Now a Nearly $1 Billion Blockchain, Tezos Is Slowly Building Up Its Security

The protocol's term for a validator, bakers are crucial to ensuring the nascent network's security.

"I've been particularly impressed with the role the community has played in this process," Mike Reinhart of Obsidian Systems, which is building software for bakers, told CoinDesk in an email.

There are 108 bakers working on Tezos, as of this writing, besides the nodes run by the Tezos Foundation, according to TzScan.io, a block explorer for the protocol.

At current prices, that's roughly $15,000 in cryptocurrency, but if the holder has a long position in tezos, then baking gives them a way to earn additional income while they sit on their tokens.

The number of rolls staked for baking has been increasing steadily as well, helped in part by the growth in delegation services.

TzScan lists 36 companies that offer baking services so far.

It also shows three bakers that have already dropped out of providing delegation services: TZ Baker, Tezos MX and, most recently, XTEZ. Fear of a centralized protocol.

In the current cycle, the other 107 bakers make up 32.8 percent of the xtz staked for validation.

"First, they've shown a strong inclination to bake themselves: 46 percent of all potential bakers in cycle 17 have only one-to-two rolls," Obsidian's Reinhart told CoinDesk.

Obsidian Systems makes secure software for secure baking, with support from the Tezos Foundation.