Algorand

Algorand is a Layer 1 blockchain designed around a consensus mechanism called Pure Proof of Stake. It was founded by Silvio Micali, a Turing Award winning cryptographer at MIT, and launched its mainnet in 2019. The design goal was to avoid the trade-off where a blockchain must sacrifice either decentralization, security, or scalability.

In Pure Proof of Stake, a small committee is selected at random for each block using a cryptographic sortition process, and selection probability is weighted by stake. Because the committee is chosen secretly and changes every round, an attacker cannot identify who to target in advance. Blocks are final immediately once agreed, so the chain does not fork and there is no waiting period for confirmations to settle.

Platform features

Developers can write smart contracts in familiar languages, with native Python support alongside the platform's own tooling. The chain supports asset tokenization at the protocol level, meaning tokens and non-fungible assets are first-class objects rather than smart contract constructs, and it includes atomic transfers that group multiple transactions so they either all succeed or all fail.

Algorand has been used for payment systems, digital identity, supply chain tracking, and tokenized financial instruments, and it is categorized among quantum-resistant projects due to work on post-quantum cryptographic signatures for its state history.

Supply

ALGO has a maximum supply of 10 billion tokens, with roughly 9.03 billion currently in circulation. The remaining supply is released through ecosystem and community programs administered by the Algorand Foundation, whose distribution policy has changed several times since launch. Holders participating in consensus can earn rewards for keeping nodes online.