What is Aptos? A Look at The Venture Capitalist-backed Layer 1 Blockchain.

In light of the web3 era, the blockchain industry is undergoing many changes. On the one hand, 1st generation networks like Ethereum, are undergoing changes that include a second layer to improve scalability and security issues. On the other hand, new generation networks like Solana that have been proclaimed efficient are facing problems that cause the entire network to stop in its tracks. Yet, more and more developers are deploying decentralized applications and launching them on networks of their choice.

In spite of all the changes, one thing is sure; the blockchain industry is not yet at its peak. As an industry, users still face issues like outages, high transaction fees, and security concerns. Fortunately, blockchain developers are consistently coming up with more ideas to solve the problems plaguing the blockchain industry. Some of these ideas inspire blockchain developers to create their own networks and take a new spin on blockchain technology to curve issues with scalability, efficiency, and usability.

Aptos is one of those ideas that has prevailed in the light of opposition. It is now poised to become one of the safest and most scalable layer 1 blockchains in the space. In this article, we will explore the origins of Aptos, its features, and what its future looks like.

What Is Aptos?

Created by the developers of Diem, Aptos is a layer 1 blockchain that promises a solution to the three major blockchain issues: security, scalability, and decentralization (the Blockchain Trilemma). The blockchain network incorporates a new feature inspired by the Diem blockchain (Aptos’ predecessor) known as Move programming language, a smart contract programming language that supports safety and efficiency.

Having learned from their experience with Diem, Aptos Labs, the team behind the project, sought inspiration from meta’s project. To improve Aptos’ performance at scaling and security, the team incorporated alternative methods of processing transactions and features representing a new approach to decentralization within the web3 space.

A Brief History of Aptos

Aptos was created by Aptos labs with the goal to create truly decentralized and universal assets. Led by co-founders Avery Ching and Mo Shaikh, the Aptos Labs team boasts of impressive doctorate holders, researchers, engineers, strategists, and designers.

The founders, Shaikh and Ching, formerly worked at Meta, also known as Facebook. They spearheaded Meta’s blockchain initiative, Diem (Libra). However, the project was discontinued due to opposition from regulators. Shaikh, the private equity guru, then joined Ching, the talented software engineer, to create Aptos Labs with the motto “Building Layer 1 for everyone.”

In the three years since the project began developing behind the scenes, Aptos has garnered massive support in financing rounds. A series of financing rounds led by FTX alongside major venture capitalist firms like Multicoin Capital and Andreessen Horowitz has brought the company’s valuation to over $350 million. The founder of one of its major investors, Binance Labs, expressed confidence in the programming language behind Aptos.

How Does Aptos Work?

The Aptos blockchain is based on a Byzantine fault Tolerant (BFT) engine, Proof of Stake consensus mechanism. A consensus mechanism that is safe, energy-efficient, and fast. At the test net stage, Aptos was reported to have processed up to 130,000 transactions in a second. Aptos, however, does not owe its success to the consensus mechanism. Instead, the network has succeeded because of the key features that facilitate safety and fast transaction processing. They include:

Move Language

Similar to C++, Move is a smart contract programming language that supports safety and flexibility. Within the Aptos architecture, Move acts as a ledger and is responsible for setting the rules of transactions. The move programming language guarantees security within the network. At the core of this feature are resources, a safe option for storing information within a system. On Move, resources cannot be tampered with or destroyed, thus reducing the chance of successful malicious attacks on the blockchain.

It also includes a virtual machine and compiler, tools that solve the needs of developers on the blockchain. Because the code is open source, web3 developers are encouraged to build projects on the network.

The BFT protocol

The Aptos consensus mechanism is designed to be byzantine fault tolerant in response to the Byzantine General Problem. A reputation system updates validator rotations frequently and controls voting, allowing transactions to be validated in less than a second.

Batch Processing/Parallel Execution

The Aptos Blockchain includes smart contracts based on a Block Stm technology that allows multiple transactions to be processed simultaneously. The trend with most mainstream blockchains is to process transactions in a sequential manner, that is, one by one. Because all transactions are added to one ledger, validators have to wait for a transaction to be validated and updated (reach a consensus) before processing the next one. Conversely, the Aptos blockchain runs on parallel execution; this means that the blockchain runs several parallel chains allowing multiple transactions to be processed all at the same time. This feature also reduces gas fees because the transactions are grouped into batches.

What Sets Aptos Apart From Other Blockchains?

Since the launch of the testnet network, Aptos has successfully examined and improved upon all of its key features. It has even incorporated governance features that guarantee decentralization within the blockchain. So far, the Aptos blockchain stands apart from the rest of the networks already active, mostly in terms of speed, security, and sustainability. To properly understand Aptos’ prospects, we should take a look at Aptos against its top competitors, Ethereum, and Solana.

Aptos vs. Ethereum

Ethereum, the second largest blockchain and home to the DeFi movement, recently went through a massive upgrade, bringing its TPS rate to 100,000. Even with this upgrade that took years to complete, Aptos comes out on top with a TPS rate of 160,000. Additionally, in terms of time to finality and the average time used to process transactions, Aptos comes out on top with less than a second compared to Ethereum’s, which ranges from 15 seconds to 5 minutes.

Aptos’ consensus mechanism also takes a new approach to the Proof of Stake consensus mechanism that Ethereum has only just migrated to. The BFT protocol provided its users with additional security.

Ethereum has one CPU core, while Aptos runs on 16 cores. Finally, even though users have more trust in Ethereum, Aptos does not have any problems with network outages. The network is built in a way that makes it almost impossible to halt.

Aptos vs. Solana

Possibly Aptos’ biggest competitor, Solana, is currently the best performing layer 1 blockchain in the industry. While both networks have competing speed levels due to the similarity in parallel computations, Aptos still trumps Solana. The time to finality for Solana’s network also falls short at 2.5 seconds, 1.5 seconds more than Aptos’.

Despite proving a worthy competitor in other categories, in terms of reliability, Solana’s reputation has taken a big hit. Over the past year, Solana experienced several network outages due to spamming bots that clogged the network. The network also experienced a wallet hacking incident that affected over 8000 wallets. These issues have forced users to look for more reliable alternatives, one of which could be Aptos after its launch.

Aptos Testnet

While the Aptos Blockchain has seen an official release, the project has garnered a lot of interest from key players in the industry. This is because of the Aptos testnet campaign dubbed “Aptos Incentivized testate.” The campaign invites participants to test run the Aptos blockchain by performing challenges on the network and receiving rewards.

In view of the official release, Aptos divided the testnet into four phases. All the stages are designed to center on one feature, giving the Aptos Labs team a chance to examine its performance and improve it, if necessary.

Phase 1, or AIT1, was deployed between May and June this year. It received up to 30,00 applications, 100 of which were approved to participate. The goal of this phase was to deploy a decentralized network that lasted over 7 days.

AIT2 focused on staking and started during the first month of the second half of 2022. The gas schedule for the testate was also improved, targeting the transaction fees feature.

Phase 3/AIT3 went live on August 30th, and ended in the second week of September. So far, the network has successfully processed millions of transactions and added more nodes. It has also added projects like Protagonist and Pontem Network.

The final stage, also known as the Longevity testnet, is yet to launch. Throughout the process, Aptos released Aptos coins (APT) ranging from 500 to 5000 to participants. New developers are still welcome to join the Aptos ecosystem via the website.

Aptos Mainnet and Launch Information

The release of the Aptos mainnet is slated for between September 23rd and December 22nd. The exact dates of the release are yet to be confirmed but will be communicated by the Aptos officials.

Aptos Wallet

Although the Aptos mainnet has not been launched yet, the Aptos Wallet allows you to store APT alongside other tokens given out as rewards during the AIT3 phase.

Owning an Aptos wallet requires you to take note of the following information: Wallet Address, passphrase, and private key.

To create an Aptos wallet on your mobile device: follow these steps.

1. Download the coin 98 super app on iOS or Android App Store.
2. On the app, click activate blockchain and select “Aptos Blockchain.”
3. Go back to the homepage, click on the wallet, and select Add wallet.
4. Select the Aptos icon and click “create.”
5. Once you’re done, you can change the wallet’s name so you remember it next time and back up your passphrase in a different but safe place.

Is Aptos a Good Investment?

As is shown in its history, the Aptos blockchain has garnered the support of many venture capitalist firms. However, it is almost impossible to predict the outcome of the project. No doubt, it is heavily supported and has been built as a reliable network, but no project is immune to failure.

If Aptos succeeds, it may be due to its novel yet promising features that are unique to the layer 1 blockchain. Even at the testnet stage, Aptos has proved that it has the potential to compete with mainstream networks like Ethereum (even with the Merge upgrade), Solana, and Avalanche.

Nevertheless, the technology behind the Aptos project is considered uncharted waters. As such, it may be wise to approach investing in the project cautiously.

Conclusion

The Aptos project aims to improve the scalability and dependability of the blockchain. Aptos has so far attracted a lot of investors and business interest. Their testnets have already been able to validate many of their claims, however it’s impossible to determine whether they will live up to the hype.

While it will take time to determine whether Aptos is truly as revolutionary as it claims to be, its blazing-fast transaction times and skilled development staff are making them seem like a wise investment. It appears like Aptos can truly rank among the top blockchains with such a sound development strategy and a staff of seasoned experts. Before we can be certain, however, the unclear elements, such as tokenomics details, must be clarified.