Ten plus years after blockchain was introduced, and despite its forward-thinking possibilities, the tech is yet to go mainstream. The reasons are multifold: it’s expensive to build, it’s too complicated for the average person, and on and on.
What could work is a blockchain platform where users – and we’re talking of individuals, companies, and even governments, can plug in. Not only is it cheaper, but it’s also less time-consuming. Users can profit from the revolutionary power of blockchain without dedicating months of research and tons of resources.
Aergo is a blockchain platform that wants to make this possible. It says it’s ‘the Blockchain for Business’ and ”the world’s most practical and widely deployed enterprise blockchain technology.” The Aergo team wants to enable developers and businesses all over the world to easily create and deploy their own blockchain solutions.
In this article, we’ll analyze the Aergo platform and how exactly it intends to achieve this. We’ll also learn about AERGO, the platform’s token, and how it benefits the ecosystem.
Breaking Down Aergo
Aergo is a platform by blockchain startup Blocko.io that wants to make it easier and cheaper for businesses to adopt blockchain. It provides tools through which users anywhere can benefit from the transparency and immutability of blockchain.
The Aergo team envisions the following:
- an advanced, yet easy-to-understand way of adopting blockchain
- a secure and fast blockchain architecture for all manner of users
- A peer-to-peer and open ecosystem for businesses everywhere to interact and collaborate
Aergo will accomplish these goals aided by several key features. These include the Aergo Hub, Horde, and Marketplace. Let’s take a closer look at each one of these below.
Features of the Aergo Platform
1. Aergo Hub
Aergo Hub will be the public-facing part of the network. It’s where users and developers can interact with the Aergo blockchain. On the Hub, developers can access computing power to create and run DApps. Aergo Hub will very much be like the Amazon Web Service (AWS), only this time peer-to-peer and decentralized. The Hub will support the following capabilities:
- Enable microservices
- Support a serverless network
- Support oracles (that bring info from external sources)
- Serve as a content delivery network
- Acts as a route for traffic/messages to get into the blockchain
2. Aergo Horde
Aergo Horde is a management framework that supports and deploys DApps and various services optimized for the blockchain. It’s also where third parties, e.g., software vendors are able to interact with the Aergo Hub. For such third-parties to connect to the Aergo ecosystem, they have to install the Aergo Horde so as to serve as a node. Aergo Horde is equipped with its own operating system for better efficiency.
3. Aergo Marketplace
Aergo Marketplace is a zone for software apps, computing resources, and more. Users will access it through the Aergo Hub, and they can manage it through the Aergo Horde. Third parties such as product and service providers can make them available to Aergo users through the marketplace. The end-user will be that developer creating their own blockchain project. Other software developers will also be targeted.
The marketplace will lower the barriers for entry for other participants as well – from individuals to small companies to multinationals to government agencies. The Aergo team anticipates such users will use the platform to provide services such as secure voting, as a business ecosystem for companies, and so on.
The marketplace will also feature software development capabilities for the creation and deployment of both public, private, and hybrid blockchains. These capabilities may include the following:
- Processing power
- Scalable and fast storage
- Content delivery network
- Machine learning algorithms
- New algorithms and other digital content
- Customized databases
- Smart contract and oracle templates
- Blockchain training and more
Aergo: Consensus Algorithm
Unlike many blockchain networks, Aergo supports several consensus algorithms. Users can then choose whichever consensus fits their needs the most.
Still, the Aergo team proposes the Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) to be the default consensus algorithm. The team believes DPoS makes more economic sense for business and other important players to join the network. Accordingly, it’s more efficient and sustainable in the long run.
Aergo provides more reasons for choosing DPoS:
- It’s energy-efficient, unlike other mechanisms such as Proof of Work
- It upholds the tenet of decentralization since it can’t be dominated by large mining firms
- It’s easier to identify and root out bad actors from the network
- It’s self-monitoring, and stakers with good behavior are recognized and rewarded
- It’s easier to understand
- It’s less likely to encourage a split of the community through a hard fork
AERGO Token
The native cryptocurrency of the Aergo blockchain is AERGO. The token will play multiple roles, including the following:
- Giving token holders rights to certain services on the network
- As a medium of exchange for all manner of transactions
- As payment for creating and deploying smart contracts
- As the currency for facilitating DPoS consensus
- As payment for services and assets
- As payment for using the Aergo domain
Key Metrics of Aergo
As of August 20, 2020, Aergo traded at $0.62864, with a market cap of 16.6 million that placed it at #394. The coin has a 24-hour volume of $1, 887, 413, a circulating supply of 264, 019, 890, and a total and maximum supply of 500 million. The coin’s all-time high and low was $. 0.532361 (April 10, 2019) and $0.016102 (Mar 13, 2020) respectively.
Buying and Storing Aergo
You can grab some AERGO tokens from Upbit, KuCoin, BitMax, MXC, OKEx, IDEX, GOPAX, HitBTC, Bilaxy GDAC, Oasis Exchange, and Binance DEX. In these exchanges, the token is listed with currencies like BTC, ETH, USDT, WETH, KRW, or BNB.
AERGO token operates on the Ethereum blockchain, so you can store it in any Ethereum-compatible wallet. Great choices include MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, Guarda, Trust Wallet, Atomic Wallet, and of course, hardware wallets Ledger Nano and Trezor.
Final Thoughts
Aergo wants to go where many blockchain projects have gone before – providing an easy blockchain solution for users. The team can only hope that its differentiating features can set it apart. Businesses that aspire to adopt blockchain will be waiting to see why Aergo.