Top smart contract platforms we use
While enterprises can potentially experiment with new technologies in pilot projects launched from scratch, using the existing blockchain platforms that support smart contracts is more practical.
Execution environment
Smart contract language
Turing completeness
Permission type
Consensus
TPS
Ethereum
Ethereum
EVM
Solidity
Yes
Public
Proof of Stake
Up to 100,000
Polkadot
Polkadot
PEE
Depends on a selected chain
Depends on a selected chain
Depends on a selected chain
Nominated Proof of Stake
Depends on a selected chain and conditions, up to 1 million
Hyperledger
Hyperledger
Docker
JavaScriptGo
Yes
Permissioned
Pluggable (e.g. Crash Fault Tolerance)
Depends on the use case, up to 3,500
Tezos
Tezos
TezosVM
Michelson
Yes
Permissionless
Liquid Proof of Stake
40, up to 1 million after upgrades and rollups
Stellar
Stellar
Docker
NetScalaC++Go
No
Consortium
FBA
1,000, up to 4,000 in ideal conditions
Solana
Solana
Sealevel Runtime
RustC
Yes
Public
Proof of History and Proof of Stake
5,000 - 10,000, up to 710,000 in ideal conditions
Cardano
Cardano
Ouroboros
PlutusHaskell
Yes
Public
Ouroboros Proof of Stake
250, up to 2 million using L2
Tron
Tron
Tron Virtual Machine
SolidityTVMAssembly
Yes
Public
Delegate proof of Stake
Up to 2,000
Polygon
Polygon
Ethereum Virtual Machine
Solidity
Yes
Public
Proof of Stake
Up to 7,200
Algorand
Algorand
Algorand Virtual Machine
TEALPyTeal
Yes
Public
Pure Proof of Stake
Up to 4,500
Arbitrum
Arbitrum
EVM
Solidity
Yes
Public
Optimistic Rollup
Up to 40,000
Optimism
Optimism
EVM
Solidity
Yes
Public
Optimistic Rollup
~ 2,000
Cosmos
Cosmos
Cosmos SDK
Rust (via CosmWasm)
Yes
Public
Tendermint
Depends on a selected chain
Ethereum is the world’s first and one of the best smart contract platforms which remains the most popular choice among developers. Following Bitcoin's decentralized concept, Ethereum has become a leader in smart contract platforms. Since its inception in 2015, the platform has launched more than 4,400 dApps.The most apparent advantages of Ethereum’s smart contract platform are standardization, security, and support. Due to eloquently written rules, clearly defined development guidelines, and its own coding language, Solidity, deploying smart contracts and Dapps on the platform has proven to be comparatively easy. Ethereum is also superior to any other smart contract platform in terms of developer count (~200,000), making its development community one of the most flourishing and responsive ones. The sheer popularity of Ethereum and high user loads incentivized developers to build multiple scaling solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism on top of the mainnet.
Pros
Active community Elaborate documentation Clear development guidelines The largest market capitalization among SC platforms
Cons
Above average gas fees Network congestion
Examples
Golem
A decentralized marketplace for renting unused computing power to other network participants
BP
Automating and facilitating energy trading between consumers and producers with smart contract functionality
Hyperledger was founded in 2015 by the Linux Foundation and 30 co-founding corporate members, including industry giants like IBM, J.P. Morgan, Cisco, Intel, and others.Hyperledger Fabric is a permissioned blockchain, meaning that user authentication is required and participants’ identities are known. This makes Hyperledger especially attractive for enterprises that deal with sensitive data and need to comply with data protection laws like the GDPR.
Hyperledger Fabric uses a Crash Fault Tolerance (CFT) mechanism, making it one of the most reliable networks. With CFT in place, the system can automatically detect node crashes and replace them, significantly reducing downtime. One of the most distinctive Hyperledger features is its modular architecture, allowing organizations to develop solutions for various industrial use cases. Similar to Ethereum, Hyperledger offers a wide array of tools, such as Hyperledger Composer, that streamline smart contract creation and deployment.
Pros
Permissioned blockchain suitable for enterprises High throughput thanks to crash fault tolerance
Cons
Lack of decentralization Limited public adoption
Examples
Walmart
Enhancing supply chain traceability and product tracking and reducing the risk of spoiled products reaching customers
ChangeHealthcare
Secure sharing of medical records and claims data between healthcare institutions
Polkadot was created by Ethereum co-founder and Solidity creator Gavin Wood. It is more of a blockchain ecosystem where various platforms are connected to each other rather than a distributed ledger in the traditional sense.Relay Chain lies at the core of Polkadot and ensures interoperability between various parachains and parathreads, allowing developers to build their own blockchains with custom governance.
Due to parallel processing enabled by parachains, Polkadot has high scalability. Polkadot functionality also includes bridge chains for connecting parachains to external blockchains like Ethereum. Polkadot has gained traction with developers as it offers software development kits (SDKs) and preconfigured templates, as well as supports many popular programming languages, including JavaScript.
Pros
Rich development toolkit with SDKs and templatesEasily interoperable Highly scalable
Cons
A limited number of parachains availableComplex architecture
Examples
Acala
Fostering DeFI interoperability across multiple popular smart contract platforms
KiltProtocol
Enabling decentralized identity management and facilitating control of personal data
Founded in 2017 by Arthur Breitman, Tezos addresses first-generation blockchain challenges, notably avoiding protocol forks, with a unique combination of on-chain governance and self-amendments. This approach facilitates organic growth and continuous improvement driven by stakeholder consensus.
Tezos is recognized as one of the most secure smart contract platforms because it uses formal verification, meaning that every smart contract is audited before deployment. Such a large-scale audit is possible because the code is written in Michelson, Tezos’ own programming language, and can be easily mathematically proven. This makes Tezos smart contracts especially useful for industries requiring exceptional accuracy in smart contract execution, such as finance and healthcare.
Pros
On-chain governance Formal verification
Cons
Lack of developer toolsSmaller network
Examples
Logical Pictures
Tokenizing the film industry, allowing investors to purchase a part of the ownership
French Armies and Gendarmerie’s Information Center
Validating and recording judicial expenses incurred during investigations
Elevator Returns and River Plaza
Tokenizing real estate, allowing investors to purchase a portion of properties’ ownership rights
Stellar was launched by Jed McCaleb, who is also one of the Ripple founders, in 2014. Initially positioned as a platform primarily focused on financial transactions, Stellar has significantly broadened its scope in 2022 with the introduction of Soroban, its native smart contract platform. Soroban has been designed as an inviting environment for smart contract development, providing a range of plug-and-play SDKs, a local sandbox, and an RPC server. Scalability is one of Soroban's main priorities. The platform avoids serialization loops, which are repetitive processes where data is processed in a sequential order, causing delays and inefficiencies. On top of that, Soroban also supports multi-core scaling, which allows it to avoid state bloat, one of the most common blockchain challenges. Security is covered with the help of the partnership with Certora, a security firm that uses formal verification as its main method.
Pros
High-quality developer tools High TPSBuilt-in DEX for asset trading platforms
Cons
Small developer communityLacks decentralization
Examples
IBM World Wire
Facilitating cross-border payments through smart contracts
SureRemit
Automating, streamlining, and lowering the cost of the remittance process
Chaincerts
Streamlining the verification of digital credentials and eliminating fraud-related challenges.
Solana was created by A-list software engineers from Intel, Dropbox, and Qualcomm in 2017. Similar to other new-generation smart contract platforms, Solana aims to solve scalability issues. Indeed, Solana has managed to achieve a record-high 65,000 transactions per second. The main reason for such a high throughput is that Solana uses an innovative combination of Proof of History (PoH) and Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms. In other words, instead of transactions grouped in blocks, every transaction resides inside its own block and becomes an input for the next transaction.
This way, it’s possible to identify which transactions were the first or last within a particular block. Moreover, with Solana’s Sealevel technology, smart contracts can be processed in parallel. Therefore, Solana is one of the fastest platforms on the market, which makes it attractive for Dapps that require instant outputs.Given its unprecedented scalability and transaction speed, Solana can be a good fit for a massive decentralized exchange or any other project that needs consistent performance regardless of the network load.
Pros
High TPS A range of built-in frameworks and SDKs
Cons
Stability issues Network congestionsCentralization concerns
Examples
Audius
Increasing transparency and automating content distribution
Serum
Fast and efficient cryptocurrency trading (DEX)
Polygon, the former Matic Network, is a Layer-2 scaling solution based on Ethereum that allows for faster and cheaper transactions than its mainnet. With the help of Proof of Stake side chains and a modified version of the Plasma framework, Polygon significantly increases transaction speeds without compromising security.
Polygon also prioritizes environmental sustainability, achieving carbon neutrality by retiring carbon credits. In a nutshell, Polygon can fit projects that need the reliability of Ethereum but require enhanced scalability and network efficiency.
Pros
High TPS Low transaction feesSeamless compatibility with Ethereum
Cons
Inherits all the limitations of an Ethereum L2 solution, including security dependency on mainnet, centralization concerns, and decreased liquidity Could be vulnerable to hackers
Examples
Aavegotchi
A decentralized game leveraging NFTs and DeFi concepts
QuickSwap
A decentralized exchange offering fast and low-cost trading
Tron was launched in 2017 and positioned as a content-sharing platform from its inception. Some of the most apparent Tron advantages are a wide range of developer tools and high transaction throughput, up to 2000 TPS, attracting gaming and social media app developers to the platform. Tron employs a Delegated Proof of Stake consensus algorithm, ensuring improved scalability.
Pros
High TPS Wide range of developer tools
Cons
Lacks decentralization
Examples
BitTorrent
Leveraging blockchain for decentralized file sharing
JUST
A decentralized finance platform offering stablecoins and lending services
Founded by one of Ethereum’s co-founders in 2017, Cardano was created as a response to scalability and regulatory compliance issues other blockchain networks faced. Cardano differentiates itself from the competition by employing a research-driven approach and a peer-review process for its updates, meaning that verified experts in cryptography, computer science, and blockchain technology evaluate the proposed changes before deployment.
While it can slow down the blockchain development process, this calculated approach significantly enhances security. Cardano uses its own Ouroboros PoS, offering more energy efficiency and sustainability than many other blockchains.
Pros
Highly secure Efficient energy management Academically-backed update processes
Cons
Slow development processLacks the number of use cases
Examples
AtalaPRISM
An identity management tool providing access to services for the unbanked
WolframBlockchain Labs
Providing computational tools and oracle services for analytical tasks
Launched in 2019 by cryptography guru Silvio Micali, Algorand is a blockchain platform that is posed to tackle the blockchain trilemma and achieve speed, security, and decentralization simultaneously. It uses the state-of-the-art Pure Proof of Stake (PPoS) consensus mechanism, which allows for high TPS with minimal energy consumption.
Algorand is powered by its own Algorand Virtual Machine, allowing it to support smart contracts written in TEAL (Transaction Execution Approval Language). This, in turn, allows for creating scalable and rather complex smart contract applications, while maintaining the highest level of security.
Pros
High TPS, low feesHigh security thanks to PPoS Carbon-neutral
Cons
Comparatively small community Limited use cases
Examples
Six Clovers
Enabling fast and transparent cross-border payments
Colombian healthcare authorities and Koibanx
Implementing Vitalpass, a blockchain-based COVID vaccine passport system
Cosmos is an ecosystem of interconnected blockchains that relies on the innovative Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol for interoperability. The smart contract functionality is enabled by Cosmos SDK, a modular framework that allows developers to build customizable smart contracts using the Golang programming language.
Cosmos uses a byzantine fault tolerant consensus mechanism called Tendermint Core, which also powers one of the most scalability-demanding exchanges, Binance and Binance Smart Chain (BSC).
Pros
High interoperability Easy development with the help of Cosmos SDK
Cons
Comparatively small community Limited use cases
Examples
Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and OKChain
Some of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges
Akash Network
Tendermint-based P2P cloud computing solution