The current world of Rollups is like the local area networks of the 90s: efficient individually, but fragmented collectively. For users to move across chains is as cumbersome and inefficient as transferring files between different networks back in the day. Caldera ($ERA) aims to solve this leap from 'local area networks' to the 'internet'.
It initially lowered the threshold through RaaS, allowing projects to quickly launch chains. But the real ambition is to build a Rollup internet - a modular, interconnected, and customizable ecosystem.
Modularity means developers can freely choose technologies like OP, Arbitrum, ZK, and connect to data availability layers and orderers as needed, constructing bespoke chains like assembling building blocks. Interconnectivity relies on Metalayer and Hyperlane, allowing messages, liquidity, and gas to flow across chains with minimal user awareness. Customizability enables optimal configurations for different scenarios: games require low latency, DeFi needs security, and social applications demand high concurrency.
Currently, Caldera supports over 100 chains, including Manta, ApeChain, and Zerion, with a total transaction volume exceeding 27 million. In the future, if Metalayer is implemented, $ERA is expected to become a universal gas and settlement medium across Rollups, directly anchoring the growth of the entire network.
Risks certainly exist: cross-chain security is the biggest challenge, and the utility of tokens must be genuinely realized. But if successful, Caldera will not just be a chain launching tool, but the internet protocol stack of the Rollup era.
