L1s are easier to understand.
They're simply infrastructure to host Web3 applications
But these specific applications & use cases built overtop can be quite confusing.
Here's a quick 1 sentence breakdown for 12 Web3 applications & utilities!
$RENDER- Film grade rendering GPU network
$PYTH- Oracle with Web2 & Web3 data providers
$AKT- Decentralized compute marketplace
$GFI- Lend USDC to real businesses worldwide
$ONDO- Institutional RWA tokenization protocol
$FET- Open platform for AI agents/services
$W- Multichain interoperable Web3 bridging
$LINK- Web3 oracle & cross chain interoperable
$ILV- P2E Sci-Fi game with RPG & arena modes
$IMX- L2 focused on NFTs & Web3 gaming utility
$AAVE- Decentralized collateral based lending
$GRT- Indexing protocol for blockchain data
$AERO- AMM as Base's central liquidity hub
$HNT- IoT app with low power hardware nodes
Each of these projects fit perfectly in some of the leading narratives we talk about such as AI, RWA, DePIN, DeFi & more.
Bookmark these threads & study these Web3 applications to find the best ones to fit your portfolio!
Remember, these are FAR from all of the Web3 apps in this space, but these are a large group of leaders.
Ones that have proven utility, adoption and hype.