View source for Tezos (XTZ)

{{Crypto_info_template|launch = 25-2-2015|total_supply = 3,080,109,502 USDT|consensus_mechanism = Proof-of-Stake}}
== Basics ==
* Started in: [https://medium.com/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms-tezos-5eee6255c791 2014]
* [[Mainnet]] release: 17-9-2018
* Based in: 

* "''Tezos plans to compete with the existing [[blockchains]] by offering a higher security through a technique of formal verification, and a self-amending protocol which will facilitate automatic amendments of protocol without a need for a [[Hard Fork|hard fork]]. The project has been under development since 2014, and the team planned to launch the network in 4 months after [[ICO]], which was in 7-2017. It [https://www.coindesk.com/no-longer-beta-200-million-tezos-blockchain-will-be-official-mainnet-soon launched] in September 2018. Using the original source code which was released in 2016 Tezos launched an alphanet in Feb. 2017 prior to their July [[token]] sale. While the network was originally planned for a late 2017 launch the betanet did not go live until June 2018 due to disagreements within the [[Tezos Foundation|foundation]] which delayed the release of funds to developers. The code was released under [[Open Source|open source]] license. The network token XTZ or Tez that was offered for sale is needed to power [[Smart Contract|smart contracts]] and to participate in voting."''
* ''“Tezos is its own blockchain, not a derivative of any other blockchain. We didn’t just [[fork]] [[Bitcoin (BTC)|Bitcoin]] or [[Ethereum (ETH)|Ethereum]] and add a layer onto it. We built our own from the ground up.”''

* "''Tezos has the potential to cover all key use cases of Ethereum offering extra security as a bonus. At the same time, the cost of using Tezos is expected to be higher than that of Ethereum. It means that Tezos is likely to be in demand in cases where high security need dominates. At the same time, there will always be lots of markets where security offered by Ethereum is enough."'' Check [https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/62dv2k/how_do_you_guys_feel_about_tezos/?st=j4gh1322&sh=60e8200c this] [[reddit]] thread to get deeper into this topic.
* [https://ournetwork.substack.com/p/our-network-issue-6 From] [[Our Network]] #6 (30-1-2020):
''"Funded accounts on Tezos continued to grow by +7% (+24k) throughout January, but the number of economically relevant accounts with more than 100tz balance increased only by 938 to 24.6k, which represents 6.6% of all 376k funded accounts. Overall, the top 1k accounts hold about 67% of total supply which is close to Litecoin (64%) but much higher than Bitcoin (35%)."''
==History ==

* From this [https://medium.com/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms-tezos-5eee6255c791 blog] (27-9-2017):

Tezos is a smart contract platform whose origin dates back to 2014, when Ethereum was just in its early formative stages. So if Tezos was designed to uproot a dominant platform, it would have been Bitcoin. Nonetheless, the original Tezos design was very forward thinking for its time in proposing solutions to governance and scalability problems Bitcoin would later experience as well as providing a higher level language than Bitcoin’s for implementing smart contracts.

Tezos is designed from the ground up as a completely new blockchain that is different from Bitcoin or Ethereum.
==Audits & Exploits ==

*[[Bug bounty]] program can be found [insert here].

=== Bugs /Exploits===
== Governance ==

=== Voting ===

* Jacob Arluck from of the teams working on Tezos [https://player.fm/series/blockcrunch/ep-55-is-governance-a-moat-for-blockchains-jacob-arluck-tq-group said this] about Tezos governance: "We want to be conservative and keep consensus around changes to the protocol, but stay fast moving and not stuck like [[Bitcoin (BTC)|Bitcoin]]. You want to start conservative and loosen up along the way, trying not to lose decentralization."
* Voting on [[on-chain governance]] happens in three phases. It takes 3 months, every month 1 vote.
* Voting rights for the top 10 BPs on Tezos is currently at 28.8% (as of April 13th, 2019)
* On the question if Tezos with it's delegated proof of stake might end up with cartels (like [[Lisk (LSK)|Lisk]]):

''"[https://medium.com/tezos/liquid-proof-of-stake-aec2f7ef1da7 On this] topic, there’s [https://vitalik.ca/general/2018/03/28/plutocracy.html no shortage] of celebrated blog posts forewarning us that on-chain governance is destined for capture by concentrated interests. And there is [https://cryptogo.de/en/lisk-the-mafia-blockchain/ real evidence] to this effect in Lisk. But observers too often extrapolate the experiences of dPOS protocols with fixed size validator sets [https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Motte_and_bailey directly onto] Tezos. Rarely do observers note that Tezos features a different model based on different priorities.''

''None of this is to say that powerful voting coalitions can’t arise, or that large entities, like [https://gate.io/article/16548 exchanges], won’t become [https://blog.coinbase.com/announcing-coinbase-pro-6773bc3bf99c important stakeholders] in Tezos. But what matters most is whether token holders and users can coordinate to rearrange power and hold concentrated interests accountable. Liquid Proof-of-Stake should facilitate this by ensuring the barrier to entry is low enough to maintain a dynamic validator set."''

* At the end of 2018 one [[subreddit]] user [https://www.reddit.com/r/tezos/comments/9ufhcl/tezos_we_have_a_problem/ pointed out] that users were 'over-delegating':

''"The over-delegation problem is getting ugly. At Tezos Community, we stopped accepting new KT1 [[addresses]] for delegation way back in cycle 26. But as of today, we have 158 delegators with over 1M of new delegations made to us since then. These delegators are not receiving rewards from us - but they still count towards our [[staking]] balance. This means that we are more likely to become over-delegated despite our best efforts to mitigate the risk. I feel bad for these delegators because there is no good way to notify them of their mistake. One of the protocol improvements we need to consider is a way for a baker to stop accepting new delegators.''

''As many bakers become over delegated, the chain will become impacted. As a threat to decentralization, our largest bakers ([[Tezos Foundation|TF]], [[Polychain]], and presumably [[Tim Draper|Draper]]) will start to earn many steals. Because they bake for themselves, they have lots of bond available to pick up all the steals that the public delegation services will miss. This crisis is going to come to a head over the next 15 cycles."''

However it seemed to have worked itself out by as one reddit user [https://www.reddit.com/r/tezos/comments/daff71/how_did_the_overdelegation_issue_get_fixed/ put it] (29-9-2019):

''"Education and information. People eventually figured out they wouldn't get anything if they delegated to an overdelegated baker, and baker who found themselves with unwanted delegation managed ways to get more bonds and profit from the unexpected bounty."''

* From this [https://medium.com/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms-tezos-5eee6255c791 blog] (27-9-2017):

''"Tezos proposes that a stake-based democratic process will better retain network effects by avoiding contentious splits while allowing protocol upgrades to keep pace with innovation. Initially, only proposals with a high level of stakeholder support (80% supermajority) will get deployed, which, in theory, should minimize network [[Hard Fork|splits]]. The democratic process itself comes with some issues. Upgrade proposals are inherently technical; the vast majority of stakeholders won’t be able to directly evaluate what they’re voting on. Instead they will be informed by the explanations of a few who understand the Tezos code, which puts great power in the hands of a small tech-savvy minority. Getting enough stakeholders to vote on any given proposal is another challenge. Tezos is looking to address both these issues with a voting scheme in which stakeholders are free to cast their votes or delegate them to others as they see fit.''

''A major concern with stake-based voting on arbitrary protocol upgrades is that it can give a small cartel of [[whales]] (i.e. entities holding a large stake, such as exchanges) too much power to change the rules and enrich themselves at the expense of non-staking users. The [https://www.tezos.com/static/papers/position_paper.pdf Tezos position paper] briefly describes formalizing “constitutionality” by requiring that proposals come with a formal proof that they don’t violate any constitutional properties. It remains to be seen whether such mechanisms are practically possible and how effective they would be at deterring abuses of power that a self-amending governance process allows."''

== Token ==
=== Launch ===
* Tezos [https://onchainfx.com/asset/tezos conducted] an ICO from June 28, 2017 to July 13, 2017, in which 65,681 [[BTC]] and 361,122 [[ETH]] were raised. 
* The ICO [https://www.coindesk.com/no-longer-beta-200-million-tezos-blockchain-will-be-official-mainnet-soon set a record] for the largest initial coin offering (ICO) of all time up that point – $232 million in July 2017.
* "''Controversially, [https://www.coindesk.com/delays-damned-tezos-blockchain-enters-beta?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app only investors] who provided personal information to TokenSoft, a third-party provider contracted by the foundation, were able to claim their tokens. The foundation did not announce that it would carry out these know-your-customer and anti-money laundering ([[KYC]]/[[AML]]) checks – which required investors to submit names, phone numbers, addresses, government-issued IDs and selfies – until nearly a year after the ICO, in which the foundation accepted [[bitcoin]] and [[ether]]."''

=== Token allocation ===
* In return, 607,489,040 XTZ allocated for ICO participants were created at genesis. On top of the initial genesis supply, an additional ~76.3 million XTZ will be created for the [[Tezos Foundation]] and DLS (Dynamic Ledger Solutions). The XTZ that will be created and allocated to the Foundation and DLS is subject to a 4-year vesting schedule with monthly cliffs. This will create an aggregate allocated supply of 763,306,929 XTZ.
* Development team: $317,000 worth of XTZ in addition to their regular compensation
* Advisors: $75,000 worth of XTZ
* PR consulting firm: $30,000 worth of XTZ

=== Utility ===
=== Token Details ===

* From their 2020 year end [https://tezos.foundation/tezos-2020-year-in-review/ blog] (12-12-2020):

''"TQ Tezos introduced a new token standard, FA2, to support a wide range of token types and multi-asset contracts."''
== Coin Distribution ==
* [https://ournetwork.substack.com/p/our-network-issue-41?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMzk3OTAwLCJwb3N0X2lkIjo2NTIyNTI0LCJfIjoiYzl4Um4iLCJpYXQiOjE2MDIwNzc1MTIsImV4cCI6MTYwMjA4MTExMiwiaXNzIjoicHViLTIxMzYyIiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.vNyH39Ef45fksf09SVM32OJFs6_oSSctYfKYZYeCCK4 From] [[Our Network]] 2-10-2020):
"''The meteoric rise of custodial staking which started with [[Coinbase]]'s Staking announcement in November 2019, almost 10 months ago, has been slowing down since May. Quarter to quarter we still observe a linear increase of 10-15% across the three large players Coinbase, [[Kraken]], and [[Binance]]. Today custodians control 25.5% (174M) of Tezos' consensus (683M, 79.3% staking ratio) and hold 20.5% of the total supply (851M)."''
* [https://blockwatch.cc/blog/state-of-the-tezos-network-sep-2020/ From] [[Blockwatch]] (2-10-2020):
''"The identity of 119 public bakers, 6 custodians, the 8 foundation bakers and a few more is known, the rest is private and their identity is undisclosed. [https://tzstats.com/bakers#top20 The top 20 bakers] control 68% of network consensus, the Tezos foundation alone controls 27.7%, all 119 public staking services combined only 32.5%."''

== Tech ==

* From this [https://medium.com/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms-tezos-5eee6255c791 blog] (27-9-2017): ''"The [https://www.tezos.com/static/papers/position_paper.pdf Tezos position paper] identifies and addresses some key issues associated with protocol [[forks]] as an innovation upgrade mechanism. Having predated both the [[Bitcoin]] and [[Ethereum]] [[Hard Fork|hard forks]], this paper was visionary for its time in identifying the difficulty of coordinating social consensus around proposals, the economic cost of network splits, and the vulnerability of core development teams as a source of [[centralized]] control."''
* Code can be viewed [insert here].
* Programming language used: The developers made a unique choice to use [[OCaml]] as the programming language arguing that it offers better security features and is a more powerful interface compared to other options like [[C++]]. OCaml also allows developers to check operations using formal verification which can detect potential bugs or errors in the code.

* From this [https://medium.com/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms-tezos-5eee6255c791 blog] (27-9-2017):

''"Tezos plans to greatly improve security with Michelson, a new smart contracting language designed specifically to facilitate formal verification of [[on-chain]] code. Unlike [[Solidity]], Michelson is not compiled to anything; it is a low level, stack-based, [[Turing Complete|Turing-complete]] programming language that is directly interpreted by the Tezos [[Virtual Machine (VM)|virtual machine]]. So technically it is more analagous to [[EVM]] bytecode than Solidity, however it includes high-level constructs such as maps, sets, lambdas, cryptographic primitives, and [[contract]]-specific operations to make it easier for humans to read and write. It is purely functional, strongly typed, and statically type-checked to simplify the construction of correctness proofs and eliminate several types of vulnerabilities that have afflicted Solidity contracts. Currently there are at most only a handful of expert Michelson programmers, and being a new, stack-based language without many of the features programmers are used to, the learning curve may present an adoption hurdle for developers. However, Michelson provides a foundation upon which a higher level, more developer-friendly functional language that facilitates “full stack” formal verification could be developed. There is currently active research and development on the Liquidity programming language, which provides an OCaml-like syntax and transpiles to and from Michelson."''

=== Transaction Details ===

* Capacity ([[TPS]]):
*[[Latency]]:

=== How it works ===

*[https://medium.com/tezos/liquid-proof-of-stake-aec2f7ef1da7 Liquid] [[Liquid Proof-of-Stake (LPoS)|Proof-of-Stake (LPoS)]] protocol. “In Liquid Proof-of-Stake (LPoS) protocols such as Tezos only the baker is [https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2019/04/evaluating-risks-staking-strategies-revealed-for-tezos-cosmos-irisnet/ directly punished] in case of a fault"
*[https://messari.io/asset/tezos#profile From] [[Messari]]:

''"At the core of this codebase is a system to formalize proposing, voting for, and implementing changes to the functionality of the network. Once a proposal has been made holders of Tezos (XTZ) tokens are able to vote with a weighting of one vote per token. [[Consensus]] is determined using a version of a delegated proof-of-stake ([[DPoS]]) system where [[stakers]], called bakers within the network, can lock up their tokens in exchange for the ability to validate [[blocks]]. In Tezo's more liquid DPoS system users are able to "delegate" tokens to bakers without transferring ownership. [[Block Reward|Rewards]] for validating blocks are distributed to bakers in the form of new XTZ tokens with a proportional amount of the reward distributed to wallets that have delegated tokens to the baker. This enables smaller token holders to participate in the validation (and reward) process if they hold less than the required amount to become a full baker. Using this model the team believes they can increase participation from token holders by reducing frictions and allowing anyone to receive newly released XTZ to maintain the relative value of their holdings.''

''To allow for future changes to the network Tezos is divided into network, transaction, and consensus protocols. The transaction and consensus protocols operate separately and plug into a generic network shell. This shell maintains the current state of the blockchain and allows the network to conduct internal checks on the protocols allowing them to validate their own replacements. Proposed changes can be made by anyone and are decided on by a vote from token holders. Proposals can include a payment to be made by the developer proposing a change which the team believes will incentive more impactful development on the platform."''
=== Fees ===
=== Upgrades ===

*The Tezos upgrade proposal, Athens, has successfully been implemented on the Tezos Protocol autonomously. ''"The implementation has proven that Tezos can upgrade to new protocol changes in an automated, decentralized, and self-funded manner. [[Nomadic Labs]] proposal attached a 100 XTZ invoice which the protocol automatically minted and distributed after successfully implementing the protocol change. This exercise enables any developer to submit a proposal with their own invoice attached to the proposal."''
* TzStats has launched (10-2019) a [https://babylonnet.tzstats.com/ Tezos Babylon] [[testnet]], Babylon is the current tezos upgrade proposal. Update: the update after Babylon has been approved, called Cartgagenet and testnet [https://twitter.com/LabosNomades/status/1204720738386825223 has started] (13-12-2019).
*[https://ournetwork.substack.com/p/our-network-issue-15 From] [[Our Network]] #15 (3-4-2020):

"''With world-wide spotlight elsewhere, the Tezos community quietly focused on hardening its base layer with a third protocol upgrade (codename Carthage) that went live on March 5. Voted for by 46% of all bakers and backed by 72% of network stake the participation rate was slightly down from earlier votes (46%/84% in Athens, 45%/83% in Babylon). Like expected for a bugfix release the [[on-chain]] upgrade went much smoother this time. >85% of all bakers had upgraded their software ahead of time and baker churn was limited to <3% (down from 10% in earlier upgrades)."''

*[https://tezos.foundation/tezos-teams-inject-delphi/ From] the Foundation's blog (11-9-2020):

"''Last week, [[Nomadic Labs]], [[Metastate]], and [[Gabriel Alfour]] [https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/delphi/2150 announced] that they were jointly releasing a new Tezos protocol proposal, Delphi, which was injected on September 3rd. Delphi is intended to improve the performance of the Michelson interpreter and [[gas]] model. Delphi is the latest proposed upgrade to Tezos, following Athens, Babylon, and Carthage, and is currently in the Exploration Vote period."''

* The Attic Lab team has presented [https://medium.com/eosatticlab/tzsign-tezos-multisig-wallet-is-here-28ddcf40ec64 TzSign], the first [[multisig]] [[wallet]] on Tezos (25-3-2021).

==== Delphi ====

*[https://blockwatch.cc/blog/state-of-the-tezos-network-sep-2020/ From] [[Blockwatch]] (2-10-2020):

"''Delphi is expected to improve gas cost by 4-10x. The theoretical gain factors we can expect from Delphi are approximately:''

#''60x for writing [[contract]] data''
#''40x for reading contract data''
#''40x for parsing (aka. type checking)''
#''4x for pure computation in the interpreter''
#''2.5x for arithmetic''
#''4.5x for recursion''
#''5.5x for non-recursive calls''

''Practical gains greatly depend on the source of [[gas]] consumption and so it may vary a lot from a contract to another. [https://docs.tezos.domains/ Tezos Domains] contracts, for example, will save 72% gas when running on Delphi."''

==== Edo ====

*[https://decrypt.co/49912/tezos-will-get-zcashs-privacy-features-in-next-upgrade From] [[Decrypt]] (30-11-2020):

"''Tezos developers have [https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/announcing-the-edo-release/2443 revealed] the next upgrade proposal dubbed "Edo." The implementation of [[Zcash]]'s library Sapling will allow "shielding" transactions on Tezos. Another new feature is a ticket system that allows [[smart contracts]] to grant portable permissions or issue tokens."''

* Went [https://medium.com/tezoscommons/tezos-upgrade-analysis-edo-2-0-4e0df2eb0f77 live] (13-2-2021):

''"Some of the key features of Edo 2.0 are:''

#''[https://tezos.gitlab.io/protocols/008_edo.html#sapling Sapling]: makes privacy-preserving transactions possible on Tezos;''
#''[https://tezos.gitlab.io/protocols/008_edo.html#tickets Tickets]: provide a way for smart-contracts to authenticate data in relation to a Tezos address and in turn enable developers to write more secure and composable contracts;''
#''[https://tezos.gitlab.io/protocols/008_edo.html#voting-procedure An extended Voting procedure] with an added “Adoption” period: serves as a buffer time between the last block when the voting ends and the next block when the upgrade is executed on-chain (~ two weeks). It aims to ensure a smoother protocol upgrades.''

''The full list of new features can be found [https://tezos.gitlab.io/protocols/008_edo.html here]."''

==== Grenada ====

* The seventh upgrade on Tezos and the third this year, Granada, has [https://bakingsheet.tezoscommons.org/ successfully] reduced gas consumption and decreased block times (19-8-2021).

=== Staking ===

* In Tezos, [[block|blocks]] are created through a process known as ‘baking.’ Each block is produced (“baked”) by a random stakeholder and notarized (“endorsed”) by 32 other random stakeholders. This is essentially the same as [[PoS|staking]],  but it’s only open to network [[node|nodes]] with more than 10,000 XTZ. For each block created, a delegate can earn a 16 XTZ reward – roughly $15.5 at current prices.
* Tezos users with smaller holdings can still participate by nominating a delegate to bake on their behalf. The delegate does not own or control the tokens in any way. In particular, it cannot spend them. However, if and when one of these tokens is randomly selected to bake a block, that right will belong to the delegate. A proposed protocol upgrade suggests decreasing the minimum from 10,0000 to stake to 8,000 XTZ, allowing more XTZ holders to bake independently. This update is expected to go live sometime in late May. (April 10, 2019)
* Tezos is [https://cryptobriefing.com/tezos-most-profitable-staking/ now] (10-4-2019) one of the most-staked digital assets, with users currently baking $495M worth of XTZ tokens, or 75% of the circulating supply. Some of the delegated bakers close shop but [https://www.reddit.com/r/tezos/comments/ebh9rq/how_grinch_bakers_stole_your_rewards/ continue collecting rewards] (17-12-2019); ''"at present a huge amount of tez are delegated to closed and dead bakers." ''
*[https://ournetwork.substack.com/p/our-network-issue-6 Update] (30-1-2020) from [[Our Network]] on staking:

''"Custodial staking continued to gain traction in Tezos. Throughout January 2020 staked balances at exchanges increased by +1.3% (26M) to 14% (89M) of all staked coins. Staking participation overall increased by +18M to a new ATH of 77.3% (635M). At the same time staking yield dropped to an all-time-low of 1.48% above inflation. Despite diminishing yield the number of consensus participants (bakers) remains relatively stable at around 430. We show unique roll owners here because Tezos assigns validation & voting rights based on rolls with one roll equal to 8000 tez. About 50% (207) of all validators are self-baking entities, meaning they have <= 1 incoming delegation. 160 of them own less than 100k tez in staking balance, 10 self-bakers are [[whales]] with balances between 1-5M tez.''

''Although the amount of unique validators is high (430) the distribution of their weight tells a slightly different story. 50+% of Tezos staking is controlled by only 9 different entities while the top 100 bakers control 92% of the network. The largest entity (the [[Tezos Foundation]]) validates 27% of all blocks, the next largest are [[Coinbase (Company)|Coinbase]] (5.84%), [[Polychain Capital|Polychain]] (4.42%) and [[Cryptium Labs]] (3.62%), [[Binance]] (3.16%), [[Kraken]] (1.96%), [[P2P Validator]] (1.93%), [[Airfoil]] (1.72%) and [[FlippinTacos]] (1.71%). This is not troubling for [[consensus]] since rights are assigned randomly, but it plays a relevant role in governance. The foundation and some of the large bakers have historically abstained from voting. With the rise of custodial staking exchanges suddenly find themselves under pressure by the community to vote and build tools to let their delegators contribute."''

*[https://ournetwork.substack.com/p/our-network-issue-10 From] [[Our Network]] (29-2-2020):

"''Custodial staking on centralized exchanges continues to grow massively. Now, at the end of Feb 2020, 126.8M tez (19.4% of all staked coins, 15% of total supply) are held by custodians, up +27% (30.6M) from January. Network-wide staking is still on the rise with +3.2% (20M) to reach a new ATH of 79.14% (655M). In perspective, only 2.9M new tez were minted last month. Staking rewards are at 6.48% annually, yield above inflation dropped to 1.44%.''

''Growth of custodial staking services is impressive. With 8.4% of the network stake, Coinbase has become the largest staking provider in Tezos within the past 4 months, directly followed by Kraken with 4.2%. Only the Tezos Foundation manages more stake (26.7%). Smaller custodians are on decline, although Chinese exchanges OKEx and Huobi grow as well. Zero-fee staking at Binance shows impact on traditional bakers who either shut down like Airfoil or begin offering zero-fee promotions. However, custodial growth is slowing down. After all there are only 128M (15%) more tez unstaked, about the same amount that has been moved on-chain this month."''

*[https://ournetwork.substack.com/p/our-network-issue-41?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMzk3OTAwLCJwb3N0X2lkIjo2NTIyNTI0LCJfIjoiYzl4Um4iLCJpYXQiOjE2MDIwNzc1MTIsImV4cCI6MTYwMjA4MTExMiwiaXNzIjoicHViLTIxMzYyIiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.vNyH39Ef45fksf09SVM32OJFs6_oSSctYfKYZYeCCK4 From] Our Network 2-10-2020):

"''Out of a total of the 74k delegators, 71k delegate to active bakers, about 3k to inactive bakers. 75% (55.2k) of all delegators hold more than 1 XTZ (below, we focus on this group only). Only 1% (700) are related to custodial staking. The majority of 72.3% (39.4k) public delegator accounts are loyal accumulators who re-invest payouts or top-up their balances. Only 27.7% (15k) opportunistically move or sell their stake. The meteoric rise of custodial staking which started with Coinbase's Staking announcement in November 2019, almost 10 months ago, has been slowing down since May. Quarter to quarter we still observe a linear increase of 10-15% across the three large players Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance. Today custodians control 25.5% (174M) of Tezos' consensus (683M, 79.3% staking ratio) and hold 20.5% of the total supply (851M)."''

=== Other Details ===
=== Smart Contracts ===

* With the [https://blog.goodaudience.com/a-new-way-to-develop-smart-contracts-9146114750d8 new Fi], [[Smart contract|smart contracts]] can be developed on Tezos. [[Fi]] is a [[ECMA]]/[[Javascript]]/[[Solidity]] like language that is statically typed and compiles down to valid [[Michelson]] code.
*[https://ournetwork.substack.com/p/our-network-issue-6 From] [[Our Network]] #6 (30-1-2020):

"''Adoption: Smart contract usage on Tezos [[mainnet]] has not picked up speed yet. Throughout January mainnet has seen a meager 55 new contracts and 3.5k contract calls, the most prominent deployed contract has been [[StakerDAO]]. The real action in Tezos still happens on various [[testnet|testnets]] hinting at a quickly growing developer base. The most active one is Babylonnet which has seen an all-time high in deployed contracts 4,647 (+1,456 from Jan 1st) and an unprecedented growth in smart contract calls (+62k since Jan 1st which is a 2.6x growth in one single month)."''

*[https://ournetwork.substack.com/p/our-network-issue-10 From] [[Our Network]] (29-2-2020):

"''Adoption: Testnets still outshine the smart contract situation on Tezos Mainnet. Calls on Mainnet have almost doubled compared to January (+7,587), the Atomex [[DEX]] saw some limited traffic (33 swaps) and early experiments with FA1.2 tokens have started. Babylonnet remains the most active network with a new record of +3,516 contracts and +74k calls this month, but note that these are all test contracts, often deployed and called by automated CI systems. The diversity of unique contract types (identified by their call interfaces) grew by +157 to 530 in total. 8 out of the top 10 contract types are generic programming examples. The most prominent contract people work on is DS Token (used by [[Securitize]] and Elevated Returns) with 111 total deployments and 6,652 calls in Feburary."''

* For whatever reason, Tezos [https://news.bitcoin.com/whats-being-built-and-whats-not-on-2019s-smart-contract-blockchains/ did not respond] when [[Bitcoin.com]] did a 2019 check-up on smart contract projects. Other projects mentioned in the article were [[EOS]], [[Tron]], [[RSK]] and [[Matic]], which presumedly all did respond.
*[http://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxNkV2PojAUhn-NvRtSWj7koheMzuxgFOMGXb0iUIpWoCVtGQZ__RQnm93kJOfkOV_J-9LCsKtUE-mlNmDQTOW8Ii6OwghCUBGvcpf-EnCd14qxruAtMWpgoB_KltPCcCnmBT_C4EZCGlDfljhAJUR2tUR-WaMlCgsa1KEL5id5MVScCcoI-2RqkoKBltyM6fUCxwv0bqNXUtayHqVqHMFGPaO_-MXG3HgJ_QV-N7JhYoHXbNq4FJ2mM2qb5C6_do8G77N43K42Y4lT-I_HOL0fdNK1t2qVBLvsiPbZxd3dE5iuRl6c04ed4_TjxLfZ0d9NiU5E6l54EiTi9ZPig6Hd6XbBv_sSebw-OLC5eRudZ2OGfn2p1zVttt5Ov_EPddwzN11d-fVwxuhPNHqAEwTdCEZoCQMMvcBxnVWMfPQWhz5G0Rp5aOHB7oocPZTaFLRxqOyAIo-qtQ0rgJFiNuGJrQe5zd0guJlyJoqyZRUB5sfLp9Zm6hmZJWyZMUz9wKfBMAw8YL9U0t4T5D_JvwEmQ7JD From] [[Proof of Work (Mailing List)|Proof of Work]] 75 (28-9-2019):

''"Check out [https://archetype-lang.org/ the new website] from [[Edukera]] and learn how Archetype helps to develop smarter Smart Contracts on Tezos. Archetype is a domain-specific language to develop Smart Contracts on the Tezos blockchain, with a specific focus on contract security."''

* From their [https://medium.com/tezoscommons/tezos-community-update-september-122f43e90a1b September] update (1-9-2020): ''"Just yesterday, the 20,000th smart contract was created on Carthagenet."''

== Oracle Method ==

*[https://medium.com/@SmartPy_io/bringing-chainlink-oracles-to-the-tezos-ecosystem-ed47dfc631bd Has] integrated [[Chainlink]] (30-4-2020). [https://tezos.foundation/tezos-2020-year-in-review/ Update] (12-12-2020): ''"SmartPy and Cryptonomic’s ongoing efforts to integrate Chainlink oracles"'' which hints towards it still not being done.
* Has [[Harbinger]] [https://cointelegraph.com/news/tezos-improves-defi-infrastructure-with-harbinger-price-oracles integrated] (26-8-2020).
*[https://blockwatch.cc/blog/state-of-the-tezos-network-sep-2020/ Has] a price oracle from [https://blog.kaiko.com/kaiko-provides-tezos-price-data-on-chain-to-power-defi-applications-d8c070b96a5c?gi=5147c013a44c Kaiko] (8-2020).
*From their [https://tezos.org.ua/en/blog/tezos-in-march/ monthly update] (21-3-2021):

''"Wolfram Blockchain have developed a [https://cointelegraph.com/news/tezos-gets-new-oracle-through-wolfram-blockchain-labs-integration?utm_campaign=baking_sheet&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter new oracle] for Tezos. The same month, [https://asbjornenge.com/tezid/?utm_campaign=baking_sheet&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter TezID] was released, which is an identity oracle for Tezos seen by its creators as a supplement to [https://www.spruceid.com/didkit DIDKit] by Spruce Systems."''

==Privacy Method ==

* From the [https://medium.com/boltlabs/introducing-zkchannels-on-tezos-c365830b9efd announcement] (1-7-2020):

"<em>[[Bolt Labs]] extends zkChannels protocol to enable privacy-preserving [[state channels]] on top of Tezos. We are thrilled to bring this technology to the Tezos community, and are currently collaborating with the teams at [[Nomadic Labs]] and [[Metastate]] to deploy zkChannels on Tezos via an amendment proposal in the next year. We are also interested in building a [[cross-chain]] bridge via zkChannels for connecting [[Zcash]] or [[Bitcoin]] to Tezos, and provides censorship-resistance to decentralized finance ([[DeFi]]) applications."</em>

== Compliance ==

* Has a [https://www.coindesk.com/tezos-algorand-fatf-compliance-tech-money-laundering partnership] with a chain analysis company 'to be AML compliant' (12-6-2020).

== Their Other Projects ==
=== DEX ===

* de[https://blockwatch.cc/blog/state-of-the-tezos-network-sep-2020/ From] [[Blockwatch]] (2-10-2020):

"''As first [[decentralized exchange]] [https://atomex.me/ Atomex] has been operating for more than a year and Dexter joined as second yesterday. While [[Atomex]] supports [[cross-chain]] (HTLC) swaps with a professional market maker, Dexter is an [[automated market maker]] similar to [[Uniswap]] for tokens hosted on Tezos."''

*[[DEXter]] (will [https://twitter.com/camlCaseTech/status/1395044870612467720 shut down] due to lack of funding, 19-5-2021).
*[[QuipuSwap|QuipuSwap.]] A [[Uniswap]]-like [[DEX]] which is on [[testnet]] (26-8-2020). [https://quipuswap.com/ QuipuSwap] can be used for [[fungible]] tokens and [[NFT]] tokens.

=== NFT ===

*[https://cointelegraph.com/news/first-game-built-on-tezos-blockchain-preparing-for-alpha-launch From] [[Cointelegraph]] (30-3-2020):

"''Tezos (XTZ) co-founder [[Kathleen Breitman]] is preparing to [https://twitter.com/Top8Games/status/1240407770853146624 launch] the alpha version of a crypto-powered collectible card game called ‘Emergents.’" ''However, she has [https://cryptobriefing.com/tezos-co-founder-hints-trading-card-game-be-built-alternative-blockchain/ hinted] (6-4-2020) that she will NOT launch it on Tezos.

=== FA2 ===

* From this [https://medium.com/@TQTezos/tznft-non-fungible-tokens-on-tezos-using-fa2-b1ab11185ec1 blog] by TQ Tezos:

"F''A2 is a multi-asset interface on the Tezos blockchain, enabling users to create a wide range of token types, such as fungible, [[Non-fungible Tokens|non-fungible]], or semi-fungible. FA2 provides a standard [[API]] to transfer tokens, check balances, administer permissions to other [[on-chain]] [[contracts]], and manage metadata."''

== Roadmap ==

=== Privacy ===

*[https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/tezos-core-development-ama-nomadic-labs-cryptium-labs-dailambda/1604/6 From] an [[AMA]] with the Core Dev's (13-2-2020):

''"There is no immediate plan for now to have a generic [[Zk-SNARK's|zk]] proving scheme in Tezos, although we’d like to have one in the future. We do plan to propose privacy-preserving [[transactions]] in 007, which are implemented using the [[Sapling]] protocol from [[ZCash]] and in particular the library developed by the [[ECC]]. Sapling does use zk-snarks internally, but they are very specific to privacy preserving transactions. [https://blog.nomadic-labs.com/sapling-integration-in-tezos-tech-preview.html More info]"''

=== Layer 2 ===

*[https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/tezos-core-development-ama-nomadic-labs-cryptium-labs-dailambda/1604/6 From] an [[AMA]] with the Core Dev's (13-2-2020):

Sophia Gold said:

''"[[Layer Two|Layer two]] is one of the major focuses of [https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/introducing-labnet-a-rapid-iteration-testnet-for-tezos/1522 LabNet]. Currently there are plans to implement both [[Optimism|optimistic]] and zk [[Zk-Rollup|rollup]]."''

[[Adrian Brinks]] however said:

''"Personally I am not yet convinced by most of the layer 2 solutions. [[Ethereum]] and [[Bitcoin]] have tried for years and spend millions of dollars on it but none of these platforms have yet seen any widely used layer 2 solutions.''

''Layer 2 in Bitcoin and Ethereum came about because they couldn’t evolve the baselayer fast enough (or at all) and hence had to invent this layer 2 thing. However in Tezos we have the advantage that we can evolve the base layer and due to that our team will spend a lot of time focusing on making the base layer scalable."''

=== Finality ===

*[https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/tezos-core-development-ama-nomadic-labs-cryptium-labs-dailambda/1604/6 From] an [[AMA]] with the Core Dev's (13-2-2020):

"''Is [[Tendermint]] or “Tenderbake” currently the only finality solution core developers are currently exploring? Are there other projects being considered? Or is there a solution that you would like to see explored as a potential proposal?"''

Got answered with:

"''Another promising area into which [[Cryptium Labs]] may start looking in the future is to add a finality gadget. That way we could leave Emmy+ as it is and finalise blocks that are being produced by it. The advantage of this approach is that it enables to have fast finality in good network conditions, but in case >1/3 of the validators get nuked we can use Emmy+ to recover without [[Hard Fork|hard-forking]] out the offline validators by doing an unsafe reset. The approach is somewhat similar to what [[Polkadot]] is using. Once we have finality gadgets we need to spend a bunch of time building efficient mobile [[Light Wallet|light clients]] in order to make wallets not have to trust the [[Full Node|fullnodes]]."''

And

"''[[HotStuff|Hotstuff]] and [[PaLa]] also look promising due to their simplicity and the pipeline-ing feature. However, for the moment we feel it’s more important to find solutions that tolerate more than one third adversaries."''

=== WASM ===

*[https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/tezos-core-development-ama-nomadic-labs-cryptium-labs-dailambda/1604/6 From] an [[AMA]] with the Core Dev's (13-2-2020):

''"I think adding [[WASM]] as an execution target for smart contracts is an interesting choice that probably makes sense. The rest of the industry is moving towards it.''

''Whether it is feasible (or desirable) to execute the entire economic protocol in WASM is yet to be seen. Most chains that take this approach, such as [[Polkadot]], [[Near]] and [[Solana]] aren’t multi-language on the protocol level, but rather the economic protocol is written in one language and all future versions are also written in that language."''
== Usage ==

*[https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/tezos-core-development-ama-nomadic-labs-cryptium-labs-dailambda/1604/6 From] an [[AMA]] with the Core Dev's (13-2-2020):

''"Overall it’s important to acknowledge that Tezos is a working system, but is still far away from being able to be used by a large group of users."''

*[https://ournetwork.substack.com/p/our-network-issue-15 From] [[Our Network]] #15 (3-4-2020):

"''Adoption: With nearing end of live for the Babylon testnet, dev teams are slowly migrating over to Carthagenet. Both testnets combined we see a continued growth in developer activity (+10% calls) and a strong increase in contract diversity (+34%). Clusters of activity on testnets appear to be around new token designs and [[STO]] product demos which is very encouraging."''

* From their [https://medium.com/tezoscommons/tezos-community-update-september-122f43e90a1b September] update (1-9-2020): ''"Just yesterday, the 20,000th smart contract was created on Carthagenet."''

*[https://ournetwork.substack.com/p/our-network-issue-10 From] [[Our Network]] (29-2-2020):

"''Most of the activity on Tezos [[mainnet]] still originates from transactions on deprecated KT1 delegator [[contracts]] (mostly baker payouts sent from or to these accounts). Unsurprisingly, baker payouts contribute most to the network gas usage today. Since August, we're also seeing the first operating oracles on mainnet and just two days ago the first AMM DEX Dexter launched with two pools for tzBTC ([[wrapped]] [[Bitcoin]]) and USDtz ([[stablecoin]]) tokens. The first two days saw 1,800 transactions on both pools and right now there are 40k XTZ, 13k USDtz and 5.6 tzBTC locked."''

*[https://medium.com/paradigm-fund/tezos-delphi-a-new-protocol-proposal-significant-growth-of-the-smart-contract-activity-kiln-4cfd0f4bd85a From] [[Paradigm]] (15-9-2020):

"''Only 256 smart contracts were deployed on the mainnet from June 2018 to July 2020, but in August 2020 alone, 357 smart contracts were deployed! Contract Calls on the Tezos mainnet also reached new highs with 20,699 calls made in August alone, which is more than all other months combined. The total calls on the mainnet now stand at 36,530, with 4,741 made so far this month."''

*[https://blockwatch.cc/blog/state-of-the-tezos-network-sep-2020/ From] [[Blockwatch]] (2-10-2020):

''"Tezos is slowly but steadily gaining traction. The majority of all publicly visible activity still happens on testnets (mostly on Carthagenet, but the recently launched Delphinet is warming up). It turns out that the more interesting use-cases are gas-constrained, so the network [https://blog.nomadic-labs.com/delphi-official-release.html upgrade to Delphi] is most welcome."''

* From [https://www.publish0x.com/publish0x-posts/in-the-past-six-months-tezos-contract-calls-are-up-1000-perc-xpnnogp Publish0x] (1-1-2021):

''"In the past six months we've seen [[continuing growth]] in the amount of mainnet [[contract]] calls. Additionally, we see very healthy activity that indicates continuing developers activity. On both testnets, we see an average of 700 contract deployments per day. The holiday season kind of lowered the average, because when I checked two weeks ago, we were at an average of 900 deployments a day."''

* From their [https://medium.com/tezoscommons/tezos-community-update-april-5a660a6738f1 blog] (2-4-2021):

''"Tezos shattered through its previous record of contract calls, capping off March with over 360K contracts calls and reaching 100K daily transactions. We can expect Tezos to cross over 1 million total contract calls in April with important product launches in DeFi."''

=== Projects building on Tezos ===

*''"[[Andra Capital]], a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, has [https://decrypt.co/17312/vc-firm-andra-capital-is-selling-a-silicon-valley-cryptocurrency announced] (22-1-2020) its own token: [[Silicon Valley Coin (SVC)]]. The company plans to issue it via a security token offering ([[STO]]) in collaboration with Tezos Foundation and [[TokenSoft]]. SVC will be built on the Tezos blockchain and utilize TokenSoft’s issuance platform. The fund will use it to invest in late-stage technology companies."''
*[[Atomex]]; [[DEX]]
*[[Biconomy]]; "''Tezos will be one of the first [[Layer 1]] chains they will be supporting with the [[relayer]] infrastructure which enables [[Meta-transactions|meta transactions]]."'' (10-9-2020).
*[[BMW]]
* BTG. Latin American bank [https://www.btgpactual.com/ BTG Pactual] and asset manager [https://www.dalmacapital.com/ Dalma Capital] [https://cryptoslate.com/tezos-announces-1-billion-sto-deal-with-btg-pactual-and-dalma-capital/ announced] that they will be using the Tezos blockchain to launch security token offerings ([[STO|STOs]]). The banks said the deal will be worth well over $1 billion when all existing and prospective token issuances are completed.
*[[DAO Baker]] ecosystem (Including SWAP market, Yield baker and DAO Baker refils)
*[[DealBox]]; ''"the first-ever tokenization of real estate in Mexico alongside MountX"'' ([https://tezos.foundation/tezos-2020-year-in-review/ 12-12-2020]).
*[[DEXter]] is a [[Uniswap]]-like [[DEX]] built on Tezos. (7-2019). Even though there are not many assets live on Tezos yet, the infrastructure is being built.
* Forge's French [[CBDC]] ([https://decrypt.co/41859/tezos-becomes-a-favorite-to-power-the-digital-euro 15-9-2020]): "''Tezos has been [https://www.nomadic-labs.com/download/cp.pdf selected] for the French central bank’s digital euro trials. The trials will focus on a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for interbank settlements."''
* ERX; Tezos-based [[STO]] exchange by Elevated Returns.
*[[Homebase]]; create [[Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO)|DAOs]]. [https://twitter.com/TQTezos/status/1362473768468291589 Building] a [[testnet]] (18-2-2021)
*Inveniam NAV Pricing solution
*[[Juster]]; (price) prediction markets ([https://app.juster.fi/events 11-2021])
*[[Kalamint]]; Tezos-based NFT [https://www.publish0x.com/publish0x-posts/the-first-nft-platform-on-tezos-is-announced-to-be-launched-xmkdvke platform].
*[[Kolibri]]; [[stablecoin]] [https://medium.com/tezoscommons/a-new-stable-coin-is-coming-to-tezos-df46a3aff697 project] which is similar to [[MakerDAO]]'s Sai (18-11-2020).
* Logical Pictures; [https://tezos.foundation/tezos-2020-year-in-review/ launched] (12-12-2020) a €100 million tokenized fund built on Tezos to finance films in the country of France.
*Lugh; ''"A France-based retail giant Groupe Casino will [https://cointelegraph.com/news/french-retail-giant-will-launch-tezos-based-stablecoin?utm_campaign=baking_sheet&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter launch] a Euro-pegged stablecoin called Lugh on the Tezos blockchain."'' ([https://tezos.org.ua/en/blog/tezos-in-march/ 25-3-2021]).
*QuipoSwap. Madfish Solutions [https://twitter.com/madfishofficial/status/1224453128587624449 published] (4-2-2020) an article about QuipuSwap, a [[DEX|decentralized token exchange]] on Tezos.
*[[SEXP]]; Tezos-based [[Synthetic]] Exchange.
*[[Sona]] is a proposed idea to develop a [[decentralized]], self-sovereign identity deployed on the Tezos protocol. Sona will encompass identity verification, [[on-chain]] relationship management, private data storage and [[wallet]] management with a method to recover your identity if a [[Private Key|private key]] is compromised or lost.
*[[Spruce Systems]]; Tezos [https://medium.com/tezoscommons/decentralized-identity-on-tezos-whats-the-deal-71e4568e9a6d Identity] ([https://medium.com/@sprucesystems/announcing-decentralized-identity-on-tezos-4bf266a7af3f 27-8-2020]).
*[[StakerDAO]] ([https://medium.com/stakerdao/how-stakerdao-works-d1b53cb1e346 launched] on Tezos early January 2020)
*[[TEZEX]]; their ETH bridge went [https://twitter.com/TezosExchange/status/1362255063133999105 live] (18-2-2021)
*TezFin
*TzButton; ''"the [https://twitter.com/AirGap_it/status/1339872858793795584?s=20 social experiment] on Tezos, has entered the second round with 102.8 tez in the pot."'' ([https://tezos.foundation/tezos-2020-year-in-review/ 12-12-2020]).
*The French city of Verneuil-sur-Seine is [https://decrypt.co/43934/a-city-in-france-uses-tezos-blockchain-to-vote-on-local-project voting] on a road planning project using the Tezos blockchain (5-10-2020).

=== Projects from ETH to Tezos ===

*[[Vertalo]] [https://medium.com/tqtezos/tq-tezos-announced-as-technology-partner-for-upcoming-vertalo-platform-87e7804363f8 moved] (28-1-2020) from [[Ethereum]] to Tezos.

*[[Securitize]] c[https://digitize.securitize.io/fundraising-and-lifecycle-management-platform-demo an be used] (2-2020) to launch a security token on Tezos.

''"Securitize and Elevated Returns [https://thetokenist.io/securitize-and-elevated-returns-to-tokenize-1-billion-of-real-estate-assets-on-tezos/ have collaborated] (15-9-2019) to transition Aspencoin— a security token representing property ownership— to the Tezos blockchain. Both parties claim that with high valued assets already in the pipeline, the collaboration will result in $1 billion worth of tokenized assets.''

''After a reported valuation of $18 million, Aspencoin [https://thetokenist.io/aspencoin-transitions-to-securitize-after-raising-18-million-in-security-token-offering/ recently] switched to Securitize and their Digital Security (DS) Protocol. Securitize is a compliance platform for digital securities, which aims to ensure regulatory compliance for the life-cycle of digital assets. Now, Aspencoin is transitioning from Ethereum to the Tezos blockchain."''

=== Assets / STO's ===

* Assets on Tezos; A proposal for a standard interface for creating and managing fungible assets using smart-contracts on Tezos. The newly proposed asset interface standard is similar to [[ERC-20]], with the upcoming reference implementation allowing developers to specify a third party manager of the asset contract (eg a [[STO]], a [[DAO]] or [[multisig]]) as well as soon having formally verified properties.
*''"[[TQ Tezos]], [[Nomadic Labs|Nomadic Labs,]] and [[Serokell]] are [https://tqtezos.com/ jointly] working on proposing a standard interface for creating and managing fungible assets using [[Smart Contract|smart-contracts]] on Tezos. Serokell has already produced an example implementation. The initial interface follows [[ERC-20 Token|ERC-20]] closely, as the standard is well known and widely used by third parties ([[wallets]], exchanges), and familiar to developers. Engineers at Nomadic Labs and Serokell are also developing alternatives inspired by other emerging standards, such as [[ERC-777]] and [[ERC-1155]]."''
*[https://cryptonomic.tech/ Cryptonomic] is making asset tokenization [https://medium.com/the-cryptonomic-aperiodical/tezos-is-now-an-asset-tokenization-platform-4d88ded4e9c available presently] (15-2-2020) on the Tezos chain. 
* From [https://medium.com/tezoscommons/tezos-continues-advancing-forward-in-the-sto-space-8725af8cfdca their blog] (27-2-2020): 

''"Over $3B in STO’s are slated to take place on the Tezos protocol. Infrastructure around the STO landscape is being developed and security token issuance platforms such as TokenSoft will be utilized in an upcoming STO — Silicon Valley Coin.''

#''[[Elevated Returns]] and [[Securitize]] — Are seeking to conduct and deploy up to $1 billion worth of real-estate STO’s on the Tezos protocol. Expected launch of the [https://twitter.com/stephanedebaets/status/1227782292841652224?s=12 first deal] of $77M real-estate backed security tokens is [https://finance.yahoo.com/news/silicon-valley-coin-andra-capital-130000480.html slated] for April.''
#''[[BTG Pactual]] and [[Dalma Capital]] — Are [https://tezos.foundation/news/btg-pactual-and-dalma-capital-to-utilize-tezos-blockchain-for-security-token-offerings-stos seeking] to use the Tezos blockchain for conducting up to $1 billion worth of STO’s.''
#''[[tZERO]] and [[Alliance Investments]] — Have [https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191030005153/en/tZERO-Partners-Alliance-Investments-Tokenize-River-Plaza announced] their plans to tokenize the first of their total $643 million worth of STO’s on Tezos with the River Plaza located in the UK.''
#''[[Fundament Group]] — Has [https://bit-media.org/cryptocurrency/fundament-group-forms-strategic-partnership-with-tezos-foundation-to-develop-digital-securities-infrastructure/ announced] a strategic partnership with the Tezos Foundation to develop digital securities infrastructure.''
#''[[Equisafe]] — Will develop the NyX Standard, “a set of smart contracts on Tezos blockhain, audited by institutions and [[Open source|open sourced]] on an [[MIT]] license”. Launch of the NyX Standard is slated for [https://medium.com/stocheck/how-to-invest-anytime-anywhere-7c74ec2cd904 this year].''
#''[[Vertalo]] — A security token management and issuance platform has [https://www.coindesk.com/transfer-agent-vertalo-chooses-tezos-over-ethereum-for-security-token-development transitioned] from [[Ethereum]] to Tezos.''
#''[[Andra Capital]] and [[TokenSoft]] — Utilizing TokenSoft’s security token issuance platform, Andra Capital is seeking to raise up to $1 billion in it’s Silicon Valley Coin STO which represents interest in the Andra Capital Open-Ended Fund. The fund is currently [https://finance.yahoo.com/news/silicon-valley-coin-andra-capital-130000480.html valued] at $500 million."''

*[[Bitcoin]] on Tezos, [https://messari.io/article/bitcoin-backed-token-launches-on-the-tezos-blockchain from] [[Messari]] (8-4-2020):

"''The [[Bitcoin Association Switzerland (BSA)]] announced a group of crypto firms has collectively launched a tokenized version of Bitcoin, tzBTC, on the Tezos blockchain. Similar to [[Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)|Wrapped BTC (WBTC)]] on [[Ethereum]], each tzBTC is backed by an equivalent amount of Bitcoin. But unlike the process of creating WBTC, which relies solely on crypto custodian [[BitGo]], [https://tzbtc.io/ four different companies] (called Keyholders) have the ability to mint and [[burn]] tzBTC to maintain the 1:1 peg. The BSA serves as a third-party mediator to uphold the integrity of these four Keyholders, creating a more robust, albeit still trusted, checks-and-balances system."''
== Competition ==

*[[Ethereum]], [[Cardano]], other [[smart contract]] protocol layers.
* Compared to Ethereum, [https://cointelegraph.com/news/challenging-ethereum-20-competing-blockchains-are-seizing-the-moment from] [[Cointelegraph]] (9-9-2020):

''"Tezos operates on a [[Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)|delegated proof-of-stake]] [[consensus]], which it calls “liquid proof-of-stake.” However, researchers have found that Tezos, while not achieving the same level of [[decentralization]] as Ethereum, is more decentralized than many DPoS blockchains. Most likely, this is because Tezos doesn’t impose any upper limit on the number of [[nodes]]. Tezos and Ethereum 2.0 can, therefore, certainly compete on security and throughput. The main difference between the two is, perhaps, Tezos’ [[on-chain governance]] model.''

''When the Breitmans conceived of the platform, their vision was for it to be self-maintaining. Similar to what is ultimately planned for [[Cardano]], anyone who meets the minimum [[staking]] requirements can vote on protocol upgrades that are then directly implemented once voted through. In contrast, Ethereum governance has always been an [[off-chain]] effort and will remain so for the foreseeable future. So far, it would be fair to say that neither model has proven itself inherently superior to the other."''

=== TzLibre & nTezos [[forks]] (2018) ===

*[https://www.coindesk.com/delays-damned-tezos-blockchain-enters-beta?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app From] this [[CoinDesk]] article:

"''The delay between the the [[ICO]] and the platform’s launch is largely due to a conflict that pitted Tezos’ founders, Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, against [[Johann Gevers]], former president of the [[Tezos Foundation]]. While the Breitmans controlled the code through DLS, Gevers controlled the funds.''

''The standoff ended when Gevers [https://www.coindesk.com/tezos-board-reshuffled-johann-gevers-steps/ stepped down] in February, but the platform still did not launch immediately. The foundation’s decision to conduct [[KYC]]/[[AML]] checks may indicate that legal and regulatory uncertainties stood in the way. The Breitmans, Dynamic Ledger Solutions, the Tezos Foundation and others associated with the project have been [https://www.coindesk.com/new-class-action-suit-filed-tezos-founders/ sued] at least four times between them.''

''Investors have aired their grievances on a technical as well as a legal front. At least two groups of developers have announced plans to create alternate versions of Tezos and to dispense with aspects of the platform they don’t like, such as KYC and awards of [[Premine|pre-mined]] [[tokens]] to the foundation.''

''[[TzLibre]] announced the day after Gevers stepped down that it would launch its own version of the Tezos protocol. Another project, [[nTezos]], emerged in response to the Tezos Foundation’s KYC announcement. Both alternate Tezos implementations’ teams are pseudonymous."''

=== Dune Fork (2019) ===

* From [https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/27613/fallout-between-tezos-foundation-and-ocamlpro-may-lead-to-tezos-hard-fork this post] by [[The Block]]:

<nowiki> </nowiki>"''French engineering group, OcamlPro, is pursuing a Tezos [[fork]] after the token's managing foundation threatened to stop funding them over governance concerns, according to a [https://medium.com/tezoscommons/a-cautionary-tale-ocamlpro-65d692af09f8 blog post] by the [[Tezos Commons Foundation]]. OcamlPro's leadership is said to have partnered with a newly registered crypto fund, [[Starchain Capital]], in order to [[fork]] Tezos and to create a new [[blockchain]] called [[Dune Protocol]]. According to a leaked [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LzLO9XiljxldeaYLczqqg9rCaBQR0Emn/view email] allegedly sent by Starchain Capital, it is currently creating an SPV to raise $1m for 5% of the total token supply to fund the operations. The fork is scheduled for September 2019.''

''OCamlPro had been receiving funding from the [[Tezos Foundation]] as part of their grant program, working on Tezos-related projects such as Liquidity and its block explorer, TzScan. However, tensions began to arise after it emerged OCamlPro was not fully [[Open Source|open-sourcing]] its software, which is one of the conditions for financing grantees. The Tezos Foundation made it known that the funding, which expired in Q2 of this year, would be halted unless this criteria was met.''

''The [[Tezos]] protocol has been lauded as a solution to solve proposal disputes through its [[on-chain]] governance mechanism. However its software is [[open source]], meaning anyone can [[fork]] from it."''

* From a [https://medium.com/tezoscommons/a-cautionary-tale-ocamlpro-65d692af09f8 blog post] [[Tezos Commons Foundation]]:

"''During this period numerous debates arose in the Tezos Community surrounding TzScan and Liquidity’s licensing agreement. OCamlPro leadership started publicly accusing the Tezos Foundation of ‘blacklisting’ them from their grant program.''

''They appear to have purposefully stirred the community over the fear of Liquidity to be a paid licensed product, and not free or open source. The reasoning given was they had not received further grants to support their development. They received grants in the past, and were in at that time in negotiation regarding future grants with the Tezos Foundation, but the reasoning as to why they had not been approved remained a mystery to the broader community. A segment of the community sided with OCamlPro without knowing the full context.''

''This sparked a large debate on whether or not all Tezos grantees should be making their software open source because many features of TzScan also were not, and eventually fizzled out for the most part as they decided to change their Liquidity license to a free one, even if still not MIT."''

* In the [https://medium.com/tezoscommons/a-cautionary-tale-ocamlpro-65d692af09f8 blog post] [[Tezos Commons Foundation]] claimed:

''"The main Tezos engineers who were originally at OCamlPro are now working at [[Nomadic Labs]], not OCamlPro." ''The post also mentioned: ''"They did not create [[OCaml]]."''

* The post also goes on claiming OcalmPro and Starchain are forking for money:

"''This alleged email evidence, [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LzLO9XiljxldeaYLczqqg9rCaBQR0Emn/view read in full here], suggests that Dune protocol is not a principled [[hard fork]]. Starchain Capital describes a liquidation event planned for later this year. What is described as an opportunity is set up to provide a quick turnaround for investors and OCamlPro leadership.''

''Projection:<br>Low: day1, the fork captures 5% of the current Tezos market cap, which lead us to a +$50m valuation<br>(liquidity event)<br>Middle: day1, the fork captures 20% of the current Tezos market cap, which lead us to a +$200m<br>valuation (liquidity event)<br>Good: day1, the fork captures 40% of the current Tezos market cap, which lead us to a +$400m<br>valuation (liquidity event)"''

=== Foundation's reaction on the Dune fork ===

* On 17-6-2019 [[Tezos Commons Foundation|Tezos Commons]] [https://www.reddit.com/r/tezos/comments/c1qog0/tezos_foundation_to_give_away_ledger_nano_s/ announced]: ''"Tezos Foundation to give away [[Ledger Wallet|ledger]] Nano S wallets to all fundraiser contributors for the celebration of 1 year launch"''

*[https://www.reddit.com/r/tzlibre/comments/c28qnn/tf_ledger_giveaway_youre_paying_them_1440each/ From this] [[reddit]] post by [[TzLibre]]:

"''This [https://www.reddit.com/r/tezos/comments/c1qog0/tezos_foundation_to_give_away_ledger_nano_s/ announcement] was sent on Jun 17th via email to 30K contributors, the very same day [https://www.reddit.com/r/tezos/comments/c1igrp/a_cautionary_tale_ocamlpro/ someone posted] on Reddit the bombshell unofficial announcement of Dune. [[Tezos Stiftung]] is trying to distract contributors from this news, which is a perfect example of their total failure as managers."''
== Pros and Cons ==

=== Pros ===

* Is known for its good [[on-chain governance]] structure.
* Has low fees and has been committed to keeping it that way.
* Has been pro-active in getting partnerships in France. 

=== Cons ===

==== Issues ====
* The Tezos name was once synonymous with drama. A boardroom dispute, protracted [[ICO]] token lock-up and regulatory issues meant that when the [[mainnet]] finally launched last summer (9-2018), most investors dumped their holdings on the open market. Prices more than halved from $4 to $ 1.60.
* As [https://twitter.com/spencernoon/status/1153678820131692545 this tweet] summed it up: 
# ''Foundation struggles''
# ''Failed [[Dune]] [[fork]]''
# ''Spam attacks''
# ''Class-action lawsuit''
# ''Failed [[TzLibre]] fork''
''But still standing (7-2019).''
* [[Evan Van Ness]] [https://twitter.com/evan_van_ness/status/1312486580041392128 said] ''"It's pretty clear that building on Tezos is currently a disaster." ''(3-10-2020) after reading an audit report done by [[Trail of Bits]] on a project building on Tezos. However, Evan is a prominent Ethereum supporter, so this should be taking with a grain of salt.
*From this [https://medium.com/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms-tezos-5eee6255c791 blog] (27-9-2017):

''"In contrast to Ethereum’s [[decentralization]]-favoring [[PoS]] design, Tezos deliberately trades off [[centralization]] for increased throughput. Tezos CTO Arthur Breitman believes that the desire for dirt cheap validation stems “[https://hackernoon.com/scaling-tezo-8de241dd91bd more from a misplaced egalitarian ideology than from actual economic or security arguments]” and expects the Tezos users to ultimately find the right balance to maximize adoption. On the other hand, Casper researcher [[Vlad Zamfir]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oIYqV8q87s opines] that Tezos is embracing plutocracy and (by presuming an honest majority) ignoring the interesting incentive alignment and mechanism design questions."''

=== Tezos settling it's lawsuits ===
* [https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/59474/tezos-foundation-to-settle-all-class-action-lawsuits From] [[The Block]] (22-3-2020):
"''"The Tezos Foundation chose to settle all claims because the Tezos Foundation believes it is in the best interest of the Tezos project and community as a whole. The Foundation continues to believe the lawsuits were meritless and continues to deny any wrongdoing. However, lawsuits are expensive and time-consuming, and it was decided that the one-time financial cost of a settlement was preferable to the distractions and legal costs associated with continuing to fight in the courts," the foundation stated in the announcement.''

''In July 2018, Tezos shocked the market by conducting one of the largest ICOs in history. However, the project [https://www.reuters.com/article/bitcoin-tezos/tezos-organizers-hit-with-second-lawsuit-over-cryptocurrency-fundraiser-idUSL1N1NG1FG was soon hit] by two lawsuits claiming that the ICO was an illegal and unregistered securities offering. The two lawsuits were then [https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6230817/in-re-tezos-securities-litigation/ consolidated] in 2018. In response, Tezos has argued that it was not a securities offering but a fundraising event instead, where tokens were given backs as a gift in exchange for people’s donations to the project.''

''The settlement is still pending court approval."''
* From this [https://www.stakingrewards.com/journal/state-of-stake-30 blog] (3-9-2020):
''"On August 27, 2020 the Honorable Judge Seeborg [https://medium.com/tezoscommons/tezos-litigation-judgement-day-part-2-3c92b74d529a approved] the Final Settlement Order for the Tezos class-action lawsuit. It has been a long tumultuous journey, almost 3 years worth of litigation (by unscrupulous/unsavory people that needlessly slowed the project and caused irreparable harm), and on, August, 27, 2020, the litigation has come to an end. Many people have been waiting for this day. No more legal clouds hanging over the project. The project moves on. Sign, sealed, and delivered."''
== Tezos Protocol Team, investors, etc. ==
* There are two legal entities behind the project: Dynamic Ledger Solutions, Inc. (DLS) and the Tezos Foundation (the Foundation) located in [[Zug]]. DLS is a US-based company currently controlled by its founders Kathleen and Arthur Breitman. It owns all of the Tezos-related intellectual property (IP), including the source code of the Tezos ledger, logos, trademark applications and domain names, as well as relationships with several contractors and a potential customer-base. The Foundation is a Swiss foundation founded in [[Zug]] in May, 2017. As a legal entity, it operates independently from DLS, though DLS advises the Foundation closely on technology.
* The DLS team working on Tezos’ includes 11 people, 10 of them are core developers. The team is headed by Arthur Breitman and Kathleen Breitman who are the two shareholders of DLS (not confirmed by the team at the moment of publication). [https://decrypt.co/24932/tezos-kathleen-arthur-breitman-quitting-project Update] (8-4-2020): Both the Breitman's are getting less and less involved with the project. Seemingly because of issues instead of decentralisation. 
* [[Arthur Breitman|Breitman, Arthur]]; ([[LinkedIn]], [[Github]]) graduated from the [[New York University]] with a degree in financial mathematics. His latest professional activities before Tezos were related to strategy development and market making, including posts of Vice President at [[Morgan Stanley]], Associate at [[Goldman Sachs]], and Portfolio Manager at White Bay Group. [https://cryptobriefing.com/tezos-co-founder-hints-trading-card-game-be-built-alternative-blockchain/ UPDATE] (4-4-2020): “Arthur Breitman’s recent exclusion from the Tezos Techincal Advisory Committee. It has yet to be confirmed, but he [https://www.reddit.com/r/tezos/comments/fv2fk4/why_is_arthur_no_longer_on_the_tezos_technical/fmggzji/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x stated] that he ''“bowed out from [his] already minimal activities after receiving veiled threats.“”''
* [[Kathleen Breitman|Breitman, Kathleen]]; also the [[New York University]] graduate, also worked for several large companies. She worked among other as Strategy Associate at [[R3]] CEV that leads a consortium of about 80 financial institutions who explore the application of blockchain in global financial services, at the consulting company Accenture, and as Management Associate at the investment firm Bridgewater Associates.
* [[Jacob Arluck]]; from [[TQ Group]]
* 'Martin'
* The developers are primarily located in Paris ([[Nomadic Labs]]), France, and has been working through a partnership with OCamlPro (website, [[Github]]), a software company founded by [[Fabrice Le Fessant]] (one of the team members). 

* [[Roman Schnider]]; The co-creator of [[PricewaterhouseCoopers|PricewaterhouseCooper]] (PWC) Switzerland’s blockchain initative is joining the Tezos Foundation as the [http://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxFkNFugzAMRb-meQsKDZDwkId27X4DhcSMrBCjJKyjX79AHyZZtnQt3ysfoxN8YdjUgjGRNULonFUlb0XLGLGqsqWsJXGxGwLArN2kUliBLGs_OaOTQ78f1C0no-JWDFwIKbisuGgrsK2pGgmmbupGNi3ZQzq9WgfegIIfCBt6IJMaU1riiV9O589cCV4YiwFXb4-ELHl4xjyWp6H9hOZhRu08hd8FQqIBZ-1pNKN3FgL9RucjPUzovwnVkZoBqfaWjqAtxYFiPj-WkTh1ZmXLmqML1hZlca9vF8Zvsv6o7_fL9Xqq2Px1LuLax6TNozA4k6BedsqLJWBCv_M55Iyny3NevUtbB173E1hF0hvzgSFtC6j9rQlSgvAWM0pRMdmQHGLzV86r7IwDDk8Mjz9rX5S6 newly appointed] CFO and Head of Operations
* [[Stephen Andrews]]; "''a widely respected contributor to the Tezos ecosystem" ''who got a grant to start TezosTech.
* [[Alexander Eichhorn]]; creator of TzStats; the first analytics-powered [[block explorer]] for Tezos.

=== Advisors ===
* [[Andrew Miller|Miller, Andrew]]; advisor
* [[Zooko Wilcox|Wilcox, Zooko]], advisor
* [[Emin Gün Sirer|Gün Sirer, Emin]]; advisor
* [[Jill Carlson]]; [https://messari.io/asset/tezos#profile advisor] (still as of 8-2019)

=== Stakers / Bakers ===
* [https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/49006/shifting-tezos-staking-dynamics-likely-to-favor-bigger-exchanges From] (3-12-2019) this [[The Block]] article: ''"With one decision to give its retail customers access to its [[staking]] service, [[Coinbase (Company)|Coinbase]] became the second-largest validator on Tezos virtually overnight"''
* [[Binance]] [https://twitter.com/dantwany/status/1201956039807164416?s=21 is (3-12-2019)] the 6th largest validator on Tezos, excluding [[Foundation Bakers]].
* [[Stake.fish]] [https://stake.fish/en/ is a] staker.
* [[Figment]] is a staker. ''"[https://figment.network/networks/tezos/ Baking since] 2018. Multiple grant recipient from the Tezos Foundation. We are building Baker Hub, a post-delegation tool for staking participants to track their baker’s performance with alerts."'' (9-3-2020)

=== Funding ===
* Early backers

- Ten entities: three hedge funds with a focus on tokens and seven high net-worth individuals, or federations thereof

- Backed the DLS team from September 2016 through March 2017

- Total early funding from them amounted to $612,000
* Part of portofolio (as of 8-2019) at: [[Winklevoss Twins|Winklevoss]] Capital Management, [[Draper Associates]], [[Meltem Demirors]]
* Latin American bank [https://www.btgpactual.com/ BTG Pactual] and asset manager [https://www.dalmacapital.com/ Dalma Capital] [https://cryptoslate.com/tezos-announces-1-billion-sto-deal-with-btg-pactual-and-dalma-capital/ announced] that they will be using the Tezos blockchain to launch security token offerings ([[STO|STOs]]). The banks said the deal will be worth well over $1 billion when all existing and prospective token issuances are completed.
*[[Tim Draper]]; [https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/05/billionaire-investor-tim-draper-backs-new-cryptocurrency.html?utm_campaign=baking_sheet&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter publicly] backed the fundraiser in 2017. From a Tezos [https://bakingsheet.tezoscommons.org/issues/the-baking-sheet-issue-44-551449 blog] (16-4-2021): ''"His investment arm [[Draper Goren Holm]] has [https://drapergorenholm.com/blog/draper-goren-holm-backs-kalamint-nft-marketplace?utm_campaign=baking_sheet&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter invested] in several Tezos projects, and most recently [https://cryptoslate.com/tezos-invests-in-a-tim-draper-fund-to-incubate-xtz-ecosystem/?utm_campaign=baking_sheet&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter received] an investment from the Tezos Foundation to fund blockchain startups building on Tezos. Draper University & Tezos Israel partnered together to launch a blockchain pre-acceleration program to connect Silicon Valley experts and investors to innovative entrepreneurs building their projects on blockchain."''

=== Partners ===

* From their 2020 year end [https://tezos.foundation/tezos-2020-year-in-review/ blog] (12-12-2020):
''<nowiki/>''

''"Tezos was selected as one of the first 6 [[public blockchain]]<nowiki/>s for China’s state-backed blockchain infrastructure network, [[Digital Currency / Electronic Payment (DC/EP)|BSN]] and as a technology partner by [[Microsoft]] India to incubate 100 startups for its “Century Program.”''

''<nowiki/>''

== Tezos Dev Groups ==
* There are a bunch of different entities and groups who do Core Dev work on Tezos. The following were [https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/tezos-core-development-ama-nomadic-labs-cryptium-labs-dailambda/1604/23 mentioned] in an [[AMA]] (13-2-2020): [[Nomadic Labs]], [[Cryptium Labs|Cryptium]], [[Dai Lambda]], [[TQ Tezos]] and [[LIGO]]. 'Galfour', who split off from Nomadic Labs in 2019. 
* ''"[https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/tezos-core-development-ama-nomadic-labs-cryptium-labs-dailambda/1604/68 Depending] (13-2-2020) on the metric 20-40 are involved in the core protocol."''

=== Dai Lambda ===
* [https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/tezos-core-development-ama-nomadic-labs-cryptium-labs-dailambda/1604/23 From] the AMA of 13-2-2020:
''"We DaiLambda are working on a new storage sub-system called Plebeia, version controlled append only file system using [[Merkle Tree|Merkle]] Patricia trees. Keeping Merkle [[hash|hashes]] of tree [[nodes]], it can provide Merkle proofs very quickly, we can use them to implement trustless [[wallets]]. We are currently testing a Tezos node with Plebeia and soon publish a blog/agora report about it. Since Plebeia’s Merkle hash is incompatible with the current Tezos context hash, if we want to fully use Plebeia in Tezos we need a protocol change for the context hash. It requires some more time, maybe in 008.''

''We also have a very little side project called SCaml, yet another high level language compiles to Michelson. It was born in our joint research with ReFX team of Kyoto university who studies a refinement type system for Michelson to produce sample [[smart contracts]] quickly. It is not very powerful language, but small and stable, and we love the name."''

=== Cryptium Labs ===
*[https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/tezos-core-development-ama-nomadic-labs-cryptium-labs-dailambda/1604/23 From]<span class=""> the AMA of 13-2-2020:</span>
"''At the moment we’re only working on the Tezos protocol as core developers. The other projects we’re working on, e.g. Juvix 1 or the Multi-Asset Shielded Pool (Zero Knowledge Proofs) are still in R&D phase. These projects’ timelines have the priority of benefiting the Tezos protocol (in the case of the MASP) or the Tezos ecosystem (in the case of Juvix). Back in 2018 we started Cryptium as a validator entity and only I was full time working on it. Cryptium (the R&D Team) working on Tezos Core and other R&D officially started in Q1 2019. Ever since the R&D Team started, our involvement with the network has been limited to operating the validator (as it was already fully setup) and participated in governance.''

''I understand why folks are confused, we’re working on changing the branding so the validator is differentiated from the R&D Team."''

=== Galfour ===
* [https://forum.tezosagora.org/t/tezos-core-development-ama-nomadic-labs-cryptium-labs-dailambda/1604/23 From] the AMA of 13-2-2020:
''"I split off from Nomadic Labs a year ago.<br>When I want to contribute to Tezos, I mostly discuss the different things I am working with the different parties to reach consensus. I found this consensus reasonable and not that hard to reach multiple times.<br>I am pushing to move those discussions in the open, as right now, a big part of it is still quite informal and private (for lack of process/time than lack of will)."''

=== Cryptonomic ===
* The team behind Tezos tools like the [http://cryptonomic.tech/galleon.html Galleon] wallet, [http://cryptonomic.tech/conseil.html Conseil] API, and [https://nautilus.cloud/ Nautilus Cloud]. Also [https://medium.com/@SmartPy_io/bringing-chainlink-oracles-to-the-tezos-ecosystem-ed47dfc631bd helped] (30-4-2020) integrate [[Chainlink]] into Tezos.

== Tezos Foundation ==
* Aka "The Foundation"
* Maintains the code and pays developers

=== Money related ===
* The Tezos project is [https://medium.com/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms/on-the-origin-of-smart-contract-platforms-tezos-5eee6255c791 exceptionally](27-9-2017) well-funded, both from traditional venture capital and crowdfunding.
*Tezos [https://onchainfx.com/asset/tezos conducted] an [[ICO]] from June 28, 2017 to July 13, 2017, in which 65,681 [[BTC]] and 361,122 [[ETH]] were raised. In return, 607,489,040 XTZ allocated for ICO participants were created at genesis. On top of the initial genesis supply, an additional ~76.3 million XTZ will be created for the Tezos Foundation and DLS (Dynamic Ledger Solutions). The XTZ that will be created and allocated to the Foundation and DLS is subject to a 4-year vesting schedule with monthly cliffs. This will create an aggregate allocated supply of 763,306,929 XTZ.
* From [https://www.dcforecasts.com/tezos-news/tezos-grants-37-million-to-its-ecosystem-developers/ this article] (22-3-2020):
''"Tezos grants $37 million to its developers from its $635 million that is owned in assets. This is much more than the $232 million that was raised in the infamous Tezos initial coin offering (ICO).''

''When asked about how the foundation was [https://tezos.foundation/news/tezos-foundation-releases-second-biannual-update able to achieve] this, the company’s CFO Roman Schnider talked and said that the project benefited from positive crypto market dynamics. He also said: “The increase is largely due to the appreciation of our blockchain assets over the last three years, BTC and XTZ in particular.”''

''Around $13 million were also awarded to local Tezos communities across the globe."''
* According to [https://player.fm/series/blockcrunch/ep-55-is-governance-a-moat-for-blockchains-jacob-arluck-tq-group this podcast] (6-2019) the Foundation has been very generous in giving funding to multiple foundations and labs around the world who built on upgrades and projects. [[TQ Group]], [[Nomadic Labs]] (in Paris and which has upgraded protocols and is proposing other upgrades), a number foundations in Asia (With [https://tezos.foundation/news/tezos-foundation-to-support-southeast-asia-community-organization funding] for the [[Tezos Korea]], [[Tezos Japan]] and the [[Tezos South-East Asia]]) [https://tezos.foundation/news/tezos-foundation-issues-grants-to-community-organizations and] a foundation in the USA (Tezos Commons Foundation). [[Cryptium Labs]] (a baker which has experience with work on the core protocol of [[Cosmos (ATOM)|Cosmos]] and is now also upgrading protocols on Tezos).
* It [https://tezos.foundation/news/tezos-foundation-to-support-stephen-andrews-development-studio announced] funding for [[TezTech]], a Tezos focused software shop with several projects underway, including a trustless scaling and custody solution, as well as [[API|APIs]] and software libraries.
* ''The Tezos Foundation, [https://www.tokentalk.co/Decrypt/tezos-to-run-115-million-cryptocurrency-treasure-hunt-5d5fd451e0e26231535c5e04?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook has put 1 million] XTZ, currently (8-2019) worth around $1.18M, into a cryptocurrency treasure hunt run by Satoshi’s Treasure; Satoshi's Treasure was also behind the competition for $1M of [[Bitcoin]] that started back in April 2019''
* [https://www.coindesk.com/moonshots-capital-dcg-tezos-back-2-5m-fundraise-for-crypto-software-provider Participated] (5-3-2020) in a funding round of $2.5M for [[Zabo]].
* [https://figment.network/networks/tezos/ Has given] (9-3-2020)  [[Figment]] multiple grants.

=== Critiques ===
* Critiques summed up in [https://www.reddit.com/r/tezos/comments/c2ffb6/whats_your_opinion_about_this_id_rather_have/ this] (19-6-2019)  [[reddit]] thread:
"''lack of transparency: wages & perks per foundation member, pwc audit publication, where is it?, grants in terms of usd, which partnerships with corporations, Olaf out of the foundation, no communication...poor website, no marketing such YT channels, udemy classes...and so on. Well not sure the list is exhaustive, work in progress and obviously lack of liquidity which is big..."''

=== Governance ===
* [https://tezos.foundation/news/tezos-foundation-governance-structure-and-future-nominees Made changes] (3-3-2020) to their governance structure:
"''The Council will continue to serve in its primary function as a strategic and supervisory body. The basic mandated duties, as defined in the Foundation’s Notarial Deed, will be adhered to. Concurrently, an executive team that reports to the Council will be installed to implement the Foundation’s strategy and administer its day-to-day operations.''

''Consequently, the roles so far covered by the President of the Foundation will be subdivided into two different functions. An Executive Director, who is not a Council member, will lead the Foundation’s executive team and a Chair of the Foundation Council will lead the governance and supervision matters of the Foundation. The current President of the Tezos Foundation, Ryan Jesperson, has informed the Council that he will not seek re-election and will not be a member of the Council after April 30.''

''In addition to hiring an Executive Director, the Foundation Council will also designate two new Council members. It will seek to nominate to these roles accomplished individuals who possess sector-specific networks, strong professional track records, founder or C-level experience in mid-cap or large-cap companies or alternatively leadership experience in relevant renowned institutions, and expertise in key areas relevant to the Tezos ecosystem. A targeted search process has already been initiated for this purpose. Further information on the nomination process will be communicated in due time.''

''The transformation will begin in March 2020 and is expected to be completed by Q4/2020."''

=== Audits ===
* From one of their [https://tezos.foundation/news/weekly-updates/update-week-of-2-march-2020 updates] (6-3-2020):
"''The Tezos Foundation is the only large-scale public blockchain foundation that has a “Big4” audit firm as its independent statutory auditor. The 2018 audit was recently completed and, as customary and mandated by Swiss law, the audit report has been filed with the Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations. The audit took longer than planned due to the complexity and novelty of auditing cryptocurrency assets. The 2018 audit report is not a public document and the Foundation has committed to proactively publishing Biannual Updates to provide public accountability and transparency. The next Biannual Update is in its final stages and will be released soon. There will be a section in the update that speaks more about the nature of the completed 2018 audit and also the 2019 audit which is now underway."''

=== Team, partnerships of The Tezos Foundation ===
* [[Ryan Jesperson]]; ex president of the Foundation [https://www.coindesk.com/delays-damned-tezos-blockchain-enters-beta?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app (as of] 2-2018 but [https://tezos.foundation/news/a-message-from-ryan-jesperson-president-of-the-tezos-foundation left] 2-2020). He claimed he had finished what he 'came to do' which was "''get the Foundation back on track and the second was to help, along with the rest of the Tezos community, to move the Tezos project forward."'' 
''"To ensure a smooth transition, the Foundation Council has formed a Nomination Committee which consists of Hubertus Thonhauser, Alexis Bonte, Ryan Lackey, and Ulrich Sauter. In coming weeks, the Committee will release additional information regarding the criteria and process that will be followed to select the next Foundation Chair. "''
* The previous president of the foundation, [[Johann Gevers]], [https://www.coindesk.com/tezos-board-reshuffled-johann-gevers-steps/ stepped] down in February (2018), after a tenure in which many viewed him as stifling the launch of a protocol that set a record for the largest initial coin offering (ICO) of all time up that point – $232 million in July 2017. Since Jesperson took over, along with a completely new board, the foundation has partnered with major auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers; actively funded academics, community members and entrepreneurs with interest in contributing to the ecosystem and set up the first set of validation [[Node|nodes]] on which to launch the network. The day after Gevers stepped down [[TzLibre]] was [https://www.coindesk.com/delays-damned-tezos-blockchain-enters-beta?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app announced] as an alternative. 

* [[Michel Mauny]]; ''"Michel is Chief Scientific Officer at [[Nomadic Labs]], on leave from Inria (the French National Institute for Computer Science and Applied Mathematics), where he was a senior researcher and more recently Chief Executive Officer of the Inria Foundation. Michel’s scientific interests are mainly in the fields of programming languages: design, implementation, semantics, static analysis, and type systems. After his Ph.D. at Paris-Diderot University, Michel joined Inria in 1985 and worked on programming languages with the research group that designed and developed [[OCaml]], the functional programming language used to implement Tezos, and the Coq proof assistant. From 1989 to 2005, Michel led the research team that further developed OCaml."''

* Marylène Micheloud
* Lars Haussmann
* Hubertus Thonhauser

* [[Roman Schnider]]; The co-creator of [[PricewaterhouseCoopers|PricewaterhouseCooper]] (PWC) Switzerland’s blockchain initative is joining the Tezos Foundation as the [http://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxFkNFugzAMRb-meQsKDZDwkId27X4DhcSMrBCjJKyjX79AHyZZtnQt3ysfoxN8YdjUgjGRNULonFUlb0XLGLGqsqWsJXGxGwLArN2kUliBLGs_OaOTQ78f1C0no-JWDFwIKbisuGgrsK2pGgmmbupGNi3ZQzq9WgfegIIfCBt6IJMaU1riiV9O589cCV4YiwFXb4-ELHl4xjyWp6H9hOZhRu08hd8FQqIBZ-1pNKN3FgL9RucjPUzovwnVkZoBqfaWjqAtxYFiPj-WkTh1ZmXLmqML1hZlca9vF8Zvsv6o7_fL9Xqq2Px1LuLax6TNozA4k6BedsqLJWBCv_M55Iyny3NevUtbB173E1hF0hvzgSFtC6j9rQlSgvAWM0pRMdmQHGLzV86r7IwDDk8Mjz9rX5S6 newly appointed] CFO and Head of Operations 
* As a legal entity, it operates independently from DLS, though DLS advises the Foundation closely on technology.
* "Olaf"; but he is [https://www.reddit.com/r/tezos/comments/c2ffb6/whats_your_opinion_about_this_id_rather_have/ not] in the foundation anymore.
*[[MAMA]], a member, according to their [https://www.mama.global/members website] (27-4-2021).

== Tezos Commons Foundation ==

=== Basics ===
* Tezos Commons Foundation (“TCF”)
* Not to be confused with the Tezos Foundation
* ''"The [https://tezoscommons.org/ Tezos Commons Foundation] is a U.S.-based non-profit corporation that will play an active role in the advancement of the Tezos project by sponsoring meetups, educational programs, and other initiatives focused on empowering the Tezos community.''

=== Projects ===
* ''"In [https://tezoscommons.org/ collaboration] with Zastrin, learn to build a simple voting application on Tezos. This program is sponsored by Tezos Commons and is open to the community at no cost. This 5 part program is self paced and requires no prior [[blockchain]] development experience."''

=== Team ===
* [[Craig Deveau]]; President, Board Member

* [[Stephen Andrews]]; Vice President, Board Member (from TezTech)

* [[Corey Soreff]]; Board Member

* [[Nithin Neapen]]; Board Member

* [[Shaun Belcher]]; Executive Director

=== Investors ===
* Got a [https://tezos.foundation/news/tezos-foundation-issues-grants-to-community-organizations grant] from the Tezos Foundation

== Tezos Stablecoin Foundation ==
* [https://decrypt.co/43786/tezos-makes-a-run-at-defi-but-can-it-catch-ethereum From] [[Decrypt]] (2-10-2020):
"''Tezos Stable Technologies, a subsidiary of the newly launched Tezos Stablecoin Foundation charged with advancing [[DeFi]] development on the Tezos blockchain, closed a successful seed round today, venture capital firm [[Draper Goren Holm]] announced. The amount was not disclosed.''

''The newly funded Tezos Stablecoin Technologies will support the development and proliferation of [https://usdtz.com/ USDtz] [[stablecoins]] on the Tezos network, and will also soon release plans for a public sale of Trustee tokens (TRU). TRU token holders will receive a share of tokens from each new Tezos-based DeFi project launched in partnership with the organization. ''

''A number of Tezos Finance (Tezfin) [[open-source]] projects are apparently already in the works, including lending platforms and a decentralized TEZEX exchange."''

== TezTech ==

=== Basics ===
* The Tezos Foundation [https://tezos.foundation/news/tezos-foundation-to-support-stephen-andrews-development-studio announced]  (7-2018)  funding for TezTech, a Tezos focused software shop with several projects underway, including a trustless scaling and custody solution, as well as [[API|APIs]] and software libraries.
''The Tezos Foundation is pleased to announce that it will issue a grant to [[Stephen Andrews]] to establish TezTech, a global Tezos software development studio.''

''Stephen is a widely respected contributor to the Tezos ecosystem. Some of his work includes [[TezBox]], a multi-platform, [[DApps|dApp]] friendly [[wallet]] for Tezos, and [[BakeChain]], a service that allows its users to bake (“validate”) on the Tezos network without having to install and maintain a [[Full Node|full node]]. In addition to these two projects, the TezTech team will continue to work on:''
# ''eztz.js – a [[Javascript]] library for interacting with the Tezos [[blockchain]].''
# ''[[fi]] – a high-level [[smart contract]] language for Tezos that compiles to Michelson.''
# ''[[tzToken]] – a sub-token standard for Tezos.''
# ''TezRPC – an RPC [[API]] that offers free access to the Tezos blockchain by providing infrastructure for developers and users.''
# ''[[Velos]] – a proposed [[off-chain]], trustless scaling method for Tezos.''
# ''This grant also supports TezTech’s initial research and development of “[[Sona]],” a decentralized identity protocol on Tezos. Sona will allow users to maintain control over their identities and seeks to be extremely modular as a way to provide value-added services to end users.''
* Has not delivered any of the products yet (8-2019) according to [https://teztech.io/ their website]

=== Products ===
* On the [https://teztech.io/ website] as of 8-2019
* TezBox was started shortly after the [[ICO]] (7-2017), and was the first available GUI [[wallet]] on the betanet. TezBox has two completed security audits (one from [https://leastauthority.com/ LeastAuthority]), and was supported by the Cryptonomic team in the early days.
* [[Velos]] Network is a proposed idea to scale transaction throughput on Tezos, similar to [[Lightning Network|Lightning]] for [[Bitcoin (BTC)|Bitcoin]]. Velos Network integrates a 3rd party "gateway" as a trusted middleman, bound by an [[on-chain]] [[smart contract]] which penalizes bad actors. Read the paper [https://teztech.io/Velos_Paper.pdf here].
* [[Sona]] is a proposed idea to develop a decentralized, self-sovereign identity deployed on the Tezos protocol. Sona will encompass identity verification, [[on-chain]] relationship management, private data storage and [[wallet]] management with a method to recover your identity if a [[Private Key|private key]] is compromised or lost.

=== Team ===
* [[Stephen Andrews]]; ''"is a Tezos developer with ten years experience in web, mobile and blockchain development."''
* [[Mac Stevenson Yap]]; ''"is a professional designer and UI/UX expert, with experience in mobile and web design."''

== Tezos South-East Asia ==

=== Basics ===
* Based in Singapore, "''TSA will play an active role in the growth of the Tezos ecosystem by educating individuals and groups throughout Southeast Asia about Tezos and its technology. TSA will host meetups, sponsor educational programs, and support other initiatives to further develop a vibrant and empowered Tezos community in Southeast Asia and advance the project overall."''

=== Team ===
* [[Caleb Kow]]; Director (Founder of Tezos ID, and on the board of Tezos Korea)

=== Investors ===
* Got a [https://tezos.foundation/news/tezos-foundation-to-support-southeast-asia-community-organization grant] from the Tezos Foundation to support the establishment of Tezos Southeast Asia (“TSA”).

== Tezos Korea ==

=== Basics ===
* ''"[http://tezoskorea.foundation/ Tezos Korea] Foundation will work within their respective locales to promote the Tezos protocol and educate developers, enthusiasts, and the greater business community about its technology."''

=== Team ===
* [[Jin-Hwa Kim]]; Director of Korea Blockchain Association, Co-Founder of [[Korbit]]
* [[Ho-Seok Jung]]; Lawyer of Seum Lawfirm. Advisory lawyer of [[Huobi]] Korea, [[Hashed]], [[Mediblock]]
* [[Caleb Kow]]; Founder of Tezos ID, Director of TSA (Tezos South-East Asia Association)

=== Investors ===
* Got a [https://tezos.foundation/news/tezos-foundation-issues-grants-to-community-organizations grant] from the Tezos Foundation

== Tezos Japan ==
* ''"[https://www.tezos.or.jp/ Tezos Japan] Foundation will work within their respective locales to promote the Tezos protocol and educate developers, enthusiasts, and the greater business community about its technology."''
* Got a [https://tezos.foundation/news/tezos-foundation-issues-grants-to-community-organizations grant] from the Tezos Foundation
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