What Is Aptos (APT)?

Aptos (APT) is a high-throughput Layer-1 blockchain focused on providing programmers with a versatile framework for developing and launching decentralized applications (dApps).

Unlike digital cash cryptocurrencies, Aptos has much wider use cases, and it’s often referred to as the Solana (SOL) killer because it targets most of the same features as Solana but with a higher processing capacity.

Aptos is a quite new project that launched operations in late 2022, but it’s already ranked among the top 100 digital currencies on CoinMarketCap. 

Let’s check out the details of Aptos and the APT coin.

How Aptos Works

Aptos is a decentralized, Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain with its own APT coin. The network uses a parallel execution architecture that allows Aptos to distribute network traffic between different layers of the blockchain and process up to 150,000 transactions per second (TPS).

Aptos achieves transaction finality in one second. All network transfers are simultaneously processed while the blockchain checks their validity afterward. Most other blockchains process transactions in sequences, which often leads to high network congestion and low processing time. 

The PoS architecture allows anyone to operate a network node. The Aptos blockchain has three types of nodes: 

• Validator nodes process transactions by staking APT coins. Anyone can stake APT through a validator node and earn a staking reward for participating in the network. The nodes use their stake in the network to process transactions.

Validating a fake transaction would result in the loss of all coins staked through the validator node. This mechanism is very reliable because it ensures that validators only approve legitimate transactions. Validator nodes don’t need to keep a copy of the whole Aptos blockchain.

• Full node validators store a copy of the whole blockchain and constantly update the copy by synchronizing with the rest of the network. 
• Public full nodes simply maintain a copy of the blockchain and update it to help the network recognize which transactions are valid.

All three node types work in synchronization to keep the network running. This architecture is essential for distributing network traffic and allowing the blockchain to process up to 150,000 TPS.

Moreover, Aptos can support high-traffic dApps thanks to its blockchain sharding mechanism that can create sub-chains for each project. When developers launch a platform on Aptos, the app’s transactions don’t jam up the main chain because they process traffic through the APT sidechains. 

What Is Aptos (APT) Used For?

The Aptos network is focused on providing developers with a dApp development framework. Unlike cryptocurrency projects with a narrow scope of use cases, Aptos is a multifunctional network that enables users to build different forms of decentralized platforms.

Since the project is quite young, there aren’t many platforms that utilize the Aptos framework yet. However, Aptos has all the programming tools for launching anything from DeFi protocols and decentralized exchange platforms to NFTs, digital marketplaces, and blockchain gaming projects.

The Aptos dApp development resources use the network’s native programming language, Move. The key advantage of Move over many competitor languages is that it allows developers to easily customize digital assets. Projects built on Aptos don’t need to have an identical structure and operational mechanism like the Aptos main chain. 

Developers have the freedom to customize their crypto projects and adjust their working mechanisms according to their needs. Move even offers practical cross-chain programming features that can help integrate Aptos apps with other blockchains. Move is more versatile than Ethereum’s Solidity because it offers more smart contract programming features.

The Aptos developer team states that the goal of Aptos is to become the main Web3 app development platform, which can provide users with blockchain solutions for real-world problems.

There are already several functional dApps that illustrate what exactly developers can do with the Aptos blockchain.

LiquidSwap is the first decentralized exchange platform on Aptos and offers a variety of liquidity pools, along with a blockchain bridge. Topaz is the first NFT marketplace on Aptos, which has a variety of interesting NFT collections that users can buy with APT coins. Aptos Launcher is the blockchain’s token launchpad, allowing developers to quickly launch their Aptos-based crypto projects.

These different apps illustrate the tendency of Aptos to become an all-encompassing blockchain fit for all types of decentralized platforms. 

Where to Buy Aptos (APT)?

Despite being a very young project, Aptos is already available on dozens of popular crypto exchanges, with more than 100 trading pairs, according to CoinMarketCap. You can buy APT on leading crypto exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, KuCoin, Kraken, and many more. APT is also available on decentralized exchanges such as PancakeSwap, LiquidSwap, and AnimeSwap. 

If you want to buy APT on a centralized crypto exchange platform, you’ll need to create a user account and fund it with fiat currency. Alternatively, if a platform supports APT instant trading, you buy APT with a bank card directly. 

Decentralized exchanges require users to connect their crypto wallet and exchange other cryptocurrencies for APT. 

How Long Has Aptos (APT) Been Around? 

The Aptos project is very young and rose to the top 100 list of cryptos at extremely high speed.

Aptos Labs, the company behind Aptos, is run by two former Meta employees, Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching, who’ve gathered a team of experienced blockchain professionals with the idea of creating a lightning-fast, cheap, and highly scalable blockchain for developing decentralized apps.

Initially, Meta attempted to do something similar and create an efficient blockchain, but the project was shut down. 

Aptos gathered considerable support from venture capital companies and investors. In March 2022, Aptos received 200 million USD for the project from companies like Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Capital. A few months later, Aptos had another investment round in July and gathered an extra 150 million USD, bringing the total investment to 350 million USD.

These funds helped boost the development of Aptos, and finally, in October of 2022, the team launched the Aptos mainnet blockchain. 

The project was instantly pumped thanks to huge interest from both companies and individual investors, which is one of the key reasons why APT is already on the global top 100 list of cryptos.

What’s Controversial About Aptos (APT)?

There’s no controversy surrounding Aptos so far. The project had a clear and transparent launch. The number of dApps on Aptos is steadily growing and by the looks of it, it seems that the Aptos ecosystem is gearing up for a massive expansion phase in the future. 

How Many APT Coins Are There?

The maximum supply of APT is one billion coins, however, not all of these coins are available on the market. The circulating supply of APT is currently 130 million coins.

All APT coins are pre-mined by the developer team. Half of the total supply (51%) is reserved for the Aptos community, out of which 80% is kept by the Aptos Foundation and 20% by Aptos Labs to finance community projects to improve Aptos user experience and features. 

From the total supply of coins, 19% is distributed to core contributors, 16.5% to the Aptos Foundation as incentives for developing APT, and 13% is available for investors on the market. Those 13% are the 130 million APT coins currently in circulation. 

Can APT Be Mined?

APT coins are pre-mined, and there won’t be any additional coins according to the developers. There’s no possibility of mining APT.

Market Cap and Price History of Aptos (APT) 

APT has a high market cap of over 500 million USD. A few days after the launch of the Aptos mainnet on October 18, 2022, APT reached an all-time high of nearly 10 USD per coin. Shortly afterward, the coin’s value fell and then stabilized at a value between 4 USD and 4.5 USD per coin. 

Biggest Competitors of Aptos (APT) 

Aptos has many competitors, given the fact that it’s a multifunctional blockchain built for launching dApps. Some of the most notable Aptos competitors are Ethereum (ETH), Avalanche (AVAX), Solana (SOL), and Fantom (FTM). These are all Layer-1 blockchains that offer a similar scope of services. 

Additionally, Aptos has to compete with efficient Layer-2 networks for scaling up Ethereum features such as Polygon (MATIC) and Optimism (OP), which offer high scalability at low transaction prices. 

What Does the Aptos (APT) Project Road Map Look Like?

The Aptos team has already implemented all of the core features of the Aptos blockchain. The next phase of the blockchain’s development is to broaden the Aptos ecosystem by securing partnerships and encouraging developers to launch decentralized platforms on Aptos. 

Pros and Cons of Aptos (APT) 

Pros

• 150,000 transactions per second.
• Low transaction fees and a one-second transaction processing time.
• Very versatile blockchain designed for launching all types of decentralized apps.
• Market cap of over 500 million USD and a firm position among the top 100 crypto projects.

Cons

• The project is very young, so there’s no telling what the future holds for Aptos.
• Aptos has entered a highly competitive market segment with numerous high-profile competitor blockchains, and it will take a lot of work for the project to compete with some of them.