Did you really think I use or invest in Cardano? Get rickrolled.
L1 diversity from an investment standpoint is not a bad idea. I personally practice this philosophy. A balanced portfolio of assets allows me to stress less than all my money in one coin. The question becomes then, which L1 tokens do you go with? How do you know which to go with? Are they all “going to make it”?
If you are reading these weekly articles, you probably know that an L1 token is just a native currency on a chain that is used for gas and sometimes governance. For the assessment of these L1 tokens, I pay attention to a couple of key factors: scalability, interoperability, and sustainability.
Note that Cardano is genuinely not on the list. Let’s breakdown what is on the list:
Avalanche ($AVAX)
The subnet thesis is great and I look forward to owning more subnet L1 tokens. So much to say, so little time. Avalanche Website
Treasury Under the Sea ($TUS)
Subnet thesis, Swimmer Network could be a gaming chain one day. The gas token for the Swimmer Network is TUS. The Swimmer Network team is looking to expand the usage of the chain beyond the Crabada game. Swimmer Net
Ethereum ($ETH)
The only purpose of my ETH is to spend on gas needed for protocols used on Ethereum. Most of my ETH lives on L2 platforms like Starknet and Arbitrum.
Algorand ($ALGO)
The launch of the Algorand Virtual Machine, State Proofs, and booming TVL are all on thesis for the investment. Algorand Website
Cosmos ($ATOM)
The major competitor for interoperability so I like having the exposure. Cosmos Website
Konstellation ($DARC)
Tendermint-base blockchain with live bridges to BSC and Solana. Konstellation Website
Provenance ($HASH)
Tendermint-based US Federally regulated blockchain with strong ties to crypto-based mortgage platforms and the Silvergate network. Provenance HASH Website
Echelon ($ECH)
Sleeper chain built on Tendermint with EVM capability. Corporately run blockchain with an institutional focus. Small but active community on chain. Echelon Website.
Comdex ($CMDX)
Commodities focused blockchain on Tendermint which allows for a high degree of interoperability within the Cosmos ecosystem. New protocols are launching on this chain as well. Comdex Website
This diagram above looks at degrees of interoperability. Touching is direct and arrows are EVM compatibility, which suggests ease of bridging. Blocks touching ATOM are Tendermint based. Blocks touching AVAX are subnet based. Blocks touching ETH are the L2 platforms I utilize to interact with Ethereum.
Some of these chains Layer 1’s I invest in also have baskets of assets that are deployed on those protocols natively. The biggest layer ones with additional ecosystem assets include Algorand, Avalanche, Comdex, Ethereum, and Swimmer Network. Avalanche and Algorand-based assets are by far the largest of the offshoots.
Layer one tokens that I am look to add to my portfolio are data chains and storage chains related to EVM and/or ZK proofs. Examples storage chains would be Crust Network, Storj, and Bundlr network. Each of these is fits the narrative above.