tez

Tez, often written tez, is the native cryptocurrency of the Tezos blockchain. Tezos is a self-amending, proof-of-stake-focused platform designed to support smart contracts and formal verification, with on-chain governance built into its protocol. The project was founded by Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, and development and governance are overseen by the Tezos Foundation, a Swiss nonprofit that manages funds and coordinates research and development.

In 2017 Tezos conducted an initial offering that raised about $232 million in cryptocurrency, one of the largest crowdsales at the time, to fund ongoing development. After a period of legal and organizational disputes, the Tezos mainnet launched in 2018. The network uses a form of liquid proof-of-stake where participants can bake (stake) XTZ to participate in consensus, with bakers creating blocks and endorsers confirming them. Rewards are paid in XTZ.

A distinguishing feature of Tezos is its on-chain governance. Protocol amendments can be proposed, voted on, and activated automatically through the voting process, allowing upgrades without traditional hard forks. Tezos also emphasizes formal verification, which aims to provide mathematical proofs of correctness for smart contracts. It supports multiple higher-level smart contract languages that compile down to Michelson, Tezos’ low-level, stack-based language, with tools and languages such as LIGO, SmartPy, and CameL/OCaml variants.

XTZ is used to pay transaction fees, participate in consensus, and govern protocol changes. The Tezos ecosystem includes wallets, exchanges, development tools, and a range of decentralized applications and partnerships.