A quick look at the ten crypto projects that will undergo major upgrades or launch mainnets in 2024

Author: Vince Quill, CoinTelegraph; Compiler: Baishui, Golden Finance

2024 is an important year for cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks. This year, the United States launched exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitcoin and Ethereum, altcoins underwent major protocol upgrades, and new infrastructure networks were released.

Here are 10 crypto projects that implemented major protocol upgrades or released mainnets in 2024, in no particular order.

Avalanche9000/Etna Protocol Upgrade

The Avalanche network's Avalanche9000 upgrade, also known as Etna, is hailed as the largest upgrade in the protocol's history and was launched on the Avalanche mainnet on December 16 after a testing phase on the Fuji testnet.

The update streamlines the process of launching subnets (now called “Layer 1”) and changes the staking requirement for subnet validators from a fixed 2,000 AVAX to a fee structure based on the number of nodes a validator is running.

According to the Avalanche Foundation, the upgrade reduces subnet deployment costs by 99.9% and reduces C-Chain network fees by 96%.

The update also moves the responsibility of managing validators from the Avalanche P-Chain to Layer 1, giving them greater autonomy and control over their networks.

Sui Implements Mysticeti Consensus Engine

Sui Protocol, a high-throughput blockchain, implemented the Mysticeti consensus engine in August.

According to a spokesperson for Mysten Labs, the developer of Sui, the update reduces consensus latency to 390 milliseconds and minimizes cross-validator communication for greater efficiency.

Sui’s ability to process a large number of transactions per second (TPS) and its monolithic architecture help it and other monolithic chains gain a foothold on existing smart contract platform Ethereum by 2024.

Mysticeti’s throughput and latency. Source: Sui

Sonic Foundation Launches Sonic Mainnet

In May 2024, the Fantom Foundation (the organization behind the Fantom Network) announced that the Sonic Foundation will oversee the deployment of its Sonic Chain.

Sonic Chain is an Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible Layer-1 blockchain featuring sub-second finality, 10,000 TPS throughput, and the introduction of Sonic Gateway (a bridge between Sonic and Ethereum).

On December 18, the Sonic mainnet went live. Fantom token holders can switch to the new network through a one-to-one upgrade from FTM to S tokens (the native asset of the Sonic network).

Hyperliquid Launches Tokens to Enable Staking

Hyperliquid, a Layer-1 blockchain optimized for decentralized finance, launched one of the largest token airdrops in cryptocurrency history on November 29.

The project distributed 310 million HYPE tokens to community members, worth $1.2 billion at the time of issuance. HYPE was initially priced at $3.90 and is currently trading at around $26.8.

On December 30, Hyper Foundation announced the launch of native staking on the Hyperliquid protocol, allowing users to secure the network by locking tokens in exchange for returns.

HYPE token price trend. Source: CoinMarketCap

Ethereum Dencun upgrade goes live

Ethereum's Dencun upgrade went live on March 13, reducing fees on Ethereum's Layer 2 network by up to 99%.

However, the dramatic reduction in L2 network fees also caused Ethereum Layer 1 fees to plummet in August and September as users migrated to the lower-cost Layer 2.

In November, Ethereum Layer 1 network fees rebounded to levels last seen in early 2024, before Dencun was implemented, according to data from Token Terminal.

The upgrade has drawn mixed reactions from the Ethereum community, with some praising the affordability of transacting via Layer 2 and others criticizing the network’s many L2 solutions for cannibalizing Ethereum Layer 1 revenue.

Ethereum layer 1 network fees from January to December 2024. Source: Token Terminal

Cardano's Chang hard fork introduces on-chain governance

Cardano's Chang hard fork was implemented on September 1, bringing on-chain, decentralized governance to the network.

The update enables all holders of Cardano's token ADA to participate in the voting process and determine the future direction of the layer 1 chain.

Near Protocol Achieves Stateless Validation with Nightshade 2.0

Near Protocol, a Layer-1 blockchain focused on decentralized artificial intelligence, changed its network architecture in August by implementing the Nightshade 2.0 update.

The protocol upgrade introduced stateless validation to Near, allowing validator nodes to verify transactions without storing a copy of the blockchain on their devices.

This approach reduces the hardware requirements for running validator nodes and lowers the barrier to entry for new participants.

Following the launch of Nightshade 2.0, the protocol’s native asset, NEAR, surged 50% in a month.

Near’s sharding design. Source: NEARWEEK

Movement Mainnet Launch

On December 9, the Movement Network Foundation launched the Movement mainnet (an Ethereum scaling solution that uses the Move virtual machine to settle transactions to the Ethereum network) and the MOVE token.

According to a spokesperson for the foundation, the Move mainnet has sub-second finality times and leverages the Move programming language.

The programming language is widely praised by blockchain developers for its ease of use and expressiveness.

Chainlink Launches Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol

Oracle network Chainlink released the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) in April 2024.

CCIP facilitates cross-chain transfers of tokens and smart contract communication between different blockchain ecosystems.

Since the debut of the interoperability solution, CCIP has been integrated by multiple blockchain networks, including Layer 2 scaling solution ZKsync and gaming blockchain network Ronin.

A simple explanation of Chainlink CCIP. Source: Chainlink

Stacks Completes Nakamoto Upgrade

Stacks, a layer 2 scaling solution for Bitcoin, completed the Nakamoto upgrade via a hard fork on October 9.

The upgrade introduced 100% Bitcoin finality and increased network throughput.

After the update, block production is no longer determined by miner elections. Instead, blocks are now produced at fixed intervals.

In the weeks leading up to the protocol upgrade, the number of smart contracts on Stacks hit an all-time high of 1,400 monthly contracts.