Author: Frank, PANews
Layer2 has become an increasingly popular track. Especially Ethereum L2, from zkSync, Optimism, Arbitrum, to relatively new Layer2 latecomers such as Scoll and Blast that have emerged in this round of bull market, there are too many star projects emerging in the Layer2 track. According to l2beat data, there are currently 57 Layer2 projects on Ethereum that have been launched, and 45 are about to be launched.
Each Layer2 has different focuses, for example, some focus on speed, some specialize in serving the game/NFT track, etc. Ten Protocol, founded by the executive team of the traditional financial alliance R3, is a Layer2 privacy solution on Ethereum. It plans to strike a balance between Optimistic and ZK-Rollups, providing speed, security, versatility and privacy that the existing Layer2 does not currently have. Its launch of solutions such as Confidential Roll-ups and Secure Enclaves aims to eliminate problems such as MEV from the root, providing technical support for a variety of application scenarios such as decentralized finance.
Currently, Ten Protocol has attracted more than 120 partners such as CoinList and Supra, and launched application scenarios such as RWA, AI, Gaming, sealed auctions, dark pool transactions, and private Defi. According to Ten Protocol officials, the number of daily interactions on the Ten Protocol test network has exceeded 3.4 million times. Under the large-scale stress test of the community, it has shown mature stability and scalability, and the launch time of the main network and tokens is getting closer.
Technological innovation completely eradicates MEV
MEV (Maximum Extractable Value) is a key issue in the Ethereum network. MEV refers to the ability of miners or validators to gain additional benefits by manipulating the order of transactions on the blockchain, inserting their own transactions, or delaying specific transactions. The well-known clamp robot and sandwich attack refer to the unfair competition of MEV transactions. This behavior is particularly prominent in blockchain transactions such as DeFi, and it also causes huge damage to the interests of ordinary users.
MEV has always been a gray area in the Ethereum ecosystem and has recently attracted regulatory attention. On May 16, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released an indictment accusing two brothers in Boston of stealing $25 million worth of cryptocurrency in 12 seconds by exploiting a vulnerability in the Ethereum blockchain. The two were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to launder money. This is the first time the U.S. government has filed criminal charges for controversial behavior related to Maximum Extractable Value (MEV). In addition, EU regulators have also stated that they regard MEV as market abuse and intend to take strict enforcement action.
According to a report by traditional financial institution VanEck on June 7, MEV revenue on Ethereum accounted for about 19% of transaction fees in the past year. According to a report by The Block on June 6, from February 2023 to June 2024, MEV robots using the ENS domain name "jaredfromsubway.eth" spent a total of 76,916 ETH, which is about $175 million based on the value of these transactions when they were executed.
Solving the MEV problem has become an important issue for Ethereum and the Layer2 ecosystem. Ten Protocol, as a Layer2 encryption solution, provides a high degree of confidentiality and security for transaction data by combining Confidential roll-ups and technology with Secure Enclaves, which may completely eradicate MEV.
Specifically, Confidential roll-ups is an innovative Layer-2 solution. On the TEN platform, all transactions are encrypted on Layer 2 before being submitted to Ethereum Layer 1. This means that neither miners nor validators can see the unencrypted transaction content. This encryption process effectively conceals the details of the transaction, such as the transaction amount, the parties involved, and the specific instructions of the transaction.
Secure Enclaves provides Ten Protocol with a secure data and code execution environment, ensuring that the data and logic being processed are completely confidential and cannot be tampered with. The application of this technology directly addresses some fundamental security challenges in blockchain technology, especially in processing sensitive data and maintaining transaction privacy. Through Secure Enclaves, TEN can ensure that the execution of smart contracts will not be observed or interfered with by the outside world, greatly enhancing the security and privacy of the contract.
In summary, by combining Confidential Roll-ups and Secure Enclaves, TEN can provide high transaction confidentiality and security without sacrificing transaction speed and cost efficiency. This is especially important for enterprise-level applications and financial transactions that require high privacy protection. In addition, the application of this technology also supports complex business logic and new application scenarios, such as encrypted games, privacy-protected financial services, etc.
TGE will be conducted in the summer, with remarkable ecological results
Currently, Ten Protocol is in the early stages of launch, and is working intensively on testnet and ecological cooperation.
On May 23, Ten Protocol announced that its daily test network interactions exceeded 3.4 million, demonstrating the speed and stability of the network. Currently, Ten Protocol has developed a variety of application scenarios such as RWA, AI, Gaming, sealed auctions, dark pool transactions, private Defi, etc. It has more than 120 partners and more than 60 projects in the ecosystem. Recently, Ten Protocol announced that it has reached cooperation with many well-known projects in the industry, such as CoinList, Supra, Demos Network, 0G Labs, and JANCTION.
It is worth mentioning that on May 28, Ten Protocol announced the launch of the fourth phase of the test network on Galxe, where users can earn TEN points by completing tasks on Galxe. According to the roadmap time, TEN airdrops will be available soon.
According to Ten Protocol, the TGE of the token $TEN will be held this summer. The initial token supply is 1 billion, and TEN's node rewards are divided into three types:
1. Rewards for becoming an active node and participating in the lottery to select the node that submits the Rollup;
2. Submit Rollup rewards to Layer 1;
3. Rewards for successfully challenging inaccurate summaries, such as missing or wrong-order transactions. During the bootstrap phase, rewards will be in ETH, and rewards will be limited to nodes that verify the accuracy of the generated transaction hash signature list.
In terms of token distribution, community contributors account for 2.25%, community reserves account for 40.95%, investors account for 39.62%, the core team accounts for 15.2%, and service providers account for 1.98%.
42 banks alliance led by R3 executive team
TEN is a project founded by the R3 "gang". R3 is an alliance of 42 of the world's largest banks, dedicated to exploring blockchain-based RWA tokenization and CBDC. R3's investors include world-renowned institutions such as Intel, Temasek, Mizuho, and HSBC. The Corda platform created by R3 has become a DLT platform used by well-known financial institutions around the world. After the release of Corda, R3 is also considered to have a great possibility of replacing Ripple. On March 15, 2024, TEN announced the completion of a round of US$9 million in financing, led by R3, with participation from well-known industry institutions such as Republic Crypto, KuCoin Labs, Big Brain Capital, DWF Labs, and Magnus Capital.
In addition to financing, according to Ten Protocol, more than half of the current team members are from R3's executive team. Gavin Thomas, founder and COO of Ten Protocol, established the entire engineering function responsible for building Corda. Another founder, Tudor Malene, was previously the chief engineer and solution architect of Corda. He led the development of solutions for some of R3's largest customers, including Nasdaq. Cais Manai is the product director of Corda and R3s CBDC, payment and digital asset projects. R3 CBDC solutions are responsible for most of the world's CBDC projects operated by central banks.
Years of experience in building banking institutions have brought profound encryption and security genes to the Ten Protocol team. This may explain why the team has emphasized cryptographic privacy and scalable performance. Compared with other Layer 2 projects, Ten Protocol’s team has significant advantages in security and stable technical capabilities.
In general, although the Layer2 track has become increasingly crowded, for Ten Protocol, if the combination of Confidential roll-ups and secure execution environment with innovative technologies can completely eradicate MEV, combined with the high-quality team genes from R3 and the team’s mature experience in crypto business development, it may be possible to build a unique product advantage in the Layer2 track.
