Layer by Layer: Avalanche Adapts for Broader User Base

Adaptability is key to survival in crypto, for users and investors, as well as blockchain and application developers. In this digital age, changes in consumer attention can quickly translate to changes in value - in assets, brands, teams, among others. The advent of functional smart contract platforms in recent years has greatly enhanced the ability of markets to express these value shifts. Through NFT marketplaces, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), money markets, and other decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, crypto users can now move their capital into specific pockets of the digital economy with remarkable speed, reflecting the ever-evolving interests of the market.  

Within this environment, blockchains play a vital role in facilitating the timely and secure transfer of money. In addition, those that can simplify the process of onboarding new users are often well-positioned to benefit from influxes of capital, which can be driven by factors ranging from short-term hype to long-term trend changes. A notable example of this dynamic was seen in the Layer 1 (L1) landscape in 2021, where a bevy of L1 alternatives to Ethereum emerged as market participants honed in on the Ethereum network’s increasingly apparent congestion and gas cost issues at the time. L1 networks that featured compatibility with the Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) were among the fastest to siphon users and developers from the Ethereum ecosystem, offering a familiar experience for those looking to migrate.