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

Overview

Waves at a glance.

Waves is a Layer 1 blockchain that launched in 2016, built so that users can issue their own tokens and developers can build applications. It uses a Leased Proof of Stake consensus and its own smart contract language called Ride. Here is how it works and what it is used for, not the price.

Total value locked (DeFi)

$7.0M

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

Native token

WAVES

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

How it works

How Waves works.

Waves uses Leased Proof of Stake, a variant of Proof of Stake. Full nodes stake WAVES to produce blocks, and holders who do not run a node can lease their WAVES to a node to increase its chances of being chosen, sharing in the rewards without giving up control of their tokens. The leased coins never leave the holder's wallet, so leasing is non-custodial.

Consensus: Leased Proof of Stake (LPoS)

Waves uses Leased Proof of Stake, a variant of Proof of Stake. Full nodes stake WAVES to produce blocks, and holders who do not run a node can lease their WAVES to a node to increase its chances of being chosen, sharing in the rewards without giving up control of their tokens. The leased coins never leave the holder's wallet, so leasing is non-custodial.

Leasing

Holders can lease their WAVES to a block-producing node to boost its chances of forging blocks and earn a share of the rewards, while the coins stay in their own wallet.

Custom tokens

Anyone can issue a custom token on Waves directly from a wallet without writing code, which is one of the network's original features.

Ride contracts

Smart contracts use Ride, a language designed for Waves that avoids loops so that execution cost is predictable and the contract cannot run indefinitely.

Waves-NG

The Waves-NG protocol splits block production into a key block and frequent micro-blocks, which lets transactions confirm in a few seconds within the roughly one minute block interval.

Ecosystem & usage

What Waves is used for.

Waves is used to issue tokens, build applications, and stake or lease WAVES to secure the network.

DefiLlama

Issuing tokens

Users create custom tokens on Waves from a wallet, without needing to deploy contract code, for projects and applications.

Building applications

Developers write smart contracts in Ride to build decentralized applications that run on the Waves base layer.

Leasing and staking

Holders lease WAVES to a block-producing node or run their own node to help secure the network and earn rewards.

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In Zypto App

Hold, swap and spend WAVES.

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

Hold WAVES in Zypto How to buy WAVES

Be the reason Waves ships next.

Waves 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.

What is Waves used for?

Waves is a Layer 1 blockchain used to issue custom tokens, build applications with smart contracts, and stake or lease its native WAVES token to secure the network.

How does Waves reach consensus?

Waves uses Leased Proof of Stake, where full nodes stake WAVES to produce blocks and other holders can lease their WAVES to a node to share in rewards while keeping the coins in their own wallet.

What is the Ride language?

Ride is the smart contract language built for Waves. It is designed to avoid loops so that contract execution has a predictable cost and cannot run indefinitely, which suits financial applications.

What is leasing on Waves?

Leasing lets a holder assign their WAVES to a block-producing node to increase its chance of forging blocks and earn a share of the rewards, without transferring the coins out of their wallet.

Can I hold WAVES in Zypto App?

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

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