Protocol Selection

Web3 is still in its infancy, and we understand that protocol risk is a serious concern. Many factors come into play when selecting a protocol, including network effects (such as ecosystem vibrancy, the number of developers and apps being built on the protocol, and the community), the financial health of the backers, how well each protocol solves the Trilemma, the fees charged to the project’s users and the Foundation/DAO, the tools available to developers, stability, and performance, just to name a few. The existing protocols, including the most popular ones, have suffered serious growing pains and presented many concerns. From L1 gas fees and environmental impact, to delays with the migration to Proof-of-Stake from Proof-of-Work in Ethereum, uptime and security in Solana, L2s and bridges in general, the continual promise of sharding and rollups, and Foundation funding support from each protocol. There is much to consider.

Given the factors listed above, Carrot decided to build its first smart contracts on Polygon, a Layer 2 blockchain that settles transactions on Ethereum, due primarily to its vibrant developer community, access to liquidity, and business ecosystem. While an initial decision has been made we will continue to access the best tools available upon which to build our products and serve our ecosystem.