By
Chainwire
September 9th, 2021
Alephium is the first operational sharded blockchain that deploys ETH-inspired smart contracts, while leveraging the best of Bitcoin’s battle tested blockchain and technologies.
The future of the blockchain relies on interoperability between the various infrastructures across both Layers 1 and Layers 2 chains. The importance of this comes from the ability to transfer data and value across entire ecosystems. This ensures scalability, interoperability and a shared programmability across ecosystems.
The UTXO alliance is one such melding of chains in a way that contributes to a greater whole. It is a partnership and mutual integration across protocols that include Ergo, Nervos, Topl, and Komodo. Now Alephium, the first-ever sharded blockchain, has joined this collaboration.
What Is Alephium?
Alephium is the first operational sharded blockchain that deploys ETH-inspired smart contracts, while leveraging the best of Bitcoin’s battle tested blockchain and technologies. Alephium has enjoyed several months of positive milestones, which include launching its mainnet, and then soon after raising $3.6M in a pre-sale from leading funds and smaller buyers.
According to Cheng Wang, Alephium founder & core developer, “The increasingly high demand for scalable and secure DApps, and more specifically DeFi, is a great opportunity for UTXO blockchains. UTXO-based designs will be the new paradigm for DeFi development. The alliance will play a key role in driving its mass adoption.”
Being based off of the UXTO blockchain allows Alephium to target scalability challenges on the blockchain. Its sharded blockchain tackles the issues of both scalability and DeFi security through both its unique BlockFlow algorithm and its novel stateful UTXO model. This model brings the scalability of Layer 1 chains and the enhanced level of programmability as the account model. Additionally, Alephium uses a dedicated virtual machine, founded on the UTXO model, which targets both the security challenges and sluggish execution of the Layer 1 chains.
The UTXO alliance, which is laser focused on collaboration in order to propel the model forward, is composed of some of the most innovative and creative minds in the blockchain arena. The alliance welcomes other UTXO developers to join the cause here.
