(0) While the progress of L2 is on-going, I think another area within #DeFi is highly interesting today and remains slightly underexplored by buidlers and speculators / investors alike – tools & modularization add-ons ($GRT, $Gauntlet, $KP3R, $GYSR)

(1) In this thread I will give 2 types of directions I see today – (a) B2B type buidler tools like $GRT and $Gauntlet, and (b) process-streamlining / modularization tools like $GYSR and $KP3R. This is not endorsement by any sorts but merely highlighting what’s cool out there.

(2) B2B tools by definition service the buidler community to help them buidl better – and there are 2 areas one can find particularly visible that’s almost blockchain / web3 native: one is faster retrieval of standardized on-chain data, and other being simulation of all sorts.

(3) $GRT, token-economics aside, satisfies a tremendous need by the Web3 buidler community to query information native to the ETH blockchain in quickly usable format, very similar to the oracle data of $LINK. Uptake rate is significant across all Web3 apps you know today…

(4) …with potential future roadmap including but not limited to smart caching (even faster retrieval) and analytical tools / more complex logics. $GRT as a piece of core infra to devs can be chain-agnostic and even more prevalent in the cross-chain world.

(5) …I could indeed see $GRT and $LINK crossing into each other’s turfs here (afterall, it’s data inquiry across various sources), but at the risk of too much drama, I think the pie is massive and specialization is best for both parties at the moment, no need to cross-pollinate.

(6) $Gauntlet is a simulation tool for native Web3 apps that helps to (eventually) simulate all aspects of a system’s design – whether it’s governance (attack vector, centralization, staking threshold, etc), economic fragility (default / liquidation, threshold / metric setting),

(7) … mechanism design (scenarios on various incentive structures, loopholes that converges to lose-lose, etc), and eventually composability studies (intra-protocol interaction risk, cross-chain risk, etc). Like $GRT and $LINK, I see this tool potentially highly instrumental…

(8)… for buidlers in their protocol design similar to how Synopsys, Cadence, Ansys, Autodesk, etc are instrumental to respective semiconductor / mechanical engineers to their design of machinery. The sunk R&D and know-how w/ minor industry specialty…

(9) is the moat that allows for pricing power and high LTV/CAC. Buidlers go for the best tools, and if one believes Web3 will be a living creature of a protocol, a simulation tool native to the space is likely a key piece in the toolset for the build-up process.

(10) Now onto “modularization tools” – As Web3 grows up and participants proliferate, there are certain modules / processes that get used / called again and again –instead of recreating the wheel (customize) every time, best to minimize cost and trust to modularize / standardize.

(11) The 2 latest protocols that fit such a spirit are $KP3R and $GYSR. $KP3R is another Andre special, whereby its core concept is to build a platform where blocks of actions are bundled as a “job” where any entity that fits a preset criteria can push such block into blockchain

(12) …paying the gas fee, and get paid by creator of job in gas fee + X. So imagine the $SNX claim function – it’s relatively economic insensitive (no front-running issue) and time insensitive, SNX users can instead sign the Tx, and SNX platform bundles…

(13) … all the claim signatures onto KP3R with an incentive, and have someone else send this Tx and be rewarded gas fee + (say SNX and KP3R). This “jobs” platform opens up all sorts of possibilities because (a) it’s a novel way to allow for continuous action…

(14) …as on ETH many actions need to be called instead of executed continuously, (b) When L2 gets turned on, it can be the default go-to for continuous-state execution, and (c) such job action can be paired with other Tx, I hypothesize, to enable 0-cost Tx to the caller…

(15) …case in point being say anyone calling Chainlink oracle – what if instead of paying gas fee, a part of KP3R job gets bundled in (via a “splitter”), gas fee + incentive pays for the $LINK call. Given high frequency of $LINK calls, the jobs very much can become continuous.

(16) The rub for KP3R is clearly that token economics model needs work at the moment (much like $YFI at its infancy). KP3R hodlers are effectively bearing tax to subsidize job-executors via inflation. Whether a community forms to help Andre take it to the finish line is also of Q

(17) …but nonetheless, this “continuous state machine” is something highly novel to the space and I can see it as a modularized execution solution for any protocols to selectively plug into. I expect forks to KP3R and further iterations on token design.

(18) As Pool 1 (stake token A, get token B) and Pool 2 (stake token B:C on Uniswap, get token B) becomes more of a standard way of a “fair launch”, $GYSR seems to be set out to standardize this process via its native http://gysr.io  platform.

(19)…instead of writing code yourself (or forking $SNX staker contract, lol), projects can now utilize the GYSR tool via GUI to design a token launch process in under a minute, thereby modularizing the “fair launch pool 1 + pool 2” process.

(20) I could see http://gysr.io  having (a) more launch mechanics and (b) more flexibility in multiplier mechanics (maybe by expanding the number of tokens that can provide multiplier, then take x% fee to pay GYSR stakers, for instance)…

(21) as well as (c) if team is good at biz dev, “powered by http://gysr.io ” could really become a thing for launches, and let lindy effect do the work – degens can easily ape into any pool because GYSR is a proven platform with no further need for rug audit on staking.

(22) Such standard also opens up NXM cover in day 1 which can rapidly increase TVL. Some % of the GYSR bonus could be diverted to Nexus to create cover capacity for new projects. Cover capacity is a critical piece for any legit protocol in DeFI to thrive.

(23) As a general point, standards create more consistency to run actuary models and create insurance products. In order for TVL to go from 10 to >100B in DeFi then powered by vetted modules (GYSR being one) could become the gold standard/AAA rated for new protocols.

(24) there are other really neat tools that I haven’t mentioned such as @furucombo, @nansen_ai / @duneanalytics / @debankDefi, @barn_bridge, @FRACTAL_xyz, @auditless, @trufflesuite.com etc. Always open to more of these. If you are working on one, ping me!

(25) In summary, I expect more tooling and modularization protocols to come to market (most of which will occur on ETH) as a sign of further build-up / maturity of this ecosystem. May be anchored by fundamentals & TAM on upside yes, but neat market opportunity for entrepreneurs