There are more than 1000 cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks running in the world. Many of them get mentioned all over social media. CFX, or Conflux also gets a lot of mention. Moreover, it would be interesting to know the details behind this cryptocurrency and blockchain network.

Conflux is a blockchain network which runs on Tree-Graph technology to be able to be incredibly secure. It is able to achieve a transaction throughput of about 4,000 TPS. Conflux has EVM compatibility and is secured by a consensus algorithm called the Greedy-Heaviest-Adaptive Subtree (GHAST). Conflux(CFX) is also the native cryptocurrency of the Conflux blockchain Network. The Conflux blockchain has two environmental frameworks, Core Space and Espace, under which different virtual machines run on.

What Exactly is Conflux? In this article we dive into the details about Conflux and what makes it different from all the rest cryptocurrencies.

The Technology of Conflux

Is Conflux a Blockchain?

Conflux uses a blockchain as its underlying technological base. The blockchain is used to keep transactions and data recorded permanently and is used for people to connect in a permissionless, decentralized and borderless way. Conflux is also the name of the cryptocurrency, native to the Conflux Blockchain network.

Is Conflux a Layer 1 or Layer 2 Protocol?

Conflux is a Layer 1 Protocol, meaning that it is a base blockchain with its own ecosystem and consensus algorithm. Conflux is independent from all other cryptocurrency networks such as Binance Chain, Ethereum and Bitcoin in terms of transaction validation and network sustainability.

Conflux is a Layer 1 similar to how Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Binance Chain are layer 1’s – they have their own base blockchain and infrastructure.

What is Conflux Espace?

Conflux Espace is a 2nd space in the Conflux Blockchain that is EVM compatible, thus making Conflux EVM compatible. Conflux has two spaces in its blockchain, a Core Space and an Espace. Think of the chain as having two different environments, each with its different set of rules and guidelines.

With Conflux Espace, you can use Conflux as if you were using Ethereum. Conflux Espace follows the same rules as EVM such as RPC’s, code and other EVM functions.

People are able to use the applications that are available on Ethereum, on Conflux too. Metamask for example, is now usable to store Conflux currency and interact with the Conflux Ecosystem. People can transfer assets between EVM compatible chains and Conflux, such as Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, Ethereum, Fantom and Polygon. This is typically done so with cross chain bridges.

Related: How to cross-chain bridge between BSC and ETH to Conflux Espace

Applications that run on Ethereum can be transferred to Conflux with ease. Developers that are on Ethereum can bring their assets and digital work over to the Conflux ecosystem and deploy them there with ease. All whilst enjoying the benefits of a faster, scalable, and cheaper chain.

Since many developers build on the Ethereum Ecosystem, they can build on Ethereum and on Conflux and bridge both ecosystems together since the Espace allows Conflux to be EVM compatible. The barrier to entry is minimal for Ethereum and blockchain developers.

Is Conflux EVM compatible?

Conflux is EVM compatible. This means that a Conflux space follows the same rules as EVM and supports Eth RPC’s. Conflux supports the Solidity smart contract language. Developers on Ethereum can deploy their smart contracts on the Conflux blockchain.

Many of the same applications and tools that are used on Ethereum are able to be used with Conflux. For example, Metamask, a popular Ethereum wallet is also able to be used to transfer and hold Conflux assets.

It has now become a Conflux Wallet. Decentralized applications which are used in Ethereum are also able to be used in Conflux. This creates an ease of transfer of assets, information, and ecosystem modules.

Conflux has two spaces in its Blockchain, an EVM space (namely called the eSpace) and a Conflux Core Space. The eSpace is used to deploy EVM compatible smart contracts and applications, as well as execute transactions that follow the same rules as Ethereum. The Conflux Core Space, on the other hand, is somewhat different, it follows a different standard.

The same ERC-20, ERC-721 and ERC -1155 tokens on Ethereum can be deployed on Conflux with the same solidity smart contract code. Conflux has Wrapped Conflux, USDT, Eth Token and Wrapped BTC tokens available on the Espace.

The Consensus Mechanism Of Conflux

The consensus Mechanism of Conflux is called GHAST or Greedy-Heaviest-Adaptive-Subtree. It enables Conflux to produce blocks parallel to one another, creating a tree.

The nodes on Conflux, through the GHAST consensus protocol, decide which Pivot chain of blocks to go into by applying a rule called the heaviest subtree rule. To learn more, users can visit the Conflux developer docs.

This can be seen in the next image:

Creating parallel blocks reduces the confirmation time and increases the transaction throughput. The transactions, accounts and other state data are fit into a parallel branch type blockchain which originates from a single point in time.

The tree-graph is the data structure that contains all of the information of the accounts and transactions. It incorporates all of the blocks. This can be better visualized in the next image:

Blocks are produced under the Proof of work scheme which is integrated into the GHAST protocol. Like Ethereum, and Bitcoin, Conflux too has miners which produce blocks, though they reach consensus using the GHAST protocol which we described earlier.

Conflux also has another pivot chain which employs Proof of Stake consensus algorithm. validators then sign a pivot tree structure that belongs to this chain regularly. The proof of Work nodes then follows the pivot chain which effectively is signed by the Proof of Stake validators.

This is done in order to prevent 51% attacks on the network. You can think of the Proof of Stake validators signing the data structure, as they are putting the seal of approval on them.

All in all, we can see the bigger picture that Conflux is more like a hybrid blockchain, employing Proof of work and Proof of Stake consensus mechanisms to secure the blockchain. Though there are divergent chains which allow Conflux to produce multiple blocks at once, while making sure that the network is secure. Conflux fixes their double spend problem with the consensus mechanism illustrated above.

What Makes Conflux Unique?

Conflux is unique by being an EVM compatible Layer 1 Blockchain capable of handling more than 4000 transactions per second. Conflux uses a unique consensus algorithm called the Greedy-Heaviest-Adaptive Subtree (GHAST) and Proof of Stake to make sure that the network is as secure as Bitcoin. Network users are also able to Mine to validate transactions on the network and get incentivized for doing so. The conflux ecosystem supports and has more than 15 DeFi projects including MoonSwap, Metamask, Phantom, Dodo, Venus and TrustSwap.

Conflux Vs. Ethereum

Conflux and Ethereum are very similar, they do however have many differences. While Conflux has been around for more than a year, Ethereum has been around since 2015. Conflux and Ethereum both have mining and have Smart contract execution capabilities. Ethereum has far more adoption and users than conflux. Conflux on the other hand, needs to prove to us that it can stand the test of time. One advantage of Conflux over Ethereum is that it has modern, better technology.

Does Metamask Support Conflux?

Conflux does support Metamask. Since Conflux is EVM compatible, users can use MetaMask to interact with the Conflux ecosystem in the same way they can use it to interact with the Ethereum Blockchain and Binance Smart Chain. In the next tutorial, we will show you how to add the Conflux network to Metamask.

Conflux Tokenomics

Coin economics or Tokenomics influence how well a coin appreciates over the longer term.

As of the writing of this article, there are about 2 Billion Conflux coins in circulation. The total Conflux supply is 5.2 Billion coins. Apart from the 2 Billion coins that are circulating currently, the remaining 3.2 Billion are vested and locked up.

Token Inflation of Conflux

The total supply of Conflux inflates at about 4% as a result of newly minted CFX that is rewarded to users who secure the network. This includes validator nodes, miners and stakers.

There is no limit on the supply on Conflux, though the inflation will go down as time goes by as a result of a constant mint of CFX. 7 CFX is minted every block that is mined and is rewarded to the miners.

The block reward of 7 CFX is set to be reduced to 2 CFX per block after the Epoch height reaches a level of 3,615,000. This is about 4 years after the mainnet was launched.

The circulating supply inflation, on the other hand, may be much larger since coins are constantly being unlocked. These unlocked coins belong to investors, the Conflux foundation, and other parties.

The current circulating supply inflation is about 37.5% as a result of mining rewards, staking rewards, and coins that get unlocked that belong to the community and ecosystem fund.

Token Distribution of Conflux

Currently supply is being released as a result of block rewards, the ecosystem fund being unlocked, the community fund, and the genesis team. The token distribution for conflux can be seen in the next image. The source of the image is from Messari.io

Point of Demand and use cases for Conflux Coins

Use-cases for a coin are important, since they illustrate the demand that a coin will get from its users and adopters. We illustrate the coin use-cases for Conflux coins in the table below.

Does Conflux Burn Coins?

Conflux currently doesn’t burn any coins.

Conflux Team and Capital Raised

Conflux raised a total of 35 Million Dollars from funds backed by the Shanghai government. The Shanghai government wanted to open a research institute for blockchain and crypto development. Conflux raised 35 Million dollars from a private token sale in 2018, according to some news reports.

The team of conflux is composed of about 5 members, including 3 founders. The Conflux founders are Fan Long, YuanJie Zhang and Ming Wu. The other 2 members are two advisors. More details about them are posted on the team section of Conflux.

Conflux Network RPC

Conflux Espace is able to be added on Metamask and other wallets with its Network RPC. The RPC is how the wallet is able to send and receive transaction information. To be able to add Conflux Espace on Metamask and other wallets, the information below is required.

Network Name: Conflux Espace

New RPC URL: https://evm.confluxrpc.com

Chain ID: 1030

Currency Symbol: CFX

Block Explorer URL: https://evm.confluxscan.net/

Related Article: How to add Conflux Espace to Metamask

Conflux Network Transaction Fees

Conflux has some of the lowest fees in the crypto space. To send a normal CFX transaction on the EVM space, it costs much less than $0.000735. A coin swap on the on-chain DEX, on the other hand costs about $0.002. Below, we have a table indicating the various costs.