Tezos has successfully implemented the Granada upgrade, cutting block times in half and reducing smart contract gas consumption.
Tezos Enhances Network Capabilities
Tezos has launched its seventh major upgrade.
The self-amending blockchain has successfully conducted its Granada upgrade, enhancing several existing network features. The upgrade has replaced the previous consensus algorithm, Emmy+, with Emmy*, cutting block times in half from 60 to 30 seconds. Additionally, Granada has made smart contracts deployed on the network more efficient, reducing gas consumption by three to six times the current fees.
Tezos 7th Upgrade ‘Granada’ Is Now Live!
👊🏾Emmy* consensus, cutting block times by 50%
🔥Gas improvements, massively reducing gas consumption in smart contracts
✅Liquidity baking, leveraging governance mechanism and incentives to provide for public goods#Tezos #Granada pic.twitter.com/IL4zJBe9oU
— Tezos (@tezos) August 6, 2021
Granada also introduces an experimental feature called liquidity banking. The new feature attempts to increase liquidity between the network’s native token (XTZ) and wrapped Bitcoin (tzBTC) by introducing a new incentive. Now, when users provide liquidity to the XTZ/txBTC pair, they can claim part of a small subsidy of 2.5 XTZ paid out every time the network mints a block.
One of Tezos’ signature features is the ability to upgrade without forking the network into two separate blockchains. This self-amendment functionality simplifies the upgrade process, increasing stability for those developing on the network.
Granada marks the third upgrade to Tezos this year. The network has experienced rapid growth, with smart contract activity increasing as more organizations choose to develop on Tezos. In April, France’s third-largest bank announced the launch of tokenized debt notes on the platform, making use of the improved smart contract functionality delivered in February’s Edo upgrade.
In addition to finance, Tezos is also breaking into the NFT market. In May, Formula One team Red Bull Racing launched its first set of NFTs on the network. Since then, rival team McLaren has also partnered with Tezos to build an entire NFT platform involving McLaren Racing’s Formula One, INDYCAR, and esports ventures. Both teams stated that they chose Tezos over other potential partners due to the network’s low carbon footprint.
Disclaimer: At the time of writing this feature, the author owned BTC and ETH.
