Introduction

Layer 1 blockchains are the primary chains, supporting everything from the consensus algorithm and underlying protocol to the transaction ledger. Notable giants in this sector are Bitcoin and Ethereum. This layer is where all transaction processes, data storage, and security protocols occur.

For effectiveness, Every Layer 1 blockchain must balance the three qualities: decentralization, security, and scalability. Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, presented this challenge as the ‘Blockchain Trilemma’, suggesting that optimizing one quality often compromises another.

Bitcoin, for instance, prioritized security and decentralization, but faced scalability limitations, processing typically fewer than 10 transactions per second due to its 4 MB block size and 10-minute block interval. On the other hand, Ethereum, in its transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), sacrificed some degree of decentralization in favor of scalability.

Aleph Zero leverages its peer-reviewed Directed Acyclic Graph and BFT (DAG) consensus protocol, to tackle the issues of speed, scalability, validation time, and security that have plagued other blockchains. This guide explores Aleph Zero’s distinct features, growing ecosystem, and proposed tokenomics.

What is Aleph Zero (AZERO)?

Source: Alephzero.org

Aleph Zero is a public blockchain that offers enhanced privacy features and seamlessly integrates with the Substrate stack. Substrate is a framework that allows developers to build a unique blockchain for a particular use case.

Developed on a unique peer-reviewed consensus protocol, Aleph Zero utilizes a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) architecture as an intermediary data structure, resulting in a rapid time to finality. Aleph Zero addresses many of the limitations inherent in contemporary distributed ledger technologies. Its key offerings include faster transaction per second (TPS), rapid validation times, scalability, and robust security.

In performance tests using the Golang programming language, It clocked validation times at 416 milliseconds while processing an estimated 89,600 TPS. This test was conducted across 112 nodes on Amazon Web Services (AWS), distributed over five continents. The Mainnet version of Aleph Zero is developed using the Rust programming language, tailored for compatibility with Parity’s Substrate tech stack. While Rust will offer enhanced performance, this integration may lead to fewer figures than those observed in the Golang test.

Aleph Zero is still under development, but it has already been used to build several decentralized applications (dApps), including a decentralized exchange (DEX) and a lending platform. Aleph Zero has a number of unique features that make it stand out from other blockchains, including its use of asynchronous BFT and DAGs. Aleph Zero is a promising project with a strong team and a well-defined roadmap. It is worth keeping an eye on as it continues to develop.

Brief History of Aleph Zero

The Aleph Zero Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the adoption and development of decentralized technologies.

Aleph Zero has been developing since early 2018 and its white paper was presented at the Advances in Financial Technologies (AFT) 2019 conference in Zurich, on the 22nd of October. Fast forward to 2020, the team successfully completed a seed funding round. This was followed by a public sale in the early part of 2021. The Aleph Zero Foundation finally released the first version of its mainnet on November 10, 2021.

Founders

Aleph Zero’s founding team comprises innovative minds, including Adam Gągol, Michał Świętek, Antoni Żółciak, and Matthew Niemerg. Each brings a unique set of skills and experience to the team. Dr. Adam Gągol holds a Ph.D. in mathematics, where he has contributed significantly to the field by exploring the applications of the probabilistic method in combinatorics.

Antoni Żółciak brings over a decade of valuable experience in technology marketing. His professional journey has involved him in various public relations and content creation ventures, collaborating with renowned companies like ING, Samsung, Sony, Olympus, and Nikon.

Dr. Matthew Niemerg’s career spans across diverse domains, encompassing distributed ledger technology, cryptography, and high-performance computing. Alongside their involvement with Aleph Zero, these co-founders are the driving force behind Cardinal Cryptography, a reputable cryptography consulting firm, and Aleph Zero’s trusted development partner.

The core team at Aleph Zero is a fusion of talent from various scientific and business backgrounds. They share a common vision—to construct robust, decentralized systems poised to meet the challenges of the metaverse and the transition to Web3, with a strong emphasis on security.

How Does Aleph Zero Work?

Source: Aleph Zero

Aleph Zero is a layer-1 blockchain powered by the AlephBFT consensus algorithm. AlephBFT is a peer-reviewed protocol that can tolerate asynchronous Byzantine failures, meaning that it can continue to operate even if some nodes are malicious or unavailable.

Utilizing Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT), Aleph Zero ensures effective and transparent communication between nodes, even in the presence of potentially malicious nodes. The BFT consensus framework operates on the assumption that as long as less than one-third (⅓) of the nodes within the network act maliciously and at least two-thirds (⅔) behave honestly, the blockchain remains secure, preserving an untampered transaction history.

To address the challenges of implementing BFT in a decentralized setting, Aleph Zero uses rotating committees. This means that different groups of nodes are responsible for validating transactions at different times. This makes it more difficult for malicious nodes to collude and disrupt the network.

Aleph Zero also uses asynchronous operations to improve its security. This means that nodes can operate independently and do not need to wait for each other to respond before confirming a transaction. This makes the network more resilient to disruptions.

Further, AlephBFT is a fusion of Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism and Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs). PoS allows nodes to participate in the consensus process by staking their tokens. DAGs are a type of data structure that allows for parallel transaction processing, which can improve scalability. The combination of BFT, DAGs, and asynchronous operations makes Aleph Zero one of the most secure and scalable blockchains available today, enabling accelerated transaction processing, superior throughput, and substantially reduced transaction costs.

In conclusion, Aleph Zero stands out as an incredibly innovative blockchain platform, with the AlephBFT consensus protocol providing a winning combination of PoS and DAG. The platform’s innovative approach to cybersecurity, via Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) and rotating committees, enables it to tackle all the challenges of decentralization, ensuring data integrity and overall system functionality.

Unique Features

Enhanced Privacy

Aleph Zero ensures privacy by creating its privacy layer named Liminal. Within Liminal, a duo of advanced techniques, zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-SNARKs), and Secure Multiparty Computation (sMPC) are combined to protect user transaction details. While ZK-SNARKs maintain transaction privacy yet allow for network validation, sMPC divides data into fragments, ensuring that no single node can view the entire dataset.

Interoperability

Aleph Zero seeks to ensure compatibility across various blockchain networks. Although Aleph Zero doesn’t operate as a parachain, it has strategically acquired a parachain slot. The primary goal is to construct a cross-chain bridge to Polkadot. This integration will enable seamless communication and data between Aleph Zero and other prominent networks such as Polkadot, Cosmos, and Ethereum, expanding the reach and utility of the platform.

Thriving Ecosystem and Funding Program

Aleph Zero unveiled the Ecosystem Funding Program (EFP) to promote a diverse ecosystem of decentralized applications (dApps) and projects. This program provides grants, of up to $500,000, alongside knowledge sharing and supplementary resources. EFP attracts developers and builders to join the Aleph Zero community.

Decentralized Validation

To guarantee decentralization, Aleph Zero adopted a mechanism that appoints a rotating committee of random members to decide on the future of the network. These validators are responsible for confirming the blockchain’s current state and are selected through a randomized election process.

Hub And Spoke Model

In its unique “hub and spoke” structure, businesses have the opportunity to uphold a private ‘spoke’ or segment, which effortlessly interfaces with the primary decentralized record. Consequently, businesses are empowered to engage with each other in a trust-free manner. This promotes operational efficiency, and cost savings and also ensures the confidentiality of each business’s private network.

Blockchain Security

Traditional Proof of Stake (PoS) systems typically penalize misbehaving validators by slashing, or partially taking away, their staked cryptocurrency. In contrast, Aleph Zero introduces an on-chain governance method featuring a “freezing” process. This entails temporarily halting the staked assets of any suspicious validator. Once frozen, a thorough investigation ensues to determine whether the anomaly arose from an internal glitch or if the node was genuinely exhibiting malicious behavior. The outcome and subsequent actions are tailored to the specifics of each situation. Aleph Zero believes this method offers a more equitable solution compared to the conventional slashing approach.

Aleph Zero Ecosystem

Sources: Altcoin Buzz

The Aleph Zero network encompasses a range of linked projects, collaborations, and initiatives all focused on shaping the future of Web3. It houses dApps developed in-house by team members and hosts third-party apps and integrations.

Here’s a brief overview of some projects native to the Aleph Zero Ecosystem:

ArtZero

Source: Aleph Zero

ArtZero is an NFT marketplace built on Aleph Zero. It provides quick and easy access to NFT trade from different collections and artists.

Liminal

Source: Aleph Zero

Liminal presents a new layer of privacy and security for Web3 projects, serving as a gateway between various blockchains like Ethereum, Near, Kusama, Cosmos, and Binance Smart Chain. Its strength lies in the blend of zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-SNARKs) and Secure Multiparty Computation (sMPC). While ZK-SNARKs offer privacy for basic transfers and allow private state updates to be verified by the blockchain, they fall short in managing global private states. This gap is bridged by sMPCs, enabling a decentralized exchange model without disclosing transaction values. However, due to sMPC’s speed constraints, Liminal smartly reserves it for computations needing direct global private state interactions, using ZK-SNARKs for other validations.

Common

Source: Aleph Zero

Common is a cutting-edge multichain tool designed to empower traders with both efficiency and discretion, all while adhering to regulatory standards. Its features include:

Ample Liquidity: Drawn from both internal and external sources, ensuring smooth trades.

Privacy-centric Order System: Orders stay concealed until the moment of execution, offering an extra layer of discretion.

Multichain Trade Support: Seamlessly trade across various blockchain platforms.

Common Institutional Suite: Tailored specifically for institutional investors, this suite embraces the best of decentralized finance (DeFi).

Innovative Seedless Wallet: Facilitating more streamlined and efficient transactions.

Robust Protection: Guarding against potential Miner Extractable Value (MEV) threats and front-running tactics.

Partnership

Aleph Zero has ongoing partnerships with various development teams to create third-party integrations. Some of these include:

Panorama Swap

Source: Aleph Zero

Panorama Swap is an innovative decentralized exchange developed on Aleph Zero. Their goal is to introduce a robust platform that enables permissionless trading of digital assets. Leveraging the Aleph Zero consensus algorithm, they promise ultra-quick exchanges and an uncomplicated, effective way to provide liquidity.

Gatenox

Source: Aleph Zero

They are a leading technology provider, delivering unparalleled corporate onboarding experiences. Specializing in Anti-Money Laundering, Know-Your-Customer/Know-Your-Business frameworks. Gatenox caters particularly to the Web3 and DeFi ecosystem. From startups to established corporations, Gatenox equips all with the essentials to smoothly onboard and oversee clientele in today’s digital age.

What is AZERO Token?

Currently, AZERO’s supply stands at 343.72M, with an initial circulation of 160,000,000 AZERO. The coin has an inflationary nature, releasing 30 million annually as staking rewards, and is projected to have an unlimited supply. While there’s no established method for burning AZERO coins as of now, the possibility remains open, especially as the ecosystem develops further.

Proposed Tokenomics

Source: DiamondAtlas

Aleph Zero has structured a strategic token distribution:

1. Foundation and Team Allocation: Aleph Zero Foundation received 23% of the tokens, with a significant chunk reserved for research, development, marketing, operations, and ecosystem incentives. This allocation is also meant for non-core treasury expenses, which will be open for community voting in later decentralization phases.

2. Development Team: The team was allocated 10%, with 80% locked for a year and then vested over four years.

3. Pre-seed Funding Round (2018): AZERO tokens were issued at $0.04 each via Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT), distributing 16,667% of them. Half were made available at the Token Generation Event (TGE), with the rest vested for 15 months.

4. Seed Round: 16,667% of the tokens were distributed, of these, 71.42% were unlocked at TGE, and the remainder was vested for 6 months. Tokens were priced at $0.057.

5. Early Community Round: 5% of tokens were vested between 14-64 days post-TGE, with a token price of $0.07.

6. Public Presale: This resulted in 18.33% of the tokens being distributed, with a 12-month vesting period.

7. Public Sale (2021): AZERO tokens were sold at $0.10 each, a 150% increase from the pre-seed funding price. All tokens from this round were unlocked during TGE.

Is Aleph Zero (AZERO) a Good Investment?

Aleph Zero is a Layer 1 Blockchain, aiming to thrive where giants like Bitcoin and Ethereum have failed. By optimizing decentralization, scalability, and security, Aleph Zero could be the next big thing, backed by leading VCs including your favorite cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io.

Aleph Zero enables businesses, governments, and developers to build new solutions that will benefit from using a decentralized architecture and offers several use cases that go beyond the Web3 ecosystem.

However, like any investment, investing in the project carries certain risks, including the volatility of the cryptocurrency market and potential regulatory changes. Investors should always do their own research and assess their risk tolerance before investing in any cryptocurrency. Further, it’s important to remember that investing in Aleph Zero or any other crypto project, does not guarantee a profit and could result in a loss of capital.

How to Own AZERO

You can buy AZERO from centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. For example, Gate.io offers traders the following trading pair: AZERO/USDT. To own the token, create a Gate.io account, and complete the registration process. Also, you need to fund your spot trading account and go through the steps to buy AZERO.

Highlights

FINMA No-Action Letter

Source: Aleph Zero

Aleph Zero has received a no-action letter from FINMA, Switzerland’s financial regulator. FINMA has approved Aleph Zero’s business model as compliant with the laws of Switzerland, indicating no need for special authorization for issuing the $AZERO token. This ensures Aleph Zero Protocol meets all necessary legal and regulatory standards for its launch.

Snaps

Source: Aleph Zero

Snaps is a feature that allows users to access different layer-1 blockchains without needing to install different extensions or wallet applications. This feature enables the primarily Ethereum-based wallet app to become interoperable with other layer-1 blockchains, such as Bitcoin, Solana, and Cosmos chains.

Following the recent release of MetaMask Snaps, Aleph Zero announced via X (formerly Twitter) that its own variant Aleph Zero Snap is in the works.

Ink!

Source: Aleph Zero

Ink! is a toolkit for developing Smart contracts on Polkadot. Aleph Zero embarked on a partnership with Astar Network and Phala Network to build ink! Hub, a set of tools designed to simplify the ink! development workflow, benefiting every project in the ink! ecosystem.

Take Action on AZERO

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