🔎 How to Explore Layer-1 Blockchains
Over the coming months I am trying a new experiment in which I will be spending ~1 week at a time diving into different layer-1 blockchains in the Web3 space.
Historically, I’ve spent the majority of my time building/advising teams on Ethereum (since 2016) and DeSo (since 2021). However, given the rapid rate of innovation in the space, I feel that it’s important to spend some time exploring as many different layer 1 blockchains as possible.
I highlighted some of my motivations for my experiment in this Twitter thread. Most notably, I would like to see the industry move away from layer-1 tribalism, as I believe the future will be multi-chain.
Before I begin my series, I wanted to start off with an initial blog post which breaks down my process for how I plan to explore each layer-1 blockchain.
I hope this can serve as a blueprint for others hoping to do the same.
Note: I am always open to feedback if there are ways that my process can be improved.
But first, aligning on some terminology
Image credit: Coinbase
In concrete terms, a layer-1 blockchain is a peer-to-peer network consisting of unique nodes (computers) that help record transactions between participants and maintain consensus of the digital ledger tracking those transactions.
This concept was first productionalized by the Bitcoin blockchain. However; over time, different layer-1 blockchains have popped up to serve different use cases and introduce new innovations.
There are a few other terms to understand in order to fully grasp what a layer-1 blockchain entails.
For instance, a blockchain network is the blockchain ledger plus everyone contributing to that ledger. Whereas, a blockchain protocol, refers to the rules that govern the blockchain network.
This is an important difference to highlight, since sometimes “a protocol can provide the structure for more than one blockchain network.”
Therefore, while the phrase “layer-1 blockchain network” makes sense, the phrase “layer-1 blockchain protocol” might not.
Lastly, it’s important to highlight that a ‘Layer-2’ refers to a secondary framework or protocol that is built on top of an underlying Layer-1 blockchain.
There are a number of implications from the definitions above, but here’s the most important implications to understand about Layer-1 blockchains:
Layer-1 blockchains have unique addresses: Since layer-1 blockchains are independent networks, you will need a separate wallet address to interact with each one. Some wallet providers offer multi-chain support, however, a new wallet address needs to be generated on each blockchain.
Layer-1 blockchains have native coins: In order to incentivize nodes in a blockchain network, you need a native coin built into the blockchain network. Note: A coin is different from a token.
For instance, $ETH is the native coin to the Ethereum layer-1 blockchain, while $APE is a token built with the ERC-20 standard on Ethereum. While $APE can be exchanged for $ETH or other ERC-20 tokens, it is not used in the incentive mechanisms or governance of the underlying layer-1 blockchain like $ETH is.
Layer-1 blockchains have unique technical requirements: Different layer-1 blockchains have different hardware requirements for nodes (depending on how they are architected), as well as different programming languages needed to build on top of the layer-1 blockchain.
For instance, any blockchain using a Virtual Machine (VM) to process code, will change the way the tech stack looks, as developers must learn how to create smart contracts (or their paradigm equivalent).
My process for exploring Layer-1 blockchains
For each layer-1 blockchain I have defined 4 key areas that will be critical to my exploration:
1. Understanding the underlying blockchain technology & protocol
2. Exploring the dapp + NFT ecosystem
3. Joining the community
4. Contributing directly to the blockchain network
Let’s describe each of these areas in more detail, as well as list tangible action items for each.
Understanding the underlying blockchain technology & protocol mechanics
While you could *technically* get by without understanding the core blockchain technology or protocol (how many people understand Web2 protocols or AWS), I personally find it important to at least understand the basics for each layer-1 blockchain.
Generally, I will look to consume the following artifacts for each layer-1:
Whitepaper
Developer docs
2-3 supporting documents by respected 3rd parties (usually more high-level than white paper or developer docs)
Watch 2-3 videos by core team
Watch 2-3 videos by respected 3rd parties
Across these artifacts I am trying to answer the following set of key questions:
What mechanism(s) does the protocol use to reach consensus?
What are the hardware requirements for nodes in the network?
How decentralized is the network?
What are the tokenomics?
What language is the core blockchain written in?
How high/low are the barriers to entry for developers attempting to build dapps on it?
Is the blockchain Turing complete, is it EVM compatible, etc. ?
Who are the team? Are they legitimate?
What unique problem is this L1 trying to do better than its competitors?
Exploring the dapp + NFT ecosystem
Once I have a strong grasp on the underlying tech and fundamentals of the blockchain network, I will then turn my attention to actually using it.
There’s an unfortunate reality in crypto, which is that the vast majority of users are only participating via speculation (i.e. buying/selling the native coin). However, I want to do my part to help reverse that trend by actively using dapps built on these blockchain networks.
In order to do that, there’s a few steps I must take for each one:
i. Download a wallet provider & set up an address on the blockchain
ii. Send some funds to the wallet (needed to take actions within dapps)
iii. Visit the blockchain’s app ecosystem page (or dappradar) & sort by the most popular/interesting dapps
iv. Complete some transactions on the dapps
In addition, for layer-1 blockchains that support NFTs, I think it’s also worth looking at the top NFT collections.
While many of them are not used for dapps, they are great entry points to the community, which brings me to my next point…
Joining the community
Web3 is unique in that it is owned and governed by its participants. Therefore, it’s important to be tapped into the communities that are building on, investing in, educating others on, and generally talking about the different layer-1 blockchains.
While this can be a little more passive than some of the other areas, I believe the following tangible actions can help one to integrate into the layer-1 community, as well as other sub-communities being built upon the layer-1:
Follow official social handles
Follow the top people who are building the ecosystem or are talking about it
Join discords of both the core protocol + apps build on top of it
Hop into related Twitter spaces
Buy an NFT from a popular collection
Reach out and have conversations with connections are in the community
Contributing directly to the blockchain network
If I like what I see across tech, team, app ecosystem, community, etc. I may make the decision to actively contribute to a layer-1 blockchain network.
Now obviously my time, energy, and resources are limited (as is everyone’s), however for blockchain networks that really impress me, I may contribute in the following ways:
Produce educational content about the blockchain
Put financial skin in the game (buy native coin, fungible tokens, NFTs, etc.)
Offer support to some of favorite projects on the protocol
Join DAOs on the blockchain
As I mentioned earlier, I have helped build and advise dapps on Ethereum, and am currently a strategic advisor for the DeSo blockchain.
I hope this article has given you all some insights into how layer-1 blockchains work, and my process for how I will be exploring them.
To follow along with my journey of different layer-1s and for other general Web3 insights, please subscribe to this newsletter and follow me on twitter.