About
Tezos is an open-source, energy-efficient blockchain designed for assets and applications, distinguished by its unique "self-amending" protocol. Unlike traditional blockchains that require hard forks to upgrade, Tezos uses a formal on-chain governance mechanism that allows stakeholders to propose, vote on, and implement upgrades automatically. This capability has allowed the network to evolve rapidly, successfully activating 20 protocol upgrades since its inception, including the landmark Tallinn upgrade in January 2026, which slashed Layer-1 block times to 6 seconds and improved storage efficiency by 100x.
The network operates on a Liquid Proof of Stake (LPoS) consensus model, where participants known as Bakers secure the network by validating blocks and voting on proposals. Token holders who do not wish to run their own infrastructure can "delegate" their XTZ to a Baker while maintaining full custody of their funds, creating a highly decentralized and participation-heavy ecosystem. Tezos is also a pioneer in formal verification, a process that uses mathematical proofs to ensure the security and correctness of smart contracts, making it a preferred platform for high-stakes industries such as finance, aerospace, and institutional real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
By 2026, the Tezos ecosystem has expanded significantly through its Tezos X roadmap, which introduced the Etherlink Layer 2 a non-custodial, EVM-compatible rollup that offers sub-second transaction finality and near-zero fees. This integration allows Ethereum developers to deploy their applications on Tezos infrastructure seamlessly. Additionally, Tezos has solidified its position as a hub for digital art and commodities, hosting major NFT marketplaces like Objkt and innovative platforms like Uranium.io for tokenizing physical assets.
