Polygon is self-described as a Layer 2 scaling solution, which means that the project doesn’t seek to upgrade its current basic blockchain layer any time soon. The project focuses on reducing the complexity of scalability and instant blockchain transactions. Polygon uses a customized version of the Plasma framework which is built on[ proof-of-stake](http://https:%2F%2Fblog.coinmarketcap.com%2F2018%2F10%2F19%2Fa-short-primer-on-proof-of-stake%2F/) checkpoints that run through the Ethereum main-chain. This unique technology allows each sidechain on Polygon to achieve up to 65,536 transactions per block. Commercially, the sidechains of Polygon are structurally designed to support a variety of decentralized finance ([DeFi](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/what-is-decentralized-finance)) protocols available in the Ethereum ecosystem. While Polygon currently supports only Ethereum basechain, the network intends to extend support for additional basechains, based on community suggestions and consensus. This would make Polygon an interoperable decentralized Layer 2 blockchain platform

Polygon (formerly Matic Network) was launched in October 2017. Polygon was co-founded by Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal and Anurag Arjun, two experienced blockchain developers and a business consultant. Before moving to its network in 2019, the Polygon team was a huge contributor in the Ethereum ecosystem. The team worked on implementing the Plasma MVP, the WalletConnect protocol and the widely-used Dagger event notification engine on Ethereum. The team included co-founder of Polygon, Jaynti Kanani. Jaynti, a full-stack developer and blockchain engineer currently serves as the CEO of Polygon. Jaynti played an integral role in implementing Web3, Plasma and the WalletConnect protocol on Ethereum. Prior to his blockchain involvement, Jaynti worked as a data scientist with Housing.com. Co-founder and chief operations officer of Polygon, Sandeep Nailwal is a blockchain programmer and entrepreneur. Before jointly starting Polygon (formerly Matic), Sandeep had served as the CEO of Scopeweaver, and the chief technical officer of Welspun Group. Anurag Arjun is the only non-programming co-founder of Polygon. As a product manager, he has had stints with IRIS Business, SNL Financial, Dexter Consultancy and Cognizant Technologies.

[Polygon](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/what-is-polygon-matic) (previously Matic Network) is the first well-structured, easy-to-use platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development. Its core component is Polygon SDK, a modular, flexible framework that supports building multiple types of applications. To learn more about this project, check out our deep dive of [Polygon Matic](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/what-is-polygon-matic). Using Polygon, one can create [optimistic rollup](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/optimistic-rollups-for-the-rest-of-us) chains, [ZK rollup](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/zero-knowledge-rollups) chains, stand alone chains or any other kind of infra required by the developer. Polygon effectively transforms Ethereum into a full-fledged multi-chain system (aka Internet of Blockchains). This multi-chain system is akin to other ones such as Polkadot, Cosmos, Avalanche etc. with the advantages of Ethereum’s security, vibrant ecosystem and openness. The $MATIC token will continue to exist and will play an increasingly important role, securing the system and enabling governance. Polygon (formerly Matic Network) is a [Layer 2](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/layer-2) scaling solution backed by Binance and Coinbase. The project seeks to stimulate mass adoption of cryptocurrencies by resolving the problems of scalability on many blockchains. Polygon combines the Plasma Framework and the proof-of-stake blockchain architecture. The Plasma framework used by Polygon as proposed by the co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, allows for the easy execution of scalable and autonomous smart contracts. Nothing will change for the existing ecosystem built on the Plasma-POS chain. With Polygon, new features are being built around the existing proven technology to expand the ability to cater to diverse needs from the developer ecosystem. Polygon will continue to develop the core technology so that it can scale to a larger ecosystem. Polygon boasts of up to 65,000 transactions per second on a single side chain, along with a respectable block confirmation time of less than two seconds. The framework also allows for the creation of globally available decentralized financial applications on a single foundational blockchain. The Plasma framework gives Polygon the potential of housing an unlimited number of decentralized applications on their infrastructure without experiencing the normal drawbacks common on proof-of-work blockchains. So far, Polygon has attracted more than 50 DApps to its PoS-secured Ethereum sidechain. MATIC, the native tokens of Polygon, is an [ERC-20](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/erc-20) token running on the Ethereum blockchain. The tokens are used for payment services on Polygon and as a settlement currency between users who operate within the Polygon ecosystem. The transaction fees on Polygon [sidechains](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/side-chain) are also paid in MATIC tokens.

AVAX is available on [Binance](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/binance/), [Bitfinex](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/bitfinex/), [Gate.io](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/gate-io/) and [Kucoin](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/kucoin/).

AVAX is traded on the Exchange Chain, which follows its own Avalanche consensus mechanism. Unlike proof-of-work or proof-of-stake, the Avalanche consensus mechanism does not have one leader processing transactions that get validated by others. Instead, all nodes process and validate transactions by employing a directed acyclic graph (DAG) protocol. That way, transactions are processed simultaneously, and validators' random polling ensures that transactions are correct with statistical certainty. There are no blocks in this consensus mechanism, allowing immediate finalization and significantly improving the blockchain’s speed.

The total supply of AVAX is 720 million. Its token distribution is as follows: * 2.5% - seed sale, with 10% released on mainnet launch and the rest being released every three months. * 3.5% - private sale, with 10% released on mainnet launch and the rest being released every three months. * 10% - public sale, with 10% released on mainnet launch and 15% released every three months over a period of 18 months. * 9.26% - allocated to the foundation, released over ten years. * 7% - community endowment, released over twelve months. * 0.27% - testnet incentive program, released over one year. * 5% - strategic partners, released over four years. * 2.5% - airdrops, released over four years. * 10% - team, released over four years. * 50% staking rewards Staking AVAX currently provides an annual reward of 11.57%, with the minimum time for staking being two weeks with a minimum of 2,000 AVAX.

Avalanche attempts to solve the [blockchain trilemma](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/de/glossary/blockchain-trilemma), which posits that blockchains cannot achieve a sufficient degree of decentralization at scale. A consequence of this are high gas fees, as is often the case on Ethereum. To solve this problem, Avalanche designed three interoperable blockchains. * The Exchange Chain (X-Chain) is employed to create and exchange the native AVAX tokens and other assets. Similar to the ERC-20 standard on Ethereum, these tokens follow a set of standardized rules. It uses the Avalanche consensus mechanism. * The Contract Chain (C-Chain) hosts smart contracts and decentralized applications. It has its own Avalanche Virtual Machine, similar to the Ethereum Virtual Machine, allowing developers to fork EVM-compatible DApps. It uses the Snowman consensus mechanism. * The Platform Chain (P-Chain) coordinates network validators, tracks active subnets and enables the creation of new subnets. Subnets are sets of validators, sort of like a validator cartel. Each subnet can be validating several blockchains, but a blockchain can only be validated by one subnet. It also uses the Snowman consensus mechanism. This division of computing tasks enables higher [throughput](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/de/glossary/throughput) without compromising on decentralization. For instance, private blockchains on the network could require its subnet’s validators to be sufficiently geographically decentralized or comply with certain regulations. Following this modular structure, Avalanche improves its interoperability with other blockchains wishing to integrate with the Avalanche ecosystem. Furthermore, the two different consensus mechanisms are designed with each blockchain’s requirements in mind, further improving their efficiency.

Avalanche was launched by Ava Labs, founded by Cornell University professor Emin Gün Sirer, and Cornell University computer science PhD’s Kevin Sekniqi and Maofan “Ted” Yin. Gün Sirer is a veteran in cryptographic research, having designed a conceptual peer-to-peer virtual currency six years before the release of the Bitcoin whitepaper. He was also involved in work on Bitcoin scaling solutions and research on Ethereum before the infamous The DAO hack in 2016. From that research arose the whitepaper that led to the foundation of Ava Labs in 2018. The project closed a seed round in February 2019 that included investors such as Polychain, Andreessen Horowitz and Balaji Srinivasan. Avalanche closed its initial coin offering in 2020 in under 24 hours, raising $42 million in the process.

[Avalanche](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/avalanche/) is a [layer one blockchain](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/layer-1-blockchain) that functions as a platform for decentralized applications and custom blockchain networks. It is one of Ethereum’s rivals, aiming to unseat [Ethereum](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/) as the most popular blockchain for [smart contracts](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/de/glossary/smart-contract). It aims to do so by having a higher transaction output of up to 6,500 transactions per second while not compromising scalability. This is made possible by Avalanche’s unique architecture. The Avalanche network consists of three individual blockchains: the X-Chain, C-Chain and P-Chain. Each chain has a distinct purpose, which is radically different from the approach Bitcoin and Ethereum use, namely having all nodes validate all transactions. Avalanche blockchains even use different consensus mechanisms based on their use cases. After its mainnet launch in 2020, Avalanche has worked on developing its own ecosystem of [DApps](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/de/glossary/decentralized-applications-dapps) and [DeFi](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/de/glossary/defi). Different Ethereum-based projects such as SushiSwap and TrueUSD have integrated with Avalanche. Furthermore, the platform is constantly working on improving interoperability between its own ecosystem and Ethereum, like through the development of [bridges](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/bridges).

Internet Computer is available at a variety of crypto exchanges such as: * [Binance](https://www.binance.com/en/price/internet-computer) * [Coinbase](https://www.coinbase.com/price/internet-computer#WhatisInternetComputerProtocolICP) * [Huobi Global](https://www.huobi.com/en-us/asset-introduction/details?currency=icp) * [OKX](https://www.okx.com/markets/prices/internet-computer-icp)

The Internet Computer blockchain was developed by the [DFINITY Foundation](https://dfinity.org), headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, which runs R&D centers in Switzerland and California, and remote teams worldwide. By mid-2022, DFINITY employed almost 300 people, primarily in R&D. The team includes many famous cryptographers, computer science researchers and engineers. The DFINITY Foundation was founded in Switzerland in October 2016 to organize development of the Internet Computer blockchain. The name DFINITY is a shortening of “decentralized infinity,” and dates from early 2015. It was first used by project founder, Dominic Williams, to refer to his theoretical crypto work, which he hoped would make a World Computer possible. In February 2017, the DFINITY Foundation ran an early public ICO to raise funds to scale out. This was then supplemented by private fundraising rounds in 2018, which raised money from more than 100 hedge funds and VCs, including well-known names such as Andreessen Horowitz, before the advent of a16z crypto.

The internet, which now connects nearly everybody and everything, runs on a network of special devices called routers. Some, like WiFi routers, are installed in homes, while others, which connect countries, are very specialized and expensive. The Internet Computer blockchain runs on a network of special computing devices called “node machines,” which are built to a variety of standards. Today, most Proof-of-Stake blockchains are hosted by “validator” nodes that are software instances often spun up on cloud computing services. The Internet Computer cannot be hosted in this way. It runs entirely on a sovereign network of dedicated node machines, which are installed in independent data centers by independent “node providers.” These node machines connect to each other using Internet Computer Protocol, or ICP, which is where the token gets its name from. The best moniker to describe the blockchain network model used by the Internet Computer is “Proof-of-Useful-Work”. The network has a governance system called the NNS, which can slash (‘eject”) node machines that fail to produce enough blocks and keep up with the network, which is why they need to be built to a standard specification. Internally, the Internet Computer network is composed of “subnet blockchains.” Each new subnet adds additional capacity to the network, which means it can host more smart contracts, computation and data. However, these subnets are invisible to the hosted smart contracts and users. This is because they are combined into a single logical blockchain using “chain key crypto.” Chain key crypto is unique to the Internet Computer. It enables subnet blockchains, and the overall Internet Computer blockchain produced, to have public “chain keys”. The blockchains cryptographically sign all their interactions, which can be validated using their chain keys. Valid signatures show that interactions have not been tampered with, and also that the blockchains are running correctly – without any need to download and check their blocks of transactions. Thanks to chain key crypto, the Internet Computer can combine its subnet blockchains into a single blockchain and scale limitlessly. However, chain key crypto also makes other things possible! For example, smart contracts on the Internet Computer can process HTTP requests and serve interactive web experiences directly to end-users. This is more secure than normal web serving because the smart contracts can sign the content they serve, which can be validated before it is shown to users, keeping them safe. Recently, chain key crypto has been used to make “Chain Key TX” functionality available to smart contract developers. This enables them to create signed transactions that run on other blockchains. For example, an Internet Computer developer can create bitcoin addresses, and send and receive bitcoin, directly on the Bitcoin ledger, without using insecure “bridge” services. Using this functionality, native Bitcoin DeFi can be created. The Internet Computer also provides many other features that are unique within blockchain. These include HTTP outcalls, which enable smart contracts to securely query other systems over the web, through its network consensus system, for example making it possible for smart contract software to securely obtain data such as crypto asset price feeds without using a trusted oracle service. The Internet Computer network is controlled and managed by a master subnet, which runs an advanced permissionless DAO called the Network Nervous System (NNS). This instructs the node machines how to structure the network. Nodes can verify that the instructions they have received from the NNS are genuine just by checking the chain key signature, since its chain key never changes. The NNS instructs nodes to join and leave subnets, and to form new subnets. The cryptography and protocols work in a clever way, such that even though nodes come and go from subnet blockchains, their chain keys always stay the same. On the Internet Computer, developers build using “canister” smart contracts. They are referred to as canisters, because they are bundles of WebAssembly bytecode, and persistent memory pages. The bytecode implements the logic of the smart contract, and it runs exclusively in its own memory, interacting with other smart contracts using message passing (using a software “actor” model). This makes it possible to run smart contracts in parallel, which is another way the Internet Computer scales. Canister smart contracts are very powerful, and can be used to build anything. For example, multi-block transactions (computations) are possible, along with daemon smart contracts, which are automatically invoked periodically by the blockchain. The main languages used for developing Internet Computer smart contracts are Rust and Motoko. Motoko is a language created by DFINITY specifically for the Internet Computer, which was developed by a team led by Andreas Rossberg, who was the co-inventor of the WebAssembly standard. The best way to understand how the Internet Computer works, and the range of unique capabilities it provides, is to visit [internetcomputer.org](https://internetcomputer.org), and [wiki.internetcomputer.org](https://wiki.internetcomputer.org).

The ICP token has three main utilities. Firstly, ICP provides a source of “cycles” that are burned to power computation (thus when ICP is converted to cycles, it disappears, creating deflationary pressure). Secondly, ICP can be staked in the permissionless Network Nervous System DAO that governs the Internet Computer blockchain, creating voting neurons that generate voting rewards. Thirdly, ICP plays the role of a store of value, for example allowing users to invest in decentralization sales run by web3 services.

The Internet Computer blockchain incorporates a radical rethink of blockchain design, powered by innovations in cryptography. It provides the first “World Computer” blockchain that can be used to build almost any online system or service, including demanding web social media, without need for traditional IT such as cloud computing services. As such it can enable full end-to-end decentralization.

Uniswap’s UNI governance token is available for trading on major exchanges against other cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, fiat currencies and more. These include [Binance](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/binance/), [Huobi](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/huobi-global/) and [Coinbase Pro](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/coinbase-exchange/), along with, naturally, Uniswap’s protocol itself — [Uniswap (V2)](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/uniswap-v2/) and [Uniswap (V3)](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/uniswap-v3/). You can read more about how to enter the cryptocurrency market, no matter what token you plan to purchase, [here](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/).

Uniswap is a decentralized protocol for trading, and UNI is its in-house governance token. UNI is an [ERC-20](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/erc-20) token, meaning it requires Ethereum to function. ERC-20 merely defines a set of rules for tokens, as well as security considerations mainly related to the strength of the Ethereum network. For example, congestion can hike the price of [gas](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/gas-price) needed to perform transactions, leading to delays and abnormally high transaction fees, which impact all participants. Separately, [smart contracts](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/smart-contract) can cause security issues that could lead to DeFi traders losing funds; in fact, hackers have already succeeded in stealing millions of dollars in DeFi’s short lifetime as of September 2021.

The total supply of Uniswap’s governance token, UNI, is 1 billion units. These will become available over the course of four years, after which Uniswap will introduce a “perpetual inflation rate” of 2% to maintain network participation. Token distribution currently consists of the following: 60% to Uniswap community members, i.e. users, 21.51% to team members, 17.8% to investors and 0.69% to advisors. The latter three distributions will occur according to a four-year vesting schedule. Out of the majority set to go to users, 15% can be claimed by those who used Uniswap prior to Sep. 1, 2020. These even include users who submitted transactions which were never successful — they are eligible for 400 UNI. The UNI token serves the purpose of enabling shared community ownership in the growth and development of the decentralized protocol. This allows UNI holders to participate in the governance of the Uniswap protocol and wider ecosystem, in a neutral and trustless manner. The success and adoption of Uniswap products will positively impact Uniswap price, hence incentivizing token holders to contribute to the self-sustaining development of the ecosystem. Four years after the UNI token launch, in September 2024, a perpetual inflation rate of 2% annually will take effect. This is to ensure that participation in the Uniswap ecosystem continues, by disincentivizing passive holders.

Uniswap exists to create liquidity — and therefore trading and the value that trading provides — for the DeFi sphere. One of the major AMMs in operation at present, the protocol functions using a formula for automated exchange — X x Y = K. Founder Hayden Adams describes himself as the inventor of the particular implementation of the formula on Uniswap. Uniswap is not just a decentralized exchange; it attempts to solve the issues that platforms such as [EtherDelta](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/etherdelta/) experienced with liquidity. By automating the process of market making, the protocol inceventizes activity by limiting risk and reducing costs for all parties. The mechanism also removes identity requirements for users, and technically anyone can create a [liquidity pool](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/what-are-liquidity-pool-lp-tokens) for any pair of tokens. According to Uniswap, their governance token (UNI) was created in order to “officially enshrin[e] Uniswap as publicly-owned and self-sustainable infrastructure while continuing to carefully protect its indestructible and autonomous qualities.” Uniswap V2 launched on Nov. 2, 2018, and introduced new features like ERC-20 pairs, price [oracles](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/oracles), flash swaps and more. The latest version — Uniswap V3, launched on the mainnet on May 5, 2021. It features greater capital efficiency for [liquidity providers](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/liquidity-provider), better execution for traders and enhanced infrastructure. Uniswap price reached an [all-time high](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/all-time-high) (ATH) of $44.97 leading up to the mainnet launch of V3. Since it’s launch there has been substantial interest in it’s [UNI to AUD](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/uniswap/uni/aud/) and [UNI to EUR](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/uniswap/uni/eur/) price pairs.

Uniswap came about as a plan to introduce AMMs on [Ethereum](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/) to a wider audience. The platform’s creator is Ethereum developer Hayden Adams. Adams worked in various projects while finalizing Uniswap, and his work was informed directly by Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin. Buterin even ended up giving the protocol its name — it was originally known as Unipeg. Adams has also said that the original inspiration for the [Uniswap platform](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/how-to-use-uniswap) came from one of Buterin’s own blog posts. His original idea to focus on Ethereum came after a friend convinced him to begin researching and understanding the protocol in 2017.

[Uniswap](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/uniswap-v2/) is a popular decentralized trading protocol, known for its role in facilitating automated trading of decentralized finance ([DeFi](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/what-is-decentralized-finance)) tokens. An example of an automated market maker ([AMM](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/automated-market-maker-amm)), Uniswap launched in November 2018, but has gained considerable popularity this year thanks to the DeFi phenomenon and associated surge in token trading. Uniswap aims to keep token trading automated and completely open to anyone who holds tokens, while improving the efficiency of trading versus that on traditional exchanges. Uniswap creates more efficiency by solving liquidity issues with automated solutions, avoiding the problems which plagued the first [decentralized exchanges](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/top-decentralized-exchanges-dex). In September 2020, Uniswap went a step further by creating and awarding its own [governance token](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/governance-token), UNI, to past users of the protocol. This added both profitability potential and the ability for users to shape its future — an attractive aspect of decentralized entities.

NEAR is available on [Binance](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/binance/), [Huobi Global](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/huobi-global/), [Mandala Exchange](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/mandala/) and [OKEx](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/okex/). Cryptocurrency newbie? You can read more about how to enter the market and how to buy NEAR or any other token in the CoinMarketCap education portal — [Alexandria](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/).

NEAR uses a variation of the [proof-of-stake](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/proof-of-stake-pos) consensus mechanism called Doomslug. Doomslug is based on two rounds of consensus, where a block is considered finalized as soon as it has received the first communication round. This allows for near-instant finality by having validators take turns producing blocks rather than competing directly based on their stake. The NEAR Foundation is a Swiss-based non-profit dedicated to protocol maintenance, ecosystem funding, and guiding the protocol's governance. The protocol has also built a bridge to Ethereum, allowing users to transfer [ERC-20](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/erc-20) tokens from the Ethereum blockchain to NEAR.

The total supply of NEAR is 1 billion tokens, according to the following token distribution: * 17.2% - Community Grants * 11.4% - Operation Grants * 10% - Foundation Endowment * 11.7% - Early Ecosystem * 14% - Core Contributors * 17.6% - Backers * 6.1% - Small Backers * 12% - Community Sale NEAR Protocol launched its mainnet on April 22, 2020 with 1 billion NEAR tokens created at genesis. 5% of additional supply is issued each year to support the network as epoch rewards, of which 90% goes to validators (4.5% total) and 10% to the protocol treasury (0.5% total). 30% of transaction fees are paid out as rebates to contracts that interact with a transaction, while the remaining 70% are burned. The NEAR token is used for: * Fees for processing transactions and storing data. * Running validator nodes on the network via staking NEAR tokens. * Used for governance votes to determine how network resources are allocated.

NEAR uses its Nightshade technology to improve transaction throughput massively. Nightshade is a variation of [sharding](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/sharding), in which individual sets of validators process transactions in parallel across multiple sharded chains, improving the overall capacity of the blockchain. In contrast to “regular” sharding, shards in Nightshade produce a fraction of the next block, called “chunks.” In doing so, NEAR Protocol is able to achieve up to 100,000 transactions per second and achieve near-instant transaction finality thanks to a one-second block cadence while simultaneously keeping transaction fees at virtually zero. NEAR Protocol also improves upon the convoluted onboarding process of other blockchains by having human-readable addresses and building decentralized applications with similar registration flow to what users have already experienced. Moreover, it provides developers with modular components, helping them start projects like token contracts or NFTs more quickly.

NEAR Protocol was founded by Erik Trautman, an entrepreneur with experience on Wall Street and founder of Viking Education. His co-founders were Illia Polosukhin, who has more than ten years of industry experience, including three years at Google, and Alexander Skidanov, a computer scientist that worked at Microsoft and went on to join memSQL, where he became the director of engineering. NEAR Protocol has an extensive team of experienced developers that includes several International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) gold medalists and winners. The team claims to have people with experience of building some of the only real-world sharded systems at scale, a solution the protocol is pursuing to improve blockchain scalability.

[NEAR Protocol](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/near-protocol/) is a [layer-one blockchain](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/layer-1-blockchain) that was designed as a community-run cloud computing platform and that eliminates some of the limitations that have been bogging competing blockchains, such as low transaction speeds, low throughput and poor interoperability. This provides the ideal environment for [DApps](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/de/glossary/decentralized-applications-dapps) and creates a developer and user-friendly platform. For instance, NEAR uses human-readable account names, unlike the cryptographic wallet addresses common to [Ethereum](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/). NEAR also introduces unique solutions to scaling problems and has its own [consensus mechanism](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/consensus-mechanism) called “Doomslug.” NEAR Protocol is being built by the NEAR Collective, its community that is updating the initial code and releasing updates to the ecosystem. Its declared goal is to build a platform that is “secure enough to manage high value assets like money or identity and performant enough to make them useful for everyday people.” [Flux](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/zel/), a protocol that allows developers to create markets based on assets, commodities, real-world events, and Mintbase, an [NFT](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/non-fungible-token) minting platform are examples of projects being built on NEAR Protocol.

Litecoin is one of the few cryptocurrencies with a wide variety of fiat trading pairs, and can be exchanged for U.S. dollars (USD), Korean won (KRW), euros (EUR) and more when you [buy Litecoin](https://www.binance.com/en/buy-Litecoin). Some of the most prominent names include [Huobi Global](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/huobi-global/), [Binance](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/binance/), [Coinbase Pro](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/coinbase-pro/), [OKEx](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/okex/) and [Kraken](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/kraken/). Litecoin is one of the few cryptocurrencies with a wide variety of fiat trading pairs, and can be exchanged for U.S. dollars (USD), Korean won (KRW), euros (EUR) and more. To check Litecoin price live in the fiat currency of your choice, you can use CoinMarketCap’s converter feature directly on the [Litecoin currency page](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/litecoin/). Alternatively, use the dedicated exchange rate [converter page](https://coinmarketcap.com/converter/). Popular Litecoin price pairs include: [LTC/USD](https://coinmarketcap.com/converter/ltc/usd/), [LTC/GBP](https://coinmarketcap.com/converter/ltc/gbp/), [LTC/KRW](https://coinmarketcap.com/converter/ltc/krw/) and [LTC/EUR](https://coinmarketcap.com/converter/ltc/eur/).

As a blockchain-based cryptocurrency, Litecoin is secured by incredibly strong cryptographic defenses — making it practically impossible to crack. Like Bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies, Litecoin uses the PoW [consensus](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/consensus) algorithm to ensure transactions are confirmed quickly and without errors. The combined strength of the Litecoin mining network prevents double-spends and a range of other attacks, while ensuring the network has 100% uptime.

Like most proof-of-work ([POW](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/proof-of-work-vs-proof-of-stake)) cryptocurrencies, the amount of Litecoin in circulation gradually increases with each newly mined block. As of January 2021, 66.245 million LTC have already been mined out of a total maximum supply of 84 million. The Litecoin Foundation recently estimated it will be well over 100 years until Litecoin reaches full dilution (around the year 2140) — since the number of LTC mined per block decreases every four years as part of the block reward halving schedule. Around 500,000 LTC was instamined on day one after the LTC genesis block was mined and Charlie Lee and presumably other early Litecoin developers were among the first miners. Despite this, as a fairly distributed asset, the Litecoin developers or Charlie Lee do not receive any direct profits from the operation of Litecoin—other than anything they may earn as part of the regular mining process. When Litecoin listed on several markets in 2011, the Litecoin price hit $0.30. Then, from November to December 2013, it went on a massive bull run, with Litecoin price hitting a high of $44.73. However, the bear market and [Mt. Gox hack](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/mt-gox) caused Litecoin prices to crash in 2014, and prices consolidated within the $2 to $4 range for several years. In November and December of 2017, Litecoin price rallied over 500% to $358.34, on the back of the crypto bull market. Litecoin price hit an all-time high in May 2021, in the latest crypto bull run, which saw it reach $386.45 on May 9, 2021.