Waves Investor
Investing In Waves (WAVES) – Everything You Need to Know

Securities.io is committed to rigorous editorial standards. We may receive compensation when you click on links to products we review. Please view our affiliate disclosure. Trading involves risk which may result in the loss of capital.
Table Of Contents
Waves is a blockchain ecosystem that functions as a cryptocurrency, a token launch platform, and a DEX. The developers behind the project sought to introduce a powerful toolset to aid in the development of Web 3.0 decentralized solutions. Their goal was to design an easy to use Ethereum alternative to promote blockchain mass adoption. To this extent, the platform's development team succeeded spectacularly.
What Problems Does Waves Solve?
Waves attempts to correct one of the oldest issues in the crypto market, confusion. For most people, the prospect of programming and launching your own token seems like an impossible task. However, Waves enables anyone to create and launch custom crypto tokens without any prior understanding of the technology.
The removal of technical barriers from the token creation process is a huge benefit to the sector. Impressively, it's been stated that you can create a basic token in under five minutes. The simplification of the tokenization process helps to ensure that Waves can ensure value transfer via “tokenization” for a variety of real-world assets. In this way, Waves is ideal for crowdfunding, simple ICOs, and loyalty programs.
Benefits of Waves
As a pioneering force in the market, Waves promotes mass adoption through simplicity. There are a ton of benefits gained from using this next-generation cryptocurrency. Here are the top reasons investors continue to flock to this coin. Developers plan to expand on their tokens capabilities in the future. If they succeed in creating a token that is comparable to Ethereum's options, there is a great chance that Waves will be able to capture a significant portion of Ethereum's traffic.

Waves – Twitter
Easy to Use
There is no easier way to create your own token and take advantage of simple blockchain functionality. Comparingly, Ethereum, the most popular Dapp blockchain, requires developers to understand programming languages such as Solidarity to create Dapps and execute smart contracts. These requirements add significant overhead to any crowdfunding campaign.
Keenly, Waves-based tokens are not as technically robust as Ethereum tokens. However, since they are so easy to program, they are the perfect solution for firms who need basic functions such as those used in ICOs, utility tokens, and loyalty programs.
Staking
Waves users can stake their crypto and earn rewards. The network utilizes stakers to keep the blockchain secure. Notably, you will need to stake 1,000 Waves to run a full staking node on the network. Proof-of-Stake networks require users to make larger deposits to participate as a node to ensure that they share any potential financial losses that could occur if they run a malicious node.
Trading
Users gain access to a powerful decentralized exchange (DEX) when they use Waves as well. You can trade any Waves-based token with any other Waves-based token in seconds. The network allows you to create and trade crypto tokens without the need for extensive smart contract programming. It also provides new projects with instant access to liquidity making it ideal for token launch strategies.
Dapps
Another draw for Waves is its zero-fee structure for developers. In the Ethereum network, developers pay fees in the form of an internal cryptocurrency called Gas. Originally, this fee was meant to ensure no subpar enter the blockchain and reduced functionality. Waves eliminates gas fees and replace them with a minuscule flat fee. In this way, developers can create more robust Dapps for users.

Waves – Homepage
How Does Waves Work?
The ecosystem relies on a two-tier architecture with both lightweight and full nodes maintaining the network. This concept was first introduced by the NXT project. Specifically, developers decided to integrate the NXT SuperNET lite client to increase efficiency.
Full nodes
The first tier in the system uses full nodes. These are the miners that validate transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain. These nodes stake their Waves to be eligible for rewards.
Lightweight nodes
Waves also utilizes lightweight nodes to speed up transactions and communication within the network. Lightweight nodes are faster because they never download the blockchain. Instead, these mini-nodes depend on the full nodes for transaction confirmations and interactions. Specifically, lightweight nodes retrieve the current network state from full nodes using the Scorex platform.
Custom Application Tokens (CATs)
At the center of the Waves platform, resides its CATS. CATs are the basic user tokens created on the platform. Anyone can create a token directly through the lite client which is available on pc, Android, and iOS. Impressively, it costs only one 1 WAVE to create a custom token at this time. Users can launch, distribute, and trade their own crypto in minutes using Waves. Importantly, you can manage your tokens via scripts that run in your account on the Waves blockchain.
Governance
Waves utilizes a hybrid consensus mechanism to keep the network secure. The Leased Proof-of-Stake (LPoS) mechanism borrows the best aspects of PoS network and introduces some new protocols to streamline the process. Users stake tokens by leasing them to full nodes that are running the network. Keenly, leasing Waves only costs 0.002 WAVES.
Staking Rewards
Staking nodes receive two forms of rewards. The first set of rewards is paid in Waves. The second set of rewards come in the form of Miner Reward Tokens (MRTs). Miners receive 60 MRT for the first 70 blocks they create in a day. They can earn an additional 30 MRT per block after that. Best of all, you can still participate even if you don’t have the required 1000 waves to become a node directly. Uniquely, you can lease your WAVES to a public mining pool and share in the rewards.
DEX
The Waves DEX is one of the fastest decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. You can trade your newly created coin in a trading pair with any other Waves token in seconds. Keenly, the platform integrates an automated matcher to pair buy and sell orders and exchange the tokens when orders are fulfilled.
Waves Token
The Waves Token is the main cryptocurrency of the network. Waves can function as a payment vehicle. These tokens are also what you put up to create new tokens or stake for rewards. In this way, the coin is an extremely versatile cryptocurrency.

CoinMarketCap
History of Waves
Waves entered the market back in June 2016. The coin was a success from its launch. The company's ICO secured over $16 million during its launch. A lot of this success can be attributed to the experience of the team. Many of Waves' core team members also worked heavily on the NXT project together.
In September 2018, the team made a major upgrade to the network. The upgrade integrated various features such as support for multi-sig addresses, token freezing, atomic swaps, voting, and Oracles. Oracles are off-chain sensors that communicate with the blockchain. These new-era systems allow blockchains to interact with the real world in new and exciting ways.
In October 2018, the platform set the record for processing the most transactions of any blockchain project in a single day. Impressively, the platform took the title from another third-generation crypto EOS. Analysts registered 6.1 million transactions on the platform on this record-setting day.
How to Buy Waves
Waves (WAVES) is currently available for purchase on the following exchanges:
Kraken – Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the most trusted names in the industry with over 9,000,000 users, and over $207 billion in quarterly trading volume.
They offer trading access to over 190 countries including Australia, Canada, Europe, and the USA. (Excluding New York & Washington state).
KuCoin – This exchange currently offers cryptocurrency trading of over 300 other popular tokens. It is often the first to offer buying opportunities for new tokens. USA Residents are Prohibited.
WazirX – This exchange is part of the Binance Group, which ensures a high standard of quality. It is the best exchange for residents of India.
How to Store Waves
There are a lot of ways to store Waves. One of the best ways to keep this cryptocurrency safe is via the platforms, lite wallet client. This wallet is available as a free download on a multitude of platforms including PC, Android, iOS, or as a Chrome plug-in. The light client is considered secure but is not as protected as keeping your crypto offline in “cold storage.”
Hardware wallet providers such as Ledger and Trezor offer affordable options to consumers at this time. If you plan on holding a significant amount of Waves, this is by far the most secure method. Hardware wallets introduce an “air gap” to ensure no hackers can stealthily steal your funds.
Making Waves in the Industry
The developers behind the Waves platform are focused on the future. The decision to create an easy to use token launch platform is wise when you consider that tokenization is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the market. You can expect Waves to continues to hold a top spot in the market for the foreseeable future due to its innovative approach and track record of providing helpful blockchain services to the masses.
David Hamilton is a full-time journalist and a long-time bitcoinist. He specializes in writing articles on the blockchain. His articles have been published in multiple bitcoin publications including Bitcoinlightning.com
You may like
Investing in Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR) – Everything You Need to Know
Investing In Solana (SOL) – Everything You Need to Know
Investing In Ethereum (ETH) – Everything You Need to Know
Investing In Polkadot (DOT) – Everything You Need to Know
Investing In Cardano (ADA) – Everything You Need to Know
Investing In Helium (HNT) – Everything You Need to Know