What Is Zilliqa (ZIL)?

Zilliqa is a blockchain platform that works as an open and permissionless distributed network. The platform intends to rival traditional centralized payment methods. The whitepaper claims that the network has 10,000 nodes, enabling the platform to match the average transaction rate of Visa and MasterCard, offering lower fees for merchants.

The platform seeks to solve the scalability issues in blockchains, that is, the inability of blockchains to process transactions at speed. Therefore, the platform uses sharding, where the network is divided into several smaller component networks to process transactions in parallel. Thus, the platform’s transaction rate increases as the mining network expands.

Further, the network also envisions a simplified supply chain in smart contract format. For example, marketers who want to deliver advertisements can submit smart contracts with general and specific requirements specified for ad impressions they need and mention geographic restrictions, target audience profiles, etc. A smart contract is a contract that self-executes, and the agreement terms between traders are directly written into code lines. Smart contracts allow trusted transactions and agreements among anonymous parties without requiring any legal system, external enforcement mechanism, or central authority.

The blockchain-based advertising supply chain would resolve issues by allowing a fair marketplace with accountability and transparency. However, fundamental barriers that the platform overcomes include:

• High Volume: The existing blockchain platforms cannot process transactions, given the high ad volume.

• Parallel Bidding: The auctioning process for the sale of advertising space must not make bidders wait for long and enable them to bid for multiple advertisement spaces for sale in parallel.

• Correctness: The rightful winner getting the advertising space is not met in the current smart contract platforms.

The network intends to limit attack exposure on the blockchain by developing a Scilla programming language that secures smart contracts. The language is sharding-friendly, enabling users to compute programs in parallel. The platform would also enable users to build distributed advertising networks and decentralized exchanges, conduct parallel auctions, etc.

Further, the network gas fees bound the computation required for smart contract execution. An application user on Zilliqa can budget how much they wish to spend on computing and security, respectively.

The platform’s native token is Zil, enabling users to engage with every decentralized application (DApp) and platform service developed on the network’s blockchain. The token can also be used to pay for products and services, trade NFTs, etc. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens used for representing the ownership of unique things such as collectibles, artworks, etc. The platform charges users a small fee when they use the token or any DApp; the fee collected is stored for future mining rewards and securing the network’s infrastructure.

History of Zilliqa (ZIL)

The platform was launched in 2017, and the whitepaper was released in May 2018. The team comprises over fifty scientists, engineers, venture creators, and industry experts. Dr. Ben Livshits serves as the CEO. He holds a PhD in C.S. from Stanford and has worked at Microsoft and Brave. Dr. Amit Kumar is the cofounder and serves as the president and chief scientist officer. He also holds a PhD in C.S. from Inria, France. Other prominent members include Mihee Park, Matt Dyer, Dr. Saayan Choudhury, Dr. Ilya Sergey, and Jun Hao Tan.

How Are New ZIL Tokens Created?

The platform uses a combination of proof of work (PoW) and practical Byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT). The two mechanisms help the network improve security, decrease the carbon footprint, and solve slow transaction speeds and scalability. PFBT refers to a distributed computer network’s ability to correctly reach a consensus in spite of nodes in the system failing or sending out incorrect information.

Moreover, users can stake their ZIL tokens to earn rewards while contributing to the network. The annual percentage return for staking is proportional to the total amount of tokens in circulation. The staking rewards are up to 12.99% APR.