The Metis community testing has begun. Which ecological projects are worth paying attention to?

Author: Metis Chinese Community

As the Ethereum Cancun upgrade approaches, the L2 track is becoming increasingly heated. After the full implementation of EIP-4844 in the Cancun upgrade, L2 transaction fees are expected to decrease by an order of magnitude, with the cost of each L2 transaction anticipated to be dozens of times cheaper. Lower transaction fees and a better trading experience will undoubtedly give rise to more application scenarios, making the Cancun upgrade a turning point for Ethereum L2.

Due to the market's heightened expectations for the L2 ecosystem, all mainstream L2 projects have seen significant increases over the past month.

Among them, Metis has gained the most traction from users, with the price of the Metis token rising over 500% from a low of $20 in December, and the TVL increasing by over 900%, leading all L2 projects. It has surpassed star projects like Mantel, zkSync, and Base, with a current TVL close to $1 billion, ranking third in the L2 track, only behind ARB and OP.

For users, aside from the backing of Vitalik Buterin and its low market cap with high potential, the most attractive aspect of Metis is its narrative around decentralized sequencers.

Centralized sequencers face issues of single points of failure and node malfeasance, but currently, mainstream L2s, including ARB and OP, operate on a single centralized sequencer. Beyond the reasons of lower costs and user-friendliness, the most important factor is that sequencers can generate significant revenue for projects, making it difficult for project teams to have the motivation to cut this "cake."

Metis has proposed the concept of a PoS sequencer pool, allowing users to stake and become sequencer nodes. The multi-sequencer approach not only enhances the security and stability of the entire network but also provides users with the opportunity to share in the revenue generated by the projects, aligning more with the spirit of decentralization and motivating users to participate in the construction, positively catalyzing the healthy development of the entire ecosystem.

On January 16, Metis launched community testing for its PoS sequencer pool on the Sepolia testnet, allowing users to begin testing DApps deployed on Metis. Earlier, Metis also introduced an ecological incentive fund of 4.6 million METIS (valued at $500 million) aimed at promoting the active development of the Metis ecosystem.

The direct beneficiaries of this series of initiatives are undoubtedly the DApps on the Metis ecosystem, which have not disappointed in their performance. Major ecological projects have seen their TVL grow by over 100% in the past month.

The token prices are also impressive, with NETT rising 20 times, TETHYS increasing 5 times, HUM up 4 times, and HERMES rising 3 times… The community has also sparked a wave of FOMO, and with the advancement of Metis community testing and a series of positive releases on the roadmap, coupled with the overall upward environment of the crypto market, the future performance of Metis and its ecosystem is highly anticipated.

Next, let's take a look at the ecological projects in the Metis ecosystem that are worth our attention.

Nuvo

Nuvo is the first inscription ecosystem on Metis, compatible with all EVM Layer 2 networks. Its unique NIP-20 and NIP-721 protocols provide efficient DeFi solutions for the deployment, minting, and transfer of inscribed assets.

The Nuvo project includes two main functional modules: NuMarket and NuDex. NuMarket is an inscription trading platform that enhances the accessibility of inscribed assets between Ethereum and EVM Layer 2 networks; NuDex is a dedicated derivatives market offering perpetual contract trading, margin trading, spot trading, lending, and more.

Website:https://www.nuvosphere.io/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/nuvosphere

Telegram:https://t.me/nuvosphere

Discord:https://discord.com/invite/dAey4fDwCe

Medium:https://medium.com/@nuvoshphere

Recommendation: Nuvo combines two of the most关注 concepts: Layer 2 networks and inscription protocols, making it highly attractive in the short term. If the market continues to rise, Nuvo also has significant explosive potential. Additionally, Nuvo has announced on Twitter that it will soon release the Nuvo Genesis Inscription, and holders can expect a future airdrop of NUVO tokens, which is another point to watch for early positioning.

As a platform project, Nuvo's advantage lies in its diversified product portfolio. Currently launched products include wallets, on-chain identity systems, achievement systems, etc. The successful launch of these products demonstrates the team's efficiency in technical development and market adaptation, showcasing the project's ability for continuous innovation. The advantages of the Nuvo project include a strong technical foundation, a rich product portfolio, and keen insights into market demand. The upcoming release date of the Nuvo Genesis Inscription should be closely monitored, as the expectation of the NUVO token airdrop will be a potential traffic explosion point.

Wagmi

Wagmi, formerly known as Popsicle Finance, is a DeFi series of products created by developer Daniele Sestagalli, which has previously been deployed on Kava, zkSync Era, and Fantom, with a TVL exceeding $10 million.

Wagmi offers decentralized exchange, arbitrage bots, and concentrated liquidity management strategies, aiming to enhance the composability and liquidity of the Metis ecosystem through its unique products and services.

When Wagmi launched on Metis, it received an official grant of $2 million, making it the first project supported by the Metis official ecological incentive fund. After announcing its plans to deploy on Metis, Wagmi also secured a $500,000 investment from market maker DWF Labs, indicating strong interest from investors.

Website:https://app.wagmi.com/#/trade/swap

Twitter:https://twitter.com/PopsicleFinance

Discord:https://discord.com/invite/PXjQb4hTtT

Telegram:https://t.me/realwagmi

Recommendation: Founder Daniele Sestagalli is a star who emerged during DeFi Summer, having led projects like Abracadabra, Popsicle Finance (the predecessor of Wagmi), and Wonderland, and has worked with Andre Cronje (founder of Yearn Finance) to build the Fantom ecosystem from the ground up to a scale of billions of dollars. His personal influence and project operational capabilities are beyond doubt.

As the first project supported by the Metis official ecological incentive fund, Wagmi demonstrates the high regard Metis officials have for it. This support is not only financial but also recognition of the project's long-term development potential. Furthermore, after announcing its deployment on Metis, Wagmi received a $500,000 investment from DWF, further proving the confidence and expectations of the capital market in the Wagmi project.

Enki

Enki is the first LSD staking protocol on Metis, allowing users to participate in staking for Metis sequencer nodes and enjoy the revenue generated by the sequencers.

In simple terms, Enki lowers the threshold for users to stake and participate as sequencer nodes, enabling users holding less than 20,000 METIS to become sequencer nodes, providing all users with the opportunity to share in the sequencer's revenue, promoting fairness and community participation.

Website:https://www.enkixyz.com/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/ENKIProtocol

Telegram:https://t.me/enkixyz

Recommendation: Decentralized sequencers are a core component of Metis, and it is foreseeable that Metis's upcoming major work (including ongoing community testing) will revolve around this. The way to achieve a decentralized sequencer pool is to allow users to stake METIS to become sequencer nodes, jointly maintaining the operation of the Metis network.

However, there is a threshold for running as a node (at least 20,000 METIS staked). If users do not have 20,000 METIS, Enki is the only way for ordinary users to participate in the sequencer nodes. Retail investors who want to join the sequencer pool and share in the revenue can only do so through Enki.

Therefore, considering Enki's strategic position in the Metis ecosystem and its potential for traffic and capital concentration, Enki is undoubtedly a key project worth关注 and investment in the current Metis ecosystem.

Next are five projects from the first phase of testing.

Tethys Finance

Tethys Finance is a swap + lending + yield leverage protocol on Metis, allowing users to provide liquidity for major trading pairs like USDT/METIS to participate in mining and earn platform tokens TETHYS as rewards.

Tethys Finance's visual asset interface enables users to efficiently manage their assets, avoiding idle assets during farming, staking, or forming LPs. Tethys Finance also features a cross-chain bridge, Tethys Bridge, which supports networks like Ethereum, Metis, Avalanche, and Polygon.

Website:https://tethys.finance/trade

Twitter:https://twitter.com/tethysfinance

Discord:https://discord.gg/AnQSc3VEAt

Telegram:http://t.me/tethysswap

NetSwap

NetSwap is the first DEX in the Metis ecosystem, allowing for fast and low-cost token trading on the Metis network. In addition to integrating the basic functions of existing DEXs, NetSwap also offers liquidity mining, staking, Launchpad, and other features.

Website:https://netswap.io/#/home

Twitter:https://twitter.com/netswapofficial

Telegram:https://t.me/netswap_officialEN

Hummus

Hummus Exchange is an open unilateral staking AMM decentralized trading platform, allowing users to trade stablecoins with extremely low slippage and fees while generating income by holding stablecoins. Users can also hold the protocol's native token HUM to enhance their earnings.

Hummus combines Platypus Finance's unilateral staking pools and Balancer's customizable liquidity pools, effectively reducing impermanent loss during mining while improving capital efficiency for multi-asset holdings.

Website:https://app.hummus.exchange/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/hummusdefi

Telegram:https://t.me/hummusdefi

Midas

Midas is a gaming project built on Metis, offering various on-chain prediction market games. The first game launched is the Midas lottery, where users can purchase lottery tickets using METIS tokens for a chance to win a METIS prize pool. Midas aims to leverage Metis's scalability and low transaction fees to advance the development of blockchain gaming, providing fun and fair prediction games.

Website:https://www.midas.game/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/midas_games

Telegram:https://twitter.com/midas_games

League Tech

League Tech is a SocialFi platform on Metis similar to Friend Tech, introducing short-selling mechanisms, on-chain reputation, badge systems, and alliance creation features.

The project has not yet officially launched, and more information can be followed through updates from Metis and the project's official channels.

Website:https://league.tech/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/LeagueTechSoFi

Recommendation: The above five projects are the first batch of ecological projects from the Metis community testing. The importance that Metis officials place on these projects is evident, and in terms of support intensity, these projects are likely to be in the first tier, especially Midas and League Tech, which have not yet issued tokens. It is advisable to keep up with the latest news for early positioning.