Elrond (EGLD) Explained

Elrond (EGLD) is a cryptocurrency and blockchain platform designed to handle high volumes of transactions. The platform’s EGLD currency is called eGold, and Elrond also supports decentralized applications through the use of smart contracts.

You may be interested in buying EGLD. Keep reading for a closer look at how Elrond works, how to participate in the Elrond community, and more about EGLD as a cryptocurrency.

What Is Elrond?

Elrond is both a blockchain-based platform and cryptocurrency with the symbol EGLD. Elrond is named for a character in Lord of the Rings, and several projects related to the currency stick with the same theme.

Elrond was founded in 2018. The Elrond blockchain uses an operating protocol known as secure proof of stake (SPoS), which processes transactions in parallel by relying on the contributions of multiple participants each playing different roles simultaneously.

Special Features of Elrond 

Elrond stands out for processing transactions quickly and cheaply. Smart contracts on the Elrond platform enable the blockchain to process 15,000 transactions per second, with a new block of transactions added to the Elrond blockchain every six seconds. The fee per EGLD transaction is $0.001.

The speediness and low cost of the Elrond network make the blockchain highly attractive for large commercial entities and many other decentralized finance projects. Compared to Ethereum, Elrond uses less energy while processing transactions faster and for much lower fees.

Here’s Elrond in brief:

How Elrond Works

Using secure proof of stake, Elrond is validated rather than mined. Elrond relies on open source software, which means anyone can view the source code. Here’s how the Elrond blockchain operates:

• Validators process and record transactions: Validators stake—agree to not trade or sell—EGLD tokens to earn the right to process EGLD transactions. Validators work together to simultaneously process transactions and add new blocks to the Elrond blockchain. 
• Fishermen continuously hunt for malicious transactions and users: Fishermen in SPoS networks verify new blocks after they are added to the Elrond blockchain by validators. Fishermen are tasked with finding any invalid blocks or malicious actors participating the network.
• Observers passively maintain the history of the Elrond blockchain: Observers of the Elrond blockchain store the blockchain’s entire history. Observers are passive network participants who do not create new blocks and are ineligible for EGLD rewards.

Validators, fishermen, and observers operate the Elrond blockchain simultaneously. This concurrent participation is what makes the Elrond blockchain highly scalable.

Buying Elrond

You can buy EGLD via several cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance.us, KuCoin, Gate.io, Bitfinex, OKEx, and Crypto.com.

Wallets

You need a cryptocurrency wallet that is compatible with EGLD before you can buy the digital currency. You have a couple of wallet options:

• Software wallet: Elrond supports the official Elrond Wallet. Other software wallet alternatives include those by MetaMask, Trust Wallet, and Math Wallet. 
• Hardware wallet: The Ledger and Trezor hardware wallets are both compatible with EGLD.

Notable Elrond Happenings

Between the platform’s launch in 2018 and September of 2020, Elrond used a native currency known simply as Elrond, with the symbol ERD. Beginning in September 2020, a conversion occurred that resulted in ERD holders receiving 1 EGLD for every 1,000 ERD they owned. While ERD had no maximum supply, the supply of EGLD was capped at 31,415,925 coins.

Elrond hosts its own blockchain explorer, where users can view live network activity.

The Balance does not provide tax, investment, or financial services and advice. The information is being presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor and might not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal.