Preface
As Ethereum upgrades to a POS mechanism in September 2022, Ethereum Layer 2 has become one of the hottest tracks. Especially after Optimism open sourced OP Stack, it greatly reduced the difficulty of issuing a chain. Layer 2 projects There are endless theories, and a hundred schools of thought seem to be good for the ecology, but in fact, Layer 2 projects are not only unprofitable now, but also lack narrative and practical applications, which has greatly reduced the market’s confidence in them. The recent Layer 2 airdrops are even more derisive. After all, do we really need it? Are there so many Layer2 projects? Which Layer 2 is more futuristic now? In this article, the author will start from the data side of each chain, supplement the explanation with the airdrop situation, and give readers a glimpse of the current situation of Layer 2.
What is Layer2?
Layer2 refers to any side-chain network, system or technology built on top of Layer1, with the purpose of expanding the capabilities of the blockchain and improving performance. These solutions are designed to reduce the burden on the main chain and provide faster and cheaper transactions while leveraging the security of the main chain to ensure the reliability of the overall network.
Here are some common Layer 2 solutions:
Sidechains:
These are blockchains that run in parallel with the main chain, capable of processing large volumes of transactions and ultimately submitting their results to the main chain to ensure security and consensus.
Rollups：
Bundling multiple transactions together and then sending them to the main chain for batch processing can greatly reduce the burden on the main chain.
Channels:
For example, the Lightning Network allows an off-chain private channel to be established between two parties. After a large number of transactions are completed, the final state will be submitted to the main chain.
Plasma 和 Validium：
These solutions move large volumes of transactions to off-chain processing and only submit regular status updates to the main chain, ensuring efficiency and security.
Today's main Layer2 includes Arbitrum, Optimism, Linea, Scroll, etc.
Layer2 airdrop impact
Layer2 projects once had the “Four King” projects, Arbitrum, Optimism, zkSync and Starknet, which were also compared in the analysis of Linea, a weekly report last week. These projects attracted attention due to their high financing, high valuation and solid technical strength. Although most of the profit models of Layer 2 are through Gasfee between Layer 1 and Layer 2, now the chains are widely separated due to their different operating methods. The author believes that the projects focusing on ecological development are more viable. The project that originally relied on airdrops to attract users has been despised.
Stable operations of established projects: Arbitrum, Optimism
Arbitrum and Optimism, which made the Layer 2 track famous with huge airdrops, have continued to work hard in ecological management and adopted a fair airdrop mechanism to allow users to maintain trust in them. Although the currency price has fallen from its high point, it is now relatively stable. Much more stable than other projects.
Airdrop expectation bubble bursts: zkSync, Blast
Because the former’s high-value airdrops have made users have high expectations, projects use this to attract users to join and use airdrop expectations to gain higher TVL and re-financing. However, if the project fails to focus on building an ecosystem, it just repeatedly deceives users to raise airdrop expectations. , users have been waiting for a long time, and finally like zkSync and Blast, there are few airdrops and they are full of rat positions. These currency prices also reflect that this operating model is not accepted by the market.
Whether airdrops are issued or not: Linea, Scroll
Linea and Scroll, two big names in Layer 2 that have not yet issued coins, no longer give clear expectations for issuing coins after learning the above lessons learned from the past. Although they have repeatedly launched point tasks, they have not stated that there will be airdrop rewards to release point tasks. Speculating on airdrop conditions, stalling for time, waiting for the right opportunity.
Layer2 data analysis of each chain
Next, the author will use DefiLlama to analyze each chain based on its TVL and transaction volume (USD). The data is mainly based on the past two years.
1. Decision
Arbitrum today has a TVL of 2.5 billion US dollars and a transaction volume of 420 million US dollars. It has performed stably and continued to grow since 2023. Although the currency price once fell, the activity on the chain has not diminished at all, and it is well deserved to be the leader of Layer 2.
Arbitrum data
2.Optimism
Optimism and Arbitrum are both veteran Layer 2s. Today, they have a TVL of 750 million US dollars and a transaction volume of 120 million US dollars. Although the amount is smaller than that of Arbitrum, their data performance is still stable, and there is no sharp decrease in transaction volume.
Optimism data
3.Starknet
Starknet has a TVL of 230 million US dollars and a transaction volume of 10 million US dollars today. Its performance is far behind the above-mentioned veteran Layer 2. TVL began to rise after the airdrop mainnet was launched at the end of February this year, but the transaction volume did not increase significantly. Instead, it began to decrease one month after the mainnet was launched, and there are few active users.
Starknet data
4.zkSync
zkSync today has a TVL of 79 million US dollars and a transaction volume of 9 million US dollars. Both zkSync and Starknet are zero-knowledge proof technologies. ZK technology has been very optimistic about all walks of life and has tens of billions of expectations. Due to its poor market performance and the suspicion of airdrops, the data dropped sharply after the TGE in early June. The current agreement is operating at a loss, and it can be said to be a "death-level project" that has fallen from the altar.
5.Line
Linea today has a TVL of 500 million US dollars and a transaction volume of 17 million. It performed well in the initial stage of the mainnet launch. It also had good activity due to the end of Starknet and zkSync. However, recently due to the lack of airdrop expectations and the resignation of the founder Such events have caused the already low trading volume to drop again. However, it can be observed that TVL did not show an obvious downward reaction, and users still have expectations for it and continue to pledge.
Linea data
6.Scroll
Scroll has a TVL of 770 million US dollars and a transaction volume of 21 million today. Like Linea, it is a project that has not issued coins. Although the transaction volume is not high, due to the relatively high expectations of currency issuance, many airdrop interactions continue to occur. TVL and transaction volume All are stable, allowing Scroll to maintain good data performance.
Scroll data
Conclusion: Ethereum upgrades the survival of the fittest, and the key to breaking through Layer 2 applications
In recent months, Ethereum has been continuously undervalued after its upgrade, not only because of the poor performance of Layer 2, but also due to external pressure from competitors such as Solana and Sui. In addition, the significant reduction in Gasfee after the upgrade has made Layer 2's profitability even worse.
Although this article describes the current situation of Layer2 in terms of data, operations, etc., the success of Layer2 in technology and actual performance is unquestionable. They have successfully solved the problems of congested Ethereum and excessive Gasfee. The problem is that too many projects are involved in each other, or rely on airdrop expectations to divert users. The complicated and chaotic ecology of Layer 2 does not need so many chains. It requires integration and survival of the fittest to iterate the ecology, which inevitably requires competition through breakthrough applications. Become the key to break the gap between Ethereum and Layer 2.
A must-do for big-name projects: Hemi Network
Hemi Network is a modular Layer2 launched by Hemi Labs in July this year. Hemi Labs was founded by early Bitcoin core developer Jeff Garzik and has solid technical strength. Hemi Network has introduced HVM (Hemi Virtual Machine), which can completely integrate Bitcoin ecological nodes into EVM, allowing developers to create smart contracts that interact with the Bitcoin ecosystem on EVM to achieve operations such as lending and pledging.
Hemi Network received US$15 million in financing this week, led by Binance Labs and Breyer Capital. The current interaction methods of Hemi Network are point tasks and mining. This article will explain in detail how to participate in testnet point tasks and web mining. mine.
Hemi Financing Background
Hemi testnet points
1. First join the Hemi test network points task, you can use the recommendation code 3032c1e7, as shown in the following interactive page, there are multiple tasks to be completed.
2. Galxe tasks are human nature verification and social tasks, described as Daily and should be regularly updated tasks.
3. Use Hemi Tunnel to cross-chain Sepolia $ETH to the Hemi Sepolia test network. The daily upper limit of 1 $ETH can earn 2,000 points.
4. Use the Hemi Sepolia test network to create a Safe Wallet, connect the wallet and click to sign, and get 500 points.
5. Use the Hemi Sepolia test network to create a collection in Capsule, enter any name to link the wallet, and fill in your own wallet for the receiving address. You can get 1,000 points at most twice.
6. In Hemi Swap, you can swap any token twice a day and get 200 points.
7. Use Hemi Tunnel to cross-chain stablecoins such as $USDC and $DAI to the Hemi Sepolia test network. The daily upper limit is 4,000 US dollars equivalent and you can get 2,000 points.
The above is the current single and daily interaction method on the test network. However, it should be noted that the current Gasfee of Sepolia cross-chain is very high, about 0.3 $ETH. It is recommended to use a sufficient amount at one time.
Hemi interactive page
Hemi web mining
1. First open the Hemi web mining page, as shown below, and save your private key in the picture.
2. Join Hemi Discord, enter the command "/tbtc-faucet" in the "#faucet" channel and add the mining address in the picture below to receive $tBTC test tokens.
3. After receiving the $tBTC test token, the address will receive funds to start mining.
The above is the web version of the mining tutorial. However, due to the large number of participants in the test network, there is currently an abnormality in the water supply. It will be repaired before proceeding. For Windows mining, please refer to @MetaHunter168's tutorial on X.
Hemi web mining
Featured Project Interaction: Blum
Recently, Binance has invested in several projects in the TON ecosystem. For example, the popular Catizen also issued $CATI this week. The TON ecosystem has brought tens of millions of people to Web3, and players have also begun to look for other hot spots in the TON ecosystem. Participate, and Blum happens to be one of the Telegram Bot applications that received financing from Binance.
Blum financing background
Blum is a hybrid exchange that allows users to access Dex and Cex trading pairs simultaneously in the platform in the form of Telegram Bot. It supports more than 30 chains and will provide derivatives trading, P2P trading and other functions in the future. This type of Telegram project can be implemented quickly. It only takes just two or three months to receive airdrops. It has attracted many users in today's market. Compared with waiting for two years and only being rejected, most people are more accepting of the short-term and fast type. . Blum’s current early bird phase is still focused on accumulating points by solving tasks. The participation methods are as follows.
1. First click on the Blum Telegram Bot link to open the following Blum interactive page.
2. Go to the Blum Bot homepage and click Start Farming every 8 hours to start earning points.
3. Click above to join Tribe, choose any tribe to join or create your own, which can increase the mining rate by 10%.
Blum interactive page
4. Complete the tasks on the Earn page. There are three categories: Onchain, Social and Academy to complete, as well as the collaborative project tasks above.
•Onchain：
Connect to Telegram or other TON wallets.
•Social：
Complete community tasks such as tracking and joining. However, according to the author's actual test, it is a fake task. You can verify it by clicking on it.
•Academy：
Most of them just click to watch the video. Among them, the latest few need to be answered. The questions and answers are attached below.
How to Analyze Crypto: value
Forks Explained: go get
Navigating Crypto: heyblum
Secure your Crypto: best project ever
New answering tasks will be released continuously, and the author will update them in the DA group in the future.
5. Invite friends to join to get a Play pass, and you can earn points by playing games on the homepage.
Blum Answers
Emerging Project Ambush: MoonBix
With Binance recently listing tokens such as $TON, $CATI and $HMSTR, it can be seen that Binance is very optimistic about the TON ecosystem. Recently, various mini-games on Telegram are looking forward to being listed on Binance, the largest trading market. Binance also launched its first Telegram Bot mini-game MoonBix this week in conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Moonbix
MoonBix is a simple Telegram Bot game that plays like a doll. Currently, you can earn Points by playing games and solving tasks. At this stage, the interaction is completely zero-cost. Here is a simple tutorial:
1. First join MoonBix Telegram Bot and connect Telegram to create an account.
2. Play Game Start the game. The way to play is to click to release the claw. If you catch the Binance icon within the time limit, you will get points. If you catch the black moon, you will get points. The gift box will give you random points. You can get a chance every ten minutes.
3.Task Complete social tasks and daily check-ins. Remember to bind your KYC Binance account to get 10,000 points.
4. Invite friends to play to get 10% of their points, and invited friends can also get a 1,000-point login gift.
Moonbix interactive page
When MoonBix was first launched, many players questioned whether it was launched by Binance itself. Currently, the following announcement can be found on Binance’s official website, and it has been confirmed that it was launched by Binance itself. Moreover, Binance stated that it is necessary to bind Binance accounts that have passed KYC to obtain subsequent rewards, which can block a large number of robots from sharing the rewards. The author also recommends that multi-account players need to isolate Binance accounts and device IPs. Usually such centers The activities launched by the Chemical Exchange will be more stringent in preventing witches.
Binance statement
Projects with financing potential: CCP Games
CCP Games is an independent game developer based on Web3. It recently announced the release of a AAA title "EVE Frontier" under development. In March this year, CCP Games received US$40 million in financing led by top venture capital A16z. The background is luxurious. As the first masterpiece released by CCP Games, I think it has the potential to be worthy of ambush. Next, let me teach you how to obtain the whitelist qualification for closed beta.
CCP Games Financing Background
1. First enter the EVE Frontier pre-registration page, register using email and go to your mailbox to verify.
2. In the following interactive page, complete the social tasks of Share. According to the author's actual measurement, except for invitations, they are all fake tasks. You can directly refresh the page after clicking to verify.
3. You can get lottery tickets by connecting social accounts in Connect, including share tasks. These lottery tickets have the opportunity to obtain in-game, Iceland air ticket gift certificates and other rewards in the future.
4. Finally, remember to mint the early bird pass in Claim Access to qualify for the closed beta phase. (Gasfee free)
CCP Games Interactive
Airdrop blessing inquiry
1. HOW MANY
https://t.me/catizenbot/gameapp?startapp=r_4077_1377506
Catizen is a cat-themed idle game on Telegram. Just place it and click to upgrade. It uses the approachable gameplay to attract a large number of Web2 users to join. Since April this year, it has finally announced that it will be airdropped and will be airdropped on 9/20. To list coins, you can currently check the quantity and fill in the exchange recharge channel. If you recharge to HashKey, you will get a 100% bonus, with a maximum limit of 300.
2.LOGX
https://pro.logx.trade/rewards
LOGX is a multi-chain derivatives exchange supported by CoinBase. It aims to change the inconvenience of decentralized trading and create a seamless trading platform through high scalability and enhanced user experience. LOGX will list $LOGX tokens on September 24 and airdrop them to users who have traded during LOGX OG. Those who have done Orderly before may have traded in LOGX OG, you can check it out.
3. WHAT
https://t.me/gamee/wat
GAMME is a "P2E" gaming platform supported by the TON Foundation and $1.5 million in financing from Binance Labs. Users can play various games on the platform to earn rewards. Warbird is a Telegram Bot game that will be TGE $WAT tokens this week. and airdropped to all participants.
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Click the link to learn together!
https://da.studio/
