Felipe Rotilho

Ever feel like waiting for a Bitcoin transaction is like standing in a long checkout line at the grocery store? In traditional blockchains like Bitcoin or Ethereum, every transaction from everyone lines up to be processed on one shared chain – essentially one checkout lane for the entire network. This one-lane design can get congested, limiting how fast transactions go through. But what if everyone could have their own checkout lane? In the blockchain world, that’s the idea behind account-chains and parallel ledgers. Instead of one single chain for all transactions, each account maintains its own mini-blockchain. This approach (pioneered by projects like Nano's block-lattice and used by Atto) lets many transactions move forward at once, instead of making unrelated accounts wait for their place in one shared block.

In this post, we’ll break down what account-chains are, how they differ from the classic blockchain model, and why having parallel personal ledgers can make a blockchain much faster and more scalable. We’ll use simple language and analogies – so grab a virtual shopping cart, and let’s explore this multi-lane approach to blockchains!

Most of us have been there: you want to read a single article or use an app for a day, but you’re confronted with a monthly subscription. It’s all-or-nothing — either pay a full month (or more), or miss out. Over time, these subscriptions pile up, draining your wallet for services you might only occasionally use. In this article, we’ll explore why the rigid monthly subscription model frustrates users, and how a new wave of feeless, instant cryptocurrencies could offer a solution.

Update — 20 July 2026: This article was first published on 31 March 2025. Folding@home remains an Atto distribution route, but eligibility, rates, and timing follow the current mining rules. Rewards are variable and separate from Atto's ORV consensus.

We all have them. Those moments when our computer sits there, fans whirring softly, screen perhaps dark, doing... well, nothing useful. That powerful machine, capable of complex calculations and rendering stunning visuals, is just waiting. But what if that idle power could be harnessed for something truly meaningful? And what if those contributions could qualify for an Atto reward?

Enter Atto. You might already be familiar with cryptocurrencies that boast feeless transactions and near-instant speeds – call them a certain flavor of digital cash. Atto is another iteration on the block lattice introduced by the brainiac Colin LeMahieu, building on those principles but with a fresh start.

We’re excited to announce the official release of the Web Wallet! The wallet has been available on desktops for some time, and we initially planned to release it on Android and iOS next. However, after conducting some market research, we learned that many people are cautious about installing unknown software—especially for cryptocurrencies.

In hindsight, this was a strategic oversight on our part. While we completely understand those concerns now, it never crossed our minds during the original development plan. As a result, we decided to change our approach and launch a web-based wallet.

We’re thrilled to announce the official launch of the Atto Explorer, your gateway to uncovering everything the Atto blockchain has to offer. With Atto Explorer, navigating block data, transaction histories, and network stats is now easier than ever. Whether you’re a crypto enthusiast, developer, or just curious about the technology, Atto Explorer opens the door to a transparent and accessible blockchain experience.

Event ended: This is the original announcement for a time-limited giveaway that began on 25 November 2024. The 24-hour faucet boost and seven-day contribution-reward boost have ended. For current contribution criteria, see Reward for Contributions.

We're excited to announce a special Giveaway event starting today! For a limited time, you have the chance to earn significantly more Atto units through our faucet and reward program. Here's everything you need to know to maximize your earnings.

Hello, everyone!

I'm Felipe, and I want to share a bit of my journey with you. A couple of years ago, before I set out to build Atto, I was a strong believer in what cryptocurrency originally aimed to achieve—fast, decentralized, accessible digital cash for everyone, without the need for intermediaries. But somewhere along the way, it felt like much of the crypto community lost sight of that vision. Instead of "let's make digital cash work," the conversation shifted to "what's the next moonshot?" That's when I thought, "How hard could it be to create a cryptocurrency that just works for payments?"

Spoiler alert: It's really hard. What started as a fun little project to tinker with in my free time quickly evolved into something much bigger—something that I thought could be finished in a year but has kept me on my toes for much longer. The process of creating a new cryptocurrency is like peeling an endless onion—every time you think you've figured it out, there's another layer waiting for you. A lot of things needed to come together to make this work: the code, the security, the ecosystem, and the community. It turned out to be more challenging than I'd ever imagined.

If you've ever heard about Atto and Nano, you might wonder, "Is Atto just a fork of Nano?" It's a fair question! After all, Atto and Nano share many of the same goals and even some design ideas, so it's easy to see why people make that assumption.

But here's the key thing: Atto is not a direct fork of Nano; it’s a unique project built from scratch, even though it draws plenty of inspiration from Nano.

In this post, we'll explain how Atto relates to Nano, what makes it different, and why it was created as a new project. For the current specification, see Atto protocol details and assumptions.

When I first wrote about ATTO's path to decentralisation, I believed distribution would do much more of the work. Put ATTO in more hands, reward participation, and people would have a reason to run voters or delegate to independent representatives. As the network grew, I expected voting weight to spread with it.

That was the idea. It sounded reasonable at the time. I was wrong about how much distribution could achieve on its own.

The releases reached more people, but they also kept putting ATTO into a market with limited demand. Recipients could sell what they received, and recurring releases created strong sell pressure. Wider distribution by itself did not give the network durable demand or a more independent voting network.