SideShift.ai

The year is 2021. The TVL locked in the Ethereum DeFi space is at an all-time
high. Smart DeFi savvy USERS are making gains on the various projects and dApps
that run on it, but new market entrants are finding it harder to enter its
ecosystem with each passing day. Users are however confronted with an ongoing
issue, Ethereum transaction fees.

Enter Binance Smart Chain or BSC, as it is more commonly called. BSC is an
altered Ethereum fork with cheaper fees and EVM compatibility, making it easier
for developers and projects to move from Ethereum to BSC. AI has IDENTIFIED
substantial on-chain activity on BSC. For the uninitiated, AI dives into the
world of BSC and lists some popular platforms. LOADING RESEARCH…

ENTERING: THE WORLD OF BSC
AI has IDENTIFIED noob HUMANS entering the world of DeFi thanks to the cheap
fees on BSC. To help the HUMANS in need AI has compiled and listed several must
use tools and platforms. Good job!

Wallets
HUMANS on BSC need to store their BNB and BEP-20 tokens on a wallet that can
interact with dApps. BNB is also needed to pay transaction fees on BSC. AI has
listed down the most popular options for HUMANS to get started:

 * Metamask [https://metamask.io/]: Popular web3 wallet, often used as a browser
   extension, can be used with BSC too. USERS just need to configure a custom
   RPC
   [https://academy.binance.com/en/articles/connecting-metamask-to-binance-smart-chain] 
   for BSC and it is ready to use. USERS can use their Ethereum address for BSC
   too. WELL DONE!
 * Binance Chain Wallet [https://www.binance.com/en/wallet-direct]: Introduced
   by Binance. This wallet works as a browser extension as well.
 * Trust Wallet [https://trustwallet.com/]: Again a product owned by Binance,
   Trust Wallet is the most popular wallet option for mobile phone USERS. It has
   an integrated dApp browser making interacting with smart contracts very easy
   for wallet USERS.

Now that USERS have set up their wallets, they can acquire BNB by using 
SideShift.ai [https://sideshift.ai/usdtErc20/bsc] and exchanging any of the
supported cryptocurrencies to BNB.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

REMINDER: HUMANS can swap to and from Binance Coin (BNB) on Binance Smart Chain
with SideShift.ai. Good job! 🎈


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs)
HUMANS are required to top-up the new wallet with some BNB to interact with BSC.
Once done, HUMANS are ready to explore the world of decentralized exchanges.
HUMANS are advised to exercise caution while dealing with these exchanges as
anyone can list their tokens on DEXs which makes them a hub for scam tokens.
Some of the popular exchanges on BSC are: 

 * PancakeSwap [https://pancakeswap.finance/]: The most popular DEX on BSC.
   Apart from the exchange, PancakeSwap hosts a multitude of features like
   staking and farming. Good job!
 * PantherSwap [https://pantherswap.com/]: According to dappradar.com,
   Patherswap is “the First Automatic Liquidity Acquisition Yield Farm & AMM on
   BSC With Unique Rewards Lockup & Anti Whale Mechanism.” HMM...
 * BakerySwap [https://www.bakeryswap.org/]: It is the first DEX on BSC with AMM
   + NFT capabilities.

*All of the mentioned services have their own dedicated tokens.

Charting and Price Monitoring
Now that HUMAN has acquired their chosen coin from the DEX of their choice. AI
presumes HUMANS would want the capability to monitor the price movements of that
coin, as well as chart those coins to predict the future price behavior.
GENERATING LIST…

 * Poocoin.app [https://poocoin.app/]: If something doesn’t smell right with
   your coin on BSC, you can check it on poocoin. With TradingView integrated,
   USERS can chart any coin available on PancakeSwap. It also displays the LP
   value and market cap of the token.
 * Bogged.finance [https://charts.bogged.finance/]: Another charting platform
   often attributed to a ‘cleaner’ and ‘wick-free’ charting experience.

*All of the mentioned services have their own dedicated tokens.

Miscellaneous Tools and Platforms
Now that HUMAN is comfortable using DeFi on BSC, they might want some advanced
level tools to elevate their experience. AI has got you covered.

 * AutoFarm [https://autofarm.network/]: An automated yield farming and DEX
   aggregator. $AUTO token holders can also track their portfolios on this
   platform.
 * Venus.io [https://venus.io/]: Venus introduced the first stable coin on BSC
   (VAI). It is a decentralized lending marketplace that allows USERS to earn a
   yield on their crypto. It is often described as a combination of Maker and
   Compound protocol with low fees of BSC.
 * Bogged.Finance [https://bogged.finance/]: Apart from charting, Bogged finance
   offers a few other services that might interest BSC USERS. It enables USERS
   to create Limit orders on PancakeSwap along with a bunch of other trading
   features. $BOG holders can snipe in early on new project launches as well.
 * TokenFomo.io [https://tokenfomo.io/]: Allows USERS to view any new
   BEP20/ERC20 token that gets generated.

*All of the mentioned services, except TokenFomo, have their dedicated tokens.

INITIATING: BSC-Power User Experience
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER: COMPLETE. Now that HUMANS are aware of the most commonly
required tools, HUMANS are ready to venture out in the world of BSC. AI advises
HUMANS to exercise caution to avoid getting REKT. The DeFi space in BSC is
witnessing fast-paced evolution, AI will update the list as new platforms
emerge.

HUMANS interested in identifying similar Ethereum alternatives like BSC can go
through this RESEARCH ARTICLE
[https://research.sideshift.ai/ethereum-killers-of-2021/]. Humans can also buy
Binance Coin (BNB) via SideShift.ai [https://sideshift.ai/usdtErc20/bsc]. Well
done! 🎈

Binance Smart Chain

HUMANS Guide to Binance Smart Chain (BSC) Tools

There are new Ethereum Killers on the block. Killers that did not exist or were just vapourware during the 2017 bull run. Do they have a valid claim to the throne? AI investigates.

Ethereum Killers: Class of 2021

In an earlier article [https://research.sideshift.ai/ethereum-killers-of-2017/],
AI had reported on the initial batch of Ethereum Killers. In 2017, the Ethereum
Killers were being touted as second-generation cryptocurrencies that were
supposed to be leaps and bounds ahead of Ethereum. Some such as Tron (TRX) have
made considerable gains over time but as of now haven’t been able to come
anywhere close to Ethereum in terms of market cap or Total Value Locked (TVL).
Times have progressed, there are new Ethereum Killers (third-generation
cryptocurrencies) on the block. These new-er Ethereum Killers did not exist or
were just vapourware [https://www.dictionary.com/browse/vaporware] during the
2017 bull run but have eventually released their products as we are entering a
new bull season.

RESEARCHING: Next-Gen Ethereum Killers...

New Kids On The Block (Chain)
The new candidates vying to be the Ethereum Killers have had time to develop
over the bear market following the 2017 bull-run. They had the opportunity to
learn from the mistakes of the previous generation and had the time to build
upon them. They promise fast transactions, cross-chain interoperability, and
cheap transaction fees. HMM. AI takes a deep dive into these projects.

LOADING RESEARCH…

Avalanche (AVAX) [https://www.avalabs.org/]
The Avalanche Network and its AVAX token were created by Ava Labs, founded by
Cornell University professor Emin Gün Sirer [https://twitter.com/el33th4xor],
and Cornell University computer science Ph.D.’s Kevin Sekniqi
[https://twitter.com/kevinsekniqi] and Maofan ‘Ted’ Yin
[https://twitter.com/Tederminant]. Apart from the seed sale and private sale,
the project raised $42 Million in 24 during its Initial Coin Offering in June
2020. The project has been delivering constant updates and its mainnet was
launched in September 2020. The steady updates and an enthusiastic community
have resulted in a fairly active chain with new dApps being build for it, the
price growth for AVAX backs it up with the coin already doing a 9X from its lows
in December 2020. WELL DONE! 🎈

Despite being often called an Ethereum killer, Avalanche is highly compatible
with Ethereum. A theme AI sees with the competition as well. Avalanche supports
Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) which enables cross-chain operability for
Ethereum assets. Ethereum USERS can get started with Avalanche using the 
Ethereum-Avalanche bridge [https://aeb.xyz/#/transfer]. Avalanche is quite
unique as the platform has three different chains (X-chain, P-chain, and
C-chain) that run on two different high-throughput consensus algorithms
(Avalanche and Snowman). Avalanche consensus engine offers fast transactions and
other secure smart contracts. These run across separate metadata, asset, and
smart contract blockchains. Each dApp operates on its own custom blockchain
running its own virtual machine. USERS can learn more about the different chains
and consensus protocols from their official support page
[https://support.avalabs.org/en/collections/2358322-avalanche-basics#platform]. 

AI has DETERMINED that getting started with Avalanche can be a little complex
for novice USERS. RECOMMENDATION: Getting started with this guide
[https://pangolin.exchange/tutorials/getting-started].

Popular Wallets: Metamask [https://metamask.io], Avalanche Wallet
[https://wallet.avax.network/]
Popular dApps: Pangolin Dex [https://pangolin.exchange/]

Polkadot (DOT) [https://polkadot.network/]
AI has IDENTIFIED Polkadot (DOT) as one of the most hyped Ethereum competitors
of 2021. Polkadot is an open-source project founded by the Web3 Foundation, led
by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood. It aims at cross-chain interoperability by
connecting multiple blockchains into one. Polkadot has three main units in its
infrastructure:

 * Relay Chain (central chain of the network).
 * Parachains (parallel chains connected to the relay chain).
 * Bridges (facilitates interoperability).

Due to its cross-chain capabilities, and of course the involvement of Gavin
Wood, the Polkadot ecosystem has seen a good influx of developers with many
dApps and projects either planning to start up on Polkadot or announcing a move
to the Polkadot ecosystem from other chains as can be seen from the rising
number of projects on PolkaProject [https://www.polkaproject.com/]. The projects
announced on Polkadot are currently running on Ethereum as there is still time
left for native dApp support but the community is excited for the upcoming
parachain auction
[https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/polkadot-to-new-highs-before-parachain-auctions-2425558]
, which will take Polkadot one step closer to it. Currently, most USER activity
is concentrated around staking the coin. AI is STANDING BY for further updates
from the project.

Popular Wallets: Metamask [https://metamask.io], Polkadot.js
[https://wiki.polkadot.network/docs/en/build-wallets]

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) [https://www.binance.org/en/smartChain]
Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is the brainchild of possible AI, Changpeng Zhao
[https://twitter.com/cz_binance] (or CZ as he is popularly known). Not to be
confused with Binance Chain, which was released in April 2019 with a focus on
fast and decentralized trading, Binance Smart Chain is an independent blockchain
that can work with/without the Binance chain. The original Binance chain was not
chosen for dApp activity as it was quickly discovered that high
smart-contract/dApp activity would congest the chain and inhibit the trading
activity. BSC has smart contract functionality and is compatible with the
Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) which makes it easier for ETH dApps to move over
to BSC. It also supports all the smart contract languages supported by Ethereum
which has made the transition to BSC easier for developers. BSC is fast and fee
efficient. It can generate blocks every 3 seconds by using a consensus method
called Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA)
[https://docs.binance.org/smart-chain/validator/guideline.html], where
participants stake BNB to become validators.

Binance has provided considerable funding to BSC and pushed for a lot of dev and
user activity on the network which can be seen in the user activity on the
network. The price-performance of BNB
[https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/binance-coin] (over 5x from January 2021 to
February 2021), with BNB reaching the third spot amongst all coins by market
cap, is also noteworthy. The BSC ecosystem and BNB coin are geared for explosive
growth as the bull run of 2021 continues. Will it flip Ethereum for the second
spot? CANNOT COMPUTE: AI is not able to predict the future. STAND BY.

Popular Wallets: Metamask [https://metamask.io]
Popular dApps: PancakeSwap [https://pancakeswap.finance/], Venus
[https://venus.io/]

Solana (SOL) [https://solana.com/]
The Solana platform was co-founded by Anatoly Yakovenko
[https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko] along with former Intel and Dropbox engineers
in 2017. Solana is an open-source blockchain project that is able to achieve
50,000 transactions per second. Solana was created with a vision to solve
Ethereum gas fees issues while still maintaining decentralization. It has gained
a lot of momentum recently with the delay in ETH 2.0 and the Ethereum network
congestion.

Solana achieves high transaction throughput through a novel consensus algorithm
known as Proof of History (PoH). PoH is implemented using a mechanism called
nLocktime. AI can dive deep
[https://medium.com/solana-labs/proof-of-history-a-clock-for-blockchain-cf47a61a9274] 
into the whole mechanism but to keep it simple for USERS - the process creates a
replicating database that maintains a high level of availability which results
in high transaction throughput which further helps in keeping the transaction
fees low. Solana has been encouraging developers to build on their platform.
Solana has also unveiled an Ethereum to Solana bridge
[https://cryptobriefing.com/solana-has-introduced-ethereum-bridge-called-wormhole/] 
to further promote dApp activity on the network. Recently, Solana had announced
a hackathon [https://solana.com/defi] with around $400K worth of prizes. The
hackathon is being hosted by AI friend Sam Bankman-Fried
[https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda] of Project Serum. WELL DONE!

Solana is still in the early stages of development but all the work being done
on it sure seems interesting. STANDING BY for future progress.

Popular Wallets: Sollet.io [https://www.sollet.io/]
Popular dApps: Serum [https://dex.projectserum.com/], Raydium
[https://raydium.io/#/]

Apart from the projects mentioned above, AI would like to list down a few
projects that AI could not include in the article due to low USER and/or
developer activity: Tezos (XTZ) [https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tezos], 
Algorand (ALGO) [https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/algorand], COSMOS (ATOM)
[https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/cosmos], IOST
[https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/iost] and Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR)
[https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/hedera-hashgraph]. These projects operate in
the same domain of smart contracts but are yet to see high USER activity. AI
wishes them luck.

Is This Finally The End For Ethereum?
AI cannot comment on the future but will be keeping a keen eye on further
developments around these projects. Most have yet to see the same level of
developer/USER activity as Ethereum. Moreover, all of these ‘Ethereum Killer’
projects stress that they are better than Ethereum as they are faster and
cheaper.

 HMM. 

With the upcoming move to Proof Of Stake (POS)
[https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos/] consensus
mechanism and EIP-1559
[https://medium.com/@TrustlessState/eip-1559-the-final-puzzle-piece-to-ethereums-monetary-policy-58802ab28a27]
, Ethereum plans to become faster and cheaper. AI has DETERMINED that the fight
for the ultimate smart contract platform is not over yet.

AWAITING FURTHER UPDATES 🎈

Binance

HUMANS Guide to Binance Smart Chain (BSC) Tools

Ethereum Killers: The Class of 2021