Throughout 2022, the Layer 1 protocol landscape witnessed significant advancements. Ethereum's shift to Proof of Stake (PoS) and the NFT boom shed light on blockchain limitations under heightened demand. Amidst the increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies, ensuring resilient data protection and security infrastructure has become imperative, particularly given the surge in online vulnerabilities.
Addressing these concerns, Aptos emerges as a promising contender. Leveraging its scalable, secure, and dependable network, Aptos has garnered considerable attention from industry developers.
What is Aptos
Aptos stands as a robust Layer 1 Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain solution, emphasizing security, dependability, and user-friendliness. Built using the Move programming language, Aptos boasts an array of advanced features, with its mainnet, "Aptos Autumn," making its debut on October 17, 2022.
Aptos operates through three fundamental components: the Move language (a smart contract programming tool), the Aptos Move data model, and the Move module, all collaboratively enabling a transaction processing capacity of up to 160,000 transactions per second (TPS).
Additionally, Aptos prioritizes security, employing robust measures to safeguard user assets and information. Currently, the Aptos ecosystem accommodates over 19 decentralized finance (DeFi) initiatives, spanning liquid staking platforms, decentralized exchanges (DEX), lending protocols, and more.
The Aptos team
Aptos has its origins in the Meta (formerly Facebook) Web3 initiative known as "Diem." The team, including its CEO Mo Shaikh and CTO Avery Ching, was initially part of Diem's development. Despite Meta discontinuing Diem in January 2022, the committed team decided to persist, leading to the establishment of Aptos. This dedicated group now operates under the name "Aptos Labs.”
How does Aptos work
Aptos utilizes advanced technologies and components to establish a fast, scalable, and secure system. The Move programming language, developed specifically by the Diem team and adopted by Aptos developers, plays a crucial role in the blockchain's functionality. It enables easier auditing and analysis of blockchain data, enhancing security and transparency. Additionally, Move has a virtual machine, a compiler, and a verifier called Mover Prover, designed for smart contracts.
Aptos employs the Move Virtual Machine (MVM) as its state machine, similar to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The MVM converts Move modules into bytecodes that the Aptos blockchain can interpret.
Aptos’ mainnet currently operates on the latest version of AptosBFT (version 4). AptosBFT, short for Aptos Byzantine Fault Tolerance, is a consensus technique known for optimizing network processes. This protocol mitigates the effects of failed validators on the system's throughput and latency.
On October 19, 2022, Aptos launched the Aptos Bridge. This feature enables the seamless transfer of Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and Ethereum (ETH), between the Aptos network and various decentralized systems such as Avalanche, Ethereum, Polygon, and Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Users can withdraw their cryptocurrencies from the Aptos network with the Aptos Bridge. However, a three-day transfer window is endorsed for such withdrawals to ensure network stability.
Aptos’s native token: APT
APT is the native utility token of the Aptos blockchain. It is the foundation for decentralized governance of the Aptos network, granting APT holders the right to vote on decisions that influence the future of the platform.
APT tokenomics
Aptos has a total supply of 1,034,718,849 APT tokens with no maximum supply. By September 2032, the total supply of Aptos will hit 1.5 billion APT. Aptos has a burn mechanism which reduces the circulating supply by destroying APT tokens from fees and reward blocks.
The token can also be used across the entire Aptos ecosystem. APT uses a standard implementation which improves its interoperability and compatibility across the Aptos ecosystem.
APT use cases
APT functions as the utility and governance token of the Aptos network. It serves as payment for gas fees for transactions on the Aptos blockchain. It is also used to incentivize community contributions and security services of validators on the network.
Distribution of APT
Aptos launched in October 2022 with an initial supply of 1 billion APT tokens distributed as follows:
51.02 percent was airdropped to community members.
19 percent was issued to Aptos core contributors.
16.5 percent was reserved for the Aptos Foundation.
13.48 percent was allocated to investors.
The road ahead for Aptos
The Aptos team has announced that the fifth and latest version of AptosBFT is under development and will be released in a future upgrade to increase the scalability of the network to support the development of more decentralized applications (dApp). In addition, Aptos is now working with Mastercard to build a decentralized infrastructure for on-chain identity and payments.