From a high-level standpoint, Aptos chain works as follows:
- Proof-of-stake (PoS) with BFT consensus and staked validators
- Segmentation into full nodes and light clients
- A parallel transaction engine with BlocksSTM to increase throughput.
- Flexible and simple Move language for custom smart contracts, security, and audit.
- Modular design where changes are introduced to individual nodes.
- Logical data model where resources cannot be discarded.
- Concurrent execution of all key stages of the transaction.
- Structured path to add scaling validators.
- Unified state sharing to boost validators’ performance.
From an architectural standpoint, Aptos chain is a set of validators that receive and process transactions using Byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) and Proof of Stake (PoS). Holders stake tokens in validators. Voting consensus power depends on the stake amount. Validators can be active and inactive. It’s noteworthy that Google Cloud runs a validator. Clients can be full nodes or light. Full node clients replicate transactions and blockchain state, while light clients (e.g., wallets) only maintain the current set of validators.
