Mint Ventures
@Mint_Ventures
Mint Ventures is a research-driven venture firm that specializes in cryptocurrency and early-stage blockchain start-ups.
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The Underrated Gem of Solana Summer: Is Metaplex Undervalued Amid the Meme Frenzy?
By Alex Xu, Research Partner at Mint Ventures
Introduction
If we were to name the Layer 1 blockchain that has seen the most significant business growth in this bull market cycle, most people would likely answer: Solana.
Whether it’s the number of active addresses or transaction fee revenue, Solana’s market share among Layer 1s has expanded rapidly:
Active addresses: Solana’s share of active addresses has grown from 3.48% to 56.83%, a year-on-year increase of 1533%.
Monthly active address market
Introduction
If we were to name the Layer 1 blockchain that has seen the most significant business growth in this bull market cycle, most people would likely answer: Solana.
Whether it’s the number of active addresses or transaction fee revenue, Solana’s market share among Layer 1s has expanded rapidly:
Active addresses: Solana’s share of active addresses has grown from 3.48% to 56.83%, a year-on-year increase of 1533%.
Monthly active address market
The differences in the staking business models of Ethereum and Solana: Starting with Lido and Solaye
By Lawrence Lee, researcher at Mint Ventures
After securing two consecutive funding rounds, including a $12 million investment led by Polychain and funding from Binance Labs, Solayer, a restaking project on the Solana chain, has emerged as one of the few highlights in the DeFi space recently. Its TVL has been steadily increasing, now surpassing Orca and ranking 12th in TVL on the Solana chain.
Solana Project TVL Rankings
Source: DeFiLlama
As a core crypto-native subsector, the staking sector bo
After securing two consecutive funding rounds, including a $12 million investment led by Polychain and funding from Binance Labs, Solayer, a restaking project on the Solana chain, has emerged as one of the few highlights in the DeFi space recently. Its TVL has been steadily increasing, now surpassing Orca and ranking 12th in TVL on the Solana chain.
Solana Project TVL Rankings
Source: DeFiLlama
As a core crypto-native subsector, the staking sector bo
Revisiting Ethena: After an 80% plunge, is ENA still positioned in the undervalued strike zone?
By Alex Xu, Research Partner at Mint Ventures
Data valid through October 30, 2024
Introduction
Ethena stands out as a rare phenomenon in the current cycle of DeFi projects, with its token once achieving a circulating market capitalization exceeding 2 billion (corresponding to an FDV surpassing 23 billion.) However, since April of this year, the token’s price has experienced a swift decline, with Ethena’s circulating market cap retreating over 80% from its peak and the token price plummeting as m
Data valid through October 30, 2024
Introduction
Ethena stands out as a rare phenomenon in the current cycle of DeFi projects, with its token once achieving a circulating market capitalization exceeding 2 billion (corresponding to an FDV surpassing 23 billion.) However, since April of this year, the token’s price has experienced a swift decline, with Ethena’s circulating market cap retreating over 80% from its peak and the token price plummeting as m
Unveiling Polymarket: The Positioning, Expansion, and Shadows of Crypto Prediction Markets
By Lydia Wu, Researcher at Mint Ventures
Data valid through October 8, 2024
TL; DR
In a narrow sense, prediction markets typically exclude traditional gambling and sports betting. They focus more on information discovery and assisting public decision-making.Prediction markets cannot always be “accurate.” Failures often occur because people tend to treat the probabilities given by prediction markets as established facts.Cryptocurrencies have introduced freer transaction amounts and a more fricti
Data valid through October 8, 2024
TL; DR
In a narrow sense, prediction markets typically exclude traditional gambling and sports betting. They focus more on information discovery and assisting public decision-making.Prediction markets cannot always be “accurate.” Failures often occur because people tend to treat the probabilities given by prediction markets as established facts.Cryptocurrencies have introduced freer transaction amounts and a more fricti
dappOS: Understanding The Intent-Centric Execution Network
By Lawrence Lee, Researcher at Mint Ventures
Introduction
The crypto economy has grown significantly, leading to sophisticated on-chain infrastructure. Despite these advancements, the user experience still needs to be improved. Enhancing user interaction is crucial as it could attract more participants into the blockchain ecosystem. This would likely stimulate further infrastructure development and diversify business models, creating a dynamic where progress in one area spurs growth in another—
Introduction
The crypto economy has grown significantly, leading to sophisticated on-chain infrastructure. Despite these advancements, the user experience still needs to be improved. Enhancing user interaction is crucial as it could attract more participants into the blockchain ecosystem. This would likely stimulate further infrastructure development and diversify business models, creating a dynamic where progress in one area spurs growth in another—
Understanding Chain Abstraction by Problem Framing
By Lydia Wu, Researcher at Mint Ventures
If you found yourself baffled upon your first encounter with the “chain abstraction” concept, you’re not alone.
It appears significant, with numerous projects, and extensive funding, all claiming to be the standard… yet its practical use still needs to be discovered. Is “chain abstraction” just another buzzword in the pipeline of new Web3 concepts?
This article will start with the concept, return to the fundamental questions, and aim to make something
If you found yourself baffled upon your first encounter with the “chain abstraction” concept, you’re not alone.
It appears significant, with numerous projects, and extensive funding, all claiming to be the standard… yet its practical use still needs to be discovered. Is “chain abstraction” just another buzzword in the pipeline of new Web3 concepts?
This article will start with the concept, return to the fundamental questions, and aim to make something
Exploring The Updated AAVEnomics: Buybacks, Profit Distribution, and Safety Module Shift
By Alex Xu, Research Partner at Mint Ventures
Aave has long been on my radar, and just a few days ago, its governance team, ACI, unveiled a draft of Aave’s upgraded tokenomics on the governance forum. This proposal details expected enhancements in key areas, including the token value capture of Aave and improvements to the protocol’s safety modules.
For more insights on Aave, read my recent research Altcoins Keep Falling, Time to Refocus on DeFi, where I thoroughly evaluate its current status,
Aave has long been on my radar, and just a few days ago, its governance team, ACI, unveiled a draft of Aave’s upgraded tokenomics on the governance forum. This proposal details expected enhancements in key areas, including the token value capture of Aave and improvements to the protocol’s safety modules.
For more insights on Aave, read my recent research Altcoins Keep Falling, Time to Refocus on DeFi, where I thoroughly evaluate its current status,
Altcoins Keep Falling, Time to Refocus on DeFi
By Alex Xu, Research Partner at Mint Ventures & Lawrence Lee, Researcher at Mint Ventures
Introduction
Despite being one of the most mature sectors in the crypto space, DeFi projects have shown disappointing performance in this bull run. Over the past year, the DeFi sector has seen a modest increase of 41.3%, significantly lagging behind the average market growth of 91% and Ethereum’s 75.8% rise.
Source: artemis
Focusing on the data from 2024 alone, the performance of the DeFi sector is hard
Introduction
Despite being one of the most mature sectors in the crypto space, DeFi projects have shown disappointing performance in this bull run. Over the past year, the DeFi sector has seen a modest increase of 41.3%, significantly lagging behind the average market growth of 91% and Ethereum’s 75.8% rise.
Source: artemis
Focusing on the data from 2024 alone, the performance of the DeFi sector is hard
The Next ICP? Quilibrium Brings A New Narrative for Decentralized Computing
By Lydia Wu, Researcher at Mint Ventures
Please note: As Quilibrium’s mainnet has not yet launched, and public information is limited, the descriptions of its incentive mechanisms, tokenomics, financing, and roadmap are based on public resources and may change in the future. This article is intended for research and educational purposes and should not be taken as investment advice. We welcome any feedback.
Key Insights
Theses
Quilibrium aims to bridge the gap between the computational capabili
Please note: As Quilibrium’s mainnet has not yet launched, and public information is limited, the descriptions of its incentive mechanisms, tokenomics, financing, and roadmap are based on public resources and may change in the future. This article is intended for research and educational purposes and should not be taken as investment advice. We welcome any feedback.
Key Insights
Theses
Quilibrium aims to bridge the gap between the computational capabili
Emerging Trends in Crypto AI Sector: Key Catalysts, Development Frameworks and Top Projects
By Alex Xu，Research Partner at Mint Ventures
Introduction
This cycle of the crypto bull market has been the most uninspiring in terms of commercial innovation. Unlike the previous bull market, which saw phenomenal trends like DeFi, NFTs, and GameFi, this cycle lacks significant industry hotspots. Consequently, there has been sluggish growth in user base, industry investment, and developer activity.
This trend is also evident in the price of crypto assets. Over the entire cycle, most altcoins, i
Introduction
This cycle of the crypto bull market has been the most uninspiring in terms of commercial innovation. Unlike the previous bull market, which saw phenomenal trends like DeFi, NFTs, and GameFi, this cycle lacks significant industry hotspots. Consequently, there has been sluggish growth in user base, industry investment, and developer activity.
This trend is also evident in the price of crypto assets. Over the entire cycle, most altcoins, i
A New Solana-based AI + DePIN Project: A Brief Analysis of Upcoming-Tokenlaunch IO.NET
By Alex Xu, Research Partner at Mint Ventures
Introduction
In our last report, we mentioned that compared to the previous two cycles, the current cryptocurrency bull run is missing the new business models and asset narratives. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the novel narratives in the Web3 space this cycle. This article delves into the hot AI project of the year, IO.NET, and organizes thoughts on the following two questions:
The necessity of AI+Web3 in the commercial landscapeThe necess
Introduction
In our last report, we mentioned that compared to the previous two cycles, the current cryptocurrency bull run is missing the new business models and asset narratives. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the novel narratives in the Web3 space this cycle. This article delves into the hot AI project of the year, IO.NET, and organizes thoughts on the following two questions:
The necessity of AI+Web3 in the commercial landscapeThe necess
An Overview of Ultiverse: The AI-powered Game Platform Backed By Top-tier Institutions
By Lawrence Lee, Researcher at Mint Ventures
Introduction
Mint Ventures has always been keeping a keen eye on Web3 gaming. Although the once-popular Play-to-Earn model, brought by the previous bull market, has fallen out of the discussion—highlighted by the dramatic collapse of Axie Infinity and StepN as Ponzi schemes—their peak engagement levels showcased millions of daily active users, marking the crypto space’s first encounter with “Massive Adoption.” Unlike social products, another categor
Introduction
Mint Ventures has always been keeping a keen eye on Web3 gaming. Although the once-popular Play-to-Earn model, brought by the previous bull market, has fallen out of the discussion—highlighted by the dramatic collapse of Axie Infinity and StepN as Ponzi schemes—their peak engagement levels showcased millions of daily active users, marking the crypto space’s first encounter with “Massive Adoption.” Unlike social products, another categor
Exploring The Dormant TON Community and Its Cross-ecosystem Connectivity
By Lydia Wu, Researcher at Mint Ventures
Decoupling the classical chain concept
The figures on DefiLlama and CoinMarketCap seem to conclusively show that TON is an “under-the-radar giant among chains” — consistently ranking within the top 20 in terms of market cap, yet its 24-hour trading volume lingers beyond the top 100. Despite reaching a new peak in Total Value Locked (TVL) at $53 million, it failed to enter the top 50 public chains; moreover, its market cap to TVL ratio hit an astonishing
Decoupling the classical chain concept
The figures on DefiLlama and CoinMarketCap seem to conclusively show that TON is an “under-the-radar giant among chains” — consistently ranking within the top 20 in terms of market cap, yet its 24-hour trading volume lingers beyond the top 100. Despite reaching a new peak in Total Value Locked (TVL) at $53 million, it failed to enter the top 50 public chains; moreover, its market cap to TVL ratio hit an astonishing
Preparing for Primary Wave: My Periodic Strategy on This Bull Market Cycle
By Alex Xu, Research Partner at Mint Ventures
Key Takeaways
Last week, BTC touched a historical high against the USD, signifying our entrance into the official stage of this bull market. Unlike the initial rebound and warm-up from the depths of the bear market, the official bull market phase brings an amplified sentiment and even more pronounced volatility.
Each bull market’s official start is characterized by a set of common features, including:
A shift from $BTC -led gains to altcoins spearhe
Key Takeaways
Last week, BTC touched a historical high against the USD, signifying our entrance into the official stage of this bull market. Unlike the initial rebound and warm-up from the depths of the bear market, the official bull market phase brings an amplified sentiment and even more pronounced volatility.
Each bull market’s official start is characterized by a set of common features, including:
A shift from $BTC -led gains to altcoins spearhe
Gelato: A Veteran in Web3 Developer Services Embarks on a RaaS Journey
👉Due to length constraints, only a part of the report is provided here. Please click the link for the complete content：
https://mintventures.fund/pdf/Gelato-A-Veteran-in-Web3-Developer-Services-Embarks-on-a-RaaS-Journey
Author: Lawrence Lee, Researcher at Mint Ventures
Investment Thesis
Gelato has been deeply involved in the developer services field for many years and has developed a comprehensive suite of tools and services for developers. It is expected to achieve a breakthrough in busine
https://mintventures.fund/pdf/Gelato-A-Veteran-in-Web3-Developer-Services-Embarks-on-a-RaaS-Journey
Author: Lawrence Lee, Researcher at Mint Ventures
Investment Thesis
Gelato has been deeply involved in the developer services field for many years and has developed a comprehensive suite of tools and services for developers. It is expected to achieve a breakthrough in busine
Covalent Network: The Hidden Gem of Decentralized Infrastructure
👉Due to length constraints, only a part of the report is provided here. Please click the link for the complete content：
https://mintventures.fund/pdf/Covalent-Network-The-Hidden-Gem-of-Decentralized-Infrastructure
Author: Alex Xu, Research Partner at Mint Ventures
Overview of Covalent
Business Positioning
Covalent offers Blockchain Indexer services, providing a comprehensive suite of blockchain data APIs that enable developers to conduct queries across multiple blockchains.
Messari’s 2023 D
https://mintventures.fund/pdf/Covalent-Network-The-Hidden-Gem-of-Decentralized-Infrastructure
Author: Alex Xu, Research Partner at Mint Ventures
Overview of Covalent
Business Positioning
Covalent offers Blockchain Indexer services, providing a comprehensive suite of blockchain data APIs that enable developers to conduct queries across multiple blockchains.
Messari’s 2023 D
Exploring Rollup Summer: Analyzing Narratives and Uncovering Investment opportunities
In this article, we will explore emerging trends in the Rollup market, its future trajectory, and potential investment opportunities. The discussion focuses on several key topics:
What is Rollup Summer?Case Studies: ZKFair and MantaProjecting the Evolution of Rollup SummerOpportunities in the Secondary Market: Investing in the Rollup Summer Narrative
The insights offered herein represent a snapshot of my analysis, framed by the knowledge available at the time of writing. The analysis is mainly f
What is Rollup Summer?Case Studies: ZKFair and MantaProjecting the Evolution of Rollup SummerOpportunities in the Secondary Market: Investing in the Rollup Summer Narrative
The insights offered herein represent a snapshot of my analysis, framed by the knowledge available at the time of writing. The analysis is mainly f
Evaluating Vitalik’s Proposals on Ethereum Staking: An Analysis of Their Potential Effects
By Hank Han, Researcher at Mint Ventures
Introduction
The landscape of Ethereum staking, along with its derivatives, has been a focal point in the crypto community for the last couple of years. Key developments like the Beacon Chain, The Merge, and Shapella, alongside innovations in Liquid Staking Tokens (LST), Derivative Staking Tokens (DST), Restaking, and LST-fi have marked the rapid evolution of Ethereum staking. This surge is largely attributed to fundamental shifts in Ethereum’s staking m
Introduction
The landscape of Ethereum staking, along with its derivatives, has been a focal point in the crypto community for the last couple of years. Key developments like the Beacon Chain, The Merge, and Shapella, alongside innovations in Liquid Staking Tokens (LST), Derivative Staking Tokens (DST), Restaking, and LST-fi have marked the rapid evolution of Ethereum staking. This surge is largely attributed to fundamental shifts in Ethereum’s staking m
Phased Reflections on The BRC-20 Market During The Inscription Summer
By Alex Xu, Research Partner at Mint Ventures
Introduction
Inscriptions, especially epitomized by the BRC-20 series, are currently experiencing a notable surge in market interest. This trend marks a pivotal second wave of valuation growth, following the transformative introduction of the Ordinals protocol earlier this year. My recent endeavors in exploring the burgeoning inscribed asset landscape have involved an in-depth analysis of market trends, data synthesis, and active participation in bot
Introduction
Inscriptions, especially epitomized by the BRC-20 series, are currently experiencing a notable surge in market interest. This trend marks a pivotal second wave of valuation growth, following the transformative introduction of the Ordinals protocol earlier this year. My recent endeavors in exploring the burgeoning inscribed asset landscape have involved an in-depth analysis of market trends, data synthesis, and active participation in bot
Will Rapidly-Growing Morpho Become A Formidable Challenger to Aave?
By Alex Xu, Research Partner at Mint Ventures
Preface
Having witnessed the volatility of crypto markets, from the bullish surge of 2020 to the bearish grind of 2023, we’ve come to realize that within the Web3 business world, the bedrock of established business models is found firmly within the domain of DeFi. Central to this ecosystem are decentralized exchanges (DEXs), lending protocols, and stablecoins, with derivatives also gaining considerable traction in the space. Notably, these sectors ha
Preface
Having witnessed the volatility of crypto markets, from the bullish surge of 2020 to the bearish grind of 2023, we’ve come to realize that within the Web3 business world, the bedrock of established business models is found firmly within the domain of DeFi. Central to this ecosystem are decentralized exchanges (DEXs), lending protocols, and stablecoins, with derivatives also gaining considerable traction in the space. Notably, these sectors ha