Aleo

Aleo is a blockchain-based privacy computing platform designed to build a decentralized privacy computing network. It leverages advanced technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs and decentralized identity verification. This network enables users to securely share data, perform computations, and access applications, all while protecting personal privacy and data security.

Web 3.0, Effortlessly Earn in the Era

Introduction

In the cryptocurrency market, 2024 is predicted by many market experts as a crucial year for the onset of a new bull market. This prediction is underpinned by several potential factors that could drive the bull market. Among these, the next Bitcoin (BTC) halving event and the anticipated launch of the BTC spot ETF in 2024 are seen as key catalysts. Such prospects will undoubtedly attract a large influx of new investors into the field, seeking investment opportunities.

Among the myriad of cryptocurrency projects, Aleo, with its unique Layer1 privacy blockchain technology, has garnered significant attention. As a leading contender in the zero-knowledge-proof space, Aleo has attracted attention from global capital. Its emergence in the cryptocurrency sector has undoubtedly injected new vitality into the market, making it an indispensable part. The wealth effect of blockchain has already tempted traditional finance to participate, and those interested in joining Aleo’s early mining should add WeChat as mentioned at the end of this article.

Many exchanges have already listed Aleo’s futures, and its off-exchange price has soared to nearly $3,000. This project has achieved a high level of consensus, demonstrating the potential for hundredfold or even thousandfold growth. It is scheduled to launch on 30 leading exchanges in the first quarter of 2024, with an opening price expected to be quite remarkable! As Bao Erye says, “When the bull market comes, you need to have coins,” so many institutions and individuals have already started to enter the fray, with FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) sentiment running high in the Aleo market.

Aleo overview

Introduction to Aleo

Project Name: Aleo

Track: Privacy-focused blockchain based on Zero-Knowledge (ZK)

Initial Supply: 1.5 billion tokens

Total Supply Over 10 Years: Estimated at 2.6 billion

Launch Date: Q1 2024

Expected Listings: 5 major exchanges, 30 top-tier exchanges

Website: Aleo Official Website

Twitter: Aleo Twitter

Discord: Aleo Discord

GitHub: Aleo GitHub

Blog: Aleo Blog

Bitcoin and Ethereum, well-known by everyone, fall into the third and fourth quadrants, both lacking privacy features. Although Ethereum has some programmability, it hasn’t demonstrated a stronger advantage compared to Bitcoin. Looking back, privacy-focused products in the second quadrant were once a hot topic in the market. ZCash, as a typical representative, has extensive applications in anonymous transactions. With innovative zero-knowledge-proof technology, ZCash successfully combines privacy with transaction functionality. However, ZCash’s limitation lies in its inability to merge privacy with broader programmability. Therefore, it’s foreseeable that the next market opportunity and focus will revolve around projects that can seamlessly integrate privacy and programmability.

Aleo belongs to the first quadrant. Aleo is the first public blockchain project to address privacy issues using zero-knowledge proofs while ensuring programmable features. Specifically, Aleo safeguards user privacy through zero-knowledge proof technology, including concealing participants, amounts, timing, and smart contract interaction details. Moreover, Aleo empowers users with choices; they can opt out of privacy mode, ensuring ultimate control over their information, and deciding which details to disclose or conceal. Furthermore, Aleo utilizes zero-knowledge cryptography to execute smart contracts off-chain, supporting various DApps and ensuring scalability (thousands of transactions per second).

Compared to other public blockchains, Aleo’s uniqueness lies in its robust privacy protection and on-chain scalability. Currently, smart contracts on blockchains face two major limitations: being fully open and transparent in design, which compromises privacy, and their inability to scale to millions or even billions of users, unable to support large-scale real-time online applications, such as real-time online games or activities with millions of users. To address these issues, Aleo leverages zero-knowledge-proof encryption technology to not only achieve privacy protection but also handle massive data, achieving scalability. This resolves the problem of current internet data leaks and bridges the gap with blockchain’s transparency. Aleo can process vast amounts of data in real time, providing rich scalability comparable to current internet platforms, and giving Aleo a significant competitive advantage in the market.

Aleo, as the first decentralized full-stack development platform for privacy applications and one of the few large-scale zero-knowledge native blockchains, utilizes zero-knowledge proofs to address privacy and confidentiality issues in blockchain, supporting private and secure transactions, data sharing, and computation. It pioneers privacy protection in blockchain and offers practical solutions to traditional blockchain-related privacy issues. Aleo boasts a strong team background, substantial financial reserves, institutional support, and the ability to attract developers and users to join the new ecosystem, potentially becoming a leader in the web 3.0 privacy vertical.

Information leakage and data privacy issues are frequent occurrences on today’s internet. Aleo’s vision is to solve this problem while building a truly personal and private network user experience. Aleo strongly advocates privacy technologies in the blockchain ecosystem and provides a service platform that incorporates privacy technologies into web applications, increasing digital freedom and accessibility worldwide. Aleo CEO Alex Pruden states: “Providing security and scalability to the world.”

The Aleo team believes that in the next decade, web services will be ubiquitous, extending beyond just browsers and having a presence in many more places, intelligently computing every intimate detail of people’s lives. People’s personal lives have become a “public commodity,” becoming more personalized with the development of web services, regardless of where they live. Therefore, the relationship between people and their data, and how people manage their data, is a question that everyone should consider in the future.

Aleo co-founder Howard Wu says, “Aleo will reshape the role of decentralized systems in our society and introduce new paradigms to our digital way of life. Privacy will no longer be just a feature but will become a core function. To shape the future, Aleo is leveraging two cutting-edge technologies (blockchain and zero-knowledge proofs) and harnessing the innovation of each technology to provide a full-stack solution, allowing anyone to build privacy-centric web applications by default. We are excited to have the support of visionary investors who recognize the importance of privacy in the next decade.”

The Background of the Aleo Team

The team behind ALEO comprises a group of seasoned professionals with diverse backgrounds in cryptography, blockchain technology, and software development. This project is led by individuals who have previously participated in well-known industry projects, ensuring that ALEO is built on a foundation of experience and expertise. The team’s commitment to transparency and cutting-edge technology is the driving force behind ALEO’s development.

The Aleo team consists of world-class cryptographers, engineers, designers, and operators from companies such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook, as well as research universities like the University of California, Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, New York University, and Cornell University. The team currently consists of over 30 members, including professionals in finance and law, and more than 40 code contributors, including experts and scholars in the field of cryptography. The number of code contributors is a tangible indicator of a project’s quality.

Aleo was officially founded by the current CTO, Howard Wu, in 2019. He co-authored a foundational paper titled “Zexe: Implementing Decentralized Private Computation” that applies zero-knowledge proofs to web3. Other co-founders include Michael Beller, Collin Chin, and Raymond Chu. The current CEO of Aleo is Alex Pruden, a former partner at a16z, which indirectly led to a $28 million investment in Aleo by A16Z in April 2021. Their reasons for founding or joining Aleo are rooted in their individual stories and sense of mission, which contribute to understanding Aleo’s original purpose and grand vision.

The updated composition of the Aleo team highlights changes in the organizational structure:

• -Howard Wu is a co-founder and CEO of Provable (formerly Aleo), continues to play a leading role in the fields of blockchain and cryptography.
• • Alex Pruden now serves as the Executive Director of the Aleo Foundation, committed to advancing the project’s strategic direction and growth.

New team members include:

• • Koh Harada (Chief Operating Officer)
• • Bradley Feingerts (Chief Financial Officer)
• • Sina Kian (General Legal Counsel)
• • Brennen Schlueter (Head of Marketing)
• • Joanna Zeng (Head of Business Development)
• • Viviane Ford (Community Leader)
• • Daniel Hwang (Head of Ecosystem)

Aleo’s Funding Scale

The Aleo project has garnered favor from renowned venture capital institutions such as SoftBank Vision Fund, Samsung, Coinbase Ventures, a16z, Polychain Capital, Galaxy Digital, and Kora Management, successfully attracting substantial investments. This fact underscores investors’ high confidence in the project’s future potential. Through three rounds of funding, the Aleo project has raised a total of $298 million in funds, setting a record in the field of zero-knowledge proofs.

Currently, Aleo has officially disclosed three funding rounds: A-round, B-round, and B+. The A-round secured $28 million, the B-round raised $200 million, and the B+ round collected $70 million. The total funding amount stands at $298 million, with a market valuation of $1.45 billion.

• The A-round funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) in April 2021, saw participation from institutions like PlaceholderVC, Galaxy Digital, Variant Capital, and Coinbase Ventures. Other investors included Polychain Capital, Slow Ventures, Dekrypt Capital, Scalar Capital, a_capital, zkValidator, Balaji Srinivasan, and the new venture fund Ethereal Ventures founded by Joseph Lubin.
• The B-round, which took place in February 2022, was led by Kora Management LP and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Tiger Global, Sea Capital, Samsung Next, Slow Ventures, and a16z also participated, raising a record-breaking $200 million in the field of zero-knowledge proofs.
• In August 2022, Aleo secured an additional $70 million in a B+ round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 and Samsung Next. This brought Aleo into the public eye, attracting the attention of numerous professionals in the cryptocurrency field, capital institutions, and traditional server manufacturers.
  

Why has Aleo gained favor from giants like A16Z, Google, and SoftBank? Undoubtedly, it is due to the current hot streak in the privacy track. In addition to this, Aleo’s investors include Kora Management LP, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, among others, who are also investors in popular apps like Dingdong Maicai, Oranges Heart, and Keep. In the investment field, they are undoubtedly “unicorns.”

In summary, for most investors, among the three factors “technology, capital, and market,” capital carries the most weight. This is because the operators behind the capital are professional teams, and their risk management and project audits are very strict. Thus, it can be seen that Aleo’s backers are all top-tier investment institutions in the industry, with substantial strength and funding that can support long-term project research and operations.

• A16Z official website’s announcement on ALEO investment information
  https://a16z.com/2021/04/20/investing-in-aleo/
• A16Z investment list includes ALEO
  https://a16z.com/investments/
• SoftBank official website enters Vision Fund Phase 2 official website
  https://group.softbank/en
• Vision Fund Phase 2 official website
  https://visionfund.com/portfolio
• Samsung NEXT official website
  https://www.samsungnext.com/blog/y-we-invested-in-aleo-the-platform-for-building-private-blockchain-applications

It’s worth mentioning that, in reading A16z’s investment memo about Aleo, they mentioned that Aleo might be one of the most execution-driven teams they have ever encountered. In the nearly blank field of crypto and ZKP, they not only built the testnet in a very short time but also created their own programming language, Leo, along with the corresponding development framework and environment, Aleo Studio. Founder Howard Wu made 32 commits in one month on the GitHub code repository, indicating the core team’s extreme diligence in development.

Aleo Advantages and Prospects

Aleo Advantages Summary:

Privacy, security, scalability, high performance, usability, and editability are the six major advantages of Aleo.

Aleo Highlights Analysis:

• In-House Technology: Aleo has broken the blockchain trilemma by balancing efficiency, programmability, and privacy, making it a fusion of L2, ETH, and ZEC. Its privacy computing capabilities and big data processing push forward the entire web3.0.
• Capital Involvement: Aleo has already secured $298 million in funding, with investments from renowned international institutions like A16z, Coinbase, Tiger Global, Samsung, and SoftBank.
• GPU Market Opportunity: With ETH transitioning from PoW to PoS since December 1, 2022, there is a void in the GPU market. Aleo aims to claim the second spot in the mining world.
• Economic Model: Aleo employs a PoW physical machine + PoS on-chain staking model, eliminating mining risks. zkCloud ensures cost predictability.
• Early Mainnet Launch: Aleo’s mainnet is set to launch in Q1 2024, with expectations to go live in January. Historically, early participants have seen profitable returns within 1-2 months.
• Global Consensus: Aleo attracts major players, including Sparkpool, the world’s largest Ethereum mining pool, Bitmain, Hong Kong Moer, Russia’s 1to, and numerous IPFS veterans.
  

Bull and Bear Transition Opportunity:

With less than 4 months until BTC halving, the bull market is approaching quickly, leaving limited time for strategic positioning.

Aleo User Benefits:

• Entering a Truly Personalized Web: Aleo allows users to reclaim their data from large companies and platforms while managing their own data.
• Strong Privacy Protection: Aleo’s zk-SNARKs privacy protocol efficiently handles large volumes of sensitive data, making it attractive to businesses safeguarding customer and corporate data.
• Security: Aleo ensures network security and stability through node validation and transaction processing.
• Decentralization: Aleo’s decentralized system architecture promotes fair and transparent data processing, avoiding single points of failure.
• Investment Opportunities: Aleo tokens can be used for investments and financing projects, such as decentralized application (dApp) development and promotion, offering new financial tools for businesses.

Summary: Aleo offers compelling solutions in privacy protection, data processing, security, and fund flow, making it highly attractive and advantageous.

Aleo Extensive Use Cases:

• Data Privacy Protection: Aleo can construct decentralized applications and contracts to ensure complete data privacy.
• Copyright Protection: Aleo can build decentralized copyright protection applications and contracts to safeguard intellectual property rights.
• Supply Chain Management: Aleo can develop decentralized supply chain management applications and contracts to track and manage product origins and the circular economy.
• Healthcare: Aleo can create decentralized healthcare applications and contracts to protect sensitive medical and other data, ensuring data accuracy and integrity.
• Asset Management: Aleo can construct decentralized asset management applications and contracts to protect digital and other assets, ensuring transaction security and legal compliance.
• Financial Services: Aleo can develop decentralized financial services applications and contracts to ensure transparency and security in transactions while protecting data and privacy.
• Social Media: Aleo can build decentralized social media applications and contracts to protect user data and privacy while promoting decentralized content dissemination.

Aleo Outlook Analysis:

Analyzing the Aleo project’s industry, it can be approached through zero-knowledge proofs (ZK) and Layer1 technology.

In the ZK field, as hardware accelerates and infrastructure improves, ZK technology becomes more practical, impacting various areas such as metaverse, Web3, cryptocurrencies, finance, and privacy. ZK’s development is still in its early stages, standing out among encryption algorithms due to its excellent algorithmic characteristics and usability.

Applied to blockchain, ZK technology promises faster blockchain networks and open, private applications. It has become a core supporting tool for blockchain ecosystems. Ensuring privacy and scalability, it is vital for the future of blockchain and web3. This is the potential application outlook for zero-knowledge proofs, and it’s Aleo Network’s outlook as well.

Regarding Layer1, unlike Layer2 projects like Starware, zkSync, and Scroll, Aleo Network has its snarkVM, Leo programming language, Aleo Studio development environment, PoSW consensus mechanism, and more. In the ZK domain, applications and ecosystems developed based on Aleo surpass Layer2 ZK projects. The market potential and capital influx are substantial.

Aleo Project capitalizes on the adoption of zero-knowledge proof technology. Thus, the opportunities in the ZK field are also opportunities for the Aleo project, particularly for a Layer1 blockchain.

In terms of Layer1 blockchain, Aleo’s own smart contracts, development environment, programming language, consensus mechanism, and economic model make it more attractive for potential market ecosystems, attracting more users and value. This is Aleo’s opportunity and advantage in positioning itself as a Layer1 project.

Aleo Economic Model:

Aleo Initial Supply: 1.5 billion

• 8% allocated to strategic partners
• 15% allocated to team members and contributors
• 17% allocated to Aleo company and Aleo foundation
• 25% allocated to various service providers
• 35% allocated to early supporters

Please note that the current description of the economic model is still “approximately.” This means there may still be variables before the mainnet goes live.

The distribution of tokens may change over time in two ways: naturally and algorithmically.

Some contributors may sell their tokens to cover expenses, transferring allocations from initial holders. Algorithmically, distribution will change significantly as “staking” and “proof” rewards increase token circulation supply.

This means that over 50% of Aleo tokens will be distributed to the public within 10 years. As time goes on, early supporters’ community will become increasingly decentralized.

Since the lock-up release plan for 1.5 billion tokens has not been announced yet, the total release amount in the first year is expected to be substantial. Therefore, it is speculated that due to the large total supply, the token’s price may not be very high initially. However, with the increase in supply, the token has the potential to enter the top 20 or even the top 10 in terms of market capitalization, as its value will be significant, even with a moderate price.

Token Utility:

Aleo tokens allow users and developers to access verification and data services on the network while compensating network security providers, playing a vital role in creating a mutually beneficial ecosystem:

• Access Granting: Tokens are used to access block space and computing resources on the network. Users pay tokens to submit and process transactions.
• Creating Incentives: Provers and validators receive Aleo tokens as rewards for protecting the network, fostering a strong decentralized network.
• Enabling Staking: Tokens can be staked with validators to generate blocks and provide network security. Stakers receive corresponding network rewards.
• Driving Governance: After the mainnet launch, Aleo token holders can participate in decentralized governance, voting for upgrades and protocol changes.

Stakers

Stakers are individuals or organizations who lock their tokens for a period to contribute to the security of the Aleo network. They can lock at least one AleoToken to help ensure the network’s security, but they won’t start receiving staking rewards until they lock at least ten tokens. Like other stakers on decentralized networks, they delegate some of their AleoTokens to validators, thus contributing the corresponding weight to consensus participation. They will then receive AleoTokens in proportion to the number of tokens they have staked.

Provers

Sometimes referred to as ZK miners or ZK provers, they are a special type of zero-knowledge infrastructure on the Aleo network. They use dedicated GPUs and CPUs to compete against each other, contributing to Aleo by solving the PoSW (Succinct Work Proof) Coinbase challenge. The better the provers are at solving Aleo Coinbase challenges, the higher their chances of receiving Aleo Coinbase rewards. Many provers receive a portion of the Coinbase rewards based on the number of valid challenge solutions they submit.

Validators

Validators must possess at least one million AleoTokens. Validators protect the network’s infrastructure services through AleoBFT, a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism that leverages recent research developments like Bullshark and its Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) Narwhal-Style memory pool optimization. Users can package and upload off-chain information with significantly reduced network requirements (sometimes referred to as “gas” fees). Even so, they can maintain reliable security based on the proof-of-stake model and reduce the sharing of sensitive data by packaging it into zero-knowledge proofs. Validators use SnarkOS software to verify and confirm transaction blocks, participating in Aleo’s consensus mechanism to reach a consistent state. They can include proofs from provers when creating blocks and are rewarded for protecting the network.

Aleo Price Prediction

Here, we offer a conservative prediction, and the actual value may differ from the current forecast.

Using the simplest forecasting method: considering Aleo’s second and second-plus-round financing costs to be approximately 0.45-1.5 U, it is estimated that there will be around 60 million unstaked coins in VC hands in the first year. With Aleo’s total financing of around 298 million USD, assuming VC’s first-year target is to break even, the bulk sale price for the approximately 60 million unstaked coins should not be less than 5 USD. Therefore, it will be necessary to gradually increase the price to 10 USD or more to secure market control. Thus, the estimated price of Aleo after the mainnet launch is between 13-16 USD.

Please note that this is for reference only! However, it’s worth noting that on non-small numbers, Aleo has already increased by more than 6 times the value of 50 U, and we believe it will perform even better after it goes live.

Aleo Genesis Mining Participation

Bitcoin mined 115 coins on the first day, worth around 55 million at bull market prices. Ethereum mined 7,200 coins on the first day, worth over 120 million at current prices. The amount mined in the first two months of Aleo’s Genesis Mining may take two years to mine at later stages. Currently, the first-tier allocation of Aleo has sold out, so it is recommended that those who want to participate in Aleo’s Genesis Mining should get involved as soon as possible. Don’t hesitate when you’re excited, as hesitation can cost you millions.

To participate in the first batch of Aleo Genesis Mining opportunities, the only feasible way at the moment is by purchasing Aleo servers. Historically, every Genesis Mining has been the most rewarding, so by getting in early, you can be among the first to participate and gain more Aleo.

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