A quick look at ten encryption projects that have undergone significant upgrades or launched their Mainnet in 2024.

Author: Vince Quill, CoinTelegraph; Translated by: Bai Shui, Golden Finance

2024 is an important year for cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks. This year, the United States will launch the Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF), major protocol upgrades for altcoins, and the release of new infrastructure networks.

The following are 10 cryptocurrency projects that implemented significant protocol upgrades or launched their mainnet in 2024, listed 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 being tested on the Fuji testnet.

This update simplifies the process of launching a subnet (now referred to as "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 the validator is operating.

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

This update will also transfer the responsibilities of managing validators from the Avalanche P-Chain to Layer 1, giving them greater autonomy and control over their network.

Sui Implements Mysticeti Consensus Engine

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

According to a spokesperson for Mysten Labs, the developers of Sui, this update has reduced consensus latency to 390 milliseconds and minimized inter-validator communication to enhance efficiency.

Sui's ability to process a large number of transactions per second (TPS) and its single-chip architecture help it and other single-chip chains to secure a place on the existing smart contract platform Ethereum in 2024.

Throughput and latency of Mysticeti. Source: Sui

Sonic Foundation Launches Sonic Mainnet

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

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

On December 18, the Sonic mainnet will launch. Fantom token holders can switch to the new network by upgrading from FTM to S tokens (the native asset of the Sonic network) on a one-to-one basis.

Hyperliquid Launches Token for Staking

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

The project distributed 310 million HYPE tokens to community members, with an issuance value of 1.2 billion dollars. The initial price of HYPE was 3.90 dollars, and the current trading price is around 26.8 dollars.

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

HYPE token price trend. Source: CoinMarketCap

Ethereum Dencun Upgrade Launched

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

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

According to data from Token Terminal, the network fees for Ethereum Layer 1 rebounded to levels seen before the Dencun implementation in early 2024.

The upgrade has elicited mixed reactions from the Ethereum community, with some praising the affordability of transactions through Layer 2, while others criticize that many L2 solutions are eating into the revenue of Ethereum's Layer 1.

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

The Chang hard fork of Cardano introduces on-chain governance

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

This update allows all holders of the Cardano token ADA to participate in the voting process and determine the future direction of the Layer 1 chain.

Near Protocol achieves stateless validation through Nightshade 2.0

Near Protocol is a Layer-1 blockchain focused on decentralized artificial intelligence, which changed its network architecture in August with the implementation of the Nightshade 2.0 update.

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

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

After the launch of Nightshade 2.0, the native asset of the protocol, NEAR, skyrocketed by 50% within a month.

The sharding design of Near. Source: NEARWEEK

Movement Mainnet Launch

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

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

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

Chainlink Launches Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol

The Oracle network Chainlink released the cross-chain interoperability protocol (CCIP) in April 2024.

CCIP facilitates the cross-chain transfer of tokens and communication between smart contracts across different blockchain ecosystems.

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

A brief explanation of Chainlink CCIP. Source: Chainlink

Stacks Completes Nakamoto Upgrade

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

This upgrade introduces 100% Bitcoin finality and increases 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 reached a historic high of 1,400 monthly contracts.