What is VIZ Ledger?
VIZ Ledger is a distributed ledger technology (DLT) built on the Fair-DPOS (Fair Delegated Proof of Stake) consensus algorithm. It is designed for decentralized social, financial, and governance applications where fairness, transparency, and efficiency are critical.
VIZ Ledger uses a blockchain-based consensus mechanism with snapshot-assisted state storage, making it a hybrid DLT system.
VIZ Ledger vs. Traditional Blockchain
Traditional blockchains require every full node to store the complete history of all transactions from the genesis block. VIZ Ledger takes a different approach:
| Property | Traditional Blockchain | VIZ Ledger |
|---|---|---|
| State storage | Full history on every node | Recent blocks + periodic snapshots |
| Sync method | Replay all blocks from genesis | Load snapshot, replay recent blocks |
| Storage requirement | Grows unboundedly | Bounded by snapshot interval |
| Security model | Full chain verification | Snapshot + consensus verification |
| Consensus | Varies | Fair-DPOS |
This architecture is closer to what the industry calls DLT in the broad sense — similar to Hedera Hashgraph or Corda — rather than a classical blockchain where every node keeps the full ledger history.
Why "VIZ Ledger"?
The name follows the same pattern as XRP Ledger:
- It is neutral with respect to the underlying storage mechanism.
- It accurately reflects the core function: maintaining a distributed ledger of accounts, transactions, and state.
- It leaves room for architectural evolution without renaming.
In technical documentation the full description is used where needed: "VIZ Ledger is a Fair-DPOS distributed ledger with snapshot-assisted state storage."
History
| Milestone | Date | Block |
|---|---|---|
| Mainnet genesis | 29 September 2018, 10:23:27 GMT | Block 0 |
| Transition to VIZ Ledger (DLT) | March 2026 | Block 79,105,800 |
The network launched as a classical blockchain on 29 September 2018 at 10:23:27 GMT. After seven and a half years of continuous operation — producing over 79 million blocks — the protocol evolved from a traditional full-history blockchain into a distributed ledger (DLT) at block 79,105,800. This transition introduced snapshot-assisted state storage, DLT-mode block logs, and the hybrid architecture described in this documentation.
Core Properties
Fair-DPOS Consensus
VIZ Ledger uses Fair Delegated Proof of Stake, an evolution of standard DPOS:
- Token holders vote for validators (block producers) using their staked SHARES.
- The top validators by vote weight are scheduled to produce blocks in round-robin order.
- Fairness enforcement: a validator that misses blocks has its participation score reduced. If participation drops below the required threshold, block production is paused until enough validators are active again.
- There are no unbounded rewards for inactive validators — production requires actual participation.
Snapshot-Assisted State
- Nodes store the current state (accounts, balances, content, votes) in shared memory.
- Periodic snapshots capture the full state at a specific block height.
- New nodes can fast-sync by loading a recent snapshot and replaying only the blocks since the snapshot, instead of the entire chain history.
- The block log (binary format) stores all blocks for full nodes that need historical access.
Social & Governance Primitives
VIZ Ledger embeds social and governance features directly into the protocol — they are not an application layer:
- Energy system: accounts have an energy pool (0–100%) that regenerates over 24 hours. Energy is spent to perform social actions (awards, votes) proportional to the account's stake impact.
- Awards: any account can award any other account using energy, distributing reward pool tokens.
- Committee DAO: on-chain committee worker requests, funding proposals, and voting.
- Invites: on-chain invite mechanism for bootstrapping new accounts.
- Paid subscriptions: on-chain subscription contracts between accounts.
Architecture at a Glance
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ vizd process │
│ │
│ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌────────────┐ ┌─────────┐ │
│ │ chain │ │validator │ │database_api│ │ p2p │ │
│ │ plugin │ │ plugin │ │ plugin │ │ plugin │ │
│ └────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘ └─────┬──────┘ └────┬────┘ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ ┌────▼──────────────▼──────────────▼───────────────▼────┐ │
│ │ libraries/chain (database) │ │
│ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ┌────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ libraries/network │ │ libraries/protocol │ │
│ └────────────────────┘ └──────────────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│ │
Peer nodes Wallets / Apps
(P2P port 2001) (HTTP/WS ports 8090/8091)Key components:
| Component | Role |
|---|---|
chain plugin | Opens the database, coordinates block and transaction processing |
validator plugin | Produces blocks on schedule using Fair-DPOS rules |
database_api plugin | Exposes JSON-RPC read queries for wallets and apps |
p2p plugin | Manages peer connections, block and transaction propagation |
webserver plugin | HTTP and WebSocket transport for JSON-RPC |
snapshot plugin | Creates and loads state snapshots |
Token System
VIZ Ledger has two native tokens:
| Token | Purpose | Decimals |
|---|---|---|
VIZ | Liquid token for transfers and fees | 3 (10.000 VIZ) |
SHARES | Staked token representing voting power and energy capacity | 6 (10.000000 SHARES) |
VIZ can be converted to SHARES via transfer_to_vesting_operation. SHARES can be withdrawn back to VIZ over 28 withdrawal intervals.
Who Is This Documentation For?
| Audience | Start here |
|---|---|
| Node operators | Getting Started |
| Validator operators | Running a Validator Node |
| Application developers | JSON-RPC API |
| Wallet / library developers | Data Types · Operations |
| Protocol contributors | Architecture · Consensus |