Ethereum's two leading Layer 2 solutions, @arbitrum and @optimismFND, adopted distinct tokenization strategies in terms of timing and distribution. The Tie Terminal can be utilized to compare their allocations and unlock schedules. Arbitrum allocated 12.75% of its total $ARB token supply to the community, and an additional 43% to the DAO Treasury for direct governance by token holders, resulting in nearly 56% of the tokens being community-distributed.

Earlier today, @0xPolygon announced that after years of extensive research, development, and testing, Polygon zkEVM mainnet is officially set to launch on March 27th.

Here's what you need to know: Zero-knowledge (ZK) is a cryptography protocol that provides increased security when creating proofs to validate a statement. In the blockchain space, ZK has been applied to several use cases: increased privacy in transactions, protection for IDs, and improved authentication.

We are excited to announce the launch of @0xPolygon on-chain data on The Tie Terminal and in our On-Chain API. Users can now access a suite of robust analytics on Polygon-based assets and compare Polygon activity vs. that of other major layer 1s supported by The Tie. With the rollout of Polygon on-chain data, The Tie’s more than 150 institutional clients will now have access to data on one of the fastest growing ecosystems in digital assets, and be able to incorporate this data into their trading strategies.

Last week @CurveFinance released the whitepaper for a new CDP stablecoin design. The centerpiece of the document is a new primitive mechanism called the Lending-Liquidating AMM Algorithm (LLAMMA).

So, how does it work and how does it differ from traditional CDP models? In traditional CDP stablecoins, undercollateralized positions are liquidated to maintain the peg.

The issue with full liquidations is that cryptocurrencies are high-beta-risk assets, meaning that their inherent volatility supplements the increased risk of cascading liquidations

At it's peak, Serum had a Fully Diluted Value of over $125bn. While Alameda influence was known, full extent of their effect on grants remains unknown.

We became curious- how were DAO funds allocated, and who voted on their $SRM payout? Here are the results: Serum has a full list of awarded grants visible on their site. Of the 21 grantees listed on the page, ~10 have a direct relationship to Alameda.

Of the remaining 11, many (like Python Support, Serum Machine Server, etc...) are public good projects with no token.

We're excited to announce the launch of our @avalancheavax Dashboard - a free, public-facing platform, unlocking greater transparency into the Avalanche GameFi and NFT Ecosystems.

avalanche.thetie.io The Dashboard provides GameFi and NFT data, as well as the ability to deep-dive into specific projects. Within the dashboard you'll find a combination of on-chain and off-chain metrics, helping users contextualize activity across Avalanche.

In light of recent events we decided to return to the basics. Improving understanding of Crypto Wallets & Asset Custody, from the basics up, will be a key evolution in allowing users to spend more time thinking about application, and less on security.

research.thetie.io/crypto-wallets… Crypto wallets come in many forms, each with different levels of security and convenience:

As the crypto wallet sector has matured, dozens of crypto wallets have emerged that increase not only security but also provide much friendlier user interfaces and better support services

1/ It's time for a post on yield. Investors are searching for sustainable yield, but, to truly find it, you first have to dive into the fundamental sources of yield.

When all the tokenomics, yield farming, and leverage is stripped out, what really remains? 2/ As market conditions have worsened, the importance of understanding the sources of crypto yield has only grown. To do this, we:
- Identify relative baseline rates
- Investigate how they flow through to investors
- Evaluate future sustainability of yield

Everyone has been talking about 'Real Yield', but why exactly is it a such a meaningful narrative? Crypto Regulation arbitrage trades.

Let's take a look at the regulatory situation in the US, how it leaves blue-chips at a disadvantage, and why Real Yield is taking off: 2/ DeFi-natives have upped pressure on operators to build ‘real yield’ into their project (i.e. turn inflationary tokens into real businesses).

Practically, this creates predictable cash flows generated from the project, rather than some predetermined inflation schedule.

Many tokens use a decentralized model, where token holders vote on proposed changes and improvements. It’s crucial for holders of these assets to easily monitor and participate.

The Tie Terminal’s Governance tools provide an all in one solution for staying on top of proposals. The new Governance Page reveals all proposals for a selected token, watchlist, or coins category.

View Governance proposals, voting results, and easily filter to view only Active or Closed proposals. Navigate to Snapshot to participate or Etherscan to view on-chain engagement.

L1 season might be over, but L2 season has just begun. With all the acronyms thrown around, it can be hard to figure out exactly what each rollup is doing.

Here's the guide on Optimistic (@arbitrum / @optimismFND) vs Zero Knowledge (@0xPolygon / @zksync / @StarkWareLtd) Rollups- Optimistic Rollups offer a great solution to scaling Ethereum:
1 ) Trustless Security, based on Ethereum
2) Compatibility with Ethereum
3) Scalability, through larger base Ethereum throughput
4) Minimum Cost, through spreading & bundling transactions

What drives fundamentals in Crypto? Most yield in DeFi is driven by a combination of conflicting core opportunities:

1. Proof of Stake Inflation
2. Blockchain Borrowing / Lending Demand
3. Blockchain Market Making
4. Real World Interest Rates PoS inflation is the most basic source of yield, offering compensation for validation. While it’s not a ‘risk free rate’, blockchain inflation represents a baseline rate for that chain. PoS inflation is uncorrelated with TradFi, making it a haven regardless of macro conditions.

BRIDGE RISK: There are 180 currencies. Each country has a legal tender, and each economy settles its economic activities in its native currency.

Just as in traditional currencies, economic activity across chains necessitates an efficient and reliable system, with different risks 2/ Here is where brokers, hedge funds, and individual traders step in, creating the Forex market via their exchange activity. This process is re-complicated by the proliferation of different data storage systems in the form of national currencies.

Today @arbitrum announced their acquisition of @prylabs. While Prysm will remain a fully open-source and neutral consensus client, it means big things for the future of the Arbitrum.

We deconstructed the acquisition to understand how it drives Arbitrum's thesis forward- Ethereum nodes are run on top of clients, or software engines, without which nodes would be unable to verify block & transactional data. There are many clients, but miners, node operators, and validators tend to gravitate toward a reputationally pristine few.

Existing token unlock data is full of inaccuracies, resulting from scraped data, failure to verify information with projects, and a lack of validation on-chain.

The Tie Terminal's Token Unlock data is now available, solving for the problems with existing datasets. 🧵 Our team has spent months curating Token Unlock data by hand: reviewing whitepapers, engaging directly with project founders and key stakeholders, and utilizing on-chain data to validate claims for accuracy.

The result is the highest-quality Token Unlock data on the market.

The Thesis for @arbitrum: Research visualized through seven charts

A leader in the layer 2 space, Arbitrum has a 51.72% marketshare & 80+ dApps. Under the hood, it provides the fastest recorded transactional throughputs and the shortest time to finality vs other L2s. Successful campaigns have led to strong user growth and retention. Launch of Arbitrum Nitro enabled DEX volume to surge as a result of near zero gas fees, with this quarter seeing more than $2 billion in cumulative trading volume across three major DEXes (+21% q/q).

The Thesis for @solana: Research visualized through seven charts

Solana adopts a monolithic design, wrapping transaction execution, network consensus, proof settlement, and data availability on one mainchain. Solana’s speed is scaled to ~double every two years (Moore's Law). Since its launch, Solana has held its position as an L1 network offering one of the highest transaction throughputs (TPS), the shortest time to finality (TTF), and the most monthly-active contributors of any ecosystem. This has created a robust DeFi and NFT ecosystem.

The Thesis for Ethereum: Research visualized through seven charts

On 9/15, Ethereum abandoned PoW, and took a major step toward 'full’ PoS. Narratives around Ethereum have shifted toward sustainable on-chain yield (or lack thereof), centralization vectors, and staking. Liquid staking platforms offer investors the ability to easily stake, unstake, and trade staked Ether. While the merge officially transitioned Ethereum to PoS, the ability for validators to officially unstake ETH will likely not go live until early 2024, based on projections.

The Thesis for @0xPolygon: Research visualized through seven charts

Polygon is a decentralized Ethereum scaling platform. They aim to create a suite of solutions that will enable developers to build scalable applications (cheap transaction fees) without sacrificing security. This blockchain technology includes:
- Polygon Mainnet
- Polygon Supernet* - application dedicated
- Polygon Avail* - data availability-focused
- Polygon Zero*, Polygon Miden*, and Polygon zkEVM*: zk-rollup blockchains
- Polygon Nightfall* - privacy focused rollup

The Thesis for @avalancheavax: Research visualized through seven charts

Avalanche is a Proof of Stake, Ethereum-compatible platform that launches project-specific blockchains called subnets. Subnets isolate network activity, reduce fees, and increase throughput for users. Effectively transitioning applications and their existing user base onto subnets to help them scale is key for AVAX. The transition to subnets has caused a decline in C-Chain transactions, with a rise in cumulative transactions across all Avalanche chains.

1/ Vitalik wrote about Layer 3s, but can scalability really just add infinitely? Not exactly.

A Layer 2 protocol uses a Layer 1 for security, and adds scalability on top. Layer 3s have potential use cases that can add value onto the ecosystem stack of their existing Layer 2. 2/ There are three visions for L3s, per @StarkWareLtd:
- L2 for scaling, L3 for customized functionality (e.g. privacy)
- L2 for general-purpose scaling, L3 for customized scaling
- L2 for trustless scaling (rollups), L3 for weakly-trusted scaling (validiums)