Blockchain I Aptos blockchain

Aptos is a Layer 1 blockchain that recently entered the crypto market. Since then, this blockchain has been in the spotlight. Before Facebook turned to the metaverse, they were working on their own crypto currency. Developers who were working on Facebook's coin started the Aptos project.

Interestingly, Aptos' blockchain can process fewer transactions per second than Bitcoin, Ethereum and many other layer one blockchains. However, Aptos has other advantages as well!

What is Aptos (APT)?
Aptos is a Web3 startup focused on building a scalable layer 1 blockchain. This crypto project grew out of Facebook's cryptocurrency plans. Several years ago, it came up with the idea of Libra, which was later renamed Diem. This stablecoin was supposed to become Facebook's coin, but this blockchain initiative ultimately never got off the ground, partly because politicians were against it.

The Aptos blockhain has been live since the fall of 2022, but before that there was a lot of activity on the testnet. Before the launch of the mainnet, over 100 projects were already used on their testnet. These are mainly many NFT projects, but also, for example, DeFi projects and crypto wallets.

While working on Diem, the team developed a new programming language called Move. The team continued with this at Aptos as well. Move is more secure compared to other programming languages. Moreover, Aptos offers 160,000 Transactions Per Second, making them among one of the fastest blockchains.

Aptos staking
Aptos has a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain, making staking an important part of the network. Within this network, validators ensure that transactions can be performed securely and that transactions are verified on the blockchain. To become a validator, you need a minimum number of APT coin.

Aptos validators earn staking rewards, which they then divide between themselves and the stakers who contribute to the validator.

The Aptos blockchain does not use slashing. What is slashing? This is a method where validators who behave badly are penalized. These punishments are handed out when a validator is inactive or passes on a wrong transactions (abusing the system, criminal activities, etc.). The penalty can be a fixed amount or a certain percentage, paid from a validator's crypto stock.

If you are not familiar in the crypto world, there are other solutions to staking. You can easily stake APT on the Binance platform or on Coinbase. Warning here is that it can never be said with certainty that those exchanges cannot topple, think FTX. My tip is always to keep your crypto in a hardware wallet when you are not trading continously.

Aptos Name Service (ANS).
Like other major blockchain projects (such as Ethereum), Aptos has introduced the Aptos Name Service (ANS). Following in the footsteps of Ethereum (ENS) and Polkadot (PNS), Aptos also sees the benefits of this service. What is a Name Service?

When you have an Aptos wallet, a huge long code is attached to it. This code acts as your wallet address and is also called the public key. Such a string of letters and numbers is difficult to remember, but thanks to the Aptos Name Service, a solution has been found.

You can use the ANS to change the public key of your Aptos wallet. You can compare this to a domain name for a website.

Wallet for Aptos
When you have bought APT, it is convenient to have full control over your investment. Many investors leave their coins on an exchange, but this causes you to lose control. Not your keys, not your coins.

This means that without the private keys of a wallet, you have no control over the cryptocurrencies. Therefore, never store your coins on an exchange, but use a wallet for this purpose. You can use either a software wallet or a hardware wallet. The most well-known wallets are the software wallet by Metamask and the hardware wallet by Ledger or Trezor.