In the rapid expansion of the Ethereum L2 ecosystem, a crucial issue that is often overlooked is value loss. According to statistics from 2024 (Ethereum L2 Ecosystem Value White Paper), about 40% of the created value in the L2 ecosystem is implicitly consumed in the 'rights confirmation - distribution - circulation' phases — the single dimension of rights confirmation leads to 'high-value contributions with low returns', non-transparent distribution mechanisms induce trust costs, and compliance friction and efficiency lag in circulation further erode value. This situation of 'easy creation, difficult protection' traps the L2 ecosystem in a cycle where 'value increment is offset by loss', making it difficult to form sustainable value accumulation. Caldera ($ERA) constructs a 'precise rights confirmation system' and a 'low-friction circulation channel' to fundamentally address the issue of value loss, becoming the 'value protector' of the L2 ecosystem.
I. Three Major Hidden Issues of Value Loss in the L2 Ecosystem: Loopholes in Rights Confirmation, Distribution, and Circulation
1. Single Dimension of Rights Confirmation: Disconnection between value assessment and actual contribution
Currently, the value confirmation in the L2 ecosystem largely relies on a 'single dimension', making it impossible to comprehensively measure the true value of contributions, leading to 'value mismatch'. First, the assessment of technical contributions is one-sided. Most L2 projects measure developer contributions solely by 'code submission volume' or 'task completion degree', neglecting 'technical innovativeness' and 'long-term ecological impact' — for example, a developer's optimization of cross-scenario compliance algorithms, although the code volume is only 1/3 of ordinary tasks, reduces the ecosystem's compliance costs by 25%. However, due to the single dimension of rights confirmation, the rewards received are only half that of ordinary developers; second, non-technical contributions are undervalued. Users' 'scenario testing feedback' and 'compliance suggestions', being lacking quantifiable standards, often receive only symbolic token rewards, while these contributions can often prevent ecological risks in advance (e.g., a user-reported testing vulnerability that avoided subsequent losses of millions of dollars in assets). According to industry research, only 18% of L2 projects have established a multi-dimensional rights confirmation system, and over 60% of high-value contributions face 'mismatches between rewards and value'.
2. Non-transparent Distribution Mechanism: Lack of Trust Foundation in Income Pool Management
The value distribution in the L2 ecosystem (such as transaction fee sharing, corporate cooperative profit sharing) generally suffers from 'opacity', further exacerbating value loss. On one hand, the source of income is unclear. Some L2 projects' 'contributor income pools' do not specify the composition of funds (e.g., whether they include corporate compliance service fees, technical licensing fees), making it impossible for contributors to judge the sustainability of income; on the other hand, the distribution logic is not public. Most projects only disclose the 'final dividend amount' without revealing the 'basis for distribution ratio calculation' (e.g., why Developer A's dividend is twice that of B), and some even lack third-party audits for income pool management. According to Chainalysis' 2024 data, only 22% of L2 projects regularly disclose income pool details and audit reports, leading 35% of contributors to choose to abandon long-term participation due to 'distrust', indirectly causing value loss in the ecosystem.
3. High Circulation Friction: Dual Costs of Compliance and Efficiency
Value circulation across scenarios and regions incurs high friction costs due to 'difficult compliance adaptation' and 'low efficiency', becoming a major area of value loss. At the compliance level, global regulatory differences mean that cross-regional circulation requires additional costs — for instance, RWA assets in the EU L2 scenario must provide 'asset classification proof' and 'risk disclosure documents' that meet SEC requirements when circulating to the U.S., with compliance costs accounting for 15%-25% of asset value; at the efficiency level, cross-scenario circulation relies on third-party tools, averaging over 30 seconds, with risks of data loss (circulation failure rate of about 9%). A DeFi project once missed a critical clearing opportunity due to delays in cross-scenario asset circulation, resulting in a loss of $500,000. Industry data shows that the average friction cost of value circulation in the L2 ecosystem reaches 20%-30%, significantly weakening the liquidity and appreciation potential of value.
II. Caldera's Value Protection Plan: Dual Support of Accurate Rights and Low Friction Circulation
In response to the above issues, Caldera does not merely 'patch loopholes', but constructs a 'precise rights confirmation system' and a 'low-friction circulation channel' from the perspectives of mechanism design and technical architecture, forming the core capability of value protection.
1. Precise Rights Confirmation: Multi-dimensional Dynamic Assessment Model
To address the issue of 'single dimension of rights confirmation', Caldera constructs a three-dimensional assessment model based on 'technical attributes - ecological impact - long-term value', achieving precise quantification of contribution value:
• Technical Attribute Dimension: Differentiates between 'core technical contributions' (e.g., cross-scenario collaborative algorithms, privacy computing tool development) and 'non-technical contributions' (e.g., testing feedback, compliance suggestions). The former introduces an 'industry technical difficulty coefficient' (based on GitHub code complexity standards and the evaluation framework of L2 technical white papers), while the latter quantifies according to 'value of risk avoidance' (e.g., potential losses avoided from testing feedback), ensuring that both technical and non-technical contributions receive reasonable assessments;
• Ecological Impact Dimension: Real-time synchronization of ecological data (such as the number of cross-scenario applications landing, changes in compliance costs). If the contribution drives scene innovation (e.g., facilitating the landing of 'medical + RWA' composite applications) or reduces ecological costs (e.g., reducing circulation friction costs by 15%), a 1.2-1.8 times 'ecological value-added coefficient' bonus can be obtained;
• Long-term Value Dimension: Introduces a 'time decay coefficient' — if the contribution continues to affect the ecosystem 12 months later (e.g., algorithms continuously adopted in new scenarios), an additional 0.5 times reward can be obtained, avoiding 'overestimation of short-term contributions and neglect of long-term contributions'.
This model automatically executes through smart contracts, with assessment data fully traceable on-chain, and third-party audit agencies (such as Certik) regularly verifying the fairness of assessment logic. According to Caldera's Q4 2024 operational data, the award matching degree for high-value contributions in this system reached 92%, improving by 65% compared to the industry average, and the long-term participation rate of core developers increased by 40%.
2. Transparent Distribution Mechanism: Audit-driven Income Pool Management
To address the issue of 'opaque distribution', Caldera has designed a 'fully transparent income pool mechanism', centered around 'traceable sources, publicly available logic, and audit endorsement':
• Transparent Sources of Income: Divides ecological income into 'basic income' (30% of cross-scenario transaction fees) and 'value-added income' (40% of corporate compliance service fees, 30% of technical licensing fees), with real-time data for both types of income (e.g., every fee amount, key terms of corporate cooperation contracts) publicly available through on-chain interfaces, allowing contributors to query at any time;
• Public Distribution Logic: The distribution ratio of the income pool (50% of basic income for dividends, 25% for buybacks and burns, 25% for ecosystem iteration) is determined through community governance and written into the smart contract, with the dividend calculation using the public formula of 'contribution value proportion × holding time coefficient', leaving no room for manual intervention;
• Third-party Audit Endorsement: The income pool is audited monthly by Armanino and ChainSecurity, with the audit report containing three parts: 'fund flow details', 'distribution ratio compliance', and 'smart contract security', ensuring that each distribution of income complies with the rules.
This mechanism significantly reduces trust costs: by the end of 2024, the audit report access volume for the Caldera income pool exceeded 100,000 times, and contributors' trust in the distribution mechanism reached 89%, nearly doubling the industry average (45%), with the participation rate in the income pool increasing from an initial 35% to 78%.
3. Low Friction Circulation Channel: Synergistic Optimization of Compliance and Efficiency
To reduce circulation friction costs, Caldera has built a 'dual optimization' circulation channel focusing on 'compliance and efficiency':
• Built-in Compliance Engine: The engine integrates regulatory rules from over 30 countries/regions in real-time (e.g., EU MiCA, U.S. SEC framework, new regulations for virtual assets in Hong Kong), automatically generating 'compliance adaptation plans' during cross-regional circulation — for instance, when NFT assets in the U.S. circulate to the EU, the engine will automatically add 'non-security nature statements' and 'copyright traceability information', reducing compliance costs by 60%-75%;
• Standardized Interfaces: Defines unified asset and data formats for cross-scenario circulation (e.g., the three-element standard of 'ownership - assessment - compliance' for RWA assets, and the 'contribution value - validity period' format for user rights), eliminating the need for repeated format conversion, reducing time from 30 seconds to 1.2 seconds, and lowering the failure rate to below 0.5%;
• Cost Subsidy Mechanism: Provides 'circulation cost subsidies' (50% subsidy on compliance costs for the first cross-scenario circulation) for small and medium developers and enterprises, further lowering the participation threshold.
Data shows that the friction cost of value circulation through this channel has decreased from 20%-30% to below 5%, with the scale of cross-scenario and cross-regional circulation growing at an average rate of 55% per month. Eighteen enterprises have already achieved global asset allocation through the channel, with circulation efficiency improving by 25 times compared to traditional models.
III. Industry Significance: The Transformation of the L2 Ecosystem from 'Value Creation' to 'Value Protection'
Caldera's value protection plan essentially drives the L2 ecosystem to transition from 'heavy creation, light protection' to 'equal emphasis on creation and protection', with its industry value reflected in three dimensions:
First, improve the value retention rate of the ecosystem. By addressing the loss issues in rights confirmation, distribution, and circulation, the value retention rate of the L2 ecosystem increases from 60% to 95%, meaning that for every $1 million of value created, only $50,000 is lost due to loss, reducing loss by $350,000 compared to traditional models, providing a foundation for long-term accumulation in the ecosystem;
Second, reshape the trust foundation of contributors. The transparent rights confirmation and distribution mechanism allows contributors to clearly perceive the 'strong correlation between value and return'. According to industry research, contributors accessing the Caldera system have a long-term participation willingness of 82%, nearly doubling the industry average (48%), providing talent support for the stable iteration of the ecosystem.
Third, lower the access threshold for the real economy. The low-friction circulation channel significantly reduces the compliance and efficiency costs for enterprises (especially small and micro enterprises). The number of real enterprises accessing the L2 ecosystem through Caldera in 2024 has tripled compared to traditional models, promoting deep integration of Web3 and the real economy.
As the L2 ecosystem transitions from 'scale expansion' to 'quality enhancement', the 'value protection capability' will become a core competitiveness. Caldera's practices show that only through precise rights confirmation, transparent distribution, and low-friction circulation can the value of the L2 ecosystem truly 'retain, circulate, and appreciate quickly' — this is not only Caldera's core value but also the key direction for the sustainable development of the Ethereum L2 ecosystem.
