What is Tezos (XTZ)?

ezos (XTZ), based in Switzerland first launched in 2018 after raising over $230M in their ICO in 2017. Tezos is an open-source Proof-of-Stake (PoS), ‘Self-Amending’ blockchain.

Why Tezos?

The company aims to solve major problems within blockchain technology, such as forking, language, security and more.

Tezos believes that by functioning as a ‘Self-Amending’ blockchain, it will allow the network to upgrade itself, without having to fork the network into two separate chains.

All stakeholders have the ability to participate in any governance voting. This enables all stakeholders to agree on any protocol amendments.

‍

How Does Tezos Work?

The ‘Self-Amending’ model consists of THREE main protocols that function the whole network:

‍

Consensus Protocol

This is where the Delegated Proof-of-Stake model is able to make amendments to the blockchain, such as any additions or upgrades. All stakeholders can vote.

Network Protocol

This is used to determine blocks and direct them correctly through the chain.

Transaction Protocol

This is where all the transactions on the network are recorded and governed.

Bake (Validate)

Baking is another term for Validating as Bakers on the network are required to sign, publish and validate blocks/transactions to the blockchain.

To become a Baker, a minimum of 8,000 XTZ tokens needs to be locked up and in turn will provide them with a Node, also known as a Roll.

Bakers are rewarded and like many other PoS blockchains, Tezos allows its community to earn more XTZ tokens by delegating and staking with Validators, essentially becoming a Delegator to the Tezos blockchain.

Some ‘Bakers’ require more commission but will offer higher rewards in return.

Most recently, it’s worth mentioning that Google Cloud has just become a Baker/Validator to the Tezos blockchain.

The Tezos token, XTZ has a Total Supply of 926,217,626 XTZ, with 74.24% of that figure being staked (687,623,965 $XTZ)…

Tezos Ecosystem & Partnerships

Tezos is partnered with some of the largest companies and sports teams in the world, such as Manchester United, McLaren, Red Bull Racing, Ubisoft and more!

The ecosystem offers a variety of protocols, such as developer tools, digital identity applications, NFTs, gaming and a lot more. There are currently over 100 applications within the Tezos Network, here are a few that caught my attention:

• 3Route - Next-Gen Decentralised Exchange (DEX) Aggregator.
• Mavyrk - DeFi ecosystem that allows users to earn, borrow, lend and more!
• OneOf - NFT Platform that has released some of the best Music NFT collections from Artists such as Biggie, The Beatles and many other legends!
  

If you’re a big fan of McLaren, Red Bull or Ubisoft games, check out their official collections of NFTs and other amazing/rewarding DeFi protocols on the Tezos network!

‍

Tezos Network Upgrades

The latest upgrades coming to Tezos are Lima and Kathmandu and will take the blockchain to a new level of quality.

These upgrades are following the latest narrative within the Web3 space, Rollup technology. Tezos is launching its own Optimistic Rollup technology that is apparently a next-gen version of its competitors such as Optimism or Arbitrum.

‍

Tezos XTZ Token

The XTZ token is the power source of the entire Tezos ecosystem and is used primarily for:

• Governance - Validators (Bakers) and Delegators decide on future upgrades and partnerships.
• Transaction Fees - The XTZ token is used for transaction fees that may occur when trading, swapping or interacting with dApps.
  

How To Buy Tezos XTZ

There are three main ways to buy or hold XTZ, but either way, you will always go through a centralised exchange (CEX). Here are the options:

Option 1- Centralised Exchange

The XTZ token is available on most of the largest centralised exchanges if not all of them.

Here are some Centralised Exchanges we recommend:

• Binance - The most popular CEX in the world
• ByBit - EARN UP TO $30K in DEPOSIT BONUSES
• BitGet - Trade on BitGet and receive 0% Deposit Cashback + $5,000 DEPOSIT BONUSES
• Coinbase - Spend $100 and Get $10 back!
• Crypto.com - Official Fifa 2022 World Cup Sponsor
  

Option 2 - DeFi Wallet & Decentralised Exchange

Firstly, you will need the Binance Smart Chain (BNB Chain) connected to your DeFi wallet like Metamask.

You can watch our step-by-step tutorials on Youtube, using these links:

• Metamask Wallet Tutorial
• BNB Chain Tutorial
  

You can swap XTZ tokens on the Binance Smart Chain (BNB Chain) using the PancakeSwap decentralised exchange (DEX) to perform the swap of either BNB/XTZ or BUSD/XTZ for example.

• PancakeSwap Tutorial
  

Option 3 - Exclusive Tezos Wallet

If you are interested, you can use native Tezos wallets that are exclusive to the blockchain. You can hold, swap and earn using a Tezos wallet, some of which are Web extension wallets and some of which are Software wallets that require being downloaded.

These are the most reputable Tezos wallets:

• Kukai - Web
• Temple - Web
• Airgap - Web, Software & Mobile (iOS or Android)
• Guarda - Software Wallet
• Atomic - Software Wallet
  

There are many to choose from, it all depends on your preference.

Conclusion

Currently, the Tezos network has accomplished over 193 million transactions and has over 2.45 million active users connected to the blockchain.

Tezos is not one of the fastest networks, as it is only capable of managing up to 40 transactions per second (TPS) however Ethereum currently facilitates up to 30TPS.

At the time of writing, Tezos’ native token XTZ is hovering at the price of $0.65 with a market cap of over $655M. XTZ has seen all-time highs of $9.18 with a market cap that hit over $7.5B!

‍

Official Tezos Links

Tezos X

Tezos Website