Algorand Readies On-Chain Smart Contracts as the Summer of DeFi Rolls On

Algorand has unveiled a fresh set of smart contract capabilities aimed at luring decentralized finance (DeFi) projects away from its larger competitors.

• The main iteration appears to be Algorand's addition of "stateful smart contracts" alongside features such as atomic transfers and Algorand Standard Assets that already run on the blockchain's base layer.
• Simply put, these "stateful" smart contracts increase efficiency by storing certain information in user accounts, rather than its own code, according to a blog post by Algorand founder Silvio Micali.
• That efficiency allows Algorand to charge static network transaction fees at low cost and scale faster than other competing DeFi-friendly chains.
• "Until now, restrictions around scale, transaction speeds and high transaction fees have been barriers to mainstream blockchain adoption," Algorand said, taking multiple pot-shots at the current DeFi leader, the Ethereum blockchain.
• Algorand clearly wants to woo its own batch of YAMs, yield farmers and the innumerable DeFi products that have sprouted up like mushrooms on Ethereum all summer. "DeFi gives the world access to an essentially unlimited number of financial products and services," Micali said in the statement.