What Is Waves (WAVES)?
WAVES is the native token of the Waves network. It’s a blockchain platform that provides users with the ability to develop their own tokens since it supports smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). The tokens can then be used for crowdfunding, loyalty reward programs, or as in-app currencies. If you want to see the current WAVES price, make sure to take a look at the Waves price chart placed above.
The Wave network employs a custom version of the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism called Waves-NG. The protocol was created based on Bitcoin-NG in order to boost the Waves blockchain's throughput.
Waves-NG allows a miner to continuously farm a so-called liquid block, which increases during the time of mining. It consists of a key block and a chain of microblocks. The creation of the key block starts the mining round.
Consensus is used to identify the address of the miner that is listed in each key block. A key block is created only with service information (miner’s public key, miner’s proof, etc.) and no transactions. Microblocks, on the other hand, are created only with transactions, but without service information. Each microblock is related to the one before it and is formed every five seconds before the following block.
In order to become a miner, a user must have at least 10,000 WAVES tokens. However, other WAVES holders can support miners by loaning their tokens. This is done thanks to a Leased Proof-of-Stake (LPoS) consensus mechanism employed by the Waves network. It allows WAVES token holders to lease their tokens to mining nodes and receive a part of their mining rewards. Besides, by leasing the tokens, they help to increase the stake weight of the miners.
The Founders of the Waves Network
The Waves network was launched in 2016 by Alexander Ivanov (Sasha Ivanov). He is a scientist who has a degree in physics. Ivanov worked on developing software for Internet payment systems and financial market neural network forecasting, before getting involved in the cryptocurrency industry. Though when he got involved in this industry, he introduced the first instant cryptocurrency exchange called Coinomat, a stablecoin called CoinoUSD, and the first tradeable crypto index called Coinoindex.
The Purpose of WAVES Coins
WAVES coins are the driving force behind the Waves network. Mainly, WAVES coins are used to reward block generators with transaction fees and block rewards.
However, when users create their own tokens on the Waves network, they can also use WAVES tokens to create trading pairs with their tokens on the Waves DEX.
Besides that, WAVES tokens act as collateral for USDN stablecoins. USDN runs on the Neutrino protocol, which is based on the Waves network. It’s an algorithmic price-stable assetization protocol that allows users to develop stablecoins.
Again, don't forget to check the Waves price chart because it displays the live WAVES price.
The Supply of WAVES Coins
The initial supply of WAVES was 100 million coins. 85 million coins were sold during its initial coin offering (ICO). The remaining portion of the supply was distributed between the development team, strategic partners, backers, early supporters, and post-ICO bounties.
If you're considering buying WAVES tokens, bear in mind that the WAVES price is prone to fluctuation. This happens as a result of the WAVES price being affected by the fluctuation of the whole crypto market in the same way that other digital assets' prices are.