Project Overview

Alephium is a Layer 1 blockchain designed to overcome the scalability, security, and energy efficiency limitations present in many existing blockchain networks. By integrating the BlockFlow sharding algorithm and the Proof-of-Less-Work (PoLW) consensus mechanism, Alephium ensures high throughput and low energy consumption while maintaining a decentralized and secure ecosystem for decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts.

Unlike traditional blockchain architectures, Alephium does not rely on layered solutions or centralized validators to enhance performance. Instead, it achieves scalability at the protocol level, allowing for parallel transaction processing and significantly increasing network efficiency. This approach ensures that real-world applications such as financial systems, gaming platforms, and enterprise solutions can operate without bottlenecks or excessive fees.

Key Features

​​Scalability Through BlockFlow Sharding

Alephium’s BlockFlow sharding algorithm is an innovative solution that enhances Bitcoin’s Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) model to achieve massive scalability. By dividing the network into multiple shards, each capable of processing transactions independently, Alephium eliminates network congestion and ensures fast transaction speeds.

The platform employs a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) structure to facilitate consensus across different shards, enabling the network to process up to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS). This is a significant improvement over Bitcoin’s 7 TPS, making Alephium a high-performance blockchain capable of handling large-scale dApps, decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, and high-frequency trading applications.

Energy Efficiency with Proof-of-Less-Work (PoLW)

Alephium introduces Proof-of-Less-Work (PoLW), a sustainable alternative to traditional Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining. This mechanism dynamically adjusts mining difficulty based on network demand and token economics, ensuring that energy consumption remains low while maintaining strong security and decentralization.

Through PoLW, Alephium achieves an 87% reduction in energy consumption compared to conventional PoW networks. This makes Alephium an eco-friendly blockchain solution, offering a sustainable yet highly secure consensus mechanism for long-term blockchain viability.

Stateful UTXO Model for Secure Smart Contracts

Alephium integrates a stateful UTXO model, which merges Bitcoin’s transaction security with Ethereum’s smart contract flexibility. Unlike traditional smart contract platforms that use account-based models, Alephium’s approach allows for mutability within UTXOs, enabling efficient and secure decentralized applications.

This hybrid model prevents reentrancy attacks, unauthorized state changes, and complex execution vulnerabilities commonly found in Ethereum-based smart contracts. By implementing explicit asset flow definitions at the code level, Alephium provides a secure and reliable foundation for decentralized financial applications.

Custom Virtual Machine and Ralph Programming Language

To empower developers, Alephium features a custom virtual machine (Alphred) and a dedicated smart contract programming language (Ralph).

• Alphred VM enhances execution security by preventing common vulnerabilities, such as unauthorized access and unintended state changes.
• Ralph, inspired by Rust, simplifies smart contract development while maintaining high performance and security standards.

This infrastructure ensures that developers can build efficient, scalable, and secure decentralized applications without unnecessary complexity.

User-Friendly Wallets for Enhanced Accessibility

Alephium prioritizes accessibility and ease of use, offering a range of wallet solutions that cater to different user preferences.

• Desktop Wallet: The primary application for managing assets, deploying smart contracts, and engaging with DeFi platforms.
• Extension Wallet: A browser-based wallet that enables seamless interactions with dApps and DeFi ecosystems.
• Mobile Wallet: A user-friendly, self-custodial solution available for Android and iOS, providing on-the-go access to Alephium’s ecosystem.

These wallets ensure secure asset management, cross-platform compatibility, and a smooth user experience.

Growing Ecosystem and Community Engagement

Alephium’s ecosystem is rapidly expanding, with increasing adoption among developers, users, and businesses. The network offers:

• Grants and support programs to encourage developers to build on Alephium.
• An active and engaged community contributing to ecosystem development.
• Partnerships with DeFi projects, NFT platforms, and sustainability initiatives, reinforcing Alephium’s real-world utility.

By fostering collaboration and providing the necessary tools and resources, Alephium aims to establish a self-sustaining, innovative, and decentralized ecosystem.

Tokenomics

Alephium’s native token, ALPH, plays a crucial role in securing the network, incentivizing participation, and ensuring long-term sustainability. The tokenomics model is designed to balance supply, demand, and ecosystem growth, ensuring a stable and deflationary economic structure.

Total Supply and Distribution

The total supply of ALPH is capped at 1 billion tokens. At the mainnet launch on November 8, 2021, 140 million tokens (14%) were minted, with the remaining 860 million tokens (86%) allocated for mining rewards over a period of approximately 80 years.

The initial distribution is structured to align long-term incentives:

• 80 million ALPH (8%) allocated for pre-sales and strategic private sales, subject to vesting periods of 2 to 4 years.
• 30 million ALPH (3%) for ecosystem and community development, locked on-chain for 4 years and vested quarterly.
• 30 million ALPH (3%) allocated to the treasury and team, locked for 3 years and vested quarterly.
• 860 million ALPH (86%) designated for mining rewards, ensuring sustainable security incentives.

Mining Rewards and Emission Schedule

Alephium follows a gradual emission schedule, similar to Bitcoin’s halving mechanism, reducing block rewards over time to control inflation. This mechanism incentivizes early adopters while ensuring long-term network security.

Transaction Fees and Deflationary Token Burning

Alephium employs a unique token-burning mechanism to create a deflationary economic model:

• 100% of transaction fees are burned, permanently reducing the circulating supply.
• Prior to the Leman Network Upgrade (March 2023), only 50% of transaction fees were burned; the upgrade increased it to 100%, accelerating deflationary effects.
• Miners are required to burn a portion of ALPH when confirming blocks, ensuring a balance between mining incentives and long-term value preservation.

These features counteract inflation, making ALPH a scarce and valuable asset as network usage increases.

Circulating Supply Transparency

The circulating supply is calculated by subtracting locked allocations (for investors, treasury, and ecosystem funds) from the total existing supply. This transparent supply model provides a clear economic structure for investors and participants.