While Optimism and MakerDAO Have Helped Address Ethereum's Known Issues

While networks like Optimism and MakerDAO have helped address Ethereum's known issues around scalability and stability

While networks like Optimism and MakerDAO have helped address Ethereum’s known issues around scalability and stability, their design choices still rely on older models—linear chains, slower consensus, and workarounds. Optimism has upgraded throughput, while MakerDAO has restructured how lending operates.

Instead of improving old methods, BlockDAG (BDAG) offers something entirely new. With a presale now standing at $209.5 million and a 2,380% ROI from its initial batch, BlockDAG introduces Directed Acyclic Graphs where several blocks can be validated at the same time. This is not an enhancement—it’s a fundamental rethink. Among scaling approaches, BlockDAG sets itself apart by changing the foundational rules rather than making minor tweaks.

Optimism: Advancing Ethereum’s Speed and Capacity

Optimism is a Layer 2 protocol designed to make Ethereum faster and cheaper to use. Employing Optimistic Rollups, it executes transactions off-chain and posts the outcomes to Ethereum’s base layer, combining performance with security.

Since its beginnings, Optimism has seen substantial progress. By March 2024, it had locked in around $906 million in Total Value Locked (TVL), placing it within the top 10 chains by TVL. The protocol has produced more than $20 million in fees and maintains over 115,000 monthly users. To build on this, Optimism raised $3.5 million in December 2020, $25 million in February 2021, and $150 million in March 2022 across three funding rounds.

As of March 2025, the OP token holds a value close to $1.72. Market forecasts show a potential 174.25% increase by October 2025, showing ongoing interest.

MakerDAO: Building DeFi Without Intermediaries

Created in 2014 by Rune Christensen, MakerDAO is one of the original DeFi protocols, letting users lend and borrow without needing banks or central authorities. Its core offering, the DAI stablecoin, is tied to the US dollar. Users mint DAI by locking their ETH into Collateralized Debt Positions (CDPs).

MakerDAO’s journey features several key milestones. In 2021, its TVL hit $20 billion. Through 2022, it maintained TVLs above $14 billion. But by August 2024, the number adjusted to $4.8 billion. At the same time, the DAI supply dropped from $6.9 billion to nearly a third less within a year.

BlockDAG Redefines Blockchain’s Future — Keynote 3 Highlights!

Rather than tweaking what’s broken, BlockDAG starts from a blank page. Most existing systems try to overcome design flaws like congestion or central points of failure. BlockDAG chooses not to fix those old problems but to move past them. The idea of a linear chain means only one block is added at a time. BlockDAG breaks from this by allowing multiple miners to add blocks together, turning forks from bugs into usable features.

This design shift matters. It’s not just about quicker confirmations—it reimagines how speed works without barriers. Instead of relying on added tools for security, BlockDAG embeds protection directly into its structure. It doesn’t aim to be an improved blockchain; it offers a completely different setup focused on scalability, fairness, and simplicity from its foundation.

The numbers reflect growing support. Its crypto presale has reached $209.5 million. BlockDAG is now in batch 27, priced at $0.0248—marking a 2,380% rise from batch 1. Already, more than 19 billion coins have been sold.

This momentum comes from more than temporary excitement. People recognize that this isn’t just a small improvement—it’s a deliberate change. It values decentralization as a core principle, not a marketing term. BlockDAG doesn’t offer a better version of what came before; it offers something entirely different. That’s why interest continues to build.

In A Nutshell!

Improvement isn’t just about moving faster—it’s about changing direction. Both Optimism and MakerDAO have made notable progress in scaling and autonomy, yet they’re still shaped by older systems. BlockDAG takes a separate route: it removes the traditional chain model altogether. Its DAG-first system reshapes how consensus is reached, how systems grow, and how users take part—without needing extra layers or added complexity.

With $209.5 million raised so far, over 19 billion coins sold, and a 2,380% return from its starting