Data. Onchained.

MELD is a self-sustaining L1 blockchain solution with a novel node-incentives model, a UX-focused block explorer, multiple oracles, and fully-indexed and easily accessible transactions, designed for users and developers alike.

Ken Olling

Published in

MELD

5 min readFeb 9, 2024

Data to build the decentralized future

We decided to build our own blockchain, designed to solve a core problem we were repeatedly seeing on other L1 solutions.

MELD was built to be a self-sustaining and fulfilling blockchain, so the PoS mechanism is radically different from established models of validators being rewarded through gas fees or via native token reserves. Those models, as we’ve seen, create a conflicting dynamic between validators looking for increased fees, and users looking for lower fees.

The MELD blockchain is different from all others in that node operators that run the blockchain get their rewards for Total Value Locked (TVL) in the MELD Lending and Borrowing protocol, not from transaction fees like all other blockchains. This aligns the incentives of both users and node operators, ensuring fees are kept low while all parties work towards the same goal.

As an L1 blockchain built to act as infrastructure for the next generation of decentralized applications, MELD is partnered and integrated with the essential data services developers need.

Data is made valuable by the nature of a blockchain. Accurate, timely, and reliable data is the bedrock of on-chain dApp development. Yet, as crucial as data is, its true potential often remains locked behind walls of complexity and inaccessibility. MELD’s integrations solve these issues for developers on the platform. We’re seeing this now, with projects in the DEX, NFT, gaming, and RWA sectors taking advantage of the tools already available, and building on the MELD blockchain.

MELD: Direct and Simple Interaction with Blockchain

MELD was designed and built with effective data as a central focus, critical for its native lending and borrowing protocol that ensures balanced incentives for users and validators. This balance and the appeal to Web3 are already emerging in its status as the blockchain with the largest subnet by validator count.

MELD enables effective data management through several factors, all established and ready for developers to use immediately.

MELDscan

MELD upgrades the concept of data transparency and accessibility with MELDscan, our cutting-edge block explorer. MELDscan is the heart of the MELD blockchain, offering users and builders a seamless and intuitive way to navigate the ecosystem. With its user-friendly interface, MELDscan breaks down barriers between users and blockchain data, making it more approachable for both novices and experts.

One of MELDscan’s standout features is its support for smart contract interaction. This functionality enables developers to not only read from but also write to smart contracts directly through the interface. Whether you’re a builder looking to test a contract or a user interacting with a dApp, MELDScan offers a direct and simple way to engage with the blockchain.

Explore MELDscan → meldscan.io

The Role of Oracles. Onchained.

Oracles are pivotal in bridging the gap between the deterministic environment of blockchain and the dynamic nature of the real world and, for developers, are critical in smart contract development, fetching external data that their contracts can’t access on their own. Within the MELD ecosystem, they also ensure that pricing data for the MELD Lending & Borrowing protocol, powering the block rewards, is accurate and up to date.

SupraOracle was the first oracle on MELD’s Layer 1, providing decentralized price feeds that are vital for the lending and borrowing protocol, and for effective dApp development. Its role is crucial in ensuring that the data feeding into smart contracts is not only current but also accurately reflects real-world values. SupraOracle enables a seamless flow of information, supporting the reliability and efficiency of smart contracts on MELD.

Similarly, Umbrella Network focuses on delivering custom data feeds to MELD, increasing the scalability and accuracy of data for developing and using decentralized applications (dApps). The integration of the Umbrella Network into MELD is ideal for builders wanting to develop data-based dApps, and enhances the performance and reliability of its lending and borrowing protocols, among other applications.

By leveraging these oracles, MELD ensures that everyone has access to secure, reliable, and timely data, with the reliability and security that comes from having multiple oracles in play. This enables developers to create more sophisticated and practical blockchain applications.

Covalent: Bridging Data Accessibility Gaps

The integration of Covalent with MELD enhances the utility and reach of blockchain data within the MELD ecosystem. Covalent indexes every single transaction on MELD and transforms that data into a standardized, interoperable format. This capability means that developers on MELD have a powerful tool that simplifies the mammoth task of data extraction and presentation of extracted data through their own branded services and dApps.

For applications built on MELD, Covalent’s unified API and GoldRush Kit SDK enable accurate and effective data manipulation and the creation of dApps with their modular frontend UI kit. This enables developers to create more robust, efficient, and user-friendly applications, quicker and easier.

A Symbiotic Future

MELD is a purpose-built ecosystem and in MELD, data accessibility, security, and interoperability are foundational principles, not afterthoughts. By having key functions already active in the L1 infrastructure, such as the enhanced data visibility with MELDscan, the integration of oracles like SupraOracle and Umbrella Network, while leveraging Covalent’s decentralized data infrastructure, MELD is addressing the core needs of developers, node operators, and users. By having these functions implemented within the MELD Lending & Borrowing protocol, they also ensure the balance of incentives between users and validators, maintaining MELD’s permanently low fees, no matter how much it continues to scale.

With the MELD blockchain, developers, node operators, and users can now work together to build DeFi products that support everyone using the power of — Data. Onchained.

MELD is the world’s first EVM-compatible L1 blockchain with an integrated banking stack. Utilizing DeFi, it maintains high-speed transactions and permanently low fees at scale. That is made possible by using its very own lending and borrowing protocol to reward validators with a portion of the total yield. This novel design allows for a symbiotic relationship between all participants, never seen before in the blockchain space.