Summary of the Four Major Sectors of Ethereum-based Altcoins
1. ETH Layer2
This category of projects includes ARB, OP, ZK, STRK, METIS, MANTA, CELO.MNT, MATIC, IMX, SKL, LRC, CTSI, BOBA, COMBO, MODE, etc.
Their mission is to help the Ethereum ecosystem thrive by providing high TPS (transactions per second) and low GAS fees.
As a key to realizing ETH's vision of a 'global computer', the importance of the Layer2 sector is undeniable, and it is also the highest market cap area in the entire ETH ecosystem. However, many projects have been criticized as representatives of 'low liquidity, high FDV' institutional coins. For instance, ARB, OP, and STRK, the FDV of these three popular projects exceeds 10 billion USD, and they are referred to as three of the 'Four Kings of Layer2'.
2. ETH Staking and Re-staking (LSD)
Representative projects include LDO, SSV, PRL, SD, FXS, ANKR, ETHEI, REZ.
LSD protocols (Liquid Staking) emerged after ETH switched from POW to POS mechanism. LDO (Lido) is currently the largest staking service provider, with the highest TVL (Total Value Locked) globally, and a circulating market value of 2 billion USD. SSV serves as an important infrastructure in this field.
3. ETH Established DeFi
Mainly includes UNI, SUSHI, AAVE, COMP, CRV, MKR, LOTY.
DeFi was the core innovation sector of the previous bull market, and applications have integrated into various aspects of the blockchain. However, with the maturation of the market, this cycle focuses more on upgrading existing products, with relatively limited innovation.
4. ETH Meme Coins
Representative projects include PEPE, SHIB, SPX.
Meme coins have shown particularly strong performance in this bull market and are one of the important sectors attracting market attention.
These segments basically cover the mainstream tracks of the Ethereum ecosystem, each with its unique value and market position.