Everything you Need to Know About Ankr (ANKR)

The Web3 and Proof-of-stake mechanism has drastically contributed to the growth of the blockchain industry. A vast majority of developers are now introducing innovative decentralized applications to cater to the needs of blockchain users. But the existing node infrastructure can’t handle the increasing amount of Dapps that are entering the crypto space.

A node operator needs to install expensive equipment to establish a staking node. Moreover, they also need to have extensive technical skills to operate the node. Ankr is dedicated to solving this problem by providing a seamless Web3 development infrastructure.

What is Ankr (ANKR)?

Ankr enables node operators to deploy on nodes on Proof-of-Stake blockchains with just a few clicks. The platform provides access to a wide range of advanced tools the developers can use to build innovative Web3 projects.

The developers can access dozens of blockchain networks including Polygon, Avalanche, Arbitrum, NEAR, and more. The platform was initially designed to harness idle computing power from global data centers but eventually shifted its focus to establishing a decentralized web3 infrastructure.

It offers a range of innovative products including gaming SDKs, advanced APIs, enterprise-level node solutions, free RPC services, and a multi-chain blockchain explorer. The platform is committed to providing a decentralized environment by transferring governance rights to the community members.

Ankr Brief History

Ryan Fang (COO) and Chandler Song (CEO), two former roommates from UC Berkley laid the foundation of Ankr in collaboration with Stanley Wu (CTO), a former Amazon computer engineer, in 2017. The project started from a discussion about a paper on Proof of Useful Work while Song was working as an intern at Amazon Web Services under Wu’s leadership.

The team distributed around 3 billion ANKR tokens through different sale events. During the first sale, they raised around $18.7 million within 6 days. They also raised $15.9 million through a presale. Moreover, they raised around $2.75 million from the general public.

NEO Global Capital and Pantera Capital are some of the leading blockchain investors that invested tens of millions of dollars in this project. As it’s discussed earlier, the platform was initially designed to provide a decentralized cloud computing solution but the team quickly shifted its focus to the Web3 infrastructure.

The team has introduced several innovative features to simplify web3 development and node deployment. This project has gained a lot of attention due to the rising demand for web3 applications.

How Does Ankr Work?

Ankr provides a range of tools for stakers, developers, and enterprises.

Decentralized Node Infrastructure Services

Ankr establishes a secure and free connection between the developers and the general public with its distributed node services. The platform offers lower latency and superior efficiency to the developers using its Remote Procedure Call (RPC) services.

The platform has established a network of independent node operators and its own nodes to accommodate the requests of developers and stakers quickly and efficiently. The RPC requests are initially transferred to the load balancer that lies at the heart of the core infrastructure.

The load balancer is designed to choose the best node to process the request using its scoring algorithm. Moreover, the load balancer connects the user to the nearest node depending on their geographical location so that the request can be processed quickly.

Premium API and RPC Endpoints for Developers

The developers can collect data from several blockchains using the network’s application programming interfaces (APIs). Thus, developers can create innovative projects while saving time.

• Query API – Ankr regularly updates its database based on the new blocks generated on the blockchains. The developers can quickly collect data from the database using Query API. It’s an indexed API that can provide relevant information according to the user’s query.
• Token API – This API can be helpful for developers who need to collect live data about different tokens for their applications. It provides live updates about the current market value, account balances, and the volume of tokens on a particular blockchain. It can be helpful in building DeFi and GameFi projects.
• NET API – This API can be helpful for building NFT marketplaces and gaming projects. It provides information about NFT’s owner, its transaction history, its minting details, and more. Currently, the API collects information from six blockchains but the team is working on expanding its operations.

Liquid Staking

In a traditional staking platform, the investors need to lock their tokens for a certain period of time and they aren’t allowed to use these tokens during the staking period. But Ankr provides liquid staking tokens when a user locks his tokens in the platform. The investors can use those tokens to access several DeFi opportunities.

The investors can also earn passive income from other blockchain networks by locking their liquid staking tokens. They can also store them in a vault for compounded yields or they can lend these tokens to other users to earn interest.

ANKR Tokenomics

ANKR is the native token of the Ankr network that is used to send RPC requests or fetch data from several APIs. The ANKR token holders will soon get voting rights within the platform. With a circulating supply of 9.67 billion tokens, ANKR has a market cap of $324 million. It has a total supply of 10 billion tokens that will be released over time.

ANKR ranks among the 200 best cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap.

Conclusion

ANKR is a unique blockchain network that combines staking, node deployment, and development to streamline the web3 space. It provides a range of innovative tools for developers to create unique applications. It also offers a simplified and inexpensive environment for node operators. If you need more information about ANKR, feel free to get in touch with us.