AB

About AB (AB)

What Is AB (AB)?

AB is a blockchain network built around two chains: AB Core, an Ethereum-compatible chain, and AB IoT, which the official site describes as the renamed original mainnet inherited from the Newton Project. AB is the native coin of both chains and pays their fees. Its public focus is stablecoin issuance, fee abstraction for payments, and distributing the token to other networks through a component called AB Connect. It operates under the AB Foundation, a Cayman entity.

Official resources:

• Official website
• Technical documentation
• AB Core explorer
• AB Core node source
• MiCA whitepaper page

Who Founded AB? (History)

AB continues the Newton Project, which began in 2018 and built a chain called NewChain. Newton's own posts and interviews identify Xu Jizhe, also written Jizhe Xu, as founder and chairman of the Newton foundation. The project renamed itself AB in early 2025 and repositioned toward payments and stablecoins. The lineage shows in the addressing, since AB IoT still displays addresses with a NEW prefix. Beyond that founder record, the current site does not publicly identify the team or the network's operators.

How AB Works

AB Core is a Go implementation based on go-ethereum. Its repository states consensus is Proof of Authority with three second blocks, and the docs treat a transaction as secure after 20 confirmations. Mainnet uses chain ID 36888 and the smallest unit is called ISSAC. Compatibility is partial: the docs state support up to the Berlin hard fork, no EIP-1559, and no later upgrades. AB IoT differs more sharply, using chain ID 1012 and secp256r1 signatures rather than secp256k1.

Key Ecosystem Components

• AB Core, the EVM-compatible main chain, plus industry-specific sidechains.
• AB IoT, the older chain kept for IoT data and asset interaction.
• AB Connect, which distributes AB to other networks, including a BNB Chain representation at 0x95034f653D5D161890836Ad2B6b8cc49D14e029a.
• The Universal Transfer Protocol, described as fee abstraction with multi-asset fee settlement in assets such as AB or USD1.
• Explorers for both chains and the AIP process.

AB Token Utility

AB pays gas on both chains and meters contract execution. Under the Universal Transfer Protocol, fees can be settled in recognized assets rather than only the native coin, and AB Connect extends the same asset to other chains. Governance runs through AIPs and the DAO. Because AB Core uses Proof of Authority, there is no open staking or delegation market for AB, and validator economics are not published.

What Makes AB Unique?

Fee abstraction at the protocol level is the clearest differentiator: the stated goal is transacting without first holding the native coin, paying instead in an approved asset such as a stablecoin. The token's deliberate presence across several chains, rather than one canonical deployment, is second.

How AB Differs from Similar Projects

Against public proof-of-stake layer ones, Proof of Authority trades open validator participation for a permissioned signer set. Against chains tracking Ethereum upgrades closely, AB Core is explicitly behind, with no EIP-1559 fee market. And where many networks compete on DeFi throughput, AB concentrates on payment rails and stablecoin settlement.

Use Cases of AB

• Paying fees and transacting on either chain.
• Stablecoin settlement, including USD1, which the site states is deployed on AB Core.
• Moving AB between its chains and external networks via AB Connect.
• IoT-oriented data and asset scenarios on AB IoT.

How AB Is Secured

Security rests on the authorized validator set rather than open staking. Block production is limited to approved signers, so their honesty and availability is the core trust assumption, and users cannot assess economic security from a public stake distribution. Node software is published and both chains have explorers. Balances carried through AB Connect add cross-chain trust assumptions on top.

Risks and Considerations

• Proof of Authority concentrates block production, and the signers are not publicly identified.
• The EVM feature set lags current Ethereum, affecting contract compatibility.
• The token exists on several chains, and a rename plus past migrations mean older guides and listings still reference Newton, so verify network and contract before sending.
• Roadmap material is written as annual targets, so treat planned features as unshipped until confirmed.

Why AB Matters

AB is one of the longer-running chains to reposition around stablecoin payments rather than general DeFi, and it publishes a MiCA disclosure for European rules. The practical interest is fee abstraction: paying fees in a stablecoin removes a common point of friction in on-chain payments.

Where Can You Buy AB (AB)?

AB trades on several centralized exchanges, and its BNB Chain representation can be swapped on BNB Chain decentralized exchanges. Since the same ticker exists on multiple networks, check which chain a venue credits before depositing, and confirm contracts against the official site.

Storage Options After Purchase

The BNB Chain and AB Core versions work with standard Ethereum-compatible wallets once the right network and RPC endpoint are added, and hardware wallets can sign for them. AB IoT uses a different address format and signature scheme, so it needs a wallet built for that chain.

Related Coins

• Conflux (CFX)
• VeChain (VET)
• IoTeX (IOTX)
• Ontology (ONT)
• Neo (NEO)