Altlayer

AltLayer is basically trying to fix the weak spots of rollups by adding an extra layer of trust and security through what they call “Restaked Rollups.” Instead of each rollup running on its own isolated setup, AltLayer lets them borrow extra security and finality from Ethereum’s restaking ecosystem. This gives them stronger guarantees against fraud, censorship, and centralization risks while still staying modular.

The ALT token sits at the center of this system. It’s used as a bond together with restaked assets, which means operators have skin in the game and can be slashed if they cheat. It also governs the protocol, fuels incentives, and is the currency for fees inside the network. In practice, it aligns users, operators, and the protocol itself.

They’ve built three core products to make rollups safer and more decentralized. VITAL is their AVS that actively checks sequencer-submitted blocks and triggers fraud proofs if something looks wrong. MACH is focused on faster finality — instead of waiting long settlement times, it lets staked operators guarantee the rollup state more quickly. SQUAD tackles the centralization problem of having a single sequencer by introducing decentralized sequencing with real economic guarantees, which reduces MEV abuse and downtime risks.

From the funding side, they’ve raised $22.8M across two private rounds, selling 18.5% of the supply at dirt-cheap levels ($0.008 and $0.018). That means early investors are sitting on very strong entries compared to listing levels. The backers are serious too — names like Polychain, Binance Labs, Jump, Balaji, Gavin Wood, and Ryan Selkis give the project both credibility and deep connections.

Tokenomics-wise, ALT has a total supply of 10B, with 1.1B (11%) circulating at listing as of January 2024. That’s a fairly low initial float, which combined with the big-name investors and strong narrative around restaking and rollups, sets the stage for attention — but also means unlocks down the road will matter a lot.