How Shilled Newcomers Are Failing to Defeat the OG Goliaths

Over the past year, CT has been busy finding "the next big thing" in the blockchain space. From ultra-high TPS Layer 1s to modular solutions, the market has seen its fair share of moon shots and disappointments.
Let's unpack the state of “newcomers vs. OGs” and separate the alpha from the noise in this article provided by our dedicated researcher Adam Novocký.

Layer 1’s need more SPEED

The race for the fastest, most scalable Layer 1 blockchain saw newcomers likeMonad, Sei,andSuienter the ring.
Monad, the darling of CT influencers and crypto podcasts, secured a cool $225M in funding but remains in stealth mode yet to prove itself – no token, no chain, just expectations.
Sei and Sui, on the other hand, are duking it out in the wild. While Sei's token took a 75% haircut from its ATH, both chains are quite neck and neck in daily transactions.
Sui's edge? A modest but steady (non-zero) revenue stream and more daily active addresses. 
The jury's still out on whether there will be as much activity to be satisfied by these high TPS. Meanwhile, Solana reigns supreme in both daily active addresses and daily transactions, with Near closely trailing behind. Solana is also crushing it with its vocal and supportive community, as we saw at Breakpoint in Singapore. And can't forget the memes, right?

Lockups and Airdrop Dreams

Blast rode the coattails of Blur's NFT dominance, convincing degens to bridge and lock ETH faster than you can say "wen token".
The promise of juicy yields has kept the faithful HODLing, but their token is also down roughly ~70%. 
Starknet, once touted as the airdrop of the year, pulled an Icarus – flying high on hype before plummeting 85% from its ATH, with daily active addresses taking an even harder 90% hit after the airdrop.

The Modular Thesis

Modularity became CT's favorite buzzword, with Celestia leading the charge. Its airdrop injected more hopium into the market than the recent 50 bps fed rate cut. But even the mighty can fall – Celestia's now down 75% from its peak price, even though around 73% of circulating supply is staked with unlocks starting soon.
Although, the amount of data posted keeps rising as well as its market share as a data availability provider. Moreover, the recent introduction of Prism (prism_xyz), which is a verifiable authentication standard for private messaging, may prove Celestia as not only a cheaper DA provider.
Dymension, another modular darling, saw its narrative deflate faster than its token price, thanks to staking inflation and the wide selection of literally “2” RollApps deployed.

Return of the OGs: Layer 1s and DeFi 1.0 Strike Back

While the new kids on the block stumbled, some OG projects started to thrive. In the Layer 1 arena, FTM and Tron are making noise. Tron's seeing a surge thanks to His Excellency’s pump.fun clone and Tether, while Fantom's rebrand to Sonic and sub-200ms finality claims are turning heads.
And let's not forget Solana – the chain that's now rubbing shoulders with BTC and ETH in the big league of majors.

DeFi 1.0 projects are also showing they've still got gas in the tank. Maker's transformation into Sky, complete with a fee switch, sent MKR towards an upward trajectory.
Not to be outdone, Aave implemented its own fee switch, creating a symbiotic relationship with its GHO stablecoin. The result? AAVE is one of the few outperforming tokens over past weeks.

Rebrands: New Names, New Narratives

The rebrand game is stronger than ever, with projects pulling the ultimate uno reverse card on their identities. It's not just about slapping on a fresh coat of paint; these moves are designed to reset charts, tweak tokenomics, and capture the imagination of fresh degens and institutional money alike.

MakerDAO, the OG of DeFi, is leading the charge by transforming into Sky. Not content with just a new name, they're also giving DAI a facelift, rebranding it to USDS. Is this bullish? Meanwhile, Fantom's racing into the future as Sonic, swapping FTM for the sleek $S ticker.
These are full-on tokenomic overhauls aimed at injecting new life into their ecosystems.

But the award for the most ambitious collab goes to the decentralized AI space. In a move that had CT's collective jaw on the floor, Ocean Protocol, Fetch.ai, and SingularityNET joined forces to form the Superintelligence Alliance.
This power trio is launching with the $ASI token, aiming to become the Overlord of AI blockchain projects.

These rebrands aren't just cosmetic; they're strategic plays to stay relevant in the ever-evolving crypto landscape. Whether they'll moon or get rekt remains to be seen, but one thing's for sure – the game is getting more interesting every day.

The Takeaway

As we navigate the crypto space, it's clear that hype alone doesn't cut it anymore. Projects need more than just CT clout and podcast appearances to survive and thrive in this wild market.
Sure, innovation is crucial, but solid tokenomics, real-world utility, and adaptability are proving to be the real alpha. Let's face it, faster and cheaper doesn't always mean better, especially for your average crypto degen.
We're seeing OG projects make a comeback, showing that sometimes the tortoise does beat the hare – especially when that tortoise learns some new tricks. And here's the kicker: while some newcomers are sitting on a mountain of locked tokens, these battle-tested players have already fully diluted their supply.
At the end of the day, it's all about finding that sweet spot where the numbers pop and the tech actually works.