Altcoin Roundup: Three smart contract platforms could be rolled out more powerfully in 2022

Altcoin Roundup: Three smart contract platforms could be rolled out more powerfully in 2022. The year 2021 is drawing to a close and the Ethereum network still has a fee problem. Competitive networks try to exploit the unsolved problems of Ethereum.

Altcoin Roundup: Three smart contract platforms could be rolled out more powerfully in 2022

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) dominated the media headlines in 2021, and the sector, along with unusable tokens (NFTs), helped fuel the mass adoption of money.

While high betting returns and instant profits from flipping JPEGs have proven to be very lucrative for investors , Altcoin it’s important to remember that none of this is possible without the basic skills of smart contract technology.

The Ethereum network is still the most widely used layer-one smart contract platform in the crypto ecosystem, but everyone is well aware of the high fees and congested network problems of the past few years.

In 2021, competing networks such as Avalanche and Binance Smart Chain enabled compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which has led to positive results for investors in both ecosystems.

Let’s take a look at some of the top performing Layer 1 protocols in the fourth quarter of 2021, and examine how partnerships, traditional finance investments, and protocol developments can benefit any project through 2022.

Algorand

Algorand (ALGO) is a pure Proof-of-Stake (PoS) layer-one blockchain network that is self-sufficient and highly scalable, making it capable of handling large volumes of transactions with minimal costs.

In the fourth quarter, the protocol brought the Algorand Virtual Machine onto the market, which enables decentralized applications (DApps), which means that DeFi and NFT projects can now be operated in the network.

Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) have already been launched on the network, making them relatively easy to integrate with new DeFi platforms, allowing for a quick increase in liquidity. The Algorand Foundation’s launch of the Algorand Foundation’s 150 million ALGO Viridis Fund is also designed to accelerate the growth of the DeFi ecosystem on the network.

The project also attracted the attention of institutional investors, and a large amount of money came from Borderless Capital, which launched a $ 500 million fund to help develop DApps on Algorand. Hivemind Capital Partners has also chosen this protocol as its first technology partner.

In October, Algorand introduced governance functions that enable ALGO owners to have a say in the future development of the protocol.

Altcoin Roundup: Three Smart Contract Platforms Could Be More Rolled Out In 2022 9
ALGO / USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

18, 21Shares announced the launch of its physically-backed exchange-traded product, Algorand, which helped spark an ALGO rally to annual highs of $ 2.99.

Tezos

Tezos (XTZ) is a flexible proof-of-stake blockchain designed to grow over time without going through tough forks. In the fourth quarter, traditional financial institutions like Swiss Arab Bank partnered with the protocol to launch staking, trading and custody services for the project’s native XTZ token.

The project hit the headlines on December 7th after expanding the NFT ecosystem through a partnership with Ubisoft, a major gaming company. The Ubisoft Quartz platform uses the Tezos blockchain, and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint players can buy and trade game-specific NFTs on the marketplace.

On December 15, Rarible, a popular NFT marketplace, also announced the integration of the Tezos blockchain into its ecosystem. This means that Rarible users can buy, sell, and trade Tezos NFT in a much cheaper environment than Rarible’s ether-based marketplace.

One reason for the increased attention for the Tezos blockchain is the energy efficiency of the network in a world that is increasingly geared towards environmental sustainability.

According to a recent carbon footprint report from PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory SAS, the Tezos network has increased energy efficiency by 70% by 2021, with annual energy consumption now estimated – roughly the carbon footprint of just 17 people.

Altcoin Roundup: Three Smart Contract Platforms Could Be More Rolled Out In 2022 11
XTZ / USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

At the time of writing, XTZ is trading at $ 4.34 after hitting an annual high of $ 9.17 on October 3. This comes before a wider market downturn has put pressure on prices across the crypto ecosystem as the market moves into the final weeks of 2021.

Related: “I’m a firm believer in crypto technology,” says the former US SEC chairman

Elrond

Elrond (EGLD) is an enterprise-level blockchain platform for distributed applications and enterprises that aims to be the technology ecosystem for the “new internet”.

According to the project’s website, the network uses sharding technology to enable it to process 15,000 transactions per second (TPS) with average transaction costs of $ 0.001.

The bull run at the end of the year, which can be seen in the native EGLD token of the protocol, takes place after the start of a liquidity incentive program amounting to 1.29 billion US dollars by the decentralized exchange Maiar (DEX) based in Elrond.

Altcoin Roundup: Three smart contract platforms could be rolled out more powerfully in 2022
EGLD / USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

Prior to the start of the liquidity program, EGLD’s price was increased due to its increasing use as a digital means of payment, including a partnership with the Romanian music festival Untold, which announced that tickets for the 2021 festival could be purchased through EGLD.

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