Algorand’s native asset, ALGO, is the subject of this guide. If you’ve ever wondered what the blockchain offers, how it works or which is the better investment between MATIC vs ALGO, you’re in the right place. This article will explain all you need to know about the Algorand decentralized network and its associated asset. It also features some ALGO price predictions.
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What Is ALGO?
ALGO is the native digital asset of the Algorand blockchain. Algorand is a proof-of-stake, smart contract-enabled Layer-1 blockchain that was launched in 2019. In many ways, it is similar to Ethereum in that it enables developers to deploy decentralized applications and create assets.
Algorand differs from Ethereum in terms of its scalability. While the dominant network has slow transaction settlement times and fees that can get expensive, Algorand fees remain low thanks to its throughput rate of around 1,000 transactions per second. The network’s efficient architecture enables this large transaction count, using various different node types to share the workload.
ALGO has several use cases in the Algorand network. First, it has utility in the network’s consensus algorithm — validating nodes need to lock up ALGO as a stake. The currency is also used to pay transaction fees and as a medium of exchange.
ALGO has a fixed total supply of 10 billion coins, and 7.12 billion ALGO are currently in circulation. The network issues new coins to those participating in governance.
Algorand’s consensus mechanism is called “pure proof-of-stake” and initially distributed rewards to anyone holding ALGO regardless of whether they ran validator node hardware and participated in consensus. However, these rewards have now finished.
Algorand has already seen impressive adoption cases. For example, the Marshall Islands uses the network for its SOV currency, which facilitates cross-border trade across the archipelago.
How Can You Get ALGO?
The easiest way to get ALGO is by buying it on an exchange platform or swapping another digital currency for it. The asset is listed at many centralized exchanges. You can often buy it directly with traditional currencies like dollars and euros, or stablecoins like USDT.
Once you have some ALGO, you can gain additional coins by participating in governance votes. Algorand empowers its community by rewarding those steering its development’s direction. Those voting must first lock up some ALGO to participate and receive part of the project’s ecosystem fund for their efforts.
ALGO Price Forecast
Crypto price forecasting experts are unanimously bullish on ALGO’s future price. For example, Priceprediction.net estimates ALGO to hit a maximum price of $0.44 in 2023, $0.65 in 2024, and $0.98 in 2025. Compared to November 2022’s price of $0.23, that would represent respective increases of 91.3%, 182.6%, and 326%.
Meanwhile, Digitalcoinprice.com is even more optimistic about ALGO’s future price performance. They estimate ALGO will hit a maximum of $0.60 during 2023, $0.84 in 2024, and $1.07 in 2025.
Over a longer time horizon, some experts believe ALGO could produce several multiples in investor gains. Gov.capital’s five-year ALGO forecast puts the asset at $6.81 before 2027. Versus today’s price, that’s a more than 2,860% increase.
Is Algorand a Good Investment?
Since ALGO is integral to Algorand’s operation, its investment thesis hinges on the network’s adoption. For ALGO to reach the price estimates we’ve included above, there will need to be many more big adoption stories like the Marshall Islands one. Earlier this year, however, Algorand (the company) partnered with FIFA to help the international football governing body develop its digital asset strategy.
In terms of network credentials, Algorand is extremely competitive. It can process around 1,000 transactions per second, and Algorand achieves this so at a fraction of the cost of the dominant network. Algorand also has plenty of competition in the fast, cheap blockchain niche. Examples include Polygon and Klaytn. You can buy either network’s native asset, which could outperform ALGO, here https://godex.io/exchange/matic-to-klay.