Elrond, also known as the Internet-scale blockchain, is a highly scalable and high-speed blockchain network developed to support smart contract functionality and operate dApps, enterprise applications, and the Web 3.0 revolution. The network leverages sharding technology to help blockchain scalability by making its infrastructure 1000 times more scalable than its competitors' capabilities to process transactions in parallel.

The Elrond blockchain utilizes a Secure Proof of Stake consensus mechanism, a highly energy-efficient method of validating transactions and adding new blocks. Its developers have designed it for easy adoption while offering developers infrastructure that is highly scalable, fast, and very affordable to operate while powering the new internet economy.

Elrond has forged partnerships with several established names in the crypto industry, including Chainlink, Matic Network, Ankr, Messari, Travala.com, Helios, Netopia Payments, Shyft, and more. The promising list of early adopters offers hope for Elrond's ecosystem to witness considerable expansion as more projects launch on the network.

EGLD is the native token of Elrond and functions as a medium of exchange between users and developers for utilizing the network's resources. It also serves as the governance token and can be staked on the network by users who wish to function as nodes and help validate transactions and secure the network.

The Elrond technical paper was released in Q2 2018, followed by the network's prototype launch in the third quarter of 2018. The final quarter of 2018 saw its developers publish the open-source code of Elrond and update its whitepaper.

The Elrond testnet v0.5s initial results were shared in Q1 2019, followed by the private testnet launch in Q2 2019. The public testnet launch of Elrond took place in Q3 2019, along with the launch of its first dApp, CryptoBubbles. Q4 of the year saw the launch of Secure PoS Economy, allowing users to start staking EGLD.

Elrond's app was launched in the Samsung dApp store in Q1 2020, followed by the launch of the second and third phases of bootstrapping in the subsequent quarters. The Elrond team added support for smart contracts and direct and delegated staking in Q4 2020, along with the release of the development toolkit.

2021 saw the team focus more on developing the DeFi ecosystem of Elrond with the launch of Maiar, staking, its DEX AMM, DeFi wallet, and its launchpad. In Q1 2022, Web3 payments, multisig for DAOs, and the NFT marketplace launch were some remarkable achievements.

Elrond's blockchain technology has three distinctive features that give it an edge over several of its peers in the market:

Sharding

The Elrond blockchain uses adaptive state sharding, combining different sharding techniques to offer high throughput and performance. This feature allows Elrond to process transactions in parallel, making it the ideal platform for applications that need high scalability and fast transaction processing capabilities.

Secure Proof of Stake (SPoS)

Elrond's consensus mechanism, Secure Proof of Stake, makes it far more energy-efficient than proof of work blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The consensus algorithm achieves BFT through random sampling of the group and randomly reshuffles nodes into other shards, making the network highly resilient to attacks.

Elrond Virtual Machine (VM)

The Elrond VM supports smart contracts coded in multiple languages, including C/C++, C#, Rust, and Typescript. This lets developers build applications using various programming languages and run them on the Elrond network.

The EGLD token has multiple use cases within the Elgorand ecosystem and beyond. Let's explore some of its applications:

Native Currency

EGLD serves as the native currency for users and developers to pay transaction fees on the Elrond network. Additionally, smart contracts also utilize EGLD coins to cover execution fees and access blockchain resources.

Governance Token

EGLD empowers holders to submit and vote on proposals for blockchain upgrades. This token enables the Elrond community to achieve true decentralization and gives holders a voice in shaping the blockchain's future.

Staking

As a proof-of-stake blockchain, Elrond allows token holders to stake their EGLD tokens and become validator nodes that contribute to block creation. Validators are rewarded with EGLD tokens for their participation.

Digital Asset Investment and HODLing

EGLD is an attractive cryptocurrency for investment and inclusion in portfolios. It boasts high trading volume, liquidity, and currently ranks among the top 50 cryptos by market cap as of July 2022, reflecting its popularity as a digital asset.

You can buy or sell Elrond against other cryptocurrencies or hold it long-term if you believe in the blockchain's future potential. Before trading EGLD, make sure to check real-time Elrond price, EGLD market cap, 24-hour trading volume, and conduct fundamental, technical, and sentiment analyses.

Earn Passive Income

By holding EGLD, you can also earn passive income and grow your crypto portfolio. Various exchanges and DeFi platforms offer EGLD staking options to earn rewards.

BYDFi, for example, provides a risk-free method of generating passive income by holding EGLD through its Crypto Lending feature. Explore this section to lend EGLD liquidity to the exchange and earn attractive daily interest over seven, 14, or 28 days.

One of the most powerful tools to use when gauging the success of a crypto project is the kind of partnerships they have forged with players in the industry and across mainstream sectors. Based on this factor, does the Elrond project hold much promise as a good investment thanks to the numerous partners of the project?

An increase in such partnerships in the future could power the Elrond price to new highs, making it a good crypto to invest in. Partnering with businesses could increase the usage of the Elrond network and make EGLD more valuable as a digital asset in the future.

In addition to an uptick in partnerships, developing and deploying more dApps on the Elrond network, bringing in more users, could also drive up on-chain activity and support the Elrond price. Could the EGLD price enjoy a positive push as more developers and users join its network and use the blockchain?

Finally, could a bull run in the crypto market also encourage more buying activity in the EGLD token and send the Elrond price on an uptrend? Does a bullish mood increase investor confidence and spur buyers to invest in altcoins across the board?

The EGLD token became the native digital asset of the Elrond ecosystem following the blockchain's mainnet launch in July 2020. The original Elrond native token ERD was an ERC-20 and BEP-2 token on the Ethereum and Binance Chain, respectively. In September 2020, the blockchain's developers announced the new version of the native token eGLD or Elrond Gold (ELGD).

ERD holders were provided guidance to use the official Elrond bridge to swap their tokens for the new EGLD token at a swap ratio of 1000 ERD: 1 EGLD. The team came up with the idea to introduce EGLD tokens in place of ERD tokens to foster Elrond's efforts to develop a robust digital currency and power the digital economy.

One of the critical differences between ERD and EGLD, in addition to the value, is the max supply. While the ERD enjoyed a total supply of 20 billion, EGLD has a max supply cap set at 20 million.

You can stake EGLD tokens via the official Elrond wallet to participate in the consensus mechanism for securing the network. You can earn exciting rewards and grow your EGLD holdings in exchange for your efforts. Here's how to stake EGLD on Elrond:

Set up an account on Elrond wallet, the blockchain's official and default wallet.

To become a validator node, you must stake a minimum of 2,500 EGLD via the wallet.

If your holdings are smaller in volume, you can delegate your tokens to other validators for staking and earn a percentage of rewards from their earnings. For delegated staking, you need a minimum of 1 EGLD token.

Fund your Elrond wallet by buying EGLD crypto on BYDFi or other platforms and withdrawing the tokens from the exchange to your Elrond wallet.

You can use either option to stake EGLD: Delegate or Validate.

Under the Delegate option, enter the number of EGLD tokens you wish to stake via delegation and select the validator to which you want to delegate your token holdings. Click Stake to confirm the transaction.

Under the Validate option, click on Stake Now to see a list of Staking Providers. Select a Staking Provider, enter the number of EGLD crypto you wish to stake, await confirmation from the validator, and confirm the transaction.

Sit back and earn EGLD rewards for staking.