Inventory of Layer2 projects without issued tokens in 2023.

Original Title: "Inventory of Layer2 Potential Unreleased Projects in 2023"

Original Author: Wind Chasing Lab

In a broad sense, blockchain is the underlying technology of Bitcoin. It has a six-layer architecture: data layer, network layer, consensus layer, incentive layer, contract layer, and application layer. Among them, Layer1 corresponds to the data layer, network layer, consensus layer, and incentive layer in the six-layer model; while Layer2 corresponds to the application layer and contract layer.

Strictly speaking, Layer2 refers to a specific Ethereum scaling solution, which is an independent blockchain that extends Ethereum and inherits its security guarantees. In fact, the term Layer2 was also born in Ethereum, with the main purpose of improving Ethereum's scalability and transaction throughput (system throughput). In the world of blockchain, the "impossible triangle" problem has been raised for many years, and people believe that decentralization, security, and high performance constitute the "impossible triangle" of blockchain. In design, it is impossible to achieve all three characteristics at the same time, and only two of them can be met. For Ethereum, its design philosophy has long placed security and decentralization urgency above scalability.

As a supplement to Layer1 scalability, Layer2 solutions have emerged on Ethereum, inheriting the security and decentralization of Layer1. In Ethereum's Layer2, there are three types of scalability solutions based on the differences in underlying technology: State channels, Plasma, and Rollups.

L2 has 5 main routes to achieve expansion: state channels, sub-chain plasma, side chains, rollups, and Validium.

State channels. State channels allow users to conduct multiple off-chain transactions while only submitting two transactions to the Ethereum network - one when opening the channel and one when closing it. This can increase TPS by 1000, but this model only supports a fixed number of users and does not support smart contracts.

Subchain. Plasma is a low-cost replica of Ethereum, called a subchain, which can be scaled in multiple layers. There are grandchildren or great-grandchildren chains on the subchain. Unlike state channels, Plasma can support a flexible number of users. However, subchains do not have their own security mechanisms, and data and security depend on the main network, and they also do not support smart contracts.

Sidechain. Sidechains go a step further than subchains, with their own consensus mechanism and security guarantees, further optimizing transaction speed. The most well-known of these is Polygon. Sidechains are associated with Ethereum and can run independently. However, sidechains still have some obvious drawbacks, first of all, data isolation from the main chain, and the degree of decentralization is worse than Ethereum.

Rollup. The core concept of Rollup is to decouple consensus from execution, execute transactions on L2, aggregate a large number of transactions into a batch, publish the transaction results on L1, and verify the validity of the transaction results through proof mechanisms.

According to different proof mechanisms, they can be divided into: optimistic rollup and zk rollup. The specific differences will be detailed later.

Validium. Validium also uses the proof method of zk rollup, but unlike rollup, Validium's data is managed by a group of data notaries off-chain, so its security is relatively poor.

Rollup's proof method is different from storing data on the chain. Validium's data is managed by a group of data notaries off-chain, making it less secure.

Here is a list of potential Layer2 projects that have not yet released their tokens. If you are interested, please follow and bookmark this page.

1）Scroll

Scroll is a zkRollup equivalent to EVM, used for scaling Ethereum. Technically, Scroll is built on two main components. The core component is zkEVM, used to prove the correctness of second-layer EVM execution.

In April of this year, Scroll announced the completion of a $30 million Series A funding round, led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Bain Capital Crypto, Robot Ventures, Geometry DAO, and others. It is worth mentioning that several members of the Ethereum Foundation and the Ethereum community also joined this round of funding as angel investors, which shows the close relationship between Scroll and the Ethereum community.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: 网页链接

Operation tutorial: web link.

2) Arbitrum

Arbitrum is an Ethereum scaling solution that enables high throughput, low-cost smart contracts while maintaining trustless security. Arbitrum has three modes:

AnyTrust Channels, AnyTrust Sidechains, and Arbitrum Rollup.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: 网页链接

Cross-chain tutorial: web link.

Arbitrum Nova

Arbitrum Nova officially launched on August 10, 2022. It is a new mainnet built on the AnyTrust technology based on Arbitrum, which is optimized for ultra-low cost transactions. It is similar to Arbitrum One, but Arbitrum One is a chain built using Arbitrum Rollup technology.

Nova is a new chain with a set of different assumptions, designed specifically for gaming, social applications, and cost-sensitive use cases. The key technical difference between Arbitrum One and Nova is that Arbitrum One always puts all transaction data on Ethereum, while Nova utilizes a data availability committee to achieve significant cost savings.

With the operation of Nova, Arbitrum now has two independent chains that can support almost all blockchain use cases. Compared to Arbitrum One, Nova will become the preferred solution for gaming and social applications, while Arbitrum One will continue to be the home of DeFi and NFT projects.

Arbitrum Nova Tutorial: 网页链接

Arbitrum ecosystem focuses on the following projects with tutorials attached: web link.

Arbitrum ecosystem focuses on the project to be followed.

3）zksync

zkSync is an extension and privacy engine for Ethereum. Its current range of functions includes low gas transmission, atomic swaps, and limit orders for ETH and ERC20 tokens in the Ethereum network, as well as native L2 NFT support. This document provides an advanced description of the zkSync development ecosystem.

zkSync is built on the ZK Rollup architecture. ZK Rollup is an L2 scaling solution where all funds are held by smart contracts on the main chain, while computation and storage are executed off-chain. For each Rollup block, a state transition zero-knowledge proof (SNARK) is generated and verified by the main chain contract. This SNARK includes a validity proof for each transaction in the Rollup block. Additionally, updates to the public data of each block are published via the main chain network as cheap calldata.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

(Note: The content is already in Chinese, so no translation is needed. The English translation of the content is: "Official Twitter: website link")

Official website: 网页链接

Cross-chain tutorial: web link.

zkSync ecosystem focuses on the following projects with tutorials attached: web link.

zkSync ecosystem focuses on the project to follow, with tutorials attached.

4）StarkNet

Financing: Over 2 billion dollars, with a luxurious investment lineup. Rumor has it that V God is an angel investor. Data: The flagship of the ZK system, crushing other ZK projects in on-chain data. Technical roadmap: StarkEx & StarkNet, taking over many of Ethereum's existing work on the technical front, solving core issues of scalability and trust. Ecosystem projects: dydx, sorare, immutable, deversifi, celer, argent, etc. Layout logic: Interact with starkware and starkware's dapp, and participate in the Bo Future airdrop.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: 网页链接

Cross-chain tutorial: website link.

Starknet ecosystem focuses on key projects with tutorials attached: web link.

StarkNet ecosystem has eight testable interactive projects. Click here to access one of them.

5）Optimism

Optimism is a low-cost and lightning-fast Ethereum L2 blockchain. The currency has been issued, but according to official sources, the airdrop has not been completed yet. More airdrops will be distributed to ecological projects in the future.

Official Twitter: website link.

Official website: website link.

Ecological must-do project with tutorial: web link.

6）Aztec network

Introduction: AZTEC is the privacy engine of Ethereum, which allows confidential transactions to be conducted on the public mainnet. The protocol uses zero-knowledge proofs to encrypt and hide the value of AZTEC-enabled transactions.

Paradigm led the investment, with participation from IOSGVentures, Variant Fund, Nascent, imToken, Scalar Capital, Defi Alliance, ZK Validator, and angel investors Anthony Sassano, Stani KulecFhov, Bankless, Defi Dad, Mariano Conti, and Vitalik Buterin. Previous investors a_capital, Ethereal Ventures, and Libertus Capital also continued to invest in this round.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: 网页链接

Operation tutorial: web link.

7）Argent

Argent is a mobile social recovery wallet that supports Ethereum and zkSync Layer2. On the zkSync network, Argent provides Layer2 DeFi investment opportunities based on Aave, Lido, and Yearn protocols. Through a series of integrations, Argent may provide you with opportunities to obtain zkSync Tokens.

US$40 million Series B financing, led by Fabric Ventures and Metaplanet, with participation from investors including Paradigm, Index Ventures, Creandum, and strategic investors such as StarkWare, Jump, and Animoca Brands.

Official Twitter: website link.

Official website: 网页链接

Operation tutorial: web link.

8）Zecrey Protocol

Zecrey is a decentralized asset aggregator on both Layer1 and Layer2, compatible with Ethereum and other smart contract platforms. It is also the first feasible solution based on the account model to protect transaction privacy.

Zecrey's privacy cross-chain solution has two core functions: a privacy-centric cross-chain bridge and asset exchange. To support these functions, Zecrey currently offers a multi-chain network all-in-one plugin wallet in terms of product features, which allows for multi-chain asset management within a single account.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: website link.

Operation tutorial: web link.

9）Yield Protocol

Ethereum and Arbitrum-based collateralized fixed-rate lending.

The FAQ of this project states: "In the long run, we hope that the Yield protocol will be owned by the community", so it seems that the issuance of the Token is more certain. Whether this Token will be implemented on Arbitrum or Ethereum remains to be seen, but in any case, the Yield Protocol is a project worth paying attention to.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: 网页链接

Operation tutorial: web link.

10）DeFi Saver

DeFi Saver is a one-stop asset management solution for a range of decentralized finance protocols and applications on Ethereum. It supports multiple DeFi protocols, including Maker, Fulcrum, Compound, and dYdX.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: website link.

Operation tutorial: website link.

11）Cozy Finance

Cozy is an open-source protocol that enables investors to participate in automated and trust-minimized protection of the market.

Protecting the market has reduced the risks typically associated with investing in decentralized finance (DeFi) markets and applications. As DeFi application protocols appear to be more vulnerable to hacking and exploitation than some traditional financial instruments of certain investors, Cozy provides a platform to programmatically protect assets from loss. Investors confident in the security of DeFi applications can use the Cozy platform to earn interest by providing assets to the protection market.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: 网页链接

Operation tutorial: web link.

12）Zapper

Zapper is a DeFi portfolio management dashboard that allows you to quickly and easily deploy and manage your DeFi positions, and always keep your portfolio, liquidity pools, and liquidity mining positions at the top of a single interface. Zapper is a liquidity pool aggregator, currently providing access to over 200 different pools. Additionally, it recently implemented AMM exchange functionality using the Uniswap and Balancer trading platforms.

Official Twitter: website link.

Official website: 网页链接

13）Zerion

Build and manage DeFi investment portfolios.

Completed a $12.3 million B-round financing, led by Wintermute Ventures, with participation from Mosaic, Coinbase Ventures, Alchemy, Placeholder, and others.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: website link.

14）Slingshot

Slingshot is a decentralized trading aggregation platform based on Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

A round of financing raised $15 million, led by Ribbit Capital, with participation from K5 Global, Shrug Capital, The Chainsmokers, Jason Derulo (American singer), Guillaume Pousaz (founder of Checkout.com) and Austin Rief (CEO of Morning Brew), as well as existing investors Framework Ventures and Electric Capital.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: website link.

Operation tutorial: web link.

15) Fuel Labs

Fuel v1 was originally developed as a Layer 2 scalability solution for the entire Ethereum ecosystem. It was the first optimistic rollup deployed on the Ethereum mainnet in late 2020. Fuel is the fastest execution layer of a modular blockchain stack, with a focus on transaction execution through parallel methods, allowing Fuel to utilize more CPU cores and threads.

Completed a funding round of $80 million, led by Blockchain Capital and Stratos Technologies, with participation from Alameda Research, CoinFund, Bain Capital Crypto, TRGC, Maven 11 Capital, Blockwall, Spartan, Dialectic, and ZMT.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: 网页链接

Operation tutorial: Web link.

16) Mint Square

Mint Square is an NFT platform based on Ethereum's Layer 2 ZK Rollups.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

(Note: The translation is in English as requested, but the original Chinese text is preserved.)

Official website: website link.

Operation tutorial: web link.

17) Starkswap

Starkswap will utilize StarkNet's top-notch speed and security to provide a premier DEX experience as a native Layer 2 dApp in DeFi. Building the next generation of DeFi supported by public ZK-Rollup technology.

Starkswap team is composed of cryptocurrency native developers and entrepreneurs with backgrounds in FAANG and top startup companies.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: 网页链接

Operation tutorial: Web link.

18) zkLend

zkLend is a currency market protocol that combines zk-rollup scalability, excellent transaction speed, and cost savings with Ethereum's security. zkLend is an L2 currency market protocol built on StarkNet, which combines the scalability of zk-rollup with Ethereum security, allowing participants to effectively earn interest on deposits and seamlessly borrow assets.

Zklend's zend token will have three major functions: (i) discounted loan interest rates, (ii) increased borrowing capacity, and (iii) governance participation.

A $5 million seed round of financing led by Delphi Digital, with other major investors including StarkWare, Three Arrows Capital, Genesis Block Ventures, Alameda Research, CMS, MetaCartel DAO, DCVC, Amber Group, TPS Capital, Ascensive, D3Web Capital, 4RC and SkyVision Capital, as well as other angel investors.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

(Note: The content is already in Chinese, so no translation is needed. The link in the a tag should be preserved and not translated.)

Official website: 网页链接

Operation tutorial: Web link.

19) Aboard

Aboard is a decentralized derivative trading platform that is multi-chain, multi-platform, and order book-based. The platform will be comprehensive, efficient, and integrated, bringing the TradFi trading experience to the DeFi world.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: 网页链接

Operation tutorial: Web link.

20) volmex finance

Volmex's mission is to establish the best possible cryptocurrency volatility index and experience for cryptocurrency volatility traders. Volmex pioneered the first cryptocurrency volatility index and tradable cryptocurrency volatility product, the volatility token v1. Volmex's implied volatility indices (such as the EVIV index and BVIV index) track the 30-day implied volatility of Bitcoin and Ether respectively. Volmex is building a perpetual futures trading platform, which will be the first venue to trade volatility index perpetual futures.

Volmex Labs is a leader in cryptocurrency volatility products and indices. The Volmex Labs team is composed of world-class talent from various cryptocurrency and TradFi companies, including Staked, IMC Trading, and ConsenSys. Volmex is supported by leading cryptocurrency investors and traders, including Robot Ventures, CMS Holdings, Orthogonal Trading, Huobi, and DWF Labs.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: 网页链接

Operation tutorial: web link.

21) AltLayer

AltLayer is a temporary extension layer built on OptimisticRollups, connecting to Layer1 and Layer2 networks such as Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot, Cosmos, and even Arbitrum and Optimism.

AltLayer is a highly scalable application-specific execution layer system that obtains security from the underlying L1/L2. It is designed as a modular and pluggable framework for multi-chain and multi-VM worlds. The core of AltLayer is a system composed of multiple optimistic aggregated execution layers called Flash Layers, which have novel innovations that make them disposable and therefore highly resource optimized.

Completed a $7.2 million seed round of financing, led by Polychain Capital, Jump Crypto, and Breyer Capital. Participating investors include Gavin Wood, founder of Polkadot, former Coinbase CTO and former a16z partner Balaji Srinivasan, Circle co-founder Sean Neville, and co-founders of Synthetix and Bodhi Ventures, Kain Warwick and Jordan Momtazi.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: 网页链接

Operation tutorial: web link.

22）ZKEX

ZKEX is a decentralized multi-chain order book trading platform (DEX), built on three ZK-rollups: zkLink, Starkware, and zkSync. ZKEX is decentralized, trust-minimized, and non-custodial, with transactions secured by zero-knowledge proofs.

Official Twitter: 网页链接

Official website: 网页链接

Operation tutorial: web link.

Original Link

Welcome to join the official BlockBeats community:

Telegram Subscription Group: https://t.me/theblockbeats

Telegram Discussion Group: https://t.me/BlockBeats_App

Official Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/BlockBeatsAsia