Although Algorand may not be the most popular blockchain ecosystem, its underlying technology is arguably among the most cutting edge.
Founded in 2017 by Silvio Micali, MIT professor and Turing Award recipient for his pioneering work in the fields of cryptography and computer science, Algorand uses a highly efficient consensus mechanism it calls pure proof of stake, and is one of the most energy-efficient blockchains in the industry.
While Silvio Micali oversees the research and development of Algorand's technology, the Algorand Foundation is responsible for helping the surrounding community flourish.
In this episode of The Scoop, Algorand Foundation CEO Staci Warden detailed recent developments in the Algorand ecosystem that she hopes will harness the power of Algorand's technology for global good. 
"We have the best tech in crypto, and I think a lot of people would acknowledge that," Warden says. She cites Algorand's roughly 1,000 transactions per second and 4.5 second settlement time — which the development team hopes to increase to 10,000 transactions per second and 2.5 second settlement time by the end of the year.
Given these performance indicators, Warden believes Algorand is equipped to handle problems at scale. As she explains,
"When you've got a machine like that, of course you start thinking big — and so we think in terms of very big global problems."
One of these problems is financial inclusion, which the Algorand Foundation is looking to address through an upcoming partnership with an organization that is planning to make 4G mobile phones preloaded with Algorand's tech available to people in Africa who might otherwise be unable to access traditional financial services.
Algorand also has a growing decentralized finance ecosystem, largely due to an ecosystem fund launched last September that today is worth approximately $50 million.

Episode 65 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Staci Warden, CEO of the Algorand Foundation.
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This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schauffhausen
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