The distributed ledger blockchain protocol Algorand, coauthored by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Silvio Micali, announced today the project has raised $4 million in seed funding.

The Algorand protocol is an open-source implementation of a blockchain, a distributed ledger technology that can be used to secure transactions and information in a tamper-proof manner. The protocol expands on the same technology that underlies the digital currency bitcoin, but aims to address scaling challenges through efficient and fast consensus between network nodes.

The financing comes from Pillar and Union Square Ventures and Algorand intends to use the money to expand its team, which currently sits at 10 full-time members, and continue to develop the blockchain protocol.

“Just as the strength of the Algorand network comes from the diversity of its participants, the strength of the Algorand community comes from the diversity of its contributors,” Micali said in a statement quoted by CoinDesk. “We are an open community bringing together end users, developers and researchers in cryptography, economics and computer science.”

The blockchain industry has been growing for years and represents a substantial ecosystem being explored by many businesses, including those in financial technology, insurance, healthcare and shipping logistics. Many of these industries implementing blockchains depend not only on the security of the blockchains being used – to protect sensitive information and prevent breaches – but also speed and efficiency.

A report from Global Market Estimates forecast the global blockchain market to reach $12.48 billion by 2025, citing the demand for blockchain technology as it provides transparent and faster processing of transactions between parties. A CB Insights report from October estimated that venture funding for blockchain exceeded $1.2 billion in 2017, with an additional $2 billion from initial coin offerings.

The Algorand blockchain is still in its early stage of development, so much so that its roadmap is not fully fleshed out and there are no details on a launch date or beta testing.

In fact, although the team said it’s “cryptographically committed” to its roadmap, it’s difficult to tell what that means. The roadmap page contains a series of three items with accompanying hexadecimal cryptographic hashes but no explanation of what that means or why it’s meaningful to the protocol.

The Algorand white paper is available for developers and potential users to better understand the protocol. And Micali has also spoken at blockchain and crpytography events describing the protocol’s potential, linked on Algorand’s website.

Image: Algorand