ecosystem.
Pontem Network's products are not limited to AMM, but have a wide range of products such as "Move Playground", a code editor for Move that can be used on the browser, wallets, and smart contract construction tools.
Econia (DEX)
Econia is an order book DEX built on Aptos.
Traditional order book DEXs (e.g. Solana's Serum) process transactions one by one due to the nature of the underlying blockchain when there are many users wanting to buy or sell a certain token pair. I had a need.
On the other hand, Econia is built on Aptos, which allows parallel processing of transactions by implementing Block-STM (see above), so as shown in the figure below, multiple transactions related to buying and selling a single token pair can be executed. , can be parallelized at the same time.
This enables more efficient transactions than the existing order book type DEX.
Martian (wallet)
A project called Martin is developing a wallet that can be used on Aptos. Like Ethereum-based MetaMask, it is used when managing assets and connecting to dApps. As of the end of July 2010, more than 15,000 unique users have been confirmed.
Once you’re connected, you will see the “Simpler view”. This allows the user to quickly mint an NFT, without the need to create a collection before. You have an option to switch to “Advanced view” from a button in the top section. This gives more freedom to the user to create a collection and mint numerous NFTs to that collection.
Hippo Lab (Aggregator)
Hippo Lab, which features the Hippo logo, is building an aggregator that allows users to find the best trade rates among DEXs in the ecosystem through an app. At the time of writing, several trading functions have already been deployed on the testnet.
While Aptos is in its early days, we have already seen half a dozen emerging DEXs with their respective tech stack and product focus. We’ll do the footwork to interlink all DEXs so users always have access to the best trading rates within the Aptos ecosystem.
Partnership with Google
In April 2022, Aptos announced a partnership with Google Cloud. The partnership simplifies node setup, allowing anyone who wants to run a node to be set up in as little as 15 minutes.
Commenting on the partnership, co-founder Mo Shaikh said:
"I am impressed with Google Cloud's ability to act, their commitment to decentralized technology with access to 1 billion users, and the performance of the infrastructure they provide. The Google Cloud team was very smart and kept pace with us. We are excited about the possibilities that Google Cloud offers for Aptos users."
fundraising
Since the beginning of 2022, Aptos has been raising funds from industry-leading investment institutions such as Binance, a16z, and FTX.
March 22
$200 million (about 27 billion yen) raised
Participating investors: a16z (lead), Tiger Global, Katie Haun, Multicoin Capital, 3 Arrows Capital, FTX Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Paypal Ventures, etc.
same month
Investment by Binance Lab (VC division of exchange Binance) (unknown investment amount)
July 22
Raised $150 million (approximately ¥20 billion)
Participating Investors: FTX Ventures (Lead), Jump Crypto, Griffin Gaming Partners, Franklin Templeton, Circle Ventures, Superscrypt
Roadmap
Aptos successfully launched its developernet and testnet by Q2 2022 (at the time of writing). More than 20,000 nodes have already joined the developer net, Aptos said.
The testnet, which requires participation from the community, is scheduled to run in four runs, with the first two completed by July 2022.
The mainnet is scheduled to launch in Q3, and features are expected to be added gradually after that.
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