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Some of æternity's features were already mentioned in the previous posts, but we'll dive deeper now to explain how AE is different from other blockchain protocols.
State Channels
Unlike other protocols trying to achieve higher scalability through Layer-2 solutions, æternity integrates an off-chain scalability solution as part of the base protocol. Once an AE state channel is established, the participating parties can practically exchange an unlimited amount of transactions for near-zero fees. What's more, æternity's state channels are not just payment channels but can support smart contracts as well.
Check out this insightful interview with Ulf Wiger to learn more. Bear in mind also that the development community is now working on Virtual State Channels - we'll share more about that as soon as possible.
Generalized Accounts
Generalized Accounts are a really powerful feature allowing for a customized transaction signing. Watch the video below to learn more from Dr. Hans Svensson:
FATE VM
æternity blockchain features a customized virtual machine called Fast æternity Transaction Engine or FATE. Fate was developed by Dr. Erik Stenman and his team specifically for executing smart contracts on æternity. FATE introduces improved security and significant efficiency gains over Ethereum Virtual Machine for instance.
Dr. Erik Stenman took the stage at æternity Universe One conference (more on this in our next post) to present the work on FATE - watch him below:
Bitcoin-NG
æternity blockchain uses the Bitcoin-NG consensus mechanism - as its title suggests, it's a next-generation consensus mechanism that builds upon the battle-tested Nakamoto consensus. It's created by Cornell University researchers and æternity was the first Proof-Of-Work protocol to integrate it. æternity's Erlang developer Michal Zajda describes it in detail in this piece.
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In conclusion, æternity blockchain is an open-source smart contracts platform built to support scalable decentralized applications. It's designed to be a universal and accessible solution for both developers and common users.
Scalability and privacy are achieved through state channels, communication with real-world data - through oracles, and user-friendliness - through the Naming system. The Generalized Accounts allow for custom authorization schemes of an account and all this is backed by the super-efficient FATE VM.
Interested to find out more about æternity? Don't hesitate to follow some of the communication channels below:
Website | GitHub | Forum | Reddit | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube
