Achain is a public blockchain platform that enables developers of all levels to issue tokens and create smart contracts, decentralized applications, and blockchain systems. Achain is committed to building a global blockchain network for information exchange and value transactions. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, Achain utilizes a modified version of DPoS — RDPoS (Result-delegated Proof of Stake) to establish node consensus. Shortly, DPoS suggests that all coin holders vote for the validator nodes that will produce the next blocks. On the project website, only info about CEO Tony Cui is listed. Cui has a few significant accomplishments, including winning the Future Star award from the Zhongguancun Alliance and being listed in the 30 under 30 on CYZONE, a famous venture capital magazine. On LinkedIn, 51 people are listed as employees at Achain. Most of the team is based in Beijing. Achain also has a few key industry partners. It has even co-organized a “Blockchain Technology Open Course” with Tsinghua University, which is widely recognized as one of the world’s top universities. The roadmap for Achain development is fairly detailed. However, most goals listed are development-oriented rather than marketing or design. Still, it’s important to note that focusing on making the protocol interoperable and building a technology that is more accessible to mainstream adoption could also be considered a marketing-oriented part of this project. There are three major phases with projected completion dates listed. These include Singularity (completed Q1), Galaxy (ongoing), and Cosmos (complete at the end of Q4). One thing to note is that dates for these phases are not consistent between the homepage and the whitepaper. This could be simply due to a scenario in which phase names remain the same while new goals and timeline dates within those phases continue to change. In January 2019, the project will update the website to reflect roadmap goals for the new year. Looking at the current landscape of blockchain projects, Achain certainly offers the possibility of much-needed technical innovations. The ability to easily create an Achain fork, as well as, the protocol’s unique RDPoS consensus algorithm make this a promising project. It will be interesting to see how Achain builds upon its accomplishments, and how the project team continues to develop a long-term strategy for improving the protocol’s technical capabilities and increasing participation in its ecosystem.
Aelf is the versatile business blockchain platform powered by cloud computing and the central nervous system for businesses, transforming the way they deliver their services. By laying out the fundamental blockchain infrastructure, Aelf enables businesses to focus on building up their own dapps on their own chains with minimum effort. Acting as the master key, Aelf unlocks the potential for inter-business communication and collaboration using cross-chain efficiency. Incorporating modern technologies such as cloud nodes and parallel processing, Aelf is the blockchain system that achieves secure transactions at commercial scale. Aelf is one of the cryptocurrencies that is attracting crypto enthusiasts following its massive commercial adoption initiative. The coin seems to be leading on the technology front with higher blockchain efficiency, which is why it's also anticipated to be the Linux of Blockchains. aelf is an operating system for blockchains which can be customized by their respective users. Its cryptocurrency is denoted by the symbol ELF, with a total supply of 250 million ELF. It was launched on 21 December, 2017 on multiple exchanges in China without any ICO and instead got private investors on board. This ensured better compliance as KYC was done for all investors with most of them being accredited, with a good track record in token investment. Aelf was developed by Ma Haobao, who is also the CEO of Hoopox. The team is backed by a strong advisory board which includes Michael Arrington (CEO of TechCrunch and founding partner of FGB Capital). The team says it is working on unleashing the blockchain’s potential into mass applications and industries. aelf is now working with Innovation Alliance for increasing the acceptability of blockchain technology which will ultimately increase adoption of aelf’s blockchain. The team is focussed to develop aelf to improve other chains in the ecosystem by providing a template and infrastructure for interaction between the sidechains. Aelf also has a rewards system – Candy. With the Candy rewards system, you earn points, convertible for ELF, by accomplishing simple, daily tasks. Tasks include liking and replying to aelf tweets, inviting people to the Telegram channel, and other promotional activities. ELF are currently ERC20 tokens. As such, you can store them in any wallet with ERC20 support like MyEtherWallet or Exodus. The Ledger Nano S is also a great option if you’re interested in additional security. Aelf is a relatively new competitor in the dapp platform race but already has solid support from large investment capital firms. The project is utilizing resource separation through side chains and a unique governance model to build an entire blockchain operating system.