Exploring Canto: The Blockchain Project and Its Ecosystem

The Canto network harnesses the power of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), facilitating a seamless synchronicity with a variety of EVM-compatible networks. As 2023 dawned, the project witnessed a significant upswing in its Total Value Locked (TVL), largely due to the absence of investor fees, lucrative farming rewards, and a streamlined, intuitive interface. These factors have collectively bolstered a positive trajectory for the project's overall liquidity. Notably, the value of Canto's native token swelled by an impressive 500% over a mere two-week period.

In this article, we dissect the inner workings of the Canto blockchain and its encompassing ecosystem, striving to elucidate the rapid ascension of this fascinating project.

The genesis tale

The conception of the Canto blockchain protocol dates back to 2018. Canto's founding mission was to orchestrate a seamless, secure, and decentralized communication network, where users could place unwavering trust in the safeguarding of their personal data and information. At the helm of the developmental team was Yona Sevag, a renowned expert in cryptographic technologies and decentralized systems, who took on the mantle of the project's CEO.

The Canto blockchain's test network went live in May 2021, followed by the mainnet launch in the summer of 2022.

Funding rounds

From its inception, Canto set out its stall as a fully decentralized endeavor. Thus, the protocol refrained from raising extensive investment capital to stave off the risk of price manipulation by venture capitalists and investors.

A solitary round of investment concluded in October 2021, as part of a Series A funding phase, raising a sum of $5 million from cryptocurrency-focused investment firms, Electric Capital and Framework Ventures. According to the team's report, these funds have been channeled towards augmenting the team, reinforcing network security, and fostering product innovation.

Platform mechanics and unique traits

Canto is underpinned by the Cosmos SDK software and deploys the Tendermint consensus algorithm. As a result, the network dovetails with EVM and is compatible with the Solidity programming language.

The fundamental philosophy driving Canto is to render all the myriad possibilities of the DeFi world accessible to its user base, thus functioning as Free Public Infrastructure (FPI). The developers have identified three pivotal areas of focus:

・Decentralised exchanges and platforms (DEX);

・Lending protocols;

・Decentralized monetary unit ($NOTE), namely, its unique algorithmic stablecoin.

The blockchain itself operates under several fundamental principles, pivotal to both the network's function and the broader ecosystem:

・All liquidity maneuvers on the DEX, encompassing the infusion of capital and the swapping of tokens, are devoid of any charges or commissions;

・The DeFi protocols fall under the stewardship of the collective community. As a consequence, these protocols are not imbued with their own governance tokens as the control of these applications is exercised by the Canto fraternity and facilitated by the homonymous digital currency;

・The interfaces of decentralized applications are either standardized or completely absent, compelling users to rely on external aggregators.

Decentralization is attained by forgoing presales and embracing a substantial aggregation of venture funds.

The Canto ecosystem

As per DeFiLama, an analytical platform, the Total Value Locked (TVL) in the Canto network is approximately $125 million.

The modern Canto landscape is sculpted by notable applications including:

◼ Canto DEX, a decentralized exchange platform;

◼ Canto Lending protocol;

◼ Beefy, an aggregator for yield farming;

◼ Velocimeter, a decentralized liquidity protocol;

◼  Y2R, an application focused on liquidity and yield farming.

The principal cross-chain application is the Canto Bridge, a conduit allowing users to shift their capital between different networks.

TVL of the Canto blockchain. Source: defillama.com

The Canto blockchain ecosystem. Source: defillama.com

The Canto digital currency

The native CANTO token boasts wide-ranging functionality. It can be used for staking, protocol management, liquidity provision, and transaction fee payment.

CANTO bears the following characteristics:

■ Market capitalization – $125 million;

■ Maximum supply – unlimited;

■ Circulating supply — 478 million;

■ Average daily trading volume – $4 million;

■ All-time high— $0,72;

■ All-time low — $0,07.

The CANTO cryptocurrency is traded on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges such as Gate, Mexc, CoinEx, among others. A comprehensive list of trading platforms can be found on Coingecko and CoinMarketCap under the “Markets” section.

Price dynamics of the CANTO token. Source: coinmarcetcap.com

Summary

Canto is a protocol aimed at achieving maximum decentralization and providing public access to platform functions. Low fees attract liquidity providers, which rapidly increases TVL.

A drawback is that in the next few years, inflation will exceed 100% and will gradually decrease as new tokens are released. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of the CANTO cryptocurrency and the stability of the blockchain will be possible after the platform has been operational for a sufficient duration.