What is AB (AB)?
The first blockchain platform Ethereum introduced smart contract technology but was incompatible with other decentralized networks. However, new generations of blockchains have become interoperability-oriented, providing technology that allows decentralized networks to be created and interconnected into a single ecosystem.
What is AB?
The AB Project, formerly also known as NewChain or Newton Project, is a blockchain infrastructure based on smart contract technology launched back in 2018. The creators of the project position their solution as a revolutionary blockchain initiative aimed at transforming the decentralized economy.
AB refers to one of the latest generations of decentralized networks — so-called "heterogeneous" blockchains, which use a new approach to scaling systems. This approach involves combining multiple blockchains working in parallel with each other into a single network. Such blockchains are called interoperable, that is, interoperable decentralized networks. Heterogeneous networks also include such well-known blockchain platforms as Cosmos and Polkadot.
In early 2025, the Newton Project team rebranded and renamed the project AB Project, a move that marked the transition to a more advanced and functional blockchain ecosystem.
After the rebranding, the AB Project team focused on a new direction, namely the quest to unite the digital and real economies through decentralized applications (DApps).
The AB Project team has taken the RWA sphere as its focus and is developing solutions to integrate real-world assets into its blockchain ecosystem. The RWA sphere has become one of the fastest growing segments of the crypto industry in 2024, and as of April 2025, the RWA market size is estimated to be $34.7 billion according to the monitoring service CoinGecko.
How does AB work?
"The heart of the project's ecosystem is the AB MainNet distributed network, which is designed to facilitate smart contracts, fast transaction processing and decentralized administration (DAO).
The AB MainNet network uses a Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus mechanism and is capable of processing up to 5,000 transactions per second (TPS). On the AB blockchain, under the PoA algorithm, network operation is supported by pre-selected and pre-approved validators from the decentralized community.
On top of the AB MainNet runs the Hyper Exchange Protocol, which serves as the infrastructure to support decentralized applications. The Hyper Exchange Protocol is considered a "technology layer" that supports features such as:
- Digital Identity;
- Payments and financing;
- Supply chain tracking and others.
For example, the AB team developed its own online store, NewMall, based on Hyper Exchange Protocol.
AB's ecosystem also includes sidechains, whose primary purpose is to reduce the transaction load on AB's MainNet. Sidechains increase the scalability and performance of the entire AB ecosystem.
AB Token
AB, formerly known as Newton (NEW), is a native blockchain platform token used as the primary "fuel" for transactions as well as running smart contracts.
In addition to the gas token, AB serves two other key functions in the NewChain ecosystem:
- Governance: AB token holders can vote for proposals put forward to improve the NewChain infrastructure and thus participate in the development of the decentralized project;
- Tokenization of RWAs (real world assets): AB tokens are used to facilitate the issuance of physical assets in the form of cryptocurrencies.
Among other things, AB is a cross chain-compatible token that can be used for various tasks in other blockchain networks in the NewChain ecosystem.
Initially, 98.8 billion AB tokens were issued (the same amount as the maximum issuance, according to CoinMarketCap), 56.5 billion of which are already circulating in the market.
The AB token itself was listed on crypto exchanges in April 2019. However, the token was released at a bad time in the crypto market, when the global correction of digital assets continued, as a result of which, almost immediately after the listing, the AB token rate began to fall rapidly and by the end of 2019 had already decreased by more than 6.5 times — from $0.093 to $0.0014.
For a long period, the value of the AB token stayed below $0.001 until the end of 2024, except for rare moments of sharp price hikes against the backdrop of a bull run in the crypto market in 2021. However, at the end of 2024, the AB cryptocurrency's exchange rate suddenly began to skyrocket amid the rebranding and new tokenization of the project. Since the beginning of 2025 as of April, the value of the AB token has increased 75 times, from $0.00016 to $0.012. The market capitalization of the AB token is $643 million, and by this indicator the digital asset has entered the top 100 cryptocurrencies.
