What is Chia? How It Works & Where to Use It

Overview

Chia at a glance.

Chia was created by Bram Cohen, the author of the BitTorrent protocol, and its mainnet went live in March 2021. Rather than rewarding raw processing power, it rewards participants who set aside storage space. Here is how it works and what it is used for, not the price.

Total value locked (DeFi)

n/a

Value locked in DeFi protocols on Chia. Updated Jun 8, 2026. Source: DefiLlama.

Native token

XCH

Used for fees and securing the network. See the live XCH price.

How it works

How Chia works.

Participants called farmers allocate disk space by storing large files known as plots. The network issues challenges, and a farmer who holds a matching proof of space can win the right to add the next block. A second component, proof of time, comes from timelords running a verifiable delay function, which paces block production and guards against manipulation. Combining the two ties security to allocated storage rather than electricity use.

Consensus: Proof of Space and Time

Participants called farmers allocate disk space by storing large files known as plots. The network issues challenges, and a farmer who holds a matching proof of space can win the right to add the next block. A second component, proof of time, comes from timelords running a verifiable delay function, which paces block production and guards against manipulation. Combining the two ties security to allocated storage rather than electricity use.

Plots

A plot is a large file of pre-computed data written to a hard drive. The more plotted space a farmer holds, the higher the chance of winning a block.

Farming

Farming is the act of responding to network challenges with stored proofs. It replaces mining and runs on existing storage rather than dedicated hardware.

Timelords

Timelords run a verifiable delay function to produce proofs of time. This keeps blocks arriving at a steady pace and adds the time element to consensus.

Halvings

The block reward is reduced on a schedule, with cuts every three years, gradually slowing the rate at which new XCH enters circulation.

Ecosystem & usage

What Chia is used for.

Chia supports a smart-transaction layer called Chialisp, and the project has positioned itself toward storage-based participation and asset issuance.

Storage-based participation

Anyone with spare disk space can farm XCH, which lowers the hardware barrier compared with networks that need specialized mining rigs.

Programmable transactions

Chialisp lets developers attach conditions to coins, supporting custom assets and on-chain logic.

Value transfer

XCH can be sent between accounts as the native unit used to pay for transactions on the network.

In Zypto App

Hold, swap and spend XCH.

Chia is integrated in Zypto App. Hold XCH in self-custody, swap it to any supported asset, and use it across Zypto’s features.

Hold XCH in Zypto How to buy XCH

Be the reason Chia ships next.

Chia isn’t in Zypto App yet. Post the request to your followers, chains with the most demand get prioritised.

Request on X

FAQ

Common questions.

How is Chia different from Bitcoin mining?

Chia secures the network with allocated disk space rather than computation. Participants farm by storing data, which uses far less energy than proof-of-work mining.

What are plots and farming?

Plots are large files written to a drive. Farming is responding to the network challenge with a stored proof, and farmers with more plotted space win blocks more often.

Who created Chia?

Chia was founded by Bram Cohen, the inventor of the BitTorrent protocol, and its mainnet launched in March 2021.

What is proof of time?

Proof of time is generated by timelords running a verifiable delay function. It paces block production and prevents a farmer from rushing ahead of the network.

Can I hold XCH in Zypto App?

Not yet. XCH isn't in Zypto App at the moment. You can hold it in any self-custodial wallet, and you can ask us to add Chia using the "Request Chia" button above.

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