What is Algorand?

Algorand is a self-sustaining, blockchain-based network that supports decentralised applications. This protocol is designed with faster transactions, higher efficiency, and lower transaction fees. ALGO is the cryptocurrency that powers the Algorand protocol.

A brief history of Algorand

Algorand was founded in 2017 by MIT Professor Silvio Micali. A Turing award-winning cryptographer, he is notably the co-inventor of zero-knowledge proofs, probabilistic encryption, verifiable random functions, and many of the protocols that are the foundations of modern cryptography.

As a permissionless pure proof of stake (PoS) blockchain protocol, Algorand was built on the vision to democratise finance and deliver on the blockchain promise. Its white paper, published that same year, was co-authored by Micali and Jing Chen, a professor at Stony Brook University. Using a Dutch auction mechanism, Algorand raised over US$60 million in the public sale of its native token ALGO at launch in June 2019. The company sold 25 million tokens in less than 4 hours.

How Algorand works

Algorand uses a pure proof of stake approach, under which all validators are known to one another and only have to agree on the next block in order to create a new block. Algorand will support computations that require reliable performance guarantees to create new forms of trust.

What is Algorand used for?

Algorand network participants use the ALGO cryptocurrency for staking, which gives them a chance to be randomly selected to propose a new block of verified transactions. ALGO is also being distributed as a reward to these selected participants.