The blockchain scalability problem has existed for a long time. However, when Ethereum experienced large amounts of transactions and congestion resulting in increased transaction fees, particularly throughout 2021, this sparked a change in the core architecture of blockchains. Proof-of-stake blockchains, Sidechains (Polygon, Ronin), Layer 2 solutions like rollups (Optimism, Arbitrum), and other modular solutions like Celestia, Fuel, Nitro, and Eclipse were created to help resolve Ethereum’s scalability issues.
An Appchain, short for application-specific blockchain, is a customized blockchain designed to support a single functionality or application (e.g., a game or a DeFi application). Unlike general-purpose blockchains like Ethereum or Solana, Appchains are tailored to meet the unique needs of a particular application, providing enhanced performance, security, and customization options.
Appchains are the next evolution of innovation. The Appchain Thesis is that every protocol built on blockchains wants to scale and will seek to deploy as sovereign chains that confer full control over their protocol without relying on an L1. Instead of trying to scale an entirely new blockchain to support multiple protocols and their growing economic activity, you can build a new blockchain that is customized and optimized for the specific functionality you desire from the chain.
After discussing with many existing founders who have built various projects, we noticed a trend where many wanted to transition to their own Appchains. Many of these founders expressed that there was a large gap in knowing the benefits and tradeoffs of Appchains, which service providers to use, and the intricacies that are required to execute their vision of an Appchain. Asian0xV and Jackson founded Layer Labs 12 months ago as we were determined to help founders fulfill their needs to launch their Appchains to create a base for their products, tokens, and users.
Layer Labs is a pioneering Appchain and Layer 2 venture studio with the mission to scale blockchain adoption by the masses and consumers through adopting L2/L3 Appchain solutions, built on Ethereum and other blockchains.
We help established blockchain businesses explore, develop, and capitalize on the opportunities unlocked by adopting an Appchain by maximizing token value accrual and building a sustainable & profitable ecosystem around their protocol.
The most prominent advantages of Appchains include:
You can internalize revenue from your own sovereign sequencer and control transaction ordering, offer lower fees and better experience for users via paymasters for gas, or advanced account abstraction solutions, or extremely fast block times. With full customization available, you can unlock unique monetization methods for builders and users on your chain in a mutually beneficial way. More fees, transactions and usage leads to more sequencer revenue distribution for the entire community in whatever way you please. - Andy from The Rollup
In May 2024, per month in fees, Base earned ~7m, Arbitrum earned ~900k, and Optimism earned ~1.5m on sequencer fee capture alone. Internalizing revenue from sequencers and MEV from your chain allows more profitable and sustainable economic models to be built around your chain, as you can redistribute profits back to stakers.
https://dune.com/niftytable/rollup-economics
The unique value of the Venture Studio is:
Appchain Design & Technical Guidance
Tokenomics, Points, & Incentive Design
Cross-Chain Liquidity & Bridging
Ecosystem, Brand, & Marketing
Governance & Grants
Fundraising & Investor Relations
For the last few months, we have been working closely with Clearpool on Ozean to build the Blockchain for RWA yield on top of Optimism utilizing Caldera as the RaaS.
In collaboration with Clearpool, we have:
Layer Labs had the idea of Synth Chain, an Optimism-based Appchain for the Synthetix perpetuals platform so we created the governance proposal to be worked on by the Synthetix team.
Synth Chain is a step towards a unified, efficient, and economically promising ecosystem for Synthetix. By creating this Appchain, the chain can maintain a better execution environment during high price volatility and liquidations, which is crucial for finality and trade executions for perpetuals and its traders on Synthetix.
Synthchain is the dedicated application chain where Synthetix state changes must be pushed for settlement. Make SynthChain the home of the central Synthetix system, with other chains becoming satellites, and using cross-chain messaging for synchronization. Optimism, the Layer 2 rollup has been chosen as the base for SynthChain.
Synth Chain (now being called SNAX Chain) is currently being worked on by the Synthetix team to deploy on Optimism.
It is our vision to accelerate the newest wave of innovation in Appchains and Application Specific Rollups on top of Ethereum Rollups through our Venture Studio model. By accelerating more crypto businesses on top of leading Rollup stacks such as Optimism, Arbitrum, and Zksync, we help founders create a new narrative and more sustainable ecosystem for their long term businesses.
Start building your Appchain journey with Layer Labs venture studio today by filling the below
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