What is Tezos (XTZ)? | A Beginners Guide to the Controversial Coin
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Introducing the world’s first self-evolving blockchain, Tezos is a smart contract platform similar to Ethereum. While established virtual currencies like Bitcoin have stuck to their guns, Tezos sees the future of cryptocurrency as an upgradable path to success.
Cryptocurrency tech is advancing at such a pace that it seems rather difficult to keep up with all the latest developments. Why not upgrade your blockchain with the latest tech as it becomes available? As new innovations unfold Tezos predicts that their blockchain will remain on the cutting edge.
How Does it Work?
It is a peer-to-peer, distributed, and permissionless network which aims to make a few notable improvements over its well-established neighbors. In particular, the team sells themselves on the major ideas of self-amendment and on-chain governance. Let’s take a look at a few key features:
On-Chain Governance
A key feature is the involvement of all stakeholders in the direction and governance of the platform. Stakeholders can vote on amendments to the Tezos protocol and even changes to the voting procedure itself. In the simplest case, stakeholders will approve or veto changes in the code or protocol.
Code Evolution
A typical blockchain uses the following 3 protocols to function:
Network protocol – discovers blocks and broadcasts transactions
Transaction protocol – decides what makes a transaction valid
Consensus protocol – determines how consensus is achieved in a unique chain
However, in Tezos’s case, they use a generic network shell which is compatible with the different transaction and consensus protocols a blockchain needs. In other words, it was built with a modular fashion in mind. The blockchain is kickstarted with a seed protocol which will then be democratically directed as the project matures.
The source code is implemented in OCaml – a fast, flexible, functional programming language which should suit such an ambitious project and its technical requirements.