Fantom is a smart contract platform that offers developers decentralized finance (DeFi) services with its own consensus algorithm. It is characterized as a smart contract platform based on a directed acyclic graph (DAG).
Founded in 2018 and launching its OPERA mainnet in December 2019, the Fantom Foundation manages the product offering of Fantom. Particularly targeting transaction speed issues, Fantom conducts transactions using its own token, FTM.
Fantom is working on a new consensus mechanism built from the ground up to facilitate smart contract-based DeFi and related services. Named Lachesis, this mechanism promises security improvements over proof-of-stake (PoS) based platforms, along with much higher capacity and transaction completion within two seconds.
As a competitor to Ethereum‘s project, Fantom appeals to developers who want to use decentralized solutions. According to official literature, its mission is to ensure compatibility among all transaction units worldwide.
FTM is a native PoS token that forms the backbone of transactions on the platform and is used for collecting transaction fees, staking activities, and user rewards. In addition, Fantom raised approximately 40 million dollars in token sales in 2018, funding its development.