Tezos

Tezos is an open-source blockchain that can execute peer-to-peer transactions and serve as a platform for deploying smart contracts. The native cryptocurrency for the Tezos blockchain is the tez (ISO 4217: XTZ; sign: ''''). The Tezos network achieves consensus using proof-of-stake. Tezos uses an on-chain governance model that enables the protocol to be amended when upgrade proposals receive a favorable vote from the community. Its testnet was launched in June 2018, and its mainnet went live in September 2018.

== History == Tezos was first proposed in 2014 and created by husband-and-wife team Arthur and Kathleen Breitman. While working at Morgan Stanley in 2014, Arthur Breitman released two papers that proposed a new type of blockchain under the pseudonym "L. M. Goodman," referencing a journalist at Newsweek'' who had misidentified the creator of Bitcoin. He chose the name "Tezos" after writing a program to list unclaimed websites that could be pronounced in English. In 2015, intending to develop Tezos, Arthur Breitman registered a company called Dynamic Ledger Solutions, Inc. (DLS) in Delaware, with himself as chief executive. In March 2014, he contracted French firm OCamlPro to help him conceive the protocol and develop the prototype and the ICO infrastructure. Arthur worked at Morgan Stanley at the time. Still, he did not notify them of his work on Tezos as required by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and eventually fined $20,000. He sought to raise $5 to $10 million from banks but could not find backers. By 2016, he left Morgan Stanley, and Tezos received $612,000 from 10 backers while the Breitmans planned for an initial coin offering (ICO).