EOS, Injective and Aptos Are the New Smart Contract Platforms to Watch

When it comes to smart contracts, Ethereum still gets most of the attention among the crypto crowd, but we live in a multichain world and there are plenty of smaller Layer-1 blockchains

When it comes to smart contracts, Ethereum still gets most of the attention among the crypto crowd, but we live in a multichain world and there are plenty of smaller Layer-1 blockchains that merit attention, solving real-world problems that the original dApp platform has failed to address.

Layer-1 networks are the foundation of Web3, providing the infrastructure that supports an explosion of decentralized applications in areas such as DeFi, GameFi, SocialFi and more. The vast majority of dApps are built on Ethereum, the world’s oldest smart contract blockchain, yet its first-mover status has resulted in massive network overload, exposing weakness in its ability to scale for mass adoption.

That’s why developers are increasingly looking towards newer and innovative L1s powered by more efficient consensus mechanisms and other groundbreaking features. Networks such as EOS, Injective and Aptos are increasingly being seen as superior platforms by a growing number of dApp developers.

By slashing cross-chain transfer times from minutes to just seconds and onboarding millions of JavaScript developers to blockchain, these under-the-radar L1s are poised to spark a new wave of growth in Web3 that could drive unprecedented adoption of decentralized technologies.

Up and coming rivals

Few networks are better placed to spearhead this growth than EOS, which has had plenty of ups and downs, but has since grown to become one of the most mature alternatives to Ethereum around, making good on its long-held promises of rapid transactions, high scalability and lower fees.

Another promising contender is Injective, which has made no secret of its desire to become the foundation of DeFi with an L1 network architected specifically for that purpose, so it can provide high performance for applications like decentralized exchanges, lending and borrowing protocols.

Just as impressive is Aptos, one of the newest L1s on the block, which launched October 2022 touting its advantages in terms of decentralization, speed and scalability. The project was born out of Meta’s failed Libra and Diem blockchain initiatives, which were cancelled by Facebook’s parent company due to regulatory challenges.

Scaling blockchain globally

Scalability has long been one of EOS’s standout features, and it’s something that’s becoming increasingly compelling as Ethereum continues to battle with network congestion, slow transaction speeds and high costs.

EOS was designed with performance in mind, and is capable of processing thousands of transactions per second with minimal fees, and it’s only getting better. Thanks to the recent Spring 1.0 update, which introduced a new delegated proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, it’s now capable of processing around 4,000 transactions per second, making it one of the most performant decentralized networks of all.

As for Injective, it has developed a novel Tendermint-based PoS consensus mechanism that accelerates its network to impressive 0.64-second block times, while providing ultra-low transaction fees and cross-chain interoperability in a single package.

Meanwhile, Aptos is powered by a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm similar to Ethereum’s where validators are required to stake APT tokens to secure the network. The biggest difference is that it combines this consensus with a Byzantine Fault Tolerance or BFT mechanism that significantly accelerates its transaction speeds to sub-second finality.

A superior foundation for DeFi

EOS’s scalability, together with its low fees, make it an ideal platform for DeFi, and it has already attracted a number of developers looking to take advantage of its EOS-EVM that ensures compatibility with Ethereum. Last year, its DeFi ecosystem topped $300 million in total value locked for the first time, and while that number is low compared to Ethereum, it represents a solid foundation that’s poised to scale and grow.

As EOS continues to improve its infrastructure and attract more dApp developers, it has everything in place to become a key player in the DeFi industry, but it will face competition from Injective, which has recently made a big push towards real-world assets with its Volan mainnet upgrade in 2024. That update introduced a comprehensive platform for tokenizing physical assets so they can be bought and sold on-chain. It provides developers with fine-grained control over asset actions and permissions, with functionality including holder whitelists, ensuring the high degree of customization institutions require in order to launch complaint tokenized offerings.

Injective’s infrastructure has enabled it to become one of the early pace-setters in real-world assets, hosting projects including Agora’s fully-collateralized AUSD stablecoin, Ondo Finance’s USDY tokenized treasury bills and BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, among others.

For its part, Aptos has developed its own DeFi features. One of its standout capabilities is the way it manages and processes transaction data. This is treated as a resource, which cannot be copied or discarded, and this approach ensures that DeFi smart contract calls optimize performance without wasting any resources. Because each user can