The Algorand (ALGO) team on August 19 launched smart contracts that enable the creation of DeFi apps and solutions on its network, according to a blog post.

• The launch adds stateful smart contract functionality, which the team claims will allow for more sophisticated solutions and better scaling
• DeFi products and services built on top of Algorand can scale to billions of users and millions of transactions, with negligible trading fees
• Algorand’s head of product has singled out these smart contracts, and “fast checkup” and “rekeying” as being game changing upgrades
• Fast checkup allows dapp development without a full blockchain sync, while rekeying allows for spending policies to be implemented on an address
• Over 400 entities have begun building on Algorand, including Republic, Props and World Chess
• ALGO has increased by over 17.28% to $0.64 in the last 24 hours, the highest it has been in a year