Fantom Network ($FTM)

9may...WMMw

29 Feb 2024

Fantom is a decentralized, open-source, smart contract platform that aims to provide fast, secure, and scalable infrastructure for decentralized applications (dApps). The platform is designed as a next-generation blockchain platform to address several limitations of existing blockchains. Lachesis, a revolutionary aBFT consensus protocol, has made Fantom faster and cheaper than previous technologies while retaining security. Fantom's key differentiating factor from other smart contract platforms is its focus on improving the performance of the underlying distributed ledger, meaning no segmentation between different networks, thereby not trading security for performance.

Lachesis aBFT

Lachesis is a breakthrough aBFT consensus algorithm developed by Fantom.
Below are the key properties of the Lachesis algorithm:

Asynchronous: validators process transactions independently and are not forced to work on the current block being produced.

Leaderless: no participant plays a special role, such as being the leader in producing a block.

Byzantine fault tolerant: functional even with up to one-third of faulty or

malicious nodes.

Final: transactions are confirmed within 1-2 seconds.

Lachesis allows scaling transaction throughput while keeping instant finality without an increased risk of centralization.

How does Lachesis work?

Fantom's consensus mechanism, Lachesis, combines asynchronous Byzantine fault tolerance (aBFT) with directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). aBFT allows nodes to process transactions independently without requiring the sequential exchange of blocks, resulting in faster transaction times. DAGs, which represent blocks of transactions connected in a non-linear manner, facilitate this.
In Lachesis, each validator has its own local DAG and creates blocks from incoming transactions, which are added to its DAG. Validators asynchronously exchange these blocks, spreading information through the network. Once a majority of validators agree on a block, it is added to a blockchain containing all final consensus transactions, which is the Fantom mainnet.
By combining the advantages of aBFT and DAGs, Lachesis achieves fast and efficient transaction processing, with the whole process of submitting a transaction and adding it to the mainnet taking approximately 1-2 seconds.
To learn more about Lachesis in detail, read our article on how consensus works on Fantom or read our whitepaper for a technical explanation.

What are epochs in Lachesis?

Lachesis’s structure is a DAG of events. To optimize storage and retrieval, the DAG is separated into sub-DAGs, each of which is called an epoch. Each epoch comprises many finalized blocks.
Each epoch is sealed when one of these conditions is satisfied:

The epoch reaches a defined number of blocks
The epoch lasts for a specified time
At least one cheater is found in this block

When an epoch gets sealed, its inner epoch indexes get pruned, and new events of the sealed epochs are ignored. Each epoch forms a separate DAG, and thus parents from other epochs are not allowed.

Proof of Stake

What is staking?

Staking is the process of securing the network by locking up your tokens. It serves the same purpose as mining in a proof-of-work network such as Bitcoin.
Validator nodes validate transactions and the staked tokens act as an economic incentive for them to play by the rules of the network. Since validators are anonymous to make the network decentralized and resilient to attacks from the outside, Fantom employs proof of stake to prevent Sybil attacks.
A Sybil attack is an attack where a malicious actor runs a large number of validators to allow them an unsafe amount of influence over the network. Proof of stake makes it costly to set up these validators and allows the network to punish validators for malicious behavior, increasing the costs of attacks.
Fantom requires validator nodes to lock up at least 500,000 FTM (Fantom's native token) to prevent Sybil attacks.

Transaction Fees

Basics

Each transaction on Fantom requires a transaction fee paid to the network in order to prevent spam attacks and reward validators for processing transactions. The fee is paid in FTM (Fantom's native token).

Rewards distribution

Rewards distribution is fully controlled by an SFC contract. The SFC contract can be upgraded by governance at any time without a hard fork. The current distribution of transaction fees are:

5% burned
10% to the Ecosystem Vault
15% to the Gas Monetization program
70% to validators

Home page: https://fantom.foundation
Github: https://github.com/Fantom-foundation/
Explorer:

Wallet:

The ultimate guide to the FTM token

https://fantom.foundation/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-ftm-token/
https://forum.fantom.network/t/all-in-one-guide-for-fantom-newcomers/170

Ecosystem

Partners and integrations: https://fantom.foundation/partners/
Fantom community: https://fantom.foundation/fantom-community/
Projects and their stats: https://projects.fantom.network

Use Fantom

Fantom mainnet

Explorer: https://ftmscan.com
Public API endpoints: link
Run a read-only node: link
Run a validator node: link

Fantom testnet

Explorer: https://explorer.testnet.fantom.network
PWA wallet: https://pwawallet.testnet.fantom.network
RPC: https://rpc.testnet.fantom.network
Run a testnet validator node: link

Fantom SONIC

Fantom SONIC is an EVM-compatible blockchain showcasing brand-new technology created by Fantom. Closed SONIC shows the upside potential of this technology on simulated traffic, Open SONIC allows user interactions and smart contracts deployment. To test the network go to the Account Page. Basic chain info: