Alephium is a cryptocurrency platform that seeks to address the challenges of accessibility, scalability, and security encountered by decentralized applications today. It is designed with the aim of being scalable for developers and decentralized for all. Alephium employs a sharding algorithm, expressive sUTXO, and a Proof-of-Less-Work mechanism to secure scalable decentralized applications (dApps) for real-world use cases. The platform aims to be less energy-consuming compared to other cryptocurrencies, using only ⅛ of the energy compared to Bitcoin under the same network conditions. Alephium also has programmability features, proposing a stateful UTXO model that aims to offer layer-1 scalability and a high level of programmability.

Alephium operates using a sharding algorithm called BlockFlow, which aims to improve on the UTXO model of Bitcoin to make it scalable. This algorithm uses a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) data structure to reach consensus between different shards, allowing up to 10,000 transactions per second. Alephium also employs a mechanism known as 'Proof of Less Work', which combines physical work and coin economics to dynamically adjust the work required to mine new blocks. Furthermore, Alephium introduces the stateful UTXO model, offering layer-1 scalability and a high level of programmability, while maintaining security.

Alephium strives to provide a platform for the development and deployment of scalable decentralized applications (dApps) for real-world use cases. Its sharding algorithm and stateful UTXO model aim to provide a suitable platform for developers looking to build efficient and secure smart contracts. Alephium's Proof-of-Less-Work mechanism also aims to be a more sustainable choice for mining. Furthermore, Alephium's Alphred Virtual Machine introduces new paradigms such as trustless P2P smart contracts transactions, which can facilitate the creation of DeFi dApps.

Alephium was created with the aim of addressing the challenges of accessibility, scalability, and security encountered by decentralized applications. The platform's technical design and interfaces have been developed to meet these challenges. Alephium's sharding algorithm, BlockFlow, was developed to improve on the UTXO model of Bitcoin and make it scalable. The platform's Proof-of-Less-Work mechanism was introduced to make the mining process less energy-consuming. Over time, Alephium has continued to evolve and improve, with ongoing developments in areas such as its Alphred Virtual Machine and its own programming language, Ralph.