The next era of Web3 will be defined by the ability of projects to attract and retain users, says Kelly Ye of Decentral Park Capital. Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 is showing the way forward.
Celo Chooses Optimism, Concluding Bake-Off Among Layer 2s
CLabs officially proposed using Optimism’s OP Stack for the transition. The proposal will be discussed on a couple of community calls and then go to a vote among holders of the project’s CELO tokens, under the chain’s governance rules.
Bitcoin Layer 2 Coins, STX, ELA, SAVM, Outperform BTC After Halving
Avail Confirms Token Airdrop Plans, a Week After Leaked Screenshots
Avail shared in a blog post that 354,605 wallet addresses are eligible to claim the 600 million tokens in their “unification drop.”
Worldcoin, Sam Altman’s Crypto Project, Is Building a Layer-2 Chain
The human-focused blockchain network will be based on the OP Stack, a framework for building Ethereum-based layer-2 chains.
Crypto Exchange OKX’s Polygon-Powered Layer 2, ‘X Layer,’ Hits Public Mainnet
The news about X Layer comes as other major cryptocurrency exchanges, like Coinbase and Kraken, have also pursued their own layer 2 networks over the last year.
Alpen Labs Looks to Scale Bitcoin With Zero-Knowledge Proofs Using $10.6M Funding
Alpen Labs has emerged from stealth mode following the funding round, having spent the last year developing Bitcoin rollup infrastructure to bring smart contract functionality to the network.
Bitcoin Layer 2 Mezo Emerges From Stealth With $21M Raise Led by Pantera
Mezo is a permissionless Bitcoin economic layer that uses a neutral smart contract infrastructure to offer a wide range of applications.
Ethereum Layer 2s Could Rocket to $1T Base Valuation by 2030, VanEck Says
The valuation is based on the future expected usage of several layer 2 networks across usecases such as metaverse, banking and gaming.
Breaking Records: Mantle (MNT) Soars 40% In One Day To New All-Time Highs, Next Target Revealed
Layer 2 (L2) blockchain Mantle (MNT) has demonstrated remarkable performance, surpassing most of the top 100 cryptocurrencies in the market. The token has surged by 40% in the past 24 hours, reaching a new all-time high (ATH) of $1.49.
Mantle Network’s Layer 2 Solution
Mantle Network operates as an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible L2 scaling solution to provide a deeper understanding of the protocol. It leverages Optimistic rollups to enable fast and cost-effective transactions.
The unique aspect of Mantle lies in its modular design, which combines Optimistic rollups with a separate data availability layer. Unlike traditional blockchains, Mantle’s approach involves handling the four key blockchain functions on different layers.
Mantle’s transaction execution function occurs on its EVM-compatible execution settlement layer. Blocks are generated on the L2 execution layer by Mantle’s sequencer, which then submits state root data to the Ethereum mainnet.
This architecture significantly reduces transaction costs compared to the base layer and improves network efficiency by separating the layers. Additionally, the implementation of Optimistic rollups minimizes the overall load on nodes.
MNT Surges As Staking Launches
One of the potential catalysts behind the recent surge in MNT can be attributed to the introduction of MNT staking, as highlighted by crypto researcher Alex Wacy.
According to Wacy, the Mantle Rewards Station plays a key role in this staking initiative, offering rewards to MNT stakers from the Mantle Ecosystem. By participating in staking, users contribute to the network’s security and operations while also being incentivized through these rewards.
The staking process begins with the Ethena event, where users receive mShards tokens. These tokens have value within the Mantle decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, allowing users to perform various decentralized finance activities within the network. These activities may include trading, investing, or interacting with various DeFi protocols and applications built on top of Mantle.
In particular, mShards can be traded within the Mantle decentralized application (dApp) ecosystem, allowing users to take advantage of potential market growth options. The ability to trade these tokens increases liquidity and fosters an active ecosystem within Mantle.
In addition, the researcher notes that mShard token holders will soon be able to redeem for ENA, another token associated with the Mantle Ecosystem. This redemption process adds utility and value to mShards, further increasing their appeal to token holders.
The issuance of Ethena shards for Epoch 2 will end on April 1, indicating a limited-time opportunity for users to acquire these shards through staking, which may have further increased interest in the blockchain ahead of the deadline from investors looking to capitalize on this opportunity.
Bullish Prospects
Examining the figures, MNT has experienced a surge in trading volume, reaching $647,118,249 in the past 24 hours, signifying a substantial 141.40% increase compared to the previous day.
The market capitalization of the MNT token stands at $4,157,261,742, propelling it to the 33rd position on CoinGecko’s rankings. Over the past 7 days, Mantle (MNT) has outperformed the global cryptocurrency market, which has seen a 2.30% increase, and similar cryptocurrencies within the Ethereum ecosystem have risen by 12.70%.
The MNT token has retraced to the $1.27 level, marking a 2% decline in price over the past hour. Despite the temporary setback, the token’s strong momentum suggests potential trading risks and opportunities. It is worth noting that the next identified support line for the token is at the $1.080 level.
If this support level fails to hold, the token’s price could drop further, potentially reaching the $1 mark. The next significant resistance level would be at $0.94.
However, if the bullish momentum continues throughout the week, the token may target the $1.60 and $1.68 levels before potentially surging towards the $2 mark.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
The Protocol: Meme Coins (and Pepe’s Best Friend) Swarm Coinbase Layer 2 Chain
The meme coin frenzy that drove up activity – and failed transactions – on Solana appears to have quickly migrated to Base, Coinbase’s six-month-old layer-2 blockchain. Who is the blue-faced creature behind the $BRETT token?
Layer-2 Blockchain Mantle’s Token Hits All-Time High as Reward System Goes Live
The rally in the MNT token pushed the market cap of the blockchain to over $4 billion.
BOB, a ‘Hybrid’ Layer-2 Blockchain Mixing Bitcoin and Ethereum, Raises $10M
The round was led by Castle Island Ventures and included participation from Mechanism Ventures, Bankless Ventures, CMS Ventures and UTXO Management.
Espresso Systems Raises $28M in Fresh Funds, Led By A16z Crypto
The shared sequencer leading firm said that the round would further invests in their products as well as additional hires.
Coinbase’s Base Chain Warns of ‘Stuck’ Transactions Amid Traffic Surge
The Ethereum layer-2 chain’s status page warns users of high fees and slowdowns as traders flock to new Base meme coins.
Starknet, an Ethereum Layer 2, Plans ‘Parallel Execution’ to Mimic Solana’s Speed Feature
The new feature, described as “multitasking for rollups,” is on Starknet’s project road map for the second quarter of 2024, released Wednesday.
Optimism Finally Starts Testing ‘Fault Proofs’ at Heart of Design – and of Criticism
A version of the new proof system, which will help secure withdrawals from Optimism and other networks based on its tech, will be deployed to Ethereum’s Sepolia test network on Tuesday.
Layer 2 Blockchains Become Cheaper After Ethereum’s Dencun Upgrade
The upgrade allows layer 2 solutions to store data in “blobs” instead of the expensive call data.
Ethereum Staking Protocol Swell Unveils Layer-2 Rollup With $1B Total Value Locked
Swell developed the rollup alongside Ethereum scaler AltLayer and a16z-backed crypto-staking project EigenLayer.
Ethereum Activates ‘Dencun’ Upgrade, in Landmark Move to Reduce Data Fees
A key element of the upgrade is to enable a new place for storing data on the blockchain – referred to as “proto-danksharding,” which gives room for a dedicated space that is separate from regular transactions, and at a lower cost.