Blockchain technology is picking up speed. What emerged in 2009 as Bitcoin has evolved into so much more.

It is essentially the foundation of everything in the Decentralized space; NFTs, DApps, smart contracts, DAOs, tokens, coins and Web 3.0.

This article aims to explain what blockchains are, the types of blockchains, and the ones at the top.

The blockchain is a public, digital, permanent record of transactions on the internet. Each transaction (price, asset and ownership) is verified; by nodes through a P2P network.

This technology allows information to be stored electronically on a distributed database.

TL; DR

• Ethereum, Hyperledger Fabric, Cardano, Polkadot, Tezos, IBM Blockchain, Solana, R3 Corda and Stellar are the top blockchains right now.
• When choosing a blockchain there are several things to look out for. Is it centralized or decentralized? Its consensus mechanisms. Is it Proof-of-Work or Proof-of-Stake? Does it use a private or public network? The maturity, performance and cost of the blockchain platform. Does it use smart contracts? Its development tools.
• This article is structured to answer the questions asked above.

What Is A Blockchain?

A blockchain is a platform that exist to support and enable users and developers to produce blockchain applications(use cases) of existing chain infrastructure. NFT marketplaces and cross-border payments are examples.

Blockchains provide an efficient, effective and secure way to; confirm transactions and communicate them.

There are at least 1,000 blockchains with at least 4 blockchain networks; consortium, public, hybrid, and private. Each blockchain exits under one of these networks; for example, Ethereum is a public network which means no single entity controls the network.

The first blockchain was Bitcoin. It was also the first cryptocurrency. After Bitcoin came other blockchains like Ethereum, Hyperledger and R3.

There are several blockchains, but they all serve similar yet different purposes. For instance, different blockchain technology companies deliver niche solutions for various use cases.

When choosing a blockchain there are a few things you should look out for

1. Is it centralized or decentralized?
2. Its consensus mechanisms. Is it Proof of Work or Proof of Stake?
3. Does it use a private or public network?
4. The maturity, performance and cost of the blockchain platform.
5. Does it use smart contracts?
6. Its development tools.

Ethereum

Ethereum is the most popular blockchain network, and it has its own cryptocurrency called Ether (ETH).

The platform is decentralized, open-source and has smart contract functionality.

It’s one of the oldest and most established blockchains, but it has its problems; lofty gas fees and slow transaction processing compared to other chains. Currently, the PoW consensus mechanism is being used, but by the end of this year, ethereum should have completely migrated to PoS, which is more energy and environmentally friendly. It will be called Ethereum 2.0.

Ethereum’s ecosystem is mature, they have tools for writing smart contracts using a solidity programming environment.

Ethereum Use cases and Projects

1. DApps — The Sandbox & Decentraland
2. NFTs — Axie Infinity, BAYC
3. DeFi — Uniswap, Aave
4. DAOs — MakerDAO
5. Oracles — Chainlink
6. DEX — 1inch
7. Marketplaces — OpenSea, NBA Topshot

Tezos

Tezos is a public, decentralized, open-source blockchain with the native cryptocurrency tez(XTZ)

It’s built on the Proof-of-Stake blockchain protocol and can execute P2P transactions, and serve as a platform for deploying smart contracts.

Tezos is referred to as the first “self-amending” blockchain. It routinely adapts and adopts new features natively and automatically through its on-chain governance mechanism.

Its low gas fees and fast transaction processing make it more suitable for some users compared to other chains like Ethereum. Because it uses the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, it’s very energy-efficient and leaves a small carbon footprint.

Tezos Use Cases and Projects

1. Marketplaces — fxhash, objkt.com
2. NFTs — Tezotopia, PixelPotus
3. Dapps — Tezos (Homebase), Spruce System, Inc(Decentralized Identity)
4. DeFi — Vortex, TezosSwap, Plenty
5. DEX — Alien’sFarm, QuipuSwap
6. DAO — SalsaDAO, StakerDAO
7. Oracles — Chainlink

Polkadot

Polkadot is a decentralized hybrid blockchain with a cryptocurrency called DOT. It has a multi-chain application environment where cross-chain registries and cross-chain computation are possible.

Polkadot is in the process of building a bridge that will allow its ecosystem to be compatible with other blockchains like Ethereum, Tezos, Avalanche, Bitcoin etc.

Different bridging techniques like pallets, smart contracts and higher-order protocol will be supported.

A blockchain bridge is a type of technology that enables interoperability between different blockchains. A bridge can either be centralized or decentralized. Each chain has different ecosystems; consensus mechanisms, governance models and communities. The bridge facilitates the transfer of arbitrary data, crypto-assets and tokens.

Polkadot uses the PoS consensus mechanism to secure the network and verify transactions. The relay chain(the main chain, the “heart”) does not natively support smart contracts but parachains(custom, project-specific blockchains) on Polkadot do. They use a weight-based fee model as opposed to a gas-metering model, so its fees can’t be compared to the previous blockchains. They do, however, have a zero-cost blockchain transaction fee which allows users to send transactions at zero dollars without paying fees. These transactions are; signed paid refund, free signed and unsigned transactions.

Polkadot Use Cases and Projects

1. Enabling interoperability between chains, regardless of their features or their status as private or public chains.
2. DeFi — Super App, Moonbeam
3. NFTs — Efinity by Enjin, RMRK
4. Dapps — Mantra DAO, LocalCoinSwap, PolkaSwap, Ren
5. DAO — MantraDAO
6. Oracle — Chainlink

Cardano

Cardano is a public proof-of-stake blockchain. It’s open-source and decentralized. It facilitates peer-to-peer(P2P) transactions with its native cryptocurrency, ADA.

It has low gas fees and fast transaction processing compared to other chains. Cardano and Ethereum are very similar chains, the difference between them lies in Cardano’s approach to design; they are research-driven.

The platform enables custom programming logic (smart contracts) and building programs(decentralized applications).

Cardano’s Use Cases and Projects

Cardano’s primary use case is to enable transactions in ADA and facilitate developers to build secure and scalable applications powered by the chain.

The projects below are in the works. https://cardano.org/enterprise/

1. Education — Atala PRISM ( Credential verification)
2. Finance — Atala PRISM (Streamline and accelerate onboarding through the utilisation of reusable verified credentials)
3. Retail — Atala SCAN (Product counterfeiting)
4. Health care — Atala SCAN (counterfeit medicine)
5. Agriculture — Atala Trace (supply chain tracking)
6. Government — Atala PRISM(Digital Identity. People will have full control of their credentials.)

Solana

Solana is a hybrid, open-source blockchain. It supports smart contract functionality and works with proof-of-stake and proof-of-history; a computation mechanism.

SOL is the native cryptocurrency and token to the Solana blockchain. You can use SOL to stake and receive rewards, or as payment for transactions.

Solana promotes itself as a blockchain that has ultra-low fees and near-instant confirmations. This is Solana’s primary use case.

Staking is a way of earning rewards for holding certain cryptocurrencies by helping to secure a network.

Solana’s scalability ensures that all transactions remain under $0.01, and transaction speeds are as quick as 400 milliseconds per block. This blockchain has great benefits but it isn’t perfect. In September 2021, the network went down three times, resulting in a hack. A Solana bridge to the Ethereum chain was hacked too. This resulted in 320 million dollars stolen. Solana’s PoH mechanism allows high-speed and low-cost transactions, but at the cost of a less secure network and a more centralized one. If low-cost and high-speed is your preference, Solana is probably for you.

Solana Use Cases and Projects

1. Phantom — Solana wallet built for DeFi, NFTs and Staking
2. Audius — Decentralized music sharing platform.
3. DEX — Orca
4. DeFi — Raydium, Solend
5. Marketplaces — Magic Eden, Solanart
6. DApp — Brave Browser
7. NFTs — Hoglympics, Chainers.io

Top Blockchains

According to burgu and techtarget, these are the top blockchains. In no particular order.

1. Ethereum
2. Hyperledger Fabric
3. Cardano
4. Polkadot
5. Tezos
6. IBM Blockchain
7. Solana
8. R3 Corda
9. Stellar

As stated earlier, each blockchain serves similar and different purposes. The blockchains described above all answer the questions of things to look out for when choosing one.

An article by Naomi Noelle

What blockchain do you use currently? And what blockchain(s) do you plan on exploring after reading this article?

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