What Telos Foundation does

Telos Foundation is an ownerless nonprofit foundation incorporated under U.S. governing law and headquartered in the Cayman Islands, founded in 2018, operating the Telos blockchain ecosystem. The foundation supports a dual-layer network comprising Telos Zero (a DPoS/aBFT consensus layer with 21 active block producers and 0.5-second blocks) and Telos EVM (an EVM-compatible execution layer claiming 15,000+ TPS, $0.01 gas, and 4,000 complex swaps per second), plus a zero-knowledge Privacy Layer built on zkBob architecture and accessed via zkWallet. The TLOS token was distributed without an ICO or VC funding, has 442M circulating supply of a 466M total, with 180M staked and EVM gas fees burned monthly to create deflationary pressure.

The ecosystem spans core products (Telos EVM, Telos Zero, SNARKtor for recursive proof aggregation, zkWallet), add-on modules (Telos Decide governance engine, Telos Works funding mechanism, Telos Amend document amendment, Telos Login), and sub-products (Teloswap DEX, Telos Bridge via LayerZero, Teloscan and Telos Zero Explorer). Strategic integrations include canonical Uniswap v3 deployment (Chain ID 40), LI.FI cross-chain routing, and LayerZero messaging. Revenue mechanics are token-denominated: EVM gas fees and privacy pool fees (0.2% + minimum base) are burned rather than captured by the foundation; Telos Decide charges per ballot/treasury/committee/archive; Telos Works imposes a 5% proposal fee; Telos Amend charges per document/proposal. The foundation generates no disclosed traditional revenue and is sustained by its nonprofit mandate rather than enterprise sales.

Go-to-market is product-led and community-led: self-serve developer onboarding via docs.telos.net, web wallets, Teloswap, and zkWallet requires no sales contact; DPoS governance allows TLOS holders to vote block producers and participate in proposals; distribution is global through browser-based interfaces, Discord, Telegram, GitHub, and X. Customer segments are DeFi users and protocols, GameFi users, EVM developers, privacy-conscious users, and governance participants, served through 100+ ecosystem dApps. The foundation is currently developing a hardware-accelerated Ethereum L2 powered by SNARKtor and has a geographic restriction list excluding several jurisdictions, including specific U.S. states.

Name

Telos Foundation

Legal name

Telos Foundation

Website

https://telos.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Telos Foundation operates the Telos blockchain ecosystem — a DPoS network combining Telos EVM (15,000+ TPS, $0.01 gas), Telos Zero consensus, and a zero-knowledge Privacy Layer with zkWallet — serving DeFi, GameFi, developers, and privacy-conscious users through 100+ dApps.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blockchain Infrastructure

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Layer 1 Base Protocols & Consensus (execution, consensus, security, clients) (FSAPAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Smart Contract Developer Platforms & Tooling (SDKs, APIs, frameworks, indexing) (FSAPAAAH), Protocol Security, Monitoring & Risk Tooling (audits, formal verification, analytics) (FSAPAAAL)

Keywords

• Blockchain infrastructure
• EVM-compatible smart contracts
• Zero-knowledge privacy
• Decentralized governance
• Cross-chain bridging

Headquarters

HQ city

George Town

HQ country

Cayman Islands

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. EVM Gas Fees: Transaction fees collected from EVM usage are burned monthly, tying network usage back to TLOS token deflation.
2. Privacy Transaction Fees: Fees from private transactions fund privacy network operation. TLOS Pool: 5 TLOS minimum base fee + 0.2% transaction fee. USDC Pool: $0.20 minimum fee + 0.2% transaction fee. Margins drive token burning.
3. Telos Decide Service Fees: Voting: Free, Ballots: 10 TLOS per ballot, Treasuries: 500 TLOS per treasury, Committees: 100 TLOS per committee, Archival: 1 TLOS per day.
4. Telos Works Proposal Fee: 5% proposal fee on total requested funds to submit community funding proposals. Refunded if proposal receives sufficient participation and positive support.
5. Telos Amend Service Fees: New Document: 50 TLOS, New Proposal: 10 TLOS. Fees adjustable by block producer multisig or community referendum.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Telos Foundation operates a decentralized blockchain ecosystem consisting of Telos EVM (a high-performance, EVM-compatible smart contract execution layer with 15,000+ TPS and 0.5-second blocks), Telos Zero (a DPoS consensus layer with aBFT finality for staking, governance, and block production), and a Telos Privacy Layer (zero-knowledge proof-based shielded TLOS and USDC transactions via zkWallet). It also offers cross-chain bridging (LayerZero), a DEX (Teloswap), governance tooling (Telos Decide, Telos Works, Telos Amend), developer APIs/SDKs, block explorers, and the SNARKtor recursive proof aggregation protocol, all centered on the TLOS utility token.

Product overview

Telos Foundation offers a multi-chain blockchain ecosystem consisting of Telos EVM (high-performance Ethereum Virtual Machine with 15K TPS), Telos Zero (native consensus layer with DPoS/aBFT), and Telos Privacy Layer (zero-knowledge powered privacy). The ecosystem includes governance tools (Telos Decide, Telos Works, Telos Amend), developer tools (SDKs, APIs, block explorers), DeFi infrastructure (Teloswap DEX, Telos Bridge via LayerZero), and the zkWallet for private transactions. SNARKtor provides decentralized proof aggregation for scalability. The TLOS token serves as the native utility token for fees, staking, and governance across all layers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Telos EVM: The world's fastest Ethereum Virtual Machine - a bespoke, fully EVM-compatible blockchain capable of over 15,000 transactions per second.
• Telos Zero
• zkWallet
• Teloswap
• SNARKtor
• Telos Decide
• Telos Bridge

Products and services

• Telos EVM A high-performance, fully EVM-compatible blockchain capable of over 15,000 transactions per second and 4,000 complex swaps per second, with 0.5-second blocks and $0.01 gas. Built for Solidity developers deploying DeFi, games, NFTs, and on-chain services.
• Telos Zero The native network and L0/L1 consensus layer of Telos that anchors staking, governance, and block production. Uses DPoS consensus with aBFT finality and 21 active producers, enabling sub-second finality.
• zkWallet Reference wallet application for the Telos Privacy Layer. Enables private TLOS and USDC transfers with encrypted memos, batch multi-transfers, and shielded balances built on zero-knowledge proof technology.
• SNARKtor Decentralized recursive proof aggregation protocol that combines multiple zero-knowledge transaction proofs into a single proof, enhancing blockchain scalability, efficiency, and security for mainstream zero-knowledge adoption.
• Telos Decide Open-source governance engine for building DAOs on Telos Zero. Provides secure ballot hosting, advanced voting methods, custom token treasuries, committee management, integrated payroll, and traceable vote integrity.
• Teloswap Decentralized exchange interface providing token-swap functionality for the official Uniswap v3 deployment on Telos EVM (Chain ID 40), giving users routing and trading access to Telos-based liquidity pools.
• Telos Bridge Cross-chain bridge powered by LayerZero for transferring tokens, NFTs, and assets between Telos and other blockchains, with optional LI.FI routing for cross-chain liquidity aggregation.
• Teloscan Block explorer for Telos EVM that provides transaction visualization, contract interaction, and network metrics for users and developers.
• Telos Zero Explorer (OBE) Open-source block explorer for the Telos Zero network that visualizes network metrics, manages multi-signature proposals, and supports interactions with smart contracts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,000 TPS with $0.01 gas fees and 0.5 second block time
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• LI.FIcoreTechnology or Integration · 16 March 2026LI.FI provides cross-chain liquidity aggregation protocol for routing token transfers across bridges and DEXs. Developers integrate once with LI.FI to access wide range of liquidity sources and optimal bridging routes.
• UniswapcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 March 2025Uniswap v3 deployment on Telos (Chain ID 40) recognized through Uniswap governance. GFX Labs as deployer. The canonical deployment provides verified contract references for builders and liquidity providers.
• LayerZerocoreTechnology or IntegrationLayerZero powers the Telos Bridge, enabling token, NFT, and asset bridging between Telos and other blockchains through the most trusted and widely used cross-chain messaging protocol.
• zkBobcoreTechnology or IntegrationTelos Privacy Layer leverages zkBob architecture, battle-tested and adapted for the speed and economics of the Telos network for private transactions.
• GFX LabsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGFX Labs deployed the Uniswap v3 contracts on Telos EVM and is recognized as the deployer through Uniswap governance.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fantom Foundation: Operates the Fantom L1 with an EVM-compatible execution layer (Opera) and aBFT consensus. Highly comparable to Telos in architecture (EVM on aBFT, DPoS-style validators, low-fee positioning) and target DeFi use cases.
• Solana Foundation: Operates the Solana L1, which competes directly with Telos EVM on high throughput (sub-second blocks, very low fees) for DeFi, GameFi, and payments use cases. Both target EVM-compatible or EVM-equivalent developer audiences with a focus on consumer-scale dApps.
• Polygon Labs: Operates Polygon PoS and the Polygon zkEVM/Polygon Miden stack, competing with Telos on EVM compatibility, low fees, and ZK-based scaling. Both pursue ZK proof aggregation (SNARKtor vs Polygon's ZK rollup suite) for Ethereum alignment.
• NEAR Foundation: Operates the NEAR Protocol L1, a sharded, EVM-compatible chain (Aurora) with a focus on developer experience and low-cost execution. Comparable to Telos in targeting high-throughput consumer and DeFi applications on an EVM-like environment.
• Algorand Foundation: Operates the Algorand L1 using Pure Proof-of-Stake with instant finality. Comparable to Telos in offering sub-second finality, low fees, and on-chain governance tools for DeFi and enterprise use cases.
• Avalanche Foundation: Runs the Avalanche L1 with an EVM-compatible C-Chain, similar staking/governance economics, and a subnet architecture. Directly comparable as an EVM L1 with high throughput and subnet-driven scaling ambitions.
• Secret Network (SCRT Labs): Operates an L1 with privacy-preserving smart contracts using trusted execution environments and ZK techniques. Comparable to Telos as a smart-contract chain with native private/encrypted transaction capability.
• o1Labs (Mina Foundation): Operates the Mina Protocol, a ZK-focused L1 using recursive proof composition (akin to SNARKtor). Most direct peer in the ZK-recursive-proof scalability thesis that Telos articulates with SNARKtor.

Broad incumbents

• Ethereum Foundation: The original EVM chain and the gravitational center for EVM developers. As the incumbent EVM L1, Ethereum defines the developer tooling and liquidity baseline that Telos EVM must interoperate with (and compete against on fees/speed).

Emerging players

• zkBob: Provides a privacy pool protocol for stablecoin transfers using zero-knowledge proofs. Telos Privacy Layer explicitly leverages zkBob's architecture, making it a direct technology peer and partnership overlap in the privacy-pool space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/HelloTelos
• GitHubgithub.com/telosnetwork

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Telos Foundation