$1.08

Waves is a blockchain platform designed for a range of uses, including decentralized applications and smart contracts. It launched in June 2016 after one of the earliest initial coin offerings in the crypto industry. The project aimed to enhance earlier blockchain systems by offering better speed, utility, and ease of use. Over time, the platform has evolved with new features and spin-off projects. The native token, WAVES, has no fixed supply and is used for transactions and block rewards.

The founder of Waves is Alexander Ivanov, also known as Sasha Ivanov, a scientist from Ukraine. Before starting Waves, he had been involved in crypto projects like the exchange Coinomat and the indexing site Cooleindex, both of which are no longer operational. He also created an early stablecoin tied to the US dollar. Ivanov actively promotes Waves through interviews and public appearances. According to company materials, Waves employs over 180 people in locations such as Moscow and Switzerland.

Waves was among the first platforms to aim for improvements over early blockchain systems, focusing on business adoption. It supported smart contracts and decentralized apps from early on, with an emphasis on speed and user-friendliness. Later, additional features were introduced, such as Gravity, a cross-chain and oracle network, and Neutrino, a DeFi-focused platform. Waves also operates a decentralized exchange. In 2020, Waves announced compatibility with Ethereum by issuing WAVES as an ERC-20 token.

Initially, WAVES had a fixed supply of 100 million tokens. During its ICO, which raised 30,000 BTC, 85% of the supply was sold to participants, 4% went to partners, 9% to developers, and 1% each to early supporters and bounty programs. In 2019, the supply cap was removed, and network participants gained the ability to make decisions. The current block reward is 6 WAVES, and users can vote to reduce it by 0.5 WAVES every 110,000 blocks.

Waves uses a modified proof-of-stake algorithm called WavesNG, based on Bitcoin-NG, a scaling proposal by Emin Gün Sirer from Cornell. The project emphasizes that its code is open source, which it says increases trust and simplifies maintenance compared to proprietary enterprise blockchains.

WAVES has been available on the market for over four years and is traded on many exchanges. It can be paired with various cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and fiat currencies. Trading volumes are spread across multiple platforms, with Binance and Huobi Global being among the largest. For newcomers, there are guides available on how to buy Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.