The Telos Manifesto by John Lilic

We envision a future where Telos stands as a beacon of sovereignty in the Web3 space—a community-owned Web3 Venture Production Studio. Our commitment is to create an ecosystem of interconnected products and services, each strengthening our community and granting its members true sovereignty. Here, every innovation, every decision, and every opportunity is grounded in the power of our community.

A Community-Owned Web3 Venture Production Studio

We are more than a blockchain; we are a movement for shared ownership and digital sovereignty. Telos is an autonomous force, built for and by the people. It is not a dependency; it is an alternative. Our purpose is to produce Web3 products that empower our community, allowing each individual to participate, govern, and build together.

Decentralized Power: The Foundation of Telos

Telos is built on a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus, a foundational layer that has generated nearly 400 million blocks without interruption since 2018. More than just infrastructure, Telos is a governance model that radically democratizes access. Here, no one faces nearly insurmountable hurdles, such as 32 ETH, to participate. Anyone with the will to engage can vote, propose, or even become a block producer. In Telos, power is dispersed, accessible to all, and owned by the community it serves.

Performance and Innovation at Scale

With a virtual machine that supports RUST, WASM, and EVM, Telos achieves unmatched performance. We are not just emulating Ethereum; we are optimizing it. Telos 2.0 is a high-performance engine designed to deliver stability, scalability, and tremendous speed.

Championing Data Protection Through Zero-Knowledge Proofs

At the heart of our ecosystem lays our ZK strategy, with SNARKtor as the linchpin of trustless bridging and data protection. Recursive proofs, a foundational element of our zk framework, enable secure, cross-chain interactions. SNARKtor extends beyond Telos, capable of protecting data and aggregating information across multiple blockchains. With our zkEVM, Telos stands out as a true Ethereum L2, underpinned by a co-designed hardware-software approach that champions data protection and sovereignty. While other networks allocate tokens to insiders, we airdropped our entire supply to the community in 2018 during the peak of ICO mania. Telos belongs to our community, not to private interests.

We look forward, pioneering research in hardware acceleration, ZK proving ASICs, and hybrid consensus models like useful PoW (uPoW) plus PoS. Meanwhile, we prepare for the future by pursuing quantum resistance, fortifying our platform for emerging technological challenges.

Telos X: Expanding the Horizon

Telos X, our native centralized exchange powered by the Binance Link program, bridges our ecosystem making Telos the first Layer 1 to bootstrap its own exchange with its community. Inspired by systems like Binance + BNB, Telos X integrates seamlessly with our network, extending TLOS utility through trading pairs, intuitive UI/UX, and vast liquidity. As a partner in Binance’s Link program, Telos X inherits both security and liquidity, surmounting the greatest challenges for bootstrapping new exchanges. Here, Telos X offers an interface, a marketplace, and an expansion of community reach.

The TLOS Token: Powering Governance and Ecosystem Growth

The TLOS token is the lifeblood of this ecosystem. It fuels participation, facilitates transactions, and drives the cycle of innovation. From voting in decentralized governance to paying gas fees on the EVM, to supporting ZK initiatives through SNARKtor, TLOS is woven into every layer of Telos. Through Telos X, our ecosystem’s exchange, we buy TLOS to further reinforce community control. An on-chain DAO empowers each token holder, letting them decide on burning TLOS.

A Future Built by the Community, for the Community

Our North Star is clear: Telos exists to serve, empower, and uplift its community through a collection of decentralized tools and services. We build together, we govern together, and we thrive together.

This is Telos—built by the people, owned by the people, empowered by the people. Join us on this journey.