What is Tezos?
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 6 min
In short
Tezos is a blockchain designed so that protocol changes are decided by on-chain voting and applied without a hard fork. It launched in 2018 and has since shipped a series of alphabetically named upgrades through that process. Consensus uses Liquid Proof of Stake, a delegable form of proof of stake.
Key points
- Protocol amendments are put to a vote and, if passed, applied by the network automatically
- Has changed its specification repeatedly without chain-splitting hard forks
- Staking is called 'baking', and small holders can take part by delegating
- Launch was delayed by legal disputes over governance following its 2017 fundraise
Definition
A proof-of-stake blockchain that builds the protocol amendment process into on-chain voting so it can upgrade itself without hard forks.
Tezos addressed the way specification changes tend to split blockchains. On most chains, participants who reject a change can keep running the old rules and the network forks. Tezos wrote the whole amendment path — proposal, approval, a testing period and activation — into the protocol as a staged voting process.
Voting power belongs to stakers. Proposals are debated across several periods, and only those clearing each threshold are applied to the node software. Consensus changes, shorter block times and fee redesigns have all shipped this way. Upgrades are named alphabetically, from Athens and Babylon onward.
Consensus is called Liquid Proof of Stake. Bakers produce blocks, and holders without enough stake to bake themselves can delegate to a baker and receive a share of rewards. Delegation leaves custody of the assets with the holder, which distinguishes it from staking services that take deposits.
Smart contracts are written in Michelson, a purpose-built language suited to formal verification, meaning mathematically proving properties of a program. In practice, Tezos has been used for NFT issuance platforms and for pilot record-verification projects by some public bodies and companies.
Watch out for
- · On-chain turnout tends to be low, and critics note that decisions can concentrate among a handful of large bakers
- · Its 2017 fundraise drew a US class action that was eventually settled
- · If the baker you delegate to misbehaves, the rewards attached to that delegation can be lost
Frequently asked questions
Does delegating hand my assets over to a baker?
No. Delegation lends voting and block-production rights only; the XTZ stays in your own address and the baker cannot move it.