Aventus Protocol (Founded in 2016) is a layer-2 Blockchain protocol that brings scalability, lower costs, and speed to Ethereum transactions.

It is a Blockchain solution that combines the scale and privacy of private Blockchains with the security and independence of public chains. It solves issues with scalability by taking transaction processing off-chain and uses cutting-edge ‘zero-knowledge proofs’ for Privacy. The ultimate goal of the Aventus Protocol is to improve standardization, trust, and Security across value chains. It does this while lowering costs, reducing friction, and generating entirely new asset services.^[1][2][3][4]

On February 10, 2022, Aventus announced that its native utility token (AVT) has been listed on the leading crypto international exchange Coinbase, marking a significant breakthrough for the Aventus Network, opening up the purchasing and selling of AVT to Coinbase’s 73 million registered users.^[27]

Aventus network history

The original Aventus vision was to build an open ticketing standard on Ethereum, which was developed to provide greater control and oversight to ticket rights-holders and other value-chain participants over their inventory.

While Ethereum’s inherent security standards and independence from corporate interest presented the perfect platform for the Aventus solution, the lack of scalability and anonymity meant that it did not meet the enterprise-grade needs within the ticketing industry.

At the time, it was assumed that when a version of Aventus was released publicly, these issues would not have practical relevance anymore, since a solution was expected to exist in the Ethereum ecosystem to combat these concerns.

As it happens, at the Beta release of Aventus in May 2018 (over a year after the development of the concept had begun), these issues were still unresolved on Ethereum, and there were no other commercially viable solutions that could be leveraged as an alternative. It then became clear that the scope of, and proposed architecture presented in, the original white paper was insufficient for servicing enterprise-level ticketing clients. Therefore, the teams working on Aventus had to increase the scope of the project, and realize their solution for domain-specific scalability and anonymity.

During the development process, a Proof-of-authority-based Layer 2 Solution that preserved the security and independence of Ethereum while incorporating the scale benefits and privacy of permissioned Blockchain, was conceived and built: the Aventus Network.

The universally applicable and open-ended nature of the new Aventus Network also provided opportunities to expand into other markets. Aventus expanded its reach to any industry concerned with both fungible and non-fungible digital assets, not just tickets. This range included, but was not limited to:

• Financial assets

• Vouchers and gift cards

• Loyalty points

• Virtual goods

• Collectibles (i.e. games).

Aventus Protocol Foundation (APF) and it's Core Team Members

The Aventus Protocol Foundation is a not-for-profit entity that owns the intellectual property of the Aventus protocol and governs the Aventus ecosystem. It uses the funds received from the token sale that took place in September 2017 to allocate grants for the development of the protocol and ecosystem. It also holds 19% of AVT earmarked for grants to further the adoption of the Aventus technology once launched.

The Protocol's core team includes:

Overview

Founded in 2016 by Annika Monari and Alan Vey, the Aventus protocol is a layer-2 Blockchain protocol that brings scalability, lower costs, and speed to Ethereum (ETH) transactions. It enables Digital asset issuance, management, and ownership, bringing the scale of permission-ed Blockchain and the security and interoperability of public Blockchain — without the shortcomings of either.

The protocol's token Avent ("AVT") is key to enforcing its economic model. Its purpose is to reward participants for providing value (e.g. voting on the legitimacy of events, buying tickets, promoting events, and matching buyers and ticket resellers). ^[6]

By August 2019, the teams had completed Aventus Classic — the purely Ethereum-based Aventus protocol that satisfied the bulk of the original whitepaper. However, because Ethereum had not solved outstanding issues, the solution could only serve a scale of around 100 tickets per second. Therefore, the teams working on the Aventus project had to develop their solution to combine the strengths of public and private Blockchains without their weaknesses.

Today, Aventus is an open, Decentralized protocol that revolutionizes the way Digital assets are issued, owned, and transferred across the Value chain. The Aventus Protocol derives security and independence from open, independent Blockchain networks.

It is the generality of the Aventus Protocol that resulted in the growth of the potential market to include any fungible or non-fungible digital asset beyond just tickets. That is why the new Aventus Protocol opens up a market for physical goods and supply chains, Financial assets, vouchers, and Gift cards. As well as loyalty points, Virtual goods, Collectable and more.  ^[7][8]

Initially, one of the main objectives of Aventus is to de-silo the event ticketing industry in a Decentralized manner, allowing ticketing applications and promoters to automatically sell tickets for other events and gain commissions for doing so. This enables event organizers to reach a wider audience. The Protocol is intended to make purchasing tickets more transparent and selling them more profitable for an artist or venue. The protocol creates a unique identity for each ticket that is then stored on a Public Blockchain. Each transaction involving the ticket is likewise recorded publicly.^[9][10]

Today, the Aventus Protocol can scale to thousands of transactions per second and is completely GDPR compliant. In its current state, it preserves key components of Decentralization, with certain elements made open source. A future, full-release will be entirely Decentralized and wholly open source.

It is an Ethereum (ETH)-based ticketing protocol designed to alleviate fraud and ticketing in the event ticketing industry. ^[11]

The Aventus Protocol was used for some of the tickets sold for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. ^[12]

The protocol’s key functions:

A Layer 2 solution:

The Aventus Protocol is what is known as a ‘Layer 2 Solution’. This means that it is built on top of an existing public Blockchain network, in this case, Ethereum (ETH). This layer 2 Solution processes transactions ‘off-chain’. The purpose of this is to solve the scalability problems of Ethereum while maintaining the benefits of security and independence.

Off-chain processing allows the Aventus Protocol to more quickly verify transactions while still benefiting from the security of the public Ethereum Blockchain. The processing is handled by Aventus Nodes, which batch transactions together before making them public. This means the Aventus Protocol can process transactions faster than a public Blockchain, while still preserving the properties of Ethereum where transnational information is made public.

This is where Zero-knowledge proof comes in. ^[13]

Zero-knowledge proofs and Sigma protocol for privacy:

The Aventus Protocol leverages Zero-knowledge proof (ZKPs) to address the problem of privacy on the Ethereum Blockchain. The goal is to prove a statement without leaking extra information. ZKP lets the user prove they know something about someone without actually revealing the information. The term ‘zero knowledge’ originates from the fact that zero information about the secret is revealed, but the second verifier is rightfully convinced that the first party holds the information.

On the Aventus Protocol, ZKPs are used to protect the privacy of transactions and add another layer of security. By employing this system, the protocol allows users to transact assets secretly, while still ensuring that all transactions can be validated on the Blockchain. ^[14]

Features and benefits of the Aventus Protocol

• <strong>Enforceable business logic around assets</strong>: Aventus lets businesses enforce parameters around what others can do with the assets, giving them greater control throughout the asset lifecycle.
• <strong>Standardization of digital asset ownership and redemption</strong>: Aventus makes it easy to see who owns an asset, and when and where they redeemed it.
• Communication with the asset owner throughout the life of the digital asset so organizations can build deeper relationships with customers.
• <strong>Better distribution networks</strong>: Aventus lets businesses build better distribution networks more easily with greater oversight.
• <strong>Fraud & secondary market control</strong>: Aventus gives those who create digital assets the power to control them on the secondary market, too.
• <strong>Richer data sets</strong>: The world runs on data. With Aventus, asset issuers can analyze the performance of any given asset over time by checking information. The Aventus Protocol opens digital assets up to more insightful analytics. ^[15]

Network Architecture

The Aventus Protocol is split into three tiers, each of which is responsible for different functions of the network:

• Tier 1: where the Aventus Protocol interacts with the Ethereum Blockchain.

• Tier 2: where initial verification and transaction processing take place.

• Tier 3: where third parties create mobile and web applications that use the Aventus Protocol. ^[16]

These three tiers, when combined, deliver fully on Scalability, security, privacy, and independence.

Tier 1 — Ethereum Blockchain:

A fully Decentralized public Blockchain is a key attribute of Tier 1 as it delivers the highest degree of security and independence. For this purpose, the Aventus Protocol uses the Ethereum Blockchain. Tier 1 is what is known as the ‘open Blockchain adjudication layer’. It is here that the data regarding asset transfers on the Aventus Protocol is posted publicly to the Ethereum Blockchain. This allows the existence, ownership, and transfer of an asset to be checked and proven at any time. It also allows fraudulent activity to be easily challenged and prevented. Finally, it is in Tier 1 that network governance is determined this determines the ‘business logic’ of the protocol, i.e. how the network operates and evolves. ^[17]

Tier 2 — The Aventus Network Layer:

The Tier 2 layer deals with the initial verification and processing of transactions. It is where asset management platforms send transactions for processing by Aventus Nodes. Aventus network nodes will function much like existing Blockchain networks today (e.g. Ethereum, Ripple, etc.).

Tier 2 is the Aventus layer. It is here that the nodes process and verify private transactions before being posted publicly to the Ethereum Blockchain. Tier 2 also connects Tier 1 and Tier 3 allowing for third-party integrations.

Tier 3 — The SaaS and custom implementation layer:

Building on top of the Tier 2 protocol layer is the Tier 3 client application domain, i.e software-as-a-service, web,  Mobile app, etc. Here, third parties can extend upon and monetize the key attributes of Aventus’ Tier 2 solution by developing bespoke solutions for clients operating in Digital asset supply chains.

A key part of Tier 3 is the Aventus SDKs. These tools allow third-party developers to easily create applications that utilize the Aventus Protocol.

Tier 3 is where anyone wishing to build something can interact with the Aventus Protocol. This could include, for example, asset issuer platforms, tech companies, marketing companies, or anyone who sees value. Software developers can use the Aventus development kits to produce all sorts of applications that can benefit from the integration of Blockchain.

Summary of the Three-Tiers

• The Aventus Protocol is structured in 3 tiers.

• Tier 1 creates a public record of asset transfers by adding transaction information to the Ethereum Blockchain.

• This allows assets to easily be tracked and traced at any given moment, and for fraud to be identified and prevented via the audit ability and security of Blockchain.

• In Tier 2, the Aventus network nodes process transactions sent to them from third-party platforms.

• This increases the speed at which transfers can be normally processed on the public Ethereum Blockchain.

• In Tier 3, asset transfer platforms connect with the protocol via software development kits.

• Developers can use these kits to create applications for better asset management by integrating Blockchain. ^[18]

How the Aventus Protocol works

Although digital asset exchange can mean the exchange of practically anything digital, the lifecycle effectively remains the same, and has four main stages:

1. Creation - where an asset is defined
2. Issuance - where units of an asset are issued
3. Transfer - where an asset is transferred
4. Redemption - where an asset is used ^[19]

Asset creation:

For a Digital asset to come into existence, it first needs to be defined. This requires that the asset issuer sets rules around what the asset is and how it can be used. On the protocol, this is known as creating an asset class and is best thought of as creating a type of asset.

When an asset creator creates an asset on the Aventus network, an identifying object is created on the Ethereum Network defining its class (e.g. tickets for a certain show will be the asset class, and each ticket is a single asset in the Aventus Smart contract).

The asset creator must then define a rule set that runs on every transaction.

The creation of the asset class specifies who the issuing parties are using their Public-key. The issuer can grant additional permissions to third parties, allowing them to issue or approve mediated transfers. Importantly, the issuer retains ultimate authority over their assets (unless they choose not to) and can set parameters that allow them to cancel their assets at will.

Asset issuance:

When an issuer creates an asset, they are essentially creating a blank, claimable unit, the transfer of which is governed by the rules they set upon asset creation.

They can then easily distribute the asset to third-party vendors — or directly to customers. At this stage, issuers set any Zero-knowledge proof required around proving the ownership or knowledge of sensitive data required to own or transfer the asset.

When a transaction takes place, it is posted to the Aventus Nodes which validate the proof and Authenticity and check any other rules concerning the ticket and its transfer. If everything checks out, the transaction is batched together with others in a Merkle tree, and the Merkle tree is posted on the Ethereum Blockchain.

• This allows asset issuers to have oversight over who is transacting their assets and how.
• It also lets issuers set privacy terms concerning the assets transfer and ownership using Zero-knowledge proof.

Asset transfer:

Asset transfer works in much the same way as asset issuance, the only difference is that the transfer takes place from Peer-to-peer, and does not directly involve the issuer.

When the current owner initiates a transfer, they sign the transaction with their private key, proving their ownership of their assets.

The recipient associates their public key with the asset and generates any Zero-knowledge proof required to acquire ownership of the asset. This is then sent to the Aventus Nodes where transfer rules are checked and the transaction is processed as before.

The Aventus Protocol allows assets to be transferred Peer-to-peer, without the involvement of the issuer, while still upholding the issuer’s rules regarding their assets. This protects the issuer’s assets from things like price inflation, and dramatically reduces exposure to fraud and manipulation. It also drastically reduces administration efforts associated with monitoring and controlling how assets are transferred.

Asset redemption:

In some cases, such as ticketing and loyalty schemes, assets cannot be transferred indefinitely and must be used, redeemed, or eventually expire.

On the Aventus Protocol, asset redemption is seen as a ‘special transfer case’. When creating the asset type, an issuer will specify whether the asset is redeemable. In this case, a specific ‘redemption address’ is created on the Blockchain. Once transferred to this address, the asset is irretrievable and considered spent.

• Asset redemption allows asset owners to use their assets.

• By using a special ‘redemption address’, issuers can be sure that owners are not duplicating or reusing their assets.

A Summary of the Four Stages

The Aventus Protocol allows asset issuers to create new assets with their own customized, uncompromising rules. These rules govern how assets are sold, transferred, and redeemed no matter who owns the asset at any given moment. This means issuers no longer need to spend needless time on administration and can easily understand where their assets are in their lifecycle. It also protects both owners and issuers from the costs of price inflation, duplication, and fraud. The Aventus Protocol also creates a perpetual line of communication between the asset issuer and the current owner. This means that issuers can allow third parties to redistribute their assets without losing the vital relationship with those that buy their products.  ^[20][21]

The AVT token

AVT is the Aventus native token, It is used in the Aventus Proof-of-stake-based layer-2 solution for achieving scalability, speed, and cost-effectiveness on the public Ethereum network by aligning the economic Incentive of participants.

“THE FUEL OF THE AVENTUS ECOSYSTEM”

It is key to enforcing its economic model. Its purpose is to reward participants for providing value (e.g. voting on the legitimacy of events, buying tickets, promoting events, and matching buyers and ticket resellers).

In the Aventus case, the AVT is a ‘nuclear deterrent.’ Malicious actors can’t harm the network without harming their stake in it. What harms the Hive, harms the bee.No other tokens would work because it would not have a proportional relationship with the utility of the Aventus network. This is comparable to a nuclear deterrent because users can not send a nuclear attack without getting attacked in return. Only those staking AVT can damage the network. In doing so, they thereby damage themselves. For that reason, attacks should theoretically not occur. What’s more, one would require majority ownership of the network to control it.

AVT is crucial to the operation and maintenance of the protocol, and is used for the following purposes:

• Transactions - to pay for transactions on the Aventus Protocol.
• Registration - to become an Aventus Node.
• Processing - to be the Aventus Node that processes the next Merkle tree and receives the transaction fee reward.
• Voting - to vote on changes to the Aventus Protocol.  ^[22][23]

Transactions:

Transaction fees are payments made to the network to process transactions. Users can elect to pay a higher transaction fee if they want their transactions to be processed ahead of the current queue. Equally, they can pay a lower fee if their transactions do not need to be processed so quickly.

Transaction fees are paid in AVT to the Aventus Nodes that process transactions on the Aventus Protocol. It is easiest to think of transaction fees as a tiny Micropayment to a computer for processing the transaction’s data.

Registration:

To become an Aventus Node, an individual or organization must purchase AVT on the open market and stake it as a registration deposit.

The registration deposit is initially locked in for six months, during which time the node can process transactions and create a Merkle tree. If, after the six months have elapsed, the node has not processed any transactions, the owner can take their stake out of the system. If they have processed transactions, the lockup period is extended by three months after the date of the last Merkle tree they processed. If a published Merkle tree is successfully challenged, the illiquidity period on this registration deposit is increased exponentially, first by three months then six and so on, for every successful challenge. Challengers do not require an AVT deposit to challenge Merkle roots.

A registration deposit (or staking fee) is required to become an Aventus Node. This is to ensure that any node has a stake of value in the network’s utility, dissuading them from committing fraud or staging an attack. The deposit can be reclaimed 3 months following the last transaction a node processes — provided there is no outstanding lock-up period remaining from successful challenges against it.

Processing and validation:

To process transactions and post a Merkle tree on the Ethereum Blockchain, a node must pay a processing deposit.

This deposit is locked up for 12 hours, after which it is released if no successful challenges have been made. This is to ensure a proportional relationship between the number of transactions a node processes, and the value they have locked up in the network. Since the number of transactions processed is directly proportional to the potential damage a node could inflict on the network, locking up the deposit further serves as a deterrent to the node committing fraudulent transactions.

Voting:

To adapt to change, the Aventus Protocol allows users to vote on network governance every 3 months.

No stakes are required to put forward a proposal, however, all votes are weighted by AVT stake (e.g. 1 AVT = 1 Vote). This means that those with a larger AVT holding have a greater say.

Proposals to change Aventus Protocol policies are voted on by any AVT token holder, such that the weight of their vote is proportional to the amount of AVT they own. This means that those who have more invested in the network will have a greater say in how it is governed. This is important because it allows the network to evolve in tandem with how it is used.

Summary of the AVT token

AVT is the Aventus Protocol’s token. It is used to pay the various fees and deposits required to use the Aventus Protocol. The node operators who maintain the protocol are rewarded in AVT for their hard work. The token is also used to determine the weight of someone’s vote when it comes to proposals to update the protocol. AVT is important because it means that those who use the network have a stake in its value, and will therefore do their best to maintain and improve it. ^[24]

Where to buy AVT (Listed Exchanges)

• BingX
• Gate.io
• Coinbase Exchange
•  Bittrex.^[28]

How the token Sale Funds have been distributed

During the Token sale process, we stated that most of the Ether collected would be used to spearhead the development of the protocol and its subsequent adoption. As such, various companies in our ecosystem have been awarded grants to develop the protocol and associated ecosystem. The result of these grants has been:

A. Technology Released:

• Aventus Classic
• Aventus Cloud
• Aventus Network.

B. Transaction Generation:

• Long-term agreements in place with various venues, platforms, and rights holders
• Millions of monthly card linked-reward transactions across the world
• Commodities supply chain use cases

All proceeds remain in APF as a reserve to continue the technology development and transaction generation work. The remaining Ether and AVT from the token sale are in the APF multi-signature wallet.

Users of the Aventus Network

Artos Systems Limited: replaces their slow, manual process with a fast, reliable E-commerce store that generates more business. Clients in precious metals and agriculture sectors.

CashbackAPP network, a card-linked rewards program operating in eight different territories.

Vow Currency: Vow changes the world by breaking the monopoly of centralized currency issuance. Scaling VOW and currency transactions. ^[25]

FanDragon Technologies also uses the Aventus protocol and is spearheading its adoption in ticketing. Clients include Live Nation Entertainment (France): the world’s leading entertainment company, Bringing 40,000 shows and 100+ festivals to life and selling 500 million tickets per year, and Kaboodle: operating events and venues including London’s iconic EDM venues The Printworks and Drumsheds.

live from Media: live streaming production and distribution company doing over 60,000 streams a month, focused on mid-tier artists. ^[26]

Polkadot Parachain slot

Aventus on 2 August 2022, announced it will take part in leasing a slot in Polkadot’s Parachain ecosystem.

This will bring Aventus's long-standing wider ambition to bring scalability, interoperability, speed, and affordability to the blockchain space, to make building on blockchain accessible for businesses. 
Aventus will take part in the auction for slot 26, which will run from 28 August to 4 September.

It then took to its Twitter account on the 5 of September 2022, to announce that it has officially secured its Polkadot Parachain slot by winning Parachain auction 26.^[29][30]

Partnership

• Imperial College London
• Catapult Digital
• Global Blockchain Business Council
• parity
• London and Partners
• Coinshares
• Enterprise Ethereum Alliance
• Bittrex
• Coingecko
• Gate .io^[31]