What Is Aeternity (AE)?
AE is the native token of Aeternity, which is a fault-tolerant blockchain protocol and a smart contract platform. If you’re interested in the current AE price, take a look at the Aeternity price chart above. Essentially, Aeternity allows users to create decentralized applications (on Aeternity called "aepps") and smart contracts. However, it seeks to get rid of any inconveniences that occur in the crypto market by employing various technologies to enhance the scalability of smart contracts.
How Does the Aeternity Work?
The Aeternity protocol itself is written using the Erlang programming language. However, the smart contracts developed on Aeternity are written using the Sophia programming language.
In order to provide users with an all-in-one environment for scalable smart contract creation, Aeternity has a variety of integrated technologies provided by Sophia, including:
- State Channels. To allow off-chain smart contract execution, Aeternity employs state channels. A state channel essentially is a smart contract that ensures that the regulations for off-chain transactions are followed. Besides, while by default Aeternity transactions are public, state channels enable private transactions.
- Oracles. To gather real-world data, Aeternity employs interoperable on-chain oracles that are managed using specialized transactions. Aeternity’s oracles are programmed to use APIs and information providers to request and provide necessary data. Besides, oracles improve network security, reduce transaction fees, and eliminate the need for third-party solutions.
- Aeternity Naming System. To make the platform more user-friendly, Aeternity has its own naming system, which utilizes human-readable names instead of cryptographic addresses.
- FATE VM. To make the programming process easier and more efficient, Aeternity offers The Fast Aeternity Transaction Engine (FATE VM). It provides developers with a simpler and safer programming environment with an automatic mistake reduction mechanism.
Lastly, it’s important to mention the unique consensus mechanism employed by Aeternity. Essentially, it uses both – the Proof-of-Work (PoW) and the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms. Cuckoo Cycle is an ASIC-resistant PoW utilized by Aeternity. It’s used for creating new blocks and mining AE tokens. The PoS mechanism employed by Aeternity, on the other hand, is dedicated to governance. It allows AE stakers to decide on various decisions considering block sizes, fees, forks, and so on.
Who Founded Aeternity?
The Aeternity crypto project was founded by Yanislav Malahov. He has a degree in computer science and economics. Malahov has years of experience in the development field. For instance, he created TweetTrader.net, a Twitter stock prediction game, in 2010. In addition to that, Malahov created the first Dogecoin web wallet in 2014 called the DOGE Flow Wallet.
Fun fact. Since Malahov worked with Vitalik Buterin in 2013, he tends to refer to himself as the “Godfather of Ethereum.”
Use Cases of AE Tokens
AE is the native utility token of Aeternity. Primarily, AE tokens were based on the ERC-20 token standard. However, on November 27th, 2018, the Aeternity blockchain mainnet was launched. Thus, ERC-20-based AE tokens were eventually swapped for native Aeternity coins.
The following are the main use cases of Aeternity coins:
- Reward. PoW miners are rewarded with AE coins for mining new blocks.
- Payment method. AE coins are used to make any payments that occur within the platform.
- Governance. AE coin stakers get the right to vote on various decisions considering the future development of the Aeternity crypto project.
Besides, don’t forget to check the Aeternity price chart above if you want to see the live AE price.
Tokenomics of AE
The max supply of Aeternity coins is 536,306,702. In 2017, an initial coin offering (ICO) for AE tokens was held, during which the project managed to raise ETH worth around $25 million. Though, at that time, AE was still based on the ERC-20 token standard.
In terms of distribution of the initial AE supply, the majority of the supply (82%) was distributed through public sale. The remaining portion was set aside for the foundation reserve and airdropped to BTC and ETH holders.
Besides, note that the Aeternity price is quite erratic. Thus, if you plan to invest in AE tokens, make sure to analyze the AE price chart placed above before making any purchase decisions.
