Zilliqa focuses on scalability through a process known as sharding. Zilliqa's network uses basic Proof-of-Work (PoW) security, but it also incorporates a two-layer blockchain structure to make better use of computing resources. Practical Byzantine fault tolerance is a consensus protocol used by Zilliqa. Nodes are grouped with a leader who is responsible for broadcasting both transactions and decisions in this protocol. The smart contract layer of Zilliqa includes a unique programming language called Scilla, which makes it easy for developers to design and express smart contract conditions.
Use of Native tokens in the ecosystem: ZIL is Zilliqa's utility token which can be used to execute smart contracts and pay transaction fees on the Zilliqa blockchain. ZIL is also distributed as a block reward.