Ampleforth is a cryptocurrency that operates on Ethereum and features a circulating supply that is adjusted through an algorithm. It's crafted to serve as the foundational currency of a new decentralized economy, offering an asset that is free from supply inflation and independent from the price swings of other digital currencies, especially Bitcoin (BTC).
Instead of owning a set number of tokens, Ampleforth holders possess a constant proportion of the total AMPL supply. The protocol kicks in to increase the supply when the AMPL price climbs too high, and decreases it when the price sinks too low.
These adjustments affect all Ampleforth wallets, recalibrating balances proportionally. Despite these changes, AMPL holders maintain the same percentage of the total token supply.
This automatic modification of supply, known as a "rebase," happens daily. A positive rebase is triggered if the price exceeds $1.06, while a negative rebase occurs below $0.96. The system aims to motivate market forces to stabilize AMPL's price around $1.
Who Founded Ampleforth?
Evan Kuo, a seasoned product manager and serial entrepreneur, established Ampleforth. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechatronics, robotics, and automation engineering from UC Berkeley.
Kuo is characterized by his passion for art and mathematics, with a background in crafting predictive auction tools. He previously served as CEO at Pythagoras Pizza, a pizza delivery business based in San Francisco. Now, he leads the Ampleforth Foundation, the entity responsible for the protocol's development and management.
In addition to Kuo, the foundation's team is mostly made up of engineers, featuring Brandon Iles, a former senior software engineer at Uber and Google, who is also a co-founder of the project. According to its LinkedIn profile, Ampleforth consists of just over a dozen team members, primarily located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
What Sets Ampleforth Apart?
Ampleforth distinguishes itself by offering a non-correlated asset that can enhance cryptocurrency portfolios, serve as reserve collateral in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, and potentially act as an alternative to central-bank currencies that can resist shocks.
It accomplishes this through a unique mechanism where the circulating supply adjusts in response to demand without diluting individual stakeholders. Ampleforth argues that this characteristic makes it ideal as a novel form of base money for the digital era, akin to gold's function as base money for many fiat currencies before the collapse of the Bretton Woods system.
Because the Ampleforth supply is immune to inflation and other dilutive elements, it stands as an asset capable of preserving its purchasing power relative to other assets. This makes it an appealing hedge and alternative to fiat currencies that are losing value rapidly.
How Many Ampleforth (AMPL) Tokens Are Currently in Circulation?
Unlike most cryptocurrencies, Ampleforth doesn't have a fixed minimum or maximum supply. The number of AMPL tokens will keep increasing if the price remains above $1 and will decrease if it falls below $1.
Ampleforth secured $4.9 million through an initial exchange offering (IEO) on Tokinex, besides several private funding rounds. During this sale, AMPL tokens were offered at $0.98 each.
At its launch, Ampleforth had a circulating supply of 50 million tokens. As per the initial transparency report, these tokens were divided as follows: 23.2% for the ecosystem, 18.5% for seed investors, 3.3% for series A investors, 10% for Tokinex IEO participants, 25% for the Ampleforth team and advisors, and 20% for the treasury.
A more recent report from August 2020 highlighted that around 42.5% of AMPL is now held by the community, with another 23.5% allocated to liquidity mining programs.
How is the Ampleforth Network Secured?
Ampleforth is an ERC-20 token, built on the Ethereum blockchain, and benefits from the robustness and security of Ethereum's extensive network of nodes and miners.
The network's security is further ensured by a decentralized network of oracles that supply the price data needed to determine whether a rebase should be positive or negative.
Initially, Ampleforth relied solely on its oracle provider for market data. However, since December 2019, it has integrated Chainlink oracles to prevent the centralization of oracle data. This allows for data from various aggregators to inform the rebase logic.
Where Can You Purchase Ampleforth (AMPL)?
Ampleforth tokens, often referred to as amples, are available for buying and trading on over a dozen cryptocurrency exchanges, against both other cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies. Currently, KuCoin is the most popular centralized exchange for trading AMPL, while Uniswap is the favored decentralized exchange.
For those interested in buying AMPL or other cryptocurrencies using a credit or debit card, our straightforward guide can help you get started.
