A critical phase in Elrond’s evolution over the coming year will be the launch of Maiar, the first app to debut on the network.
An independent report on Elrond’s blockchain network has concluded that the native asset EGLD could be undervalued by 212%. Using a range of metrics to compare the token’s valuation against that of comparable smart contract networks, the Picolo Research report suggests that EGLD could have a lot more room to grow, particularly in light of the attractive APY offered for staking.Independent Review Awards Elrond GoldPicolo Research is an independent provider of research on cryptocurrency and tokenized projects. Its latest research report lifts the lid on Elrond, the scalable dApp network that launched its mainnet in late 2020. A largely favorable assessment of the ecosystem’s health includes two different frameworks for valuing the EGLD token, which was exchanged for ERD, the original token, on a 1:100 ratio last year.EGLD is currently trading for around $27, but if Picolo Research is correct, the token’s true value lies far higher at approximately $68. The report also compares this valuation to that of other crypto networks, using the same criteria, and concludes that EGLD has more upside than any other asset. One of the reasons used to arrive at this decision is the attractive APY offered for staking EGLD, which at 29% is almost twice that of Ethereum.“The reward options are significantly higher than for other blockchains,” note the report’s authors, “and combined with the strong demand for staking assets, we expect the effective circulating supply to decrease significantly, thus creating a supply shock.”Much Hinges on Maiar LaunchA critical phase in Elrond’s evolution over the coming year will be the launch of Maiar, the first app to debut on the network, and thus a litmus test for everything that comes next. Maiar will serve as a general-purpose wallet and staking app, complete with fiat onramp, forming the gateway to the Elrond ecosystem. Its ability to lower the barriers for entry to the crypto sphere will dictate Elrond’s prospects of becoming the leading blockchain that can onboard the masses.The signs at this stage are promising at least; more than 180,000 users have signed up to gain early access to the app, which launches at the end of January. When measured using industry-standard metrics for community growth and engagement, Elrond also shapes up well against its peers. Of the eight layer-1 networks profiled in the report, Elrond is surpassed only by Cardano in terms of community engagement, despite having been established more recently than the likes of Algorand, Hashgraph, and Polkadot.The other benchmarks where Elrond is dominating concern account creation and transaction count viewed as key metrics for gauging layer-1 adoption. With 1.2 million transactions to date from over 80,000 accounts, Elrond – which is less than 150 days old – is comfortably ahead of Hedera Hashgraph, Polkadot, and NEAR. Ultimately, blockchain adoption is about onboarding the next one billion users rather than fighting over market share for the existing 100 million or so. Nevertheless, the conclusions found in Picolo Research’s latest report will make for comforting reading for Elrond’s team and growing community as anticipation builds ahead of the Maiar launch.
