PulseChain: An Innovative Attempt at an Ethereum Hard Fork

PulseChain is a blockchain project based on an Ethereum full-state Hard Fork, aimed at alleviating pressure on the Ethereum network and providing developers with a more cost-effective smart contract platform. The project retains all transaction records, user accounts, and smart contract interaction history from Ethereum.

PulseChain aims to increase the value of the Ethereum network by offloading some of the network's load and reducing gas fees. It adopts a 12-second block time, which is faster than Ethereum's 15 seconds, theoretically providing greater scalability. In terms of consensus mechanism, PulseChain uses a new Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) model, introducing native validator staking, rotation, and reward reduction mechanisms.

As of now, the PulseChain network has 15,893 validator nodes. Anyone can become a validator by staking 32,000,000 native PLS tokens and earn profits from the network transaction fees. The project launched its official version on May 14 this year, having completed the testing of V3 and V4 versions prior.

The founder of PulseChain is Richard Heart, who is also the founder of the HEX project. As an American cryptocurrency entrepreneur, Richard Heart participated in the crowdfunding of Ethereum as early as 2015. He has a large following on social media, but his projects are also controversial; some view them as innovative while others question whether they are Ponzi schemes.

PulseChain employs a unique fundraising mechanism called the "Sacrifice Event." Participants receive token allocations by donating, with no upper limit on the donation amount. Initially, the community donated 670 million for the PLS project and 1 billion for the PLSX project.

PLS is the native token of PulseChain, used for paying network gas fees. The total supply of the token is 135 trillion, with the majority held by an address believed to be controlled by the founder. Validators can earn 75% of transaction fees, while the remaining 25% is burned to reduce the circulating supply. In the future, PLS tokens will also be used for community governance and on-chain voting.

PLSX is the platform token of the PulseX exchange, offering fee discounts and trading incentives. INC is the reward token for staking mining.

The PulseChain ecosystem includes multiple projects:

1. PulseX: Official Decentralized Trading Platform
2. Liquid Loans: Native Over-Collateralized Stablecoin Project
3. Powercity: A small ecosystem that includes features such as staking, cross-chain bridges, and lending.
4. Ph Series: includes Phiat (lending platform), Phamous (perpetual contract exchange), Phux (stablecoin exchange), and Phatty (asset aggregator)

After the launch of the PulseChain mainnet, its Total Value Locked (TVL) quickly reached nearly $500 million, placing it among the top ten in the public blockchain rankings. However, a large portion of the TVL is concentrated on the PulseX platform, where the PLSX-WPLS trading pair occupies a significant share. Recently, some funds have begun to withdraw.

Currently, the PulseChain ecosystem is still primarily dominated by Richard Heart and the HEX community, with most projects being forks of well-known projects on Ethereum. This ecosystem has yet to attract significant venture capital participation and mainly relies on community fundraising. Although a large amount of funds has been raised, it primarily comes from donations in the form of HEX tokens.

The development prospects of PulseChain remain uncertain. On one hand, its rapidly growing TVL and unique community-driven model are noteworthy; on the other hand, the highly concentrated sources of funding and project control have raised some concerns. Investors need to carefully assess risks and opportunities when participating.