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Tezos is a blockchain platform designed for hosting digital assets and decentralized applications, emphasizing code safety, community-driven upgrades, and decentralization. Its upcoming Tezos 2.0 update aims to enhance scalability through layer-2 solutions, improve composability, and add support for popular programming languages like JavaScript and Python. The protocol was built with formal verification in mind, reducing bugs in smart contracts, making it suitable for security-sensitive applications. Tezos uses a liquid proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, allowing anyone to participate in network validation either directly or by delegating their tokens, earning rewards in return. Its on-chain governance lets stakeholders propose and vote on protocol upgrades, enabling self-amendment without hard forks. First proposed in 2014 and launched in 2018, the network has evolved through community consensus.

Tezos was created by Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, who outlined the concept in a 2014 white paper published under the pseudonym L.M. Goodman, a reference to a journalist who once misidentified Bitcoin's creator. In earlier work, the Breitmans criticized Bitcoin for lacking a governance mechanism, high costs and centralization due to proof-of-work, limited smart contract capabilities, and security vulnerabilities. They designed Tezos to address these issues. Arthur has experience as a quantitative analyst at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, and as a research engineer at Google X and Waymo, with degrees from École Polytechnique and NYU. Kathleen worked as a senior strategy associate at R3 and held positions at Accenture, Bridgewater Associates, and the Wall Street Journal, holding a degree from Cornell University.

Tezos stands out due to its on-chain governance system and commitment to code security through formal verification. It was also among the first to implement liquid proof-of-stake (LPoS). The governance model allows any stakeholder to propose and vote on protocol upgrades, with voting conducted entirely on-chain across five phases, including three voting rounds. Each phase lasts about two weeks, so a full upgrade cycle takes nearly three months. If consensus is reached with a sufficient quorum, the protocol self-amends to implement the change, reflecting the majority's will. This contrasts with other blockchains like Ethereum or Bitcoin, where core developers often dictate upgrades. Additionally, major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase support staking for XTZ, enabling users to earn rewards on their holdings.

As of now, there are approximately 977,621,108 XTZ in circulation. The total supply is uncapped, with validator rewards increasing it by about 4.5% annually. Tezos conducted a token sale in July 2017, raising 65,681 BTC and 361,122 ETH, worth around $232 million at that time, making it one of the largest fundraising events in crypto history. Of the initial supply, about 80% was allocated to contributors of the fundraiser, while the remaining 20% was split equally between the Tezos Foundation and Dynamic Ledger Solutions, the company founded by the Breitmans to develop the blockchain.

Tezos employs a liquid proof-of-stake (LPoS) consensus mechanism, which is an evolution of delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS). In LPoS, anyone holding at least 6,000 XTZ can become a validator, called a 'baker,' or they can delegate their stake to any public baker, even if they don't meet the threshold themselves. This design aims to make staking inclusive and accessible, broadening participation and ensuring a diverse set of validators to maintain network security.

XTZ, also known as 'tez,' is available on many major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, HTX, OKX, Kraken, Kucoin, Bybit, and Gate.io, among others. It can be traded against fiat currencies like USD and EUR, as well as cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Common trading pairs include XTZ/USDT, XTZ/BTC, XTZ/USD, and XTZ/EUR. For those new to crypto, guides are available to help convert fiat into Bitcoin or other digital assets.