FTM is leaving other tokens in the dust. Why is it so hot?

Fantom provides decentralized finance services to developers. This directed acyclic graph smart contract platform uses its own bespoke consensus algorithm. And its native token, FTM, is very hot. So much so that it’s listed on 658,961 watchlists. That’s not a small achievement for a relatively new token.

Besides, Fantom aims to solve problems associated with smart-contract platforms, and the FTM token is very useful for the platform, as well as its users. The company specifically focuses on transaction speed. Developers say it has reduced the latter to under two seconds. The Fantom Foundation oversees the Fantom product offering. The founder team originally created it in 2018. It also launched OPERA, Fantom’s mainnet, in December 2019.

Fantom is a Layer-1 blockchain, and it uses a scratch-built consensus mechanism, as well as an independent consensus layer, Lachesis. Thanks to them, it can facilitate Defi and related services on the basis of smart contracts. Moreover, Lachesis provides security for other layers. Opera, Fantom’s EVM-compatible smart contract chain, is among them. This project aims to grant compatibility between all transaction bodies worldwide in the long term.

The team created Fantom’s open-source decentralized smart contract platform for digital assets and DApps as an alternative to Ethereum. It plans to overcome the limitations of previous generation blockchains, as well as balance three components: security, scalability, and decentralization. The project provides a set of tools to simplify the process of integrating existing DApps. It also boasts a detailed staking reward system and built-in Defi instruments.

What makes this platform stand out among numerous Defi protocols? 

Fantom has many benefits. However, its key strengths are its performance and efficient transaction processing. It enables thousands of transactions per second, which are settled in 1-2 seconds. While the speed is super convenient, it gets better – the cost is fractions of a cent per transaction. Thus, this platform provides both higher scalability and a lower cost.

The team based Fantom’s ecosystem on two main technologies: Opera and Lachesis protocol. The first one is an application development layer, as well as the company’s mainnet deployment platform. Thanks to the support of Solidity programming language and EVM integration, Fantom has a full set of smart contract capabilities. They allow users to seamlessly interact with Ethereum platforms while maintaining the advantage of the platform’s transaction efficiency. Furthermore, the Fantom Foundation discovered that removing block leaders improves network security. Thus, Opera uses leaderless validators and a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) model.

The second one – the Lachesis protocol, is the core consensus layer. It secures the Fantom network by providing both transaction speed and security. Lachesis is an aBFT consensus engine. It uses a directed acyclic graph algorithm, also called DAG. The company’s Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerant (aBFT) PoS consensus mechanism maintains the efficiency of the entire network. Moreover, its design provides security at maximum speed.

According to Fantom developers, the PoS mechanism is a leaderless phenomenon. That means there are no leaders of blocks and participants, and anyone can join or leave the network of nodes. Lachesis has several key qualities. It’s asynchronous, Byzantine fault-tolerant, leaderless, and boasts near-instant finality.

Remember Mines of Dalarnia? Its token is still super trendy

Yes, that’s true. DAR token proved time and time again that it’s worth investing. Its ICO sale has already ended, but users can still acquire these tokens. Mines of Dalarnia is a popular action-adventure game with a blockchain real-estate market. The founder team based MoD on simple but simultaneously captivating gameplay. As a result, users can mine and combine in-game items and then utilize them to upgrade their characters (both skills and equipment). They can increase their rank in the game by upgrading.

Furthermore, players can complete quests, go in search of rare artefacts, minerals or relics, and team up with other users to defeat monsters and unlock rewards. Mines of Dalarnia is a play-to-earn game, and it boasts procedurally generated levels. The task is to uncover the secrets of the MoD universe. Gamers mine resources, explore territories and fight enemies. At the same time, they make a profit by simply collecting rare items and trading them on the marketplace. Completing quests and tasks, acquiring the status of a landowner, winning battles, and staking DAR tokens also bring the participants more rewards.

Users own the game primarily. Assets are non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and players can trade them on open markets. The platform records all transactions on the blockchain to avoid centralized party intervention. Besides, Mines of Dalarnia is free to play. And it follows action-adventure gameplay. This project is dedicated to mining, battling, and gathering resources with the integration of NFT elements. The latter are minted, exchanged and transferred to the marketplace.

What makes Mines of Dalarnia so popular?

The team behind the platform aims to form a solid community and attract even those users who are unfamiliar with blockchain technology. The game is interesting and immersive, and the features are well-advanced. There are two types of characters in the game – landowners and miners. Both seek to enrich themselves with the main resource of the game – lands and mines.

Players can use various types of tools and weapons for mining. The higher the power and capabilities of the equipment, the faster they can extract certain types of resources. On the in-game marketplace, participants can trade, buy and sell minerals, as well as pay transaction fees in DAR tokens. The latter is very useful. As the native utility token, DAR offers many benefits to its holders.

The team created assets in the game in the NFT format. That is a key feature for maintaining the game’s economy. Players can monetize their gaming experience by trading on internal and external marketplaces. Through the governance process, they directly impact the development of the game.

Furthermore, the platform rewards users for active participation or winning competitions. Users can receive passive income by leasing their land plots, as well. The DAR economy is based on incentivizing the gamers to remain invested in the game. Users can even purchase land and rent it out to receive profit, or they can simply lease a plot of land and use it to collect resources.