I believe the liquid token market structure would have ended up looking like this in Q4 2023-Q1 2024 had we not had
1. btc etf
2. yellen at the printer
3. ai hype cycle
Many VCs were becoming increasingly selective prior to liquid markets heating up, then felt underexposed in Q4 2023. As a byproduct, they raced to allocate capital under the belief that it was early cycle and as long as tokens launched somewhat soon, the ev was very +. Many wanted to deploy capital, and there were few quality opportunities.
At this point there was a "do you want to make money, or be moral" moment, and some decided to spray large checks into as many infrastructure tokens as they could. There was an L1 and AI premium, and many $250-$1bn FDV rounds were done for projects that were 1+ year out from a testnet.
Many of these investors were eyes wide open and doing the math of "what can we exit at if we go otc at tge or dump every unlock".
The announcements were probably delayed 3-6 months, but if you want to get an idea of which investors to blame for some of the scams coming to market, look back at the raises that were done for these vaporware projects in Nov 2023-Apr 2024.
just fired my maid who’s been cleaning my house for 20 years
because i realized that for all i paid her, she never bought anything from me
no more getting ripped off!
TWAMM (Time-Weighted AMM) is revolutionizing DeFi! Execute large orders with minimal slippage over time, mimicking TWAP strategies. This enables DAOs & institutions to execute large swaps with minimal market impact—bringing TradFi-like execution to DeFi. #TWAMM#DeFi
TWAMM is coming to mainnet this week, and it's a big upgrade to Ethereum DX
With Oracle + TWAMM you will be able to check the price of any asset pair, and trivially convert between assets from smart contracts
Especially useful to create onchain market making strategies 💫
Ekubo Protocol V2 is now live on Ethereum!
You can use the app to swap and add liquidity at https://t.co/qIHpjV6JLh
V2 is more than 30% cheaper to use than the next best AMM while using smaller ticks and having more features thanks to its powerful extensibility, enabling it to provide significantly better pricing with less liquidity
Aggregator integrations are in progress with @paraswap, @KyberNetwork, @matchaxyz and @PropellerSwap which will transparently improve pricing for their users as well as for @CoWSwap auctions
The code is audited by both @plainshift and @ABDKconsulting
We are proud to finally reach this milestone of a permanent Ethereum deployment and are excited to see the impact of our extensible, gas efficient protocol on the market
The BTC <> ETH superhighway
Now that Starknet has announced a roadmap to settle on both Bitcoin and Ethereum, it sparks an intriguing question: can a rollup truly settle on two different chains simultaneously? This concept challenges our traditional understanding of blockchain architecture and deserves a deeper exploration.
Beyond Single-Chain Thinking
For years, we've thought of rollups as extensions of a single parent chain. The mental model was straightforward: transactions happen off-chain for efficiency, then settle back to the base layer for security. This approach works well but has an inherent limitation—it ties your ecosystem to just one security model.
What if we could verify the same state transitions across multiple security models? This is the core idea behind multi-settlement architectures.
Understanding Multi-Settlement
A multi-settlement system creates a unified execution environment that generates cryptographic proofs verifiable by different blockchain networks. Instead of choosing between Ethereum or Bitcoin's security model, you can leverage both simultaneously.
Think of it as submitting the same mathematical proof to different review committees. Each committee uses its own verification process, but if the proof is valid, they'll all reach the same conclusion.
How Verification Flows Work
In a multi-settlement system:
1. Users interact with a single application interface
2. Their transactions are processed in a unified execution environment
3. The system generates cryptographic proofs of these transactions
4. These proofs are submitted to multiple blockchain networks
5. Each network independently verifies the proofs according to its rules
Addressing the Hard Questions
Can Two Chains Really Be Primary?
Some argue that one chain must ultimately be "primary." This view assumes a hierarchical relationship that multi-settlement intentionally avoids. The execution layer itself is the primary source of truth, with each settlement layer providing an independent verification path.
This is similar to how GPS works—multiple satellites independently confirm your position. No single satellite is the "primary" determinant of your location; it's their collective verification that matters.
What About Conflicting Outcomes?
The most common concern is: "What happens if the settlement layers disagree?" This misunderstands how validity-proving systems work. Modern cryptographic proofs have deterministic verification—they either verify correctly on all chains or fail on all chains.
The only realistic divergence scenario would be if one chain experienced a deep reorganization (a "reorg"). In such cases, having multiple settlement layers actually provides greater resilience, as users can rely on the unaffected chain, running light clients for the same.
The User Experience Advantage
Multi-settlement isn't just a theoretical exercise—it offers tangible benefits:
1. Asset Unification: Access Bitcoin and Ethereum assets in one environment without bridging
2. Security Optionality: Choose different security models for different transaction types
3. Resilience Through Redundancy: All assets and execution is backed by the economic security of both chains
4. Development Simplification: Build once, deploy to multiple security/liquidity ecosystems
A Different Perspective on Security
Traditional blockchain thinking treats security as a vertical stack—each layer depends entirely on the layer below it. Multi-settlement reimagines security as a network of independent verification paths.
By distributing verification across multiple chains, you avoid single points of failure. An issue with one settlement layer doesn't compromise the entire system.
Moving Beyond Theory
The real promise of multi-settlement isn't in theoretical purity but in practical application. Users want seamless experiences that don't sacrifice security. Developers want to build applications that reach users across ecosystems.
Multi-settlement provides a path to achieve both goals without forcing users into walled gardens or requiring them to understand the complexities of cross-chain interactions.
The Road Ahead
As multi-settlement systems like Starknet's dual Bitcoin/Ethereum approach move from concept to implementation, we'll discover their true strengths and limitations. The blockchain space has always evolved through practical experimentation rather than theoretical debate.
What's clear is that these systems expand our design possibilities. They challenge us to think beyond the traditional parameters of blockchain architecture and consider new models that might better serve users' needs.
In a multichain world, the ability to leverage different security models simultaneously could prove to be not just a technical curiosity, but a fundamental competitive advantage.
I’m gonna try to share OP_CAT updates more regularly. Here’s what happened recently and where we think things are headed:
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last month i went to consensus in hong kong, taking a hiatus from my usual twitter trolling: meeting face to face with protocol & app devs and miners to gauge sentiment on OP_CAT (in some cases requiring Chinese translators in order to conduct the meetings)
on the l2 protocol development side:
OP_CAT would mean a massive unlock for l2 protocol developers (STARKs is the most talked about example, but every l2 benefits tremendously from a generalized covenant, including bitvm, ark and even lightning)
my impression is that l2 developers are extremely thirsty for this capability, and understand what OP_CAT does quite well. this applies to teams both in the east and west
on the app side:
mostly met & discussed with lending app developers which seems to be the most prevalent on the application side. the discussions i've had suggests demand for borrowing and lending with BTC on the motherchain, not just for retail defi but in b2b contexts aswell
from miners:
traditionally, miners are not as tuned in to protocol design as other stakeholder groups. but in the asian mining industry, OP_CAT has been well-recognized for some time now due to initiatives like fractal which already amassed 50%+ merge-mining hashrate
that's not to say that these groups fully understand what OP_CAT does yet, however they seem surprisingly interested to learn more about what OP_CAT can mean for the baselayer in terms of chain activity
it is clear there's an appetite for more educational material here, esp. events that bridge the gap between asia and the west — stay tuned for updates on this topic
i really do think 2025 is the year of the covenant, and our best bet to oil the softfork upgrade machinery before we're stuck knee-deep in institutional ossification
but this is going to require deeper cross-industry collaboration than what we're normally used to, as core is no longer in the business of driving consensus changes - with much broader community agency