The Layer1 Landscape & Look Into NEAR
May 30 2020 · 1 min read
Competing Visions for a Blockchain Future
(p. 4-8)
As developers and entrepreneurs look to the next generation of blockchains, some are opting for a Universe of Chains that are connected through a base layer, while other blockchains envision a World of dApps where developers build on existing blockchains that scale dynamically.
dApp Market Struggles in 2019
(p. 9-12)
After much hype, there were no breakout consumer blockchain applications in 2019. Tron and EOS saw more than a 50% decline in users, while Ethereum has found some traction with DeFi. Moving forward, chains with higher throughput will be needed for web-level applications.
NEAR’s shards act like a single blockchain
(p. 13-16)
The NEAR Network does not discriminate between shards, dynamically rebalancing the network’s resources to underutilized shards, but its Nightshade Consensus makes it operate as a single blockchain.
NEAR’s Positioning in blockchain ecosystem
(p. 17-20)
While base-layer blockchains have struggled after launch, NEAR should benefit from increased attention to ETH2.0, its deploy-to-the- cloud design, and language capabilities that make it appealing to non- blockchain devs.