AlephiumPrice

(ALPH)

Alephium is a sharded Layer-1 blockchain leveraging Proof-of-Work and the UTXO model for security, combined with modern smart contract capabilities. It aims to resolve issues such as high fees, limited liquidity, and interoperability often seen in other networks. Crucially, it also addresses the high energy consumption of traditional PoW systems through its innovative Proof-of-Less-Work (PoLW) mechanism, striving for an eco-friendlier, scalable, and decentralized solution.

Alephium achieves scalability through its innovative BlockFlow sharding algorithm. This system enhances the UTXO model and employs a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) for consensus across different shards. This architectural design allows Alephium to currently handle over 800 transactions per second (TPS) with 16 shards, with significant potential to expand beyond 20,000 TPS as more shards are integrated into the network.

Proof-of-Less-Work (PoLW) is Alephium's distinctive consensus mechanism, a greener alternative to traditional Proof-of-Work. It maintains security and decentralization while significantly reducing energy consumption. This is achieved by dynamically adjusting mining difficulty according to network conditions and incorporating a token burn feature. PoLW is designed to be over 87% more energy-efficient than conventional PoW systems, making Alephium a more environmentally conscious blockchain.

ALPH serves as the native utility token for the Alephium ecosystem. Its main functions include paying for transaction fees on the network and compensating miners for their role in securing the blockchain. Developers utilize ALPH to cover the costs associated with smart contract executions. Additionally, the ALPH token can be used as a digital currency for facilitating international transfers.

Alephium handles smart contracts through its custom-built infrastructure, necessitated by its stateful UTXO model which is distinct from EVM-compatible systems. It employs its own virtual machine, named Alphred, and a domain-specific programming language called Ralph. This bespoke environment is designed to harness the advantages of the sUTXO model, providing developers with high programmability and robust security features for creating decentralized applications.

Yes, Alephium (ALPH) tokens can be mined. The network is primarily designed for mining with Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) machines, which are specialized for this task. It is generally not efficient to mine ALPH using standard Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) or Central Processing Units (CPUs). Miners who successfully contribute to the network receive ALPH tokens as a reward, with the block reward amount adjusting dynamically over time.