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DeFi-focused blockchain Algorand is launching smart contract capabilities that will allow DeFi solutions and dApps to be created that are more scaleable than on Ethereum. Specifically it is implementing stateful smart contracts within layer-1. These are more flexible than stateless smart contracts, which require all conditions to be met at once before the funds are unlocked. Stateful smart contracts, one of Ethereum's strengths, can release funds when a sequence of interactive steps have been taken or conditions met, allowing for more sophisticated DApps and DeFi solutions. Algorand already supports stateless contracts, atomic swaps, and Algorand Standard Assets within layer-1. Algorand also says that its blockchain provides "negligible" transaction fees, a pointed reference to "first-generation" networks such as Ethereum.

Issuing Central Bank Digital Currency on Algorand The Algorand Foundation published a paper that describes its approach to issuing retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), including a detailed overview of relevant design considerations and examples of use cases facilitated by the Algorand platform.

Monerium will issue e-money on the Algorand blockchain protocol in order to support fiat-currency transactions on Algorand.

The Algorand Foundation has announced that the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin will be launched on the Algorand (ALGO) blockchain. The integration will allow customers using Circle APIs or Circle Business Accounts to convert funds from their bank account or card network into stable tokens on the Algorand blockchain.

The Algorand blockchain network has its own official native cryptocurrency, called the Algo, to drive our borderless economy and the system of incentives. The allocation of Algos and how they are being distributed is presented here. The Foundation holds Algos to contribute to the stability of the Algorand blockchain and to support the Algorand community, ecosystem building and research. The Algos will enter the ecosystem via various channels including development and research grants and sales. All such activities will be disclosed with full transparency to our community.

"As part of Algorand's latest major protocol upgrade, the blockchain will see a 5x performance boost to 6,000 TPS and a ~10% decrease in round times to

Algorand plans to achieve a carbon-negative network by implementing a "sustainability oracle" in partnership with ClimateTrade in a move that could make blockchain adoption more environmentally friendly. The partnership enables Algorand to notarize its on-chain carbon footprint and then lock the equivalent amount of carbon credits into a so-called green treasury.

Algorand is a Pure Proof of Stake (PPoS) blockchain designed to facilitate the future of finance. It was designed by Turing Award-winning cryptography expert Silvio Micali and is supported by the works of the Algorand Foundation.

Algorand has linked up with Chainalysis to help bake regulatory compliance into their blockchains. Chainalysis will provide a know-your-transaction solution, allowing its foundation to monitor large volumes of on-chain activity for the native ALGO token and report any suspicious transactions to the authorities. It will not provide a comprehensive solution to "travel rule" compliance, but it will help Algorand pick out transactions that trigger the rule, as well as identifying relevant senders and receivers.

US Dollar Coin (USDC) received a blockchain upgrade to support faster transactions on Algorand. Algorand brings over 1,000 transactions per second (versus Ethereum's 15) and transaction fees of 1/20th of a cent to the USDC ecosystem, and soon to be released innovations offer the potential of scaling throughput by 8-10x on Layer 1, accompanied by new secure smart contracts that complement standard tokens such as USDC.

Comprehensive upgrades to the Algorand blockchain will enable the creation of massively scalable dapps with the capacity to compete with established financial systems at a fraction of the cost. Algorand was built from the outset to drive complex applications requiring speed, scalability, finality, and security - while at the same time being cost-effective. Already nearly 400 companies are using the platform in sectors such as: investing (Republic), asset tokenization (Props), stablecoins (Tether, USDC, MELD Gold), CBDCs (Marshall Islands), gaming (World Chess), insurance (Attestiv) and accounting (Verady).

Algorand created a decentralized finance (DeFi) fund, in the form of 150 million ALGO tokens, to be handed out to potential projects to encourage growth of DeFi on Algorand. Also, Harmony, a blockchain platform designed for running Ethereum applications, similarly announced a $300 million fund, focused on attracting projects that are already running on other blockchains.

"Algorand, a blockchain-based cryptocurrency platform with a native cryptocurrency called ALGO, is making waves as a new altcoin in the cryptocurrency market with its smart contract core architecture. This article explains why Algorand has generated interest for decentralized finance (DeFi) and decentralized apps (dApps) solutions."

"The Algorand Foundation, which oversees development on Algorand, announced a $3 million incentive program for Algofi, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that relies on smart contracts to offer low-cost lending and borrowing services to users."

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has teamed up with blockchain technology company Algorand to agree a sponsorship and technical partnership deal. The agreement means Algorand will become the official blockchain platform of FIFA and provide the official blockchain-supported wallet solution.

"Algorand Wallet is relaunching under a new brand: Pera Wallet. This is much more than a new name and logo; We are relaunching the most popular wallet in the Algorand ecosystem with a renewed focus on our roadmap, partner integrations and community."

"Investigate Algorand's approach to issuing retail CBDC, including a detailed overview of relevant design considerations and examples of use cases facilitated by the Algorand platform. In particular, we present the critical use cases of issuing CBDC when connectivity is limited and adjustable privacy requirements for low- and high-value transactions."

The Algorand platform is explicitly designed with the idea of catering to large scale payment processing, enterprise uses, mainstream user adoption, and a vision of a "borderless economy" from scratch.

Brixton Pound (B£), a local currency used in the Brixton district of London, has selected the Algorand blockchain platform to launch the blockchain-version of the "complementary" currency. B£ is only accepted by merchants the Brixton area of London and the exchange rate to the British pound sterling (GBP) is always 1:1.

"Pure proof-of-stake (PPoS) blockchain Algorand has introduced cross-chain communication and transaction speed improvements with the latest upgrade to its protocol. The layer-1 blockchain network announced the implementation of State Proofs to its mainnet, which introduces trustless communication between different blockchain protocols. The upgrade also increased Algorand's processing speed from 1,200 to 6,000 transactions per second."