Caldera: The Innovative Leader of Web3 Infrastructure 'Chain Internet', Restructuring the Value Logic of the RaaS Track.

In the face of the industry dilemma of 'expansion decentralization and interaction isolation' in the Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) ecosystem, Caldera breaks out of the limitations of the traditional infrastructure platform's 'single-function iteration' by innovatively creating a three-dimensional system of 'Rollup as a Service (RaaS) + Metalayer protocol + $ERA dynamic economy'. Its technological breakthroughs, ecological models, and token designs not only address the core pain points of L2 development difficulties, cross-chain complexities, and weak governance but also create a new paradigm for the 'chain internet', providing a feasible innovative path for the upgrade of Web3 infrastructure from 'tool attributes' to 'value hubs'.

1. Technological innovation: Dual core breakthroughs + detail optimizations, reshaping the underlying logic of L2 infrastructure.

Caldera's technological innovations go beyond conceptual levels, forming a practical and forward-looking technical system through 'architectural reconstruction + functional refinement'. Its professionalism and innovation create a barrier that is difficult to replicate in the RaaS space, fully aligning with Web3's infrastructure needs for 'efficiency, security, and scalability'.

1. Rollup Engine: An innovative leap from 'standardized deployment' to 'scenario-based customization'.

Traditional RaaS platforms' Rollup deployments are mostly 'template-based applications', allowing developers to adjust only a few parameters, making it impossible to meet differentiated scenario needs. In contrast, Caldera's Rollup Engine focuses on 'framework compatibility + deep customization', achieving an upgrade from 'usable' to 'user-friendly'.

• Multi-framework deep compatibility: Not only supporting mainstream OP-Rollup frameworks like Arbitrum Nitro, Optimism Bedrock, but also being the first to adapt ZK-Rollup solutions like zkSync ZK Stack, Polygon CDK, enabling developers to choose 'low-cost OP-Rollup' (like DeFi trading) or 'high-privacy ZK-Rollup' (like NFT minting) according to scenarios, breaking the limitations of framework binding.

• Dynamic parameter customization: Developers can customize 'Gas token type' (supporting stablecoins like USDT/USDC to lower user entry barriers), 'data availability layers' (high-frequency trading scenarios choose EigenDA high-throughput layer, low-frequency certification scenarios choose Celestia low-cost layer), 'transaction confirmation strategies' (game scenarios enable 'pre-confirmation' to shorten time, financial scenarios enable 'multi-node verification' to enhance security), and even customize 'block generation intervals' (flexibly adjusted from 1 second to 10 seconds) to meet performance requirements of different scenarios.

• Guardian Nodes 2.0 mechanism: Based on traditional distributed verification, 'risk tiered verification' is added—high-value transactions (like a single transaction over $100,000) require verification by more than 5 Guardian Nodes, while ordinary transactions only require 2 nodes to confirm, ensuring the safety of core assets while avoiding efficiency loss caused by excessive verification. For example, the DeFi project inEVM has enhanced the security factor of large transactions by 4 times using this mechanism, while maintaining an ordinary transaction confirmation speed of 0.8 seconds.

2. Metalayer protocol: Paradigm shift from 'third-party bridging' to 'native cross-chain hub'.

Traditional cross-chain relies on third-party bridges, which presents three major issues: asset custodial risk, high fees, and slow confirmations. Caldera's Metalayer protocol builds a native cross-chain system through 'state root aggregation + zero-knowledge intent verification'.

• Non-custodial cross-chain logic: Metalayer does not hold any assets but instead aggregates the state roots of each Rollup into a 'global state hash' on-chain. When users cross chains, they only need to submit 'asset ownership proof' and 'target chain intent', which decentralized verification nodes validate before directly triggering asset mapping on the target chain, completely eliminating custodial risk.

• Intent-based smart routing: Users do not need to manually select cross-chain paths; they only need to input 'cross-chain amount + arrival time requirement' (e.g. '1000 USDT, arrive within 5 seconds'). The protocol automatically analyzes the bandwidth, fees, and confirmation speed of each verification node to match the optimal routing. For example, when a user crosses USDT from RARI Chain to zkXPLA, the protocol will prioritize a combination of '3 low-latency nodes + 0.05% fee', reducing the cross-chain time to 3 seconds, with fees only 1/4 of traditional bridging.

• Cross-chain contract inter-call: Supports direct interactions between smart contracts on different Rollups. Developers can create 'cross-chain composite DApps' based on Metalayer—such as linking the game item contract of zkXPLA with the lending contract of inEVM, allowing players to use game NFTs for collateral lending in inEVM without first moving the NFTs across chains to a single Rollup, significantly expanding the application scenario boundaries.

2. Ecological innovation: From 'project piling' to 'cooperative symbiosis', building a highly active ecological network.

Caldera abandons the traditional infrastructure model of 'only onboarding projects without managing operations' and builds an ecological system of 'project-user-developer' collaborative symbiosis through 'scenario-based empowerment + dynamic incentives'. Its ecological scale and vitality are leading in the RaaS space, fully validating the practicality of the innovative model.

1. Scenario-based ecological empowerment: Customized infrastructure solutions according to the track.

No longer providing a 'one-size-fits-all' Rollup deployment service, but instead launching 'customized infrastructure packages' for different tracks.

• NFT track package: Built-in 'royalty enforcement module', 'batch minting optimization module', and 'cross-chain NFT metadata synchronization module'. RARI Chain achieves 100% royalty receipts and reduces the time for minting 10,000 NFTs from 2 hours to 15 minutes through this package. Additionally, NFT metadata (like attributes and rarity) synchronizes in real time after cross-chain transfer.

• Gaming track package: Includes 'high concurrency transaction processing module', 'item cross-chain mapping module', and 'off-chain computation on-chain verification module'. zkXPLA uses this package to support 3500 game item transactions per second, allowing players to transfer items across chains without waiting, achieving 'instant transfer and use'.

• RWA track package: Integrates 'compliance identity verification module', 'asset confirmation certification module', and 'audit log on-chain module'. Ozean quickly completes the on-chain process for credit assets of small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe through this package, meeting financial regulatory requirements for 'traceability and auditability'. The scale of on-chain managed RWAs grew from $50 million to $200 million within six months.

2. Dynamic incentive system: From 'fixed subsidies' to 'tiered contribution rewards'.

Traditional ecological incentives are mostly 'fixed amount subsidies', which cannot accurately match project values. Caldera designs the 'ERA contribution value system':

• Contribution value quantification dimensions: From 'TVL scale (30%), user activity (25%), cross-chain interaction frequency (20%), ecological synergy (15%), compliance (10%)', calculating each project's contribution value monthly.

• Tiered reward mechanism: Projects in the top 10% of contribution values receive 'diamond-level rewards' ($80,000 in ERA + priority access to new features), those in the top 10%-30% receive 'gold-level rewards' ($30,000 in ERA), and those in the top 30%-50% receive 'silver-level rewards' ($10,000 in $ERA). Projects that do not meet standards must submit optimization plans, or incentives will be suspended. Under this mechanism, top projects like Manta and Treasure continuously optimize cross-chain interaction features, driving overall cross-chain transaction growth in the ecosystem by 230%.

• User participation incentives: Launching an 'ecological task matrix', users can complete tasks such as 'experiencing 3 different track Rollups', 'participating in cross-chain transactions', 'voting on ecological proposals', etc., to earn 'ERA ecological points', which can be exchanged for $ERA or project airdrops. Over 8 million users have participated in tasks, driving the number of independent wallet addresses from 10 million to 12 million.

3. Token economic innovation: From 'single function' to 'dynamic governance hub', $ERA empowers the long-term development of the ecosystem.

$ERA abandons the traditional infrastructure token's single function of 'only for Gas or staking' and becomes the core hub for ecological development through 'dynamic rights adjustment + deep governance participation', balancing practicality and long-term value, fully safeguarding the shared interests of the community and project parties.

1. Dynamic rights mechanism: The value of $ERA is deeply tied to ecological growth.

• Staking yield tiers: Adjust yields based on $ERA staking duration and ecological contribution—nodes staking for 1 year and participating in cross-chain verification more than 3 times achieve an annual yield of 13%; nodes staking for 3 months and only participating in basic verification achieve an annual yield of 8%, encouraging long-term staking and deep participation.

• Transaction fee dividend rights: 30% of the Metalayer cross-chain fees will be distributed as dividends based on the ratio of ERA holdings. Users holding more than 10,000 ERA can receive dividends weekly, paid in $ERA. As cross-chain transactions grow, by the second quarter of 2025, the average dividend per user reached 280 $ERA, further enhancing the value of token holdings.

• Emergency circuit breaker rights: When significant risks arise in the ecosystem (such as collective failure of cross-chain verification nodes), users holding over $100,000 in $ERA can initiate an 'emergency circuit breaker proposal'. If voting support exceeds 60%, the Metalayer cross-chain function can be paused to prevent the spread of risk, giving large holders the responsibility of safeguarding the ecosystem.

2. Refined governance design: From 'decision-making by a few' to 'participation by all'.

• Proposal tiered voting: Proposals are divided into 'regular proposals' (like fee adjustments) and 'major proposals' (like protocol upgrades)—regular proposals require 10% of total ERA holdings to participate in voting, with a support rate exceeding 55% to pass; major proposals require 20% of total ERA holdings to participate in voting, with a support rate exceeding 65% to pass, balancing decision-making efficiency and safety.

• Governance agency mechanism: Users can delegate their voting rights to 'nodes with high ecological contributions' (such as Guardian Nodes that provide quality verification services for a long time). The agency period is 1-3 months, solving the problem of ordinary users 'not understanding technology and being unable to vote', while also incentivizing nodes to improve service quality to gain more delegated voting rights.

• Governance reward feedback: Users participating in voting can earn 'governance points', which are linked to voting quality (e.g., if the proposal supported by their vote is later verified as valid, the points double). Points can be exchanged for $ERA rewards from the ecological fund. By the second quarter of 2025, over 500,000 users had participated in governance, and the proposal approval rate increased from 60% to 82%.

Summary and future predictions.

Through three-dimensional innovations in technology, ecology, and token economics, Caldera has become a value benchmark in the RaaS space: its Rollup Engine enables scenario-based custom development, the Metalayer protocol builds a native cross-chain system, and the dynamic ecological and token design ensures long-term vitality of the ecosystem. With over 55 Rollups, $700 million in TVL, and 12 million independent wallet addresses, it validates the success of its innovative model. Despite facing intensified competition in the RaaS space and uncertainties in crypto regulation, top venture capital endorsements, technological differentiation advantages, and a highly active ecology still provide it with significant first-mover advantages.

Looking ahead to the next 1-2 years, with the expansion of the Ethereum ecosystem, Caldera is expected to achieve three major breakthroughs: firstly, deepening technical scenarioization, planning to launch 'AI-assisted Rollup customization' functionality where developers input scenario requirements (e.g., 'high concurrency gaming Rollup'), and AI automatically generates deployment plans, further lowering development barriers; secondly, cross-chain ecological synergy, collaborating with EigenLayer to access EigenDA V2, increasing data throughput to 120MB/s, while promoting cross-chain interoperability with other L2s (like Arbitrum One, Optimism), expanding the coverage of the 'chain internet' by three times; thirdly, enhancing token value, if a 'cross-chain fee destruction' mechanism is introduced (destroying 50% of fees), along with the increase in $ERA demand brought by ecological TVL growth, the token market value is expected to exceed $2.5 billion, entering the top 70 in cryptocurrency market capitalization.

From technological innovation to ecological implementation, Caldera is not only a provider of L2 infrastructure but also a core builder of Web3's 'chain internet'. Its innovative model is driving infrastructure platforms to upgrade from 'tool-type products' to 'value collaborative hubs', and is expected to become a key pillar for the large-scale implementation of Web3, opening up new paths for industry development.