IOST
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About IOST
IOST is an enterprise-grade blockchain network designed to meet the security and scalability needs of a decentralized economy. Launched in 2018, IOST aims to pioneer a new architecture for decentralized networks, enabling the platform to process thousands of transactions per second without sacrificing decentralization or security.
History of IOST
IOST was founded by a team of blockchain engineers and entrepreneurs including Jimmy Zhong, Terrence Wang and Ray Xiao. The project was launched through one of the most successful ICOs in early 2018, raising over $31 million to fund development. Since then, the IOST team has focused on building out the technology and ecosystem.
Key milestones include launching the first version of the network in early 2019, introducing the Proof-of-Believability consensus in 2020 and launching partnerships with companies like Alibaba Cloud. Today IOST stands as one of the leading enterprise blockchain platforms, working with major corporations across Asia.
IOST’s Unique Technology
At the core of IOST is its proprietary Proof-of-Believability consensus algorithm. Unlike Proof-of-Work or Proof-of-Stake, PoB aims to address the trilemma of scalability, decentralization and security in blockchain networks.
PoB utilizes a Byzantine Fault Tolerance protocol along with several innovations like Servi to verify nodes based on their contributions to the network. This allows IOST to process thousands of transactions per second without compromising decentralization.
IOST also introduces the Efficient Distributed Sharding framework. This allows the network’s transaction processing and ledger data to be split into different shards while still ensuring security and cross-shard transactions.
IOST Consensus Mechanism
IOST utilizes a Proof-of-Believability consensus that is optimized for enterprise use. Here’s how it works:
- The network is secured by Node Partners who stake IOST tokens and run infrastructure for IOST. Their believability score is calculated based on metrics like uptime, contributions to the ecosystem and IOST held.
- Transactions are validated by a randomly selected group of 17 Node Partners using a BFT protocol. This allows for fast confirmation times.
- The top-ranked Node Partners in believability rankings participate in sharding and bookkeeping. They have a higher chance to generate blocks and receive rewards.
This ensures security while incentivizing Node Partners to actively contribute to the ecosystem.
IOST’s Main Features
Some of the key features that set IOST apart include:
- High scalability of up to 8,000 TPS for complex transactions
- Support for smart contracts and dApps in multiple languages
- Low transaction fees and fast confirmation times
- On-chain governance system allowing the community to vote on proposals
- Cross-chain bridge support allowing interoperability with different chains
- Decentralized domain name service for simplified blockchain addresses
- Suite of developer tools like HyperSnap for efficient dApp development
IOST is built to be the ideal blockchain for businesses and developers building real-world solutions.
IOST Token and Economics
The native utility token of the IOST network is also called IOST. It is used to pay for resources and services on the network.
IOST has a total max supply of 21 billion tokens. These are distributed to Node Partners, the community, developers and investors supporting the network.
The IOST staking model incentives users to stake IOST tokens to contribute to the network’s security while earning rewards. There are over 400 million tokens staked on the network today.
IOST token economics are designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the network. The focus is on driving real utility and adoption.
IOST Dapps and Ecosystem
IOST has one of the most vibrantapplication ecosystems in blockchain, with over 500 dApps and 300 million transactions executed so far.
Leading dApps include Bermi social media, NodeHover nodes monitoring and the Kalata card game with 50,000 daily active users. IOST is also popular in China with apps like Donnie Finance.
IOST provides resources and assistance to developers to make it easy to build on the platform. The ecosystem spans domains like DeFi, NFTs, identity solutions, supply chain management, retail and gaming.
The number of dApps and users on IOST will likely continue growing rapidly in future as blockchain adoption increases globally.
IOST Development Team
The IOST blockchain network was co-founded by Jimmy Zhong, Terrence Wang and Ray Xiao in 2017. The core team consists of over 80 members with extensive experience across blockchain, computer science, engineering and business.
Jimmy Zhong acts as the CEO of IOST. He was previously involved with companies like Google and Uber as a software engineer. His focus is on strategizing IOST’s growth and adoption.
Terrence Wang is the CTO of IOST. He has over a decade of experience in Silicon Valley working on distributed systems and blockchain. He heads the engineering team at IOST.
Ray Xiao is the CFO and Operations Manager at IOST. He has experience running technology startups and oversees corporate development activities.
The IOST development team also consists of blockchain researchers and engineers like Kelvin Tan, Justin Sun and Sa Wang who designed innovations like Proof-of-Believability.
There are also partnerships with academic institutions like the National University of Singapore to bolster research efforts.
Overall, the IOST core team and contributors have the diverse experience and expertise required to support the development and adoption of the IOST blockchain globally.
IOST Growth Potential
As one of the leading enterprise-focused blockchains, IOST has immense potential for long-term growth and mainstream adoption.
With its robust technology and focus on practical use cases, IOST is poised to see increasing real-world adoption especially across industries in Asia. The network plans to enable compliant blockchain solutions for sectors like finance, healthcare, supply chains and more.
The developer community and user base will expand exponentially as IOST focuses on ease of use and developer onboarding.
There is also scope for innovative developments on the network like decentralized finance (DeFi) applications as the technology matures. Overall, IOST is uniquely positioned to be a pioneer in enabling large-scale blockchain adoption worldwide.
