Written by: ZKX
Compiled by: TechFlow
Today we will explore the top ten projects based on the most promising Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem - Starknet in 2023. Including protocols for trading and liquidity, NFT platforms, and other projects related to the Starknet ecosystem. Let's get started!
What is Starknet?
Starknet is a decentralized L2 protocol based on ZK-Rollup technology, an ultra-secure mechanism by which the inputs used by off-chain provers are never exposed on the blockchain.
It is based on a highly scalable cryptographic proof system called STARKs, which enables dapps to achieve unlimited scale without compromising the composability and security of Ethereum.
Starknet contracts and the Starknet operating system are written in Cairo, which supports the deployment of almost all business logic. According to DeFiLlama, the chain's locked value (TVL) has grown by 4,000% to more than $11,000.
$STRK Token
On November 16, 2022, Starknet announced the deployment of $STRK, Starknet’s native token, on the Ethereum mainnet.
$STRK will be used for voting, staking and paying fees. Tokens held by the Starnet (StarkWare) core team and other contributors will be locked for 4 years and will be gradually distributed after one year. Currently, the distribution of tokens is still to be determined.
Cairo
Just like Ethereum has Solidity and Solana has Rust, Starknet has its own language called Cairo. It is the native language for writing smart contracts on Starknet.
Account Abstraction
Currently, if you want to open a self-custodial and decentralized wallet like Metamask, Trust, or Phantom, you have to remember your seed phrase and private key. If you forget them, you will lose your funds forever, which is a huge problem in attracting new users to the world of Web3 and DeFi.
Account abstraction was born to solve this problem. It solves this problem by creating smart contract-based wallets. This advanced innovation has become popular in the Starknet ecosystem and has been implemented in projects like Argetnt X and Braavos.
Okay, now that we have learned about the Starknet chain, let’s take a look at the top ten projects on Starknet in 2023.
1/ Silver
Category: Wallet
Status: Mainnet
Introduction: Argent is a decentralized wallet with multi-signature security and social recovery. All transactions will be automatically blocked unless there is a trusted address or you approve it through multi-factor authentication. This will protect all Ethereum assets including NFTs.
In Argent, you never need a seed phrase. This eliminates the single point of failure problem encountered by traditional self-custodial wallets such as hardware wallets. At the recent StarkWare Sessions, they announced the launch of four new products: seedless wallets, two-step verification for Argent X, Starknet for mobile, and multi-signature for DAOs.
2/ Braavos
Category: Wallet
Status: Mainnet
Introduction: Braavos is a smart contract self-hosted wallet built on Starknet, using account abstraction technology. It is available on iOS, Android, and browsers, providing a seamless Web2.0 user experience. And it is developing new features to help users get rid of seed phrases while facilitating account recovery. In addition to wallets, they also plan to provide services such as staking and lending. Braavos also supports account segmentation, separating long-term (high amount) savings and daily (low amount) consumption by supporting withdrawal limits and withdrawal delays. Recently, they announced that the contracts of their wallet accounts have been open sourced.
3/ Orbiter Finance
Field: Cross-chain bridge
Status: Mainnet
Introduction: Orbiter Finance is a decentralized cross-Rollup Layer 2 cross-chain bridge protocol that only has contracts on the target network. It supports low-cost and instant transfers between the ETH mainnet, zkSync, and Arbitrum.
In Orbiter Finance, there are two roles: sender and maker.
When the sender initiates a transfer, the market maker will provide corresponding liquidity.
Smart contracts ensure the security of this process.
If the market maker engages in bad behavior and causes the transfer to fail, the sender can initiate an arbitration request to the contract. After the arbitration, the sender will obtain the market maker's deposit and obtain excess compensation.
4/ Starkgate
Category: Cross-chain bridge
Status: Pre-Testnet
Introduction: Starkgate is an Ethereum ↔ Starknet token cross-chain bridge developed by StarkWare. Each supported token can be associated with a cross-chain bridge contract on L1 and L2, which communicate through Starknet's message passing mechanism to help users trade with ETH and ERC-20 tokens on L1. This is achieved through the Starknet Alpha network and its STARK-based computational compression capabilities.
5/ JediSwap
Category: DeFi
Status: Mainnet
Introduction: JediSwap is a permissionless and composable AMM on Starknet. In JediSwap, users can make swaps with 0 gas fees without losing custody of their funds. The only fee associated with it is a 0.3% swap fee. Currently, this fee is distributed proportionally to those who provide liquidity.
To test JediSwap on Starknet’s testnet, you need to first acquire test tokens on Goerli and then transfer them to Starknet using the Starkgate bridge.
6/ Ours
Category: DeFi
Status: Testnet
Description: Nostra is building Starknet’s liquidity layer, consisting of three products: Nostra Money Market, UNO (the first Starknet native stablecoin), and Nostra Swap.
Nostra Money Market is the core product of the liquidity layer, which can continuously provide liquidity within the ecosystem. It also provides benefits to Nostra Swap and UNO minters.
Nostra Swap is a next-generation stablecoin trading platform that supports the peg and growth of UNO. LPs that provide liquidity on Nostra Swap can also earn income from lending their stablecoins on the Nostra money market, while also receiving transaction fees.
UNO is the first Starknet native stablecoin. It is overcollateralized by ETH with interest, allowing all minters to accumulate their ETH earnings while fully leveraging UNO within the Starknet ecosystem. UNO will be used in a variety of scenarios, including DeFi, games, NFTs, real-world payments, and more.
7/ Starknet [.] id
Category: NFT
Status: Mainnet
Introduction: Starknet.id is Starknet's ENS (Ethereum Name Service). Users can mint their Starknet identities for free, which serve as their Starknet pass and on-chain representation. Users can also attach any data to their Starknet identities, from social media accounts for Web2 to ENS domain names for Web3. The team plans to build ENS bridges, Starknet identity dashboards, and more features.
8/ ZKX
Category: DeFi
Status: Testnet as of March 14
Introduction: ZKX is the first perpetual futures exchange on Starknet with self-custody and true community governance. The protocol aims to provide further scalability through a decentralized node network and upgraded trading experience, and to provide perpetual swaps and derivatives to any user on Starknet and Ethereum. ZKX's mission is to democratize global returns to anyone, anywhere in the world through the services it provides.
9/ zkLend
Category: DeFi
Status: Testnet
zkLend is an L2 money market protocol built on Starknet that combines the scalability, faster transaction speeds, cost savings of zk-rollup with the security of Ethereum. The protocol offers a dual solution: a permissioned and compliance-focused solution for institutional clients, and a permissionless service for DeFi users — without sacrificing decentralization. Currently in testnet.
10/ Brine
Category: DeFi
Status: Testnet
Introduction: Brine is a cross-chain decentralized exchange. To solve the problem of slippage, they use an order book model to trade instead of an automatic market maker (AMM) model. The platform charges a fixed 0.1% transaction fee, but does not charge any gas fees.
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