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USD Tether is present on the following networks: algorand, avalanche, bitcoin, bitcoin_cash, bitcoin_liquid, eos, ethereum, near_protocol, polygon, solana, statemine, statemint, tezos, tron. The Algorand blockchain utilizes a consensus mechanism termed Pure Proof-of-Stake (PPoS). Consensus, in this context, describes the method by which blocks are selected and appended to the blockchain. Algorand employs a verifiable random function (VRF) to select leaders who propose blocks for each round. Upon block proposal, a pseudorandomly selected committee of voters is chosen to evaluate the proposal. If a supermajority of these votes are from honest participants, the block is certified. What makes this algorithm a Pure Proof of Stake is that users are chosen for committees based on the number of algos in their accounts. This system leverages random committee selection to maintain high performance and inclusivity within the network. The consensus process involves three stages: 1. Propose: A leader proposes a new block. 2. Soft Vote: A committee of voters assesses the proposed block. 3. Certify Vote: Another committee certifies the block if it meets the required honesty threshold. The Avalanche blockchain network employs a unique Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism called Avalanche Consensus, which involves three interconnected protocols: Snowball, Snowflake, and Avalanche. Avalanche Consensus Process 1. Snowball Protocol: o Random Sampling: Each validator randomly samples a small, constant-sized subset of other validators. Repeated Polling: Validators repeatedly poll the sampled validators to determine the preferred transaction. Confidence Counters: Validators maintain confidence counters for each transaction, incrementing them each time a sampled validator supports their preferred transaction. Decision Threshold: Once the confidence counter exceeds a pre-defined threshold, the transaction is considered accepted. 2. Snowflake Protocol: Binary Decision: Enhances the Snowball protocol by incorporating a binary decision process. Validators decide between two conflicting transactions. Binary Confidence: Confidence counters are used to track the preferred binary decision. Finality: When a binary decision reaches a certain confidence level, it becomes final. 3. Avalanche Protocol: DAG Structure: Uses a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) structure to organize transactions, allowing for parallel processing and higher throughput. Transaction Ordering: Transactions are added to the DAG based on their dependencies, ensuring a consistent order. Consensus on DAG: While most Proof-of-Stake Protocols use a Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus, Avalanche uses the Avalanche Consensus, Validators reach consensus on the structure and contents of the DAG through repeated Snowball and Snowflake. The Bitcoin blockchain network uses a consensus mechanism called Proof of Work (PoW) to achieve distributed consensus among its nodes. Here's a detailed breakdown of how it works: Core Concepts 1. Nodes and Miners: Nodes: Nodes are computers running the Bitcoin software that participate in the network by validating transactions and blocks. Miners: Special nodes, called miners, perform the work of creating new blocks by solving complex cryptographic puzzles. 2. Blockchain: The blockchain is a public ledger that records all Bitcoin transactions in a series of blocks. Each block contains a list of transactions, a reference to the previous block (hash), a timestamp, and a nonce (a random number used once). 3. Hash Functions: Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 cryptographic hash function to secure the data in blocks. A hash function takes input data and produces a fixed-size string of characters, which appears random. Consensus Process 1. Transaction Validation: Transactions are broadcast to the network and collected by miners into a block. Each transaction must be validated by nodes to ensure it follows the network's rules, such as correct signatures and sufficient funds. 2. Mining and Block Creation: Nonce and Hash Puzzle: Miners compete to find a nonce that, when combined with the block's data and passed through the SHA-256 hash function, produces a hash that is less than a target value. This target value is adjusted periodically to ensure that blocks are mined approximately every 10 minutes. Proof of Work: The process of finding this nonce is computationally intensive and requires significant energy and resources. Once a miner finds a valid nonce, they broadcast the newly mined block to the network. 3. Block Validation and Addition: Other nodes in the network verify the new block to ensure the hash is correct and that all transactions within the block are valid. If the block is valid, nodes add it to their copy of the blockchain and the process starts again with the next block. 4. Chain Consensus: The longest chain (the chain with the most accumulated proof of work) is considered the valid chain by the network. Nodes always work to extend the longest valid chain. In the case of multiple valid chains (forks), the network will eventually resolve the fork by continuing to mine and extending one chain until it becomes longer. For the calculation of the corresponding indicators, the additional energy consumption and the transactions of the Lightning Network have also been taken into account, as this reflects the categorization of the Digital Token Identifier Foundation for the respective functionally fungible group (“FFG”) relevant for this reporting. If one would exclude these transactions, the respective estimations regarding the “per transaction” count would be substantially higher. The Bitcoin Cash blockchain network uses a consensus mechanism called Proof of Work (PoW) to achieve distributed consensus among its nodes. It originated from the Bitcoin blockchain, hence has the same consensus mechanisms but with a larger block size, which makes it more centralized. Core Concepts 1. Nodes and Miners: - Nodes: Nodes are computers running the Bitcoin Cash software that participate in the network by validating transactions and blocks. - Miners: Special nodes, called miners, perform the work of creating new blocks by solving complex cryptographic puzzles. 2. Blockchain: - The blockchain is a public ledger that records all Bitcoin Cash transactions in a series of blocks. Each block contains a list of transactions, a reference to the previous block (hash), a timestamp, and a nonce (a random number used once). 3. Hash Functions: - Bitcoin Cash uses the SHA-256 cryptographic hash function to secure the data in blocks. A hash function takes input data and produces a fixed-size string of characters, which appears random. Consensus Process 5. Transaction Validation: - Transactions are broadcast to the network and collected by miners into a block. Each transaction must be validated by nodes to ensure it follows the network's rules, such as correct signatures and sufficient funds. 6. Mining and Block Creation: - Nonce and Hash Puzzle: Miners compete to find a nonce that, when combined with the block's data and passed through the SHA-256 hash function, produces a hash that is less than a target value. This target value is adjusted periodically to ensure that blocks are mined approximately every 10 minutes. - Proof of Work: The process of finding this nonce is computationally intensive and requires significant energy and resources. Once a miner finds a valid nonce, they broadcast the newly mined block to the network. 7. Block Validation and Addition: - Other nodes in the network verify the new block to ensure the hash is correct and that all transactions within the block are valid. - If the block is valid, nodes add it to their copy of the blockchain and the process starts again with the next block. 8. Chain Consensus: - The longest chain (the chain with the most accumulated proof of work) is considered the valid chain by the network. Nodes always work to extend the longest valid chain. - In the case of multiple valid chains (forks), the network will eventually resolve the fork by continuing to mine and extending one chain until it becomes longer. The Liquid Network is a Layer 2 solution on Bitcoin designed for fast, confidential transactions and asset issuance, secured by a federated model called Strong Federations. Instead of using Bitcoin’s Proof of Work, the Liquid Network relies on trusted functionaries for consensus. Core Components: 1. Federated Model: Trusted Functionaries: The Liquid Network is secured by a group of trusted entities, such as exchanges and financial institutions, called functionaries. This model provides faster transaction speeds by limiting consensus to a small, trusted group. 2. Role of Functionaries: Block Signers: Functionaries are responsible for validating transactions and creating blocks. Blocks are confirmed when two-thirds of functionaries sign, ensuring secure and quick consensus. Watchmen: Functionaries responsible for overseeing the peg-in and peg-out process between Bitcoin and the Liquid Network, ensuring that Liquid Bitcoin (L-BTC) is always backed by real Bitcoin. 3. Block Creation and Validation: Regular Block Intervals: Blocks are produced every minute without mining, relying on multi-signature validation by block signers. Multi-Signature Approval: At least two-thirds of block signers must validate and sign each block, preventing any single entity from controlling block production. 4. Peg-in and Peg-out Mechanism: Peg-in Process: Users move Bitcoin onto the Liquid Network by sending it to a multi-signature address. In return, an equivalent amount of L-BTC is issued. Peg-out Process: To move Bitcoin back to the Bitcoin blockchain, users initiate a peg-out, where Watchmen release the corresponding Bitcoin. 5. Confidential Transactions: Privacy with Confidential Transactions (CT): Liquid uses CT to hide transaction amounts, ensuring privacy while allowing functionaries to verify transaction validity. This feature is essential for financial institutions and users who require privacy. The EOS blockchain operates on a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism, designed to provide high transaction throughput and low latency. Core Components of EOS Consensus: Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) with Block Producers (BPs) Voting for Block Producers: EOS token holders vote to select 21 block producers (BPs) who validate transactions and produce blocks. This voting process is continuous, with token holders able to reallocate their votes at any time, ensuring the active block producers are consistently those with the most community support. Active Rotation: The top 21 BPs are rotated regularly to maintain a decentralized and representative set of validators, helping secure the network while giving all selected BPs equal opportunities for block production. Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) in DPoS EOS incorporates BFT principles within its DPoS consensus to finalize blocks with a high degree of security. Transactions gain irreversibility once approved by a majority of block producers, providing faster finality and reducing the risk of forks or double-spending attacks. High Throughput and Block Production Block Time: EOS block producers create blocks in 0.5-second intervals, facilitating a rapid transaction processing rate. If a block producer misses their turn, the system immediately switches to the next producer, keeping network latency minimal. The Ethereum network uses a Proof-of-Stake Consensus Mechanism to validate new transactions on the blockchain. Core Components 1. Validators: Validators are responsible for proposing and validating new blocks. To become a validator, a user must deposit (stake) 32 ETH into a smart contract. This stake acts as collateral and can be slashed if the validator behaves dishonestly. 2. Beacon Chain: The Beacon Chain is the backbone of Ethereum 2.0. It coordinates the network of validators and manages the consensus protocol. It is responsible for creating new blocks, organizing validators into committees, and implementing the finality of blocks. Consensus Process 1. Block Proposal: Validators are chosen randomly to propose new blocks. This selection is based on a weighted random function (WRF), where the weight is determined by the amount of ETH staked. 2. Attestation: Validators not proposing a block participate in attestation. They attest to the validity of the proposed block by voting for it. Attestations are then aggregated to form a single proof of the block’s validity. 3. Committees: Validators are organized into committees to streamline the validation process. Each committee is responsible for validating blocks within a specific shard or the Beacon Chain itself. This ensures decentralization and security, as a smaller group of validators can quickly reach consensus. 4. Finality: Ethereum 2.0 uses a mechanism called Casper FFG (Friendly Finality Gadget) to achieve finality. Finality means that a block and its transactions are considered irreversible and confirmed. Validators vote on the finality of blocks, and once a supermajority is reached, the block is finalized. 5. Incentives and Penalties: Validators earn rewards for participating in the network, including proposing blocks and attesting to their validity. Conversely, validators can be penalized (slashed) for malicious behavior, such as double-signing or being offline for extended periods. This ensures honest participation and network security. The NEAR Protocol uses a unique consensus mechanism combining Proof of Stake (PoS) and a novel approach called Doomslug, which enables high efficiency, fast transaction processing, and secure finality in its operations. Here's an overview of how it works: Core Concepts 1. Doomslug and Proof of Stake: - NEAR's consensus mechanism primarily revolves around PoS, where validators stake NEAR tokens to participate in securing the network. However, NEAR's implementation is enhanced with the Doomslug protocol. - Doomslug allows the network to achieve fast block finality by requiring blocks to be confirmed in two stages. Validators propose blocks in the first step, and finalization occurs when two-thirds of validators approve the block, ensuring rapid transaction confirmation. 2. Sharding with Nightshade: - NEAR uses a dynamic sharding technique called Nightshade. This method splits the network into multiple shards, enabling parallel processing of transactions across the network, thus significantly increasing throughput. Each shard processes a portion of transactions, and the outcomes are merged into a single "snapshot" block. - This sharding approach ensures scalability, allowing the network to grow and handle increasing demand efficiently. Consensus Process 1. Validator Selection: - Validators are selected to propose and validate blocks based on the amount of NEAR tokens staked. This selection process is designed to ensure that only validators with significant stakes and community trust participate in securing the network. 2. Transaction Finality: - NEAR achieves transaction finality through its PoS-based system, where validators vote on blocks. Once two-thirds of validators approve a block, it reaches finality under Doomslug, meaning that no forks can alter the confirmed state. 3. Epochs and Rotation: - Validators are rotated in epochs to ensure fairness and decentralization. Epochs are intervals in which validators are reshuffled, and new block proposers are selected, ensuring a balance between performance and decentralization. Polygon, formerly known as Matic Network, is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum that employs a hybrid consensus mechanism. Here’s a detailed explanation of how Polygon achieves consensus: Core Concepts 1. Proof of Stake (PoS): Validator Selection: Validators on the Polygon network are selected based on the number of MATIC tokens they have staked. The more tokens staked, the higher the chance of being selected to validate transactions and produce new blocks. Delegation: Token holders who do not wish to run a validator node can delegate their MATIC tokens to validators. Delegators share in the rewards earned by validators. 2. Plasma Chains: Off-Chain Scaling: Plasma is a framework for creating child chains that operate alongside the main Ethereum chain. These child chains can process transactions off-chain and submit only the final state to the Ethereum main chain, significantly increasing throughput and reducing congestion. Fraud Proofs: Plasma uses a fraud-proof mechanism to ensure the security of off-chain transactions. If a fraudulent transaction is detected, it can be challenged and reverted. Consensus Process 3. Transaction Validation: Transactions are first validated by validators who have staked MATIC tokens. These validators confirm the validity of transactions and include them in blocks. 4. Block Production: Proposing and Voting: Validators propose new blocks based on their staked tokens and participate in a voting process to reach consensus on the next block. The block with the majority of votes is added to the blockchain. Checkpointing: Polygon uses periodic checkpointing, where snapshots of the Polygon sidechain are submitted to the Ethereum main chain. This process ensures the security and finality of transactions on the Polygon network. 5. Plasma Framework: Child Chains: Transactions can be processed on child chains created using the Plasma framework. These transactions are validated off-chain and only the final state is submitted to the Ethereum main chain. Fraud Proofs: If a fraudulent transaction occurs, it can be challenged within a certain period using fraud proofs. This mechanism ensures the integrity of off-chain transactions. Security and Economic Incentives 6. Incentives for Validators: Staking Rewards: Validators earn rewards for staking MATIC tokens and participating in the consensus process. These rewards are distributed in MATIC tokens and are proportional to the amount staked and the performance of the validator. Transaction Fees: Validators also earn a portion of the transaction fees paid by users. This provides an additional financial incentive to maintain the network’s integrity and efficiency. 7. Delegation: Shared Rewards: Delegators earn a share of the rewards earned by the validators they delegate to. This encourages more token holders to participate in securing the network by choosing reliable validators. 8. Economic Security: Slashing: Validators can be penalized for malicious behavior or failure to perform their duties. This penalty, known as slashing, involves the loss of a portion of their staked tokens, ensuring that validators act in the best interest of the network. Solana uses a unique combination of Proof of History (PoH) and Proof of Stake (PoS) to achieve high throughput, low latency, and robust security. Here’s a detailed explanation of how these mechanisms work: Core Concepts 1. Proof of History (PoH): Time-Stamped Transactions: PoH is a cryptographic technique that timestamps transactions, creating a historical record that proves that an event has occurred at a specific moment in time. Verifiable Delay Function: PoH uses a Verifiable Delay Function (VDF) to generate a unique hash that includes the transaction and the time it was processed. This sequence of hashes provides a verifiable order of events, enabling the network to efficiently agree on the sequence of transactions. 2. Proof of Stake (PoS): Validator Selection: Validators are chosen to produce new blocks based on the number of SOL tokens they have staked. The more tokens staked, the higher the chance of being selected to validate transactions and produce new blocks. Delegation: Token holders can delegate their SOL tokens to validators, earning rewards proportional to their stake while enhancing the network's security. Consensus Process 1. Transaction Validation: Transactions are broadcast to the network and collected by validators. Each transaction is validated to ensure it meets the network’s criteria, such as having correct signatures and sufficient funds. 2. PoH Sequence Generation: A validator generates a sequence of hashes using PoH, each containing a timestamp and the previous hash. This process creates a historical record of transactions, establishing a cryptographic clock for the network. 3. Block Production: The network uses PoS to select a leader validator based on their stake. The leader is responsible for bundling the validated transactions into a block. The leader validator uses the PoH sequence to order transactions within the block, ensuring that all transactions are processed in the correct order. 4. Consensus and Finalization: Other validators verify the block produced by the leader validator. They check the correctness of the PoH sequence and validate the transactions within the block. Once the block is verified, it is added to the blockchain. Validators sign off on the block, and it is considered finalized. Security and Economic Incentives 1. Incentives for Validators: Block Rewards: Validators earn rewards for producing and validating blocks. These rewards are distributed in SOL tokens and are proportional to the validator’s stake and performance. Transaction Fees: Validators also earn transaction fees from the transactions included in the blocks they produce. These fees provide an additional incentive for validators to process transactions efficiently. 2. Security: Staking: Validators must stake SOL tokens to participate in the consensus process. This staking acts as collateral, incentivizing validators to act honestly. If a validator behaves maliciously or fails to perform, they risk losing their staked tokens. Delegated Staking: Token holders can delegate their SOL tokens to validators, enhancing network security and decentralization. Delegators share in the rewards and are incentivized to choose reliable validators. 3. Economic Penalties: Slashing: Validators can be penalized for malicious behavior, such as double-signing or producing invalid blocks. This penalty, known as slashing, results in the loss of a portion of the staked tokens, discouraging dishonest actions. Statemine is a parachain on the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems designed for managing assets and tokens. It uses Polkadot’s shared security model, relying on the Nominated Proof of Stake (NPoS) consensus mechanism provided by the Polkadot relay chain. In NPoS, validators are elected by nominators who stake their tokens to back trustworthy validators. These validators then secure the network by validating transactions and producing blocks. Statemine inherits this consensus mechanism from the relay chain, ensuring both scalability and security without requiring its own independent set of validators. Statemint is a common-good parachain on the Polkadot and Kusama networks, designed to handle asset management and issuance efficiently while leveraging Polkadot's shared security model. Core Components: Relay Chain Integration: Statemint inherits its consensus mechanism from the Polkadot Relay Chain, which operates on a Nominated Proof of Stake (NPoS) model. This model ensures robust security and decentralization by relying on validators and nominators. Shared Security: As a parachain, Statemint utilizes the Polkadot Relay Chain’s validators for block validation, ensuring high security and interoperability without requiring independent validators. Collator Nodes: Statemint employs collator nodes to aggregate transactions into blocks and submit them to the Relay Chain validators for finalization. Collators do not participate in consensus directly but play a key role in transaction processing. Immediate Finality: The underlying Polkadot consensus mechanism ensures instant finality using the GRANDPA (GHOST-based Recursive Ancestor Deriving Prefix Agreement) protocol, which provides secure and efficient transaction confirmation. Tezos operates on a Liquid Proof of Stake (LPoS) consensus mechanism, which combines flexibility in staking participation with an on-chain governance model. Core Components: Liquid Proof of Stake (LPoS) Tezos allows token holders to participate in staking by either directly staking their tokens or delegating them to a validator (known as a baker) without transferring ownership. Validators (bakers) are responsible for creating new blocks (baking) and endorsing other blocks for validation. Bakers and Endorsers Bakers are selected based on the amount of XTZ (Tezos tokens) staked or delegated to them. The more XTZ staked, the higher the probability of being chosen to bake or endorse blocks. Endorsers are randomly selected from a pool of bakers to validate and approve blocks baked by other bakers. This additional validation enhances network security. Self-Amendment and Governance Tezos’s unique governance model allows token holders to propose, vote on, and implement network upgrades without requiring hard forks. This self-amendment protocol enables Tezos to evolve based on community and developer input, making it highly adaptable and flexible. The Tron blockchain operates on a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism, designed to improve scalability, transaction speed, and energy efficiency. Here's a breakdown of how it works: 1. Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS): Tron uses DPoS, where token holders vote for a group of delegates known as Super Representatives (SRs)who are responsible for validating transactions and producing new blocks on the network. Token holders can vote for SRs based on their stake in the Tron network, and the top 27 SRs (or more, depending on the protocol version) are selected to participate in the block production process. SRs take turns producing blocks, which are added to the blockchain. This is done on a rotational basis to ensure decentralization and prevent control by a small group of validators. 2. Block Production: The Super Representatives generate new blocks and confirm transactions. The Tron blockchain achieves block finality quickly, with block production occurring every 3 seconds, making it highly efficient and capable of processing thousands of transactions per second. 3. Voting and Governance: Tron’s DPoS system also allows token holders to vote on important network decisions, such as protocol upgrades and changes to the system’s parameters. Voting power is proportional to the amount of TRX (Tron’s native token) that a user holds and chooses to stake. This provides a governance system where the community can actively participate in decision-making. 4. Super Representatives: The Super Representatives play a crucial role in maintaining the security and stability of the Tron blockchain. They are responsible for validating transactions, proposing new blocks, and ensuring the overall functionality of the network. Super Representatives are incentivized with block rewards (newly minted TRX tokens) and transaction feesfor their work.

USD Tether is present on the following networks: algorand, avalanche, bitcoin, bitcoin_cash, bitcoin_liquid, eos, ethereum, near_protocol, polygon, solana, statemine, statemint, tezos, tron. Algorand's consensus mechanism, Pure Proof-of-Stake (PPoS), relies on the participation of token holders (stakers) to ensure the network's security and integrity: 1. Participation Rewards: o Staking Rewards: Users who participate in the consensus protocol by staking their ALGO tokens earn rewards. These rewards are distributed periodically and are proportional to the amount of ALGO staked. This incentivizes users to hold and stake their tokens, contributing to network security and stability. o Node Participation Rewards: Validators, also known as participation nodes, are responsible for proposing and voting on blocks. These nodes receive additional rewards for their active role in maintaining the network. 2. Transaction Fees: o Flat Fee Model: Algorand employs a flat fee model for transactions, which ensures predictability and simplicity. The standard transaction fee on Algorand is very low (around 0.001 ALGO per transaction). These fees are paid by users to have their transactions processed and included in a block. o Fee Redistribution: Collected transaction fees are redistributed to participants in the network. This includes stakers and validators, further incentivizing their participation and ensuring continuous network operation. 3. Economic Security: o Token Locking: To participate in the consensus mechanism, users must lock up their ALGO tokens. This economic stake acts as a security deposit that can be slashed (forfeited) if the participant acts maliciously. The potential loss of staked tokens discourages dishonest behavior and helps maintain network integrity. Fees on the Algorand Blockchain 1. Transaction Fees: o Algorand uses a flat transaction fee model. The current standard fee is 0.001 ALGO per transaction. This fee is minimal compared to other blockchain networks, ensuring affordability and accessibility. 2. Smart Contract Execution Fees: o Fees for executing smart contracts on Algorand are also designed to be low. These fees are based on the computational resources required to execute the contract, ensuring that users are only charged for the actual resources they consume. 3. Asset Creation Fees: o Creating new assets (tokens) on the Algorand blockchain involves a small fee. This fee is necessary to prevent spam and ensure that only genuine assets are created and maintained on the network. Avalanche uses a consensus mechanism known as Avalanche Consensus, which relies on a combination of validators, staking, and a novel approach to consensus to ensure the network's security and integrity. Validators: Staking: Validators on the Avalanche network are required to stake AVAX tokens. The amount staked influences their probability of being selected to propose or validate new blocks. Rewards: Validators earn rewards for their participation in the consensus process. These rewards are proportional to the amount of AVAX staked and their uptime and performance in validating transactions. Delegation: Validators can also accept delegations from other token holders. Delegators share in the rewards based on the amount they delegate, which incentivizes smaller holders to participate indirectly in securing the network. 2. Economic Incentives: Block Rewards: Validators receive block rewards for proposing and validating blocks. These rewards are distributed from the network’s inflationary issuance of AVAX tokens. Transaction Fees: Validators also earn a portion of the transaction fees paid by users. This includes fees for simple transactions, smart contract interactions, and the creation of new assets on the network. 3. Penalties: Slashing: Unlike some other PoS systems, Avalanche does not employ slashing (i.e., the confiscation of staked tokens) as a penalty for misbehavior. Instead, the network relies on the financial disincentive of lost future rewards for validators who are not consistently online or act maliciously. o Uptime Requirements: Validators must maintain a high level of uptime and correctly validate transactions to continue earning rewards. Poor performance or malicious actions result in missed rewards, providing a strong economic incentive to act honestly. Fees on the Avalanche Blockchain 1. Transaction Fees: Dynamic Fees: Transaction fees on Avalanche are dynamic, varying based on network demand and the complexity of the transactions. This ensures that fees remain fair and proportional to the network's usage. Fee Burning: A portion of the transaction fees is burned, permanently removing them from circulation. This deflationary mechanism helps to balance the inflation from block rewards and incentivizes token holders by potentially increasing the value of AVAX over time. 2. Smart Contract Fees: Execution Costs: Fees for deploying and interacting with smart contracts are determined by the computational resources required. These fees ensure that the network remains efficient and that resources are used responsibly. 3. Asset Creation Fees: New Asset Creation: There are fees associated with creating new assets (tokens) on the Avalanche network. These fees help to prevent spam and ensure that only serious projects use the network's resources. The Bitcoin blockchain relies on a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism to ensure the security and integrity of transactions. This mechanism involves economic incentives for miners and a fee structure that supports network sustainability: Incentive Mechanisms 1. Block Rewards: Newly Minted Bitcoins: Miners are incentivized by block rewards, which consist of newly created bitcoins awarded to the miner who successfully mines a new block. Initially, the block reward was 50 BTC, but it halves every 210,000 blocks (approx. every four years) in an event known as the "halving." Halving and Scarcity: The halving mechanism ensures that the total supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million, creating scarcity and potentially increasing value over time. 2. Transaction Fees: User Fees: Each transaction includes a fee paid by the user to incentivize miners to include their transaction in a block. These fees are crucial, especially as the block reward diminishes over time due to halving. Fee Market: Transaction fees are determined by the market, where users compete to have their transactions processed quickly. Higher fees typically result in faster inclusion in a block, especially during periods of high network congestion. For the calculation of the corresponding indicators, the additional energy consumption and the transactions of the Lightning Network have also been taken into account, as this reflects the categorization of the Digital Token Identifier Foundation for the respective functionally fungible group (“FFG”) relevant for this reporting. If one would exclude these transactions, the respective estimations regarding the “per transaction” count would be substantially higher. The Bitcoin Cash blockchain operates on a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, with incentives and fee structures designed to support miners and the overall network's sustainability: Incentive Mechanism: 1. Block Rewards: o Newly Minted Bitcoins: Miners receive a block reward, which consists of newly created bitcoins for successfully mining a new block. Initially, the reward was 50 BCH, but it halves approximately every four years in an event known as the "halving." o Halving and Scarcity: The halving ensures that the total supply of Bitcoin Cash is capped at 21 million BCH, creating scarcity that could drive up value over time. 2. Transaction Fees: o User Fees: Each transaction includes a fee, paid by users, that incentivizes miners to include the transaction in a new block. This fee market becomes increasingly important as block rewards decrease over time due to the halving events. o Fee Market: Transaction fees are market-driven, with users competing to get their transactions included quickly. Higher fees lead to faster transaction processing, especially during periods of high network congestion. Applicable Fees: 1. Transaction Fees: o Bitcoin Cash transactions require a small fee, paid in BCH, which is determined by the transaction's size and the network demand at the time. These fees are crucial for the continued operation of the network, particularly as block rewards decrease over time due to halvings. 2. Fee Structure During High Demand: o In times of high congestion, users may choose to increase their transaction fees to prioritize their transactions for faster processing. The fee structure ensures that miners are incentivized to prioritize higher-fee transactions. Liquid’s federated model incentivizes functionaries to maintain network security, with transaction fees as the primary source of income for network operations and validator rewards. Incentive Mechanisms: 1. Transaction Fees: User-Paid Fees: Each transaction on the Liquid Network incurs a fee paid in L-BTC. These fees are awarded to functionaries (specifically block signers), providing an incentive to validate and maintain the network. Applicable Fees: 1. Transaction Fees: Minimal Transaction Costs: Fees on the Liquid Network are generally low, encouraging high-volume transactions. Confidential Transaction Costs: Confidential Transactions, while private, may incur slightly higher fees due to additional cryptographic processes. EOS incentivizes block producers to maintain the network and operates with unique staking and resource models to control transaction costs. Incentive Mechanisms: Block Producer Rewards Earning EOS Tokens: Block producers are rewarded in EOS tokens for validating transactions and producing blocks, providing the primary economic incentive for maintaining network operations and security. Voting Rewards for BPs Although not part of the core protocol, block producers often offer incentives to encourage token holders to vote for them. This encourages accountability, transparency, and performance, as EOS holders tend to favor reliable and engaged BPs. Applicable Fees and Resource Model: Fee-less Transactions for Users Resource Staking (CPU, NET): Rather than charging direct transaction fees, EOS allows users to perform fee-less transactions by staking EOS tokens for network resources like CPU and NET bandwidth, which are required for transaction processing. RAM for Storage: dApp developers purchase RAM for data storage on the EOS network. RAM prices are determined through a market-based system, where supply and demand influence cost. EOS EVM Gas Fees Dynamic Gas Model: For transactions on the EOS EVM, gas fees are dynamically calculated, based on transaction demand, similar to Ethereum’s gas model. These fees, paid in EOS tokens, enable Ethereum-compatible smart contracts to run on EOS, offering a familiar environment for EVM developers and users. EOS EVM Integration With EOS EVM, users and developers benefit from a familiar gas fee structure, allowing Ethereum-based applications to operate seamlessly on the EOS network while maintaining competitive costs. Ethereum, particularly after transitioning to Ethereum 2.0 (Eth2), employs a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism to secure its network. The incentives for validators and the fee structures play crucial roles in maintaining the security and efficiency of the blockchain. Incentive Mechanisms 1. Staking Rewards: Validator Rewards: Validators are essential to the PoS mechanism. They are responsible for proposing and validating new blocks. To participate, they must stake a minimum of 32 ETH. In return, they earn rewards for their contributions, which are paid out in ETH. These rewards are a combination of newly minted ETH and transaction fees from the blocks they validate. Reward Rate: The reward rate for validators is dynamic and depends on the total amount of ETH staked in the network. The more ETH staked, the lower the individual reward rate, and vice versa. This is designed to balance the network's security and the incentive to participate. 2. Transaction Fees: Base Fee: After the implementation of Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1559, the transaction fee model changed to include a base fee that is burned (i.e., removed from circulation). This base fee adjusts dynamically based on network demand, aiming to stabilize transaction fees and reduce volatility. Priority Fee (Tip): Users can also include a priority fee (tip) to incentivize validators to include their transactions more quickly. This fee goes directly to the validators, providing them with an additional incentive to process transactions efficiently. 3. Penalties for Malicious Behavior: Slashing: Validators face penalties (slashing) if they engage in malicious behavior, such as double-signing or validating incorrect information. Slashing results in the loss of a portion of their staked ETH, discouraging bad actors and ensuring that validators act in the network's best interest. Inactivity Penalties: Validators also face penalties for prolonged inactivity. This ensures that validators remain active and engaged in maintaining the network's security and operation. Fees Applicable on the Ethereum Blockchain 1. Gas Fees: Calculation: Gas fees are calculated based on the computational complexity of transactions and smart contract executions. Each operation on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) has an associated gas cost. Dynamic Adjustment: The base fee introduced by EIP-1559 dynamically adjusts according to network congestion. When demand for block space is high, the base fee increases, and when demand is low, it decreases. 2. Smart Contract Fees: Deployment and Interaction: Deploying a smart contract on Ethereum involves paying gas fees proportional to the contract's complexity and size. Interacting with deployed smart contracts (e.g., executing functions, transferring tokens) also incurs gas fees. Optimizations: Developers are incentivized to optimize their smart contracts to minimize gas usage, making transactions more cost-effective for users. 3. Asset Transfer Fees: Token Transfers: Transferring ERC-20 or other token standards involves gas fees. These fees vary based on the token's contract implementation and the current network demand. NEAR Protocol employs several economic mechanisms to secure the network and incentivize participation: Incentive Mechanisms to Secure Transactions: 1. Staking Rewards: Validators and delegators secure the network by staking NEAR tokens. Validators earn around 5% annual inflation, with 90% of newly minted tokens distributed as staking rewards. Validators propose blocks, validate transactions, and receive a share of these rewards based on their staked tokens. Delegators earn rewards proportional to their delegation, encouraging broad participation. 2. Delegation: Token holders can delegate their NEAR tokens to validators to increase the validator's stake and improve the chances of being selected to validate transactions. Delegators share in the validator's rewards based on their delegated tokens, incentivizing users to support reliable validators. 3. Slashing and Economic Penalties: Validators face penalties for malicious behavior, such as failing to validate correctly or acting dishonestly. The slashing mechanism enforces security by deducting a portion of their staked tokens, ensuring validators follow the network's best interests. 4. Epoch Rotation and Validator Selection: Validators are rotated regularly during epochs to ensure fairness and prevent centralization. Each epoch reshuffles validators, allowing the protocol to balance decentralization with performance. Fees on the NEAR Blockchain: 1. Transaction Fees: Users pay fees in NEAR tokens for transaction processing, which are burned to reduce the total circulating supply, introducing a potential deflationary effect over time. Validators also receive a portion of transaction fees as additional rewards, providing an ongoing incentive for network maintenance. 2. Storage Fees: NEAR Protocol charges storage fees based on the amount of blockchain storage consumed by accounts, contracts, and data. This requires users to hold NEAR tokens as a deposit proportional to their storage usage, ensuring the efficient use of network resources. 3. Redistribution and Burning: A portion of the transaction fees (burned NEAR tokens) reduces the overall supply, while the rest is distributed to validators as compensation for their work. The burning mechanism helps maintain long-term economic sustainability and potential value appreciation for NEAR holders. 4. Reserve Requirement: Users must maintain a minimum account balance and reserves for data storage, encouraging efficient use of resources and preventing spam attacks. Polygon uses a combination of Proof of Stake (PoS) and the Plasma framework to ensure network security, incentivize participation, and maintain transaction integrity. Incentive Mechanisms 1. Validators: Staking Rewards: Validators on Polygon secure the network by staking MATIC tokens. They are selected to validate transactions and produce new blocks based on the number of tokens they have staked. Validators earn rewards in the form of newly minted MATIC tokens and transaction fees for their services. Block Production: Validators are responsible for proposing and voting on new blocks. The selected validator proposes a block, and other validators verify and validate it. Validators are incentivized to act honestly and efficiently to earn rewards and avoid penalties. Checkpointing: Validators periodically submit checkpoints to the Ethereum main chain, ensuring the security and finality of transactions processed on Polygon. This provides an additional layer of security by leveraging Ethereum's robustness. 2. Delegators: Delegation: Token holders who do not wish to run a validator node can delegate their MATIC tokens to trusted validators. Delegators earn a portion of the rewards earned by the validators, incentivizing them to choose reliable and performant validators. Shared Rewards: Rewards earned by validators are shared with delegators, based on the proportion of tokens delegated. This system encourages widespread participation and enhances the network's decentralization. 3. Economic Security: Slashing: Validators can be penalized through a process called slashing if they engage in malicious behavior or fail to perform their duties correctly. This includes double-signing or going offline for extended periods. Slashing results in the loss of a portion of the staked tokens, acting as a strong deterrent against dishonest actions. Bond Requirements: Validators are required to bond a significant amount of MATIC tokens to participate in the consensus process, ensuring they have a vested interest in maintaining network security and integrity. Fees on the Polygon Blockchain 4. Transaction Fees: Low Fees: One of Polygon's main advantages is its low transaction fees compared to the Ethereum main chain. The fees are paid in MATIC tokens and are designed to be affordable to encourage high transaction throughput and user adoption. Dynamic Fees: Fees on Polygon can vary depending on network congestion and transaction complexity. However, they remain significantly lower than those on Ethereum, making Polygon an attractive option for users and developers. 5. Smart Contract Fees: Deployment and Execution Costs: Deploying and interacting with smart contracts on Polygon incurs fees based on the computational resources required. These fees are also paid in MATIC tokens and are much lower than on Ethereum, making it cost-effective for developers to build and maintain decentralized applications (dApps) on Polygon. 6. Plasma Framework: State Transfers and Withdrawals: The Plasma framework allows for off-chain processing of transactions, which are periodically batched and committed to the Ethereum main chain. Fees associated with these processes are also paid in MATIC tokens, and they help reduce the overall cost of using the network. Solana uses a combination of Proof of History (PoH) and Proof of Stake (PoS) to secure its network and validate transactions. Here’s a detailed explanation of the incentive mechanisms and applicable fees: Incentive Mechanisms 4. Validators: Staking Rewards: Validators are chosen based on the number of SOL tokens they have staked. They earn rewards for producing and validating blocks, which are distributed in SOL. The more tokens staked, the higher the chances of being selected to validate transactions and produce new blocks. Transaction Fees: Validators earn a portion of the transaction fees paid by users for the transactions they include in the blocks. This provides an additional financial incentive for validators to process transactions efficiently and maintain the network's integrity. 5. Delegators: Delegated Staking: Token holders who do not wish to run a validator node can delegate their SOL tokens to a validator. In return, delegators share in the rewards earned by the validators. This encourages widespread participation in securing the network and ensures decentralization. 6. Economic Security: Slashing: Validators can be penalized for malicious behavior, such as producing invalid blocks or being frequently offline. This penalty, known as slashing, involves the loss of a portion of their staked tokens. Slashing deters dishonest actions and ensures that validators act in the best interest of the network. Opportunity Cost: By staking SOL tokens, validators and delegators lock up their tokens, which could otherwise be used or sold. This opportunity cost incentivizes participants to act honestly to earn rewards and avoid penalties. Fees Applicable on the Solana Blockchain 7. Transaction Fees: Low and Predictable Fees: Solana is designed to handle a high throughput of transactions, which helps keep fees low and predictable. The average transaction fee on Solana is significantly lower compared to other blockchains like Ethereum. Fee Structure: Fees are paid in SOL and are used to compensate validators for the resources they expend to process transactions. This includes computational power and network bandwidth. 8. Rent Fees: State Storage: Solana charges rent fees for storing data on the blockchain. These fees are designed to discourage inefficient use of state storage and encourage developers to clean up unused state. Rent fees help maintain the efficiency and performance of the network. 9. Smart Contract Fees: Execution Costs: Similar to transaction fees, fees for deploying and interacting with smart contracts on Solana are based on the computational resources required. This ensures that users are charged proportionally for the resources they consume. Statemine’s incentivization structure relies on the broader Polkadot ecosystem. Validators securing the relay chain receive staking rewards for their role in maintaining network integrity, funded through token inflation and transaction fees. While Statemine itself does not directly incentivize validators, users and developers benefit from the relay chain's rewards system. Transaction fees on Statemine are designed to be low and predictable, enabling cost-effective token management. These fees are paid in DOT or KSM, depending on the associated relay chain, and help compensate validators while preventing spam transactions. Additionally, Statemine supports fee customization through fee sponsorship, allowing third parties to cover transaction costs for specific users or dApps. Statemint is a common-good parachain on the Polkadot and Kusama networks, designed to enable efficient asset management while benefiting from Polkadot’s shared security and governance model. Incentive Mechanisms: Relay Chain Validators: Validators securing the Polkadot Relay Chain are indirectly incentivized through block rewards and transaction fees collected across all parachains, including Statemint. This ensures the stability and security of the network without requiring Statemint-specific rewards. Collator Compensation: Collator nodes aggregate transactions and produce blocks for Statemint. They may be compensated through external arrangements, such as subsidies or user-driven incentives, depending on governance decisions and usage patterns. Governance Participation: Polkadot (DOT) and Kusama (KSM) token holders influence Statemint’s operations, such as fee adjustments and protocol upgrades, through on-chain governance mechanisms. Applicable Fees: Transaction Fees: Users pay transaction fees in the native tokens of the Relay Chain, DOT for Polkadot or KSM for Kusama. These fees are distributed to Relay Chain validators to support the network's maintenance. Asset Creation and Transfer Fees: Fees apply for creating new assets and transferring them on the Statemint chain. These fees help prevent spam and ensure efficient use of network resources. Governance-Defined Fee Adjustments: The Statemint parachain's fees can be adjusted through governance proposals, enabling the community to adapt costs to network conditions. Tezos incentivizes network participation and security through baking rewards, transaction fees, and an inflationary reward model. Incentive Mechanisms: Rewards for Baking and Endorsing Bakers receive XTZ rewards for baking new blocks. Endorsers, who validate and approve blocks baked by others, are also rewarded in XTZ. These rewards encourage active participation and help secure the network. Delegation Incentives XTZ holders who do not wish to bake can delegate their tokens to a baker, earning a share of the baker’s rewards without directly participating. This delegation option broadens participation, making it accessible to more users, thereby enhancing overall network security. Security Deposit Requirement Bakers are required to post a bond (security deposit) in XTZ to bake blocks, which is held as collateral to prevent dishonest actions. If a baker acts maliciously, they risk forfeiting this bond, creating a disincentive for bad behavior and aligning bakers’ interests with network integrity. Applicable Fees: Transaction Fees Users pay transaction fees in XTZ for activities such as transferring funds and interacting with smart contracts. These fees are awarded to bakers and endorsers, providing them with an additional incentive to validate and secure the network. Inflationary Reward Model Tezos has an inflationary reward system, where new XTZ tokens are periodically created and distributed as rewards to bakers and endorsers. This model encourages continuous participation but gradually increases the XTZ supply, balancing network security and token availability over time. The Tron blockchain uses a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism to secure its network and incentivize participation. Here's how the incentive mechanism and applicable fees work: Incentive Mechanism: 1. Super Representatives (SRs) Rewards: Block Rewards: Super Representatives (SRs), who are elected by TRX holders, are rewarded for producing blocks. Each block they produce comes with a block reward in the form of TRX tokens. Transaction Fees: In addition to block rewards, SRs receive transaction fees for validating transactions and including them in blocks. This ensures they are incentivized to process transactions efficiently. 2. Voting and Delegation: TRX Staking: TRX holders can stake their tokens and vote for Super Representatives (SRs). When TRX holders vote, they delegate their voting power to SRs, which allows SRs to earn rewards in the form of newly minted TRX tokens. Delegator Rewards: Token holders who delegate their votes to an SR can also receive a share of the rewards. This means delegators share in the block rewards and transaction fees that the SR earns. Incentivizing Participation: The more tokens a user stakes, the more voting power they have, which encourages participation in governance and network security. 3. Incentive for SRs: SRs are also incentivized to maintain the health and performance of the network. Their reputation and continued election depend on their ability to produce blocks consistently and efficiently process transactions. Applicable Fees: 1. Transaction Fees: Fee Calculation: Users must pay transaction fees to have their transactions processed. The transaction fee varies based on the complexity of the transaction and the network's current demand. This is paid in TRX tokens. Transaction Fee Distribution: Transaction fees are distributed to Super Representatives (SRs), giving them an ongoing income to maintain and support the network. 2. Storage Fees: Tron charges storage fees for data storage on the blockchain. This includes storing smart contracts, tokens, and other data on the network. Users are required to pay these fees in TRX tokens to store data. 3. Energy and Bandwidth: Energy: Tron uses a resource model that allows users to access network resources like bandwidth and energy through staking. Users who stake their TRX tokens receive "energy," which is required to execute transactions and interact with smart contracts. Bandwidth: Each user is allocated a certain amount of bandwidth based on their TRX holdings. If users exceed their allotted bandwidth, they can pay for additional bandwidth in TRX tokens.

2024-04-01

2025-04-01

20949542.29008 (kWh/a)

15.376611611 (%)

0.00003 (kWh)

To determine the proportion of renewable energy usage, the locations of the nodes are to be determined using public information sites, open-source crawlers and crawlers developed in-house. If no information is available on the geographic distribution of the nodes, reference networks are used which are comparable in terms of their incentivization structure and consensus mechanism. This geo-information is merged with public information from the European Environment Agency (EEA) and thus determined. The intensity is calculated as the marginal energy cost wrt. one more transaction.

The energy consumption of this asset is aggregated across multiple components: To determine the energy consumption of a token, the energy consumption of the network(s) algorand, avalanche, bitcoin, bitcoin_cash, bitcoin_liquid, eos, ethereum, near_protocol, polygon, solana, statemine, statemint, tezos, tron is calculated first. Based on the crypto asset's gas consumption per network, the share of the total consumption of the respective network that is assigned to this asset is defined. When calculating the energy consumption, we used - if available - the Functionally Fungible Group Digital Token Identifier (FFG DTI) to determine all implementations of the asset of question in scope and we update the mappings regulary, based on data of the Digital Token Identifier Foundation.

0.00000 (tCO2e/a)

8275.11566 (tCO2e/a)

0.00001 (kgCO2e)

To determine the proportion of renewable energy usage, the locations of the nodes are to be determined using public information sites, open-source crawlers and crawlers developed in-house. If no information is available on the geographic distribution of the nodes, reference networks are used which are comparable in terms of their incentivization structure and consensus mechanism. This geo-information is merged with public information from the European Environment Agency (EEA) and thus determined. The intensity is calculated as the marginal emission wrt. one more transaction.