The Fantom Foundation's 'What is Fantom?' page describes Fantom as a high-performance smart contract platform. The Etherscan token page describes it as a high-performance, scalable, customizable and secure smart-contract platform. It also calls the network permissionless, decentralized and open-source. CoinMarketCap's guide, dated Feb. 9, 2022, calls it a layer-1 blockchain for decentralized applications (dApps).
Key facts from the cited sources
- Network: A high-performance smart contract platform.
- Type: A layer-1 blockchain for decentralized applications (dApps).
- Consensus: Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT).
- FTM use: Staking, governance, payments and fees (2022 guide).
- Supply: 2,138,153,790.589934657020549375 FTM max total (Etherscan, Oct. 18, 2026 snapshot); 3.175 billion FTM total (2022 guide). Not reconciled.
Analysis: three descriptions, one picture
The three descriptions agree on the core point: Fantom is a smart contract platform for apps. They differ in emphasis. The Foundation stresses high performance, Etherscan adds customization and security, and CoinMarketCap stresses the layer-1 design.
FTM is the token, not the network
Fantom is the network, and FTM is its token. CoinMarketCap says FTM is used for staking, governance, payments and fees. That guide is from 2022, so its list describes that year. A separate explainer covers how staking rewards are paid.
How the network is built
CoinMarketCap says Fantom uses a consensus mechanism called Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT). It says the Fantom Foundation developed Lachesis, the consensus layer. Opera, the first layer built on top of Lachesis, is an EVM-compatible (Ethereum Virtual Machine) smart contract platform.
Analysis: why the layers matter
The split matters for reading the claims. Opera is the smart contract layer above Lachesis. A claim about one layer does not automatically describe the other, so a reader should check which layer a figure covers before comparing it. The guide is a 2022 article, not current technical documentation, so its layer descriptions are attributed, not confirmed.
The Foundation's speed, cost and usage figures
The Foundation's page gives time to finality of ~1s and an average transaction cost below $0.01. It also lists more than 200 app partners, +300 active dApps and 48,692 daily transactions. CoinMarketCap's guide puts finality at one second and says a transaction costs a fraction of a cent. Seven figures, each with its source and status:
Fantom figures and their sources
Which figures come from the project, and which from third parties or live pages?
| Figure | Stated figure | Source | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to finality | ~1s | Fantom Foundation page | Project-stated, undated | Source: What is Fantom? (fantom.foundation), accessed Oct 18, 2026 |
| Average transaction cost | below $0.01 | Fantom Foundation page | Project-stated, undated | Source: What is Fantom? (fantom.foundation), accessed Oct 18, 2026 |
| Active dApps | +300 | Fantom Foundation page | Project-stated, undated | Source: What is Fantom? (fantom.foundation), accessed Oct 18, 2026 |
| App partners | more than 200 | Fantom Foundation page | Project-stated, undated | Source: What is Fantom? (fantom.foundation), accessed Oct 18, 2026 |
| Daily transactions | 48,692 | Fantom Foundation page | Project-stated, undated | Source: What is Fantom? (fantom.foundation), accessed Oct 18, 2026 |
| Max total supply | 2,138,153,790.589934657020549375 FTM | Etherscan token page | Live snapshot, partial read | Source: Fantom Token (FTM) | ERC-20 | Address: 0x4e15361f...873717870 | Etherscan (etherscan.io), accessed Oct 18, 2026 |
| Total supply | 3.175 billion FTM | CoinMarketCap guide | Dated guide, not reconciled | Source: What Is Fantom? A Guide to Fantom's Ecosystem | CoinMarketCap (coinmarketcap.com), accessed Oct 18, 2026 |
Each cell shows the figure as its source states it, and none of the figures has been independently verified.
Analysis: usage counts without a method
The dApp and transaction counts come with no date or method on the page. Without either, they show what the project reports, and the material reviewed has no independent count to check them against.
Two supply figures that do not match
Etherscan's token page gives a max total supply of 2,138,153,790.589934657020549375 FTM. That figure comes from a live snapshot taken Oct. 18, 2026, and the read covered only the first part of the page, so it may have changed. CoinMarketCap's 2022 guide gives a total supply of 3.175 billion FTM. The two figures use different labels. The sources selected do not explain the gap, so neither figure is treated as correct here.
Analysis: what the figures can support
The reading the selected sources support is narrow. The Foundation's speed, cost and usage figures are the project's own statements, so they show what the project reports, not what anyone has measured independently. The supply gap is unresolved, so check the Etherscan page and the project's own material before relying on either supply number.
What these sources do not settle
The Foundation's page is undated. CoinMarketCap's 2022 guide says Fantom has been live since December 2019, and no other selected source gives a launch date. None of these sources shows whether Fantom or FTM is in active use today. Each point above is tied to the date of its source, or to the fact that the source is undated.
Where to check next
Check the Foundation's 'What is Fantom?' page and the Etherscan token page directly. The Etherscan figure is a live value, so compare the date you read it with the Oct. 18, 2026 snapshot date.
Sources: What is Fantom? (fantom.foundation), accessed Oct 18, 2026 · Fantom Token (FTM) | ERC-20 | Address: 0x4e15361f...873717870 | Etherscan (etherscan.io), accessed Oct 18, 2026 · What Is Fantom? A Guide to Fantom's Ecosystem | CoinMarketCap (coinmarketcap.com), accessed Oct 18, 2026
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