Has the story of blockchain come to an end? Far from it. The development of blockchain has just begun. Under the cover of winter, markets have begun to self-regulate, capital flows are being pursued, and the industry is gathering strength. MEXC has carefully selected the most cutting-edge and hottest information in the industry for the first half of 2023, helping you quickly understand changes in policies, industry developments, and MEXC's updates, accompanying you through this long bear market.

Winter is still here. It has been long and hard. Is spring just over the horizon?

Table of Contents

Part 1: Macroeconomics

1. Federal Reserve Interest Rate Hikes

2. Bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank

3. U.S. First Republic Bank

4. Bitcoin's Price Could Exceed $1 Million by 2030

5. The Metaverse: Connecting People's Lives in Various Forms

Part 2: MEXC News

1. Official News

2. Product/Feature Updates

3. Popular Events

4. Popular Events Across Countries

 Part 3: Hot Topics in the Blockchain Industry: Analysis

1. Emergence of ChatGPT

2. ETHDenver 2023

3. Hong Kong Web3 Festival 2023

4. New Ethereum Upgrade

5. Consensus 2023

6. SEC Files Lawsuits Against Binance.US and Coinbase

Part 4: Track Analysis

1. Bitcoin

2. Ethereum and Layer 2

3. Public Blockchains

4. DeFi

5. NFT

6. Web3

Concluding Remarks

1. Macroeconomics

1. 1 Federal Reserve Interest Rate Hikes

Interest rate hikes have been the defining trait of the Federal Reserve in 2023. In the first half of 2023, the Federal Reserve conducted a total of four interest rate decisions, with significant rate increases in the first three. On February 2, 2023, the Federal Reserve announced its first interest rate decision of the year, raising rates by 25 basis points to between 4.50% to 4.75%, in line with market expectations. On March 22, 2023, the second interest rate decision was made, with Fed Chairman Powell attending a press conference and announcing a 25 basis point increase in the federal funding rate target range to between 4.75% and 5%, reaching the highest level since September 2007. On May 3, 2023, the third interest rate decision was made, with the Federal Reserve announcing a 25 basis point increase in the federal funding rate, adjusting the rate to a range of 5% to 5.25%. On June 15, 2023, the fourth interest rate decision was made, with the Federal Reserve announcing a pause in rate hikes for June, maintaining the federal funding rate target range at 5% to 5.25%, marking the first pause in rate hikes since the continuous rate hikes starting from March of the previous year. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

1.2 Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank Bankruptcy in March 2023

On March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank, commonly known as SVB, collapsed overnight. SVB, a 40-year old band founded in 1983, focused on providing services to technology companies and venture capital firms. As of 2022, SVB had assets of around $209 billion, with deposits exceeding $175 billion. Adding to the crisis, on March 12, the U.S. Department of the Treasury closed Signature Bank, headquartered in New York State, citing the presence of systemic risks.

The news sent shockwaves through the financial markets, causing a sharp decline in the stock prices of many banks, with an average drop of 40% in U.S. bank stocks. To stabilize market confidence, on March 12, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a joint statement, stating that decisive actions are being taken to enhance public confidence in the banking system. They also assured SVB depositors that they could retrieve all their deposits on Monday, the 13th. Additionally, U.S. President Biden delivered a speech, stating that he would request Congress and regulatory agencies to strengthen banking oversight rules and pledged to do everything possible to protect the U.S. banking system. (Source: Bloomberg)

1.3 First Republic Bank Bankruptcy in May 2023

On May 1, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation announced the closure of First Republic Bank, which was subsequently taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). First Republic Bank became the third U.S. regional bank to be closed and taken over in the past two months due to a funding chain rupture, following Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

According to the FDIC's statement, starting from May 1, the 84 branch locations of First Republic Bank in 8 states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank. Depositors of First Republic Bank will become depositors of JPMorgan Chase Bank and will be able to withdraw their funds as usual. The FDIC will continue to insure these depositors and will share the losses and potential recoveries of First Republic Bank's loans with JPMorgan Chase Bank.

First Republic Bank was founded in 1985 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. After going through acquisitions and ownership changes around the 2008 financial crisis, the bank became a publicly traded company again by the end of 2010. In recent years, it has focused on providing wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals, offering low-interest loans to the affluent. Its competitor in California, Silicon Valley Bank, was closed and taken over by the FDIC in early March of this year due to a funding chain rupture, followed by the collapse of Signature Bank, headquartered in New York. (Source: Forbes)

1.4 Bitcoin's price could exceed $1 million by 2030

On June 8, Cathie Wood expressed her confidence that the price ofBitcoin could reach $1 million. She stated that the greater the uncertainty and volatility in the global economy, the higher her confidence inBitcoin. She mentioned the recent deflation scare, which was caused by supply chain dominance, and stated that Bitcoin serves as a solution for deflation. Additionally, she highlighted their belief that deflation poses a greater risk than inflation, and explained why Bitcoin would perform favorably in such circumstances, as it acts as a remedy for the risks associated with the conventional financial system. Previously, Cathie Wood predicted that the price of Bitcoin would rise to $1 million in the next 10 years. (Source: Investing.com)

1.5 The Metaverse: connecting people's lives in various forms

The Metaverse has evolved from a complex and abstract idea into a concept equivalent to the next revolution of the Internet. While the virtual world can take on various forms, the focus is on using highly realistic and customizable virtual reality to connect us with the digital world. It may sound like science fiction, but as Internet analyst Brian Nowak commented, “In some ways, we already live in a metaverse, as shown by the total time spent by daily active users in the U.S. on digital platforms.”(Source: Morgan Stanley Research)

1. MEXC News

2.1 Official News

2.1.1 MEXC Ocean Blue Upgrade

MEXC's brand color has been upgraded from Forest Green to Ocean Blue, presenting a fresh new look to our users around the world!

Safety and Professionalism: We excel in security audits, risk control mechanisms, and fund security.

Openness and Inclusivity: With a team and user base spanning over 170 countries and regions, we strive to create more possibilities together.

Exploration of Hope: As a leader in the crypto world, we explore the leading assets on various Web3 tracks.

With our fresh new look in Ocean Blue and the unwavering trust of our users, our commitment is directed towards constantly evolving and transforming, ensuring that we deliver the best products and services to our user community. Stay tuned!

2.1.2 MEXC Futures: 0.01% Taker Fee For All Trading Pairs

On the occasion of MEXC's fifth anniversary, we are excited to announce the launch of a special event that offers a 0.01% taker fee rate for futures trading. Recognizing the importance of low fees to our users, we have taken the initiative to further reduce the taker fee rate for futures trading, offering the lowest rate in the market. By doing so, we hope to encourage more new users to join our platform and explore opportunities in the cryptocurrency market together.

2.2 Product/Feature Updates

2.2.1 [Launchpool] Launch of Quick Commit Feature

2.2.2 [Futures] Launch of Scrolling Feature

Available Margin = The amount of funds that a user can use to open positions (including the unrealized profit of the position in cross margin mode, allowing users to continue adding positions while making a profit in their existing positions in cross margin mode)

2.2.3 [Kickstarter] Launch of Quick Commit Feature

2.3 Popular Events

2.3.1 Launchpool and Kickstarter

2.3.2 Free Airdrops of MEXC Launchpool and Kickstarter

Through Launchpool and Kickstarter events, MEXC ensures that all loyal MX token holders receive a substantial amount of new tokens. VisitMEXC Learn to explore more information about cryptocurrencies.

2.3.3 Key Points

• 259 rounds of free airdrops

• 524.1% additional profits

• No participation costs
  
  

2.3.4 Mid-Year Recap of MEXC Launchpool and Kickstarter

MEXC Launchpool and Kickstarter events have been expanding steadily, providing MX token holders with numerous new listings and a variety of free airdrops. As a result, our data team is pleased to present you with statistical data showcasing the success of our events:

1. February to May: 243 concluded Kickstarter events

2. February to May: 16 concluded Launchpool events

3. 259 rounds of free airdrops within 4 months

4. On average, each event saw a total participation of 20 million MX tokens.
   
   

2.3.5 Total Earnings and Savings of MEXC Free Airdrops

2.3.5.1 Capital

In just 4 months, we organized a total of 243 Kickstarter events and 16 Launchpool events. This means that all participants had the opportunity to receive a total of 259 free airdrops.

We asked our data team to perform some calculations in order to provide you with more detailed data. Each calculation is based on the assumption of a minimum commitment of 1,000 MX tokens. Assuming that you participated in our events not for the purpose of receiving free airdrops but instead purchased all 259 airdropped tokens at their initial listing price, along with an equal amount of tokens as those who received free airdrops, your total expenditure would be:

• 175.78 USDT worth of tokens from Kickstarter

• 20.44 USDT worth of tokens from Launchpool

• You would have spent a total of 196.22 USDT as an initial investment.

Meanwhile, event participants received the same amount of tokens for free.

2.3.5.2 Growth

Truth be told, token prices do not stay at their initial prices forever. Instead, they tend to appreciate. According to feedback from our data team, the value of tokens from all 259 airdrops is increasing. At the time of writing this article, their respective values are as follows:

• Tokens from Kickstarter events have grown by 221.17 USDT in price.

• Tokens from Launchpool events have grown by 21.32 USDT in price.

2.3.6 Comparisons

2.3.6.1 Regular Users

So, if you did not participate in our events and instead decided to purchase the tokens at their initial prices, this would be your return on investment: Kickstarter (Profit: 221.17 USDT) - (Cost: 175.78 USDT) = 45.39 USDT Launchpool (Profit: 21.32 USDT) - (Cost: 20.44 USDT) = 0.88 USDT After deducting the investment cost, the return on investment is only 45.39 USDT for the tokens from Kickstarter, and 0.88 USDT for the tokens from Launchpool. This translates to a return on investment of only 25.82% and 4.31%, respectively, after four months. Now, let's take a look at the users who participated in the events.

2.3.6.2 MX Token Holders

On the other hand, the return on investment for MX token holders is quite different. Simply put, since they have zero cost, their return on investment is always 100%. MX token holders receive all the tokens for free, and all the profits go directly into their pockets. Therefore:

• 259 rounds of free airdrops

• 242.49 USDT net profit

• Zero cost

Comparison between Regular Users and MX Token Holders:

After a thorough investigation, we found that regular users would receive a net profit of 46.27 USDT, whereas MX token holders would easily earn 242.49 USDT with just one click. When compared, MX token holders essentially earn 524.1% more than regular users. Additionally, they can convert all small balances into MX tokens, further increasing their individual investment value and gaining more token holdings.

2.3.7 Closing Remarks

It is never too late to participate in Launchpool and Kickstarter events on MEXC. In fact, there will be more events awaiting your participation in the future. You can participate in Kickstarter and Launchpool events by simply holding 1,000 MX tokens for 15 consecutive days and 30 consecutive days respectively.

2.4 MX Price Reaches New High

2.4.1 Key Points:

• MX token reached a new all-time high with a trading price of $3.50.

• APY as high as 331%.

2.4.2 What is MX Token?

The MX token is a digital asset that operates on the Ethereum blockchain. As a utility token, it powers the ecosystem of the MEXC exchange and offers various benefits to its holders. One of its advantages is the opportunity to receive free airdrops. Recently, the MX token has gained significant attention from both experienced and novice traders.

2.4.3 MX Token Price Reached a New All-Time High in 2023

In 2023, the MX token reached an important milestone by reaching a new all-time high. On June 3, 2023, the price of MX token successfully broke through 3.50 USDT, accompanied by a trading volume of nearly 2 million USDT. The only time its price reached 3.50 USDT was during the peak of the bull market two years ago. Therefore, achieving a new high in a bearish market demonstrates MEXC's performance exceeding expectations.

2.4.4 MX Token Growth: 331%

The growth of the MX Token has been remarkable, with a staggering increase of 331%. On January 1, 2023, the trading price was only 0.81 USDT per token. However, in just a few months, all MX token holders were able to reap substantial profits.

2.4.5 Where To Buy MX Tokens?

MEXC is the most ideal platform for you to acquire MX tokens. As one of the platforms with the highest liquidity, we provide excellent service for all your trades.

You can follow the steps below to purchase MX tokens (MX) on MEXC:

1. Log in to yourMEXC account and enter theSpot trading page.

2. Use the search bar to search "MX" and view the available trading pairs. Let's take MX/USDT as an example.

3. Scroll down and select the Spot section. Enter the quantity of MX tokens you want to purchase. You can choose to open a limit order, market order, or stop-limit order. Let's take the market order as an example. Click [Buy MX] to confirm your order. You will find the purchased MX tokens in your wallet.

Refer to thisdetailed guide on how to purchase MX tokens.

2.4.6 Trading MX Tokens on MEXC Futures

Did you know that MEXC is the only exchange that offers perpetual futures for MX tokens? MEXC is a top-notch platform that provides traders with a secure and intuitive environment to access the MX token futures market. In addition, trading MX token futures on MEXC comes with several notable advantages.

Firstly, traders can enjoy high liquidity, ensuring efficient execution of trades. Additionally, MEXC offers advanced trading features, including diverse order types which allow traders to customize strategies according to their specific needs. Moreover, MEXC provides a user-friendly interface and comprehensive user support, facilitating a seamless trading experience.

How to trade MX tokens on MEXC Futures:

Below are a few simple steps to trade MX on MEXC Futures:

1. Log in to yourMEXC account, go to [Futures] - [Perpetual Futures].

2. Use the search bar to search "MX/USDT perpetual futures".

3. Top up funds into yourwallet.

4. Select your leverage and entry point to start trading!

2.5 Popular Events Across the World

2.5.1 Turkey

Istanbul Blockchain Economy In-Person Lucky Draw Event

2.5.2 Vietnam

Vietnam Pizza Day In-Person Event

2.5.3 Russia

Moscow Crypto Summit Offline Event

2.5.4 Japan

Pizza Day Ōgiri Special Event

2.5.5 Korea

MEXC 0.02% Taker Fee Event

3. Hot Topics in the Blockchain Industry: Analysis

3.1 ChatGPT Emerges, Enciting an AI Revolution

ChatGPT is a chatbot program developed by the artificial intelligence company OpenAI. It is capable of comprehending human language and engaging in conversations. It can interact with users based on the context of their conversation.

Artificial intelligence is not a new field, but the release of ChatGPT has once again brought global attention to AI. The intelligence of ChatGPT has reshaped human perception of AI, not just in movies, but in real life, providing people with a firsthand experience of artificial intelligence. ChatGPT has shown outstanding performance in areas such as chat conversations, intelligent question-answering, code generation, content writing, and artwork creation, even inspiring fear among many experts.

The Future of Life Institute in Boston, USA issued an open letter, titled "Pause Giant AI Experiments," calling for a halt to large-scale artificial intelligence research, urging all AI laboratories to immediately suspend training of AI systems for at least six months. Thousands of technology leaders and AI experts, including Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, have signed the open letter.

In the past, the development of artificial intelligence mostly focused on breakthroughs in specific domains. The most famous example is AlphaGo, an AI software developed for playing the game of Go, which mastered Go techniques through playing against human players. The versatility of ChatGPT allows it to be applied in multiple domains. Currently, professions such as translation, artwork, content creation, and marketing have been directly influenced. In the future, domains such as search, internet, and blockchain are also inevitable areas where ChatGPT will have an impact.

3.2 ETHDenver 2023

Theofficial website of ETHDenver, the Ethereum conference held in Denver, showcases the historical background of this event. With the birth of SporkDAO in June 2021, ETHDenver became the world's first event DAO. Today, it has become one of the most important events in the Ethereum ecosystem. This year's ETHDenver became the largest gathering in its history with over 35,000 developers, investors, and institutions participating, according to preliminary data.

The hot topics discussed during the ETHDenver conference represent the current trends in blockchain industry research. At the ETHDenver 2023 conference, infrastructure represented by ZK (Zero-Knowledge) became a focal point, and a dedicated ZK Day was set up, highlighting the importance of ZK. In addition, there were discussions on topics such as Data Backpack, account abstraction, and the combination of social and AI, all generating significant interest.

ETHDenver is a technology-driven, in-person event where the hottest technical exchanges and cutting-edge ideas collide. Developers change the world with code, and here, they build the future.

3.3 Hong Kong Web3 Festival 2023

The Hong Kong Web3 Festival is the most influential event in the Asian region so far this year, organized by Wanxiang Blockchain Lab. With the recent adjustments and changes in Hong Kong's local blockchain policies, the event fostered an open and welcoming attitude towards the blockchain industry, encouraging more industry practitioners to participate.

As a traditional financial center in Asia, Hong Kong's official acceptance and incorporation of the blockchain industry positions it as a potential cryptocurrency hub in Asia. With the relaxation of policies, an increasing number of companies are choosing to establish institutions or subsidiaries in Hong Kong. Additionally, Hong Kong is actively exploring regulatory measures to address the growing digital asset market and investor demands.

The Hong Kong Web3 Festival resembles an international blockchain extravaganza, attracting blockchain experts from around the world to this city known for its open and inclusive environment and supportive policies. It focuses global attention on Asia and positions Hong Kong as a beacon in the blockchain industry.

3.4 Ethereum Upgrade

In April, the Ethereum upgrade was officially completed. In September of last year, Ethereum underwent a transition from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) with the Ethereum merge. With the completion of the upgrade, the ETH that was staked during the transition phase is now able to be unlocked and withdrawn.

After the upgrade, the previously staked Ethereum will be unlocked, increasing the overall supply of Ethereum in the market. However, based on subsequent market fluctuations, the price has not experienced significant volatility. This may be due to the current bearish market phase and the fact that the price at the time of staking was not advantageous compared to the current market price, which has resulted in a lack of significant selling pressure.

3.5 Consensus 2023

The Consensus conference, organized by CoinDesk, is an annual event that has been held since 2015. It brings together developers, investors, communities, key opinion leaders (KOLs), government officials, and other participants. However, due to the worsening regulatory environment in the United States and the bearish phase of the industry, excitement surrounding this year's Consensus conference was significantly lower compared to previous years, with a marked decline in both sponsorships and attendance.

Regulation is a major topic of discussion among many conference attendees. The industry's development urgently requires clear regulatory guidelines rather than vague interpretations and arbitrary crackdowns by relevant authorities at the current stage. Clear regulatory frameworks can not only standardize the industry's development but also help consumers enter the Web3 industry with confidence. Additionally, topics such as real-world assets (RWA), the cross-chain protocol CCTP for stablecoin USDC, DeFi, and CeFi have also been highlighted for discussion.

If ETHDenver can be seen as a technology-driven offline gathering, the Consensus conference is an industry gathering led by spokespersons from various fields, setting trends and shaping the industry.

3.6 SEC Files Lawsuits Against Binance.US and Coinbase

Commensurate with the regulatory issues discussed at this year's Consensus conference, this month (June) the SEC filed lawsuits against Binance.US and Coinbase, once again making regulatory concerns the focus of the industry.

The industry has long been dissatisfied with the SEC's ambiguous regulatory framework. In fact, Coinbase already filed a lawsuit requesting the court to compel the SEC to provide clear regulatory guidance and establish a regulatory framework. However, nearly a year has passed without an official SEC response to Coinbase's lawsuit, and instead, they have now filed new lawsuits.

The SEC's stance largely represents the attitude of US regulatory agencies towards the crypto industry. The regulatory approach of the United States can influence the stance of other regions around the world, and US regulatory policies may even become guiding standards. Currently, global regulations on the crypto industry are in the exploratory stage, with some countries and regions choosing strict control or even outright bans, while others are actively embracing and exploring reasonable regulations. The uncertain and vague policies of the United States make it difficult for businesses to navigate the regulatory landscape.

According to the latest reports, after multiple rounds of negotiations, Binance, Binance.US, and the SEC have reached a preliminary agreement to ensure that only Binance.US employees can access user funds. This proposed agreement still needs to be signed by a federal judge overseeing the case. Binance.US will take measures to ensure that no members of Binance have access to private keys, hardware wallets, or root access to Binance.US's Amazon Web Services tools. Additionally, detailed information about their operational expenses, including estimated costs, will be shared in the coming weeks.

4. Track Analysis

4.1 Track Analysis - Bitcoin

4.1.1 What Deserves Your Attention

Unlike the thriving and diverse Ethereum ecosystem, Bitcoin has remained true to its origins and continues to follow the roadmap set 15 years ago, tirelessly advancing with its Proof-of-Work consensus. Despite the emergence of waves such as the Lightning Network and BitcoinFi, the focus of attention always returns to Bitcoin itself.

4.1.1.1 The Market's Gradual Recovery

Bitcoin has become the barometer and compass for the entire industry, with the overall market prices largely following the trend of Bitcoin's price. The resurgence of Bitcoin's price signifies the market's gradual recovery.

Unlike the lackluster performance in Q4 of 2022, as the New Year of 2023 began, the entire crypto industry experienced a revival. Bitcoin largely stabilized around the $20,000 price level, with continuing growth throughout Q2, even briefly touching the $30,000 mark.

Similarly, based on the sentiment of futures enthusiasts, the overall outlook for Q1 of 2023 was bullish, with expectations for a market recovery.

In less than one year, Bitcoin will undergo another round of halving, which is likely to usher in a new bull market. However, it remains to be seen who will lead the new bull market.

4.1.1.2 Bitcoin is Still King of Crypto

With the establishment of the Ethereum and other project ecosystems, the total market capitalization of Bitcoin has gradually shrunk from its peak of 95% to a low of 37% this year. "Ethereum will surpass Bitcoin" has been an oft-repeated phrase in recent years. However, based on the current data, it is still too early to talk about the ascension of a new king of crypto.

4.1.2 Ordinal Protocol: The Renaissance of BTC

In early March this year, Twitter user Domo (@domodata) sparked FOMO by creating the BRC-20 protocol based on the Ordinal protocol, once again revitalizing the Bitcoin ecosystem structure.

The Ordinal protocol currently boasts a user base of 120,000 people, with 425,000 transactions and a transaction volume approaching $200 million.

4.1.2.1 BRC-20 Protocol: The Unique Ordinal Protocol

The Ordinal protocol is an NFT protocol on the Bitcoin network that assigns a unique ordinal number to each satoshi based on its mining order, giving it non-fungible properties. Through the Ordinal protocol, users can bind different types of data (such as images, text, etc.) to satoshis and add them as inscriptions to Bitcoin transactions. These inscriptions are transferable, traceable, immutable, and unique.

Domo attaches similar types of data information to the inscriptions, turning them into transferable, traceable, immutable, and fungible tokens. Essentially, BRC-20 is a collection of replaceable Ordinal NFTs.

Due to the limitations of the Bitcoin network, currently, BRC-20 only implements three functions: token deployment, token claim, and token transfer.

When creating a BRC-20 token, the token name cannot exceed 4 characters, is case-insensitive, and must be unique. For example, the first BRC-20 token created by Domo, $ORDI, cannot be created by other users using the same name.

Deploying Tokens (Deploy BRC-20)

Anyone can create and deploy a BRC-20 token by simply modifying the token name, total supply, and maximum minting parameters in the code. For example, in the $ORDI token, the token name is ORDI, the total supply is 21 million, and the maximum minting limit is 1,000.

{ 

  "p": "brc-20",

  "op": "deploy",

  "tick": "ordi",

  "max": "21000000",

  "lim": "1000"

}

Minting Tokens (Mint BRC-20)

When you want to claim tokens, you just need to modify the token's name and the desired quantity to be minted. In the case of the $ORDI token, the token name is ORDI and you can choose any quantity to mint between 1 and 1,000, but not exceeding 1,000. The code snippet below demonstrates minting 1,000 tokens.

{ 

  "p": "brc-20",

  "op": "mint",

  "tick": "ordi",

  "amt": "1000"

}

Transferring Tokens (Transfer BRC-20)

If you want to sell or transfer the BRC-20 tokens you hold, you need to modify the token's name and specify the quantity you want to transfer. For example, in the $ORDI token, the token name is "ORDI," and you need to transfer a quantity that is less than or equal to your holding. The code snippet below demonstrates transferring 100 units of the $ORDI token.

{ 

  "p": "brc-20",

  "op": "transfer",

  "tick": "ordi",

  "amt": "100"

}

As of the time of writing, there are 24,677 tokens published based on the BRC-20 protocol, with a total market capitalization of approximately $727 million.

4.1.2.2 ORDI Token: The Butterfly Effect

ORDI is the first token released under the BRC-20 standard. The total supply of ORDI tokens is 21 million, with a maximum minting limit of 1,000 tokens per address.

Accompanied by the skyrocketing price of ORDI, the BRC-20 token market has been gaining increasing popularity. As of the time of writing, there have been over 9 million transactions, with a total of 1,326 BTC in transaction fees. On May 7 alone, there were 400,000 transactions generating 255 BTC in fees.

During the peak period from late April to early May, nearly half of the transactions on the Bitcoin network were contributed by the BRC-20 token series.

Similarly, during this period, one-third of the miner fees were generated by BRC-20 token transactions. On May 7, this percentage reached 60%, bringing substantial profits to Bitcoin miners.

4.1.2.3 Unisat: The Catalyst of Butterfly Wings

After the introduction of the Ordinal protocol, the high-profile entry of the Bored Ape Yacht Club team did not cause much of a stir in the market. While most were still debating whether NFTs should be issued on the Bitcoin network, Unisat's product became the only on-chain gateway for buying and selling BRC-20 tokens.

As everyone began discussing BRC-20 tokens, Unisat became a name that no one could ignore, easily capturing over 50% of the market share and reaping substantial profit returns. Unisat facilitated direct transactions of BRC-20 tokens, eliminating the need for traditional OTC methods for token trading, which is why BRC-20 tokens had limited trading volume in their early stages.

The Unisat wallet was developed by a Chinese team formerly involved in the BSV ecosystem, known for their smart contract solution called Sensible Contract on BSV. The founder, Lorenzo, played a key role. According to Dune data, the total number of users of the Unisat wallet is close to 50,000, with a total amount of 3,617 BTC.

4.1.2.4 Closing Remarks

The Ordinal protocol has brought a new narrative to the Bitcoin ecosystem, with BRC-20 ignighting market interest in its foundation. The current Bitcoin ecosystem is still in its early stages, with incomplete infrastructure, and it still requires continuous development from developers and the community. Perhaps in the future, the Bitcoin ecosystem will also thrive like the Ethereum ecosystem.

4.2 Track Analysis - Ethereum and Layer 2

4.2.1 Ethereum

It seems that the public blockchain has entered a phase where Ethereum is considered the dominant player, and we no longer hear the loud slogans challenging Ethereum as we did in previous years. The Ethereum ecosystem has experienced a cycle of prosperity and transition across various sectors during this bull and bear transition, from DeFi to NFTs, from NFTs to GameFi, and from GameFi to SocialFi.

From the second half of 2022 until now, many projects have been phased out, and those that have survived have undergone strict market scrutiny. During this period, Ethereum went through significant changes, including the transition from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, Ethereum upgrades, and the upcoming Cancun upgrade. The focus on continued development despite the bear market conditions is evident in Ethereum.

If we extend the timeline back to 2021, we can see that the current Total Value Locked (TVL) and peak values on Ethereum are only about 1/4 of what they used to be, and the token price is approximately 1/3 of its peak value.

If the narrative of the previous bull market revolved around public blockchains, it is highly probable that this current cycle will focus on Layer 2 solutions. After going through a cycle of bull and bear markets, the so-called Ethereum killers, which are the other public blockchains, have failed to successfully challenge Ethereum's dominant position. Instead, Ethereum, the world's computer, has grown stronger and more prosperous, steadily advancing along its established roadmap.

When we talk about Layer 2 networks, it generally refers to Ethereum's Layer 2 solutions. Due to the vast ecosystem of applications on Ethereum, the main network can become congested, resulting in higher gas fees and slower transaction speeds. To address this issue, developers have begun constructing Layer 2 networks. Bitcoin also has its own Layer 2 solutions, but their scale is relatively small, and we won't delve into that here.

4.2.2 Arbitrum

Arbitrum, developed by the Offchain Labs team, is built on the Optimistic Rollup solution, with the main difference lying in the validation mechanism. Optimistic Rollup employs single-round verification, while Arbitrum utilizes multi-round verification. As Arbitrum and Optimistic are similar competitors, they are inevitably compared in the market.

Basic data comparison between Arbitrum and Optimistic: Source: Rootdata

Arbitrum, a Layer 2 network, conducted an airdrop to the community on March 23 of this year, igniting the crypto industry's frenzy with the wealth effect and subsequently driving a new wave of interest in meme coins.

Looking at the chart data for the Arbitrum protocol, there are significant changes in data around March. After March, the daily transaction volume reached over 1 million transactions, with average daily transaction fees exceeding $100,000. On the day of the airdrop, both the transaction volume and fees peaked at 3.09 million transactions and $1.81 million, respectively.

According to data from DeFiLlama, the current Total Value Locked (TVL) on the Arbitrum network has reached $2.02 billion. It is evident that there was a peak in user activity in late March, which is likely related to the announcement of the airdrop rewards by Arbitrum, as users flocked to interact with the network to participate in the airdrop and potentially claim their share of the rewards.

Arbitrum's TVL represents 86% of the current mainstream Layer 2 market, solidifying its leading position in Layer 2 space. In terms of total TVL across all chains, Arbitrum holds a share of 3.38%, placing it just below Ethereum, Tron, and Binance Smart Chain (BSC).

According to data from Rootdata, there are 504 ecosystem applications on Arbitrum, and this number does not include meme token projects from the previous frenzy.

Among these ecosystem projects, GMX, Uniswap V3, Radiant, Stargate, AAVE V3, and others contribute the largest share of TVL.

Layer 2 solutions have significantly reduced transaction fees compared to the mainnet. According to data from l2fees, Arbitrum's transaction fees have seen a substantial decrease compared to the mainnet, but within the realm of Rollup-type projects, it falls in the middle range.

Arbitrum's high compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is beneficial for migrating existing DeFi projects from the Ethereum mainnet and continuing their development on the Arbitrum network. The lower gas consumption on Arbitrum reduces the entry barriers for users to participate. Until the widespread adoption of ZK-Rollup projects, Arbitrum is likely to maintain its advantage and flourishing ecosystem. However, once ZK-Rollup projects come online, Arbitrum may face new challenges in maintaining its position.

4.2.3 zkSync Era

zkSync is a Layer 2 network built on ZK-Rollup technology by the Matter Labs team. The mainnet of the project has not been officially launched yet, but in February of this year, zkSync 2.0 was renamed zkSync Era and initiated mainnet deployment for projects. According to data from Rootdata, there are 86 ecosystem projects on zkSync, including applications that have not yet been launched.

Up to this point, zkSync has successfully completed four rounds of fundraising, raising a total of $258 million. Investors include Coinbase, a16z, Dragonfly, Binance Labs, IOSG, Alchemy Ventures, 1kx, ConsenSys Mesh, Blockchain Capital, Hashed, OKX Ventures, and many others.

The latest data shows that since its launch two months ago, zkSync Era has achieved a total TVL value of $171.5 million within its ecosystem, with a peak value reaching close to $180 million. This places zkSync Era as the third highest in terms of Layer 2 TVL, following Arbitrum and Optimism.

Within the zkSync Era ecosystem, among the top ten applications by locked volume, eight of them are DEX (Decentralized Exchange) projects, while the remaining two are lending projects. Currently, there are no applications from other tracks, indicating that the zkSync Era ecosystem is still in its early stages of development.

Despite being in its early stages, according to data from Dune, the number of wallet addresses on zkSync Era has already exceeded 945k addresses.

If we observe the daily transaction count, we can see a significant increase starting from March 14, peaking on the 24th, and then quickly dropping. This timeframe aligns with the announcement and distribution of the Arbitrum airdrop. The stimulus of the airdrop created a wealth effect and attracted more users to participate in zkSync Era, even before the token issuance. Currently, zkSync Era maintains a daily transaction count of around 4,000 transactions. Similarly, the increase in the number of addresses on zkSync Era follows this trend.

ZK-Rollup has long been regarded as the ultimate solution to Ethereum's scalability issues, but its development has been challenging due to the complexity of ZK technology. As a result, it is still in the testing phase. However, significant technological breakthroughs have been made, and according to zkSync Era's roadmap, it is expected to launch on the mainnet officially within a year.

Interestingly, this timeline coincides with the approximate timeframe of the next Bitcoin halving. It is possible that in the next bull market cycle, initiation could be led by Layer 2 networks like zkSync Era.

4.2.4 StarkNet

Just like zkSync, StarkNet is also a Layer 2 network based on zk-Rollup. However, StarkNet utilizes STARK proofs, whereas zkSync uses SNARK proofs.

StarkNet is developed by the StarkWare team and has completed five rounds of funding, raising a total of $282 million. Investors include Pantera Capital, Ethereum Foundation, Sequoia Capital, Paradigm, Greenoaks Capital, Alameda Research, and others.

Compared to other Layer 2 networks, StarkNet is currently at a relative disadvantage. According to the latest data from DeFiLlama, StarkNet's TVL is only $12.98 million, and its ecosystem applications are primarily focused on the DEX track.

According to Rootdata, there are 60 ecosystem projects in the StarkNet ecosystem (including unreleased applications).

The low number of applications and TVL in the StarkNet ecosystem can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, StarkNet uses the Cairo programming language, which increases the barrier to entry for developers as they need to learn a new programming language to build applications. Secondly, the current StarkNet network does have a suboptimal user experience with slow interaction speed, which may deter potential participants from actively engaging with the network.

Similar to zkSync, during the Arbitrum airdrop period, there was a surge in the number of addresses interacting with StarkNet and the transaction volume, followed by a decline to normal levels. Currently, the daily transaction volume and the number of new addresses on StarkNet fluctuate around 4,000.

While the StarkNet mainnet has not yet been launched and there is no public timeline for its release, there have been indications regarding future token allocation plans:

It is possible that the StarkNet team is aware of the suboptimal network performance or they have taken community feedback into account. According to the latestroadmap revealed to the public, in 2023, StarkNet will focus on improving network performance and user experience, including enhancing network efficiency, reducing transaction costs, and implementing fee markets. Additionally, there are plans to decentralize operations and decision-making aspects in 2024.

Coincidentally, similar to zkSync, StarkNet has chosen next year as the key period for their project's major advancements. The Layer 2 network battle next year may be even more exciting than we imagine.

4.2.5 Closing Remarks

The competition among public blockchains has temporarily reached a plateau, with Ethereum's position almost unshakable. The prospects of directly challenging Ethereum are now minimal, and differentiation may be the key narrative for new public chains.

The focus of Layer 2 networks currently revolves around two solutions: Optimistic Rollup and ZK-Rollup. Currently, the Optimistic Rollup solution has taken the lead and captured a share of the market. Despite many industry leaders believing that ZK-Rollup is the future, they still face significant challenges from other solutions. Therefore, for the ZK-Rollup team to secure ultimate victory, besides perfecting their technology, nurturing and fostering a thriving ecosystem is of utmost importance. The upcoming year is crucial in this regard.

4.3 Track Analysis - Public Blockchains

4.3.1 Sui

4.3.1.1 Basic Project Overview

On June 19, 2019, Facebook (now known as Meta as of 2021) released the Libra whitepaper, which was later renamed Diem. During the same period, Facebook also introduced a digital wallet called Calibra, later renamed Novi, as an accompanying infrastructure for the Libra digital currency. In September 2021, the Novi team established Mysten Labs. However, in January 2022, due to regulatory pressures, the development of Diem and Novi came to a halt. In March 2022, Mysten Labs announced the launch of Sui, a Layer 1 public blockchain.

Sui is the world's first permissionless Layer 1 blockchain. As a decentralized PoS blockchain, Sui aims to achieve scalability in throughput and storage through horizontal scaling. Its goal is to become the first internet-scale programmable blockchain platform.

4.3.1.2 Project Details:

4.3.1.3 The Team

Sui is developed by Mysten Labs, whose members are all from the development team of the former Facebook cryptocurrency wallet, Novi. The core team of Sui consists of the following four individuals:

1. Evan Chang: CEO, former Head of Engineering at Novi and former Engineering Director at Meta. Evan Chang has also worked at Apple.

2. Sam Blackshear: CTO, former Principal Engineer at Novi and the creator of the Move programming language.

3. Adeniyi Abiodun: CPO, former Product Lead at Novi. Adeniyi Abiodun has previously worked at Oracle and VMWare.

4. George Danezis: Chief Scientist, former Research Scientist at Novi. George Danezis has also worked at Microsoft.
   
   

4.3.1.4 The Funding

Series A

Date: December 2021

Funding: $36 million

Key investors: a16z led the funding round, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, NFX, Scribble Ventures, Redpoint, Lightspeed, Electric Capital, Samsung NEXT, Slow Ventures, Standard Crypto, and others.

Series B

Date: September 2022

Funding: $300 million

Key investors: FTX Ventures led the funding round, with participation from a16z, Sino Global, Dentsu Ventures, NGC Ventures, A&T Capital, Bixin Ventures, Greenoaks Capital, O'Leary Ventures, Jump Crypto, Apollo, Franklin Templeton, Coinbase Ventures, Circle Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and others.

4.3.1.5 The Product

The Sui blockchain, developed based on Novi, stands out for its high scalability and low latency. It is the first permissionless Layer 1 blockchain driven by Proof of Stake (PoS). Sui blockchain achieves transaction parallelism, and for sufficiently simple transactions, it employs a simpler settlement mechanism instead of consensus, which opens up greater possibilities for the adoption of DeFi, NFTs, and other use cases. The 4 key points that differentiate Sui from other blockchains are as follows:

① Sui Move

Move is a secure and reliable smart contract programming language specifically designed for the Diem project. The Move language possesses powerful coding capabilities, allowing for the encoding of various assets and business logic. Mysten Labs has optimized the underlying architecture based on the Move language, transforming it into the object-centric data model called Sui Move.

Currently, mainstream blockchain platforms generally adopt an account model or UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) model to record the blockchain state. Accounts are data structures that hold user balances, while UTXOs represent the remaining assets after a transaction. Sui combines both models, storing data within unique ID-based objects. Each object in Sui must have two main characteristics: a key and a UID. Developers can define, create, and manage these programmable objects, which are stored in the blockchain of user accounts, accessed and controlled directly by their owners.

In Sui, all transactions take objects as inputs and produce new or modified objects as outputs. By transacting at the object level, the system can group transactional matters of objects and process each group in parallel. For example, simple payment transfers can occur in any order without impacting the overall blockchain's block records, eliminating the need for consensus among them.

In the current design of public blockchains like Ethereum (ETH), transactions based on ETH require a global transaction ordering list for consensus confirmation by all network nodes. This significantly increases transaction fees and reduces transaction speed. Undoubtedly, Sui's parallel transaction approach greatly enhances the TPS (Transactions Per Second) of transaction processing.

② Unique Consensus Mechanism

In contrast to traditional blockchains, Sui validators do not process transactions into blocks. Instead, they group transactions by objects and independently validate them. Sui categorizes transaction objects as non-shared (simple transactions) or shared (complex transactions).

Non-shared (simple) transactions are independent transactions without causal relationships and are validated using the Byzantine Consistent Broadcast algorithm. This is a leaderless protocol with lower strength than the Byzantine algorithm. Sui's object-centric data model allows transactions to be executed in parallel using a causal ordering method, rather than being batched and executed sequentially like traditional blockchains. If multiple transactions have no dependencies between them, they can be processed in any order in parallel. In theory, most transactions fall into this category, such as when a user simply wants to transfer assets to a recipient, where the only required data is account information, and there is no relationship with other states. This unique processing approach allows simple transactions to bypass network-wide consensus while ensuring network security.

Shared (complex) transactions are defined as multiple transactions that depend on each other and are ordered and agreed upon using the Narwhal and Tusk protocols. Narwhal refers to the memory pool protocol specifically designed to store unconfirmed blockchain transactions. Its task is to provide a DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) object dependency path while maintaining data availability. Narwhal operates independently of the consensus protocol and ensures tolerance to failures in the form of asynchronous or intermittent liveness failures. The Tusk protocol is responsible for transaction ordering and achieves consensus by utilizing the DAG data path provided by Narwhal.

③ DPOS

Sui adopts the Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism, implemented through the DAG-based Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) Narwhal and Bullshark (Tusk). This design allows Sui to process transactions in parallel and reach consensus quickly. Unlike Ethereum's PoS, DPoS selects representatives through elections to validate transactions and new blocks. In Sui's DPoS model, token holders elect validators, aligning the token holders' equity with the economic incentives of the validators.

Furthermore, the validators who validate transactions today may not be the validators responsible for storing data in the future. Therefore, Sui reallocates past transaction fees to future validators through a storage fund, ensuring that validators receive token rewards continuously to compensate for the costs of holding blockchain data.

④ Gas Fees

One unique aspect of Sui's design is that storage fees and transaction execution fees (computational fees) are separated and paid independently.

Storage fees are denominated in USD and are used for storing any on-chain data. The pricing for storage fees is typically determined through governance voting. From the user's perspective, they don't differentiate between the types of fees they are paying. However, when users submit on-chain data, they pay both gas fees and storage fees simultaneously. The storage portion of the fees is deposited into a "storage fund," which is used to compensate validators for the cost of storing user data, subsidizing the increasing storage costs as the network grows and matures.

The computational gas fees are determined by the gas pricing mechanism, where validators set a minimum gas price for each current transaction. They then disclose a "reference gas price" to users, which represents the two-thirds percentile price of the equity. Sui incentivizes validators to keep the price low but ultimately lets the market determine the gas price. Users are allowed to use "tips" on top of the reference price to ensure their transactions are prioritized. Therefore, the computed gas price is the sum of the reference price and the tip.

4.3.1.6 Development

4.3.1.7 History

In September 2021, the Novi team established Mysten Labs.

In December 2021, Mysten Labs secured $36 million in Series A funding.

In March 2022, Mysten Labs announced the launch of Sui, a Layer 1 public blockchain.

In May 2022, Mysten Labs released the Sui test network, Sui DevNet.

In May 2022, Mysten Labs unveiled the Sui tokenomics model and incentive mechanisms.

In August 2022, Sui opened the incentive network for testing.

In September 2022, Mysten Labs raised $300 million in Series B funding.

In October 2022, the Sui Foundation went live.

In January 2023, Sui initiated the second phase of the testnet.

In March 2023, Sui introduced the permanent testnet.

In May 2023, the Sui mainnet was officially launched.

4.3.1.8 Development Status

The Sui mainnet has been live for one month, and the blockchain has already witnessed the emergence of various ecosystems such as DeFi, NFT, GameFi, wallets, and activity platforms.

① TVL

According to the data from Defillama, a comprehensive DeFi on-chain data platform, as of mid-June, the Total Value Locked (TVL) on the Sui chain was $11.44 million, which represents a 60% decrease from the peak of over $30 million.

The largest application in terms of on-chain TVL on Sui is the DEX — Turbos, which has a TVL of over $560,000, accounting for approximately 49% of the total TVL. The second-largest application is Cetus, with a TVL of over $540,000, representing approximately 48% of the total TVL.

② Validation Nodes

According to Suiscan, as of mid-June, the Sui network has a total of 104 validators, with an average stake APY (Annual Percentage Yield) of 5.357%. The top 5 validators in stake rankings during Epoch 64 are as shown in the image. Staketab ranked first in terms of total stake volume with over 27.19 million SUI.

The total stake volume on Sui is 7,395,932,152.68 SUI.

③ TPS

TPS represents the speed at which a network processes transactions. According to the data from Suiscan, the TPS (Transactions Per Second) of the Sui blockchain in the past 30 days is 2. Source: Suiscan.

④ Number of On-Chain Accounts

According to the data from Suiscan, as of mid-June, the number of accounts on the Sui blockchain has reached 1,156,476. Source: Suiscan.

4.3.1.9 Economic Model

The symbol for the Sui blockchain token is SUI, and the total supply is 10 billion tokens.

4.3.1.10 Token Allocation

The token allocation for the Sui blockchain is as follows: 50% to the community reserve, 20% to early contributors, 14% to investors, 10% to Mysten Labs Treasury, and 6% to the Community Access Program, IEO, and application testers.

4.3.1.11 Token Utility

① Staking Network

SUI can be used to participate in staking activities, and by staking SUI tokens, users can earn corresponding rewards.

② Gas Fees

SUI can be used to pay for on-chain transaction gas fees.

③ On-chain Voting on Governance Issues

SUI can be used to vote for on-chain governance events, such as protocol upgrades.

④ Support for the Economic System

SUI can be used as a liquidity asset for various smart contracts and monetary policy applications.

4.3.1.12 Three Key Roles

① User

Using the Sui platform, users can engage in transactions to create, modify, and transfer digital assets or interact with interoperable and composable complex applications based on smart contracts.

② Token Holder

SUI token holders have the option to delegate their tokens to validators and participate in the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism. SUI owners also have the right to participate in Sui governance.

③ Validator

Validators perform transaction processing and execution on the Sui public blockchain.

4.3.1.13 Five Core Components

The SUI token is the native asset of the Sui platform. All network operations incur gas fees, which are used to reward participants in the Proof-of-Stake mechanism, deter spam and denial-of-service attacks. The SUI storage fund is used to transfer equity rewards across time and compensate future validators for the storage costs of previously stored on-chain data. The Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism is used to select, incentivize, and reward honest behavior from operators on the Sui platform, including validators and SUI delegators. On-chain voting is used for governance and protocol upgrades.

4.3.2 CCTP

4.3.2.1 Basic Project Overview

In April 2023, Circle, a US-based payment technology company and blockchain financial services provider, who is also the issuer of USDC, announced the launch of the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP), a developer-focused protocol for cross-chain transfers based on Ethereum and Avalanche. This protocol enables the seamless movement of USDC stablecoin across supported chains, providing unparalleled interoperability, security, liquidity, and simplified user experience.

Circle stated that numerous cross-chain projects, including Celer, Hyperlane, LayerZero, LI.FI, MetaMask, and Wormhole, among others, will utilize this protocol in the future.

4.3.2.2 Project Details

4.3.2.3 The Team

CCTP is developed by Circle, and the core team members of Circle are as follows.

① Co-founder & CEO

Jeremy Allaire, a serial entrepreneur, previously served as the co-founder and CEO of Brightcove, a partner at General Catalyst, and the CTO of Macromedia.

② CFO

Jeremy Fox-Geen, with 25 years of experience in corporate finance and financial services, has held executive positions at iStar and Safehold, McKinsey & Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Citigroup.

③ Chief Strategy Officer

Dante Disparte, with decades of experience in global finance and risk issues, previously served as the Executive Vice President of the Diem Association.

4.3.2.4 The Funding

CCTP has not yet announced its financing plan.

4.3.2.5 The Product

The Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) is a permissionless on-chain utility that allows for the burning of native USDC on the source chain and the minting of an equivalent amount of native USDC on the target chain. Developers can embed CCTP into their applications, providing users with a capital-efficient method for transferring USDC across chains, thus laying the foundation for a unified and mainstream Web 3.0 experience.

① How CCTP Works

1. Burning USDC on the source chain: Users initiate a USDC transfer from one blockchain to another using an application (portal / wallet / bridge) and specify the receiving wallet address on the target chain. The application will burn the specified amount of USDC on the source chain, and Circle will validate the burn event on the source chain.

2. Obtaining signature certificate from Circle: Circle observes and validates the burn event on the source chain. The application requests proof from Circle, and Circle provides authorization to mint the specified amount of USDC on the target chain.

3. Minting USDC on the target chain: The application uses the certificate to trigger the minting of USDC. The specified amount of USDC is minted on the target chain and sent to the recipient's wallet address.

② More Possibilities for CCTP

Developers can leverage CCTP to build cross-chain applications that combine various functionalities such as trading, lending, payments, NFTs, and gaming, to simplify users' operations.

1. Cross-chain Swaps: Users can seamlessly swap digital assets across different chains. For example, they can exchange ETH on Ethereum for AVAX on Avalanche. With CCTP, this process is fully automated. It automatically converts ETH to USDC on Ethereum, routes it through CCTP to Avalanche, and converts it to AVAX. The routing and execution are hidden from the user, making the operation exceptionally simple.

2. Cross-chain Deposits: Users can utilize their USDC on Ethereum to trade on decentralized exchanges on Avalanche. With CCTP handling the behind-the-scenes cross-chain routing of USDC, users do not need to switch wallets or even consider the chain on which they hold their USDC.

3. Cross-chain NFT Purchases: With just a click, users holding USDC on Avalanche can purchase Ethereum-based NFTs on Uniswap and list them for sale on OpenSea. When users initiate the transaction from their MetaMask wallet, CCTP routes their USDC from Avalanche to Ethereum to make the purchase on Uniswap, and then opens the listing on OpenSea.

4.3.2.6 Development

4.3.3.7 History

On April 26, 2023, Circle announced the launch of the developer-focused Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP), which is built based on Ethereum and Avalanche.

On April 27, 2023, numerous partner SDKs, including Metamask, integrated with CCTP.

On June 27, 2023, the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) went live on Arbitrum.

4.3.4.7 Development Status

Currently, Circle has not disclosed more details of CCTP development.

4.3.2.9 Economic Model

CCTP is a permissionless on-chain tool introduced by Circle. There is currently no economic model for CCTP.

4.4 Track Analysis - DeFi

DeFi (Decentralized Finance), as one of the most significant sectors in the blockchain industry, is playing an increasingly important role. Many believe that in the future of the financial industry, DeFi will replace traditional centralized finance (CeFi) as the primary mode of transactions, while CeFi will continue to serve as an important supplement.

4.4.1 DeFi: The Fading Glow

The narrative of DeFi seems to have come to an end in the summer of 2020, with DeFi Summer marking the climax, as well as its beginning and end. AMM (Automated Market Maker) protocols have become the essential infrastructure and standard for all DeFi projects. However, since then, established DeFi projects began to show signs of decline, and new challengers failed to bring innovative models that could excite the market and users.

Driven by the innovation of the AMM model, the DeFi space witnessed significant changes, and the track became more diverse with the emergence of various sub-sectors such as lending, derivatives, algorithmic stablecoins, synthetic assets, aggregators, and insurance. Additionally, the AMM model addressed efficiency issues and facilitated capital flow, attracting a substantial influx of funds into the DeFi track.

According to data from DeFiLlama, prior to DeFi Summer, the total value locked (TVL) on-chain was approximately $1 billion. However, after DeFi Summer, TVL experienced explosive growth, reaching its peak in early December 2021 at around $182 billion. Currently, the TVL has decreased to approximately $43 billion, marking a 76% decline.

As the hype subsides, both established DeFi projects like Uniswap and emerging projects like OHM in DeFi 2.0 are gradually forgotten by the market. The root cause of this forgetting lies in the fact that the services they offer are largely similar, and the market does not necessarily require such a multitude of similar projects. In the initial stages, projects attract users through token incentives and high liquidity rewards. However, as the returns diminish, funds flow towards the next project.

4.4.2 DEX: The Double-edged Sword Of Liquidity

DeFi has witnessed tremendous growth in DEX trading volumes, with the largest DEX, Uniswap, at one point surpassing mainstream exchanges like Coinbase in daily trading volume. However, the landscape has changed since then.

According to data from DeFiLlama, DEX trading volumes reached their peak in late 2021 and early 2022, with the highest volume nearing $80 billion. However, this year, DEX trading volumes have reached a peak of nearly $20 billion, which is only a quarter of the historical peak.

According to the latest data from CoinGecko, the combined trading volume of the top five DEXs in the past 24 hours represents only 40% of the trading volume on Binance. This suggests that the glory days of DEXs are now a thing of the past.

After the DeFi frenzy, the popularity of DEXs is mostly accompanied by negative news. Instances of exchange failures like Luna and FTX, as well as recent lawsuits filed by the SEC against Coinbase and Binance, have impacted the DEX landscape. In the past two days, the trading volumes of the top three DEXs have increased by over 440%.

Liquidity has been a double-edged sword for DEXs. The rise of DEXs was fueled by high liquidity rewards, but their decline is often associated with the reduction of these rewards. Without the allure of high liquidity incentives, DEXs currently lack effective means to retain users. Therefore, improving the service experience of DEXs and exploring new breakthroughs have become the direction that DEX projects are actively pursuing.

4.4.3 RWA: A New Narrative For DeFi

RWA (Real World Assets) is where real-world assets are tokenized and brought onto the blockchain. By tokenizing real-world assets such as bonds, stocks, real estate, and more, individuals can hold tokens that represent ownership of these assets in the physical world. These tokenized assets can then be utilized for activities like renting, lending, buying, and selling within the blockchain ecosystem.

4.4.4 RWA + DeFi: New Scenarios

The core concept of RWA is to bring real-world assets onto the blockchain, allowing for the redemption of on-chain RWA tokens for offline assets, enabling seamless interaction between traditional finance and DeFi.

Currently, DeFi operates within a relatively closed environment, and the addition of RWA can bring new possibilities and enhance the overall innovation capacity of DeFi. Additionally, while the primary source of user returns in DeFi comes from liquidity rewards, when the rewards decrease and users have no motivation to provide liquidity, the introduction of RWA can provide users with more opportunities to increase their earnings, thereby boosting the vitality of the DeFi ecosystem.

The integration of RWA expands the scope of DeFi beyond just cryptocurrency assets. It allows for a wider range of underlying assets and diversified investment strategies involving real-world assets. This enables participants to increase their returns in DeFi and provides them with consistent motivation to remain engaged.

The concept of RWA is not new and was already introduced by AAVE in late 2021 with the launch of the RWA market, enabling collateralized lending using real-world assets. This year, the publication ofCitigroup's research report "Money, Tokens, and Games" has once again brought RWA into the spotlight. In the traditional finance sector, institutions like Goldman Sachs have tokenized traditional assets, Siemens has issued 60 million euros in bonds on the Polygon network, and KKR is exploring the tokenization of real-world assets.

4.4.5 The RWA Track

The RWA track currently encompasses various sub-sectors, including stablecoins, real estate, stocks and bonds, private lending, carbon credit tokens, synthetic assets, and TeadFi.

According to data from CoinGecko, the top ten projects by market capitalization in the RWA sector include stablecoins (Maker), private lending (Centrifuge and Goldfinch), stocks and bonds (Maple, TrueFi, and Clearpool), real estate (Propy), and carbon credits (KlimaDAO and Regen).

According to the data from rwa.xyz, there have been 1,651 loans based on the RWA protocol in the private credit sector. The total loan amount reached $4.375 billion, with an average yield of 10.42%. Private credit operations primarily focus on relatively underdeveloped regions such as Southeast Asia, Africa, India, and South America. The funds flow into sectors including consumer goods, automotive, fintech, carbon projects, real estate, and crypto trading.

According to the latest research report bySharkTeam, the number of addresses holding RWA-type tokens on the Ethereum blockchain has been continuously increasing. The largest surge in address count was observed in January 2022, while the increase in March 2023 was close to being the highest for this year and the fourth highest in history.

4.4.6 Pros & Cons of the RWA Track

Pros:

1. Asset Preservation: RWA have the ability to withstand inflation. As real-world inflation causes prices to rise, the value of tangible assets also increases.

2. Stable Returns: Projects like real estate offer relatively stable returns, which appeal to investors who prioritize stable income.

3. Transparency: The DeFi code is open for public audit, and the on-chain data is transparent and traceable.

4. Cost Reduction: DeFi eliminates intermediaries, leading to cost reduction. Additionally, cross-application services are more convenient and efficient.

5. User Control: Non-custodial asset management is achieved through private keys, allowing DeFi applications to interact with assets in a trust-minimized manner.

Cons:

1. Poor Liquidity: RWA investments often have longer exit timeframes. If there are liquidation entity assets, ownership changes may be required.

2. High Management Costs: Investing in RWAs typically involves higher management costs, such as maintenance and property management expenses.

4.4.7 Closing Remarks

RWA is not a new concept, and commonly mentioned stablecoins, such as USDT and USDC, are indeed examples of RWA. They represent the mapping of real-world assets, such as the U.S. dollar, on the blockchain. However, ensuring the legitimacy of on-chain assets and preventing illegal activities like money laundering poses a challenge for RWA.

4.4.8 LSD: DeFi's New Trend

LSD, which stands for Liquid Staking Derivative, is also known as a Liquid Staking Token. It represents users' staked assets that can be used for DeFi activities, allowing users to earn additional income apart from staking rewards.

4.4.9 Why Do We Need LSD?

In the transition from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) in Ethereum, the previous miners who obtained block rewards became node validators who stake ETH tokens to secure the network and earn rewards. However, when these ETH tokens are locked through staking, they become illiquid.

Liquid Staking addresses the liquidity issue by tokenizing the staked assets. LSD allows these locked assets to retain liquidity and can be traded or used in DeFi protocols, enabling users to earn additional income beyond staking rewards.

LSD remains an ERC-20 token, which means it can be traded, staked, provided as liquidity, borrowed, and more.

4.4.10 LSD Data

According to Dune's statistics, we can see that over 1/3 of ETH is staked in the LSD protocol. LSD has become an important component of the DeFi sector. In terms of the total locked value in different protocols, LSD also ranks first, reaching $18.25 billion.

In the LSD sector, Lido is undoubtedly the leading application, with its Total Value Locked (TVL) accounting for 74.23% of the entire sector. At its peak, it has reached as high as 92%.

Lido's stETH holds the largest market share and enjoys excellent liquidity. However, it is precisely because of this that concerns have been raised regarding the centralization and governance system of Lido DAO.

4.4.11 Lido Finance

Lido is the first service provider that offers liquidity staking, consistently occupying an absolute market share. On the official website interface of Lido, you can stake your ETH and receive stETH, which is the certificate provided by Lido, also known as LSD. You can hold this certificate to earn staking rewards and use it for DeFi activities.

According to data from DeFiLlama, Lido's current Total Value Locked (TVL) is $12.7 billion, which has decreased compared to its peak of $20.835 billion. The main reason for this decline is the collapse of UST, which resulted in significant losses.

Lido charges a commission of 10%, and the APY has remained between 5% and 5.5% in the past month. Currently, approximately 7.2 million ETH are staked in the Lido protocol, estimated at an Ethereum price of $1700. This translates to an annual revenue of over $60 million for Lido, which means a daily income of approximately $168,000.

In terms of the LSD track, Lido's TVL is $12.7 billion, while the second-place Coinbase has less than $2 billion, which is more than six times less than Lido.

The price of Lido's token, LDO, has mostly fluctuated between the range of $1.5 to $2.5 this year. It reached a peak of $3.3 at some point this year and is currently priced at $1.77.

4.4.12 Choosing an LSD Option

LSD is an important component of the DeFi space. It enables users to earn profits on ETH, SOL, AVAX, and other PoS tokens without the need for long-term lockups. Each LSD variant has its own set of features that make it attractive to different types of users and risk profiles. Therefore, it is essential to conduct research before deciding which one is suitable for you.

4.4.13 Uniswap V4

Uniswap has just announced its latest V4 version roadmap, aiming to transform itself into a true financial platform. As the absolute leader in the DeFi space, Uniswap's plans may have an impact on other projects in the same field. This time, the questions raised by Uniswap also reveal its central question: Can DEX surpass CEX (Centralized Exchange)?

Hooks and Singleton

The biggest updates in this V4 version are Hooks and Singleton.

With Uniswap V4, developers can customize and deploy their own DEX to meet their specific needs through Hooks. This will inspire developers' creativity and enable them to create liquidity pools that cater to different specific use cases, incentivizing liquidity providers to participate.

V4 liquidity pools will exist within a single contract, reducing the cost of creating liquidity pools by 99%. Combined with the new settlement system, it will also reduce costs across multiple pools.

The emergence of Uniswap V4 accelerates the pace of DEX catching up with CEX. Uniswap has the opportunity to become the true infrastructure of the crypto DeFi space. Perhaps in the near future, it will achieve the goal that Uniswap itself has proposed, with DEX surpassing CEX.

4.4.14 Closing Remarks

Despite the waning influence of DeFi, there is no denying that it remains an integral and crucial part of the blockchain industry. It has become the infrastructure of the entire blockchain ecosystem, silently influencing various subsectors. The next DeFi wave could potentially introduce disruptive technologies akin to the emergence of Automated Market Makers (AMMs) three years ago, or bring forth new narratives and possibilities. It might be delayed, but it will never be absent from this grand feast.

4.5 Track Analysis - NFT

4.5.1 Blur

4.5.1.1 Basic Project Overview

Blur launched its mainnet on October 20, 2022, and introduced the Blur token on February 14, 2023. Blur is an aggregator NFT trading marketplace that not only has its own native trading platform but also aggregates OpenSea, LooksRare, and X2Y2. Blur has no marketplace fees and allows for an unlimited number of NFT transactions. Additionally, Blur offers free services that currently include NFT trading marketplace, trading aggregator, and trading tools. As a rising star in the NFT trading market, Blur has gained a significant share of the NFT market transactions due to its innovative feature of embedded trading aggregator and extremely low royalties.

4.5.1.2 Project Details

4.5.1.3 The Team

The Blur team consists of 10 members, comprising developers from renowned institutions such as MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Citadel, Five Rings Capital, Twitch, Brex, Square, and Y-Combinator.

① Founder

Tieshun Roquerre is 24 years old and graduated from the Computer Science faculty at MIT. He has previously worked at Teespring and Y-Combinator and has founded Namebase.

② Co-Founder

Anthony Liu graduated from the Computer Science faculty at MIT and co-founded Namebase alongside Tieshun Roquerre. He is responsible for leading Blur's team of seven engineers.

4.5.1.4 The Funding

Blur has completed its seed funding round.

① Seed Funding

Time: March 2022

Funding: $11 million

Key investors: Paradigm led the investment, with participation from eGirl Capital, 0xMaki, LedgerStatus, and others.

4.5.1.5 The Product

Compared to traditional NFT trading markets, Blur has the following five key features:

1. Fast transaction speeds

2. Multi-platform aggregation

3. Low gas fees

4. Zero transaction fees

5. Rich data analysis tools

① Fast Transaction Speeds

Blur's most noticable aspect is its speed. The running speed of the Blur platform is nearly 10 times faster than other NFT aggregators. It can list all pending NFT transactions in less than 1 second and automatically update the list every four seconds. This rapid display, combined with almost real-time updated data, provides a significant advantage to Blur users who want to buy NFTs.The probability of grabbing some rare and popular NFTs on Blur is usually higher than on other platforms.

② Multi-Platform Aggregation

The Blur platform aggregates the three major NFT trading markets on Ethereum: OpenSea, LooksRare, and X2Y2. Additionally, users can also list their own NFT assets on Blur. Through the Blur aggregator, users can discover and browse NFTs from different markets on a single page, making it easier for users to purchase their desired NFTs.

③ Low Gas Fees

Blur's gas priority preset can help trading users stay ahead of their competitors who purchase NFTs through other exchanges or aggregators. Additionally, through the Blur aggregator contract, it is possible to achieve multiple purchases within a single transaction, thereby saving users on gas fees.

④ 0 Transaction Fees

Unlike traditional NFT trading markets like OpenSea, Blur maintains a 0% NFT transaction tax rate.

⑤ Rich Data Analysis Tools

In terms of data, Blur is more user-friendly for professional traders. Unlike OpenSea, which requires constant window switching to view different data, Blur eliminates this need entirely. By default, NFTs are listed in order of daily trading volume and display key data such as floor price, NFT owner count, and various price and trading volume indicators. Additionally, Blur allows tracking of the rarity of all NFTs, estimated collectible value, and even generates a rough investment profit and loss statement.

Furthermore, Blur provides corresponding tools for users looking to buy at the bottom. Each NFT series has a floor price depth analysis chart that shows how many NFTs are listed above different floor prices. Combined with other data provided by the platform, users can make more intuitive judgments about whether the current price level is suitable for entry.

4.5.1.6 Development

4.5.1.7 History

In March 2022, Blur announced a seed funding round funding of $11 million, led by Paradigm.

In May 2022, Blur launched a test version.

In October 2022, after 5 months of internal testing, Blur officially went live and airdropped Blur tokens to users.

In December 2022, Blur initiated the second airdrop, which was significantly larger in scale compared to the first one.

In February 2023, the native token BLUR was launched.

In February 2023, Blur updated its royalty policy, with a minimum preset royalty of 0.5% and adjustable flexibility. Additionally, Blur adjusted its transaction fee to 0.

In May 2023, Blur entered the NFT lending market and introduced a series of new products, including the collaborative P2P NFT lending protocol called Blend in partnership with Paradigm, as well as features like buy-now-pay-later and mining lending points.

4.5.1.8 Development Status

① Recent three-month trading data in the mainstream NFT market

According to the NFT browser NFTScan, the trading volume of Blur in the past three months is significantly greater than that of Opensea.

② Blur: Number of traders and wallets

The number of traders and wallets can provide an additional dimension to assess the level of activity on Blur. Source: NFTScan.

③ Blur gas fees and trading volume

After the airdrop distribution, in March 2023, Blur experienced a significant surge in gas fees and trading volume. Source: NFTScan.

4.5.1.9 Economic Model

The Blur token is issued by the Blur Foundation, with the token symbol BLUR. The total token supply is 3 billion, and it will be fully released within a period of 4-5 years.

4.5.1.10 Token Allocation

Community members will receive 51% of the BLUR tokens. Core contributors will receive 29% of the BLUR tokens, with a release period of 4 years. Investors will receive 19% of the BLUR tokens, also with a release period of 4 years. Advisors will receive 1% of the BLUR tokens, with a release period of 4-5 years.

4.5.1.11 Token Utility

① Governance

BLUR token holders have governance rights over the protocol, and the Blur Foundation assists in facilitating community-led governance and participation in the DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization). The governance process is divided into off-chain proposals, forum discussions, Snapshot voting, on-chain proposals, and execution.

To provide improvement proposals in the Blur community, one must hold a minimum of 100,000 BLUR tokens. Proposals require at least 30 million BLUR tokens in support to enter on-chain execution voting. Once in the on-chain execution voting phase, at least 120 million BLUR tokens in support are required for execution.

Additionally, BLUR token holders have the right to control the accumulation and distribution of protocol value and set the protocol fees after six months.

② Incentivization

Blur DAO will delegate certain functions to committees. Over time, these committees will work towards gradually transitioning their responsibilities to management departments. Specifically, there will be a Security Committee, Market Committee, and Incentive Committee.

The Incentive Committee has the ability to allocate 10% of the BLUR tokens for incentivization purposes.

4.5.2 Milady Maker

4.5.2.1 Basic Project Overview

On May 10, 2023, Elon Musk shared a Milady Maker NFT gif on his Twitter account. Shortly after, the Milady Maker NFT quickly climbed the ranks and became popular on the NFT marketplace Opensea.

Milady Maker NFT is a collection of 10,000 anime-style female avatar NFTs, featuring unique and quirky artistic styles. The inspiration for the Milady style comes from the Japanese Y2K subculture fashion tribe. Ladys is the associated Meme Coin of Milady Maker NFT and has been listed on multiple exchanges.

4.5.2.2 Project Details

4.5.2.3 The Team

① Founder

Charlotte Fang: Remilia founder Charlotte Fang is a dropout and also the core creator of Milady. In May 2022, 0xngmi, the founder of DefiLlama, tweeted disclosing Charlotte Fang's close association with a 4chan-based suicide cult organization. Subsequently, Charlotte Fang withdrew from the project.

② Core Team

Milady was launched by an anonymous online team called the Remilia Corporation. Remilia is an anonymous digital art DAO consisting of approximately 70 individuals. The organization's name is derived from the character Remilia Scarlet in the doujin game Touhou Project. The members of Remilia Corporation are all anonymous and have never revealed their real identities, even to each other. They primarily operate through Twitter group DMs and many of the members have graduated from or dropped out of art schools.

4.5.2.4 The Funding

Milady Maker NFT currently has no financial backers.

4.5.2.5 The Product

① Drip Score

Like many other NFTs, Milady Maker NFTs also have a similar rating system. The Drip Score is a rating system used in the Milady Maker NFT collection to assess the overall stylishness of each Milady. It takes into account the rarity of each NFT. The Drip Score is designed to help tie value to aesthetics over pure trait scarcity, and each Milady is given a letter grade for their Drip Score, ranging from D to SS. Collectors may use the Drip Score to assess the value and uniqueness of a particular Milady and determine its potential as a collectible asset.

② 5 Styles

Milady Maker features a prominent neochibi art style. The term "chibi" originates from Japanese and refers to a drawing style that portrays characters with exaggeratedly cute and childlike features, similar to the concept of "Q-version" in Chinese. Milady Maker is divided into five main themes inspired by the five major fashion cliques in Tokyo: Gyaru, Prep, Lolita, Hypebeast, and Harajuku.

4.5.2.6 Development

4.5.2.7 History

In August 2021, Milady Maker NFT was launched on the Ethereum blockchain with a price of 0.05 ETH.

In May 2022, project founder Charlotte Fang exited due to a scandal.

In May 2023, Elon Musk shared a GIF of a Milady Maker NFT on Twitter.

4.5.2.8 Development Status

① Price and Sales Volume

As of the end of June, the floor price of Milady Maker is 3.24 ETH. Source: NFTGo.

② Number of Holders

The total number of holders is 3.43K, with 19 whales and 438 blue-chip project holders. (For blue-chip projects, blue-chip project holders must hold at least one NFT from that project and any NFT from any other blue-chip project. For non-blue-chip projects, blue-chip project holders must hold at least one NFT from a blue-chip project.) Source: NFTGo.

③ Holder Leaderboard

Below is the leaderboard for the top 10 Milady Maker holders. Source: NFTGo.

4.5.2.9 Economic Model

Milady Meme Coin (Ladys) has a similar design as PEPE, with a total supply of 888,000,888,000,888 tokens.

Out of the total supply, 94% of the tokens have been sent to the liquidity pool, 1% is airdropped to $PEPE and Milady NFT holders, which users can claim between May 8th and 15th, 2023. The remaining 5% is held in an ENS named "miladymeme.eth" multi-signature wallet, to be used in the future for exchange listings, cross-chain integration, and LP (Liquidity Provider) purposes.

4.5.3 a KID called BEAST

4.5.3.1 Basic Project Overview

a KID called BEAST, abbreviated as AKCB, is a brand new NFT project that was publicly minted on January 15, 2023. The AKCB NFT series consists of 10,000 3D collectibles, divided into 20 factions, with each faction consisting of 500 unique beasts.

AKCB aims to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds by offering user-friendly solutions. By combining world-class art with augmented reality (AR), AKCB spreads across multiple social media and community platforms, fostering art and experiences.

4.5.3.2 Project Details

4.5.3.3 The Team

The team of a KID called BEAST consists of 21 individuals, including digital artists, community managers, and developers. The project's co-founders are Rafael Ferrero (also known as Rafsby) and Caleb Smiler.

① Founder

Caleb Smiler: Serial entrepreneur, founded the DeFi platform AnjiEco in 2022.

② Founder

Rafael Ferrero: Serial entrepreneur, owns the crypto consulting company Loudchain.

③ Co-Founder

Jaime Alvarez: The Art Director of a KID called BEAST, with previous experience in art creation for brands such as Nike, Apple, Facebook, Instagram, and Sony.

4.5.3.4 The Funding

a KID called BEAST has not disclosed any funding.

4.5.3.5 The Product

Compared to traditional NFTs, a KID called BEAST has the following characteristics:

① 3D Collectibles

a KID called BEAST is comprised of 3D collectibles, which present a high level of development difficulty. Creating 3D artwork is more challenging than 2D, and AKCB has put effort into designing the entire body of the artwork. This reflects the team's dedication and attention to detail.

② Multiple Derivative Products

BeastSwap is a decentralized exchange independently developed by a KID called BEAST. It provides support for seven different blockchains and has undergone extensive optimization on the trading front.

BeastStudio is a studio established by the a KID called BEAST team. It focuses on augmented reality 3D models and personalized profile picture customization, allowing owners to obtain intellectual property rights for their creations. BeastStudio has already produced a range of mature works in the fields of merchandise, toys, accessories, creative consumables, music, and promotional stunts.

Additionally, the team members have also developed a shooting game.

③ Establishing the Beast Council

The establishment of the Beast Council aims to create a two-way communication channel between the outstanding community and the core team. It helps alleviate the responsibilities of the core team, allowing them to focus more on other aspects of the project.

The Beast Council is composed of individuals, including the Chief Administrator of AKCB, the Project Manager of AKCB, and community supporters.

4.5.3.6 Development

4.5.3.7 History

In December 2021, the a KID called BEAST team started the project development.

In January 2023, a KID called BEAST began the minting process.

In June 2023, a KID called BEAST established the Beast Council.

4.5.3.8 Development Status

① Price and Sales Volume

As of the end of June, the floor price of a KID called BEAST was 0.38 ETH, with a total trading volume of 26.17K. Source: NFTGo.

② Number of Holders

Currently, a KID called BEAST has 3.75K holders, including 312 blue-chip project holders and 6 whale holders. Source: NFTGo.

③ Holder Leaderboard

Below is the leaderboard for the top 10 holders. Source: NFTGo.

4.5.3.9 Economic Model

The KCB series of NFTs includes 10,000 3D collectibles, with 9,000 available for public minting. The team has reserved 1,000 for collaborative airdrops, soft staking, and community giveaways.

4.6 Track Analysis - Web3

4.6.1 Lens Protocol

4.6.6.1 Basic Project Overview

Lens Protocol was launched in March 2022. It is an open-source social graph built on the Polygon blockchain, aiming to redefine the concept of social media in the Web3 and decentralized era. It enables creators to have direct connections with their community, featuring functionalities such as following, editing profiles, posting, commenting, and sharing posts, thereby forming a social graph entirely owned by the user.

4.6.1.2 Project Details

4.6.1.3 The Team

Lens Protocol was officially launched by the decentralized lending protocol Aave, and its core team members are the same as Aave.

① Founder

Stani Kulechov is the founder and CEO of Aave and Lens Protocol. He has extensive experience in blockchain and fintech technical development. Stani Kulechov has served as a mentor to numerous blockchain project founders and advisors.

② Co-Founder

Jordan Lazaro Gustave is the Chief Operating Officer of Aave and the key person in charge of Lens Protocol.

4.6.1.4 The Funding

① Series A

Date: November 2022

Funding: Undisclosed

Key Investor: FTX Ventures

② Series B

Date: June 2023

Funding: $15 million

Key Investors: IDEO CoLab Ventures led the round, with participation from General Catalyst, Varian, Blockchain Capital, Tencent, and other companies such as Flamingo DAO, DAOJones, Punk DAO, DAO5, and Global Coin Research.

4.6.1.5 The Product

Lens Protocol is not a specific social product but rather a middleware protocol service. Developers can leverage its provided API to build social products on top of it at a low cost. The Lens Protocol product possesses the following characteristics and innovations:

① Social Behavior NFTization

In traditional social products (Web2 social products), social platforms are relatively closed, making it difficult for users to communicate across platforms. All social interactions are confined within the platform. User behavior is based on highly centralized platforms, which means that user data and interaction data are stored within centralized platforms, making it challenging for users to own their data assets. However, Lens Protocol aims to empower users with control over their social interactions.

Lens Protocol offers familiar features such as posting, commenting, and adding friends, but with a difference from centralized social media. All social interactions on Lens Protocol are presented in the form of NFTs, allowing users to have complete ownership of their data and full control over their accounts. There are three types of NFTs representing user behavior: Profile NFT, Follow NFT, and Collect NFT.

After minting a Profile NFT, users can create an account name and perform actions such as posting and commenting with this account. The interaction data is tied to the Profile NFT and stored in the user's personal wallet. When a user follows another user, the follower receives a Follow NFT, and the order of followers is also recorded on the blockchain. On Lens Protocol, the collect function allows users to mint a Collect NFT for the content posted by others, including posts or comments but excluding reposts. Each collected content has a unique NFT with a record of the order of collection.

② Modular Functionality

Compared to similar WEB3 social competitors, the core advantage of Lens Protocol lies in its highly modular and composable nature as a social media platform. In addition to the aforementioned features such as personal profiles, collecting, and following, Lens Protocol also provides functional modules for setting follow conditions and whitelists. Lens Protocol has also prepared guild tutorials for users to develop new modules, enabling developers to build applications and extend functionality on top of it.

Furthermore, Lens Protocol's data and functionality can be integrated with any smart contract, allowing other applications to directly plug in, interact, or improve compatibility with Lens Protocol. This facilitates the enrichment of the Lens ecosystem and enhances user adaptability.

4.6.1.6 Development

4.6.1.7 History

In February 2022, Stani Kulechov, the founder of Aave, launched Lens Protocol.

In May 2022, Lens Protocol was officially launched on the Polygon network.

In November 2022, FTX Ventures announced its investment in Lens Protocol.

In June 2023, Lens Protocol secured a $15 million funding round led by IDEO CoLab Ventures.

4.6.1.8 Development Status

① User Data Generation

The period from March to April 2023 marked the peak of user data generation on Lens Protocol. However, by mid-June 2023, the generation of relevant data by Lens Protocol users had significantly declined. Source: Dune

② Other Aggregated Data

As of mid-June, Lens Protocol had a total of 116,626 holders of Profile NFTs. Users collectively generated 3,450,309 tweets, 1,462,544 comments, 3,747,929 reposts, and 2,852,384 collections. Additionally, there were 21,075,920 transactions recorded on the platform. Source: Dune.

4.6.1.9 Economic Model

Lens Protocol has yet to issue its own cryptocurrency.

4.6.2 CyberConnect

4.6.2.1 Basic Project Overview

CyberConnect is a decentralized social graph protocol for Web3 that has been deployed on blockchains including ETH and Polygon. CyberConnect aims to return data ownership to users, enabling developers to create social applications and allowing users to have ownership of their digital identities and content. As of March 13, 2023, the CyberConnect protocol has over 350,000 users and has secured two rounds of funding totaling $25 million.

4.6.2.2 Project Details

4.6.2.3 The Team

The CyberConnect team consists of the team that founded the Lino blockchain. Together, the Lino blockchain team has developed DLive and CyberConnect.

① Co-Founder

Wilson Wei: Co-founder and CEO of CyberConnect, graduated from UC Berkeley. A serial entrepreneur, previously founded DLive.

② CTO

Ryan Li: Co-founder and CTO of CyberConnect, graduated from UC Berkeley and previously served as the CTO of DLive.

4.6.2.4 The Funding

① Seed Funding

Date: November 2021

Funding: $10 million

Major investors: This funding round was led by Multicoin Capital and Sky9 Capital. Investors such as Animoca Brands, Draper Dragon, Hashed, Zoo Capital, Smrti Lab, and Mask Network also participated in this round of funding.

② Series A

Date: May 2022

Funding: $15 million

Major investors: This funding round was led by Animoca Brands and Sky9 Capital. Other participating investors include IOSG Ventures, Delphi Digital, Protocol Labs, Tribe Capital, GGV Capital, and more.

4.6.2.5 The Product

CyberConnect consists of three core features designed with user-centric functionality in mind: CyberProfile, a universal decentralized identity standard; CyberConnect Social Graph, which connects users' digital identities, data, content, and friends; and CyberWallet, an intelligent contract wallet.

① CyberProfile

CyberProfile is a universal, decentralized digital identity standard over which users have autonomous ownership and control. In addition to storing basic personal information, CyberProfile anchors users' self-sovereign digital identities and connects their content and social relationships to their identity.

CyberProfile also exists as an ERC-721 token (NFT) on the public blockchain, but currently, it is non-transferable and cannot be traded between users. The entire content and social graph history of users are shared among applications built on the CyberConnect infrastructure. Once a CyberProfile is created, users automatically gain creator capabilities and can publish monetizable content.

② CyberConnect Social Graph

A social graph that represents the connections between a user's digital identity, data, content, and social relationships. It allows users to have ownership and control over their social data, eliminating the need to start building their identity from scratch when switching social platforms.

③ CyberWallet

The protocol includes a non-custodial, ERC-4337 compatible smart contract wallet that is currently under development and will be available on Ethereum, Optimism, Arbitrum, BNBChain, Base, and Polygon.

There are two versions of this pioneering Web3 wallet that incorporate a social graph:

1. Social: Designed for general users with a simple and user-friendly interface. It offers registration without mnemonic phrases through Web2 social login options (such as email, phone, social media) and supports multiple chains. It utilizes MPC-TSS (Multi-Party Computation with Threshold Secret Sharing) technology to enable gasless transactions and social recovery functionality.

2. Pro: Enables one-click asset migration from existing mnemonic phrase wallets to the new smart contract wallet. It provides advanced DeFi protocol integration and built-in strategies to assist users in managing their assets.

4.6.2.6 Development

4.6.2.7 History

In November 2021, CyberConnect was co-founded by Wilson, Ryan, Shi Yu, and Zhimao.

In November 2021, CyberConnect completed a seed round of funding worth $10 million.

In May 2022, CyberConnect completed a Series A round of funding worth $15 million.

In March 2023, CyberConnect launched ccProfile NFT.

In April 2023, CyberConnect announced the launch of the CYBER token.

In May 2023, the CYBER token was publicly released through a sale on Coinlist.

4.6.2.8 Development Status

① CyberProfile Account Figures

CyberProfile is the core product of CyberConnect, and it serves as a universal decentralized digital identity standard. As of mid-June, there are 1,124,999 user accounts registered on the platform. Source: Dune.

② CyberConnect Daily Active Users

In the past 24 hours, CyberConnect had a daily active user count of 118,700. Source: Dune.

③ CyberProfile Daily Content Collection

Source: Dune.

4.6.2.9 Economic Model

In April 2023, CyberConnect announced the launch of its native token, CYBER, and conducted a public sale on Coinlist in May. The total supply of CYBER is 100,000,000 tokens.

4.6.2.10 Token Distribution

The total supply of CYBER is 100,000,000 tokens. CoinList's public issuance accounts for 3% of the total supply. Out of this 3%, 25% will be unlocked upon listing, while the remaining 75% will be unlocked linearly over a period of 6 months on a monthly basis.

The detailed distribution is as follows:

1. Team and Advisors: 15%, locked for 15 months after launch, followed by linear unlocking over the next 3 years on a quarterly basis.

2. Private Sale: 25.12%, locked for 12 months after launch, followed by linear unlocking over the next 3 years on a quarterly basis.

3. Community Treasury: 10.88%, 10% unlocked at launch, and the remaining 90% unlocked linearly on a monthly basis over 5 years.

4. Community Incentives: 12%, with 20% allocated to early users (airdrops) after launch, and the remaining 80% allocated for future community rewards.

5. CoinList Public Sale: 3%, with 25% unlocked after launch, and the remaining 75% unlocked linearly on a monthly basis within 6 months.

6. Ecosystem Development: 34%, divided as follows:

7. 1. Ecosystem Partners: 9%, with 20% unlocked after launch, and the remaining 80% unlocked linearly over 4 years.

   2. Developer Community: 10%, with 5% unlocked after launch, and the remaining 95% unlocked linearly over 4 years.

   3. Early Integration Partners: 5%, with 10% unlocked after launch, and the remaining 90% unlocked within 3 years.

   4. Marketing: 10%, with 10% unlocked after launch, and the remaining 90% unlocked within 3 years.

4.6.2.11 Token Utility

① Governance

CYBER token holders have the ability to vote on proposals related to the CyberConnect protocol.

② Payment

CyberProfile serves as the entry point for developers and users to access the CyberConnect ecosystem. When purchasing CyberProfile with an advanced username, the CYBER token is used as the actual payment currency.

③ Gas Fees

CyberConnect will soon be launching CyberWallet, an intelligent contract wallet solution that will offer users a seamless Web3 transaction experience. With CyberWallet, users won't need mnemonic phrases or have to pay gas fees for cross-chain transactions. The CYBER token will be used as the payment method for all transactions and other gas fees within the CyberWallet.

4.6.3 Nostr

Nostr is a decentralized social protocol that facilitates the transmission of information based on public key infrastructure.

4.6.3.1 Basic Project Overview

Public/Private Key Pair: A Nostr account corresponds to a set of public and private key pairs. The public key is prefixed with "npub1," and the private key is prefixed with "nsec1."

Clients: Nostr is the underlying protocol that requires client software for regular users to access. Currently, the most popular client software for Nostr is Damus.

Relays: Relays can be understood as the backend servers of the Nostr protocol. Clients send information to the relays, which store and synchronize the information with other connected clients. The storage and retrieval of data in the Nostr protocol are done through the relays.

4.6.3.2 Development Status

According to real-time data statistics from nostr.band, as of now, the number of Nostr protocol accounts is close to 21 million, with around 317,000 users and approximately 80,000 verified trusted users.

Based on the chart, the number of accounts started to increase significantly at the end of January, which coincided with the release of Damus.

The Nostr protocol has an active daily user base of 8000+ and a weekly active user base of approximately 20,000 people. In both of these data charts, it is easier to observe the timeframe, where at the end of January and the beginning of February, the Nostr protocol reached its peak in terms of daily and weekly active users.

The total amount of content published on the Nostr protocol is approximately 92 million. Nearly half of that resembles tweet-like content, around 42 million. The remaining half consists of other types of content.

4.6.3.3 Nostr Protocol Application Example: Damus

Damus is an application developed based on the decentralized social protocol Nostr. It shares similar features with Twitter, allowing users to directly post their updates and content on Damus.

With the concept of decentralized social networking, users have control over the value of their personal data. Additionally, the endorsement from former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has boosted its popularity. Within just two days of its launch on the Apple Store, Damus became the hottest social networking app.

Although Damus gained significant attention and user base in a short period, the transition of user habits wasn't immediate. Within less than a week of the hype, Damus experienced a 66.8% decrease in daily active users and an 85% drop in high-quality active accounts. A week later, the platform was flooded with numerous advertising and promotional content, overtaken by spam from bots.

Damus had the functionality to directly tip users with BTC, which recently faced the threat of being removed from the Apple App Store. This was due to a violation of Apple's guidelines regarding the sale of digital content. Under pressure, Damus made modifications by relocating the tipping feature button (zap button) to the user's personal profile page.

The popularity of both the Nostr protocol and the Damus application reflects users' dissatisfaction with existing social networking apps, which infringe upon personal data privacy, suffer from excessive advertisements, and lack data sovereignty. Users hope that new products can address these issues. From the emergence of this technology to the birth of practical applications, there are still many challenges ahead, such as optimizing user experience and generating high-quality content consistently. Decentralized social networking apps still have a long way to go if they want to overcome the barriers set by current internet social applications.

4.6.4 ChatGPT

ChatGPT launched on November 30, 2022. Just five days later, it surpassed one million users, and by the end of January, it reached over 100 million users.

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot program developed by OpenAI. It is capable of understanding and learning human language and engaging in conversations with humans, using contextual cues for interaction. The versatility of ChatGPT has led to its rapid global adoption and garnered significant attention.

According to data from SimilarWeb, the website has accumulated over 5.1 billion total visits in the past three months, with an average of 1.7 billion visits per month. The number of visits has shown a consistent upward trend, although there has been a slight slowdown in growth. In May, the number of visits reached 1.8 billion. Compared to other AI products such as Notion and Figma, ChatGPT's visitor count is significantly higher.

Usage of ChatGPT is concentrated mainly in the United States, Brazil, India, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Interestingly, among the monthly popular search topics, the topic of how to register/login to ChatGPT consistently remains high, even though its popularity has slightly decreased. This is likely due to the restricted access to ChatGPT in many countries and regions, where direct registration is not available.

In the field of ChatGPT usage, developers and programmers account for the largest proportion, reaching 72.85%. The emergence and application of new technologies often resonate more with developers and technical professionals, who are quicker to adopt and utilize them.

The popularity of ChatGPT extends beyond the internet domain and has also made an impact in the blockchain industry. At the ETH Denver 2023 hackathon event this year, many projects have started to incorporate the capabilities of ChatGPT to conceptualize and build new applications. This is both a signal and a trend in the industry.

5. Concluding Remarks

The market frenzy gradually cooled down as the bull market came to an end. Novel ideas from newly emerging projects have yet to capture investor attention. From capital providers to project teams and individual investors, everyone is observing, waiting, and cautiously making moves, waiting for the next bull market to arrive.

According to Rootdata's monthly investment and financing data, the number and scale of investments in the first half of 2023 has decreased, indicating that financeers are still exercising caution. The failure of several high-profile projects in 2022 still lingers in the public consciousness, tempering future expectations and outlook.

In the first half of 2023, the market has witnessed several hot trends that have captured the attention of regular users. Whether it's in the NFT sector, Layer2 sector, or even BTC, there is a renewed sense of vitality. The myth of financial freedom continues to circulate, and it is up to users to discern between genuine opportunities and scams. The market will always have its fads and short-lived trends. You can aggressively chase the latest hot project, or take a more gradual, long-term approach to investment. The choice is yours to make.

6. References:

1. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/regulations-virtual-asset-management-hong-031300486.html 

2. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/600k-bitcoin-price-prediction-cathie-wood-lays-out-arks-base-case-3102332 

3. https://www.morganstanley.com/articles/metaverse-opportunities-virtual-reality-augmented-reality-technologies 

4. https://support.mexc.com/hc/en-001/articles/12619329607705--Thank-you-Users-The-Meaning-Behind-MEXC-s-Upgrade-Color-to-Ocean-Blue- 

5. https://www.mexc.com/support/articles/17827791508450 

6. https://blog.mexc.com/524-airdrop-earnings-with-mx-tokens-creator-wilbur/ 

7. https://blog.mexc.com/a-new-high-for-mx-token-trade-it-in-futures-now-creator-wilbur/ 

8. https://www.lookintobitcoin.com/bitcoin-price-live/ 

9. https://dune.com/domo/ordinals-marketplaces 

10. https://domo-2.gitbook.io/brc-20-experiment/ 

11. https://dune.com/cryptokoryo/brc20 

12. https://dune.com/chocolate_chungus/brc-20-whale-tracker-unisat 

13. https://defillama.com/chains/Rollup 

14. https://www.rootdata.com/zh/Projects/detail/Arbitrum%20-%20Offchain%20Labs?k=MjczOA%3D%3D 

15. https://defillama.com/chain/Arbitrum?fees=true 

16. https://www.rootdata.com/zh/Projects/detail/zkSync%20-%20Matter%20Labs?k=Mjc0Mg%3D%3D 

17. https://www.rootdata.com/zh/Projects/detail/StarkNet?k=Mjc1MQ%3D%3D 

18. https://www.coingecko.com/en/exchanges/decentralized 

19. https://icg.citi.com/icghome/what-we-think/citigps/insights/money-tokens-and-games 

20. https://github.com/Uniswap/v4-core/blob/main/whitepaper-v4-draft.pdf 

21. https://app.rwa.xyz/ 

22. https://medium.com/starkware/starknet-goals-and-roadmap-for-2023-fe7b89eead3b 

23. https://app.chainaegis.com/home/news/detail?contentId=328&lang=en-US&haveCover=true&chainmeetShare=eyJ0aXRsZSI6IlNoYXJrVGVhbTogT24tY2hhaW4gRGF0YSBBbmFseXNpcyBmb3IgUldBIFRyYWNrIiwiZGVzYyI6IlJlYWwgV29ybGQgQXNzZXRzIChSV0EpIHJlZmVycyB0byB0aGUgcHJvY2VzcyBvZiB0b2tlbml6aW5nIHRhbmdpYmxlIGFzc2V0cyB3aXRoIHN0YWJsZSB2YWx1ZSBhbmQgaW5jb21lLCBzdWNoIGFzIHJlYWwgZXN0YXRlLCBhdXRvbW9iaWxlcywgYXJ0d29yaywgZXRjLiwgYW5kIHV0aWxpemluZyBvciB0cmFkaW5nIHRoZW0gb24gdGhlIGJsb2NrY2hhaW4uIiwiaWNvbiI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXBwLmNoYWluYWVnaXMuY29tL2dhdGV3YXkvcmVwb3J0L2FwaS9hcHBsZXQvdjIvaG9tZVBhZ2Uvc2hhcmtUZWFtL2NvdmVyL2dldC8zMjgucG5nIn0%3D 

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25. https://stats.nostr.band/ 

26. https://pro.similarweb.com/#/digitalsuite/websiteanalysis/overview/website-performance/*/999/3m?webSource=Total&key=chat.openai.com 

27. https://defillama.com/chain/Sui 

28. https://suiscan.xyz/mainnet/home 

29. https://www.nftscan.com/marketplace?chain=ETH 

30. https://dune.com/cyberconnecthq/cyberconnect-link3-metrics 

31. https://dune.com/rustamov/lens 

32. https://nftgo.io/collection/milady-maker/analytics/holder 

33. https://nftgo.io/collection/a-kid-called-beast/overview