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Aptos is a Layer 1 blockchain network based on the Move programming language that's focused on scalability, reliability, and security. Aptos is one of the most well-funded projects in the blockchain market, raising over $350 million across multiple rounds from venture capital firms. The native token, Aptos, is the APT token and is primarily used as a staking/delegation token, although it also serves as the blockchain’s utility and gas fee token. Aptos leverages novel technologies, such as Block-STM, to conduct parallel execution, theoretically forging a path towards high network performance.

Aptos is a Layer 1 blockchain network built on the Move programming language with a focus on scalability, reliability, and security. The project is a continuation of the original Diem blockchain project through Meta (formerly Facebook), that was founded in October 2022 by Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching.

Aptos functions through its own native currency, APT, and is being developed by a complementary company called Aptos Labs. By focusing on scalability and throughput, Aptos Labs has claimed that the project can theoretically process up to 10,000 TPS with a target goal of reaching 100,000 TPS without compromising reliability (i.e., network uptime) and security. This is made possible through the implementation of different novel technologies, including that of Block-STM technology.

With the success showcased in the Aptos testnet, the project quickly attracted significant capital investments only a few months after launch. By March 2022, Aptos had secured over $200 million in venture capital from funds such as FTX Ventures, Multicoin, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), and more. In 2023, many of these ventures have failed or been riddled in controversy. Aptos itself hasn’t been free of this controversy either, with users and industry experts addressing concerns in relation to decentralization, performance, and the APT token’s initial distribution. Nevertheless, the project has quickly risen to become a top-30 cryptocurrency project by market capitalization as of Q1 2023.

Project and Token Utilities

The Aptos project’s goal is to deliver the most reliable, scalable, and secure L1 blockchain network on the market. The blockchain aims to host its own robust DeFi ecosystem, all supported by the Move programming language. For the APT token specifically, its primary use case is serving as a delegation token that holders can use to delegate to a validator on-chain. The validators depend on staking the APT token to participate in consensus and protocol governance. 

Additionally, APT is also used as a gas token on the Aptos network, which allows validators to prioritize the most lucrative transactions on the network to scale their revenues. The project strides to place emphasis on its own network transaction demand by providing several opportunities in its pipelined transaction model for validators to discard low-value transactions. This benefits validators as they increase the per-transaction value of their work (and, indirectly, associated delegators) while also helping the network to maintain scalability and high throughput.

Value Proposition

The Aptos blockchain’s core value proposition is found within its usability and security innovations. For instance, Aptos allows for the creation and management of multiple independent wallet addresses through a single controlling account. These wallets can't be traced to the controller account, ensuring that the user has complete privacy and autonomy over their blockchain activities. Additionally, Aptos also incorporates a built-in auditing feature known as the Move Prover. The Move Prover is tasked with mitigating potential vulnerabilities in network security by verifying the legitimacy of Move modules deployed on the Aptos blockchain and ensuring the correct execution of the associated smart contracts.

There's a high degree of emphasis placed on delegation as well, giving users flexibility in their overall management and involvement on the Aptos blockchain. Besides the APT serving as a delegation token to validators, Aptos also supports private key delegation that allows for the temporary transfer of control over a wallet to a third party. The third party that the wallet has been delegated to holds a specified level of authority over the wallet, but the original user ultimately has full control and ownership over the wallet and all associated assets.

Overall, these features point to Aptos-targeted blockchain economy participants that are actively looking for an L1 network that favors usability and security over other distinct features.