Synthetix is based in Australia, Synthetix launched a seed funding round in September, 2017 to develop the concept of a self-contained stablecoin payment network. They then kicked off their public ICO on February 28, 2018 and by the end of the ICO on March 7, 2018, they had met their goal of $30,000,000 USD. Synthetix was rebranded from Havven on November 30, 2018. Synthetix is led by a multidisciplinary team of 13 individuals. The project was founded by Kain Warwick, who previously co-founded blueshyft, one of the largest digital payment networks in Australia. The CTO is Justin Moses, who also serves as the Director of Engineering at MongoDB. Synthetix aims to address the problem that companies running centralized payment networks such as PayPal, credit card networks, or the SWIFT banking network have “absolute control over the value within the network, so any transaction conducted within them may be blocked or reversed at any time.” According to the Synthetix white paper, “Although this is ostensibly designed to protect users, it introduces systemic risk for all participants. If the network is compromised or its owners cease to behave benevolently, no party can trust that the value in their account is secure or accessible.” This is theorized to work because anyone who holds SNX tokens in escrow will be incentivized by Synthetix rewards derived from network transaction fees that will be distributed “in proportion with how well each issuer maintains the correct Synths supply.” When a Synthetix escrow user puts their SNX in escrow, USD-stabilized Synths will be automatically put up for sale on a decentralized exchange at a price of $1 USD. To release escrowed SNX, the user must buy back the Synths issued (also at a price of $1 USD) at which point the Synths will be burned. The Synthetix system uses an algorithm to adjust network fees, and therefore dividends, to SNX holders to incentivize (or disincentivize) the holding of SNX in escrow smart contracts, and thus, the creation of Synths. The theory is that this will cause users to mint and burn Synths in the appropriate amount based solely on supply and demand.
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.