Aptos, dubbed the “Solana Killer” is a L1 blockchain that combines the use of Block-STM Technology, Move Programming Language and Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) Consensus Protocol.
The sustained interest that VCs have in Aptos can be attributed to its connection to Diem, a project that Meta launched before it pivoted to focus on the metaverse.
Not only do the experienced ex-Meta co-founders Mo Shaikh (CEO) and Avery Ching (CTO) have a solid technical background, their VC background has given them an edge in making the right connections.
The Aptos team also boasts former researchers, engineers, UX designers and strategists from Meta who were the original creators and builders of Diem.
Also Read: Binance & FTX Both Backed Aptos – Here’s Why They’re Bullish On This Layer 1
Tokenomics and Price Analysis
The Aptos native token (APT) has a total supply of 1 billion, the initial token distribution is skewed towards the community. More information on their tokenomics can be found here.
Approximately 84% of all APT tokens are still locked and with each unlock, the token’s price is likely to fall over the longer-term.
At the time of writing this article, 4.5M APT tokens valued at around USD 50M will be unlocked, this will lead to an increase in circulating supply by 0.5% to 186M tokens.
This anticipated selling pressure has led APT to decline by around 4%.
Upcoming Protocol Upgrades
Aptos Incentivized Testnet consisted of four phases, the main aim was to invite relevant stakeholders such as developers and node operators to perform stress-testing on the network, paving the way for the launch of the mainnet.
The Aptos Mainnet was officially launched on 12 October 2022 and the team has announced that they are developing a future upgrade that focuses on improving performance, scalability and efficiency in gas fees.
The Aptos Bridge that is powered by omni-chain interoperability protocol LayerZero went live on 19 October 2022, enabling users to move assets across Ethereum, Optimism, Avalanche, Polygon and Binance Smart Chain.
The bridge currently has a withdrawal limit of USD 1M every 24 hours and a 3-day transfer window. As the network stabilizes, this withdrawal limit is set to increase over time while the transfer window is expected to shorten.
Explicit Support from Binance and Funding from Top VCs
Despite the bear market, Aptos has not only received the affirmation from Binance Labs, it has been successful in raising funding from multiple VCs.
Subsequent funding rounds in September 2022 that were led by Binance labs and Dragonfly Capital raised its valuation to over USD 4B.
The funds raised through the multiple funding rounds have been deployed for team expansion that consists of many ex-Solana staff.
New Partnerships and Protocols on Aptos
Aptos X Google Cloud
Both Aptos and Google Cloud have expanded their partnership to include Google Cloud running a validator for Aptos.
They are also collaborating on an accelerator program where Web 3 startups and developers working on the Aptos blockchain will receive funding and technical support through the Aptos Foundation.
The joint efforts of the developers and engineers from both Aptos and Google will propel the rate and scale at which new projects can be deployed.
Aptos X MoonPay
The partnership between Aptos and MoonPay has made it possible for direct fiat onramp to Aptos’ wallet Petra.
This is a crucial step to onboard new users to the Aptos network, payments made via Visa, MasterCard, Google Pay and Apple Pay have been made possible.
Aptos X NPIXEL
Aptos has also entered the Web 3 gaming space by partnering with NPIXEL to launch a new game called Gran Saga: Unlimited, bringing true-ownership of in-game assets in the form of NFTs to a AAA Web 3 game.
NPIXEL is a Korean AAA gaming studio that launched a RPG Web 2 called Gran Saga which garnered more than 4 million downloads since its inception in both Japan and Korea.
Aptos X NBC Universal
Besides NPIXEL, Aptos has most recently teamed up with NBC Universal to publicize an upcoming film called Renfield featuring Nicolas Cage through a Web 3 game.
Players have to identify bugs from a series of photos based on the scenes of the movie, apparently the main character of the movie eats bugs to attain superpowers.
The players who successfully identify the bugs will enter into a digital raffle and stand a chance to win movie collectibles in the form of NFTs. These NFTs are minted on the Aptos blockchain and can be accessed through Petra.
Aptos X Chingari
In conjunction with Aptos, India’s fastest growing on-chain social application Chingari will release an improved version of its application with newer products.
The Aptos blockchain will provide the infrastructural support to scale, increase transaction speeds and enhance Chingari’s platform security.
Econia Labs
Econia Labs has recently raised USD 6.5M in a seed funding round led by Dragonfly, other prominent names include Wintermute Ventures and Flow Traders among others.
In collaboration with the Aptos team, Econia Labs is building a back-end protocol that will serve as a base layer for DeFi projects on Aptos.
The protocol brings order books on-chain in a transparent and permissionless manner that supports integrations with DeFi applications that offer both spot and derivatives trading.
According to Alex the CEO of Econia Labs, with liquidity pooled into Econia’s order books, developers can concentrate on building innovative DeFi products such as perpetuals without having to worry about trade matching.
Also Read: A Complete Run Down On What Happened To Aptos On Launch Day
[Editor’s Note: This article does not represent financial advice. Please do your research before investing.]
Featured Image Credit: ChainDebrief
This article was written by Clarence Lee and edited by Yusoff Kim
