Crypto infrastructure
Infrastructure is the layer applications depend on without the end user ever seeing it: data availability, indexing, identity, storage. It is usually the least glamorous corner of the sector and the one that most resembles a real business, because it sells a measurable service. It is also where token value capture deserves the most scrutiny, since many of these services compete against cheaper centralized alternatives.
What to compare: Ask how much is actually paid for the service, not how many logos appear on the partners page. If emissions to operators comfortably exceed revenue, the model is not yet standing on its own.
9 entries
Polkadot
DOT · #12
Many specialised chains renting security from one shared validator set.
Shared-security multichain
Cosmos
ATOM · #28
The app-chain thesis: sovereign blockchains connected by IBC.
Interoperability and app-chains
Filecoin
FIL · #30
An incentive layer turning spare disk space into a storage market.
Decentralized storage
VeChain
VET · #31
An enterprise chain focused on supply chain traceability and ESG data.
Supply chain and enterprise
Hedera
HBAR · #33
A council-governed distributed ledger built for enterprise throughput.
Enterprise DLT
Quant
QNT · #34
Enterprise middleware connecting banks and existing systems to multiple ledgers.
Interoperability middleware
Celestia
TIA · #42
A chain that does one job: guaranteeing rollup data was actually published.
Data availability
Stacks
STX · #43
A layer bringing smart contracts and DeFi to Bitcoin.
Bitcoin programmability
Worldcoin
WLD · #48
A biometric identity network trying to prove humanness in an AI era.
Proof of personhood