Tezos is an open-source, self-upgradable Layer 1 blockchain designed to support secure, scalable, and energy-efficient applications. It stands out in the blockchain space thanks to its unique on-chain governance mechanism, which allows the protocol to evolve without requiring disruptive hard forks. This means that Tezos can upgrade itself through community-driven proposals, ensuring long-term adaptability and sustainability.

The Tezos platform features institutional-grade smart contracts that support formal verification—a process used to mathematically prove the correctness of code. This capability makes Tezos especially suitable for high-stakes applications such as digital assets, finance, and identity, where trust, reliability, and security are critical.

The native token of the network, XTZ (also known as “tez”), plays several roles within the ecosystem. It is used to pay transaction and smart contract fees, secure the network through staking (a process known as “baking”), and participate in protocol governance, allowing users to vote on upgrades and influence the future of the platform.

Tezos operates using a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, making it one of the most energy-efficient blockchains in operation today. Its estimated annual energy consumption is just 0.001 TWh, a fraction of the energy used by Proof-of-Work networks like Bitcoin. As activity on the network has increased, Tezos has managed to become even more energy-efficient on a per-transaction basis, demonstrating that sustainability is a core part of its design.

This green footprint has attracted a wide range of environmentally conscious developers, artists, and enterprises to build on Tezos, especially in areas such as NFTs, tokenized assets, and regenerative finance (ReFi). Major brands and institutions have adopted the platform for launching digital collectibles and financial products.

Tezos has also seen consistent technical progress through its self-amending upgrade process. The network has implemented over a dozen protocol upgrades, introducing features such as Smart Rollups for scalability, faster transaction finality, and improved interoperability with other networks. These upgrades reflect a platform that is actively maintained and evolving to meet the growing demands of Web3.

With its combination of formal security, low energy consumption, and self-upgradability, Tezos provides a reliable and future-proof foundation for decentralized applications across industries.