What Is IOST (IOST)?

IOST, an acronym for Internet of Services Token, aims to be a scalable, secure, and quick blockchain network based on the next-generation proof-of-believability (PoB) consensus algorithm. Backed by top-notch traders and led by a team of experts, the platform aims to be the underlying architecture for online services meeting a decentralized economy's security and scalability needs.

In spite of the recent hype in the cryptocurrency market, the underlying blockchain technology is still early and far from mass adoption. One of the well-recognized problems with current blockchain technologies is scalability. High fees and slower transaction times on the Ethereum network have left the door open for new solutions to emerge. The whitepaper proposes the Internet of Services (IOST) as an innovative and secure blockchain paradigm providing horizontal scalability and high transaction throughput. By implementing the novel sharding (a database-partitioning technique) architecture and consensus mechanism, the IOS system can seek to process up to 100,000 secure transactions per second.

The main features of the IOST platforms aim to be the following:

• Mainnet - An IOST mainnet address is the equivalent of usually seen wallet addresses on Ethereum. But, IOST addresses are human-readable and are set up by the end user.

• Stable Network - IOST network has had negligible downtime since the mainnet launch in 2019.

• PoB Consensus - The proof-of-believability consensus protocol uses an intra-shard believable-first approach. PoB tackles the scalability dilemma once and for all, seeking to ensure the network's security, high scalability, and decentralization.

• User-friendly - IOST seeks to offer quick transactions in addition to human-friendly user account names.

• Booming Ecosystem - IOST has flourished to host half a million global users, over 400 nodes across 20 countries, and top-notch partnerships.

• High Scalability - IOST network can hold up to 8,000 transactions per second.

The native token of the platform is IOST.  IOST serves as the medium of exchange for all transactions, payments for services and goods provided by merchants or other community members, and commission fees in the IOS system. The commission fee seeks to incentivize the validators and prevent malicious users from damaging the community's interests through the excessive deployment of smart contracts. Anyone can stake, trade, and utilize IOST to engage across the ecosystem of IOST services, DApps, and marketplaces. IOS also aims to play a significant role in calculating a user's believability score. All IOS tokens get generated in the Genesis Block. In addition, as a member of the IOS ecosystem, each user can acquire IOS tokens through validating transactions and contributing resources.

History of IOST (IOST)

The whitepaper of IOST was released on December 31, 2017. The mainnet of the platform was launched in 2019.