Author: Shenchao TechFlow
After a long period of dormancy, the crypto market has recently been bustling. In addition to the thriving Meme and compliance concepts, many infrastructure projects have also seen a surge, and those that understand timely updates may attract more market favor in this enthusiastic bull market.
Today, the cross-chain clearing layer protocol Everclear (@EverclearOrg) announced an important upgrade plan: upgrading NEXT tokens to CLEAR and introducing the innovative vbCLEAR (vote-bound CLEAR) mechanism.
Through our understanding, we found that this is not a simple currency swap, but rather a key upgrade for Everclear in the competition of cross-chain infrastructure.
Revaluation of the Clearing Layer's Value from Data
The current cross-chain ecosystem is facing a somewhat awkward situation: the number of public chains has exceeded 250, and the traditional one-to-one liquidity docking model is becoming unsustainable. New public chains often require significant resources to establish partnerships with various bridges and market makers at the startup stage, making inefficient liquidity acquisition a bottleneck for ecosystem development.
Everclear coordinates global settlements through the clearing layer, achieving a tenfold optimization of rebalancing costs. As Everclear itself puts it: "Everclear is like UberPool for the liquidity world, allowing cross-chain transactions to bid farewell to the traditional high-cost era through scaled matching and clearing."
During the three-month testnet operation, Everclear has shown impressive data performance: cross-chain transaction fees have dropped to a historic low of 0.011%, nearly 90% lower than traditional cross-chain solutions; the net liquidity settlement rate has reached 50%, meaning that every two cross-chain transactions can achieve a hedge through the clearing layer. Three consecutive months of tripling growth also prove that the clearing layer solution is not a 'pseudo-demand' in the market.
Innovations based on Arbitrum Orbit
From a technical perspective, Everclear chose to build its clearing layer infrastructure based on Arbitrum Orbit. The Orbit tech stack not only provides high-performance trading processing capabilities but also ensures seamless compatibility with the Ethereum ecosystem.
In terms of specific implementation, Everclear's clearing layer design adopts a unique dual-layer structure:
Basic Cross-Chain Layer: Users initiate cross-chain transactions through traditional cross-chain bridges (such as Router protocol, Across, Synapse, etc.).
Clearing Optimization Layer: Professional Solvers (Clearing Agents) conduct cross-chain clearing through the Everclear protocol, significantly reducing capital costs.
This design allows Everclear to provide more efficient clearing services for cross-chain infrastructure without compromising user experience.
Currency Exchange + Staking: A Reimagining of the Clearing Layer Economic Model
In this track, Everclear is not a solo act; traditional cross-chain bridges such as Stargate and Hop Protocol are continuously optimizing their clearing mechanisms. However, Everclear's differentiating advantage lies in its focus on the clearing layer as a niche track, achieving extreme efficiency through specialized division of labor. This also accurately targets the growing market trend for cross-chain demands for brand upgrades.
Staking voting rewards mechanism of vbCLEAR
In addition to exchanging NEXT tokens 1:1 for CLEAR, the core of this upgrade lies in the introduction of the vbCLEAR mechanism. Under the new mechanism, CLEAR token holders can earn vbCLEAR by staking, thus participating in ecological governance.
The vbCLEAR mechanism has a complete token economic cycle:
Staking Mechanism: CLEAR holders earn vbCLEAR through staking.
Governance Voting: vbCLEAR holders participate in decision-making for emission distribution, including voting to direct liquidity incentives (emissions) to specific chains and Solvers.
Incentive Distribution: Incentives are allocated to Solvers on each chain based on voting results.
Fee Rebate: vbCLEAR holders can receive two types of rewards.
Protocol Fees: Share the dynamic fees paid by Solvers and users for using the Everclear liquidity clearing system (currently between 0.2-1 basis points depending on trading conditions).
Quarterly Incentives: A fixed reward pool, such as 1.75 million CLEAR in the first quarter, allocated to vbCLEAR holders.
Season 1 Quarterly Incentive Program
To ensure the rapid launch of the upgraded ecosystem, Everclear has launched the first quarterly incentive program, Season 1. In the three-month incentive season starting December 6, the project will release a reward pool of 1.75M CLEAR tokens and 70 ETH.
By creating a self-driven positive flywheel: the more staking brings more precise liquidity allocation, which in turn attracts more trading volume, ultimately benefiting ecological participants.
Summary
This upgrade by Everclear is essentially a strategic layout betting on the future. The clearing layer, as a niche track of cross-chain infrastructure, has long-term value, and Everclear's innovative attempts bring more diverse participation methods to this track.
The vbCLEAR mechanism balances governance rights, economic incentives, and market efficiency, providing new ideas for solving cross-chain liquidity dilemmas. While Season 1's high incentives offer good entry opportunities, market participants still need to engage cautiously and pay attention to the actual operational results after the project upgrade.
