The Waterfall project's blockDAG platform has been in the development phase for the past 3 years, and it's now in the final testing phase before its mainnet launch. The platform provides a user-friendly environment for dAPPs development, with smart contracts, fast finalization, and transaction speeds.
But you don't have to be a dAPP developer to get in on the fun – Waterfall offers infinite opportunities for Node runners to increase network decentralization and security by setting up and operating a node, with the potential for substantial earnings. It's not as intimidating as it sounds – Waterfall's developers have made it easy as pie!
What in the World is Waterfall?
Waterfall is a smart contract platform for the development of decentralized applications (Dapps). It is a distributed ledger protocol based on Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) technology, with fast finality Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus. The platform is highly decentralized, secure and scalable, challenging the blockchain trilemma. The Waterfall platform relies on high transaction throughput via parallelized block production. To date, Waterfall has achieved transaction speeds of up to 11K per second, with the potential for up to millions of tps via Sharding scalability.
Waterfall's main structural element is a node – a registered network stakeholder who uses a digital device to keep track of the BlockDAG's distributed ledger and confirm transaction legitimacy. Each node deploys a certain number of Workers, responsible for storing data, processing transactions and adding new blocks to the ledger.
Each Worker consists of two components with independent addresses that work together: Validator and Coordinator. The Validator creates blocks within the Shard network and earns commissions from transactions. The Coordinator creates and votes for blocks in the Coordinating network and earns rewards through minting.
Waterfall's governing rules and guidelines are implemented via proprietary software that automatically and transparently enforces them, with mechanisms in place that allow for the dynamic adaptation of specific rules to changing situations. Baked into the ecosystem is a system of penalties for malicious nodes that make it counterproductive for bad actors to interfere with the network's operations.
Waterfall Tokenomics
WATER is a native coin that serves as Waterfall's main network digital asset. WATER allows for transaction transfers, execution of smart contracts, governance voting, and minting your own tokens via smart contract. The Waterfall ecosystem relies on the synergistic interactions of all its elements to securely execute transactions.
The Waterfall network is designed to decrease transaction costs, increase throughput, and reduce finalization time. At the same time, the Waterfall tokenomics model is designed to limit the growth of transaction fees while supporting economic feasibility for Workers.
Block producers in the Shard network are compensated with tips and a portion of transaction fees, and in the Coordinating network, block creation is incentivized with minted rewards.
Waterfall Bridge is a cross-chain bridge that allows users to move assets, such as cryptocurrencies or tokens, between Waterfall and other EVM compatible networks.
How to Set Up Your Own Waterfall Node
Setting up a Waterfall node is a no-brainer, thanks to a well-thought-out series of user-friendly instructions and tutorials that require little-to-no tech knowledge. At the time of this writing, you can set up a test node to participate in the platform's final testing phase prior to its mainnet launch. Although there are no rewards or incentives for participation in network testing, it will prepare you to successfully run your future node on the Waterfall platform.
One of Waterfall's prime advantages is its minimal hardware requirements, making it possible to run a node from almost any computer, even a smart phone.
