Article Rewrite:
Renowned public account “Orange Book,” which I greatly admire, recently published an article titled “Crypto Impotence.”
“A dreadful sense of boredom is spreading throughout the Crypto world, much like the Black Plague. It’s unclear where it originated from, but before you know it, you realize this ailment is omnipresent.”
Reflecting on recent trends, it’s true that there haven’t been many noteworthy technological breakthroughs to boast about in the industry. The only topics that seem to generate any excitement are centered around memes like Pepe, Trump, Jenner, etc. The last technical hot topic was probably the duality of the “Pandora” token?
The primary market has also been impacted, but innovation is still happening. While we’re yet to see any groundbreaking innovations, the progress from 1 to 10 across various sectors is still ongoing.
In the previous report, the focus was on ETH and the new approaches in the Modular narrative. In this edition, let’s explore the “1 to 10” developments in the BTC, Solana, and Restaking sectors.
**BTC:**
The much-anticipated Rune hasn’t generated the expected buzz. If BRC20 or Ordi was a delightful surprise, Runes could be seen as a collective “all set, just waiting for the signal” from Cex to Dex to Infra. However, as the saying goes, “what’s hot will die,” at least in the short term. Looking ahead, protocols like Runes, Atomical, RGB & RGB++, are poised to inject new vitality into BTC’s asset issuance. The upgrade of BRC20 two months ago is evident in its efforts towards a more flexible functionality route, making it easier to implement native stablecoins based on BRC20.
In the BTC ecosystem, the most noteworthy projects in the past two months, besides the previously mentioned UTXO Stack, are Unisat’s Fractal – @fractal_bitcoin, Arch Network – @ArchNtwrk, and Quarry – @QuarryBTC. Fractal has a unique design concept, essentially a 100% Fork of BTC but with a 30-second block time. While some may find this concept peculiar, Unisat’s involvement makes it fitting.
**Solana:**
Solana’s recent focus on “modularity” is quite interesting. While ETH has embraced modularity, Solana has been a prominent figure in the single-chain camp. Over the past few months, several projects focusing on modularity on Solana have been discussed. Projects like MagicBlock – @magicblock, Sonic – @SonicSVM, Solforge, Mantis – @mantis, have been in the limelight.
MagicBlock introduces an Ephemeral Rollup, emphasizing a “use and delete, ephemeral” approach. Sonic focuses on Gaming Appchains on Solana, recently securing funding. Solforge aims to be a versatile Appchain Stack, positioning itself as an SVM version of an OP Stack or Arbitrum Orbit. Mantis, on the other hand, is an SVM Rollup layer for intent settlement, not limited to serving the Solana ecosystem.
**Restaking:**
Restaking has been one of the hottest trends in recent months. However, many are not fully aware of the differences between the two leading projects, Babylon and EigenLayer. It’s worth clarifying this distinction.
Eigen can implement complex Slashing mechanisms due to its inherent smart contract capabilities. In contrast, Babylon’s innovations like EOTS and BTC timestamp protocol give it an edge in the Restaking space. Babylon’s focus on “native BTC Restaking” sets it apart from Eigen in this aspect.
In conclusion, the developments in Solana’s infrastructure in the coming months will be intriguing, especially with the rise of modularity. The launch of FireDancer’s simplified version by year-end and the full version next year promise to enhance Solana’s TPS and stability significantly.
Restaking remains a hot topic, and the nuances between Babylon and EigenLayer are essential to understand. The different capabilities of these projects offer unique opportunities for innovation in the Restaking sector.
