Fantom launched in 2018, offering one of the first sets of final, asynchronous blockchains in the cryptocurrency market. With its permissionless protocol, the blockchain has enabled developers to host their DApps at little to no cost.

Fantom is your typical DeFi blockchain, with extra features that make it more desirable for hosting DApps than many other chains. In this article, we’ll be discussing everything you need to know about the Fantom Blockchain. 

The Fantom Blockchain: Features and Properties

The Fantom blockchain launched in 2018 to solve key issues afflicting popular blockchains at the time. According to their whitepaper, Fantom solves the blockchain trilemma, offering speed, scalability, and security while maintaining its decentralized network. 

• Speed and Security

The blockchain complies with the Byzantine Fault tolerance (BFT) protocol, which ensures that the blockchain requires fewer nodes to reach a consensus. Unlike many other proof-of-stake protocols, Fantom doesn't support simultaneous consensus. In fact, even when some nodes are malfunctioning or absent, the online nodes can make a decision on transaction blocks to hasten the transaction process. 

With its finality feature, the Fantom protocol ensures no one can reverse an approved transaction block. So between the BFT compliance and finality, Fantom transactions process within a second. This makes it a perfect host for DApps, with users enjoying high-speed services and secure transactions. The Lachesis algorithm helps the network maintain finality, and this further secures the blockchain against external attacks. 

• Scalability

Fantom's blockchain is actually a collection of blockchains, each specific to a DApp. The protocol enforces that each application launched on Fantom has its own blockchain, which confers scalability on the entire network. That way, no DApp is too congested to cause a delay in transactions or any form of network glitches. 

• EVM Compatibility

Since Ethereum is a common base for DApps in cryptocurrency, Fantom, like other popular blockchains, is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. This allows developers on the Ethereum blockchain to deploy their Ethereum DApps onto the Fantom blockchain for scalability and security. 

• Open-source Chain For Reviews

Along with being fast and scalable, Fantom is open-source, so anyone can access DApp codes on the blockchain and comment on them. The platform is leaderless too, so it's constantly looking to grow. In fact, users are encouraged to keep commenting on the blockchain's services and applications to improve them.

The Fantom DApp Ecosystem

Fantom hosts over 200 distributed applications, each with unique use cases in and out of the DeFi world. The ecosystem is a mix of crypto wallets, GameFi platforms, oracles, decentralized exchanges, and NFT marketplaces. 

With its all-inclusive policy on DApp development and deployment, it's not surprising that there are so many diverse applications on Fantom's blockchain. It's almost like an Ethereum makeover. 

On Fantom, you get regular DEXs like ShibaSwap, Sushi, and Curve, along with 1Inch, Solidly, and Orion Terminal. There are also Oracle networks, linking the wallets and DEXs to real-time price feeds, so that token trade occurs with the fairest crypto prices. Some of them include Chainlink, API3, and Redstone. 

Fantom has launched its own network wallet, the fWallet, to join the growing number of crypto wallets existing on the Fantom network. The platform also hosts Coinbase, Trust Wallet, MetaMask, and Token Pocket so that users can easily synchronize and manage their crypto assets on the Fantom blockchain.

If you're an NFT trader, Fantom's got you covered with its marketplaces, Paint and Artion. You also have gaming interfaces to maximize your NFTs, including 8Bit Metaverse, Metalands, and TankWars Zone, where you access P2E gaming on multiplayer levels.

On proper DeFi services, Fantom offers yield optimizers and lending/borrowing services, where users can use their tokens to provide liquidity, just like in the DEXs. You can multiply your FTM tokens on yield optimizers like Yearn and Matrix.farm, or contribute liquidity for token rewards on lending and borrowing platforms like Alchemix, Tarot, and Trava finance. 

How Does FTM Work?

The FTM token is native to the Fantom blockchain and is used for fueling the economy. Even though there are cross-chain bridges that allow for permissionless token swaps, FTM is used throughout the network as a gas token for various operations.

Like every other proof of stake protocol, FTM is also used to stake the Fantom blockchain, securing it against security breaches. Users who stake their FTM tokens get rewards over time. Now, there is no limit to how long you can delegate your coins, and there is always the option to undelegate them at any time. However, the rewards compound over time, the longer you keep your tokens staked on the network.

Who Runs The Fantom Project?

As stated earlier, the Fantom blockchain is leaderless, allowing all users equal privilege to use the blockchain as it is necessary. However, unlike many popular blockchains, Fantom is not run by its user community. Instead, the Fantom Foundation runs the platform's affairs, with Michael Kong as the CEO/CIO.

Fantom holds a token supply of about 3.175 billion coins and about 2.8 billion of it in circulation. 

Conclusion

Fantom is heavily investing in developing more advanced DApps in its efforts to satisfy users with fast and secure operations. The platform has only recently upgraded its fWallet to link directly with conventional crypto wallets like Coinbase and MetaMask. This upgrade further enables users to move their crypto earnings from the Fantom blockchain into wallets that they are familiar with.

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If you're new to the crypto space, seek financial advice from a professional and don’t invest what you cannot afford to lose. This article is for educational purposes and is not financial advice.