Blockchain is the underlaying technology that supports cryptocurrencies and other elements related to the crypto space like NFTs.
Multiple independent blockchains run on the Ethereum protocol.
Photo Credit: Unsplash/ Shubham Dhage
2021 emerged to be groundbreaking for the overall crypto space. Along with cryptocurrencies, elements of the sector like Web3.0 and metaverse gaming, among others also witnessed a better understanding and adoption in many parts of the world. Stepping into 2022, there are other crypto-related technologies which are set to boom. Blockchain is one such technology to look out for. Blockchain is the underlying technology which supports cryptocurrencies.
This five-part series will help you with a deeper understanding of the broadening crypto space and its elements.
For 2022, I am bullish on 5 crypto sectors:
In previous editions, we have covered the top Web 3.0 Cryptos and the top Gaming and Metaverse Cryptos.
Today, let's talk about the top 5 Blockchains for 2022.
My list of top 5 blockchains are:
Let's start with a comparison of the basic metrics of these blockchains as of 14 Jan 2022:
| Name | Symbol | Market Cap ($ billion) | TVL ($ billion) | MCap/TVL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethereum | ETH | 384 | 147 | 2.6 |
| Binance Smart Chain | BNB | 79 | 15 | 5.4 |
| Avalanche | AVAX | 22 | 11 | 1.9 |
| Polygon | MATIC | 16 | 5.4 | 2.8 |
| Algorand | ALGO | 8.7 | NA | NA |
Note:
Sources: CoinMarketCap, Future Money Wallet, DefiLlama (rounded off)
1. Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is NOT a blockchain. It's NOT a cryptocurrency either! It's actually a protocol (a set of rules or procedures) like "HTTP" or "HTTPS."
Multiple independent blockchains run on the Ethereum protocol. When most people talk about Ethereum, they are talking about Mainnet — the primary public Ethereum production blockchain. This is where actual-value transactions occur on the blockchain. The native crypto of this Ethereum is Ether (ETH).
One of the greatest blockchain innovations is the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
EVM is "the environment in which all 'Ethereum' accounts and smart contracts live". Smart contracts are programs that run automatically when some pre-defined conditions are met.
The sole purpose of the Ethereum protocol is to keep "the continuous, uninterrupted, and immutable operation" of the EVM. At any given block, Ethereum has only one "canonical" or unique state. EVM defines the rules for computing new valid states from one block to another.
EVM exists as a single entity maintained by a large number of connected computers (nodes) running an Ethereum client such as Geth or OpenEthereum. A client is a software that enables nodes to read blocks on the blockchain and smart contracts.
The most popular Ethereum standards are ERC-20 (for fungible tokens like stablecoins) and ERC-721 (for non-fungible tokens). Then there are ERC-777 (improving ERC-20) and ERC-1155 (which contains both fungible and non-fungible assets).
Gas refers to the unit that measures the amount of computational effort required to execute specific operations on the Ethereum network.
Each Ethereum transaction requires a fee called "gas" because each transaction consumes computational resources. The gas fee is paid in ETH and denoted in gwei (0.000000001 ETH).
Block time is the time it takes to mine a new block (a bunch of transactions). The average Ethereum block time is 12 to 14 seconds.
Ethereum started the concept of decentralised finance (DeFi) and today an amazing multi-billion dollar ecosystem has evolved around it:
Consensus mechanism: Proof of work
Binance Chain, the first blockchain from Binance, is optimized for fast decentralized trading but lacks smart contracts and strong programmability.
That's why Binance Smart Chain (BSC) was created. It runs parallel to the original Binance Chain, has smart contract functionality, and is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
BSC is an independent blockchain and is not a layer two or off-chain scalability solution.
Binance Smart Chain has a block time of around 3 seconds. The native token of both blockchains is BNB.
Validators stake BNB and can receive transaction fees. Unlike Bitcoin, there is no block reward by way of newly minted BNB. This is because BNB is not inflationary. Instead, the supply of BNB decreases over time, because the Binance team regularly "burns" coins.
Interestingly, BEP-2 and BEP-8 tokens from Binance Chain can be swapped for BEP-20 tokens on BSC. This can be easily done using the Binance Chain Wallet.
Consensus mechanism: Proof of Staked Authority
Avalanche is a popular Decentralised Finance (DeFi) blockchain.
The top DeFi protocols that run on Avalanche are AAVE, Trader Joe, Wonderland, Benqi, and Curve.
What I like the most about Avalanche is that it lets anyone launch customized private & public blockchains.
Avalanche, with a transactional throughput of more than 4,500 tps, performs phenomenally faster than Bitcoin (7 tps), Ethereum (14 tps), and Polkadot (1,500 tps).
In terms of transactional finality, Avalanche (less than 2 seconds) leads as compared to Bitcoin (60 minutes), Ethereum (6 minutes), and Polkadot (60 seconds).
AVAX is Avalanche's native token and it can be used for staking, paying fees, and providing a unit of account between the multiple subnetworks created on Avalanche.
Consensus mechanism: Snow protocol family (leaderless Byzantine fault tolerance protocols)
The Ethereum blockchain is slow and costly. Polygon has a bunch of products and services to solve this problem.
Polygon's software development kit enables the building of Ethereum sidechains - blockchains linked to Ethereum via a two-way peg. These sidechains are of multiple types:
MATIC is Polygon's native token and has the following uses:
Consensus mechanism: Proof of stake
Algorand is a new-gen blockchain that is bridging the decentralized and centralized world of finance. Its native crypto is ALGO.
Algorand Standard Assets run on the blockchain's "Layer-1" and include fungible, non-fungible, restricted fungible, and restricted non-fungible assets.
Here's what I like the best about Algorand Standard Assets:
Another feature I like in Algorand is "Rekeying in Layer-1", which enables a user to change their private key without changing the public address.
Consensus mechanism: Pure Proof of Stake.
Next edition: The top DeFi cryptos
Rohas Nagpal is the author of the Future Money Playbook and Chief Blockchain Architect at the Wrapped Asset Project. He is also an amateur boxer and a retired hacker. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.
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