One of the key innovations of Qtum is its Account Abstraction Layer (AAL), which integrates the UTXO account layer from Bitcoin with the smart contract layer inspired by Ethereum. This enables developers to build applications and host them on various virtual machines, including the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and the x86 virtual machine. This compatibility allows for easy adoption of existing applications and programming languages, such as C, C++, Rust, and Python.
Another unique feature of Qtum is its Decentralized Governance Protocol (DGP), which allows the network's core parameters, such as block size and gas fees, to be adjusted through smart contracts without the need for a hard fork. This provides a more flexible and adaptable governance model, where miners (stakers), developers, and QTUM holders can participate in the decision-making process.