On Monday (February 10), Tether announced that the world’s most popular stablecoin had gone live on the Algorand platform.

What Is Algorand?

As Binance Research explained in a research report published last year, Algorand is “a permissionless, pure proof of stake blockchain that ensures full participation, protection and speed within a truly decentralized network.”

Algorand’s aim is “to remove technical barriers that have undermined mainstream blockchain adoption: decentralization, scale, and security.”

Algorand was built by a team of “internationally recognized researchers, mathematicians, cryptographers, and economists along with proven business leaders from global technology companies.” The executive team consists of Silvio Micali (Founder), Steve Kokinos (CEO), and W. Sean Ford (COO).

What Are the Key Features of Algorand 2.0?

Algorand 2.0 became available last November. Algorand’s press release said that this protocol upgrade improves support for decentralized applications (DApps) on the Algorand platform, and that it offers three new features:

  • Algorand Standard Asset (ASA), which provides support for creation of any kind of asset on the Algorand blockchain, including fungible tokens such as currencies and utility tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), such as tickets.
  • Atomic Transfers, which makes it possible to “simultaneously transfer a number of assets among multiple parties”, thereby allowing use cases such as “simplified and expedited debt settlement”.
  • Algorand Smart Contracts (ASC), which offer “numerous possibilities for governed transactions via simplified scripting templates”, hence enabling use cases such as “creating escrow accounts to crowdfunding to creating collateralized debt”.

Tether’s Launch on Algorand 2.0

With this launch, Tether becomes the first stabecoin on the Algorand platform. According to a press release shared with CryptoGlobe, Tether’s implementation is using Algorand 2.0’s ASA feature. 

Due to Algorand’s fast block confirmations (under 4 seconds) and low transaction fees (a fraction of a percent), Tether’s availability on Algorand opens the door for micropayments.

Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Tether, had this to say:

“A key strength of Tether is that it is underpinned by a rich diversity of different blockchains. Our latest collaboration with Algorand leverages the speed and security of Algorand’s protocol to give traders fast settlement and reduced counterparty risk in their fiat to digital asset transactions. Tether and Algorand both share a desire to keep building next-generation financial products and we feel our growing customer base will appreciate and benefit greatly from this collaboration.”

And Steve Kokinos, CEO of Algorand Inc., stated:

“We are excited that Tether has chosen to join the Algorand ecosystem and its stablecoin will benefit from technology that provides immediate transaction finality and security to support a strong and more stable defi economy. Tether’s issuance of their asset on Algorand will be a gamechanger for global defi participants as it is one of the fastest and safest ways to move money around the world.” 

The other blockchain platforms that Tether runs on are Bitcoin (Omni and Liquid Network), Ethereum, EOS, and Tron.

Featured Image by “xresch” via Pixabay.com