Metis Token

What is Metis (METIS)?

Metis is a layer 2 framework based on the philosophy of Optimistic Rollups. With a vision of making Ethereum boundless, Metis powers dApps (decentralized applications), businesses, and communities by decentralizing them and solving the blockchain trilemma without trade-offs.

Safety, scalability, and decentralization are the trio of challenges most layer 1 blockchains face, and all three facets are difficult to achieve without making compromises. For this reason, many blockchain projects focus on two of these while trading away elements of the third.

Ethereum, for instance, achieves decentralization and safety at the expense of scalability. This is the reason for the prominence of layer 2 scaling solutions for Ethereum, with various projects using solutions like sidechains and rollups. Metis is one of these, offering fast and simple smart contract deployment within the network.

When was Metis Launched?

Metis launched in 2021 on a platform redefining the DAO (decentralized autonomous organization). Arguing that DAO architecture at the time was solely focused on efficient voting systems and governance, Metis introduced the concept of the DAC or decentralized autonomous company, a system entity supporting an organization’s day-to-day activities.

To build a DAC that allows for complex collaborative outcomes that go beyond those of a standard financial platform, Metis argued that an EVM-compatible layer 2 solution is required.

This led to the adoption of Optimistic Rollup technology, which the project has since embraced and appears to offer as its primary product. The Polis portal serves as the front end for DAC offerings.

The project was co-founded by Elena Sinelnikova, Kevin Liu, and Yuan Su and received investment from venture capital funds such as CatcherVC, DFG, Autonomy Capital, and Chain Capital.

What is Metis Andromeda?

Metis offers an extensive list of products for blockchain project developers, application developers, or anyone looking for modern solutions for Ethereum challenges.

First, the Metis bridge allows users to transfer Ethereum tokens from the mainnet to the Metis layer 2 network, referred to as Metis Andromeda. The bridge allows the transfer of tokens between testnets and mainnets and simply requires some tweaks to wallet settings.

Both ERC-20 (fungible) and ERC-721 (non-fungible) tokens, or NFTs, can be transferred between the Ethereum mainnet and Andromeda using the Metis bridge. To send tokens from Ethereum to Andromeda, you’ll have to use ETH to pay the transaction fee. But once tokens are on Andromeda, all fees are paid in METIS.

It’s also possible to bridge tokens from other chains to Andromeda via third-party bridges, including the Celer Bridge, Multichain, and BoringDAO. The BNB Chain is also interoperable with Andromeda, as are Avalanche, Fantom, and Cronos.

When sending tokens from Andromeda back to the Ethereum mainnet, it takes seven days. This is because Metis uses a form of rollup called the “Optimistic Rollup,” which assumes all transactions are genuine by definition but have a seven-day challenge period where they can be reversed if challenged and found incorrect.

How does Metis Work?

Under the hood, Metis operates three different chains with specific roles within the network. They’re called the Transaction Queue, the State Commitment Chain, and the Canonical Transaction Chain.

The Transaction Queue is an append-only array of transaction data that must eventually be included in the Canonical Transaction Chain. It doesn’t describe the Andromeda state. Rather it serves as a source of inputs from mainnet to Andromeda.

The Canonical Transaction Chain, however, is an essential part of verifying Andromeda’s state. It is an array of transactions that must be processed to determine and verify the network state. Transaction data can be added, deleted, and updated, and queue data can be updated when a fraud-proof is accepted in challenge.

Finally, the State Commitment Chain is an array of StateCommitmentBatches, where each batch is a Merkle root derived from an array of state roots. It is generally append-only, but if a successful fraud-proof, the state may be rolled back to the most recent honest state.

Another key part of the network is the group of actors called Sequencers. These sequencers sort transactions and record them on the Canonical Transaction Chain. They’re key to rollup systems like Metis, and along with other actors like Verifiers, they play a major role in network security.

What makes Metis Unique?

Metis solves a lot of Ethereum-based scaling issues, including those of NFT silos. One of the main problems with non-fungible tokens is that they stick to the layer they have been created on. This means that NFTs that are created on layer 2 cannot be withdrawn to the mainnet.

However, the solution to this problem is the cross-layer NFT. By tracking chain ownership, the cross-layer NFT allows users to take advantage of the speed and low costs of layer 2s like Andromeda while also having the flexibility of withdrawing their NFTs to the mainnet Ethereum.

Metis also allows the wrapping and bridging of NFTs, which supports both the ERC-721 and ERC-1155 non-fungible token standards.

Besides scaling, one of Metis’ main strengths is its focus on decentralization. It features decentralized governance via CEG, which stands for community ecosystem governance.

CEG is a Snapshot-powered decentralized voting framework to govern Metis. It empowers community members and developers to make decisions by voting and influencing the ecosystem.

One of the key elements of CEG is that “Metisians” vote on projects and help them become community-verified projects (CVP). These CVP projects can gain social media and marketing activity geared to boost presence among the community at large.

How is the Metis Network Secured?

As mentioned previously, sequencers are crucial to optimistic rollups. They receive transaction requests from users, sort them, and then submit transactions on a particular blockchain layer. Their roles, therefore, can be considered analogous to those of miners or validators on proof-of-work and proof-of-stake systems, respectively.

Joining sequencers are network participants called Proposers who evaluate transactions in the Canonical Transaction Chain and then commit to the resulting state by writing them into the State Commitment Chain. To hold this privilege, proposers must be collateralized by depositing a bond, similar to staking.

Lastly, verifiers evaluate transactions in the Canonical Transaction chain to determine the resulting state root following each transaction. If a verifier finds an incorrect proposed state root, it will be considered a fraud case. The verifier initiates and completes a fraud-proof task and is rewarded for this, with the funds to do so being taken out of the proposer’s bond.

What is the Use of METIS?

The METIS token is used for governance within the Metis CEG structure. It is also used for all fees on Metis Andromeda, including when sending tokens from layer 2 back to the Ethereum mainnet, and proposers need to collateralize themselves in METIS tokens.

How Much METIS is In Circulation?

METIS has a circulating supply of just over 4.4 million tokens out of a maximum supply of 5.4 million. This makes it a token with a relatively low supply, well below even that of Bitcoin.

How Do You Buy METIS?

You can buy METIS tokens from a variety of sources. Several reputable centralized exchanges offer METIS tokens, but decentralized platforms on several blockchains are usable too. These include Uniswap, PancakeSwap, Sushi, Hermes Protocol, and Netswap.

How Do You Store METIS?

One of the best wallets to store and use METIS tokens is the popular Metamask hot wallet that’s compatible with Chrome-based browsers. Metamask can be configured easily to work with Andromeda, allowing you to connect to Polis or CEG in just a couple of clicks.

Is METIS a Good Investment?

As Ethereum continues to grow in importance as a smart contract layer and infrastructure for Web3, scalability is a topic of greater and greater importance. There are several solutions on the market, and Metis is one of the top providers of Optimistic Rollup technology.

If Optimistic Rollups come to the fore as the most efficient means of scaling Ethereum in the long run, then backed by its decentralized philosophies, Metis could certainly be a winner.