XDC Network (XDC) Cryptocurrency: Comprehensive Overview
Core Technology and Blockchain Architecture
XDC Network is an enterprise-grade, open-source and EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain. XDC Network is a hybrid blockchain that has both a private and a public component and is designed to address issues in international trade and finance. XDC Network is a reliable EVM-compatible and Ethereum-competitive Layer 1 blockchain supporting smart-contracts, protocols, and a comprehensive tokenized economy.
The network's architecture combines the transparency of public blockchains with the privacy and control of private networks, enabling enterprises to maintain confidentiality while benefiting from blockchain's inherent security and auditability. Subnets allow users to build their own smaller replica of the XDC mainnet on the XDC Network, validator nodes and all, where the subnet's block headers will periodically publish to the XDC Network mainnet while the block body will be validated on the subnet's decentralized private nodes.
Primary Use Cases and Real-World Applications
XDC Network is a hybrid blockchain streamlining global trade and finance, offering solutions for payments, trade finance, and supply chains. The XDC Network is optimized for trade finance solutions, enabling the tokenization of real-world assets and providing a platform for secure and transparent global trade transactions.
Key application areas include:
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Trade Finance: XDC's hybrid blockchain can streamline processes like letter of credit, invoicing, and supply chain management by making transactions more transparent, reducing fraud, and automating paperwork via smart contracts.
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Real-World Asset Tokenization: XinFin network supports the tokenization of assets, such as real estate, stocks, or commodities, creating digital representations of real-world assets that can be traded on a blockchain.
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Decentralized Finance: XDC Network hosts a diverse range of DeFi applications, including decentralized exchanges (DEXs), lending platforms, and asset tokenization services, driving innovation in the financial sector.
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Cross-Border Payments: The XDC payments ecosystem is growing and includes projects that prioritize compliance with ISO 20022 financial messaging standards, offering near instant settlement for cross-border and regional payments and on/off ramp capabilities.
Founding Team, Key Developers, and Project History
XinFin, a Singapore-based fintech company providing enterprise-grade blockchain solutions for international trade and finance, was established in 2017 by Ritesh Kakkad and Atul Khekade. Kakkad is a serial tech entrepreneur with decades of experience in cloud computing, and Khekade, a computer engineer by training, played the leading role at MonetaGo in creating the first permissioned blockchain network for a consortium of the most prominent Indian banks.
André Casterman, who after spending 20+ years at SWIFT, now serves in a prominent leadership role for the XDC Network and drives innovation by shepherding various network use cases across traditional finance.
Since its origins in 2017, the XDC Network has seen a distributed community of developers, early adopters and advocates serve as champions for the adoption of XDC's blockchain technology. The XDC mainnet went live in 2019. The Foundation was formed in Q2 2021 to support the growth, development and adoption of the XDC Network by collaborating with an informed and active collective of developers, world trade experts and content creators using the network.
Tokenomics: Supply, Distribution, and Mechanics
Total and Circulating Supply
The max supply of XDC is permanently capped at 100 billion tokens. 37.5B XDC were pre-mined at the creation of the mainnet. About 37.7 billion tokens are currently in circulation, with the rest allocated to ecosystem incentives and future releases.
Initial Distribution
With the release of the mainnet, 40% of the total XDC supply was allocated to the founders, community, core team, and advisors of the project, with that initial allocation for this tranche being 15,000,000,000 XDC. With the release of mainnet, 26.67% of the total supply, amounting to 10,000,000,000 XDC was allocated for ecosystem development. With release of mainnet 6.66% of the total supply, amounting to 2,500,000,000 XDC, was allocated for the treasury for the XDC Foundation.
Inflation and Deflation Mechanics
Masternodes create an estimated 86.7 million XDC per year as a reward for validating transactions, which applies an inflationary pressure to the total supply of XDC. As smart contracts execute on the XDC Network a portion of the transaction fees are burned, which applies a deflationary pressure to the total supply of XDC. Eventually the number of XDC burned through smart contract execution will outpace the number of XDC minted through masternode operation, which will cause the XDC Network to become deflationary.
The network's tokenomics also include a 20% fee burn on transactions, gradually reducing supply over time.
Consensus Mechanism and Network Security Model
XDPoS Consensus
The XDC Chain, also known as XinFin Digital Contract, utilizes XinFin Delegated Proof of Stake (XDPoS) to create a highly scalable, secure, permissioned, and commercial-grade blockchain network. This mechanism ensures that transactions are processed quickly and energy-efficiently, with a capacity of approximately 2000 transactions per second.
The XDC Network operates on a unique consensus mechanism called XinFin Delegated Proof of Stake (XDPoS), a hybrid model that combines aspects of Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) and masternodes. Due to the high threshold to become a Masternode (staking 10 million XDC), token holders can delegate their XDC tokens to validators of their choice. This approach promotes decentralization while maintaining efficiency, as a limited number of masternodes handle the validation process.
Masternode Structure
As of Jan 6, 2025, there are 300+ XDC Network validator masternode candidates, of which 108 actively operate as validator masternodes, and the remainder operate as standby masternodes. Each masternode operator is required to stake 10M XDC.
XDC 2.0 Upgrade
In Q4 2024, the XDC mainnet successfully upgraded to XDC 2.0. XDC 2.0 incorporates the theoretical maximum Byzantine fault tolerance security and novel forensics monitoring system into the consensus mechanism. Developed by an expert protocol team led by Professor Pramod Viswanath from Princeton University, XDC 2.0's cutting-edge compliance technology ensures unprecedented Byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) by holding validators accountable for their actions on an automated yet discretionary basis.
XDC 2.0 requires only a three block finality. With a new block generated every two seconds, maximum security is achieved six seconds after a block is generated, raising the bar substantially for Layer 1 blockchain security.
XDC 2.0 further improves on its earlier version — taking all blockchain security into unprecedented territory — by implementing a systematic forensic monitoring system that includes slashing rogue nodes.
Key Partnerships and Ecosystem Integrations
XDC Network has built strong institutional partnerships with SBI Japan, Deutsche Telekom, Singapore Trade Trust, Archax (UK), Securitize (USA), RAK DAO/DMCC (UAE), and Liqi (Brazil), Mercado Bitcoin (Brazil), and SERPRO (Brazil), making it the most enterprise-integrated blockchain globally.
Strategic Collaborations
Circle launched native USDC and cross-chain transfer protocol (CCTP V2) on the XDC Network, adding another pillar to the network's position in the evolving tokenization landscape.
XDC Ventures, an investment arm within the XDC ecosystem, acquired Contour Network. Contour is a blockchain-based platform for digitized letters of credit, bolstering its status as the premier blockchain in trade finance.
The integration with LayerZero has enabled cross-chain interoperability across 125+ blockchains, opening up massive new markets and developer opportunities.
In a strategic move to strengthen its digital asset initiatives, the XDC Network has partnered with Deutsche Telekom as an infrastructure provider. This partnership focuses on enhancing the network's capabilities in real-world asset tokenization and improving overall infrastructure support. By leveraging Deutsche Telekom's expertise, the XDC Network aims to create a more robust environment for digital asset management and transaction processing.
Trade Finance Recognition
XDC Network was the first blockchain to join the Global TFD Initiative - a consortium of major global financial institutions and leading service providers.
Competitive Advantages and Unique Value Proposition
Enterprise-Grade Infrastructure
The XDC Network is purpose-built for enterprise use cases, offering a scalable and secure infrastructure for tokenization, decentralized finance (DeFi), and other blockchain-based applications. Its hybrid architecture combines the strengths of public and private blockchains, ensuring compliance and adaptability for businesses.
ISO 20022 Compliance
The highly important global financial messaging ISO 20022 standard works effortlessly on the XDC Network because of its smart contract capability, speed, scalability, low transaction fee, and high security — enabling an advanced instant settlement solution that allows digital assets to be included in a message's payload.
Energy Efficiency
It has been reported that the entire global XDC Network uses 7400 kilowatt-hours (kWh), less electricity than the average US household uses each year. XDC Network is equipped with the ability to process transactions efficiently, while remaining cost effective, requiring approx. 1/100th the cost of Ethereum's transactions.
Developer Compatibility
The XDC Network is fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), enabling developers to migrate projects from Ethereum-based networks with ease. This reduces development time and costs.
Current Development Activity and Roadmap Highlights
Recent Developments
The XDC Network integrated institutional-grade compliance into its blockchain through a collaboration with CRYMBO, bringing native support for key compliance features such as the FATF Travel Rule and KYC/AML.
In 2025, XDC Network, along with Archax, Verseprop, Spitfire Group and Daizun, successfully tokenized a commercial real estate finance transaction on-chain. This marked a milestone in the tokenization of real world assets on the XDC Network.
Accelerator Programs
XDC Foundation led the second Plug and Play RWA Accelerator through a competitive selection process, which progressed into multiple integrations by high-performing startups. These integrations kicked off an ongoing initiative to unlock new pathways for onboarding RWA projects, deepen liquidity, and drive real on-chain demand on XDC.
Future Roadmap
Future plans include expanding support for CBDCs, enhancing privacy layers for enterprise use cases through XDC Subnet, and onboarding more financial institutions into the validator set.
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