Tezos’ modular architecture and upgrade mechanism minimizes disruptions while offering regular upgradability and enhanced functionality over time. Upgrades on Tezos are made possible by its on-chain governance where continuous improvements are proposed by participants on the network, voted on, adopted, and deployed without the need to rely on hard forks. So far, Tezos has undergone six network upgrades to reduce gas fees, improve token standards, increase transaction speed, and more.

On-chain governance allows holders of XTZ to submit and approve amendments to the network, including amendments to the voting procedure itself. By offering an on-chain mechanism to amend its network and seamlessly deploy upgrades, Tezos is able to adopt the best features of other blockchain protocols, staying ahead of the industry trends and capabilities.

Tezos is open and accessible to developers of all skill levels. New tooling and advanced compilers have created new ways for developers to build powerful applications on the Tezos network.

The protocol language, the core of the network, is written in a formally verified, functional programming language trusted in critical infrastructure such as nuclear reactors, satellites, and military defense. Objective Caml, or OCaml, was created in 1996 and is maintained by the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (INRIA). OCaml comes from the software verification research community and emphasizes formal verification, a mathematical “proof-of-correctness” that verifies that a computer program will fulfill its specification.

At the application level, Tezos uses a formally verified low-level language called Michelson. While Michelson emphasizes formal verification and was chosen to make it harder for developers to unintentionally introduce bugs into their smart contracts, everyday developers can still build in more familiar languages such as SmartPy (inspired by Python); LIGO (inspired by Camel with a Pascal-like syntax); Morley (framework), and tzGo (inspired by Golang).

Tezos uses a Liquid Proof-of-Stake (LPoS) algorithm. LPoS is designed to prioritize network security, energy efficiency, and decentralized community governance without compromising security, speed, or scalability. On Tezos, bakers (validators) serve the same function as miners in a Proof of Work network. Tez holders can delegate their XTZ to bakers. LPoS allows an XTZ holder to retain ownership of their funds while delegating their associated (voting, baking) rights to a baker. This principle differs from other Proof of Stake blockchains, in which participants vote for a restricted number of block validators.