Qtum

Qtum (pronounced ‘“quantum”) is a proof-of-stake (PoS) smart contract open-source blockchain platform and value transfer protocol. It aims to bring together the strengths of Bitcoin and Ethereum in one chain. Qtum is built on Bitcoin's UTXO transaction model, with the added functionality of smart contract execution and DApps. Recently, the platform added support for DeFi applications. As of March 2021, there are more than 20 tokens created on the Qtum blockchain.

The project was announced in March 2016 and held an ICO a year after, in March 2017, which brought its founders $15 million USD. The Qtum main chain was released on Sept.13, 2017. Initially, the Qtum coin was issued as a ETH-20 token, but with the launch of the mainnet, it was converted to native blockchain.

Decentralized Governance
Qtum has a unique ability to change parameters in a decentralized fashion. The community has access to a set of smart contracts that can adjust the cost of gas, block size, and other important features.

Speed
Qtum can theoretically achieve “millions to billions” of transactions per second by combining various layer-1 and layer-2 solutions. Qtum’s layer 1 network is currently around 1100 tps.

Proof of Stake
Qtum uses the scalable and energy-efficient proof-of-stake mechanism to secure its network. Participants can use low-powered devices to stake, or even do it offline to save more energy.

Upstream Leverage
Qtum is an independent blockchain that combines the best parts of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Simply put, our blockchain can accommodate game-changing updates from both ecosystems.

Token Standards
Industry standards such as ERC20 tokens and NFT functionality are easily accessible on Qtum. Send and receive various fungible and non-fungible tokens without paying huge gas fees.

Janus
Janus is a web3 proxy adapter that can be used as a web3 provider to interact with Qtum. It allows developers to easily port their solidity-based applications to Qtum with ease.