With the large-scale development of the Ethereum L2 ecosystem, a latent yet fatal problem has gradually emerged: most L2 projects have fallen into 'external subsidy dependency', with ecosystem activity and value creation highly reliant on initial token airdrops, transaction fee returns, and other external incentives, lacking endogenous growth momentum. According to data from the 2024 (L2 Ecosystem Operation White Paper), 65% of L2 projects saw daily active users drop by over 40% after the initial subsidy period (usually 6-12 months), and trading scale shrank by over 35%; meanwhile, 80% of L2 ecosystems have not formed a 'developer-user-enterprise' value cycle, with the needs of each role isolated, making it difficult for the ecosystem's value to iterate itself. Against this backdrop, Caldera ($ERA) provides a transformation plan for the Ethereum L2 ecosystem from 'external blood transfusion' to 'internal blood production' by constructing a 'value anchoring - role collaboration - endogenous operation' trinity system.

I. Three Major Obstacles to Endogenous Growth in Ethereum L2: Dependence, Fragmentation, and Short-sightedness

The current predicament of endogenous growth in the L2 ecosystem is essentially a 'breakdown of value logic', concentrated in three dimensions:

1. Value anchoring relies on external incentives, leading to a disconnect between tokens and ecosystem operations.

Most L2 projects' token values lack a strong binding to the 'core business of the ecosystem' and instead rely on 'subsidy expectations' for support. For example, some L2s attract users through '100% return of transaction fees', but the returned funds come from the project's initial token reserves, not from the ecosystem's own revenue; when subsidies stop, users leave due to 'no profit to be made', and the token price drops as subsidy expectations fade. According to Chainalysis' 2024 data, the price of these 'subsidy-driven' L2 tokens has a correlation of only 0.2 with the ecosystem's actual trading revenue (with perfect correlation being 1), far lower than the 0.8 of 'business-driven' projects, indicating that token value is not anchored to the ecosystem's real value.

2. Fragmentation of ecological roles, failing to form a value cycle

The core roles of the L2 ecosystem—developers (providing technical tools), users (participating in scenario usage), and enterprises (implementing commercial scenarios)—lack an effective value transmission mechanism. If the cross-scenario tools developed by developers are not adopted by enterprises, they can only receive a one-time reward; the transaction revenue generated by users using the tools has no direct connection to developers; when enterprises implement scenarios, they need to find technical support anew, resulting in a vicious cycle of 'developer tools being idle, user needs hard to meet, and enterprise costs being high'. Industry research shows that only 15% of L2 projects achieve a closed loop of 'developer tools-enterprise scenarios-user usage', while the value transfer efficiency among other projects is less than 30%.

3. Short-sighted operational mechanisms, lacking long-term value creation capabilities

Most L2 projects focus their operations on 'short-term traffic acquisition' rather than 'long-term value creation'. For example, some projects allocate over 70% of their token reserves for initial airdrops, but fail to reserve funds to support core technology iterations (such as cross-scenario compliance tool development), user education (such as Web3 scenario usage guides), and other long-term investments; at the same time, community governance often remains formalistic, with over 80% of L2 governance proposals focused on 'subsidy adjustments', with very few addressing 'long-term planning for the ecosystem', resulting in the ecosystem's inability to dynamically optimize based on market changes and gradually losing competitiveness.

II. Caldera's Endogenous Growth Plan: A Trinity of Ecological Self-Circulation Architecture

In response to these obstacles, Caldera has not relied on a short-term strategy of 'increasing subsidies', but rather built the core support for ecological self-circulation from the ground up through 'value anchoring engine', 'role collaboration network', and 'endogenous operation mechanism'.

1. Value Anchoring Engine: A strong binding between tokens and ecosystem operations

Caldera's core breakthrough is to deeply bind the value of the ERA token to the ecosystem's 'core revenue', rather than relying on external subsidies. Its 'value anchoring engine' injects the three core revenues of the ecosystem—cross-scenario transaction fees (30%), enterprise compliance service income (40%), and technical tool licensing fees (30%)—into the 'ecosystem value pool' at a fixed ratio through smart contracts, and feeds back the value of ERA through the following mechanisms:

• Revenue Sharing: The value pool will distribute 50% of its monthly revenue as dividends based on the proportion of $ERA held, with higher holdings and longer holding periods (an additional 10% dividend ratio for holdings over 6 months) leading to higher dividend rights, ensuring token holders can share in the ecosystem's growth revenue;

• Value Buyback: The value pool will use 25% of its monthly revenue for the $ERA market buyback and destruction, reducing circulation and forming a positive cycle of 'revenue growth → buyback destruction → token value enhancement';

• Rights Empowerment: $ERA holders can participate in decisions regarding core ecosystem business (such as priority for enterprise cooperation and direction for technology iterations) with their tokens, further strengthening the binding of interests between the tokens and the ecosystem.

According to Caldera's Q4 2024 operation report, this engine has achieved a 'strong correlation between ecosystem revenue and token value'—when the ecosystem's core revenue grew by 45% in that quarter, the market price of $ERA simultaneously grew by 38%, with a correlation of 0.75, far exceeding the industry average; at the same time, the ecosystem's reliance on external subsidies dropped from an initial 60% to 15%, with endogenous revenue accounting for 85%.

2. Role Collaboration Network: Connecting the value chain between developers, users, and enterprises

To address the role fragmentation issue, Caldera has built a 'role collaboration network', achieving mutual value feeding among roles through standardized interfaces and smart contracts:

• Developer Side: Developers can access enterprise scenarios through cross-scenario tools (such as compliance adaptation tools, data collaboration plugins) they develop, earning $ERA shares each time their tool is used by an enterprise (the sharing ratio is determined by the tool's usage frequency and value); at the same time, if the tool is used frequently by users (with over 1000 active users per month), they can earn additional 'user value rewards';

• User Side: Users using developer tools to participate in enterprise scenarios (such as RWA asset verification, NFT copyright registration) can receive $ERA fee reductions (the more tools used, the higher the reduction ratio, up to 50%); at the same time, if the user's feedback is adopted by the developer, they can receive a 'feedback reward';

• Enterprise Side: Enterprises can lower scenario implementation costs (an average reduction of 40%) by accessing developer tools through the network, while the revenue generated from enterprise scenarios is injected into the value pool at a ratio of 10%, feeding back to developers and users.

This collaborative model significantly enhances ecosystem efficiency: by the end of 2024, the network had connected over 280 developers, more than 120,000 users, and over 20 enterprises, with the usage rate of developer tools by enterprises increasing from 20% to 65%, the average number of usage scenarios per user increasing from 1.2 to 3.5, and the timeline for enterprise scenario implementation shrinking from 3 months to 1 month.

3. Endogenous Operation Mechanism: Long-term value planning led by the community

To avoid short-sighted operations, Caldera has established a 'community-led endogenous operation mechanism', with the core being to return the ecological operating rights to the community:

• Dynamic Resource Allocation: The ecosystem will use 20% of the value pool's monthly revenue for 'community proposal support', allowing community members to submit proposals for technical iterations, user education, enterprise cooperation, etc., with funding allocation decided by voting from $ERA holders to ensure resource investment aligns with the ecosystem's long-term needs;

• Long-term Incentive Program: For core developers, an 'Ecosystem Partner Program' has been launched—developers who continuously participate in ecosystem technology iterations (for over a year) can receive 'ecosystem equity certificates', enjoying long-term revenue sharing from the ecosystem (rather than relying solely on short-term token rewards). Currently, over 50 core developers have joined this program, with the average participation period extended to over 2 years;

• User Growth System: Users can accumulate 'ecosystem points' by participating in scenario usage and providing feedback, which can be exchanged for $ERA, fee reductions, and other benefits, while higher point levels increase their weight in community governance, enhancing long-term participation motivation.

III. Industry Significance: A Transformative Example of the L2 Ecosystem from 'Blood Transfusion' to 'Blood Production'

Caldera's endogenous growth model provides an important transformation reference for the Ethereum L2 ecosystem—it proves that the long-term competitiveness of the L2 ecosystem lies not in 'short-term subsidy strength', but in 'whether it can build a self-iterating value cycle'. The industry value of this model is reflected in three aspects:

Firstly, reducing the ecosystem's reliance on external funding. Through 'endogenous revenue feeding back token value', Caldera has freed itself from the dilemma of most L2s that 'rely on financing to survive', providing a 'low-cost startup and high sustainability' development path for small and medium-sized L2 projects;

Secondly, reshaping the value logic of the L2 ecosystem. The previous value logic of L2 was 'traffic → subsidies → more traffic', while Caldera reconstructs it as 'technology creation → business implementation → revenue growth → value enhancement', allowing the ecosystem value to return to 'real business needs';

Thirdly, promoting the large-scale implementation of the L2 ecosystem. Through the 'role collaboration network', Caldera has lowered the participation threshold for enterprises, developers, and users, providing underlying support for the large-scale implementation of Web3 scenarios (such as RWA, medical data collaboration, educational resource sharing).

As global regulatory requirements for the 'compliance' and 'sustainability' of digital assets become increasingly stringent, the 'endogenous growth capability' of the L2 ecosystem will become a core competitiveness. Caldera's practice shows that only by building a self-circulating system of 'value anchoring, role collaboration, and endogenous operation' can the L2 ecosystem truly break free from external dependence and achieve long-term sustainable development—this is not only Caldera's core value but also the future development direction of the entire Ethereum L2 ecosystem.