Introduction to Aptos
In the rapidly evolving world of blockchain, Aptos Foundation emerges as a beacon of innovation and efficiency. As a Layer 1 blockchain and smart contract platform, Aptos is not just another addition to the blockchain universe; it represents a significant leap forward in terms of scalability, security, and user experience.
The journey of Aptos begins with the Diem initiative by Meta, an ambitious project that aimed to redefine financial transactions on a global scale. Despite the eventual sale of Diem to Silvergate Capital, the spirit of innovation lived on through the engineers and visionaries who founded Aptos Labs. This transition marked a pivotal moment, During the first seven months of the devnet stage, Aptos raised $350 million. The first investors onboard were Andreessen Horowitz, a16z crypto, and Multicoin. They brought in around $200 million. By July 2020, Aptos Labs had secured an additional $150 million from giants like Franklin Templeton.
Tech side of Aptos
At the heart of Aptos lies a meticulously designed blockchain architecture, built around a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism and Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus. This foundation ensures not only the security and efficiency of transactions but also the integrity and reliability of the network. Validators play a crucial role in this ecosystem, safeguarding the network and processing transactions. The introduction of the Move programming language further sets Aptos apart, offering unparalleled flexibility and security features that cater to the ever-evolving needs of developers and users alike.
Move
The Move language is designed for safe resource management and verifiable execution on a blockchain. Transaction execution is deterministic, hermetic, and metered. Deterministic and hermetic means that the output of transaction execution is completely predictable and based only on the information contained within the transaction and the current ledger state. Metering is an important defense against denial-of-service attacks at the transaction execution level.
The Move prover can formally verify the properties of Move modules via an expressive specification language and is fast enough to run as a part of continuous integration tests. Move resources, inspired by linear types, statically ensure resources are conserved and not copied or accidentally destroyed—avoiding a whole class of potential attacks entirely. Our blockchain and the Move language were co-developed at the same time over four years ago. Accounts, transaction fees, a standard library, validator node management, and configuration are all implemented with Move.
In addition, Move's data model facilitates more flexible private key management and hybrid custody options, along with transaction transparency before signing.
Developer Activity
Aptos has seen a significant rise in developer activity and monthly active addresses, with a reported +360% growth year-over-year. This indicates a vibrant and rapidly expanding ecosystem supported by Aptos' breakthrough technology and the Move programming language, which facilitates seamless and secure project integration.
How does the Aptos blockchain work?
At a glance, the Aptos blockchain operates using these key principles:
It runs on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) system with BFT consensus, backed by validators who have a stake in the network.
The network is made up of both full nodes and lighter, more accessible light clients.
Aptos uses a parallel transaction engine, called BlocksSTM, to ramp up the number of transactions it can handle.
The Move language, which is both easy to use and secure, is used for creating custom smart contracts.
Its design is modular, meaning updates can be made to parts of the network without overhauling the whole system.
In Aptos, data is treated as a resource that can't just be thrown away, ensuring data integrity.
Transactions are processed simultaneously across all important steps, making things faster.
There's a clear method for adding more validators to scale the network.
Validator performance is enhanced through a system where the network's state is shared efficiently.
The APT token is the best example of how Move-based resource objects work. Before making transfers and using modules, all coins belonging to a new account are first registered using the signer object. Aptos coin is not ERC20-compatible, which excludes allowance functionality. However, modules call each other directly.
Some Important Innovations
Aptos enhances node adaptability through a tailored state synchronization method. This method sets the guidelines for sharing and aligning blockchain data across the network, ensuring all users remain in sync. Aptos offers the flexibility to choose synchronization strategies that align with users' specific needs and resource capacities. For example, full nodes might opt to sync the entire blockchain history or just the latest state, whereas light clients might sync only parts of the blockchain history. This customizable approach allows each network participant to decide the extent of blockchain data they wish to handle and store. The adaptability of this protocol is essential for meeting a wide array of user requirements and for supporting efficient data processing and retention across the network. This, in turn, enhances the overall efficiency for all network roles—light clients, full nodes, and validators—improving the user experience by facilitating more effective data transmission, receipt, and verification.
Community-centric Tokenomics
The distribution of the APT token is as follows:
Community: 51.02% (510,217,359.767 tokens)
Core Contributors: 19.00% (190,000,000.000 tokens)
Foundation: 16.50% (165,000,000.000 tokens)
Investors: 13.48% (134,782,640.233 tokens)
Those active in the ecosystem know that Aptos made many happy with its airdrop, rewarding even the simplest NFT minting on the network generously. However, this is not the only plan Aptos has for the community. Looking at the current unlock rates of tokens, ⅔ of the tokens allocated to the community have yet to be distributed. It seems Aptos has more in store for the community 👀.
Ecosystem
According to DefiLlama, there are currently over $130 million in assets on Aptos. So, what platforms are these assets gathered on, and what's happening in the ecosystem?
As you can see in the table above, a significant amount is shown on Thala. You can perform a variety of transactions on Thala, from simple swap operations to liquid staking and launchpad transactions. Although liquidity appears to be highly concentrated in a few applications, it's worth noting that there are over 90 dApps on the network, indicating a substantial product presence. It's also worth mentioning the significant amount of NFT activity on the network lately.
The Aptos Foundation has partnered with leading data providers like Dune, Nansen, Token Terminal, and others to enhance data integration services. This move aims to simplify data standardization and improve dApp searchability within the Aptos community, promising a stronger data ecosystem and higher transparency
Wrapping Up
Aptos is managed by experienced teams and, notably, by a team with strong corporate relationships. It will be exciting to see how they guide the network in the future. Among all projects, with a total cap of $2.8 million and ranking in the top 50 according to CoinGecko data, it will be interesting to see how Aptos differentiates itself in the market from its competitors. If you want to see all the information about this exciting ecosystem on one screen, don't forget to check out our Aptos Dashboard :)
