TL;DR 👀
A super brief summary of the chapter
Binance
Binance is home to the BNB Chain, a layer-1 blockchain hosting a suite of decentralized applications (dApps) that are fueled by Binance's BNB cryptocurrency
NEAR
Near Protocol is a proof-of-stake layer-1 blockchain that uses sharding technology to achieve scalability
Solana
Solana is a highly functional open source project that implements a new, permissionless and high-speed layer-1 blockchain that aims to solve the blockchain trilemma
Fantom
Fantom is a decentralized, permissionless, open-source smart contract platform for decentralized applications (dApps) and digital assets
Polygon
Polygon is a stack of protocols that provides an easy framework for new and existing blockchain projects to build on Ethereum without scalability issues
Cardano
Cardano is a decentralized proof-of-stake blockchain that focuses on scalability, interoperability, sustainability, growing costs, energy use, and fast transaction times.
Polkadot
Polkadot is a proof-of-authority blockchain that operates differently from the Ethereum network in its drive to become a heterogeneous blockchain network by using parachains and parathreads, which link to the main Polkadot Relay Chain
Cosmos
Cosmos, which bills itself as the internet of blockchains, is a decentralized network of independent yet interoperable blockchains that are able to exchange information and tokens between each other permissionlessly
Harmony
Harmony (ONE) is a blockchain-based platform that aims to address the conundrum of achieving both scalability and decentralization without sacrificing either.
Cronos
Cronos is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible chain with added support for IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communications) networks based on the Cosmos SDK
Optimism
Optimism is a layer 2 that speeds up Ethereum transactions and cuts their costs by settling them on another blockchain using advanced data compression techniques called 'optimistic rollups'
Terra
Terra is a layer-1 blockchain with a dramatic history, aiming to build a decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem around its native stablecoin, UST
The idea failed, however, when UST depegged, sending the Terra blockchain spiraling, losing billions of dollars of value
Terra 2.0 has since launched as a rework of its predecessor, focusing on standard proof-of-stake fundamentals to secure its blockchain
Who Will Win the L1 Wars?
NEAR, Solana and Fantom are all top competitors for the layer-1 blockchain competition behind Ethereum.
Other blockchains like Cardano, Avalanche and Tron are also top contenders in the layer-1 race.
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