Fantom blockchain with FTM coin is always part of the discussion whenever there’s a talk on emerging blockchain projects. It is one of those projects that has been caught in the limelight in a very short span of time. Equipped with DAG technology (Directed Acyclic Graph), Fantom is here to address the blockchain trilemma i.e Security, Scalability and Decentralized (similar to Algorand Algo coin). It offers a highly scalable and interoperable smart contract platform like no other. That’s the reason I will break down Fantom and discuss its potential and further developments. Let’s dive in and explore the Fantom blockchain –
What is Fantom?
Fantom is an open-source, decentralized and permissionless blockchain for decentralized apps (DAPPS) and smart contract computations. It was built to address the scalability issue of Ethereum that was resulting in network congestion and higher transaction fee.
Fantom was launched in 2019 by Ahn Byung Ik who’s also the President of Korean Food Tech association and holds a PhD in computer science. Fantom has EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) that helps it to seamlessly interact with Ethereum blockchain and allows Ethereum Dapps to run on its network at a much lower cost (similar to Avalanche AVAX coin).
In recent developments, Fantom seems to focus on creating a total DeFi ecosystem that allows users to trade, lend, mint and borrow digital assets right from their wallets with negligible fee charges and lightning-fast transaction speed.
Michael Kong is the new project head of Fantom since Ahn Byung Ik is no longer associated with the project.
What is Fantom FTM coin?
FTM is the native and primary token of Fantom blockchain. It helps in network governance, paying for the transaction fee and securing the network through staking. Users and Developers have to purchase FTM tokens in order to perform any sort of activity on the network, ranging from developing Dapps, creating a smart contract or paying for transactions (similar to Polygon MATIC token on Polygon blockchain).
Sharing the list of uses of FTM token –
- Securing the Network
- Payments and Network Fee
- Governance
Securing the Network:
The primary use of FTM token is to secure the network via staking i.e Proof-of-Stake. In order to participate in staking, the validator node has to hold a minimum of 3,175,000 FTM tokens and further lock them for a predetermined period of time. Users can participate in staking with a minimum of 1 FTM at will on a verified and trusted validator node.
Users receives 4% annual percentage yield as reward for staking FTM coins
Payments and Network Fee:
When it comes to payment transfer, FTM token is the most reliable and fastest asset used on the Fantom blockchain. The money transfer takes less than a second while charging minimal fee possible, as low as $0.0000001.
FTM token is also used to pay for the network fee that involves creating a smart contract or performing a digital transaction on the network like buying an asset on the DeFi app that runs on the blockchain.
Network fee is necessary to prevent spams and malicious attacks that can affect the performance of the blockchain.
Governance:
Fantom is a completely decentralized and permissionless blockchain. It requires on-chain governance where stakers can participate and vote for changes and improvements for the benefit of the network. Any user that holds FTM tokens is eligible to participate and stake FTM in order to take part in the voting process.
How Does Fantom Blockchain Work?
Fantom blockchain operates in a leaderless Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism named Lachesis consensus mechanism that keeps the transaction speed and security in check while securing the network as required.
Lachesis is basically a DAG-based aBFT (Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance) consensus mechanism which means the data on the network can be processed at different times with the ability to tolerate faulty or malicious behaviour of network participants up to a certain extent without compromising the network.
How does Lachesis consensus mechanism work?
It looks complicated at first, but it’s easier to understand when compared to the consensus mechanism of Solana blockchain with SOL coin that uses PoS mechanism in combination with PoH (Proof of History).
In Fantom network, each node carries its own DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) protocol that helps record the order of event blocks and transactions within the node. Further, each node achieves consensus independently without waiting for block validation from other nodes in the network.
Each node contains a set of confirmed event blocks that are further compiled into a confirmed batch of blocks and finally synced together in a chain without the need for node’s interaction. The base layer of Fantom network is composed of finalized and confirmed blocks only.
This model helps the network attain faster transaction speed and low latency. Since Fantom operates in a leaderless PoS protocol, each node holds similar weightage in the consensus mechanism.
Fantom can process a transaction in around 1 second
Fantom Crypto Mainnet:
Fantom Crypto Mainnet named Opera was launched in 2019. It is an open-source and permissionless platform for Dapps developments and smart contract computations.
The beauty of Opera mainnet is its ability to support Ethereum based applications. Any application or smart contract that is created on Fantom is equally functional on the Ethereum blockchain, a result of interoperability which is powered by EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machines). This is a great strategy to pull the developers out of the Ethereum blockchain to its network by offering interoperability at a lower transaction fee.
Fantom supports Solidity, the language of Ethereum blockchain
Fantom FTM coin staking:
By now, you have understood how FTM coin or FTM token is used on the Fantom blockchain. This part will cover how you can stake FTM tokens on the network and earn yearly rewards.
FTM is available to users in two forms: an ERC20 token and BEP-2 token in Ethereun and Binance blockchains respectively. In order to opt-in and stake FTM, a user needs to convert these tokens into Opera FTM coins via multichain swap (This step is not possible on Uniswap Exchange).
1 FTM is the minimum requirement for staking on Fantom blockchain. Users can stake coins with a trusted validator having no restriction on the locking period. However, in order to secure a higher yield (around 12% per year), the user needs to lock in tokens for a pre-determined period.
Apart from traditional staking. Fantom came up with innovative staking methods and processes for its DeFi ecosystem. It supports the following processes –
- sFTM (Liquid Staking)
- fMint
- fTrade
- fLend
- fUSD
sFTM:
Famously known as liquid staking. Users can stake FTM coins as collateral on the Decentralized Finance application built on Fantom and earn sFTM in a 1:1 ratio.
fMint:
A user can mint digital assets like cryptocurrencies and commodities on its network.
fTrade:
Ability to trade fantom digital assets on the network.
fLend:
Stake FTM to lend or borrow digital assets on the platform.
fUSD:
Fantom’s own stable coin pegged against US Dollar. You can stake or trade FTM to borrow fUSD coins.
Fantom Crypto Benefits:
Ethereum Compatible:
Fantom is capable of hosting and running Ethereum applications on its platform using EVM. Any application created on Fantom is also capable of running on the Ethereum blockchain. This feature makes Fantom a desirable blockchain when it comes to Dapps or smart contract creation.
Minimum Staking:
All you need is just 1 FTM token to stake and earn rewards on the Fantom network, similar to COSMOS Crypto (ATOM) . This is the lowest staking quantity offered by the blockchain compared to other blockchains like Polkadot Crypto (DOT coin) that requires a bare minimum of 120 DOT tokens to participate in staking.
High Transaction Speed:
On paper, Fantom has initially farfetched its aspirational goal of 300,000 transactions per second. However, it is still capable of supporting 4500 transactions per second which is a good number for a blockchain that excels in scalability and security.
Faster Time to Finality:
Finality is defined as the time taken by the blockchain to confirm and settle a transaction, with a guarantee that it won’t be reversed or changed. Fantom takes around 1 second to confirm finality. Refer to the table to understand time to finality for other blockchains –
| Blockchain | Time to Finality |
|---|---|
| Fantom | 1 second |
| Bitcoin | 60 minutes |
| EOS | 2-3 seconds |
| Polkadot | 12-60 seconds |
Dapp Gas Monetization Program:
The Fantom community has proposed incentive rewards like YouTube/Twitch for the DAPPS. To be eligible to receive FTM tokens as incentives, DAPP must have crossed at least 1,000,000 transactions and have spent at least 3 months on the Fantom Opera network (Dapp builder). The developers can then claim 15% of the total gas fees spent on their Dapp
FTM Coin ICO:
Fantom team announced the ICO of FTM coin in June 2018. It offered 40% of its total supply of tokens which is capped at 3,175,000,000 FTM. The ICO pegged the price at $0.043 per token, raising a total of $40 million (approx.)
The tokens were allotted in the month of October 2018 to all the eligible participants. By the time, the price of the token was nearly halved the initial price because of the market crash. Soon after, in the 2021 bull run, FTM gained momentum and claimed new highs profiting the investors who participated in the ICO.
The current circulation supply of FTM coin is 2.5 billion
FTM Coin Price:
Please check the latest FTM coin price, shared below –
FTM Coin Price Prediction:
FTM is one such coin that mimics the crypto market. Its rise and fall depends on the market sentiments. The project has a strong use case and great potential. It wants to make its mark in the DeFi space. Moreover, interoperability features with top blockchains like Ethereum, give it a chance for a higher adoption rate.
Fantom allows Ethereum apps to operate on its platforms at a fraction of the cost. There’s one project that has excelled in the area of interoperability with Ethereum i.e Avalanche AVAX coin. The success of Avalanche has proved this use case of Fantom. I won’t be surprised if the coin made it to the top 20 list of cryptocurrencies by market cap.
Given the current price action and the scope of the upcoming bull run, $10 per FTM will be a conservative price level to target.
Where to Buy Fantom FTM Coin?
Binance exchange (BNB) is the biggest volume driver of FTM Coin and the best platform to buy, sell or hold FTM coins. On the other hand, if you’re an Indian user, you can buy FTM on the leading cryptocurrency platform of India i.e WazirX Exchange (a subsidiary of Binance).
Is Fantom FTM Coin worth investing in?
Fantom is a promising project from South Korea. It is already getting a lot of traction from early investors and leading crypto channels. Its unique proposition makes it a desirable coin to invest in. ICO has turned out to be a successful event for both investors and the company.
Personally, I am quite bullish on Fantom. However, a lot depends on how fast Fantom can onboard Dapps and DeFi applications on its platform along with luring Ethereum developers to migrate their work to its blockchain.
It is going to face stiff competition with Avalanche but a core focus on enabling a DeFi ecosystem can be a game-changer. Let the time decide.
This completes my review of Fantom FTM Coin with price prediction. I hope you enjoyed reading it. In the next post, I will cover Internet Computer ICP Coin and VeChain VET crypto Please share the post and spread what you believe in. Do remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more informative content, released every week.
DISCLAIMER:
Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile market. All the information shared in the post is for knowledge purpose only. By no means, it’s financial or investment advice. Readers are responsible for their own investment decisions and should only invest in cryptocurrency after proper research.
[post_grid id=”6111″]
Paras is a blockchain writer & video creator at Katoch Tubes. In his free time, he loves watching space exploration documentaries & Hollywood movies.