Solana: The Ecosystem Update ~ Part 2
Use Solana as a hedge, use it as a wedge, use it cause its green, use it cause Toly is mad and mean... use it up, use it down... use it anyway to remove ya frown 🚜 whateva ya do just fockin use it!
Welcome back for Part 2 ~ if you’ve made it: congratulations, if you haven’t: ____ ___? just kidding don’t be so sensitive!
Below you’ll find a mix of familiar faces and new entrants to the Solana scene ~ some from hackathons & some from other chains. Know that all are important on your journey to making it within the Solana ecosystem.
ps Part 3 will resume with ALL new faces… but in the mean time 👇 Dig it!
Index - Part 2
NFT / Gaming / AI
NFTfi ~ Tensor
Community ~ Mad Lads
Token-2022 ~ Solar Moon
Graphics & AI ~ Render
Infrastructure
Wallets ~ Backpack
Bridges ~ Mayan
DePIN ~ Helium
Cloud Compute / Storage ~ GenesysGo
Honourable Mentions
Portfolio Management ~ Step Finance
DEX ~ Orca
Lending ~ Mango Markets
LSD ~ Marinade
SVM → IBC
Interchain Rollup ~ Cascade
Modular Stack
L1 ~ Injective
Execution Layer ~ Eclipse (Neon Labs)
Sequencer ~ Espresso
Data Availability ~ Celestia
5. NFT / Gaming / AI
First up NFTs… wherein state compression has drastically changed the NFT game. We’re talking 1 Million Solana NFTs minted for 100 US Dollars… thats insane, the applications and use haven’t even begun to be realized. Also important and of note is the fact that the NFT sector is thriving ~ truthfully a big part of what kept Solana’s community so tight over the bear market.
Defi might be on the mend… but when it comes to “creatives” I wouldn’t blink or shut your lads for a second 👀
a. NFTfi
Tensor is a beast of an NFT trading platform. Has Blur 2.0 vibes. Includes boat loads of customizable trading features… hell it even has Solana network stats. Just look at this trading terminal.
There’s a pro and a lite version for those that want a more simple experience. They’ve got 20k DAU, the largest 24 hour NFT volume by a wide margin and no token. Tensor points were created to reward traders, so there’s already been some heavy speculating.
Season 3 started the other day, so expecting more volume. It’s important to mention that Dirt has seen a little discontent with regards to the Tensorian NFT WL that is ongoing. Fears that Tensor may fumble the bag on their season 2 points by giving more of an allocation to the NFT mint (Aug 7) vs the community thats been trading it.
I’m certain they will figure it out.
STRATEGY: Trading pts have been in existence for awhile and Dirt’s not a big NFT trader. He does speculate though, so if there is a token launch fuckup we will posture to take advantage of it ~ but I ofc do not wish that on the team.
Otherwise do some trading to get some exposure and BTFD 🫡 … ps buy a Mad Lad👇
b. Community
Mad Lads is a community building masterclass that is being put on by the Backpack team (more below👇) . This shit is guna be studied by future (AI metaverse) civilizations… alright DIRT take it easy!
But why you ask? Because its not just an NFT project that symbolizes the entire Solana eco ~ its all of these things (and that) =
An insane minting UX right within the Backpack wallet
It was like a scratch and win with your mouse and a rug … IYKYK. Think gambling addiction + NFT speculation built into one
Its an xNFT, so its like an application within an NFT (more below👇)
You click that button within the browser wallet and it opens up ~ for checking staked stats etc. Trading competitions already incentivizing holders, Drift previously and Zeta currently. Expecting many more partnerships to add value to this project.
Community is fockin epic… don’t over think it
They just onboarding a surfing legend !… grow the pie boys, grow the pie 👀
STRATEGY: Keep the Lad staked within Backpack, watch on Tensor to purchase a few more (is like a leveraged $SOL play) and keep an eye on community announcements for further participation. As I keep saying, Break Point is in bound and I expect FUN.
Strat 2.0: Acquire a Fock it. hoodie prior to conference to try and fit in
c. Token-2022
Mentioned during last years Break Point, Token-2022, is a new token standard within the SVM (sea level machine ~ solana os) world, which employs a whole suite of upgrades that I was going to mention but that’s far too right curve for this tractor. Let’s keep it simple and let Raydium explain!
So why do you care? Well its currently in beta but its also fairly exciting. I’m hearing that it’ll have a bigger presence at the upcoming conference and when you hear Toly speaking about it, it lends it a certain accreditation. So investing in some earlier tokens now could pay off.
STRATEGY: Solar Moon is the first of a new subset of Token-2022 meme tokens floating around the Solana sphere. Its got all the same things as every other meme coin: a loud community, selling tax & risk. But it also has a that new Token2022 narrative.
NFA: Pick your favourite and get some exposure then forget about it. These are highly illiquid. DO NOT GAMBLE WITH FUNDS YOU ARE AFRAID TO LOSE!
d. Graphics & AI
Render is not new but I wanted to include it to showcase that one of the biggest AI narrative coins is being developed within the Solana ecosystem.
Some project tokens migrate out of the solana eco and some migrate in. Dirt’s of the opinion that protocols should work towards being more chain agnostic ~ not absolute.
Want to know more about Render? Learn more in my recent deep dive here =
STRATEGY: The AI narrative is a very strong one, though it has cooled off. Which places $RNDR on Dirt’s pullback buy list, simply cuz any tradfi AI news will be bullish for it going forward.
DISCLAIMER: Not 100% sure if I will take this trade. May keep as a swing trade set up for big AI news catered events… I expect it to be very crowded.
6. Infrastructure
a. Wallets
The wallet space is highly competitive ~ it demands innovation, open source tech and a new approach to onboarding customers. Backpack is all of this and more.
These guys aren’t simply building a wallet, they’re building an experience. Here’s some of what you can already do =
Download xNFT’s which are applications built into the extension
The team plans to continue abstracting away complexities, like a future where the app is already included in the NFT, no downloading necessary.
Here’s a few things xNFTs can already do:
Mint NFTs, track trading competition stats, Stake SOL via Jito’s xNFT app.
Purchase NFTs, communicate to frens… you get the gyst.
This is only the beginning.
Soul Abstraction (👈 this tweet from Armani is worth the read)
The combination of Soul binding and account abstraction ~ the latter being a new subset of wallets better known as smart contract wallets. Essentially allowing for all sorts of new innovations, like changing which tokens can be used to pay network gas and the ability to stream payments.
Soul Binding is an NFT that has assets itself, and these assets move with the NFT. This is a game changer. Think about communities that want to reward users over a continuous period ~ this means they have to continue to hold the NFT to keep getting the benefit. Again the possibilities here are endless
The team at Backpack includes Armani Ferrente, who has an extensive coding background including Apple and mobile app developing 👀 and Tristan Yver whose been building communities for years ~ the boys focking get it.
Tristan has recently launched a podcast, The Y-Axis and Armani was his first guest. The boys talked Armani’s background and the future for wallets. Tristan’s got a lot of podcast experience, I highly recommend…
NOTE: The latest Y-Axis pod with Solana founder Anatoly just dropped here!
In app messaging is so clutch and I expect it to come into play more and more. Though its more likely to come the other way around, ie a messaging app embedding the wallet.
Here you can see my xNFT apps. I use Drift to trade in app, Synx for cloud storage built through GenesysGo, Jito for staking my SOL right in app ~ with more to come. Even I have hardly scraped the surface of their 100+ apps.
STRATEGY: Continue to watch, interact, mint, contribute and scratch/sniff any and all of the Solana projects building iterations for the wallet. As Armani says “under promise over deliver”… a reason to expect big things.
There has been no mention of a token… 🚜💨
b. Bridges
Mayan employs Wormhole and Circle’s CCTP infra to deploy native asset transfers cross chain. Their roadmap includes mobile applications ~ we like this. Come to papa’s Saga phone.
I just used Mayan’s bridge to swap USDC from Ethereum to Solana. Was a smooth interaction. I used Rabby → Backpack. Now nothing on Ethereum L1 is cheap so i had to eat $30 in gas to get it going and it showcased a fairly high slippage potential. Mid 4 figures transfer and $150 in potential slippage… that is too high. But I received the full amount with next to zero slippage. Very impressed.
I like that Mayan has their own bridge explorer too, however I would like to see a Bug Bounty and more information in the docs.
STRATEGY: Scoop up a Swift NFT when they launch and get some bridge volume going.
CAUTION: Bridges are risky and this is not for the faint of heart. Please play with caution.
DePIN
Helium while not being the sexiest ~ is important, as many think Solana is becoming the best place for this narrative (DePIN). As a new Saga phone user I am keenly hoping that decentralized mobile networks take off. I have my reservations though. But that’s why we’re here, to disrupt the biggest industries… just don’t hold your breath.
They’ve got a growing list of users and ecosystem partners BUT its still a little clunky. The onboarding flow needs to be made easier. Should be: SIGN UP → VERIFY ACCESSIBILITY → PURCHASE NETWORK IoT &/or SIM → SHIP. Would love to see an apple-esque onboarding flow, where it’s a treat. We clearly still early.
Dirt wants international coverage not just US… patience is a must.
STRATEGY: Being honest, we started looking into the viability of purchasing a device months ago and it wasn’t much of a profitable endeavour. But Dirt does believe in disrupting industries and will be circling back to this. Maybe it makes sense to get involved and help with the adoption.
Cloud Compute / Storage
C’mon, there’s no way I was writing this report without plugging my beloved GenesysGo team. These guys have building towards a more scaleable Solana future for sometime and are unwavering. They don’t do VC, they don’t rush for b.s., they just build great tech.
There is a new class of dapps being deployed on top of their shadow drive ~ mostly from the hackathons and I am very keen to see what takes off.
Cloud compute may not be sexiest but it is absolutely necessary for powering the AI narrative that is taking shape. Bullish decentralized storage.
Previous deep dive 👇
STRATEGY: Patience. I am a Shadowy Super Coder NFT holder and a believer, if you are not I recommend becoming one ~ very cheap currently. Lots of alpha goes on behind those gated discord doors.
Believe in infra. $SHDW has a lot of upside (NFA)
7. Honourable Mentions
a. Portfolio Management
Step Finance is providing Solana users with the DeBank experience. And their Step Data Analytics account is a must follow ~ they always dropping the network alpha.
b. DEX
Orca’s been a trustworthy friend (DEX) for some time now and I have used them a ton. They have a beautifully simple UI/UX with a portfolio display built in. They deserve some love. Never turn your back on a companion that held your hand through a bear market.
c. Lending
Mango Markets were OGs in this space and suffered greatly with the attack last year. They have been trying to innovate and so I hope they can turn it around. They are unfortunately poster children for Solana’s headaches in 2022 and I think this market wants a new solana. Time will tell if I am right.
d. LSD
Marinade is the first LSD built on Solana. It’s still got a relatively large lead on Jito when it comes to TVL but I expect this to slowly get overtaken. I do see they are trying to innovate and retain their lead. I don’t think they’ll be bending over any time soon and I wouldn’t fade these guys…
NOTE: I will be including SolBlaze in Part 3 as I intend to spread my $SOL to another staking provider. Older Marinade or Tokenless SolBlaze?
This is the question that I will answer in the next part. STAY DIRTY
DISCLAIMER: Dirt did contribute to Solblaze and had to pause this report to do his due diligence on the protocol. The airdrop snapshot is happening in the next 24-48 hours (08/01/23 ~ 12pm PST)
8. SVM → IBC
NOTE: This section is a bonus and one that I think is important. Don’t blindly marry Solana, the same way you shouldn’t blindly marry a woman, sorry I mean Ethereum. Dirt is PRO CHOICE.
We are nearing an extremely big inflection point in crypto. Not just one where you can move coins cross chain without bridges (Layer Zero vs CCTP anyone?) but one where protocols can launch contracts cross chain with minimal friction.
The 3 biggest ecosystems in my view are EVM (Ethereum L1 + L2s), SVM (Sealevel Virtual Machine ie Solana) and IBC (Inter blockchain Communication or Cosmos). And so this is where my focus will remain… queue eye roll…
The following protocols aren’t exclusive to Solana but you should not ignore them. They will likely be instrumental in supporting a hot potato money ball during the next bull cycle.
a. Interchain Rollup
And thus, I bring you Cascade, the first SVM ←→ IBC rollup, developed by Injective, in partnership with the following good fellows. This application uses Optimistic rollup tech and is currently in testnet.
It is going to fuck 👀
b. Modular Stack
L1 Rollup ~ Injective
Responsible for developing Cascade and putting together all of this BD (biz dev)… aka BDE
FYI Cosmwasm has already linked EVM → IBC and as such is not the focus
Want to know more about Injective? It will be one of my longterm holdings👇
Execution Layer ~ Eclipse (Neon Labs)
They partnering with Injective for Cascade’s SVM → IBC iteration.
Eclipse used the Neon Labs tech stack to build their SVM which allows for EVM → SVM implementation.
Quick Neon background:
Neon brings direct Ethereum L1 compatibility to Solana, go here to see Anatoly explain it. TLDR ~ it allows for EVM dApps to employ straight to the Solana stack.
Received pretty harsh critique on their recent token launch and truly seem to be unaware of all of what is happening in the new Solana eco… Dirt not impressed.
Sequencer ~ Espresso
Partnered with Injective to build the 1st Solana rollup for Cosmos.
ps espresso is working on building decentralized sequencers for ethereum as well.
Data Availability ~ Celestia
Dirt’s been watching Celestia for awhile and is very excited about all of its implementations. Why do you care? Because $INJ knows how to pick the best when it comes to building their modular rollup.
ps Celestia is (essentially) to Cosmos what EigenDA is to Ethereum
Now you’re probably thinking WTF is going on…
Just understand that these things are important and its wise to join Dirt in the middle of the bell curve from time to time … I think?
BONUS: Not only does Cascade employ the beasts above but they also have integrations with Wormhole and Pyth… the no. 1 cross chain communication infra and the the no. 1 oracle in the Solana eco. Can you see my 🍆?
STRATEGY: Hold assets on either end of the teeter-totter, ie $INJ & $SOL. Injective also happens to be a Binance incubator… hate it or love it, it’s a narrative unto itself. I’m trying to figure out whether Cascade will funnel all its value to INJ or will have its own token.
Stay tuned! ~ the team has stated it will be voted by governance.
That’s all for now folks!
Now enjoy a Part 3 Sneak Peak
