People sometimes confuse blockchains with cryptocurrencies. Even some consider that crypto without a blockchain is impossible. But in reality, there are blockless crypto networks available. Among them, IOTA comes first on the list. IOTA has a unique network system called Tangle. Today, I am going to discuss elaborately – what is Tangle?

When blockchain first came to the scene, it revolutionized the very idea of economy and finance. But people and tech experts have always foreseen that sooner or later the blockchain will become obsolete. Not because of the world will not accept it or something. Rather, newer technology will take over the scenario.

IOTA exactly had the same idea. So, they decided to build a new kind of network that would mitigate all the problems that the blockchain technology had. They invented Tangle.

The Definition: What is Tangle?

Image Credits: IOTA

Tangle is rather a complex concept. To get the better picture, you must get the idea of the Internet of Things (IoT). Any device that can connect to the internet can be connected to the IoT network. Thant means, not only your smartphone or laptop, IoT can be formed of the car GPS, refrigerator, radio, TV. Washing machine all can be considered to be eligible if it can connect to the internet.

Tangle will make sure these devices can join the network. The beauty of this technology is that you don’t have to pay any kind of fees when you are doing any transaction. This is one of the key major difference with the blockchain technology.

A Deeper Look into the Technology

Image Credits: IOTA

Tangle adopts the technology called Directed Acyclic Graph. A graph is data structure according to the computer science. The entities in the network are nodes. The nodes create a web-like a body called the network. Each node can point to two other nodes and also there two nodes can point to a single node.

Again all the nodes have an assigned value. So each node has a cumulative value which determines the robustness of a node. The nodes at the edge do not have any pointing nodes. These nodes are called the tips. To determine the value of the tips PoW algorithm is selected. To have a better idea about what is Tangle, you can check out their white paper.

What are Tangle Key Benefits?

To know the answer of what is Tangle, we better get to know the advantages of the Tangle. Tangle basically tries to reduce the flaws of the older blockchain technology.

1. Speed is the Priority

Image Credits: IOTA

Tangle is much faster than the blockchain. A typical blockchain like the Bitcoin’s blockchain can handle only 5-7 transactions per second. The long and power consuming consensus algorithm such PoW cause such delays. Even the latest consensus algorithms like PoS cannot make the technology faster. When older payment systems like Visa can handle 10,000 transactions per second, blockchain takes a heavy punch. Tangle can handle about 800 transactions per second which are still relatively low but better than blockchain.

2. No Miners and No Additional Fees

Tangle uses the DAG to verify the transactions. You could say that the people who are transacting will validate the transactions (of others) as well. This very concept removes the need for miners. As there are miners, you will not have to pay anyone for validating your transaction. The whole process is intrinsic.

3. Better Security

Tangle offers much better security against the cyber-attacks such as DDoS. While the world is taking a beating by the hackers each day, Tangle is providing top-notch protection against such attacks. This will make you money more secured. Even, Tangle is a way better fighter against the hackers and cyber-attacks.

4. A System that is Fair

The miners can choose which transaction he/she will validate and which ones he/she won’t. Miners always look for the bigger transactions as the reward of validation is much higher with bigger amounts. So, the users who spend little gets shadowed off by the bigger fishes. As there is a miner, Tangle doesn’t have such unfair system. The transactions are unbiased and completely fair.

Last Thoughts

So, this was all about the contender who is challenging the blockchain technology. No one can be sure if Tangle will overwhelm the mighty blockchain or blockchain will crush it down. But as you are into the world of decentralization, you should have an idea about what is Tangle.