On Tuesday (May 17), generic cross-chain messaging protocol Wormhole announced that it had launched support for the Algorand ($ALGO) blockchain.
As Binance Research explained in a research report published in June 2019, Algorand is “a permissionless, pure proof of stake blockchain that ensures full participation, protection and speed within a truly decentralized network.”
Algorand’s aim is “to remove technical barriers that have undermined mainstream blockchain adoption: decentralization, scale, and security.”
Algorand was built by a team of “internationally recognized researchers, mathematicians, cryptographers, and economists along with proven business leaders from global technology companies.” The executive team consists of Silvio Micali (Founder), Steve Kokinos (CEO), and W. Sean Ford (COO).
As for Wormhole, according to the press release issued by the Algorand team, “developers can leverage the Wormhole SDK to build decentralized applications (dApps) and protocols that can move value seamlessly” across ten major blockchains “without fees.”
The Wormhole protocol “underpins the cross-chain Portal Bridge (https://portalbridge.com) for Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchains including Algorand, Avalanche, Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, Fantom, Oasis, Polygon, Solana and Terra.” As “tokens or NFTs are bridged through the Portal Bridge,” the origin token “is locked in a smart contract while a new Portal-wrapped version of that token gets minted on the target chain.” Portal-wrapped tokens can be “swapped for assets on the target chain and used to participate in DeFi on the biggest blockchain networks.”
Hendrik Hofstadt, a contributor to Wormhole, stated:
“Wormhole has quickly become one of the largest DeFi networks in the world. The network plays a key role in enabling liquidity to flow into new ecosystems, which has a profound impact on the growth and expansion of decentralizing protocols, projects, liquidity, governance, and participation. The Wormhole community is excited to welcome Algorand to DeFi’s fastest-growing multi-chain liquidity network.“
Michel Dahdah, co-founder of Rand Labs, which is “a company building infrastructure products on Algorand and contributors to the Wormhole integration”, had this to say:
“The integration of Algorand to Wormhole’s network is great news for builders of this ecosystem. It will allow us to access all the liquidity that exists outside of Algorand, significantly boosting the TVL of the network.“
The press release went on to say that the Algorand protocol has “experienced zero downtime since launch, helping it become the blockchain of choice for thousands of organizations launching DeFi protocols, NFTs, payment solutions, regulated digital assets, and more.”
Paul Riegle, Chief Product Officer at Algorand, said:
“Algorand was designed to be fast, low cost, and have immediate finality – which continues to drive significant network adoption in DeFi and the creator economy. The launch of Wormhole support for Algorand enables millions of users from across the blockchain landscape to experience and realize the benefits of Algorand and unlocks a new level of interoperability for our ecosystem.“
Wormhole’s Portal Bridge is “a bridge that offers unlimited transfers across chains for tokens and NFTs wrapped by Wormhole.” Unlike many competing cross-chain bridges, “you avoid double wrapping and never have to retrace your steps.”
Here is what it looks like:
On May 2, FIFA, “a non-profit organization that describes itself as an international governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer”, announced that it had signed “a sponsorship and technical partnership deal” with Algorand.
According to the press release issued by FIFA, this agreement “means Algorand will become the official blockchain platform of FIFA and provide the official blockchain-supported wallet solution.” Also, Algorand will “assist FIFA in further developing its digital assets strategy.”
As for the sponsorship agreement, Algorand will be “a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Regional Supporter in North America and Europe, and a FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™ Official Sponsor.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said:
“We are delighted to announce this partnership with Algorand. The collaboration is a clear indication of FIFA’s commitment to continually seeking innovative channels for sustainable revenue growth for further reinvestment back into football ensuring transparency to our stakeholders and world-wide football fans – a key element of our Vision to make football truly global. I look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Algorand.“
As for FIFA Chief Business Officer Romy Gai, he offered this comment:
“This announcement is an exciting moment for FIFA, as it officially enters into the world of blockchain and the opportunities this presents across various applications. At FIFA, we must constantly strive to identify and explore the most cutting-edge, sustainable and transparent means of increasing revenues to continue to support global football development. Algorand is clearly a forward looking, innovative partner that can help us achieve these goals.“
And Algorand Founder Silvio Micali had this to say:
“From the beginning, Algorand has focused on building technology that promotes inclusivity, opportunity and transparency for all. This partnership with FIFA, the most globally recognised and distinguished organisation in sports, will showcase the potential that the Algorand blockchain has to transform the way we all experience the world’s game.“
In January, former White House Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci, who is the founder and managing partner of global alternative investment firm SkyBridge Capital (“SkyBridge”), shared his thoughts about Algorand.
SkyBridge is “a global alternative investments firm specializing in multi-strategy commingled fund of hedge funds products, custom separate account portfolios and hedge fund advisory solutions to address the needs of a wide range of market participants ranging from individual accredited investors to large institutions.”
According to a report published by The Daily Hodl on January 16, during an interview (with Digital Asset News) that was released on YouTube on January 15, Scaramucci explained why he has so far invested $250 million in Algorand:
“I’ve got a quarter-billion dollars in Algorand right now. I think Algorand will be the Google...
“You and I, when we were youngsters, we were logging onto the internet using AltaVista. We were using Lycos, America Online – even Prodigy, if you can remember that. Then lo and behold in 1998, this company came along called Google and people were like, ‘Why the hell do I need that? I’ve got all of these other instruments to access the internet,’ and then people say, ‘Well, you know it’s faster. It has machine learning, the algorithms are more widespread. It’s going to lead to better outcomes,’ and lo and behold, Google trumped everybody, and I think that’s going to happen with Algorand...
“I think ultimately when the big enterprises get on to the tokenization side of the market and they start working in the world of DeFi (decentralized finance), they’ll need something that’s scalable like Algorand, secure like Algorand and ultimately decentralized, so they won’t have to worry about capricious inflation-deflation of what it is that they’re using as a form of exchange of value...
“Algorand to me is the future. It’s just going to require more and more people doing deep dive due diligence and making the decision to choose it.“
According to data by CryptoCompare, $ALGO is currently (i.e. as of 6:20 p.m. UTC on May 17) trading around $0.4692, down 2.15% in the past 24-hour period.
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Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.
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