Algorand Price

Algorand overview

Algorand is a proof-of-stake blockchain launched in 2019. This blockchain was designed to solve the blockchain trilemma, a widely-accepted assertion that any blockchain can have a maximum of two of the three most desirable characteristics; security, decentralization, and scalability. In 2017, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) set out to build a blockchain that incorporated the three properties as much as possible and created Algorand.

The ALGO coin is the native cryptocurrency of the Algorand blockchain. It launched in 2019 with a successful initial coin offering that raised over $60 million. The initial ALGO price was $2.4 per token, but it now trades for significantly less than that figure.

Algorand history

The Algorand project was founded in 2017 by Silvio Micali, a computer scientist and faculty member at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Department. Micali had delved into digital assets long before it became mainstream. In the early 2000s, he created Peppercoin, a micro-payments system, and sold it in 2007.

Micali’s goal was to build a blockchain that was very scalable, secure, and decentralized. He designed Algorand as a proof-of-stake blockchain, meaning it relies on consensus to process transactions and create new blocks, unlike proof-of-work, which relies on computing power to solve complex puzzles for the same purpose.

The Algorand project comprises Algorand, a private company incorporated in the U.S., and the nonprofit Algorand Foundation registered in Singapore. It’s a decentralized project, so holders of ALGO coins can vote on important decisions concerning the blockchain.

Algorand unique features

• Scalability: According to the project, the Algorand blockchain can process over 10,000 transactions per second, making it one of the fastest and most robust public blockchains. For comparison, the Bitcoin blockchain can process only around seven transactions per second.

• Sustainability: Algorand requires considerably less computing power and energy to process transactions as a proof-of-stake blockchain, making it a sustainable option for developers.

• Decentralization: Algorand is decentralized, meaning that there’s no centralized party in control of the blockchain. Validators and ALGO token holders control the decisions. Algorand randomly picks nodes (computers) to validate transactions, and anyone can be selected at any time. Any token holder can sign up to validate transactions and earn more tokens as rewards, i.e., staking.

• Security: Algorand’s consensus-level security prevents bad actors from corrupting enough users to wrestle control of the protocol. Validators are selected randomly, so no one knows who will validate the next set of transactions. This means a bad actor cannot connive with fellow validators to take control of ALGO coin transactions.

Algorand (ALGO) circulating supply

As of December 21, 2024, the current Algorand price is $0.362333. This token has a circulating supply of $8,334,779,313 units out of a maximum supply of 10 billion. The current Algorand market cap is $3,018,921,272, enough to place it in the top 50 cryptocurrencies globally by market value. 

Security measures for the Algorand network

• Consensus-level security: The Algorand blockchain selects validators randomly to verify transactions. For example, the validator for one transaction can be a server based in the US, and the validator for the next transaction can be a server based in Costa Rica. This random selection prevents malicious validators from conniving to hijack the network.

• Secret participation key: Users that stake their ALGO tokens do not use their spending key. Instead, they must generate a secret participation key that expires after several rounds and regenerate each time. Because the spending and participation keys are separated, the tokens users stake remains safe.

Algorand’s compatibility with Ethereum

Algorand is working to be compatible with Ethereum, the most popular blockchain. Compatibility implies that decentralized applications built on the Ethereum blockchain can also run on the Algorand blockchain. In February 2022, the Algorand Foundation announced $10 million in future grants to developers exploring the technical work needed to make Algorand compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. 

Staking mechanism: pure proof-of-stake on Algorand

Algorand uses a pure proof-of-stake (PPoS) protocol based on consensus. You can lock up your ALGO coins for a specific period to help secure and verify transactions on the blockchain. In exchange, you’ll receive part of the transaction fees paid to the blockchain. 

Stakers are selected randomly and secretly to validate transactions. The extra tokens you get from staking depend on how much you lock in the first place. The higher tokens you stake, the more rewards you can get.

Production of Algorand blocks through PPoS

New blocks for validating transactions are produced on the Algorand blockchain in two phases. In the first phase, a single token is chosen randomly, and the owner is responsible for proposing the next block. In the second phase, 1000 tokens are chosen randomly, and their owners are responsible for approving the block selected by the user in the first phase.

Algorand’s native cryptocurrency: ALGO

ALGO is the native token of the Algorand blockchain. This token is used to pay transaction fees to the blockchain and reward users who stake their tokens and participate in the consensus mechanism.

ALGO was launched in June 2019 in an initial coin offering (ICO) that raised roughly $60 million by selling 25 million coins at $2.4 each. Since then, it has traded on many exchanges, and the circulating supply has gradually increased.

The maximum supply of ALGO coins is capped at 10 billion. There are now $8,334,779,313 ALGO coins in circulation, which is gradually increasing. The current ALGO price is $0.362333, a -89.77% change from its ATH price of $3.56 on June 20, 2019.

Algorand (ALGO) price analysis

All-time high for Algorand (ALGO)

Algorand reached an all-time high of $3.56 on June 20, 2019. It has changed -89.77% since then.

All-time low for Algorand (ALGO)

Algorand’s all-time low was recorded on September 11, 2023, when the token dipped to $0.087513. It has since recovered 316.12% above that all-time low.

Where to buy Algorand (ALGO)

You can buy Algorand on many cryptocurrency exchanges. Binance, Huobi, Kraken, and Coinbase are popular centralized exchanges that let you buy ALGO using fiat or other tokens. For now, you can hardly find decentralized exchanges that let you buy ALGO without providing identification documents. 

Your exchange will show you the current ALGO crypto price when you want to buy it.

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