IOST is building an ultra-high TPS blockchain infrastructure to meet the security and scalability needs of a decentralized economy. Led by a team of proven founders and backed by $40 million from world-class investors, including Sequoia and Matrix, IOST aims to be the underlying architecture for the future of online services. The powerful consensus algorithm “Proof-of-Believability” enables next-gen transaction throughput speeds while ensuring nodes stay compliant, using factors including IOST token balance, reputation-based token balance, network contributions and user behaviors. A faster grade Byzantine Fault Tolerance mechanism, microstate blocks, Atomic Commit protocol and a dynamic sharding protocol (Efficient Distributed Sharding) all ensure transactions are safeguarded, consistent and lightning fast while reducing storage, configuration costs and processing power for validators. Anyone is able to participate in every layer of our system, from using services on our blockchain to running a node and validating transactions. Our rules and code are open for all to see and no preconditions will limit participation. IOST aims to fundamentally disrupt previous methods of business by creating a self-operated, trustless network that maximizes network value for all parties. The project places great emphasis on decentralized and secure ways of storing information. It also provides for Dapps and smart contracts, and anyone who is familiar with blockchain technology knows just how integral these two concepts have become. Adhering to the quintessential egalitarian values of blockchain technology, IOST is creating a censorship-resistant and trustless network that is open to all, using blockchain technology to cut out middlemen and maximize network value for all parties. Terrace Wang, Kimmy Zhong, and Ray Xiao, who are extremely brilliant, have co-founded the project. In addition to these original three, the project has 12 employees and 4 advisors. It is also worth noting that Ryan Bubiski, a co-founder of CodeAcademy and a winner of Times Most Influential People award plays a major role in the advisory board of the project. The team has partnered with about sixteen blockchain and cryptocurrency oriented companies such as Sequoia, Nirvana Capital, and DFund. The project, therefore, has strong investors.'
Gifto as a network protocol, is a brainchild of Andy Tian, the co-founder and CEO of Asia Innovations Group (AIG). The team at AIG comprises of crypto-technology and blockchain enthusiasts. Andy saw potential in designing a decentralized network powered by the Ethereum blockchain to fix the current broken content monetization model with a better model. Most people introduced to the global content industry will identify the following problems with the current model: The Gifto network was launched in December 2017 and has been tested along with AIG’s flagship product, Uplive. Uplive is a live streaming mobile application with over 20 million users. An official Gifto report in February 2018, stated that Gifto featured in the top 10 traded cryptocurrencies by volume. The universal blockchain-based virtual gifting protocol has not only bridged the gap between content creators and the audience but has also introduced a way to acknowledge and reward the content creators. Besides monetizing decentralized content, it has revamped the modern creator-audience relationship. It has already received support from a number of large institutional investors including KPCB and Wicklow Capital. This can only be seen a positive for Gifto as it proves that the idea has been scrutinized and accepted by a fairly large number of people.