The Algorand protocol, which originated from Algorand Inc., was conceived by Turing Award winner (2012) Silvio Micali. The platform’s proposal, which developed the first open-source, public, and pure proof-of-stake blockchain protocol, is to reduce problems of the conventional financial system and create new products in this area.
The proposal is to promote the convergence of traditional financial products and decentralized finance (DeFi). To this end, Algorand is based on an open, public, and permissionless blockchain with an inclusive ecosystem. On its official page, the blockchain highlights “offering an opportunity for everyone to harness the potential of an equitable and truly borderless economy”.
Since the beginning of 2021, BRZ has been part of Algorand’s platform, which allows users of the stablecoin pegged to the Brazilian real to access a wide range of financial applications or payment methods.
What is Algorand?
Algorand is a decentralized network that integrates the traditional financial market and DeFi applications. Its technology has the proposal to provide more agile transactions with reduced costs.
The technology was designed precisely for this purpose (to reduce transaction costs and time). Its creator, Silvio Micali, is considered one of the main creators of cryptography in the world.
The network, which went live in June 2019, could already carry out nearly one million transactions per day in December 2020. In August 2021, the blockchain ranked 41st in the CoinMarkCap ranking. Today, the network is already used by more than 500 global organizations, which contribute to leveraging their technology.
At its launch, the platform held the inaugural auction of its cryptocurrency, ALGO, whose stock was sold out in less than four hours, according to a publication in the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo. At the time, Micali stressed that he was excited about the “sight of a borderless, reliable and decentralized economy coming to life with the first auction”.
What’s Algorand’s currency?
Algorand’s currency is ALGO, whose issuance is set at 10 billion units, which will be distributed until 2030. By December 2020, about 16 percent of this volume had already entered into circulation. On August 16, 2021, the ALGO price was set at US$ 0.9552, according to CoinMarketCap.
What is the Algorand Foundation?
The Algorand Foundation is dedicated to fulfilling the global commitments of blockchain technology, leveraging the Algorand protocol and its open-source software, with a vision of an inclusive ecosystem. The idea is to offer opportunities for everyone to harness the potential of an egalitarian, borderless economy.
The Algorand Foundation was the first organization to hold a fully transparent global auction on its blockchain. Just over a year after its creation, together with Algorand Inc., the foundation announced the update of its protocol, with the launch of features such as smart contracts that will enable the creation of DeFi solutions and dApps.
Does Algorand have a low environmental impact?
In April 2021, Algorand committed to being an environmentally sustainable network with zero carbon emissions. By formalizing a partnership with ClimaTrade, a company specialized in tracking CO2 emissions, the platform reaffirmed its zero-emissions goals.
“Algorand is experiencing accelerated adoption and network expansion. As this period of high growth continues, we find it essential to operate at a negative carbon level. In fact, sustainable growth is far better than growth”, said Micali, according to Yahoo.
It is worth noting that, since its creation, the network was designed to impact the environment minimally. Since its consensus is not based on energy-intensive work tests, the creation of its digital assets and the transactions on the blockchain results in CO2 emissions two million times lower than other platforms.
