Top 10 Starknet projects in 2023: Wallets, DeFi, cross-chain bridges, stablecoins, and DID protocols.

Original Title: "Top 10 Starknet Projects in 2023: Wallets, DeFi, Cross-Chain Bridges, Stablecoins, and DID Protocols"

Original Author: ZKX

Translated by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Today we will explore the top ten projects based on the most promising Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem - Starknet in 2023. This includes protocols for transactions and liquidity, NFT platforms, and other projects related to the Starknet ecosystem. Let's get started!

What is Starknet?

Starknet is a decentralized L2 protocol based on ZK-Rollup technology. ZK-Rollup technology is an ultra-secure mechanism, through which the inputs used by off-chain provers will not be exposed on the blockchain.

It is based on a highly scalable cryptographic proof system called STARK, which enables dapps to achieve infinite scalability without compromising the composability and security of Ethereum.

Starknet contracts and the Starknet operating system are written using Cairo, which supports the deployment of almost all business logic. According to DeFiLlama data, the locked value (TVL) of the chain has grown by 4000%, reaching over $11,000.

$STRK Token

On November 16th, 2022, Starknet announced the deployment of $STRK, the native token of Starknet, on the Ethereum mainnet.

$STRK will be used for voting, staking, and paying fees. Tokens held by the core team of Starnet (StarkWare) and other contributors will be locked for 4 years and gradually distributed after 1 year. The distribution of tokens is still to be determined.

Cairo

Just like Solidity for Ethereum and Rust for Solana, Starknet has its own language called Cairo. It is the native language for writing smart contracts on Starknet.

Account Abstraction

Currently, if you want to open a self-custody and decentralized wallet like Metamask, Trust, or Phantom, you must remember your seed phrase and private key. If you forget them, you will permanently lose your funds, which is a huge problem for attracting new users to the Web3 and DeFi world.

The account abstraction is born to solve this problem. It solves the problem by creating a wallet based on smart contracts. This advanced innovation has become popular in the Starknet ecosystem and has been implemented in projects like Argetnt X and Braavos.

Okay, now that we have an understanding of the Starknet chain, next we will take a look at the top 10 projects on Starknet in 2023.

1/ Argent X

Category: Wallet.

Status: Mainnet

Introduction: Argent is a decentralized wallet with multi-signature security and social recovery features. All transactions will be automatically blocked unless there is a trusted address or you have been approved through multi-factor authentication. This will protect all Ethereum assets, including NFTs.

In Argent, you never need a seed phrase. This eliminates the problem of single point of failure encountered by traditional self-hosted wallets such as hardware wallets. In the recent StarkWare Sessions, they announced the launch of four new products: seedless wallet, two-factor authentication for Argent X, Starknet for mobile, and multi-signature for DAO.

2/ Braavos

Category: Wallet.

Status: Mainnet

Introduction: Braavos is a self-hosted smart contract wallet based on Starknet, utilizing account abstraction technology. It can be used on iOS, Android, and browsers, providing a seamless Web2.0 user experience. Additionally, it is developing new features to help users get rid of seed phrases and facilitate account recovery. In addition to the wallet, they also plan to provide services such as staking and lending. Braavos also supports account splitting, separating long-term (high amount) savings and daily (low amount) spending by supporting withdrawal limits and withdrawal delay times. Recently, they announced that the contract for their wallet account has been open-sourced.

3/ Orbiter Finance

Field: Cross-chain Bridge.

Status: Mainnet

Introduction: Orbiter Finance is a decentralized cross-rollup layer 2 cross-chain bridge protocol that only has contracts on the target network. It supports low-cost, instant transfers between ETH mainnet, zkSync, and Arbitrum.

In Orbiter Finance, there are two roles: sender and manufacturer.

When the sender initiates a transfer, the market maker will provide the corresponding liquidity.

Smart contracts ensure the security of this process.

If the market maker engages in misconduct resulting in a failed transfer, the sender can initiate an arbitration request with the contract. After arbitration, the sender will receive the market maker's margin and obtain excess compensation.

4/ Starkgate

Category: Cross-chain Bridge.

Status: Pre-Testnet

Introduction: Starkgate is an Ethereum Starknet Token cross-chain bridge developed by StarkWare. Each supported Token can be associated with the cross-chain bridge contract of L1 and L2. These bridges communicate through Starknet's message passing mechanism to help users trade ETH and ERC-20 Tokens on L1. This is achieved through the Starknet Alpha network and its STARK-based computational compression capabilities.

5/ JediSwap

Category: DeFi

Status: Mainnet

Introduction: JediSwap is an unlicensed and composable AMM on Starknet. In JediSwap, users can make exchanges with 0 gas fees without losing control over their funds. The only related fee is a 0.3% exchange fee, which is currently proportionally distributed to liquidity providers.

To test JediSwap on the Starknet testnet, you first need to obtain test tokens on Goerli and then transfer them to Starknet using the Starkgate bridge.

6/ Nostra

Category: DeFi

Status: Testnet

Introduction: Nostra is building the liquidity layer of Starknet, consisting of three products: Nostra Money Market, UNO (the first local stablecoin on Starknet), and Nostra Swap.

Nostra Currency Market is the core product of the liquidity layer, which can continuously provide liquidity for the ecosystem. It also provides income for Nostra Swap and UNO minters.

Nostra Swap is the next-generation stablecoin trading platform designed to support the pegging and growth of UNO. LPs providing liquidity on Nostra Swap can also earn interest by lending their stablecoins on the Nostra currency market, while also receiving trading fees.

UNO is the first native stablecoin on Starknet. It is backed by interest-bearing ETH over-collateralization, allowing all minters to fully utilize UNO while accumulating their ETH earnings within the Starknet ecosystem. UNO will be used in various scenarios, including DeFi, gaming, NFTs, real-world payments, and more.

7/ Starknet [.] id

Category: NFT

Status: Mainnet

Introduction: Starknet.id is the ENS (Ethereum Name Service) of Starknet. Users can mint their Starknet identity for free, which serves as their Starknet passport and on-chain representative. Users can also attach any data to their Starknet identity, from Web2 social media accounts to Web3 ENS domains. The team plans to build ENS bridging, Starknet identity dashboard, and more features.

8/ ZKX

Category: DeFi

Status: Testnet on March 14th.

Introduction: ZKX is the first perpetual futures trading platform on Starknet with self-custody and true community governance. The protocol aims to provide further scalability through a decentralized node network and an upgraded trading experience, offering perpetual swaps and derivatives to any user on Starknet and Ethereum. ZKX's mission is to democratize global income by providing its services to anyone, anywhere in the world.

9/ zkLend

Category: DeFi

Status: Testnet

zkLend is an L2 currency market protocol built on Starknet. It combines the scalability of zk-rollup, faster transaction speeds, cost savings, and the security of Ethereum. The protocol provides a dual solution: a permissioned and compliant solution for institutional clients, and a permissionless service for DeFi users - without sacrificing decentralization. It is currently in the testnet phase.

10/ Brine

Category: DeFi

Status: Testnet

Introduction: Brine is a cross-chain decentralized trading platform. To solve the problem of slippage, they use an order book model for trading instead of an automated market maker (AMM) model. The platform charges a fixed 0.1% trading fee but does not charge any gas fees.

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