Neon Token Gains Momentum with RollApps’ Introduction, Bridging Ethereum and Solana Ecosystems

Neon EVM Opening Up for Infrastructure Growth on Solana with RollApps

In the realm of Web3, there is an intense emphasis on developing scaling solutions.

Ethereum and Solana, two prominent ecosystems, are each exploring unique pathways to tackle the issue of scalability.

RollApps, or application-specific rollups, provide decentralised applications (dApps) with bespoke blockspace, tailored to their specific needs.

This approach could significantly enhance Solana's scalability and performance, particularly for applications demanding substantial computational power, such as blockchain gaming, decentralised finance (DeFi), and payment systems.

Neon Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is delving into the transformative potential of rollApps in blockchain technology, offering customisable solutions that promise to increase scalability, reduce costs, and accelerate transaction speeds.

Neon Token Uptick Due to RollApps' Announcement

After Neon posted on X with regard to rollApps, its native token seemingly saw an uptick.

At the time of writing, it is trading at $0.4176, almost an 8% increase in the last 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap.

However, it is trading at a close to an 18% decrease in the past week and a 46% decrease in the past month.

What Are RollApps & Why RollUps Don't Work for Solana?

Imagine a highly scalable execution environment that strips away the consensus overhead of traditional blockchains, leaving only a streamlined solution tailored for specific applications: this is the essence of rollApps.

These application-specific rollups offer a dedicated blockspace for dApps, providing a customised environment that enhances scalability and performance.

Unlike general-purpose rollups, which are L2 scaling solutions that bundle transactions off-chain before settling them on-chain, rollApps are designed to address the unique needs of individual applications.

Solana, known for its high throughput and low transaction costs, may benefit from exploring rollups to alleviate network congestion and improve scalability.

However, general-purpose rollups may not fully resolve the issue of blockspace management on Solana, as they can also face transaction bottlenecks when activity reaches the L1's maximum block limit.

Moreover, rollup economies may not align with Solana's monolithic thesis, which emphasizes an integrated approach.

Given these challenges, rollApps present a more suitable solution for Solana.

They offer a dedicated rollup for each dApp, solving the limitations of shared rollup architectures.

RollApps allow developers to create application-specific scaling solutions that operate independently while leveraging the security and consensus of the Solana L1 blockchain.

Key benefits of rollApp infrastructure include:

High level of customisation: dApps can use their own tokens for fees, optimising performance and cost efficiency. For instance, a DEX can achieve sub-100ms execution speeds to compete with traditional finance.

Dedicated resources: RollApps provide exclusive throughput and blockspace, ensuring stable performance during peak network usage.

Enhanced security: By inheriting the security and decentralisation of Solana L1, rollApps offer a customisable execution layer for dApps.

The choice between rollups and rollApps depends on the project's needs.

Enterprise chains or dApps requiring granular control over security, customisation, and consensus may prefer rollApps.

In contrast, smaller projects that can operate within Solana's existing framework might stay on Solana L1.

The Unique Selling Propositions of rollups and rollApps can be seen in the table below.

As Solana evolves, modular solutions like rollApps could become pivotal for dApp scalability and performance, offering customisation and resources that may be lacking in a monolithic architecture.

RollApps liberate dApps to build customised solutions without conforming to general Solana requirements, positioning them as a strong candidate for addressing scalability challenges in the Solana ecosystem.

As the market matures and innovative solutions like rollApps are refined, they are poised to play a significant role in shaping the future of scalability on Solana.

What is Neon EVM?

Neon EVM, an innovative extension of Ethereum's EVM, introduces the first parallelised EVM mainnet on Solana.

This development aims to significantly improve scalability, efficiency, and compatibility, addressing the limitations inherent in the traditional EVM.

Neon EVM empowers developers to effortlessly deploy their Ethereum-based aApps on the Solana blockchain, capitalising on its impressive throughput, low latency, and scalability.

By harnessing parallel processing, Neon EVM transforms the conventional sequential execution of transactions, allowing multiple dApps to function concurrently without causing network congestion.

Davide Menegaldo, Neon EVM's Chief Commercial Officer, sheds light on the platform's innovative approach to improving user experience and driving mainstream adoption of dApps:

“Neon EVM is an Ethereum Virtual Machine on Solana that allows developers to scale Ethereum dApps using Solana as the settlement layer. So, at Neon EVM, we enable developers to deploy Ethereum dApps on Solana with minimal reconfiguration of their existing code while benefiting from Solana's technical advantages, such as parallel processing.”

The platform's commitment to reducing barriers for mainstream dApp adoption is evident in its provision of familiar Ethereum development tools and seamless integration with existing infrastructures, as highlighted by Menegaldo.

He added:

“We aim to improve experiences for both developers and end-users. An Ethereum-native developer, when building on Solana, may face multiple challenges — moving from Solidity to Rust coding, different sets of toolings, APIs, etc., and this results in a long-drawn process, sometimes taking months or a year plus, potentially causing a loss of market opportunity. By deploying via Neon EVM, these barriers are smoothened, translating to a simplified development process and saving time and effort.”

Neon EVM's distinctive features, such as Neon Proxy and NeonPass, further elevate the user experience and enable smooth interoperability between the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems.

Menegaldo noted:

“End-users benefit from both chains. EVM users' favoured Ethereum dApps are now in the Solana environment, and they enjoy the high throughput, reduced costs, and other flagship features the Solana ecosystem offers. Meanwhile, Solana users get access to new and innovative use cases that were earlier only available in the Ethereum environment.”

Neon EVM's Key Components & Functionalities

Neon EVM acts as a conduit for Ethereum-based applications to harness the rapid transaction speeds and low costs of Solana, without the need for codebase modifications.

Neon Proxy

Neon Proxy facilitates the seamless transition of Ethereum dApps to the Solana blockchain. Serving as an intermediary, it routes Ethereum-like transactions through the Solana network with minimal disruption. This component encapsulates Neon transactions, which mirror Ethereum transactions, into Solana-compatible transactions. These are then executed on the Solana blockchain, taking advantage of its parallel processing and high throughput. Neon operators, who maintain Neon Proxy servers, support this transition. They accept payments in NEON tokens and manage transactions within the Solana ecosystem using SOL.

NeonScan

NeonScan operates as both a block explorer and an analytics hub for users and developers. As a block explorer, NeonScan enables users to scrutinise and evaluate transactions, blocks, and tokens related to Neon EVM on the Solana blockchain. This transparency offers users a detailed overview of network activity, allowing them to confirm transactions, monitor token transfers, and examine block details.

NeonPass

NeonPass is an instrument that streamlines the transfer of ERC-20 tokens between Solana and Neon EVM. This tool simplifies the process of moving cryptocurrencies across networks, enabling users to navigate the complexities with ease. Each transaction processed through NeonPass requires a gas fee, payable in either NEON or SOL tokens, based on the source network.

Neon Faucet

Neon Faucet is a service that assists users in acquiring NEON and other ERC-20 test tokens. It is a valuable resource for developers working on the Neon devnet, providing them with the test tokens needed for application testing in a risk-free setting. By utilising these tokens, Neon Faucet enhances the development and testing of applications on the Neon EVM platform before their launch on the main network.

NEON, the Native Utility and Governance Token

The NEON token, native to the Neon EVM ecosystem, fulfils a dual purpose.

As a utility token, it facilitates transactions on the Neon platform, enabling transfers, dApp deployment, and interactions within dApps.

Additionally, NEON serves as a governance token, allowing holders to participate in decentralised decision-making processes through the Neon DAO.

Meet the Brains Behind Neon

Marina Guryeva, CEO

Guryeva is the CEO of Neon Labs, bringing a wealth of experience to the role.

She previously served as Director of Commun from December 2019 to December 2020, where she enabled people to govern and manage their communities and monetise their activities, initially on social media and later across various platforms.

She began her career as a freelance consultant in marketing and PR in January 2009. She holds an MBA from INSEAD and a diploma in radioelectronics from Vyatka State University.

She also participated in an exchange programme in business administration at the University of Saarland.

Her socials: LinkedIn

Andrey Falaleev, CTO

Falaleyev serves as the CTO at Neon Labs, leveraging extensive experience in technology and innovation.

Concurrently, he is also the CTO at CyberCoreDev since May 2020.

Formerly, CTO at GolosChain Core and CyberWay Core, and Lead Software Developer at Plesk.

He also has a diploma in radioelectronics from Tomsk State University.

His socials: X and LinkedIn

Konstantin Goldstein, COO

Goldstein is the COO at Neon Labs, bringing a wealth of experience in technology and management.

Prior to this role, he held various positions at Microsoft from September 2014 to September 2020, including Principal Technical Evangelist and Senior Program Manager.

His diverse background includes a Master's degree in Psychoanalysis and Business Consulting from the Higher School of Economics and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from Clark University.

Goldstein is a trained Co-Active Coach from The Coaches Training Institute (CTI).

His socials: X and LinkedIn

Davide Menegaldo, COO

Menegaldo has been a pioneer in blockchain innovation since late 2013.

At Idle Finance, he played a crucial role in building a $300 million Total Value Locked (TVL) and establishing strategic alliances with industry leaders such as Lido, Polygon, and institutional liquidity providers.

In 2023, Davide joined Neon Labs, where he leads commercial and business initiatives.

His socials: X and LinkedIn

Neon's Socials

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Shaping the Future of Decentralised Technology

The advent of Neon EVM signifies a pivotal moment in the advancement of blockchain technology.

Its emphasis on scalability, efficiency, and interoperability positions it as a compelling answer to the obstacles that have impeded the expansion of dApps.

Menegaldo elaborated on the future of Neon EVM and its role in the blockchain ecosystem:

“The ecosystem is growing, and there is plenty of innovation happening at all levels—technical, user, and implementation. From a technical perspective, we are committed to advancing our platform to meet the evolving needs of developers and users. This includes ongoing optimization efforts to enhance scalability, security, and interoperability, ensuring that Neon EVM remains at the forefront of blockchain innovation.

Within the Solana ecosystem, Neon EVM's objective is unequivocal: to leverage Solana's strengths while offering Ethereum developers an environment that feels familiar and comfortable.

This fusion opens up a new realm of opportunities for developers in pursuit of high-performance blockchain solutions.

As Neon EVM continues to garner interest and momentum from developers, businesses, and users, Coinlive believes it has the capacity to transform industries and forge a path toward a more decentralised and interconnected world.

In essence, Neon EVM possesses the potential to mould the future of decentralised technology.

He concluded:

“We are actively working to forge strategic partnerships and collaborations across the broader blockchain ecosystem. This includes collaborating with other projects, protocols, and platforms to create synergies that drive mutual growth and innovation. So I see Neon EVM playing a role in shaping this evolving landscape, particularly in driving the growth of decentralized applications in gaming, NFT, DeFi and other verticals while facilitating their mainstream adoption.”