Token Description & Project Background

Fantom is designed to cater to developers who want to be able to replicate their smart contract creation/deployment efforts on Ethereum – only faster and less expensively – by way of FANTOM's proprietary OPERA CHAIN. It’s said to be uniquely designed for processing blocks on a large scale, as opposed to one at a time (as with the Ethereum and Bitcoin networks).

Fantom uses a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) node community consensus-reaching approach considered more energy efficient than Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus protocols associated with ETH and BTC.

It has modeled itself on the Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG), using the core DAG architecture as a means to overcome slow transaction speeds and high fees found on Ethereum. 

The FANTOM platform adopts a new protocol known as the “Lachesis Protocol,” a DAG-based asynchronous non-deterministic algorithm that runs the Opera mainnet of Fantom. The main purpose of Opera mainnet is to enable the use of smart contracts through Ethereum's EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine). The Opera mainnet launched in 2019.

Fantom (FTM) is the Fantom network’s native asset. It powers the network, is used for staking, to pay network fees, and for governance. 

Fantom was created by the Fantom Foundation, led by Michael Kong.

Risks of FTM

Like an investment in other crypto assets, there are some general risks to investing in FTM. These include:  (i) volatility risk and liquidity risk, (ii) short history risk, (iii) demand risk, (iv) forking risk, (v) code defects, (vi) regulatory risk, (vii) electronic trading risk, and (viii) cyber security risk. For additional information of these and other general risks associated with crypto assets and Uphold’s platform, please refer to the Risks Specific to Holding Digital Assets statement.

In addition to these general risks, an investment in FTM is subject to the following specific risks:

• Many competing layer-2 scaling solutions have entered the market since Fantom’s launch in 2019. Any potential success associated with FTM depends on Fantom’s rate of adoption.

We emphasize that this Crypto Asset Statement is not an exhaustive description or summary of all risks associated with FTM. Investors should conduct their own research and perform their own assessment before trading any crypto asset to determine the appropriate level of risk for their personal circumstances.

The FTM community and Fantom Foundation are not under any legal or regulatory obligation to disclose material information to the public regarding its activities. Holders of FTM have no recourse to the FTM community, Fantom Foundation, or Uphold if FTM declines in value for any reason.

Changes to applicable law may adversely affect the use, transfer, exchange, or value of any of your crypto assets, and such changes may be sudden and without notice.

Uphold’s Evaluation Process

Prior to listing FTM on the Uphold Platform, Uphold performed due diligence on FTM and determined that FTM is unlikely to be a security or derivative under relevant securities legislation. Uphold’s analysis including reviewing publicly available information on the following: 

• The creation, governance, usage, and design of FTM, including ensuring the source code is open-source, audited and peer reviewed, security, and roadmap for growth in the developer community. 
• The supply, demand, maturity, utility, and liquidity of FTM.
• Any marketing materials put forward by the FTM social team including on, Twitter, Medium blog, LinkedIn posts, Discord and Telegram channels.
• Material technical risks associated with FTM, including any code defects, security breaches and other threats concerning FTM and its supporting blockchain (such as the susceptibility to hacking and impact of forking), or the practices and protocols that apply to them.
• Legal and regulatory risks associated with FTM, including any pending, potential, or prior civil, regulatory, criminal, or enforcement action relating to the issuance, distribution, or use of FTM. 

General

Uphold has prepared this Crypto Asset Statement based on publicly available information. Although Uphold has taken steps to obtain information from apparently reliable sources, information contained in this Crypto Asset Statement may be inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date. This overview is a starting point for you to perform your own research prior to investing in a crypto asset.

Uphold users should read the Risks Specific To Holding Digital Assets statement for additional discussion of general risks associated with crypto assets made available through the Uphold platform.  

Canadian residents, please note that Uphold has filed an application for registration in certain Canadian jurisdictions but has not yet obtained registration. Until such time as Uphold obtains registration, Uphold has agreed to abide by the terms of an undertaking available at the following link. Please also review the Uphold Canada – Crypto Risk Statement for additional discussion of general risks associated with the crypto assets made available through Uphold Platform. Please be aware that statutory rights of action for damages or rescission in section 130.1 of the Securities Act (Ontario) and, if applicable, similar statutory rights under securities legislation in the other provinces and territories of Canada do not apply in respect of this Crypto Asset Statement or other disclosures on the Uphold website and Risks Specific To Holding Digital Assets statement. 

Last updated on June 20, 2023.