Is the ecological value of StarkNet overestimated?

StarkNet is at the forefront of technology with its unique technical features such as zk-STARK technology and custom development environment. This gives StarkNet advantages in processing high throughput, low cost, and privacy protection. Therefore, StarkNet is expected to become a leader in Layer 2 solutions and attract more developers and users.

StarkNet is a Layer 2 solution designed to alleviate network congestion by increasing the throughput of the Ethereum network and reducing transaction fees. It uses zero-knowledge proof (zk-STARK) technology to achieve scalability and privacy. Using StarkNet, developers can build, deploy and run high-performance smart contracts in a decentralized environment without worrying about high transaction fees or worrying about the security of smart contracts, especially for those who need high performance and low transaction Fee scenarios, such as DeFi, NFT, and GameFi.

The StarkNet ecosystem provides developers with many interesting development directions. By taking advantage of the flexibility and advanced features of the Cairo language, developers can build innovative applications. In addition, developers can also take advantage of StarkNet's high-throughput transaction capabilities and customization features to achieve high-performance and personalized application development. At the same time, the StarkNet-based ZK-EVM project provides developers with more choices, enabling them to deploy and run smart contracts in a safer and more efficient environment.

Advantages of custom development environment

StarkNet adopts unique technical features, such as zk-STARK technology, custom development language Cairo and virtual machine Cairo-VM, etc. Custom development environments lead to higher performance, better security, and richer functionality. Developers can use the Cairo programming language and STARKs verification mechanism to build safe and reliable smart contracts while enjoying high-performance transaction processing. Although there will be some friction, this friction is temporary, and developers can gradually adapt and benefit from it.

StarkNet uses a custom development language Cairo and a virtual machine Cairo-VM, which is different from other Layer 2 solutions that borrow Ethereum components. Cairo is a custom programming language for the StarkWare ecosystem. The StarkWare ecosystem is optimized for itself, while other Layer2 projects are more optimized for Ethereum. Although this choice sacrifices network effects that are fully compatible with Ethereum, it is difficult to argue against the rationale of this design choice, especially now that the author has clearly seen that Cairo's own network effects have reached "escape velocity".

In future development, these technical features and innovations will bring potential value. With the growing importance of privacy protection and data security, the strong privacy protection mechanism provided by StarkNet will attract more users and applications. At the same time, StarkNet's scalability and decentralization features make it an effective solution for high throughput and security needs. As the blockchain ecosystem develops and needs grow, StarkNet's technical features in providing high performance, security and privacy protection will endow it with great potential value and stand out from the competition.

Source: Bing Ventures### Projects being built in the ecosystem

The core of StarkNet's application ecosystem is to build high-performance, low-cost, privacy-protected decentralized applications based on zero-knowledge proof technology. The advantage of StarkNet is that it can provide high throughput, low transaction costs and privacy protection. These characteristics make StarkNet have broad application prospects in decentralized exchanges, NFT markets and other fields. The following are some StarkNet ecological projects worth paying attention to:

DeFi：

1. JediSwap is a permissionless and composable AMM protocol built by the Mesh Finance community. The project has been launched on the StarkNet mainnet, and the current total value locked (TVL) is about $5 million. JediSwap received a grant of 150,000 STARK. JediSwap has a high degree of innovation on StarkNet. As a permissionless and composable AMM protocol, it provides a more flexible and decentralized trading experience. Since it has been launched and attracted a certain TVL, it has potential market influence and brings the contribution of DeFi applications to the StarkNet ecosystem.
2. Morphine is a DeFi lending protocol, the main use cases include passive lending and active lending. The protocol allows users to provide liquidity and earn income through primary and advanced strategies, and provides an active lending function, enabling users to borrow 15 times the collateral, and access LSD, LP, ERC4626 and set up automation. Morphine has a high degree of innovation on StarkNet, providing a variety of lending strategies and functions. Its flexibility and automation features are attractive to DeFi users. The project has the potential to make an impact in the market and drive the development of the StarkNet ecosystem.
3. Orbiter Finance is a cross-chain solution, and its infrastructure Orbiter Bridge allows assets to be transferred between various Rollups such as StarkNet and zkSync. Orbiter Finance is also developing zkProver, a middle layer that utilizes zero-knowledge technology to aggregate transactions and increase TPS and cross-Rollup transaction volume. Orbiter Finance's cross-chain solution is innovative on StarkNet and facilitates the transfer of assets between StarkNet and other Rollups. The development of this project helps build multi-chain interoperability and scalability, and contributes to the development of StarkNet.
4. DeversiFi: DeversiFi is a decentralized exchange designed to enable faster and more secure transactions through StarkNet while maintaining a connection to Ethereum.

NFT/Game/Metaverse:

1. Realms (Bibliotheca DAO) was originally a Loot derivative project and is currently a massively multiplayer on-chain game on StarkNet. Realms has been scored by the StarkNet Foundation and has received a total of 150,000 STARKs. As a multiplayer game on the chain, Realms provides an innovative gaming experience on StarkNet. Its ratings and STARK rewards show its importance and contribution in the StarkNet ecosystem.
2. RYG.Labs is an NFT creative agency, which is building interactive dynamic NFT and providing NFT marketing solutions. RYG.Labs builds interactive dynamic NFT on StarkNet and provides NFT marketing solutions, which is innovative in the NFT field. Its presence on StarkNet provides more options for the NFT market and promotes the development of the StarkNet ecosystem.
3. The Ninth is a metaverse game on StarkNet. The gameplay includes land purchase, upgrade and pledge. As a metaverse game based on StarkNet, The Ninth provides a variety of gameplay and interactive experiences. It has potential market influence for innovation in the field of games and the metaverse, and contributes to the development of the StarkNet ecosystem.

Other Web3 Innovations

1. Argent X: Argent launched the first StarkNet-enabled wallet, using StarkNet's native account abstraction to achieve multi-signatures and no mnemonic, while achieving lower transaction fees and faster confirmation times.
2. Bravvos: Committed to providing a seamless Web2.0 user experience, it can be used on iOS, Android and various browsers;
3. Carbonable is a carbon tracking system based on StarkNet. It has completed its seed round of financing and attracted investment from several venture capital institutions. Carbonable's carbon tracking system is innovative on StarkNet to help track and manage carbon emissions. The development of this project is of great significance to environmental protection and sustainable development, and plays a driving role in the StarkNet ecosystem.
4. Dolven Labs is a DAO-based ecosystem Catalyst and also a center for permissionless DeFi tools in the StarkNet ecosystem. They also built projects like Starknet Social and StarkGuardians. Dolven Labs plays an important role in the StarkNet ecosystem, providing permissionless DeFi tools and other related projects. Its innovation and contributions to fields such as DeFi and social networks have a positive impact on the development of StarkNet.
5. Herodotus is building a proof-of-storage cross-chain data access solution, allowing smart contracts on StarkNet to access current and historical Ethereum chain data without trust. Herodotus' cross-chain data access solution is of great significance for achieving interoperability between StarkNet and Ethereum. The development of the project helps to expand the capabilities of StarkNet and provide broader data access to the blockchain ecosystem.

In general, the key to the success of StarkNet's application ecosystem is technical advantages, developer support, application scenarios, and ecological support. The development of StarkNet also requires broad community support. If StarkNet can attract more developers, investors, and users, and get more attention and recognition, then its ecosystem potential will also be greater.

Source: StarkNet### Growing pains and prospects

One of the biggest problems and bottlenecks that StarkNet's application ecology may face in the future is competition, because there are many other Layer 2 expansion solutions that are also working hard to develop, and in some respects they even have advantages over StarkNet, so it is necessary to continuously improve their technology. Innovate and improve to attract more developers and users. Another potential problem is the network effect. Since StarkNet is a relatively new technology, it needs a large number of developers and users to build a strong network effect, so it needs effective marketing and promotion.

Another challenge StarkNet faces is ensuring the sustainability of the ecosystem. As competitors emerge and technology advances, StarkNet needs to continue to innovate and deliver attractive features to keep users loyal and engaging. At the same time, StarkNet also needs to build solid relationships with developers and partners to facilitate the development and growth of the ecosystem. Other challenges include:

1. The adoption of Cairo language limits the participation of developers: Since Cairo is a brand new language, developers need to learn and adapt to this new programming language. This could be an added learning curve for many developers, limiting their ability to participate in the StarkNet ecosystem. In contrast, Ethereum's EVM has a wider developer community, making it easier for developers to get started and quickly build applications.
2. High throughput and low transaction costs are advantageous in specific use cases: Although StarkNet has demonstrated the advantages of high throughput and low transaction costs in specific use cases, it is not applicable to all application scenarios. For some applications, especially those that do not need to process a large number of transactions, these advantages may not matter. Therefore, the widespread adoption of StarkNet in various industries may require more verification and demonstration.

The author believes that StarkNet takes technology as the core and has a clear positioning for its business model. They focus on providing solutions that users really need, not just chasing cool new technologies. We have also seen some developers start to flock to Cairo and STARK, seeing its potential and solutions at scale. There are some projects that are developing zkEVM based on StarkNet, such as Warp and Kakarot. These projects deploy zkEVM on StarkNet, further demonstrating the power of Cairo and StarkNet. Based on this, we believe that StarkNet has greater potential in the fields of full-chain games, contract wallets, cross-chain communication, and on-chain AI. Its technical features and innovations have brought some key advantages to these fields.

• In the field of full-chain games, StarkNet's high throughput and low transaction costs make it an ideal choice for full-chain games. By packaging multiple L2 transactions into one transaction on Ethereum, StarkNet can evenly distribute transaction costs to other transactions in the same batch, reducing costs. In addition, StarkNet's high-performance and low-traffic requirements improve network operation speed, increase network throughput, and bring better production efficiency and consumption experience to the entire chain of games.
• In the field of contract wallets, StarkNet's native account abstraction enables contract wallets to achieve functions similar to hard wallets. The contract wallet allows the encryption chip/module of the mobile phone to directly sign the transaction to achieve hardware-level security. In addition, StarkNet's signature verification is highly programmable, and can be optimized at the wallet layer through techniques such as signature transcription to improve the performance and security of contract wallets.
• In terms of cross-chain communication, StarkNet's decentralized features and security design make it a reliable cross-chain communication solution. By using zero-knowledge proofs, StarkNet can verify and prove without disclosing transaction details, protecting data privacy and security. This provides higher credibility and security for cross-chain communication, facilitating data exchange and interoperability between different chains.
• In the field of on-chain AI, the technical features of StarkNet allow calculations to be performed off-chain and the generated proofs to be verified on-chain. This allows AI and machine learning models to be computed on-chain without exposing sensitive data and model details. StarkNet's zero-knowledge proof function can be used to verify the correctness of AI calculations, increasing users' trust in the results. This provides new possibilities for on-chain AI applications such as games, oracles, automatic income from transactions, anti-witch, KYC, etc.

For the future of the StarkNet ecosystem, it is foreseeable that with the continuous development and innovation of technology, StarkNet is expected to remain competitive in expansion and development. However, it needs to address challenges such as maintaining sustainability, comparing with competitors and attracting user growth. Through continuous innovation and close cooperation with developers and users, StarkNet may continue to develop and bring diversified application scenarios to the Ethereum ecosystem.