The most overhyped L1 of Q1, 2023, so far, sees record-breaking trading activity
Canto (CANTO), a DeFi-focused Layer 1 blockchain, was in the spotlight last January. Its popularity seems to be attributed not only to an attractive narrative and aggressive community, but also to balanced tokenomics, a thriving ecosystem, and some DeFi native innovations “hardcoded” into its design.
What is Canto (CANTO), and how does it work?
Launched in Q3, 2022, Canto (CANTO) is a Layer 1 blockchain running on top of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). It merges the cutting-edge developments of Web3 technology: Canto (CANTO) leverages Tendermint consensus, and relies on its own validator node ecosystem and EVM execution layer built on Cosmos SDK.
At its launch, Canto (CANTO) early contributors (“Settlers”) introduced a toolkit of free-to-use applications for Canto (CANTO) enthusiasts, called Free Public Infrastructure (FPI). Canto (CANTO) FPI includes Canto DEX, a zero-fee decentralized crypto exchange, a native DeFi Canto Lending Market (CLM) which is a fork of batlle-tested liquidity machine Compound v2, and NOTA, a stablecoin asset “soft-pegged” to USDT and USDC.
Canto (CANTO) prioritizes decentralization and permissionlessness as its core values: the blockchain champions rent extraction resistance, treats all injected liquidity as a “public good” and seeks to reduce “user capture”. All transactions can only be settled by third party aggregators for maximum user acquisition.
Canto (CANTO) is backed by a strong team of blockchain veterans: Scott Lewis of DeFi Pulse and Slingshot Crypto and Plex founders lead its development.
CANTO price rose by 8x in month: Why?
Canto’s eponymous native core asset CANTO hit an all-time low on January 2, 2023: the price briefly dipped below $0.069. However, in the next 30 days, it showed a huge run of over $0.571.
This rally coincided with notable surges in development activity on the blockchain, TVL in Canto-based protocols, and trading volume for CANTO. This rally can be attributed to the balanced tokenomics of the project: it has no foundation, no VC backing, no vesting and no pre-sale. This means that no one can cause selling pressure, and no team is interested in price manipulation.
Canto (CANTO) has also released an impressive incentive mechanism, Contract Secured Revenue (CSR): DeFi builders can get up to 30% of the fees charged from the operations of their protocols.
This fact immediately attracted Web3 creators to the Canto (CANTO) ecosystem. For example, third-party teams have already created Canto-based versions of all top-tier NFT collections, including the likes of Bored Ape Yacht Club, Crypto Punks and so on.
What’s next for Canto (CANTO)?
Canto (CANTO) also has its own decentralized bridge for ERC-20 tokens and a native staking module. As such, its contributors have created various catalysts for public interest.
Right now, the Canto (CANTO) team is organizing a hackathon to attract a new generation of Web3 developers to use the platform as the technical basis for their dApps.
Canto (CANTO) has already booked its place in the top ranking of the largest Kosmos (ATOM) ecosystem blockchains, along with Kava (KAVA) and Osmose (OSMO).
