æternity blockchain is an Erlang-based scalable smart contract platform engineered by programming pioneers to address some of the most fundamental challenges native to earlier blockchains. By redesigning blockchain technology at the protocol level, the æternity developer community has enabled the core protocol to understand and integrate a rich set of functionalities out of the box.
æternity smart contract programming is unique: Sophia is a typed functional programming language in the ML family that makes it easier to write correct programs.
The Fast æternity Transaction Engine, or FATE VM, uses a higher level of abstraction and automatically minimizes error with type checking, delivering a simpler, easier, safer programming environment.
Unlike most blockchains, æternity’s core protocol was re-engineered specifically so it can accommodate state channels on a protocol level, making it easier to build applications for global-scale enterprise use cases.
æternity Oracles enable the integration of real-world data into the blockchain—a feature that has an endless range of potential use cases for business, science, and all other industries across the globe.
Miners are not the only ones who get a vote on decisions—æternity token holders can use their AE tokens to signify their vote through the Governance Aepp.
The æternity Naming System (AENS) employs safe, human-readable names in place of the current system of long hashes used in blockchain transactions, reducing room for error for users.
Having corrected the fundamental scalability flaws in earlier blockchains, the æternity protocol is engineered to accommodate large-scale enterprise use cases. æternity boasts of advanced features that connect real-world data from the Internet with the blockchain-at soft real-time.
Below are a few use cases that would be highly beneficial for most organizations:
æternity delivers the power to tokenize both virtual and real-world assets including, but not limited to:
Reference implementation written in Erlang by industry experts, the language that powers 90% of today’s world wide web. Learn more (opens new window)
State channels make it possible to execute smart contracts off-chain. The blockchain enforces the smart contract code only in the case of a disagreement between the contracting parties.
State Channels
æternity can scale to billions of transactions with off-chain State Channels. Read more (opens new window)
Featured in Electric Capital’s Report for being among the projects with the most committed developers per month — over 50. It is also noted that æternity has an impressive amount of dev activity ranking top 5 according to Santiment.
1/31/2018 - 1/31/2019 -- Electric Capital Internal Data. Excluding private repositories.
Sophia is a functional Smart Contract language in the ML family. It is strongly-typed and has a restricted mutable state. Sophia is a Ocaml-like language with syntax mostly resembling that of Reason.
The Sophia language was created to easily utilize the potentials of the æternity protocol. Some features of conventional languages, such as floating point arithmetics for example, are not present, while some blockchain-specific primitives, constructions, and types have been added.
Online Course from Dacade.org (opens new window)
Check out the highly recommended æternity 101 course on Dacade, a peer-to-peer learning platform.
Courses are free and you will be given a certificate upon completion.
In order to get started, try out the community developed online IDE or set up your own development environment with the local development framework AEproject.
Start writing and testing Sophia Smart Contracts instantly. Click on the link below to launch the Contract compiler.
Use AEproject to set up your local development environment in minutes.
npm i -g aeproject
Programming libraries are available. Any Javascript developer can build a simple æternity app in one day. For a quick start and reference, it is recommended to use the JavaScript SDK.
Hosted and auto-generated æternity Node API (opens new window) documentation
æternal (opens new window) æternal (middleware) is a caching layer and an API server for æternity. It responds faster than the node and supports queries that the node does not implement for efficiency reasons.
Quickly test all of Aeternity’s blockchain features from your terminal, you can install and use our NodeJS CLI (opens new window).
Several hosted services are available to enable quick-start development of blockchain applications on the Testnet. Although all services are also available for the Mainnet, it is not advisable to use them in production environments. Self-hosting critical infrastructure is recommended.
To get free Testnet AE tokens, use the Token Faucet (opens new window).
A wide selection of open source wallets and clients have been created by members of the community. Everyone is encouraged to collaborate and contribute to further development of these tools.
AE tokens are accessible through many exchanges worldwide.
More exchanges can be found at CoinMarketCap
To get the latest version of æternity node, please check out the latest published packages and the release notes (opens new window).
Founded by Yanislav Malahov, the community has grown to hundreds of contributors and thousands of people all over the world. Having exchanged ideas and pursued blockchain endeavors with many of the greatest minds, Yanislav is a true veteran of the blockchain space. Back in 2013, the "godfather of ethereum" envisioned powerful algorithms on blockchains. Now, with æternity, a new version of his vision is becoming a reality once more.
æternity is backed by a community of change-makers and visionaries from all over the world, all working towards a common goal: to deliver the benefits of blockchain technology to those who need it the most.
Core Contributor
Tino Breddin botanicalcarebot.chain
Tino started his career as a Systems Engineer at Erlang Solutions, where he helped build soft-realtime transaction systems and databases. After serving as Technical Director at Travelping, building the next-generation of SDN-enabled AAA appliances for telecoms, he founded daogames. At daogames, Tino built a scalable multi-tenant infrastructure for multiplayer games used by mobile game developers globally. Currently Tino serves as Chief Architect for AR/VR system development at Vragments, while helping move æternity Core development forward.
Core Developer
Ulf Wiger uwigeroferlang.chain
Ulf Wiger became one of the first commercial users of Erlang when he bought a license in 1993. In 1996, he joined Ericsson and became Chief Designer of the AXD 301 development, arguably the most complex system ever built in Erlang. In recent years, Ulf has been involved in products based on the AXD 301 architecture, and has been an active member of the Open Source Erlang community. In February 2009, he became CTO of Erlang Solutions. He is currently working on æternity blockchain.
Core Developer
Hans Svensson hanssv.chain g (opens new window)
Hans joined the project for the challenge and fun of building a state-of-the-art blockchain in Erlang. With a master's degree in Engineering Physics and a PhD in Computer Science, he previously worked in research, testing and verifying distributed software in Erlang. Hans has consulted for major European companies, including Ericsson and Volvo. Currently he works as a QuickCheck Expert working on contracts and the Sophia language, as well as improving stability and performance during load. His fascination with new technology, and expertise in researching, developing and testing distributed software makes him an excellent addition to our team. Hans would like to see his work contribute to solving hard software development problems for æternity, through designing a versatile, modern blockchain.
Core Developer
Dimitar Ivanov dimitar.chain
Dimitar joined the project because he was impressed both by æternity’s balanced approach and the star team of developers already involved in it. With a bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering, he spent a couple of years writing banking software and as a result, now maintains a distinct mistrust of banks. He currently works as a software engineer and has participated in the development of every part of the æternity node. His ability to build rock-solid software, coupled with his fascination for the differences between traditional server software and blockchain (with regard to malicious nodes) makes him a valuable member of the team. He is happy to re-wire his brain to rise to this very interesting challenge. Through this work, Dimitar would like to make the world a better place.
Core Developer
Grzegorz Uriasz
Grzegorz’s fascination with blockchain started when Bitcoin first came out - he carefully tracked the advancements of the technology and amazing projects which were built using it. With a background in cybersecurity and numerical simulations, his love for cryptography, hunting for security bugs in the wild, and analyzing malware in his free time, he decided to join the æternity team and help advance the technology. Excited by scalability challenges, he is currently working on state channels.
Core Developer
Ulf Norell
Ulf is an expert programmer and the brain behind the Agda programming language. He has more than ten years of experience in Erlang. Ulf implemented several challenging parts of QuickCheck and tested Riak, Ejabberd, TCP/IP, Sidejob as well as distributed systems that were deemed difficult to test. He holds a PhD in Computer Science and is an expert in understanding complex scientific papers, as well as implementing their concepts in any programming language.
Core Developer
Thomas Arts g (opens new window) in (opens new window)
Thomas joined the æternity team because of his desire to learn more about cryptography, software security, and blockchain technology. Holding a PhD in Computer Science and working as a Professor in software engineering, he has over 20 years of experience programming Erlang. Currently, he develops backend code for æternity, whilst writing and analyzing QuickCheck tests, including security analysis and the creation of a threat-model. As a senior computer scientist and Erlang expert, his easygoing and curious nature combine well with his strong mathematical background, allowing him to bring both theoretical and practical experience to the team. Thomas’ analytical skills are invaluable in detecting any errors in the system, thereby increasing the scope and abilities for the future of trustless applications.
Core Developer
Michał Zajda transcontinental.chain
Michal joined æternity to take part in the dynamic phase of blockchain evolution. Holding a master's degree in Computer Science, his work background has been focused on the scalability of backend systems that support mobile communication, markets, and IoT. Currently he works as an architect, coordinating æternity's decentralized team of developers that work together to bridge the blockchain world and real-world software capabilities. His experience in navigating the complexity of knowledge around network and state, and his fascination with things like permaculture prime him to organize the self-sustaining capabilities of his work for æternity. By enabling new ways of interacting via state channels, Michal is looking forward to seeing the new value that blockchains will bring to the world.
Core Developer
Artur Kratt
Artur Kratt is an Elixir Developer, currently studying blockchain and associated technologies. Artur believes blockchain innovation is the future of money and economics, and is quickly expanding his understanding and engagement with the field.
Core Developer
Nikita Fuchs
Nikita joined the team because he saw it as a chance to create a great protocol for trustless decentralization, fairness, and transparency. Bringing a background in Business Informatics and building production-grade solutions on the Ethereum Blockchain to the development side, he currently works as a Blockchain Application Developer and development coordinator in conjunction with the æpps and core development team. The æternity project benefits from his economics studies which currently amplify his ability to aid the team in the development and creation of various applications, as laws of value are an essential part of blockchain technology. Through this work, Nikita hopes to be able to aid in the creation of a mass-scalable, fair protocol, by the people- for the people.
Core Contributor
Tobias Lindahl
Tobias joined æternity after seeing it as an excellent opportunity to learn more about blockchains. Holding a master's degree in Science in Engineering Physics, he spent five years in academia, doing research in the field of compilers, virtual machines, and static analysis. Tobias currently works as an Erlang developer, involved in most parts of the æternity node, including core functionality as well as the development of virtual machines for executing smart contracts. His expertise in building highly available, robust, fault-tolerant Erlang systems makes him a vital addition to the core team. Tobias sees blockchain as a decentralized counterweight to the current systems of our world and believes that when the two worlds meet, this synergy will create something new and better.
Core Contributor
Erik Stenman g (opens new window) t (opens new window)
Erik joined the project because he finds interesting challenges within constructing a new blockchain and creating an execution environment on top of it. Holding a Ph.D in Computer Science and extensive experience in programming language development for both Erlang and Scala, he has worked with virtual machines for Virtutech and served as the CTO of one of Sweden's most successful fintech startups - Klarna. Currently he is working on smart contracts, languages, and the core of the æternity node. His experience with running a number of small startups in such diverse fields as gaming, real estate, and gastronomy, makes him a valuable addition to our core team. Erik hopes to build a safe and efficient virtual machine for smart contract execution on top of the æternity blockchain.
Technical support
Dincho Todorov dincho.chain
Dincho joined the project because of his passion for cryptography and excitement to work with a “dream team” of large-scale technology. With a bachelor's degree in Computer Systems and Technologies, and a master's degree in Software Engineering, he has worked in web and mobile development and as the CTO of both a web startup and a mobile development agency. Currently working in SRE, he is responsible for configuring, running and deploying our testnet/mainnet/dev environments. His expertise in networks, web, and mobile make him uniquely suited to helping the team build better products. Through his work, Dincho would like to see the development of fully autonomous processes, contribute to a great user experience, and ultimately provide an innovative, secure, and stable technology.
Technical Lead
Milen Radkov milenradkov.chain
Milen is a blockchain developer and enthusiast, software engineer and entrepreneur who started his blockchain journey as a miner. Since the beginning of 2019, he has also been part of the European Commission Blockchain Experts representing Bulgaria. He is the founder of hack.bg, focused on developing products, smart contracts, decentralised apps, and consulting for complex software systems and the blockchain space. Milen is also the organiser of several blockchain-related technological meetups in Bulgaria. He joined the development team responsible for the wallet browser extension and later on became involved in the specification of different standards. He is currently leading the development of Superhero.
Superhero Developer
Keno Dreßel kenodressel.chain
Keno Dreßel started his software career 13 years ago with web development. Since then, he completed a bachelor's and master's degree in computer science and has been working on various full stack projects after this. After his studies, he moved to freelance fullstack projects and joined æternity development in 2018. He developed his interest in blockchain in 2015 and has been an avid user and supporter of the technology since.
Superhero Developer
Philipp Bierbrauer philipp.chain
Fascinated by the vision, ideology, and technology of æternity, Philipp joined to take part in developing the future of blockchain. As a full stack software engineer, his previous work included full-stack development and system administration in various functional and object-oriented languages. He currently works as a Blockchain Engineer, managing the technical and logistical aspects of multiple projects within the organization in an effort to provide a blockchain platform on which others can easily integrate their products. Philipp’s passion for self-sovereignty and the empowerment of individuals makes him a great fit for introducing more developers to the blockchain world.
Superhero Developer
Denis Davidyuk davidyuk.chain g (opens new window) in (opens new window)
Denis joined the team because he saw it as an opportunity to learn how to solve complex technical challenges. Having studied at the Far Eastern Federal University with a bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, he began building web applications using modern web technologies. Currently, he is working as part of æternity's aepps development team, his focus is on refining and optimizing the Superhero wallet. His previous work in building decentralized applications helps him make accurate technical decisions. Although Denis believes that scalability is the most significant problem that this technology currently faces, he also believes that æternity can solve it.
Superhero Developer
Nikita Tsedrik
Nikita has a master's degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. He is an enthusiastic learner, currently in the process of earning his PhD. After participating in a recent blockchain Hackathon, Nikita created a Ledger app for æternity and is currently working as a developer for the æpps team, focusing on refining both the Ledger and base-æpps. Nikita’s background in AR/VR and image recognition primes him for understanding how this technical medium can intersect with its human users. Nikita is fascinated by the limitless potential of blockchain.
Superhero Developer
Dmitry Kostin paradise.chain
Dmitry was educated with capability to solve problems on any language or framework. He found the idea of decentralized applications—widely used in cryptocurrency projects—very interesting for testing his skills. After more than a year of supporting the development of the Base Aepp, connecting it with other wallets and improving ease of use for dApp developers, he seeks to further improve cryptowallets and expand their usage.
Superhero Developer
Ivaylo Badinov jeanlucpicard.chain g (opens new window) in (opens new window)
Ivaylo has 20 years of experience in development from scratch of multiple business, educational, and social platforms for various established companies and start-ups. Although having a master's degree in Electronics, he chose to work in the software development field. He first joined æternity in June 2019 as Site Reliability Engineer and later pivoted as a front-end developer and Lead for designers. He also maintains the æternity.com website and manages operations for Superhero.
Superhero Developer
Atanas Krondev
Atanas is fascinated how blockchain brings innovations to every aspect of life. Mostly by the opportunity it brings for start-ups and new ventures to scale. He has been educated in software engineering and has a bachelor degree in marketing. As a Superhero front-end developer he strives to bring the best experience to the end users. He believes that a quality UI/UX will help show the true potential of æternity blockchain to the world.
Senior Designer
Tsvetan Kolev tsvetan.chain
Tsvetan is a Sofia-based web and visual designer focused on UI/UX, implementing the best practices of user-centered design in his work. He has over 10 years of experience in the design field, ranging from digital agencies and personal clients to product companies. He is excited about blockchain technology and its disruptive potential for innovation and transformation of different sectors of the global society and economy. He considers blockchain to be one of the leading technology trends defining the next decade and further. This particular interest led him to discover æternity blockchain, joining the team in the end of 2019 as a Senior Designer.
Accounting manager
Lale Mahrt
Lale joined the team with an instinct for æternity’s defining role in the exciting blockchain scene. Currently doing a Marketing Communication apprenticeship in an accounting company, she has worked extensively in gastronomy and for various start-ups as an online marketing manager. Lale’s skills in marketing and accounting, prime her for her current position as accountant and personal assistant to our COO. Her varied experience has made her proactive in thinking ahead, to find ways to make things easier for herself and others. Committed to leaving a positive contribution, or ‘footprint’, Lale would like to not only optimize accounting practices in the crypto scene, but also hopes to let people know that they are not alone.
Growth Hacker
Liubov Sharga sinonimboga.chain
Liubov is an experienced marketing professional with expertise in the digital marketing area. For the past years, she has been working with blockchain startups. She was also involved in the preparation and presentation of blockchain conferences around the world. Passionate for what she does as a lifestyle, Liubov is interested in innovations that bring real benefits to business. She is impressed with the whole range of opportunities that æternity's technology offers the world and its practical implementation. Her goal is to involve more and more people to use the unique technologies that æternity provides.
Æmbassador Manager
Erik Vollstädt erikvollstaedt.chain
Erik joined the team because he saw æternity’s potential to improve on Ethereum and Bitcoin's deficits through state channels and functional programming languages like Erlang and Elixir. With a master's degree in Science in Business Innovation & Technology Management from Girona, Catalunya, he has experience in lead generation for apps marketing, product testing and content editing and has worked as the Co-Founder and Community Director of Bitnation. Currently working as æmbassador Manager, he coordinates and engages community feedback and ambassador collaborations both on and offline. Erik ultimately hopes to counteract to the abuse of power by politicians and the banking sector by growing æternity’s user base and expanding the projects’ reach, worldwide.
Developer Æmbassador Manager
Omar Saadoun
Omar Saadoun is a software engineer working on technology since ever. He worked as CEO of INMIND for many blockchain projects and discovered the full potential to unlock meaningful and real life projects in æternity. As technical lead of Americas, he is in touch with startups and companies to lead them in getting the best from æternity and make their technology succeed.
COO
Ingmar Zechlin
Ingmar joined æternity because of his love for innovation on many levels which is embodied by æternity in an outstanding way. He has a track record in change management and new technologies like digital analytics, data science and IoT, always focusing on business strategy on one hand and coordinating the execution on the other. In his role as COO of æternity, he leads the overall operations team, including Operations, legal, hr and finance with the aim to support the æternity project on its great journey into mainstream.
HR Manager
Olga Polishchuck
Olga is an HR Manager at æternity Establishment since 2019, where she is responsible for various HR and Recruitment processes. Prior to joining æternity team, she has collaborated with different startups from recruitment agencies to software companies. Broad experience in international IT recruitment and HR brought her to work with æternity team on a fascinating blockchain project. People at æternity trying to solve real-world problems using blockchain technologies, and Olga is fascinated to be part of the community, hire the right talents and help to tokenize the world.
External Legal Advisor
Thomas Nägele
Thomas Nägele, Attorney at Law at NÄGELE Attorneys at Law LLC, focuses on legal advice in the area of IT law. The handling of legal advice surrounding blockchain technology requires both legal expertise and knowledge of IT, two areas in which Mr. Nägele undoubtedly possesses the requisite skills. Outside of his formal legal education and numerous years of experience in the legal industry, and his knowledge in the area of IT is unsurpassed; witnessed by his continued involvement in software programming over the past 10 years, combined with his involvement with Bitcoin and Blockchain technology since 2011. Thomas also advises clients in international finance, technology and industrial enterprises, operating in the fields of Blockchain/DLT, telecommunications and internet, as well as public institutions. Besides being Attorney and legal Advisor, he teaches at the University of Liechtenstein, giving lectures and presentations on the newest legal developments. Serving as co-founder of the CCA, Mr. Nägele can be viewed as responsible for numerous developments regarding information technology within the county.
External Legal Advisor
Georgi Matev
Georgi Matev is a corporate lawyer, specializing the laws and regulations surrounding the state of blockchain and fintech technology on a local, EU and international level. He is Partner and Head of Blockchain and Innovation competence group of Rashev and Partners Law Firm, Bulgaria. He is a founding member and Chairman of the Balkan Blockchain Association, as well as a member of INATBA WG finance. Further, he is a member of the Bulgarian Governmental Blockchain working group, which is entitled to investigate blockchain applicability in the public and the financial sector and analyse the need for adoption of a blockchain related legislation. He was also among the founders and а Board member until 2017 of the Bulgarian Bitcoin Association.
External Legal Advisor
Viktoriya Veleva
Viktoriya Veleva is a legal consultant, taking an active part in the Blockchain and Innovation competence group of Rashev and Partners Law Firm, Bulgaria. She is the legal advisor of the Balkan Blockchain Association, situated in Sofia, Bulgaria. Ever since her first steps in the legal world, Viktoriya has had profound interest in the spheres of technological innovations and decentralized finance, tackling regulatory questions on local, regional and international levels. She is competent on the topics of digital security, crypto-asset legal frameworks, AML measures and DLT. Viktoriya believes that in a world which is so digitally-focused, the development of a digital single market is inevitable and the enhancement of innovations and technologies is of crucial importance.
Stuttgart æmbassador
Marco Walz g (opens new window) t (opens new window) in (opens new window)
Marco is a software developer (full-stack) with a strong drive to make everybody's life more comfortable. He got interested in blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the spring of 2017. In early 2018, he co-founded Kryptokrauts which develops SDKs and tools for the æternity ecosystem.
Lead æmbassador Nigeria
Stephen Sunday t (opens new window) in (opens new window)
Based in Jos, Nigeria with a background in Computer Science, Stephen is a crypto enthusiast who runs a blockchain consulting firm called KusuConsult. Stephen has a passion for promoting blockchain-related grassroot projects and gets regularly invited as a speaker for blockchain events in Nigeria. Stephen has led some of the most successful æmbassador meet-ups, tapping on developer groups and local communities.
Social Media Expert
Ashish Chawla i (opens new window)
Ashish has long been a supporter of the æternity community. He started out by joining the æmbassador Program, working his way up as a Lead æmbassador after having proven his dedication to the growth of the ecosystem. A keen social media expert with knowledge of the different facets of new-age digital media, Ashish is truly a rare talent, especially considering his very young age of 23. Ashish wants to take the social media engagement of Superhero and æternity to a whole new level and set the benchmarks higher for overall online presence. Hailing from India, Ashish art directs visuals primarily for Superhero and is dedicated to improving communications for æternity through expressive media.
Montreal æmbassador
Justin Kat g (opens new window) in (opens new window)
Justin has a background in economics and software engineering and is currently working as a blockchain consultant. He organizes workshops focusing on smart contract development.
Lead æmbassador Spain
Manel Ruiz t (opens new window)
Manel Ruiz has a strong background as a social activist in Catalonia. He saw cryptocurrencies as the right path to follow for humanity go further in a more connected and free world. As a passionate educator, he likes to share the possibilities that Blockchain technology can offer to everyone.
Lead æmbassador Ekiti
Emmanuel Joseph g (opens new window) t (opens new window) in (opens new window)
Emmanuel Joseph (JET) is a full-stack web developer who loves using Google and æternity tools in software development. His vision to impact young minds and his love for community building got him to lead the Developer Student Club, for Ekiti State University, Nigeria also a ækiti æmbassador. Jet has been a very active part of the community and remains one of the strongest driving forces in æternity's community growth.
Lead æmbassador Venezuela
Juan Carlos Delpino in (opens new window)
Juan Carlos is an entrepreneur and developer of new businesses, leveraging his engineering knowledge and marketing experience. He has worked with industry giants, managing the telecom market for LG Electronics, and has founded several businesses as well as a national franchise. He is a founding member of the National Cryptocurrency Association (currently a vice president) and authored the book titled, "From zero to making money with cryptocurrencies".
Lead æmbassador Ireland
Owen O’Driscoll in (opens new window)
Emerging as a proactive entrepreneurial spirit, he launched his career as a self-employed restaurant owner. Ten years later his insatiable thirst for knowledge drove him to the blockchain space, which is now his focus. His extensive business expertise and operations experience aids in the introduction of traditional operations to emerging technologies and vice versa.
Lead æmbassador Bulgaria/Baltics
Arjan van Eersel in (opens new window)
Arjan van Eersel comes from the world of corporate services and has been a consultant for international businesses and taxation for many years. During the same time, he was also coding for internal open-source software projects. Now with his business domain knowledge and coding experience, he runs a company working on delivering software, which uses modern technologies such as blockchain and self-sovereign identity for the corporate services sector. He currently propels the æternity community in Bulgaria and the Baltics.
æternity's powerful features attract a long range of applications—with more being added to the list. Here are some projects that are powered by æternity technology.