Aeternity is a decentralized æpps platform. It scales through state channels that run smart contracts. It introduces a new language that supports formal verification and allows to write simpler, safer code. The VM accommodates compiled solidity contracts. Aeternity uses an ASIC-resistant, memory-bound Proof-of-Work (PoW) with less than 15 seconds block time. It features an integrated naming system and oracles, which could be used to request and access data from various data providers. Most importantly, all components are native features of the Aeternity system. They are not meta layers on top of a blockchain (like Lightning, Raiden, Oraclize), but parts of the core protocol. This ensures unmatched efficiency and significantly reduces the cost of running smart contracts and making lightning fast transactions.