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This document contains comprehensive information for project teams to know
whether Aleph Zero is the right place to get grants and buidl.
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# 🐕‍🦺 Aleph Zero AZERO

## Aleph Zero | AZERO

**Aleph Zero** is a ZK-based privacy-enhancing, scalable, decentralized blockchain platform for fast and secure transactions and DApps. Advanced cryptographic techniques and a novel consensus mechanism provide high security, scalability, and speed.

:::info
👉 Apply Today [https://konnect3d.io](https://konnected.io)
:::

## ⌚️ Background

Aleph Zero, launched in late 2021, is a permissionless Layer-1 blockchain developed by a team of mathematicians, computer scientists, and business experts to address the blockchain trilemma, offering a scalable, secure, decentralized platform. Built around the peer-reviewed AlephBFT consensus protocol and utilizing DAG technology, it integrates advanced technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and secure multi-party computation to ensure privacy and security. The successful mainnet launch marked a pivotal moment for community growth and technological advancement, introducing Liminal, a multichain privacy layer enhancing data protection. Aleph Zero's recent release of ink! 4.0 smart contracts on its mainnet further advance its capabilities, offering improved performance, security, and usability for developers and users alike.

🦎 Coingecko: https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/aleph-zero

## 🗺️ Ecosystem

[Common](https://alephzero.org/ecosystem/common): A set of multichain tools designed to innovate on-chain trading. It utilizes Aleph Zero to facilitate fast, private, and AML/CFT regulation-compliant trades, representing the potential for high-performance and privacy-focused decentralized trading platforms.

[Abax Protocol](https://abax.finance): This is a permissionless lending platform similar to Aave and Compound, where lending rates are dynamically adjusted based on the utilization rate of lending pools. It exemplifies how Aleph Zero can facilitate complex financial applications with privacy and efficiency.

[Gatenox](https://alephzero.org/ecosystem/gatenox): C_orporate KYC and **identity verification** solution offering customizable verification forms and real-time compliance insights. This project showcases Aleph Zero's potential in streamlining and securing identity verification processes in a corporate setting. 

[DRKVRS](https://alephzero.org/blog/drkvrs-dark-metaverse-aleph-zero/): An RPG and social media platform set in a dystopian metaverse. It plans to provide an immersive gaming experience with unique mechanics and privacy-focused features powered by Aleph Zero's Liminal framework, demonstrating the blockchain's versatility in the gaming sector.

[ArtZero](https://alephzero.org/ecosystem/artzero): An NFT marketplace built on the Aleph Zero network. It provides artists and collectors a platform to mint, buy, and sell NFTs securely and privately, showcasing the blockchain's capability to support the burgeoning world of digital collectibles.

[MyCointainer](https://company.mycointainer.com/beginners-guide-to-assetmantle-cold-staking/): A licensed multifunctional platform and node operator since 2018. It has extended its services to include the Aleph Zero network, showcasing the trust and security offered by Aleph Zero's blockchain infrastructure.

## 🪙 Ecosystem Funding Program (EFP)

To foster further expansion and attract more developers, Aleph Zero has partnered with Konnect3d to provide grants and resources to support emerging projects in the ecosystem. 

The Konnect3d team is especially keen on backing teams that utilize Aleph Zero's distinctive capabilities. This includes a variety of applications, from games to innovative uses of ZK-SNARKs and DeFi scenarios to enhancements within the network itself.

Konnect3d and Aleph Zero strongly encourages all projects contributing to the growth of the Aleph Zero ecosystem to share their projects with us, especially those that fit under any categories known to be prioritized by the community. 🪧 [Apply Here!](https://konnect3d.io)

## **🧱 Tech Stack**

Substrate: Aleph Zero's tech stack is anchored by Substrate, a versatile framework offering modularity and flexibility, which enables rapid development and customization of the blockchain's key features using pre-built modules for essential functionalities called pallets, supports Wasm smart contracts through ink! 4.0 for secure and efficient dApp development and allows forkless upgrades for seamless network evolution.

Infrastructure**: As of December 2023, Aleph Zero is known to achieve validation times of 416 milliseconds for a significant volume of transactions, specifically 89,600 transactions per second (TPS), during tests. This is facilitated by the network's deployment across 112 Amazon Web Services (AWS) nodes spanning five continents. Such high-speed processing showcases Aleph Zero's capability to handle large-scale operations efficiently.

Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs): Aleph Zero employs ZK-SNARKs to allow users to prove the validity of transactions without revealing the actual data involved. This technology is critical to maintaining privacy and security on the network.

Ink! 4.0 for Smart Contracts: Ink! 4.0, a Rust-based eDSL, is designed for writing Wasm smart contracts on Substrate-based blockchains like Aleph Zero. The update significantly improves performance, security, and usability, making the development of decentralized applications more efficient and user-friendly.

AlephBFT Consensus Protocol: _Based on a DAG_: AlephBFT is an innovative consensus protocol that employs Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) technology. This ensures high transaction throughput and speed and maintains a high degree of security and decentralization, making Aleph Zero a scalable and robust platform.

Secure Multi-Party Computation (sMPC): Complementing ZKPs, sMPC allows data to be processed by multiple parties without any single party having access to the complete data set. This adds an extra layer of privacy and security, making Aleph Zero ideal for applications requiring confidential computations. 

Privacy: With [Liminal](https://alephzero.org/ecosystem/)_,_ a native privacy framework on Aleph Zero utilizing ZK-SNARKs and sMPC to facilitate secure and private transactions and interactions on the blockchain, acting as a cornerstone for privacy-centric applications and services within the ecosystem.

Hub and Spoke: Aleph Zero introduces a "hub and spoke" model where businesses can maintain a private instance or 'spoke' that interacts with the central 'hub' or decentralized ledger. This model allows companies to engage in trustless and efficient interactions while retaining privacy and control over their networks.

**Scalable DAG**: Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) technology, coupled with the AlephBFT consensus protocol, allows Aleph Zero to maintain high transaction throughput while ensuring security and decentralization. This makes it a suitable platform for businesses and enterprises seeking scalable blockchain solutions.

[EVM-Bridge](https://alephzero.org/blog/aleph-zero-bridges-most-router/): MOST is a guardian-based decentralized bridge for bridging native ETH, stablecoins, and tokens from Ethereum to Aleph Zero to incentivize attracting liquidity to be used within the Aleph Zero ecosystem. Together with MOST and zParachain bridge, further integration with [Router Protocol](https://www.routerprotocol.com/) introduces a versatile bridging option to a variety of ecosystems such as Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Smart Chain, Avalanche, Fantom, Aurora, Kava, Base, Arbitrum, Rootstock, Near, Moonbeam, and Moonriver, and more to come.

## 🛣️ Roadmap

Aleph Zero's development is structured into distinct phases, of which we are currently in **Phase 4/5.**

You can check Aleph Zero's most recent 2023 Roadmap announcement on their blog for a detailed roadmap and further insights related to the Aleph Zero roadmap.

## 🎭 Community

Every member plays a crucial role in shaping the future of Aleph Zero, whether through developing, staking, or participating in governance. Utilizing on-chain governance, the Aleph Zero community collectively oversees the development and implementation of core technologies like the AlephBFT consensus protocol and the Liminal privacy framework within the Aleph Zero network. 

For more information and to engage with the Aleph Zero community, you can visit the following resources:

* **Website:** [Aleph Zero Official](https://alephzero.org/)
* **Documentation:** [Aleph Zero](https://docs.alephzero.org/)
* **Code:** [Aleph Zero on GitHub](https://github.com/Cardinal-Cryptography)
* **Community Forum**: [Aleph Zero on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AlephZero/)
* **Updates:** [Aleph Zero Blog](https://alephzero.org/blog/)
* **Social Media:** [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Aleph\_\_Zero)**,** [Linked-in](https://www.linkedin.com/company/alephzero/)

Stay tuned, as this is a growing space. We'll be exploring more use cases with Aleph Zero!

## 📚 Resources

* [Aleph Zero Whitepaper](https://docs.alephzero.org/aleph-zero/explore/whitepapers)
* [5 More use cases for Aleph Zero](https://golden.com/wiki/Aleph\_Zero-REEBKR8)